Blade Forged in Flames

  If flames were to incarnate, they would form a cluster. A cluster of increasing heat that would eventually melt existence itself. Yet these clusters didn’t only clump and die. They went further, beyond. Transcended the mundane logic of the world, until they formed the absolute horror that was Indra.

  There was no pause, no moment of respite. Only the hellish scene around him.

  Yet instead, Blade partially let down his guard as he proposed a deal.

  ?"What if we don't fight?”

  ?"Why would I do that? If you fight back or not matters little to me, it will only affect my fun.”

  With? his grin only widening, Indra made it clear he was not going to spare him. Only having taught him to get a better fight.

  ?“I don't mean to spare me. What if instead of fighting me now we postpone it? I don't know, for three years?"

  ?It was random and left to luck, yet he knew fighting Indra now, even when healed and trained, would lead to certain death. All he needed was time, and this would give it to him. Just the future would tell if that even amounted to anything.

  ?“Why wait, though? What could differ between now and three years?”

  ?Indra asked. He had taken the bait, even if only slightly.

  ?"If you wait, I will get stronger and be able to give you the fight of your life. I might, no, I will defeat you then. That is a promise.”

  ?With Blade’s words, Indra finally took the bait.

  ?"Fine by me. You’re the first who actually bothered to try something like this. What's three years? But turn it into a contract.”

  ?From the looks, Blade would have guessed Indra was around his age, at best a bit older. Yet his words implied otherwise. Still he decided to look past it.

  ?“A contract?”

  ?“Just think of it as a promise made with mora ensures nobody breaks it”

  ?Nodding, Blade accepted the notion. It wasn’t like he had any better options, and the alternative was death. He wasn’t one to break a promise either way, so it was fine.

  ?“Fine then, I’ll take the contract.”

  ?“I’ll be waiting, do make it worth it.”

  ?Indra remarked as a circular seal was made in the air between them. The seal was intricate, using part of both their mora to fully make it, connecting to them both before vanishing.

  ?"The contract is made, so what now? Shall we continue the murder games?"

  The sudden shift in tone surprised Blade even more than the words themselves did, yet he decided to focus more on them.

  ?"What do you mean 'we'? Are you going to join me from here on... wait, what do you mean murder games?"

  The question had caught him far off guard, making Blade feel the need to ask.

  ?"Well, obviously I'm joining you. You are the most interesting person I have met so far. Plus, now we are friends. And did you not know about the murder games when you joined?"

  ? Blade thought, though he decided to keep it as nothing more than that.

  ?"Well, simply put, the murder games are just like the name suggests. A contest where the participants fight each other to death or until everyone gives up. It ends when one is crowned the winner.”

  ?“And why would I join you? You just tried killing me?”

  ?“And? I see nothing wrong with that. Normal friend activities. Plus, let the past stay the past.”

  Unable to believe Indra had ever had a true friend, ?Blade could only look at him with a deadpan stare.

  ?"I see… but won't you joining me hinder your progress?"

  Though it was an attempt to get away, it was also a serious inquiry on how things worked.

  ?"Not really. You are allowed to form parties, and there are no rules against teaming up. Plus, even if there were, there is no one to enforce them, so the only way to suffer punishment is if the Overseer herself decides to eliminate you.”

  ?“Wait, this murder game has rules?”

  ?“The only rule is whatever the Overseer decides they are.”

  ?“That seems unfair.”

  ?“Yep, now come on.”

  ?A sigh fell from his lips, yet too tired to retaliate, he simply accepted Indra's response.

  ?“Sure. Now what? I have no plans or anything of the sort, so do you have any other people we should team up with? More people won't hurt, plus I heard you had a sister.”

  ?“Yeah, no. I have no plan on joining her, and I had a friend we could call, but I'm unsure of where he is now. He had lightning powers. Maybe you have seen him.”

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  Blade shook his head as he looked at Indra, who seemed even more carefree than before.

  ?"Well, since you're joining me now, we will go to a village not far from here to get you set up.”

  ?"What do you mean, 'to set me up'?”

  ?Blade asked warily.

  ?“Don't worry, you're not allowed to die for the next three years. We are just getting you some clothes that offer better protection than the ones you’re wearing.”

  ?Indra brushed off the worries with a wave of his hand as he began walking.

  ?Blade looked at Indra going, a bit skeptical, but realizing he had not told a single lie decided the best approach was to follow, quickly catching up to him as they walked side by side. The walk to the village stretched on longer than expected, but one thing to note was that his body had gotten more used to being here, wherever was. On the way he questioned Indra for whatever information he could get.

  ?Sometimes playing and other times simply being clueless, he got a lot of information about the place he found himself in. Like the scale of things.

  ?Galaxies were just small dots in the universe. The universe was just a part of what makes up a realm, and a realm was just what the different parts of reality were called. From what he understood, a reality could be made up of multiple realms. He also heard about multiverses, though from Indra’s description they were nothing more than a cluster of realities that closely resembled each other. He also learned that the place he found himself in was called the Origin Realm, as it was a large reality filled with only one realm.

  ?When they finally reached the village, a considerably long while had gone, though in the midst of learning, he had barely noticed the time passing. His enhancements of his body had also gotten better now that he was using mora.

