My little sapling had grown so tall, so large. It's leaves flush and healthy, and from its branches grew the 'fruits' of my labor. They were almost ready. "Must say, you did better than I expected." Shinsu said.

“Of course, I wouldn’t be a proud mother if I didn’t do good.” I said, puffing my chest out in pride. “So, I take seeds home and proceed with the rest of the trial?”

"You take the tree and seeds once the fruit is ripe." He said. "Then off to the next one."

“Alright.” I nodded.

"Should be any day now I'd wager." Shinsu said, looking over my sapling. "I remember making this species of tree for your world. It actually started off as a joke, plants that grow meat, but some of my fellow Admins liked the idea so much I ended up making a lot more than this one tree."

“And a lot of races would like this tree since it grows food.” I said honestly.

"True, those types of plants would help a lot… come with me." Shinsu said. He lead the way to the door, where nearby an Oak of sorts.

“This is the door to the next trial or is this something else?” I asked curiously.

"Something else." He said, tapping the tree, the trunk opening like a door. Inside was a small shelf, and on it was what looked like a small box. He took it. "This garden holds barely a tenth of a percent of all the plant life I ever created. The rest, is all here." He said, giving the box a shake.

“So...what? It’s literally a Genesis in a Box?” I asked curiously.

"Only Asmith knows about all my creations. Time I told another." He said, placing the box in my hand. I felt…. Information, cell and code structures for… Everything. Every plant, plants I know, countless I didn't or never even could imagine was pouring into my head like a waterfall. When it ended, Shinsu took the box back and put it away. I was on my knees, my head… I was flipping through them all like a menu in my head. There's so many…. And I know them all. "This box is known as, well, you'd know it as a USB drive, but we called them Code Relays. They hold copies of all an Admin knows how to create, every detail."

“Damn that’s a lot of plants…” I blinked, shifting through all of them. “Also...a lot of sentient plants…”

"Asmith has those also, was a bit of a grey area on who would claim ownership of that, so we split them. He and I claim ownership, or at least claim we made them." Shinsu said. "So, give it a try."

“A try?” I asked curiously. “What do you mean by that?”

"I gave you the information to make everything I can. Make something."

“Oh...well…” I muttered before thinking of Graceful Dahlia...before I brought out my hand and a Pink Rose like plant appeared in my hand. “Huh...this...feel’s like Graceful Dahlia…”

"Your scythe right? Should, this is the sapling of an Elegant Demon Tree. My advice, plant that on a world you despise, it eats all sentient life on that planet until mature. Was one of many darker works of mine during the war. Anything made of it's wood also repairs itself so long as blood touches it."

“Alrighty then...good to know.” I said honestly.

"There are many that are equally as useful or deadly. I'm trusting you with them."

“You...are trusting me with literally all of this knowledge?” I asked, going through my head and finding there was at least two hundred different humanoid plant people just from a quick glance. “You...have made a mistake...not because I’ll abuse this...but because you basically gave me two hundred or more wives…”

"Heh. Perverted. Hikshu would have liked you."

“Hikshu?” I asked curiously.

"An old friend, Admin of The Hunt. He was a good Admin, and friend. Perverted even at the worst of times."

“Admin of the...wait...I just...killed the Delete of the Hunt...are they both connected or something?” I asked nervously at just randomly thinking of that.

"A delete with a title like that is a high ranked one. But no, there is no relation."

“Well...I killed her husband first...and then her...and now I’m scared their kids…” I sighed out sadly. “I tried telling her to be with her kids...that family was more important than petty revenge...didn’t fucking listen...now I have to probably kill two children who could have just been happy…”

"Deletes are many things, but they often prioritize the thrill of the kill or revenge over family. That's void for ya. Once it latches on to the emotions you fight till either you die or win."

“But...couldn’t I have used my powers to...have them calm the fuck down?” I asked honestly. “I don’t fully know everything I can do yet but...I just want to help…”

“Only way to know is to train. I don't know anyone personally who could help but maybe someone else does.”

“Do you know anyone?” I asked curiously. “And who would they be?’

"Personally no, but there is someone I have heard of."

“Anything would be good.” I said honestly.

"He goes by Altris, or so I heard. Some rumors about him have floated about throughout the years. Nothing I can confirm."

I pulled out my Assistant and checked the name just to make sure if anything came up. Thousands came up. Need something more specific. “Anything more specific you can tell me about him?”

"That's all I know sadly. Maybe one of the others might know something."

“Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind.” I nodded. “Thank you Shinsu.”

"Think nothing of it… there is, however, something I think you might want to look for."

“And that would be?” I asked curiously. “There are a lot of things I need to keep in mind.”

"A library."

“And what library would that be?” I asked honestly.

"Back before the war, the Admin of Knowledge was not like the rest of us. They enjoyed learning about what we all were making. Before the war began they finally built something. A library containing every once of knowledge not just from us, but from all the realms that existed at the time. With all that knowledge I know for a fact they are still alive, and that Library is still around, where though is the question."

“What is this Admin’s name?” I asked curiously.

"She never made one for herself, but we always called her Books."

I saved the name Altris on my Assistant for later as I typed in ‘Books, Admin of Knowledge’ and hoped for the best. Nothing. Can't be that easy. “Cause of course…” I muttered. “Someone else will know I’m pretty sure…”

"Maybe."

“Hey Dinky.” I said while knocking on her door. “You wanted to see me?”

"Come in Dad...mom… parent?" She said confused. Like Jenny Dinky grew up in those pocket dimension universes. She was now twenty five, had her mother's figure, and my tail. While her coat was dire wolf thick it kept her Normal coat colors. Though she did have fangs now. Opening the door I saw she was at her desk, looking through some books from my library, the one the old king left me.

“Either or is fine.” I said with a little smile. “How are you doing Dinky?”

"Good, wanted to tell you about some stuff I found." She said, waving me over next to her. Once I was she started talking again. "I was going through Volume 742 of the old Kings journey and found something cool."

