Marktavious Nicholson - Mana Space Domain: Ten Minutes Prior
My eyes blinked open, and what greeted me was not the grassy plain outside the Kick-Rat's village. Yet, there was familiarity in the sight.
'I'm here... again?'
My initial observation was proven to be correct. The familiar buzz around this place was as familiar as oxygen. The grass swayed in the wind— peaceful and filled with life. The sun peered down at me, granting me warmth outside of my injuries. I was standing on the inside of my mana space, which means I succeeded in my final act.
Something had pierced my back after Scurra hit me with a screech so powerful that it zapped me of my strength, among other things. You would not think a furless creature of her size would be able to dish out that amount of damage, but that would only be arrogance. I did not need a reminder that I was in a new world, but I appreciated it nonetheless.
I brought my fingers to my chest, and I noticed that my clothing was as good as new. Not even a tear or a blood stain was present on it. The evidence of my deadly clashes with the Ravager and the Kick-Rat was nowhere to be seen.
While the injury to my knee was the same. Though there was a throbbing in my chest, and my left eye bubbled with raw power. It wasn't a painful sensation, but it was akin to having an eyedrop constantly dropped inside it.
I could weather the sensation without any issues, which confused me. Glancing to my left and then to my right, I noticed that there was a lack of a figure present.
I opened to call out to Fawkes, but the words hung in my throat. My instincts are blaring to stay my tongue. There was a chill lingering on the breeze, one that ran opposite to the warmth of my mana space. I could not detect it at first, but the longer I resided in my mana space, the more I felt it. Closing my lips, I clasped my fingers in front of my chest and focused my mind.
There was a way to distinguish and determine what was wrong. I closed my eyes, and my thoughts went back to the previous time I was here. Sine, the goddess, manifested due to her son Fawkes's call. Her tall, domineering presence set the bar, and despite our lack of time and disagreements, she bestowed guidance upon me.
"I am certain that you could grasp the simplicities of controlling mana, Marktavious. Manipulation requires commitment from outside forces. Mana has to give consent to those... weaker in the arts. Men can go their entire lives without harnessing its power, but you are different," Sine said.
The purple eyes of the woman stiffened when she stood in front of me. She crossed her arms as purple flames fanned from her palms. The flames danced briefly before wrapping around her hand like gloves.
"Incantations are for those who borrow power, no matter how strong that power may be. What can be borrowed can be stolen by those who have the will to steal it," I said, but I didn't understand where that sentiment came from.
"Spoken like a true fox," she said with mirth. The flames on her hand began waving as if a gale breathed life into them. "The question is... do you have that will?"
My eyes opened at that recollection, and my left eye blossomed with power. Everything on my left side became clearer and more defined. Colors became vivid, and bright sparkles light up all around me.
"I suppose willpower alone is enough to move mountains in this world; then again, I need only to will Roktavor to move in the game. In this chaos, even I could forget my own theories."
'I need to be better. I need to do better. I need to be that bar of power in this world. A bar of power befitting a man, who takes a Goddess as an equal... but I do not need to be a God.'
With that thought in mind, I realized my mistake. My declarations of godhood subconsciously altered my line of reasoning. I hoodwinked myself into believing that I was higher than I actually was. Even if one were to aim too high, one would still miss the target.
My magic began to swell within me, filling my palms with a visible green aura. It flamed similarly to what I have seen from Sine's.
'I am a Kitsune, so act like one. This body is not Roktavor's nor Marktavious's, but a fusion of both. Act like it.'
In a world forged by my own magic, I refused to be silenced or threatened. I am Marktavious. I am a kitsune, and in this realm, I command everything. The world around began to warp around my palm. The blue sky shimmered, and my instincts blared for me to stop. It warned me not to push back, but I ignored them, because those were not my instincts.
My left pupil pulsed as magic darted around me. I began searching for the other resident of my mana space, and located him in mere seconds. However, I did not expect what I found him.
'You're not a good sight...'
The best I could describe this creature would be a bipedal crocodile. Its flesh appeared to be slowly generating around its exposed skeleton. It appeared to be humanoid, but that was not what surprised me. Its body seemed to be warping the area around as if it possessed its own gravitational pull.
I couldn't pin it down exactly, but something within my mind informed me that action was unacceptable. However, what simmered my blood was not the fact that this creature was warping the mana within my mana space, but something else. In the claws of this creature was no other than Fawkes. Blood dripped from his nose, and his body was limp. His legs had deep gashes from claws.
I may not have known much about the young fox, nor did his proclamations of being my son remain to be proven. I could not deny that he still looked to me for protection and guidance despite his overreach. In the end, he still could be considered a child, so he shouldn't have to face such an incident.
"You trespass on fox sanctuary," I declared, frowning.
The green flames around me began to intensify as I focused on controlling my mana. I had witnessed multiple times in my visits to my mana space that beings like Sine and Valdus were capable of hijacking access to it. They were able to shift the terrain and warp our location seemingly on command. That means I should be able to, since it is my world.
My left eye began to ignite into green flames, which didn't burn my face but instead rushed to engulf my left arm. The fire reached my fingertips, and the space around them began to rip and tear.