  ?The last question Blade had managed to ask was who made this murder game, only for Indra to respond that it was the Overseer who had done it, and they were the ones giving out the reward, which he had learned was a wish.

  ?For now, that would be Blade's goal. Speaking with the Overseer to get answers about why he was here. If needed, gaining more strength would also help in case a fight broke out.

  ?At the village, a lot of the women flocked to Indra. Blade could understand he was handsome, so he didn't question it much. The more impressive thing was how Indra couldn't care less about them, paying them no mind as he continued on his way. When Blade asked how he was so unaffected, Indra simply responded with.

  ?“I was born without the concept of love and fear. Never felt it, never will. So I guess that's why I don't care.”

  ?Blade couldn't properly understand what he meant by that, being born without the concept of love and fear, but let it go. He didn't have the leisure of probing too much about him. Plus, if it really was important, he would probably say more.

  ?The place Indra took Blade was an armor and clothing shop. After greeting the shopkeeper and stating his request, Blade was quickly measured. He could only look confused as they took tape measures to check all his sizes. After he was tossed around, he was given a fitting white shirt and trousers before he was pushed into the dressing room to change. After a few minutes, he came back out wearing the white clothes.? His current appearance made him out to be the victim of some prank, or someone on their sickbed.

  ?"... So these are my new clothes?... Not to sound ungrateful, but I feel my old ones were better.”

  The laugh that followed was not even tried to be contained, as Indra said.

  ?"That's because it isn't finished yet. Try adding mora to it.”

  Staring at Indra as he laughed, Blade relented, adding mora to his shirt and pants. That is when it transformed into a completely different outfit.

  ?Blade's new outfit consisted of a dark grey shirt that was worn underneath a black trench coat with grey linings and black boots. He also wore a silver jawbone-like mask, covering the lower part of his face and his nose. On his hand, he wore silver claw-like gloves, and there was also a sash at his side holding his sword.

  ?"It is called a mora suit. When the user adds mora, it forms itself into something reflecting the user or whatever the user wishes to wear. By adding mora again, you can stop it from ever reverting back, meaning you're satisfied with its form.”

  ?Blade marveled at the clothes before catching himself and asking.

  ?"It's definitely cool, but how is this any different from what I was wearing? I mean, it doesn't seem very protec—”

  ?Though Blade didn't even get to finish his question as Indra swung a knife at him, which broke without piercing him. The clothes weren't even scratched, and he was left fine.

  ?"See, it works perfectly. When you have found a place to settle into, we can buy you more.”

  As the broken blade spun in his hand, Indra’s chuckles remained until he tossed the knife aside. Questioning if such a demonstration was truly necessary, Blade remembered he had no money here. As he looked visibly distressed and pondered what his next action should be, Indra paid for it before tapping his shoulder to get him back.

  ?"Huh? Why did you pay?"

  ?"Well it would be funny seeing you run around in cloth. Could always burn it.”

  ?"Thanks..."

  ?"Don't worry about it. We are best friends.”

  ?"Best friends?"

  ?"Yeah.”

  His answer made it sound like it was the most obvious fact in the world, with ?Indra holding up his fist for a fist bump.

  As Blade thought back to how he had never had anyone to call a true friend. At most companions and allies, yet no one to truly call a friend, and that having one felt a bit nice.

  ?"Sure, best friends.”

  ?Accepting the fist bump, sealing their new friendship.

  ?Before they left, Indra bought a few more of the mora suits so that Blade could use them to get the different clothes he might need for different occasions.

  ?When Blade asked how they were going to carry them, Indra showed him how to use storage magic using mora. Indra would do it by cloaking the thing in fire before it disappeared. After which he would resummon it by spawning fire that would disappear and leave the stored item.

  ?After a short lecture and a few more demonstrations, Blade managed to do it, though his was much more basic. Simply opening a portal to a storage dimension where he could store whatever he needed. When he was done storing it all, they finally headed out.

  ?As the two walked out of the establishment, the first thing they noticed was the massive storm that suddenly hit them. It was unnatural, to say the least. No rain had fallen yet the storm clouds were accumulating at an incredibly fast pace, seemingly only waiting to strike.

  ?"That's weird. It shouldn't be raining now, let alone be such a storm.”

  Nodding at the notion, Blade raised his arm feeling the static. Even as they walked, there had been no signs of any storm incoming, and they couldn’t have been in the shop for so long that a storm could have formed.

  ?“Let us stay here for a while. I doubt it's good for you to walk around in this type of weather.”

  Turning his head, Blade let down his arm. It was weird with the lightning, and it would be better to stay. Plus, he could use the time to learn more.

  ?Though they did not get longer to ponder, as Indra suddenly activated his Ashura Karma

  ?An attack deeply infused with lightning and mora, aimed to kill in a single slash.

  ?“Seems you're quite popular with enemies, though I'll chalk it up to we have a new acquaintance here.”

  ?Indra said with a smile, looking at the new figure, who had just attacked.

  ?Blade’s mind spiraled. What more enemies could he have provoked? He could understand Leo and his siblings, but he had never met anyone like them, let alone the individuals themselves. One thing he knew, though, was that questioning wouldn't bring him anywhere. Unsheathing his sword, Blade coated it with his mora as he prepared himself for the battle against the storm.