“Oh? What has my smart little girl found?” I asked curiously.

She gave a smile at hearing me call her smart. "Here on page 751, 'As I place to rest a fallen Comrade yet again, before their grave upon the final shovel of earth, appeared their memory in physical illusions. An Absent Silhouette of my Bard.'."

“Oh? That’s interesting.” I said honestly. “Where would the silhouette be?”

"The book says his bard fell at the Battle of Shellsho. A bit of research shows Shellsho is a world from Cript's realm, long since deviated by war and five years ago re terraformed into a habitable planet again."

“Well...how about we go there?” I asked honestly. “Spend some good ol father and daughter time on another world ya know?”

"Sure! I kinda… already bought it anyways…" She said shyly.

I smiled warmly as I gently headpat my daughter. “But...why did you...most likely buy the planet?”

"Freak Inc. terraforms planets all the time, no sentient life so the entire planet is sold as single property, they can even make you a custom planet. Planets terraformed after their prior owners have… died off don't sell well so they go dirt cheap. Only costed 20,000 rem."

“Jeez…” I sighed out. “Who knew people can just buy and sell planets.”

"Makes sense though. Growing populations and cross reflection travel means land for farming, housing and business placement has to be made or found somewhere, lifeless planets remade into life sustainable ones are the best options. Most gas planets are just harvested for certain resources. They say their Scientists are working on something to make all resources infinite. Oh man, when Zeke's Dinky told me this stuff I was skeptical as hell but this is just plain cool."

“Sounds like you and her have a lot in common.” I said honestly.

"We should, we are the same person." Dinky said with a laugh. "Come on, I already got a teleport location too it after my perchance was authorized." She said, bringing up her own assistant.

“Alright.” I nodded. “Let’s get going to meet the old Bard.”

The portal opened and we entered. The planet was… like a Forest. Tall trees were everywhere, grass and Moss covered the ground like carpet and the air was so… pure. So fresh. I could hear some prey animals around, deer, bear, goat, some others I have no idea what they are but they smell tasty… trying hard not to chase…

“Curse you dire wolf instincts…” I whined. “So much prey...want to chase…” I groaned, my tail wagging of its own accord to show I wanted to.

Dinky laughed. "Come on, according to the book the bard was buried in a cave near the battle she fell, and the battlefield should be Ten miles west of here."

“Alright.” I nodded. “How do you want to get there? Glider, teleport, or just running?” I asked while shifting into my feral form. “Cause even if I’ll get sidetracked by prey...running is always nice.”

"A simple hike." She said, checking for West and began walking. "Gives us time to sight see and talk."

“Works for me.” I said while following along, enjoying the nice fresh air.

"So, female and male. Have to say, surprised you did that."

“You get used to it.” I said honestly. “Not to mention...well...it’s helped me quite a bit, even though I have to make sure of like...a hundred other things just from my body alone which is annoying sometimes.” I sighed out. “Seriously, need to take three times as long in the shower just so I could look like an even bigger fluff ball than I already am.”

Dinky chuckled. "Hows feral form feel? I always wondered."

“Wonderful.” I said. “Strong and agile, free and fierce.” I said with a warm smile. “You should give it a try sometimes.”

"Heh… I wish." She said, rubbing her arm. "Tried a lot in the pocket time place. Doctors said my Equine DNA is still dominant, I can't shift into a feral form."

“Well...I can...maybe give you the ability to shift into a Feral Form.” I said honestly. “I am an Admin after all...but only if you want it.”

"I accepted it a long time ago. In fact I'm happy we got this time to spend together since I'll be leaving soon…"

“What do you mean?” I asked worriedly.

"I had it checked a lot. Even at your level, I wouldn't be very powerful at all. In short I'm smarter than I am strong, so I submitted an application to an Internship at Freak Inc.'s sciences department. I got accepted, room and board all paid in full and all that fancy stuff. I'll be gone for two years."

I swapped out of my feral form and grabbed Dinky in a big hug. “Oh I’m so proud of you!” I said happily, so happy to hear Dinky got into her dream job. “I’m so proud of you Dinky.”

"Heh, it's just an internship. I won't have a solid job until they evaluate my performance and strengths during the internship. Freak inc.'s many mottos. There is a job for everyone and anyone."

“Well I’m still super proud of you my pup.” I said happily while nuzzling Dinky happily.

"Thanks dad." She said, hugging me back.

“But...I will miss you in those two years…” I said honestly.

"Same. I'll send Emails and such when I can."

“Thank you.” I said gently before putting her down and shifting back into my feral form. “Wanna...ride on my back? For maybe the first time ever if I didn’t do that already?” I asked, knowing I helped tend to Dinky growing up because of clones and pocket dimensions but sometimes it’s a pain to remember everything.

"Nah, i'm good walking." She said, walking along as I followed. "I'll be leaving Next month. Everyone has said their good luck and such. Joy is obviously upset but understanding."

“Why was Joy upset?” I asked curiously. “Just curious.”

"I entered his harem late, we've mostly been dating and haven't done much from there so between that and the fact he/she is now pregnant their emotions are everywhere."

“Yeah, I can understand that.” I said honestly. “But...well knowing Joy he’s probably gonna try something during the month before you leave.”

"Maybe. Other than that I've just been researching some stuff from.the old Kings library."

“What else have you found if I may ask? Cause I’ve also been trying to go through it all...until Cript told me ‘no more mass amounts of clones’.”

"To be fair that was… getting creepy seeing you around every corner."

“I’m sorry for being paranoid and trying to keep up with all the things I had to do.” I said honestly.

"Heh. Well I found a few things. Some unique items to synthesis, special variations of health items."

“That’s good.” I nodded. “Gonna need those sooner or later.”

"I also found a page that was encoded. The key for it was Nothingness, only for half, the other half was Nobody. Guess what it was?”