"I see you... Come to me...interloper!"
The space around burst into those same green flares, and I reached through them. I didn't have to look to know that my fingers bore into the neck of the crocodile creature as I forced him from his area into mine. Sharp teeth were the first to pass through, and they snapped onto my shoulder with incredible force. My collar bone was split upon impact, but the pain his a little more to prevent his extraction.
Once the creature realized what was transpiring, I no longer had to pull him through. He had happily pounced onto me like a housecat onto its prey. A claw pierced my side as its entire body weight pressed onto me, and it attempted to knock me down.
"God damnit! Motherfuckin' bastard!" I agonized.
I couldn't allow whatever this creature is to manhandle me, but I will admit that it was difficult to resist. Pressure mounted as the creature's massive maw crunched through bone, and its claws rooted into my limbs. It was excruciating to deal with, but the pain of broken bones paled in comparison to the anger that I felt. '
'I've had enough out of you!'
Focusing my mana into my collar, I began repairing the broken bones and pierced flesh as I wrestled the crocodile creature. It hissed when my hand gripped its jaws and began prying them off my collar. Green eyes mystified in the creature's socket before solidifying into pitch black orbs. It was unsettling, but it was quickly apparent that desperation was not enough to keep it latched to my side like a knot on a log.
When I finally managed to force its jaws open, the creature responded by lashing out with its claws. Pain shot through my thighs as deep gashes nearly dropped me to my knees. That was the last straw.
Clenching my fist, I hit that bastard with an uppercut so powerful that the creature was sent barreling into the air. My wounds mended themselves quickly upon my concentration, rendering all pain inflicted upon me moot. I traced the creature's trajectory with my left eye, and before he hit the ground, I was on him.
If there was one skill that I appreciated upon entering this new world, it would be the Kitsune healing. However, a close second would be my superhuman leaping, and the thing about that is I was becoming increasingly faster when I did so. Maybe it was due to my increased experience and the synchronization of my mind and body, but I was notably faster than when I first leaped against the Lynx.
I buried my boots into the chest of the Crocodile interloper and cratered the ground with our impact. Normally, I would call out "Foot Dive!", but there was no time. Upon landing, I immediately had to leap away. My instincts raised the alarm, and this time I followed its direction.
The impact of my attack drove a crater into the ground, and in the center was the skeleton. While I was aware that certain didn't have that good of a track record of putting opponents down, to see the skeleton take little damage still surprised me. It rose from the crater and shifted its flickering green gaze in my direction.
"You... strong?"
Those words came out as a confused growl, and it surprised me. I watched it cautiously as it began climbing out of the crater while using its tail as a balancer. The fingers of the skeleton were soon covered in blackish reptilian scales as it clawed the grass.
"So you speak the King's English?" I asked when the creature stood upright.
What surprised was not the reality that this creature could speak. I am not exactly in Kansas right now, but this reptilian monstrosity speaking English was not on my bingo card. Hell, from what I've seen, not even Fawkes is capable of speaking it. He speaks the common language of this region, much like Claire and Mikangleo.
"King... Engliss?" The skeleton grumbled. He brought a clawed finger to the emerging flesh on its head and began to scratch.
It tilted its head as if it were attempting to wrap its mind around my words. As I stared at the creature, I realized that more of its body was generating flesh and scales. It was an odd sight, but what was really peculiar was the dark haze flowing from its body.
I sensed something like this before, and I understood where quickly...The Ravager's blade. The black scales generating over the skeleton reminded me of the dagger that he plunged into my gut. While the wound itself was difficult to repair, my body did so anyway.
Although it appears that a blade in my stomach was not the end of his plans. My instincts told me that this creature was a result of that painful union.
"Don't worry about it," I responded, gaining its attention. "What are you, and why do you have such a sickening feel to your mana. Are you miasma incarnate?"
The kick-rat Scurra had informed me that my body was the amplifier of the miasma that drove a wedge in my alliance. I could smell that same miasma on the creature standing before me, but it had lessened than before. The world around the creature began warping, and the grass underneath its feet began to degrade.
'So it is miasma-related after all. This must be some variation of a Miasma Kroc. '
This would explain why the young Fawkes would remain silent. Miasma on this level is capable of eroding the defenses of one's mental resilience. Being born literally yesterday, Fawkes has no real defense against mental attacks despite his bravado. He is completely reliant on my magical defenses to remain safe, and I failed him.
The blade of the Ravager was capable of damaging a person's mana core, which likely makes mages much easier to exterminate. The more I think of that man, the more grateful we were able to escape him. Well, this creature proved that I didn't fully escape him. That battle was not a victory in my favor, nor was it a draw.
This creature proved to me that I was defeated, and that pissed me off.
"Miasma? I... strong... I am hungry," Miasma Kroc grumbled, shifting its gaze towards the distant Grotto.
"You're hungry? Then how about you stop what you are doing and we come to some type of agreement?"
Its head turned in my direction, and I witnessed the last of its flesh knit together, forming a full-fledged being. If I were to place this Miasma Kroc on the scale of reptilian monstrosities, then I'd place this thing on the evolutionary scale between a velociraptor and a saltwater crocodile. It stood around my height, but bulky muscles bulged underneath black scales.
