Between These Pages

For those few that decided to visit the area, it would be typically… on fire, much like the other seasons and days of the year. This furnace burned with a strange power, one that perhaps was beyond that of the mortal realm and more akin to the next dimension one would go to once they would finally bite the dust. However, other than that not many probably cared much about it, either they did not know about it or perhaps they had better things in life than caring about some kind of relic of the past.

Some other people however had a purpose with this place. Apparently. The man himself had now been involved with the furnace for an extended period of time, for unknown reasons to all except to himself. His journey to the Afterlife had been most interesting, but of course not much time passed until trouble found him once more and the Saiyan was given a challenge; one life for one challenge. If he wished to save said life, he had to complete this brutal task without fail, they would know for they watched him carefully.

And thus he did indeed take it on.

Even now Nervan and his friend would eventually come to sense him. It would be unknown why it took so long for them to realize someone was there, perhaps he had suddenly appeared out of existence or the being himself had awakened hearing their voices, nevertheless, from within the depths of the flames they would spot a dark silhouette, one that stayed still and did not move, no eyes to be seen or anything.

A man dressed in his legwear and armor, most of it had however melted or rusted, completely ruined by the flames and apparently his bust piece had given up early for he had just rid himself of it and sat cross legged in the middle of the flames, quiet and silent. Nasu had been inhaling and channeling the flames through his body for weeks now, for that was indeed the challenge given onto him, and the time was nearly over.

Thread Power Level: 110,000
WC: 351

Nothing.

When this challenge first began, Nasu struggled… of course he did, there was no way he could just so easily stay here that long at first, but eventually he also accepted the fact that he could not just go back and try again later. He had already stepped within the flames’ domain and now he could not leave, perhaps he should have thought this better. He could have probably figured out a reason to prepare himself for this before actually attempting his shot at it.

To begin with, the man had first found a little help request in the middle of the Afterlife. He assumed it was left perhaps for the Shinjin, but it was most curious as it spoke of a missing pet, for some reason said creature had last been spotted near a planet situated in the plane between Heaven and Hell, a mansion that hid away hideous and foul creatures, as far as he could tell from the piece of paper.

Nasu found this a little exciting, of course as an explorer and adventurer both his first instinct was to find this place, and that he did, only to be denied entry until he would manage to complete this challenge. Once he left himself to rest within the flames, needless to say, the man felt ill and unwell even, his top armor and cape had pretty much gone away, and if his chest and arms did not shield the rest of his body in his current lotus position, a lot more would likely be bare, but thankfully only the bust eventually melted away.

In the end, he had learned to… breathe. It was difficult to describe, but it was like he did not feel like he struggled for air, and rather eventually learned to breathe through the fire and flames, of course this was probably not healthy, and in a place such as this, inhaling these wisps could only have weird and strange effects.

Nasu looked relatively normal however. For the moment he dressed with only something strange, a stone wristband that looked ancient and fashionable in design with a curvy pattern. Nervan would likely notice it shattered a few moments later; a magic seal had been broken. Time was up.

He opened his eyes having perceived this event and now that he did, his eyes shined brightly with fiery orbs that burned intensely, and for a moment he stared widely. Nasu saw something, no… someone, a silhouette, but after so long he had spent with his eyes closed, he was having a hard time even seeing. It took some adjusting, and his eyes felt weird, he closed them repeatedly until finally his regular orbs were back and finally he could see something.

“Woah. Who are you?”

He asked curiously towards the creature that had approached him first.

WC: 472
Total WC: 823

There was no shortage of confusion in Nasu’s head when suddenly he found himself with this creature in front of his face. There was no doubt that it was an interesting individual, and strange enough to look at when those eyes of his looked like the void of space itself. Of course Nasu himself had a little trouble with his eyes at the moment, which was when suddenly his sight once more burned with a bright intensity and his orbs turned fiery and then now his sight became enhanced, to the point where he could… either see something he would not normally see or rather be able to gaze deep into the individual.

There were plenty of lines that shadowed this Nervan, to him entire silhouettes appeared and disappeared, continuously they overlapped one another with different colors but to Nasu this had no meaning whatsoever for he did not even understand what he was like.