“What?” I asked curiously. “I wouldn’t know, so please tell.”

"The recipe for making Lindworm."

“Does one of the ingredients involve a literal Wind Dragon’s soul?” I asked curiously.

"That's one of three main ones. Wind Dragon Soul, a bottle of life's final breath, and Acritem."

“Oh? What would the Acritem be?” I asked curiously.

"A very rare metal, it's actually lighter than air itself and the largest amount ever found was roughly two feet in diameter."

“Well then.” I said. “That’s surprising.” I said honestly. “And...finding a bottle of life’s final breath would probably be a pain in the ass to get.”

"I looked it up, and it's...pretty dark. You have to kill someone, then with magic catch their last breath as it leaves them and place it in an enchanted bottle."

“Yeah, that makes sense.” I said honestly. “Wouldn’t be ‘life’s final breath’ if you didn’t actually steal it from someone.”

"Yeah. There were other pages but I haven't had the time to decode them."

“Thank you for telling me this Dinky.” I said honestly. “Just...been so backlogged on crap I need to do...it’s hard to find time for family...especially when…” I trailed off sadly, Dinky knowing I was talking about Nancy, Nyx and Eclipsa Jr who were kidnapped.

"You'll find them Dad. Jenny told me all about her mom, Nancy, and she's sure she will be fine. Baby or not."

“I’m still scared…” I sighed out. “We...we just got close enough for Nancy to...to treat me like her father...or mother, whichever one comes first honestly.” I shrugged.

"Which ever she sees you as really." Dinky said, the hike going pretty well. We came across a large river in the way. I took a look at the fish inside… they were as large as Dinky… "Hard to believe these animals all were made by a mixture of magic and science." She said, kneeling near the water. "A once lifeless world Is now so full of life it's hard to imagine this place was once barren."

“It happens.” I said honestly. “If there’s one thing I know...is that Life finds a way. Want me to get some fish before we get to the Silhouette?” I asked curiously.

"Sure. Fish this fresh has to be good. You catch one or two and I'll start a fire."

“Alright.” I nodded while gently moving into the river, feeling the water rush past my powerful legs as I took a deep breath and waited. Waiting during fishing was a really good thing Mom taught me as I caught at least three big fish that strayed too close to me and they were now on land. “Got three big ones.”

"Fire is almost set up." She said, tossing some broken branches and sticks into a pit she dug with some fair sized rocks around it. She then summoned her Keyblade. "Fire." She cast, the spell igniting the wood. "Alright, bring them over, I got a few kitchen stuff in my Assistant."

I nodded while going back to my anthro form and picking up the three fish and bringing them over to the fire pit. “Alright, now do you want to cook these things whole or do you want to gut them first?” I asked, having honestly gotten used to eating certain foods from a successful hunt.

"Gut them." She said, making a few taps on her assistant as a large table with some knives, a scaler and other useful kitchen tools appeared before her. "I'm still more Pony than Dire Wolf, can't handle raw meat that well either."

“Alright.” I nodded while taking the items and starting to properly gut and descale the fish, preparing them for the fire with professional skill.

Once that was all done Dinky seasoned them a bit and set up an overhang rack to place a skillet on, some fish was cooking over the fire directly, others she was cooking on the skillet. It all smelled amazing.

“Aw, nothing like a nice fire cooked meal with family.” I said happily.

"I know. It reminds me of the camping trip mom took Me on a year before you showed up." Dinky said. "Grandma and Grandpa were there too, so it was great."

“How are your grandparents doing? I hope they’re okay.”

"Busy as always but they have good health. Owning and managing the whole of the weather factory keeps them active and young."

“Oh really? They own the weather factory?” I asked curiously.

"Yeah. Mom is supposed to inherit it when they retire, but now that she is married to you she can say that her inheriting it means it's the crowns, and can pawn off that pile of work and mess onto someone else."

“Couldn’t you have just done that before given that Derpy still wins like...one lottery every other week?” I asked honestly.

"She's equestria's luckiest mare alive."

“And apparently I’m the luckiest Dire Wolf to have managed to date her.” I said honestly.

"Given her luck that was bound to happen regardless." Dinky chuckled. "Once she took us out to eat, and she forgot her purse. When the bill came out of nowhere a sack of sixty bits came flying in out of nowhere. More than enough for the bill, and no one claimed it as theirs. Mom still has that pouch."

I blinked. “Okay that’s...a lot less ‘luck’ and more ‘terribly convenient’ when you actually think about it…” I said nervously.

"Eh, stuff like that always happens around mom. In fact the only bad thing to ever happen to her was… my birth dad." Dinky said sadly, taking a bite of fish.

“That’s...gotta be a troubled story.” I said nervously. “Want...to talk about it?”

"I don't remember much about him, and mom doesn't want to talk about him. Grandma and Grandpa told me he was an abusive bastard, married mom for her money. When I was barely one, he got real angry at mom and slammed her face into and through the wall. It's how she got her eye the way it is, doctors said the impact broke some mussels and a few nerves needed to keep it in place properly. No surgery can fix that. Two months after that, he died from a heart attack. Mom and I were the only ones at the funeral."

“The bastard deserved worse for hurting Derpy.” I frowned. “She’s amazing, funny, happy and beautiful, fucker should have been lucky to even be with her to begin with.” I growled.

"Yeah. Don't even remember his name. Don't care too. None of his family seems to have even tried to contact us, so either they are just as bad as he was or they just don't want to bring up old wounds."

“I understand.” I nodded gently. “But…” I sighed out. “I was going to say ‘am I good enough?’ for you and Derpy...given all the crap you’ve been through.”

"Trust me dad, you are a stars sent gift for mom and I, even with your quirks and flaws, you care. More than what I can say for that jackass."

“Thank you.” I said while eating my fish. “I just...you know, want to make sure the family I have...is happy and healthy.”

