FCGS - Chapter 19

Eir drew out dark liquid from Chibi's body. LadyDeathStrike could tell this was the Loki's Whisper. Her heart felt heavy and her thoughts darkened the more of the whisper was drawn out of Chibi. Eir noticed and cast Kyrie on LadyDeathStrike easing the heaviness.

"Eir…" Chibi murmured swaying on the spot. "I don't feel so good." Eir nodded and drew more of the whisper from her. "Is this experimental? Or you know what you're doing this time?" Chibi asked falling to her knees then sitting hard onto the ground, her body still swaying on the spot.

"Half and half," Eir replied drawing the last of it from Chibi's body. "I'm healing you as I go. The Loki's Whisper has been spread everywhere. I almost have it all."

"Loki used it as a gas on me first before using it as a bracelet," Chibi replied. "It probably replaced the oxygen molecules with itself within my body. Only logical reason why I feel so weird at the moment while you're drawing it out."

"Deep breaths for me then Chibi," Eir replied placing both hands onto the fully formed Loki's Whisper. "Let's see if you're logic is right. Because my healing isn't being as effective as it should be." Eir pulled a bottle out of her robes and forced the Loki's Whisper into it. "Feeling a bit better?" Chibi nodded and took another deep breath. "I'll check up on you again somewhere after midday. I need to take this to Kashy. He asked for one to find a way to create an antidote for it."

~~~

Tadakono and Lack walked towards the Alchemist Shop in the northern end of Yuno City. The weaver had pushed them out of her shop after they tried to get more information. Lack took out the pouches and looked at them. To him, they felt and looked like a cloth bag, but he guessed to an Alchemist-class they'd look and feel much more than that.

"Chibi's hiding something isn't she?" Tadakono asked Lack. "I wonder if it's because she knows you'll have a reaction to it, or because she's bound by the Alchemist Code to not say anything about it."

"I should of known," Lack murmured pushing the pouches back into his pocket. "When Chibi and I were taken from Velvet Touch of Enishi headquarters to the Cloud Castle of the Hidden Gods, Chibi and Eir seemed to know each other. Chibi didn't react when Eir patted her on the head. She even purred and rubbed her head against Eir's hand."

It took Tadakono a second to realize Lack was meaning Chibi was in cat form. "Don't beat yourself up about it. You know Chibi by now, she'll hide things from you so you don't get worried about her. And besides, if Chibi knew Eir from when she got Azoth, it means Chibi wasn't completely alone when she collected the items for Azoth."

"I guess you're right…" Lack replied pausing outside a café. "Let's have lunch. I'm hungry and there's still a long walk to go."

~~~

LadyDeathStrike let Chibi rest against the tree and snuck off to hunt lots of herbs. She wanted to surprise her and lessen their afternoon workload. I wonder what else Chibi needs other than herbs. I should of asked her before I left. Walking back to Chibi, she tucked the dozens of herbs into Chibi's mini pouch. Looking up, she noticed Eir crouched near Chibi.

"Good," Eir said softly as LadyDeathStrike approached. "The Loki's Whisper has completely gone and the Thanatos pieces have settled." She looked up to LadyDeathStrike and asked "Can you let her rest for the afternoon before you go back to the boys? Her body is still healing."

"That's alright," LadyDeathStrike replied. "I just wanted to ask her about her potions and what she needed for them." Eir took the pouch and pulled out Chibi's Potion Creation Manual. "They're in there?" Eir nodded and handed it to her.

"If you need anything else," Eir added returning the pouch to LadyDeathStrike. "Her other manuals are in there too. I'll give you this to store all the items you get in there. The mini pouch isn't going to hold much more. Take the herbs from that pouch and put them into this one." Eir held out a silvery pouch. "If Chibi asks, this is a Mark 2 version of the Omega pouch BlackRose gave her. It's lightweight compared to the original."

"Alright," Lady Death Strike looked at Chibi's still sleeping form. "Will she be alright alone here?" Eir placed a ring of blue stones, imbuing them a silver pentacle. "She'll be safe here. Chibi will know this ring was made by me and know how to break it."

"Interesting," LadyDeathStrike mused. "A mix of Alchemy and Black Magic. Never seen that done before." Eir smiled and gave LadyDeathStrike a pat on the shoulder.

"By the way," Eir said locking a bracelet with a red gem around LadyDeathStrike's wrist. "This is from Jord. She says that your ability to see alchemical structures may be weakening due to being close to someone as strong as Chibi for so long. She's created that bracelet… "LadyDeathStrike gave a shriek as is sank into her skin creating a web-like pattern around her wrist. "It's suppose to do that. Anyway, Jord created that bracelet to strengthen your ability and make it more permanent. There may be a small side effect but it's not too bad."