“We?”

When his hand rose to cover his eyes, however, he got a glimpse at a similar effect with himself, however it was vastly different. He could only see one color, one silhouette through his hand, not all that mess he saw whenever he looked back at the Shinjin. Even the voice felt strange, in a way he did somewhat figure out what was going on; he was used to energy sensing, but this was something else entirely. It did give him some insight into this Nervan person, however, it was as if multiple people were merged together.

Nevertheless the man soon stood from the position and instead just turned over to face the Shinjin completely, until shortly after his eyes turned back to normal for good.

“I am Nasu. Uh… I do not remember seeing you before, maybe we happened to run into each other once?”

It could be. Nasu went pretty much everywhere in this galaxy so far, there were likely only a few planets he might have missed out on such as Arcose. He would try and see if he could visit that one, someday, but for now he just stated simply.

“I just happened to survive nearly a month here. Therefore I apologize if my mind is not in the best shape right now… I can not even remember the last time I spoke with someone now.”

WC: 387
Total WC: 1,210

“Yes?”

He mumbled under his breath. This guy was one curious guy indeed, apparently not only did he actually talk like several people at once, at least to his ear but he acknowledged it himself. Of course Nasu began making himself an entire mental drawing about what all of this meant, and while it could not exactly be something he could guess, he felt like there were multiple people stuck into one body. No, maybe that was wrong, maybe all their entities combined made this person as he saw him, but it was hard to tell just from some silhouettes born from a new sight.

“No, I mean. Cool, alright. Sorry… I am not in my best shape for social contact. I think I have been in there for maybe a month. I am not sure anymore.”

Of course the oddities did not just end there, but Nasu was polite enough not to point out anything he noticed just outright. Usually. If he was pissed he probably would. Nevertheless he did find some awkwardness kicking in when he said he saw Nasu in a book and there he just… what? He looked over Nervan with doubtful eyes.

“A book? I am pretty sure books are made out of words, how would you have seen me there?”

Either Nasu was too confused to think any further or he had never read a picture book before, hopefully it was not the second because it would have been tragic. Maybe someone ought to introduce him to manga while he was on Earth.

“Soup? Of course I am down. What more is there about this book of yours, though? What kind of literature is it?”

The man noted the strange behavior of the flames. He did not believe he was doing it on purpose however, it was almost like this entire individual was… an anomaly, but towards what? To reality perhaps? Was something like that even possible?

WC: 323
Total WC: 1,533

This individual continued to describe this book, apparently not only did it host words but also imagery. How strange, why would he even be in a book? He doubted it was something quite recent, therefore even his mind tried to elaborate what was going on exactly with Nervan’s tale. Could it be that he had been part of a book before and he had simply forgotten? Maybe, he would not put it past him given the amount of things his memory had already lost before, but he should have recovered already from that traumatic experience.

Eventually while he followed Nervan out of the brutish flames that had previously engulfed them and now split at the march of the raptured individual, finally they made it out and now Nasu also noticed there was someone else waiting for them. Once more his eyes flashed a bright, fiery color and once more he could see colors in place of the individuals. This one also had a different color, but it was not just like saying an individual glowed red or yellow, rather there was something completely out of his grasp, that he could not describe with words but he could tell all three individuals in this place and time were completely different and unique all the same.

“Hello. I am Nasu.”

The man eagerly sat across the firecamp to hopefully receive the soup himself.

“May I?”

Before long then his gaze returned to Nervan and curiously inquired more about this book. Ideas began to form in his mind and while he could not pin his finger on any of it, he was pretty sure there was no way Cheri had included him in any book, they did not start a family or anything, he was pretty sure she did not even use books. Tuffles were all technological and stuff, they must likely store information digitally by now.

“Where can I find this book? I would definitely like reading it.”

WC: 327
Total WC: 1,860

Nasu smiled when offered the chance of having some soup. He could not remember right now the last time he had a meal, he did not even know how he managed not to collapse whilst he was stuck within the flames of that infernal place. How strange, however, that he did not truly feel hunger. It was more like… an illusion, a vision that his tongue could finally taste something other than the fire within that place. Did Nasu truly feed off the fire of that furnace?