"I'm happy, very healthy, and off to one of if not the most scientific Haven's in the realms. Life is good."

“That’s good.” I said with a warm smile, glad to know I’m doing good for my family. “Everything...everything is still going okay…”

We finished our meals, put the leftovers away in Dinky's Assistant and put the fire out with dirt and water for safe measure. Once that was done we headed off. We talked about stuff and just had fun. I rarely get this kind of one on one time with my kids. After a while we arrived at the prior battlefield… it was… hard to describe. It was covered in life and beauty, but it covered in rusted and bloodstained weapons and armor, vehicles of war now Moss covered bird perches and skeletons with roots and vines wrapped around them held them together and in place. "This is both amazing and disturbing." Dinky said.

“As I said...Life finds a way.” I said honestly. “So...where would the Silhouette be?”

"According to the book a cave nearby." She said, stepping over the long dead skeletons. "Should be close by."

I nodded and continued forward. “Jeez...not one proper burial for any of them?” I asked sadly.

"No one to bury them." Dinky said. "According to the book this was the last bunch of them on the entire planet, the rest were all dead from an outbreak. They were fighting over the very scarce resources at the time. According to Freak Inc. records, the virus died off a long time ago, they even scrubbed the surface and air before terraforming it."

“Thank god.” I sighed out thankfully. “Better the disease stay dead forever then appear again and cause problems.”

"Yeah." Dinky said, seeing inside of one of the vehicles was boxes of ammunition. "Wonder if any of this stuff is still usable?" She asked aloud.

“Depends on how long they’ve been here and if any of it hasn’t been destroyed by age.” I said honestly.

Some walking later we finally came across a cave. Entering we found in the back most of it a single… body? A fairy, dressed in silver robes. She was pretty, and had a large hole in their chest. The absent Silhouette floated above them. "The old Kings bard… was a fairy? Their bodies are so magically infused they never decay or age even after death."

“I mean...that sounds about right.” I said honestly. “Not just her not decaying but...the bard being a fairy to be honest.”

"So… should we bury her Properly? Leaving her like that isn't right."

“We should bury her properly...but there’s also a ‘how do we properly bury a Council Member’...cause I’m pretty sure there’s some special process to it…” I said, not wanting to accidentally do something wrong to the fallen.

"Didn't find anything about that in my readings." Dinky said. "We bury here proper now, and if we find out their is a special process, we come back and do it right."

“I mean...we can just go in and ask her.” I said honestly. “Cause...even if she’s an Absent Silhouette...this one feels different.” I said while staring at the orb that held the Bard’s weapon but with fairy wings behind it. “Like...her mind is still there, waiting for the right person to set it free…”

"One way to find out. I'll be here Dad." She said, stepping aside to give me more room if needed.

I stepped closer to the Silhouette. “Alright you...let’s see if it’s a fight or not.” I muttered while touching the orb to see what’ll happen.

In a flash I was atop The battlefield of a marble looking pillar, the Nobody symbol on the ground. Floating some feet before was the absent Silhouette, that then shifted into the fairy we saw, they pulled out the sitar, it was smaller for them than it was for me.

“Okay, so before we start this fight.” I started. “Who are you?” I asked, my authority as the new King resonating out to see if the fairy still had some of her mind if any at all.

She placed the sitar aside, taking a bow. "I am Elenanor. Fairy Queen of Hithrowtha."

“It is a pleasure to meet you Queen Elenanor.” I said with my own bow of respect to the queen. “My name is Ben, and I’m the current King of Nothingness.”

"Current? So… King Edward is no more?"

“That’s his name?” I asked honestly. “The old man never actually told me it. But he’s been put to rest for...god maybe a few months to maybe a year? Time has been...really weird for me considering all that’s...been happening.” I said sheepishly.

"I see. Has thou found a new holder for Arpeggio?"

“Yes, I have found new holders of all the Weapons.” I said honestly. “The current holder of Arpeggio is a humble Skeleton named Brook.” I said while waving my hand as an image of the happy Skeleton from One Piece played the violin version of Arpeggio with joy.

"Ah, Arpeggio likes them, to shift their form so tells just as much"

“Oh really?” I asked curiously. “I just kinda...let the weapons find their wielders...is that different from how it was before?”

"Before the king chose us. He gave us the weapons."

“Okay then.” I said honestly. “Makes sense I suppose.” I said honestly. “So, a question I wanted to ask was...is there any special burial rights I give to Council Members? Cause...I couldn’t really give them to the previous King, General and Archer cause...well one snapped his neck, one shot himself in the head and...the King forced me to kill him…” I said worriedly.

"Into Nothing we enter and Nothing we are in life and Death, we exist against laws and so our bodies be cast aside as the winds choose." She said. "Our oath for death, we do not care what happens to our corpses, be them buried with respect or tossed aside like something less than garbage. We don't care where we rest eternally."

“Okay so proper burial it is because I respect the dead.” I said honestly.

"If that is what you wish. Your command is our preference." She said with a bow.

“So...what’s been keeping your Silhouette up?” I asked curiously.

"A promise."

“Oh?” I asked curiously. “What would that promise be if I may ask?”

"To fight. To defeat my silhouette is to release my soul from the living lands. But, like us all I swore an oath to the king. Here." She said, tossing me what looked like a stone version of her Silhouette. "Summon me for battle, so long as my Silhouette here is not touched or I am victorious in battle, I shall be at your side, as I was for Sir Edward."

I grabbed the stone and nodded. “Thank you. But...mind if I ask...about the other council members? Like...who they were or something? Cause I barely got to learn anything about them, even with the records.”

She smiled. "We were each of different Races, different worlds. But we all.had a reason for being where we were. That reason was King Edward. He had this… confidence about him, it was infectious. It was that infectious confidence that drew us to him in the first place."

“Well I couldn’t see that cause he was tired and old.” I said honestly. “But anything else? Who were your fellow council members?”

