The morning air was cool as I jogged through the block. My hoodie clung a little tighter with each step, but I didn't mind. Kuoh was quiet this early. Peaceful, even.
One of the rare moments I could just think.
Rounding a corner, I spotted someone ahead—walking with that familiar sway in her stride.
Headphones in. School bag over one shoulder. Signature glasses catching the morning light.
Aika Kiryuu.
Walking alone. Probably on her way to the academy.
I grinned. Heh. What were the odds?
Slowing to a light jog, I wiped the sweat from my brow and casually matched pace beside her.
"Yo."
She jumped a little, pulling out one earbud and blinking like she hadn't expected company. "Well well, if it isn't Mr. NPC."
I sighed. "Good morning to you too, Aika."
We walked side by side....her steps light, mine still cooling down from the run. It felt… normal.
"Didn't think you were the early type," she said, glancing up at me.
"Huh. I could say the same about you," I shot back. "Heading to class this early?"
"Please. I am a responsible and model student of Kuoh Academy. Unlike some people, who get up at 6 AM just to show off their calves."
I snorted. "I'm not showing off."
She gave me a once-over, raising an eyebrow. "You wore black on black. That's a tactical thirst trap."
I grinned. "Did it work?"
"Unfortunately for you, I'm immune. But if you had a fan club, they'd be foaming at the gate right about now."
We kept walking. A light breeze rustled the trees, and a few early risers passed us with nods or sleepy expressions. Aika shifted her bag and leaned toward me.
"So," she said, voice dropping into that sly tone, "if I randomly handed you a pair of boxer briefs with my name stitched into the waistband… would that be weird?"
Huh? Nani?
"Where the hell did that come from?"
"Shush. Just answer the question, Grey. Would you take them or not?"
I gave her a deadpan look. "I'd take them. Make it cotton—extra comfort."
Her eyes widened before she burst out laughing. "Where were you all this time, Grey?! We should've met sooner… the things we could've done together…"
I chuckled. "Yep. Nice things…"
Only then did she seem to register her wording. A faint blush colored her cheeks.
"Damn it—get your mind out of the gutter…"
(≖⩊≖)
"…You're the worst," she muttered, elbowing me lightly.
We both laughed. For a second, it felt like something more.
By the time we reached Kuoh Academy's gates, the student crowd had started to gather—uniforms, chatter, footsteps across pavement.
I was about to part ways when Aika stopped, turned toward me, and tugged the hood of my sweatshirt up to cover my hair and part of my face.
"…What was that for?" I asked.
She adjusted it like it was no big deal. "You've got the kind of face that could cause a traffic jam this early. Kuoh's mostly girls, remember?"
I blinked. "Huh."
"Just trust me," she said with a smirk. "You'll thank me later when you're not being swarmed by hyenas."
Before I could respond, she turned and walked off with a casual wave over her shoulder, hips swaying.
I stood there a moment, hood over my head.
Funny girl.
I thought, then turned and jogged away.
It's been a few days since we got familiarized. With her being my eyes and ears at Kuoh—since she's quite chatty.
I've gotten to know the "princes" of the academy and the "queens" too. That's what they call them apparently.
I really wanted to meet Rias and Akeno, but the time isn't right yet. I'm not strong enough for them to take me seriously.
I sighed as I sat on the bed.
I have less time, and I wasted most of it without cultivating. I'm still stuck at:
[CULTIVATION : QUASI-NASCENT SOUL]
[TRUE POWER: HIGH-CLASS DEVIL(LATE)]
[SOUL STRENGHT : A GRADE]
Not good....nah, straight-up bad. Sifu would kill me if he saw this meager strength, and I've been neglecting cultivation.
I have 1 year till the plot of DxD starts, but that doesn't account for the fact that I need to visit him this weekend.
I thought as I replayed the soul transmission:
---------------------------------------------------
"Oi, little storm cloud...don't pretend you're busy. I know you're flexing before Girls again"
"Clear your weekend. I've brewed something....special for you. Not tea, Although the new varity is very nice...Argh, Look the Point is, I prepared A technique
one even the Jade Emperor would roll on his bed in jealousy...when does he not *cough* "
"Anyways, Let's just say....it'll make your soul feel like it's been kissed by lightning and punched by enlightenment.
Hehehe Fun, right?"
"Come to Mount Huaguo. Alone. And don't be late, I hste to Miss on my Lunch."
"–Your Ever-Handsome, Totally-Wise Master"
---------------------------------------------------
"Yeah... I am totally fucked. He will definitely tie me to the Heavenly Pillar and smack me with lightning sticks," my face turned grim as I imagined it.
Sensing my turmoil, the Codex Dementis floated before me, twitching and alive like a thing that dreamt of being flesh.
Its pages flipped in a blur of eldritch parchment, stopping suddenly, as if guided by an unseen hand. My eyes locked on a name that I didn't think I'd see this soon.
I took a deep breath, weighing the risks and rewards.
Risk? Insanity. Death. Eternal entrapment.
Reward? Power. Forbidden knowledge. And time.
I need it more than anything right now.