LadyDeathStrike's body felt weird. Her clothes shone and glittered turning into an Alchemist. "Your more like Lack only your second half will need work to get it to the level of Creator. And she said that this was for you as well." Eir held out a clear gem. Inside the gem was a silvery line that divided it in half. On one half, was a single assassins dagger, and on the other half was an condensed potion, both drawn in silver. "This is your insignia. You've seen Chibi's correct?" LadyDeathStrike nodded. "This is yours. The Alchemist Society aren’t the only ones who can grant these. Gods can grant these to people they favor. In your case, this is from Jord." Eir continued to explain in detail to LadyDeathStrike.

~~~

Lack sat spinning a zeny on the table while he and Tadakono waited for the Alchemist Shop owner to return. A red Lif walked out and over to them balancing a tray with some tea and a few biscuits. "I'm sorry for the wait." it said to them, it's voice a soft whisper-like breeze. "My Master didn't say how long she'd be gone for."

"Can you tell me something?" Lack asked tossing the zeny into the air. "How come you can talk? I know a Creator that has a green Lif which can't talk. And she's a pretty powerful Creator."

"Depends on the Creator," The Lif replied taking a seat next to him. "My Master is an expert at Homunculi. Some Alchemists specialize in potions, some in experimentation, and some in life creation." Lack's expression didn't change. "The Creator you know, perhaps, isn't strong enough to give her Lif enough power to talk with it's own free will. My Master is the Secretary of the Alchemist Society, hence why she was given the task of monitoring how much equipment is sold to Alchemists on a monthly basis. The Middle Seat above her excels in Potion Creation and Homunculi. The one given the status of High Seat, is the overseer of the Alchemist Society, excels in all fields of Alchemy. According to my Master, the current whereabouts of the High Seat are unknown."

"Kishu," A Creator stood at the door with a book in her hand. "You're talking too freely to those who aren't of Alchemist-class. What can I do for you?"

"We were sent by Chibi to buy some supplies," Tadakono replied holding out Chibi's insignia. "She needs quite a lot of everything."

The Creator ran forward and grabbed the insignia, her hands shaking. "It's… It's the High Seat's insignia!" Lack looked up wonderingly. "Where… Where is she now? The Alchemist Society has been a complete mess. We lost track of her after she disappeared from Velvet Touch of Enishi. Our orbs don't pick up her or her Lif anymore. We feared she was dead."

"How long ago was it that she didn't register on your orbs?" Lack asked with renewed interest. "I'm curious because she's been at Fight Club and I saw her practically everyday while she was at Velvet Touch of Enishi."

"It's been about half a year since we last could tell where she was on the orbs," The Creator replied sitting next to Tadakono. "Ah! I'm Yukiko." Noticing their concerned expressions, she asked "Is something wrong?"

"That's about the same time she went on the quest to find Azoth isn't it?" Tadakono asked Lack, who nodded. Yukiko looked shocked and stunned at the same time. "Azoth is suppose to be a powerful item for Alchemists isn't it? Then why is it that we hear lots of bad things about it?"

"Because Azoth is created with three ancient items," Yukiko replied, her body going cold. "Is Chibi really human still? Our orbs pick up humans and part-humans, since those who experiment sometimes warp their structure away from being human."

"Chibi looks human," Tadakono replied after a while. He felt anger emanating from Lack. "She speaks and acts like a human. She seem like anything else…" Tadakono paused and remembered back.

Chibi's eyes caught mine. I came over and cast Safety Wall around us. "Tada… I couldn't tell Lack. But I think he knows already. This wound will kill me faster than it will take to kill that doppelganger. I…"

"Chibs," I cast Resurrection. "I already understand what you're asking. It's alright. Just rest and I'll take care of it." The spell wasn't affecting her as it should. I forced the spell into her more.

Lack looked at Tadakono his eyes narrowing. "You're picking up Chibi's habit," he said in a dark voice. "What did you just think of just then that made you pause?"

"My Resurrection spell," Tadakono replied placing Chibi's insignia on the table. "It wasn't affecting her like it would on a human… If anything, it seemed to be hurting her more spiritually while healing her physically. It's the same with any Holy spell Phen used on her."

"She seemed close to Eir too…" Lack murmured resting his head onto the table. "Just what is going on?"

Yukiko looked at the two of them and sighed. "Eir…" She closed her eyes and threw down her own Azoth into the middle of the table causing Lack and Tadakono to jump. "Come here now please. Eir…"

The doorway shimmered and Eir appeared. "You called? I was just with Chibi." She looked at Lack and Tadakono. "I see… Explanations needed right?" Lack and Tadakono nodded. Kishu got up, picked up all the empty cups, plate and teapot, and left the room. Eir sat in the now empty spot and closed her eyes. "Where to begin?"