"That, I am afraid, is information you yourself must search for. But I can tell you this, their names are forever etched into their weapons." She said, in beautiful calligraphy appeared her name across Arpeggio's spine.

“Cool.” I said honestly. “Wonder what the other’s names are…”

"Now… how are you going to… get out of here?" She asked. "Normally you have to either win or lose against me to leave an Absent Silhouette, so…"

“You can just allow me to leave you know.” I said honestly. “This is your world, or I could just leave.” I said before opening a portal out of here.

"That works." She said.

“Alright.” I nodded. “It was nice meeting you Queen Elenanor.”

"Same, new king." She said with a bow.

I left the Absent Silhouette, appearing back in the cave where Dinky was waiting.

“So, how was it?” She asked.

“Went well.” I said honestly. ‘She’s nice, an old Queen of the Fairies and...well we can give her a proper burial.” I said honestly. “Plus she told me something interesting about learning the old council member’s names and who they were.”

“Really?”

“Yep.” I said while summoning Lunaitc and focusing on it. “Show me your old wielder’s name.” I said to the Claymore, hoping it’ll work.

The names of both my current General and the former lined the spine, both taken equal space and were written elegantly in calligraphy. “Cool, it works.” I said with a smile as I checked to see who used Lunatic before Luxu.

The name Charalse, appeared along the grip, as well as Luxu, only there names were not as Elegant as on Arpeggio, no this was deep bold wording, imprints that screamed of anger.

“I mean...you are furious...but I know you hold more emotions than that.” I muttered gently. “So...Charalse…” I muttered while using my Assistant in hopes of learning something about him before going more in depth with it.

Many names came up. Huh…

“Okay seriously, the actual hell.” I frowned. “How many people have this very exclusive name?”

“A big multiverse/realms?” Dinky offered.

“Maybe if I get a little more specific…” I muttered while typing in ‘General of Nothingness’, hoping that’ll work and to at least have a start as to where I should start looking if I want to do my research on these people.

Only one file came up… a wanted poster? Charase, General of Nothing, wanted for… Regicide? Reward, 7.9 trillion Rem. This wanted poster is dated over two thousand years ago… in Cript’s realm… who were you…?

“I...have several concerns.” I said worriedly. “But...good thing I have a clone in Cript’s realm...at least there I’ll ask what the hell is up with Charase...cause this does not sound right…” I said worriedly, wondering how either the old man or Charase got to this realm without any problems.

The me in Cript’s realm was researching in the lab he let me use. These two scientists he offered were...twins, kids, only fifteen maybe? But holy shit are they smart.

“Okay so question.” I said while doing more calculations on the Pure Crystal’s. “Do either of you know about Charase?”

“Charase? GIven who you are I assume you mean the former General of Nothingness?” The male twin, Kile, said.

“Charase was a war criminal over two thousand years ago, loyal only to his king, your predecessor, and personally dealt with kings who could rival him, his total death count was rumoured to be around six thousand rival kings killed, all brutally, no resurrection possible.” The female twin, Gala, said.

“Then why did he let me live?” I asked curiously. “What, is it because I was the actual successor or something?”

“Correct.” Both said in unison.

“We theorized that given the king himself chose you, Charase allowed you to live.” The male said.

“Alrighty then.” I nodded. “But...who was he besides...well a crazy person basically?”

“Unknown.” Both said in unison again.

“Little is known about the king and his original council and even less on the kind of people they are, we have been able to collect together a formation of possible races they were.” Gala said.

“Oh? Mind if I know what those races are?” I asked curiously. “And I can give names if that’ll help.”

“According to rumors, old sightings and texts, His Knight, we suspect was a Etheriu. His Paladin, a Drake hybrid, his Archer, a human, the Defender, a Goblin, his gate guardian, a Giant, The Mage, a Technomite, the bard, a fairy, the Highroller, a Dynamo-Sapient, The Death Seeker, a Fox-man, The Assassin, a Wood elf, and the Key, unknown.” Kile said.

“That is rather interesting.” I said with some thought. “Wonder what I’ll find just with their names…” I muttered, thinking about that while doing quick math to try and get the Pure Crystal formula right. “So...question, given how smart you two are have you...noticed anything wrong going on? I have a feeling you know about the Cycles right?”

“You refer to which cycle?” Gala asked. “Water, planetary, energy?”

“Just...something completely different. But onto a better question, how is all this research coming along? I hope it’s coming along well cause...honestly this is a bit of a nightmare for me…” I sighed out, not used to all this research, testing and a bunch of other crap that was mostly just words and not actual physical practice.

“For a beginner, it’s acceptable.” Kile said.

“That’s good.” I nodded. “Better to have an acceptable start than a bad one.”

"It's Also pretty clear that about sixty percent of the equations required for this research are new to you, you are having to learn them as well as the research you are currently conducting, overworking yourself.”

“Well then I wouldn’t be working if I wasn’t ‘over’working.” I chuckled.

"Let him work brother, we still have the engine project to complete." Gala said.

"Yes, of course sister." Like replied.

“Engine project?” I asked curiously.

"It's none of your concern." Gala said, she and Like leaving this lab.

“And now...I’m pretty sure I’m going to be doing this by myself...yay…” I grumbled, trying to stay busy so I can just...do some good for others.

As I was going over notes my mind wandered, wondering what else was going on in this building? It's an entire building devoted to science and stuff… wonder if this is where Dinky will be interning?

“I hope Dinky will be good here…” I muttered while putting down all my notes and getting up. “I...might as well stretch and look around...overworking won’t really help me here…”

Getting up and cracking some joints I looked around here. There was a lot of equipment here, and I only have a vague idea of what some of them do. Looking around some I did find something neat looking. It was a terminal, but the keyboard and screen were coming out of this glass looking ball on a stand.

“Well...I really shouldn’t touch stuff I don’t know about…” I muttered while checking my assistant to see what it was, just in case.

Mark 12 Glass Maga Computer.