His hands gracefully, and gladly accepted the soup, in the moment where he could finally just appreciate some good food. He took a sip and just quietly enjoyed it, he did not devour it much like in the Saiyan fashion. Something was different about Nasu in this precise moment, but nothing really gave it away.

“What did you use for this soup? It tastes good.”

Even if Nasu was not exactly picky with his food. He did eat sand to survive in the desert, many years ago after all. How he digested it was… definitely not something that was easy to understand. Anyhow the man looked over Nervan once the matter of the book came up once more, what was strange however was the fact there was actually a book to begin with, with plenty of interest he leaned over to watch, he did think the tome had a curious design but nothing clicked just yet.

Until he saw a page with a portrait that was quite clear as day. A man that looked just like Nasu if not a little older, not only did he have the same hairstyle but also the same features and expression.

“Grandfather…”

He mumbled under his breath, he put the soup away only to come closer and take a better look. Yes, he would recognize his role model anywhere… and a strange feeling lit inside his heart, one that he did not feel in a while; was this sorrow? He stayed silent for a while before, if excused by the fellow individual besides him, he would grab the tome for himself and take a closer look at it, scrolling through the pages.

It looked like it was some sort of family book, but not in the sense of an album, more like a collection of tales and stories specifically related to the family in question, called Drakenblood.

“I think I remember this cover. I might have seen it twice in grandfather’s chambers, he had one library full of books. Mostly they were stuff from our own world, never did I expect he had a tome from Sadala, from before its destruction… where did you guys find this?”

He looked between the two of them with great interest.

WC: 461
Total WC: 2,321

It was… actually creepy, to be seeing his old grandfather’s face pictured in this book. Nasu had mostly met him when he was already out of his prime, but there was no mistaking the fact that this was a younger portrayal of him, nevertheless, what was actually creepy was the fact that any of this was going on after so long. How did this book finally get in the reach of Nasu’s hands after nearly twenty years that he had lost his homeworld and his family?

“I am quite positive it is him. Retasu Drakenblood. He… was a good man. He inspired most of what I have done in recent years, and even before that.”

The man looked over the two briefly. Yes, the two did indeed look alike, of course there was more to it than just coincidence. In a certain sense, spiritually he was more like his grandfather than anything his father ever was; a role model and a hero, but of course he always begged to differ.

“He led a group of his best men away when Sadala was about to blow up. We never even knew there were more Saiyans here, relocating on Plant. We lived our life, and a few generations spanned across time. Until it all ended.”

Of course Nasu did not need to draw the parallels. These guys had been to his homeworld no doubt. Last he had seen there were still some survivors, that had exiled him and his entire species for the rest of his life, however, his world was unforgiving and while his civilization had always been protected by the Knights… since those had been exterminated and the kingdom’s natural defenses had been shattered in the final conflict, he doubted any of them actually survived past a month. Likely there was no one, from his kingdom at least, left alive. At best it was only going to be rubble for the years to come, for other civilizations to study and look.

How strange.

Sometimes he wondered if his bones were not meant to rest there as well.

His eyes opened slightly at the mention of the statue, and then he spent the rest of those few moments silent. His old friend, one that had to his knowledge willingly betrayed him without any kind of conciliation possible. Indeed, an old friend. He did not remember exactly the result of their duel, but he believed that if anything she was only left as a lifeless statue there.

“Yeah, that was… a magical statue, yes. However I would leave it there, alone. It is dangerous.”

He chose to simply say. Of course he was not pissed at the Shinjin for having found interest in it, he always believed it was crazy how a statue could also act like a living being, but he would strongly advise against trying to bring it back to life. He did not know if it was possible, but since it was not a regular living being he would not take any chances.

Nasu breathed out, somewhat unsure what to do. He had the entire tome he could read at once but he was not sure if he was in the right mindset right now, there was so much being thrown at him right now.

“Is Iluma here? If anything, maybe they know something more about Sadala than I do. But do you guys mind if I keep this book? I might learn something about my origins from this.”

WC: 583
Total WC: 2,904