I crossed my feet beneath me on the wooden floor of my room and closed my eyes. The hum of the world dimmed. The sounds of Kuoh faded to a distant murmur.
The sound of the ticking clock became slower with each moment until it no longer ticked.
As my consciousness fell beyond the mortal plane towards...
a world between the worlds...
And I slipped...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Falling.
Endless, weightless, formless into pure darkness.
Thump
With a loud noise, I hit the bottom...or what appeared to be solid ground…but I saw it clearly as day, The Stairs.
Spiraling stairs.
"The Seventy Steps of Lighter Slumber," I whispered its name as the white marble, faintly luminous, spiraled downwards into unknowable depths.
I walked down the stairs without wasting any more time, as these were illusive in nature.
My clothes vanished. I was naked, pure consciousness, mind stripped of its vessel.
Step by step, I descended.
The whispers came immediately. Not in words, but emotions...faded regrets, forgotten lullabies, fragments of dreams long dead.
They went through me. I could experience each of them in vivid detail, as if they were my own.
The hate, the anger, the love, the lust.....all surged through me. I felt aroused, yet filled with sadness.
I could see my dick raging hard, but it didn't bother me. It wasn't my emotion...I calmed myself and descended without distractions.
After the seventieth step, the air warmed, and I emerged into a vast cavern carved from living fire and stone.
"The Cavern of Flame."
Bas-reliefs decorated the smooth walls, depicting the Earth Gods.
The cavern itself pulsed with a warm glow, lit by the Sacred Pillar of Fire that danced in the center of the room—silent and eternal.
And there they stood.
Nasht and Kaman-Thah.
Young, strong, and tall.
Robed and wearing Egyptian-style headdresses.
They guard the Cavern of Flame between the waking and dream worlds, and they know much of other dimensions.
Well, one might think they're just some gatekeepers. These guys are not that simple, nor should they be taken lightly.
They are omniscient and omnipotent, and within the Cavern, their word is law.
I went to them and clasped my hands, giving them a respectful bow.
"This Junior greets the Elders."
They didn't respond, but that was enough for me to be relieved they weren't offended.
I felt them scour my mind, my intentions. Who I was. Who I pretended to be. Who I might become.
One raised a hand, I flinched, but no strike came.
"Greetings, young one. You are worthy to enter the Realm of Dreams should you wish to. And I will answer any one question that haunts your mind."
Nasht replied, voice deep and reverberating.
I thought for a second and asked,
"I want to gaze the unseen, know the unknown, and yet tell the tale. How can I?"
He smiled...?
"Seek the star of the Slumbering One, and the Book of the Dead shall reveal itself to you."
After which, without another word, they turned and gestured beyond the pillar.
Beyond the pillar was a small chamber, lit in a green crystal glow. Two stone tables of polished malachite stood there.
On the first: my clothing, weapons. And among them.....
"Oooh, I didn't think this would work..." I whispered, giddy, as I put on the gloves.
It is a glove stitched together from the flayed skin of the victims of a butcherous bloodbath. A mere touch of it, when active, can inflict madness upon the target.
The Madding Hand.
On the second table: food, drink, tools. I quickly put them in my ring.
I slipped on the Madding Hand. It fused to me. Whispered. Hungered.
At the far side of the chamber, a yawning stair spiraled downward.
The Seven Hundred Steps of Deeper Slumber.
I descended.
Time passed strangely. Minutes? Hours? Days? I couldn't tell. Somewhere along the way, the stairs opened into a clearing beneath an impossible sky.
I stood in the Enchanted Woods...
DING
[HOST HAS SUCCESSFULLY ENTERED 'DREAMLANDS']
[!!! SPONSOR QUEST TRIGGERED !!!]
------------------------------
[MADMAN'S QUEST: THE THREE-LOBED BURNING EYE]
"Absorb the Eye of Nyarlathotep."
The Eye of Chaos, also called the Three-Lobed Eye of Nyarlathotep, is a symbol of primordial havoc and chaos.
Retrieve it. Eat it. Laugh about it later.
[REWARD: A 2-Way Ticket to The Lands Between (EX-CLASS #GitGud)]
------------------------------
"What the FUCK?!" I was flabbergasted as I stared at the text, disbelief washing over me.
Nyarlathotep. The Crawling Chaos. The Black Pharaoh. The Messenger of the Outer Gods...?!!!
Facing such an entity was beyond reckless...
"This is suicide."
A familiar voice echoed in my mind, playful and mocking...
"Relax, kid! He's sleeping off a few eons. The Eye's not on him.
It's sealed away in the Forbidden Lands, atop the highest peak.
Go east, past Ooth-Nargai. Through the Tanarian Hills.
Its just a little fetch quest. You'll be fiiine.
Probably...
Just try not to go insane, okay?"
(⊙ _ ⊙ )
[NOTICE: TIME IN THE DREAMLANDS IS FLUID. EVERY HOUR IN THE WAKING WORLD IS EQUIVALENT TO 1 WEEK IN THE DREAMLANDS]
[SWEET DREAMS, HOST!]
"Well, at least this is something I can work with."