Unlike the prior models this model can in fact perfectly simulate and emulate digital universes. This model is also used by Freak Inc mass farming companies.

“Well then, that’s rather interesting.” I muttered.

Slowly moving over I checked it out. There was a lot of files here, and a program running. 'Resource Mine 437.'

“Oh?” I muttered curiously, wondering what was going on in Resource Mine 437.

I opened it up, and saw a small antenna appeared out of the glass ball, suddenly like Jumanji I was getting sucked in… shit...

“Damn it…” I muttered, not really knowing what’ll happen here.

Once my body was sucked in everything looked… like a rainbow hurricane for a moment before I was suddenly… standing on a platform, another terminal here with what looked like the way out was ready. Looking around I was… in a mine… a massive mine going far. Taking a sniff I smell… copper, gold, silver, lead, diamonds… and other ground dug things I never smelled or could identify.

“Well...that’s a lot of materials…” I said honestly. “I wonder if anyone else is here?”

As I was walking around I heard something… is that… a train? Rushing towards It I saw a bullet train rush up to a small stop, the doors opening as people walked out, all kinds of races and all dirty. "Man I found the biggest deposit today, you're crazy." One guy that looked like he was a small giant said.

"I dunno, I'd say I found the biggest." Another, elf looking guy said.

”Well then...this is rather interesting.” I thought to myself. ”Not...fully sure if I should be here now…” I thought to myself nervously.

"Hey, new girl!" Someone yelled at me. Turning around I saw… what looked like a yellow Ultron throw a yellow hat with a light on it, some overalls, boots and a really cool looking pickaxe at me. "Get suited up and off to section 39, just got word of another gold deposit, estimated five clicks large!"

“That is a lot of gold.” I said while grabbed the pickaxe and putting on the mining gear, might as well play along with this for the moment.

I found where section...39 was after a fast train ride and some walking. It was a small hole in this large mine where only five others were at currently. They had pickaxes like mine too, and each swing against. The ore caused a flash of magic, and where they hit a solid brick of gold fell. Enchanted pickaxes… sweet!

“This is gonna be interesting.” I muttered as I noted all the experienced miners actions and proceeded to do that, thinking the technique and strength put into it wouldn’t cause a cave in.

As I began swinging and gathering bars of gold I wondered… picking one up I discreetly used some code to scan it. Once that was done I used my code again, and formed a gold bar… from code… I… did it.

“I...actually did a thing…” I muttered in pure joy.

"New girl!" One of the miners yelled at me. "Get back to swinging, we got a quota to make."

“Yes sir.” I said with pure joy, the miner seeing that I just dropped the pretense of holding back and just moved fast and hit hard in my own blissful high of actually doing something right.

I don't know when but at some point the lights went out. "Holy hell, check out the new girl!" Someone else yelled from… far away? Turning on my lamp I saw I was in a small self made tunnel within the gold deposit, gold bars littered the floor and I didn't even notice it until now.

I blinked. “Uh...sorry, I think I lost myself for a moment.” I said sheepishly.

"Don't sweat it, you just made the whole sections quota for the next two days." A female miner said. "Alright off to lunch!" She yelled as everyone dropped their tools and headed off to the train station.

“Lunch already? I’ve barely started.” I said honestly.

"Kid you were mining non stop into that little tunnel of yours for three hours." An old minor said. "Wish back in my youth I had vigor like that."

“Three hours? What am I slacking?” I joked with a happy smile.

As everyone else walked to the station I stayed behind, seeing the gold I made… and made more… maybe too much…. Wonder how else I can abuse the hell out of this… can I do this outside of this place?

“Hmm...I wonder if I actually could…” I muttered. “I mean...Admin’s are supposed to be able to do this outside of this…” I then had a thought… admins… deletes… code… is out there… just another computer, but on a massive fuck off scale? “And why would people let me just abuse this to hell?” I muttered to myself.

As I began pondering this I figured I should test this outside this computer… this computer… Once out I managed to perfectly make another gold bar. Good, so I can still do this… now, what else to test. And how is this so much easier than before?

“I am a bit confused…” I muttered, wondering why this was so easy all of a sudden. “Hmm...I wonder…” I hummed as I tried to visualize another bar of metal, this time iron since it was a normal simple metal.

A bar appeared and it looked like iron… but it was iron colored gold, I could sense that in it's code… wait, I scanned that gold with code before copying it… could I have used Copy Cat with code?

“Wait…” I summoned Skysplitter, this weapon being the most unknown weapon to me...and then I scanned it with Code as I tried to figure out what it was made out of and if I could replicate it.

Once what it was made of came through, I got sick, actually throwing up as I backed away from it… souls. Melted down souls.

“The fuck Skysplitter…” I coughed. “No wonder why your Earth based but your name is ‘Skysplitter’...” I muttered.

I'll look into this more… the old king said he found this… so who made you… and why, why use souls?

“You know what?” I muttered before closing my eyes and focusing hard, trying to ‘feel’ Skysplitter and try to see if any of the souls that made this thing were either sentient, ‘alive’, or if they’re screaming in eternal pain with no mind of their own. “Come on...I know you can hear me…”

I could feel… three, three souls here. All were very powerful. "Who are you?" a deep, female voice spoke.

“My name’s Ben, and I’m your wielder.” I said to the trio. “And...who are you three?”

"I am Sandra of the giants of Mega."

“Giants of Mega?” I asked curiously. “I’ve...never heard of them.”

"I am not surprised. It's funny how such a small hard to find world holds the most powerful variation of Giants in the realms.

“So...you and two others are Skysplitter? Why?” I asked nervously. “And...where is Mega if that’s the name of the world?”

"The other two are… were, Gunther and my children, barely a year the two. Gunther was the one I loved, married, and forged my and our children's souls into this form so we could continue to be with him while he served his king."