"Start with when Chibi left Velvet Touch of Enishi," Lack replied softly, his anger lessening in Eir's presence. "It'll make things easier to understand."

"Chibi had to search for three ancient items: Footprints of Cat, Roots of Stone, and Breath of Soul. She knew that these items would be very abrasive to her Spiritual Power so she asked me if I could stay with her during her journey. I agreed on the condition that I was not to intervene in anything she needed to do. Basically I became her support." Kishu returned with a fresh pot of tea and some warm scones, she placed them on the table and then stood behind Yukiko. "The first item she found was Footprints of Cat. She stalked an Eddga to attain it."

Lack's ears pricked back. Eir noticed and nodded. "A difficult battle for her since her main weapon, her Bombs, were ineffective against it. Footprints of Cat tore her Spiritual Power. I asked her if she really wanted to go on… She was determined. It was like there was something driving her to create Azoth. Roots of Stone was next, which she found in a cave at the base of Thor's Volcano. Again, it tore her Spiritual Power apart more. Lastly, Breath of Soul was created using her own Spiritual Power. I don't know how she was still alive after that, but at this point all Alchemist who have gone on the Azoth quest have died from creating Breath of Soul."

Lack shook slightly. Tadakono put his cup of tea down, not wanting to drop it due to his own shaking. Yukiko nodded her eyes closed. "She climbed to the very top of Mt Mjolnir and called Odin as the recipe prescribes. During the creation process, Chibi lost consciousness. Odin gave me the newly created Azoth and told me that because I became her patron of sorts, it was up to me to decide what to do. After he left, I used Sinews of Bear to stick together her torn Spiritual Power. She returned to Velvet Touch of Enishi, with the Azoth."

Lack took a sip if tea with his eyes closed and then asked. "But even so, I know from personal experience, that isn't enough to cause her to not register as even a part-human." He opened one eye and looked at Eir. "When Tyr granted me my Stalker half, it was because I had taken on the quest for Mjolnir which tore my Spiritual Power apart as well."

"I know," Eir replied picking up a cat shaped biscuit. "Tyr asked my advice on how best to repair your Spiritual Power. I recommended to her to grant you a power that splits your existingj Spiritual Power in half. To answer your indirect question, Chibi became less than human after she warped Azoth's structure. She gave Azoth a permanent Alchemical coating. Also with, and I have no idea how she got this, a drop of blood from both you," She indicated towards Lack. "And MikeRex, she allowed the abilities of her Azoth to extend to the two of you. This caused her Spiritual Power to warp. I had to gather the four pieces of Thanatos to temporarily bind her Spiritual Power until it healed itself."

"So…" Tadakono mused picking up his cup again and gently moving it so the contents swirled inside. "What is her current abilities with the four pieces of Thanatos within her? It makes sense to me now why my Resurrection spell doesn't work as effectively as it should."

"Chibi," Eir started glancing at Lack quickly before she looked back at the biscuit in her hand. "Her current abilities are as they were before. The only difference is that her Lif has lost it's ability to speak as it is a direct relation to the Spiritual Power it's Master has. Also, any Holy power directed towards her, hurts her decreasing her Life Power. When she was at the Cloud Castle, I spoke to her with my telepathy. She couldn't respond the same way, but I could tell. The Holy aura in that place was hurting her. I asked BlackRose to take both of you away from there. By mere coincidence, there was an incident happening with Fight Club guildsmen."

"You were with her before you came right?" Lack asked dipping a biscuit into his tea. "Was that to do with the Loki's Whisper?" Eir nodded. "Is she alright now? Or has something changed?"

"She's back to the way she was before Loki captured her," Eir smiled. "But when you meet LadyDeathStrike again, she might not be the same. But that isn't my doing… Just done on my advice."

Lack skipped over that bit of information, deciding to ask LadyDeathStrike directly later on, and looked at Yukiko curiously. "Then does that mean you were more successful at creating Azoth than Chibi?"

"To be technical," Yukiko said reaching back and giving Kishu a small pouch that she had taken from Chibi's Gem and a silent order to retrieve what they need. Kishu bowed and disappeared into the main shop. "My Azoth belongs to my Mother. She died during the creation process. But before she died, she imbued the Azoth with a few pieces of my hair. Basically she did the same thing Chibi did for you. Eir was the one who gave me the Azoth and told me what happened."

Eir got up and gave a small bow. "I need to get going. Lack, can you wait here? Chibi will sending a message here soon." Lack gave her a confused look. "Chibi has someone she needs to teach and register."