[LTW] B2: Chapter 70: Swamp and Human

A/N: Yay! I kept a writing-related promise for once. It do be Sunday. Enjoy.

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"Wait, it's inverted?" Lone asked himself as he stared at the monstrously large violet pyramid lined with golden decorations.

This was the first instance of his being able to see the exterior of the place Darkness now called its home.

The only other time he'd been inside of his soul, he'd been pulled directly into the monolithic structure before him. Now, however, he was outside of it and from the looks of things, he was in a ghastly courtyard of sorts.

This being the case, he took a moment to glance around. It was his soul after all. It'd likely be a good idea to see what it actually looked like.

To the west lay a grand castle of wings and clouds - clearly Sky's residency within his soul. Meanwhile, just behind him lay an endless abyss that was spewing out a gas thick enough to choke on.

Darkness's inverted pyramid was in what would cardinally be referred to as northwest. He had no idea if the directions he'd decided on were right or not. It didn't really matter to Lone. They were just points of reference.

'Six empty directions, huh?' Lone noted, also recalling there were still six other Primals out there.

The last thing worth paying attention to in his soul palace, courtyard, residence - whatever it should be called, was the shimmering golden chains that extended from Sky's dwelling as well as Darkness's pyramid.

"Surely they can't be the only representation of me in here, can they?" Lone mumbled. 'You'd think there's be a version of me bound in chains, beaten and bloodied, hanging around somewhere or something...'

The chains were taut and intimidating. They gave off the feeling of a godly exuberance of sorts, though Lone felt they were... lacking somehow.

'These chains are definitely a part of or a reflection or something else related to me... and... and they're helping Sky and Darkness seal and suppress Void?' Lone sensed as he edged closer to the courtyard's centre - the abyssal hole.

The chain extended down into said pit, after all. 'Why?' was all Lone could wonder.

A hand appeared out of nowhere in front of his chest stopping him. A moment later, a body revealed itself to be attached to that hand.

The perfectly purple copy of Lone smiled warmly. "I'd not get any closer. Void's of the temperamental sort."

"Good evening to you too, Darkness. So Void is down there then?" Lone asked. "I had a feeling it was..."

The Primal nodded. "Probably. Sky's the one who manages our estranged family, not I, so I'm hardly the one to ask of the matter to. I just supply the chains with the energy they demand. Now, to my lovely abode? A meeting is to take place, dear Lone."

The being of deceit and debauchery removed its hand from Lone's chest after giving him a friendly pat. It then walked off towards the inverted pyramid.

Lone felt a compulsion to approach the black gassy abyss once more but resisted. He matched Darkness's stride and asked, "Why didn't you just summon me inside like last time if you were worried about Void?"

"What makes you think I didn't try?" Darkness lamented. "It must be nice to be a mortal and assume gods can do everything they say they will attempt. I was able to make this happen at the right time, no? That's more than good enough."

"I'm well aware of your fallibility. Do recall who's soul you are imprisoned in," Lone remarked.

"Yes, yes," Darkness dismissed. "Now, there's only one guest tonight but I am certain more shall appear in time. No mention of what I really am nor of our peculiar relationship, yes?"

"What?" Lone asked, confusion marring his expression.

"Excellent," the being happily replied before snapping its fingers.

Suddenly, Lone's surroundings changed drastically. He was walking through the opulent innards of Darkness's pyramid one moment, then the next, he found himself sitting at a long table with a bright green figure seated across from him.

This figure had no discernible features bar an oddly smooth-seeming tail. It was as if they were being concealed somehow. He attempted to see if his Enhanced Vision would crack whatever was hiding them for him, but to no avail.

Just as he was about to question the figure, the throne at the end of the table become occupied by a grand figure of many colours and shades.

Lone felt the urge to bow to this presence, and do so he did. The green figure, likewise, rose and bowed to the head of the table before returning to its seated position.

'This is all an illusion of sorts, right? That disco ball is definitely Darkness. The green figure though... Who the hell could they even be? More importantly, why are they in my soul and how should I beat the bejesus out of this slimy Primal for bringing him, her, or whatever else, here?' Lone wondered quite seriously.

The multicoloured figure raised a hand and said, "At ease, guests. Your tension and fears are not without reason, thus I forgive them. I must ask you also offer me clemency for the impromptu nature of this gathering. I have only recently awakened."

The green figure trembled. "Lord... Lord Delwind?"

"Hah, no. I apologise if my bringing you here during your pleas has caused any confusion. I am not he, though he is existent and ever well even still," the being said.

"You... you're not him? Then... what, what are you? Where isss thisss?" the green figure questioned, concern marring their masculine and rather serpentine tone.

'I wonder what species they are with an accent like that,' Lone thought. 'Probably a guy though, so that strikes off quite a few possible species.'

"An honest question with justified roots. You may refer to me as Monsieur Librarian. As you can see though, my library is rather sparse," Monsieur Librarian lamented with a self-disparaging tone. "The price paid for my recent awakening, you see. Now, I will only say one additional thing before taking my leave."

Monsieur Librarian's head moved to slowly look at both Lone and the green figure. Lone was fairly certain he saw a smirk on the face hiding beneath the ever-shifting colours.

"All I require is for you both to make time every fourteen days, at this exact moment - last bell of the seventh sun. Your presence will help restore the tomes of this space that once rivalled the very halls of the Great Existence himself. You are free to converse with one another. As I grow in power perhaps more than just conversing will be possible. Farewell." And just like that, the figure occupying the head of the table dispersed into nothingness.

Silence deafened the long table as Lone stared at the being sitting across from him, likely a male Lizardkin of some sort from his current observations. While shrouded in the green mist, there was a long tail completely unlike that of Lone's slowly swaying behind them. The extra s's were a good indicator as well.