“Oh jeez…” I muttered sadly. “I...I didn’t know...but...when was the last time and place you last ‘connected’ with him?” I asked gently, not sure how much she knows.

"If you mean do I know if he has passed, yes. Little over a thousand years ago actually."

“Would have liked to have known him but...well I got here a thousand years too late apparently.” I said honestly. “But...mind if I ask where your home world is?” I asked politely. “Just to...understand your people and...figure out how this was even possible.”

"Summon me to the copy of you out and about searching, it will be a detour but I will lead you there.

“Thank you.” I nodded while disbanding Skysplitter from this body as the one that’s out and about searching, and having been successful on a lot of things thankfully, summoned Skysplitter to get directions.

Summoning Skysplitter was easy, having it suddenly tug me at rocket speeds off to wherever was… like a weird roller coaster. Eventually we hit dirt, ouch… but did not make a massive crater. “Jeez lady, did you need to try and pull my arm off?” I asked while getting up and dusting myself off as I looked around to see where we were.

… Holy shit… these buildings are MASSIVE! Just one is the size of my castle!! "Welcome to Mega, home to the biggest and strongest variation of Giants in all the realms."

“Good lord one building’s the size of my castle…” I muttered. “Good lord...where to start…”

"For starters my house. It's just a few houses down from here."

“Right…” I said while flying up and moving around, looking for the ladies house. “So...world of Giants...how tall can you get?”

"I am a fully grown giant, an easy two and a half mile’s up.”

“That...is a lot of woman I can just imagine…” I blinked in surprise as I flew off towards her house. “So...how long have you been...watching me and...Vergil now?” I asked, remembering DMC Vergil had Skysplitter, but when I played Devil May Cry 5 I was...horribly disappointed with the Vergil I got.

“SinceI appeared to you and then him… I picked him because he...reminds me of Gunther. Not their personality...they look so much alike…”

“Alrighty then.” I said honestly. “So...given that this might happen due to trends and me just being me...how does Mega Giant’s actually...date and stuff?” I asked sheepishly, the giantess fully knowing about my weird chick magnet powers.

”Nice try, but we are immune to the cherub angels, we pick our own mates, for life. Gunther might be dead but even after their death, we love no one else.”

“I mean...I wasn’t pointing it at you though.” I brought up. “I was just curious cause of literally any other lady that I might come across. But thank you for telling me about that.” I said honestly.

We came aross her house and inside… holy fuck… stone…. Statues? ”These are our bodies, when we die, or in our case, take out our souls, they return to the ground we come from. In my case though I can return myself and our children to our bodies easily. They Will return to flesh and blood. This is why I was happy you decided to come here, I wish to ask you a favor.”

“Will Skysplitter lose all it’s powers if you three leave?” I asked honestly. “And what would the favor be?”

“If I leave, yes, if my kids do, no.”

“So...what? Want me to go over and try to put your kids back?” I asked honestly.

”I can place them back from here, then you take care of them. A little over a thousand years they should be almost fully grown by now and their bodies and souls have remains that of younglings since I took us all in here. Their bodies are in the basket, on the table.”

“Oh I can do that.” I said honestly. “I can totally take care of...children….” I trailed off, before taking a deep breath. “So what are the kids names?” I asked, remembering that I’m trying to keep myself busy so I don’t break down.

”Grain, and Brut.”

“Thank you.” I nodded. “But...I’ll make sure to take care of the kids…” I told her, now just wanting to...probably get drunk at one of this world’s bars and still probably end up with a new wife cause that’s what happened the last time I was drunk.

”Thank you, now, atop the table, I need to be close to them to do this.”

I nodded while flying up to the table near where the two kids were. “Alright...work your magic ma’am.”

Skysplitter glowed, two… me sized orbs left the weapon and floated over into the basket, so ...crying filled the air, my motherly instincts rushing over to them… they were big, easily the size of a large Rv… but they were...perfect.

“It’s alright, it’s alright.” I said gently to the two perfect little babies. “Mommy’s here.” I said, which was technically true as I tried to calm them down so they weren’t crying.

Once they were calmed down I managed to send them with the other infants… that was going to be a challenge but they deserve a life.

“Okay lady...where’s the nearest bar with the best booze around?” I asked honestly.

”The other side of town.” She said.

“Thank you.” I said before leaving the place and heading to the bar. “By the by...how the hell was Skysplitter even made? I know it would take the soul of a giant but...besides that I have no clue how it was made.”

”We Unlike most other giants can create special metals by infusing pressure from our hands and magic from our bodies into soil, this metal I forged this Tomahawk out of is known as Skyfelium, metal capable that, when wielded by a powerful giant can tear apart the sky, and shatter suns. Hence the name, Skysplitter. The metal acts as a funnel and an amplifier for our own magic, but by placing my own soul into it, it doubled the power Gunther could use, the reason I was shattered when you used me against that void woman is because without a giant, I only have the strength of one giant, myself, and whatever you were placing into it at the time.”

“I mean...that can also explain why you can just...make a new planet given the right strength…” I muttered. “But right now, considering I’m an Admin, does that mean the limits are off or something?” I asked curiously. “Or do I need to be a Giant?”

”Sadly that knowledge is beyond me, my race never knew about Admins, nor does it now, the only reason I know is because of you. Though I Suppose using such power as my races and infusing it into your own might not be that hard with proper training. I have been wanting to ask though, what are your plans for this war?”

“Oh you know, making sure it doesn’t get out of control, win, and hopefully deal with any fucking stragglers that might try and restart hings.” I said honestly. “Or I could bore you for literal months talking about everything I can think of about this war.”

”Prefer if you did not. We are a race of doers, not thinkers, even if it's an impossible battle, we fight with all we have. Doesn't matter the opponent.”

“Fine fine.” I said honestly. “Doesn’t mean I’m not a thinker...which I’ve been doing for ages and a half.” I sighed out. “How good is the booze here? And how much crap do the barkeeps take before throwing people out?” I asked honestly.

”I was never much of a drinker, but Gunther seemed to enjoy a brand known as The Singing Fairy Ale. And there is no need to worry about money, we do not have currency here.”

“Okay, given that when I’m drunk I would damn near have no inhibitions...how far does one have to go to get kicked out?”

”Oh Gunther and even myself lived for when someone gets drunk enough to start a fight, nothing called for a party like a good old fashioned bar fight, gets out all your stress and worries and gives you and others a lovely story to tell and reflect on.”

“And what would happen if it just devolved into me sobbing like a bitch in front of everyone?” I asked honestly. “After the fight I mean…”

”We are a very community based race, if one of our own, or even a visitor is harmed or sad, we all gather around to give advice and listen. How so may races just keep to themselves and don’t help out the hurt was never imaginable to me until I placed myself in this weapon and traveled with Gunther.”

“I don’t know...that’s a whole lot of talking and philosophy that I don’t want to deal with at the moment.” I sighed out. “Right now, I’d rather just get drunk, probably start a bar fight, cry a fuck ton...and knowing from past experiences, even if my Cherub powers don’t work I’m proabably gonna get a Mega Giant girlfriend knowing my luck.” I said honestly.

While the other me was getting Drunk on Mega, I was helping Dinky finish burying the old Bard. Weather sealed off the cave for good measure. “So, wanna sight see?” She asked. “There were a lot of recommended places to see when I bought the place.”

“Yes please.” I said with a smile. “I’d like to do some sight seeing, where would you like to go first?”

“Well when going through the recommended sights list there was this one place I saw was called The Crying River. It’s a river that flows UP a mountain! How cool is that!”

"That is rather cool." I said honestly.

"It's on the other side of the world though… so… Keyblade gliders?" She asked, summoning her Keyblade.

“Sure.” I nodded while bringing out my Keyblade as well. “Let’s get going then.” I said while summoning my Glider, which was a bit bigger and way cooler than my old one.

We rode along high in the air, enjoying the view. "I was wondering what to do with this place. Whole reason I even bought it was because of that book."

“Well...you can either have people live here and it is a normal planet, keep it like it is and let Nature take its course, or you can use it as your own personal testing grounds for anything and everything you want to test if you can’t do it in Cript’s realm.” I said honestly.

"I dunno. I was thinking of using it like a warehouse of sorts for…"

“For what?” I asked curiously.

"Well, with this war coming up, it would be good to have a large stockpiled warehouse of resources. Food, medicine, weapons, all that stuff. Freak Inc. is already running drills and all that stuff."

“That would probably be for the best…” I sighed out. “I...still need to do a lot of things...too much to do, too little time…”

"Then let us help you. You think we like sitting around watching you about near kill yourself over your worries and failures, faults? I and the others are your kids and my mom and the others moms are your wives, this kingdom is as much our worry and responsibility as it is yours. You may hold the Kings crown but I am your daughter, and holds a Princesses crown, my brothers a Prince's crown, and our mothers a queens crown. Let us help you."

“I know…” I sighed out. “I’m just...scared is all…” I said, Dinky being smart enough to know, even after some time I...was still on the verge of breaking if I’m not keeping busy. “I know all of you want to help, and believe me I want help…” I struggled to find the words here.

She began descending. Confused I followed, the two of us now on a shore with a great view. Dinky took a seat and I sat next to her. "I don't remember much about my birth dad, but I remember his funeral. Remember being… happy, seeing him dead. Even at that age, I knew it wasn't normal, and for a long time, thought I was a bad person for being happy to see them dead… then, mom found out, and said she was too. She and I were feeling the same way, and we both thought we were terrible ponies for feeling that way about his death… we cried all night, old pent up emotions finally let out, and we felt better after words." Dinky said, turning to me with a small smile. "We can't become stronger if we don't break first dad. And I know you're struggling to stay together, so it's okay for you to break down, because you'll be stronger afterwards."

“I wish that was true for me…” I said, looking out into the distance as I sat down. “I...I need to stay strong...I need to be the hero everyone sees me...I can’t...I can’t let down everyone...not again…” I took a shuddering breath, trying to keep myself together.

"How do you expect to save and help everyone if you can't let us save you first? You got your Joy back, but you've forgotten that sometimes, sadness can be just as important. Can't let all your emotions die now can you?"

“All my emotions died once…” I muttered, clenching my fists as I tried to keep my tears down. “One clone is drinking heavily...just to try and drown the pain…” I muttered sadly, my shoulders shaking as Dinky could see...I was one more push.

"Drowning in booze doesn't really suppresses the emotions. I don't want to see you drowning in your suppressed emotions. I don't want to lose the only father I have."

“You’ll never lose me…” I muttered, my tears finally falling as the thought of losing all my children...everything I cared about because of my own actions...I just broke and cried. “I don’t....I can’t lose you...I can’t lose any of you...I already failed to protect my children...and I failed to save Coco...I...I can’t have another failure…”

Dinky patted my back, letting my tears and fear finally flow. "And WE will get them back, and fix Coco. It will take time and effort, on both parts. You have to let us help you, and we will."

“And I just got done clearing out like...a good third of all the bakeries back home…” I joked through my tears.

"Heh, you and Celestia both." Dinky laughed.

“Well...one of my clones has...well, my one clone has now turned my bedroom into a massive cuddle pile…” I sniffled, trying to salvage something of myself here as my tears kept going. “Sorry for...ruining our special day…”

"Oh this was planned. Two birds with one stone, found the old bard, and you got some emotional baggage taken off."

I chuckled a little. “Yeah...I should have seen that coming.” I sniffled. “But...all my emotional baggage isn’t gone...gonna be a while before all of it’s completely gone…”

"I did say some, not all. Now then, off to the Crying River." She said, getting up and helping me up.

I nodded and got up. “Alright...let’s get going to the actual river instead of me crying one.” I joked while getting back on my glider.