Lizardkin were usually very tribal and almost nomadic, so while still pretty upset at Darkness for letting a stranger into his soul, a part of him was excited to speak with such a possibly interesting person.

"I am ### of the Great Ssswamp. I greet you, golden one of many tailsss. May I know of your name, pleassse?" the being asked.

Lone furrowed his brow. 'Why did his name sound unintelligible?'

'I'm at fault there,' came Darkness's words straight into his mind. 'My intent was to make this fully anonymous, hence the obscuring of features but that wasn't entirely successful since you can see one another's tails. I'm very limited here, but it's interesting, no? I'll answer any more questions later if you have them.'

"I couldn't understand you when you stated your name," Lone said, eliciting a head tilt from the figure. "I'll demonstrate. My name is Lone Immortus."

The green shrouded figure flinched a little in surprise. "Truly powerful, thisss Monsssieur Librarian... Then how ssshould we refer to each other sssince thisss will likely become a regular gathering?"

Lone shrugged. "Just call me Human."

He chuckled internally a bit. He'd been a human for over two decades of his life and since Darkness's intent was to make this fully anonymous, he assumed it wouldn't be long before his tails were hidden. It'd be a good way to hide his identity as the only existing nine-tailed Golden Foxkin.

Well, so long as this Great Swamp dweller never blabbed. That bridge could be crossed later though.

"Ah. Okay. You may call me Ssswamp then," the green figure suggested before asking, "What does 'Human' mean and how isss it that you ssspeak the Tongue of Lord Delwind ssso fluently? Are you nearby? Do you alssso ressside in the ### of the Great Ssswamp?"

"Specific locations are blurred too?" Lone asked rhetorically. "Human just means... human. Have you never met a human before? As for the language, Monsieur Librarian is probably facilitating that. He is rather powerful, as you mentioned."

Lone obviously lied about his hero-given ability to translate everything to his mother tongue of English subconsciously. That might become a problem should this table gain more guests, but that was just one more bridge yet to be crossed.

"I sssee. That doesss sssound likely... Ah. I feel myself being dragged back. It wasss nice meeting you, Human. Until next time," Swamp said before standing and inclining his head politely. He then faded from existence.

The next moment, Lone found himself in the middle of Darkness's opulent treasure-filled palace with a purple copy of himself lounging on a bed of pillows.

"Interesting, no?" Darkness asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"Mental Destruction," Lone invoked emotionlessly.

Darkness immediately clasped its head in both hands and began wailing. Lone found a place to sit while he ignored the Primal.

A few minutes passed before the pathetic wriggling of the godly being ceased. "Was that really necessary? You just made me lose two whole percent of my total power."

"So 48 more times and you'll die? Maybe a handful more to make up for the time I have to wait for the skill to recharge. Good to know," Lone coldly stated.

Darkness sighed. "You can't kill godly beings, Lone. You can get close, but never quite there. We tried with Void, though he was a step above godly... Nevermind. I guess some punishment was in order. Will a sorry do?"

"No, but it's a start. The only reason I'm not absolutely livid is that Swamp seemed quite nice from first impressions. Speaking of, why am I subjected to that illusion's rules? Also, what is the Great Swamp and who is Lord Delwind?" Lone inquired.

"And here I thought we were starting to get along..." Darkness said sadly.

Lone narrowed his eyes. "You led Four-twelve to kill himself, you tried to corrupt me, my lover, and then went on to use me to try to possess my friend."

"Learn how to forgive," Darkness sighed. "I'm a changed Primal. Lot of reflection to be done when you live inside of a soul, no?"

The being slinked off in a cloud of smoke before reappearing upsidedown with its back resting against one of the room's many gem-encrusted pillars. He no longer looked like Lone but had instead taken on the form of his actual younger sister, Hazel McCullen.

"Let's go in order, yes?" Darkness asked itself. "Because I'm also beholden to its rules. I'm more surprised you don't know. It's your soul and that room and table are your doing. All I could manage was the obscuration and the compulsion to bow to me at the start. Speaking of, I can't change the obscuration at all even if I want to. I suspect it will only grow stronger though. I didn't lie when I said I hadn't summoned you here last time. I don't even know how far I can stretch my influence there until you grow stronger, and I don't know how much of that influence will be stolen away from me. It's a mysterious thing, that meeting room."

"As for the Great Swamp and Lord Delwind. I have no idea. I winged in it there just as much as you did, Mister Human. I don't even know Mister Swamp's real name. The concealment I arranged affected even me since I don't control it anymore. I have genuinely never heard of either the Great Swamp nor this 'Lord Delwind' character. Then again, I've been living in a dwarven contraption for a few thousand years, so it could be some new settlement somewhere in an obscure corner of Teresta. I may be a god, but I don't possess the power of omniscience. There are demigods with such powers out there though. Would you like a reference?" Darkness teased.

"Get stuffed," Lone snapped. "You're about as helpful as a soggy sock."

"You'd know a lot about soggy socks, now wouldn't you? Some of your surface thoughts bother me greatly," Darkness said, disturbing Lone due to the fact the words were spoken through the lens that was his sister's body.

"Just let me out of here, yeah? I need to go over all of my skill and stat gains from the expedition," Lone requested.

"It's your soul. Learn how to leave it on your own. Really, children these days. Back in my day..." Darkness started mumbling something about flying cats and trousers with zippers at the back instead of the front when Lone felt his consciousness slip away from him.

The next moment, he was back in his camp with Soph snuggling up to him.

"That sucked," Lone sighed as he pulled up his notification log.

***

A/N: I took inspiration from The Lord of Mysteries for this meeting shindig. I will be adding several of my own spins onto it, however. If you've never read that book, I highly recommend it. It's perhaps my favourite novel ever.