It shared a crocodile's head, and bright blue eyes stared at me. Its tail was at least six feet long with jagged spines running from the back of its head to the tip of its tail. I don't know which god in this world dreamt up this creature, but they need to be brought before the world and charged with conspiracy. A conspiracy to make such a bullshit creature that clearly would destroy any ecosystem in which it resides.
Then again, I believe that is why the Ravager utilized that weapon against me in the first place. The Miasma Kroc's tail began to sway, and I knew it wasn't glad to see me. Its blue eyes locked onto me, and before I could react, it pushed itself in my direction. Claws lashed out, and I avoided his initial swipes with the grace of a light heavyweight boxer.
The air around me whizzed with danger, and I managed to punish its misses with a heavy uppercut. With its new flesh, I quickly learned that Miasma Krocs are dense. Despite landing four uppercuts back-to-back, I had made no headway in this battle.
'All of this dodging and uppercutin' ain't it. Time to swap-'
My thoughts were interrupted by the nimbleness of the Miasma Kroc was on full display. It had launched itself forward and anticipated my evasion. Given that I hadn't been sidestepping far for my uppercut, I was still in range for a counter to my counterattack. That is what happened when the Kroc spanned on its landing and caught me in my chest with its tail.
I have endured some nasty punches since entering this world. I've been stabbed in the chest one or twice. I even squared up with both a Goddess and a Mythical Lynx. One thing that I will never do again is allow this fucking Florida Gator to hit me with its tail again!
One hit not only sent me flying, but it brought a sharp, stabbing pain in the center of my chest. My breath caught in my throat, and that was a saving grace. Every inhalation brought hell with it, making my unceremonious fall from grace all the more attractive as a car accident. The bright blue sky was brought into darkness, and time became liquid.
The next thing I remember opening my eyes to was the sight of massive jaws widening. My head tightened as color flooded into my eyes. There was a metallic taste greeting my lips, and I found oxygen an estranged partner.
'This...This isn't it!'
My thoughts collided with the fog, slicing through it like a machete against jungle fauna. I closed my eyes and called upon my will, and forced my mana to do its god damn job! I called upon my past as Roktavor and took a page from his elven companion.
"Mana Barrier!", I spat blood as bygones become bygones between oxygen and me. "Shield!"
As the jaws snapped closer, they met a barrier of solid green mana. The jaws of the Miasma Kroc were forced open, and it was then that a reality reminded me of my situation.
'I can't stay in here when something attacks me in the real world!'
This is a war on two fronts. Something or someone stabbed me in my back again, much like Talio had done before. It was disrespectful, not...it was a clear sign that I need to step my game up. I needed to be better. I needed to do better. I needed to show my friends that this world can not take us down, and for that to transpire, I needed to defeat this monster.
The Miasma Kroc's claws lashed against my barrier, but it was ultimately a pointless endeavor. I had heeded Sine's teaching and tapped into my mana simply because I willed myself to do so. I had expected using magic to be complicated. In most isekai that I have seen over the years, magic was something a person had to learn from a more experienced mage or wizard.
They would take weeks if not months to develop the ability to sharpen their skills. That is, if they weren't given their broken abilities by a God. There would be long-winded incantations required for casting, and that was a similar case within Infinity Unleashed. However, if there was ever a moment to thank God, it would be this one.
My chest swirled with magical energy as I willed the world around us to warp. The mana barrier that I created to protect myself from the maw of the Miasma Kroc stretched and entrapped the creature within a dome.
"Bonner was right, but then again, he knows his stuff," I said to the creature.
The Miasma Kroc roared a broken and guttural sound. I hadn't expected it to do so, and so it surprised me briefly. Its eyes locked with mine before its tail lashed out and slammed the barrier. It struck harder with each attempt, yet the barrier held, and that was due to my fueling the barrier with the power of the Mana Space itself.
I approached the entrapped and enraged monster with the full confidence that my barrier would hold. Within the confines of my mana space, I doubt even Q would be able to break out of this powerful magical barrier. Realizing that its attempts were fruitless, the Miasma Kroc snapped its gaze in my direction.
"F-Father?"
The words made me jump not by their suddenness, but they reminded me of something that I had forgotten. I focused my mana, and the green flames on my arm erupted at my right, and a rift in the mana space had been formed at waist level. I attempted to reach into it, but there was no need.
To my left, another rift had been formed, and out rolled the injured Fawkes. He rolled onto his back and peered weakly up at me. The once confident Fawkes had tears forming in his eyes as his magnificent fur was stained in his blood.
"You came? You really came to protect me..." He whimpered. "I didn't think you would miss me enough to come. I-I thought...I thought..."
The sight of tears stimulated something in my chest, and I grappled with what this could be. I know I shouldn't have much of an attachment to the young spirit beast, but his tears spoke to me. I was not the most sympathetic individual. I always assumed that my heart was blackened, but as I stared at the sniffling fox, I found myself picking him up.
"This Miasma Kroc did this to you?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
The spirit beast bawled, which was unbecoming of any magical beast. His reaction was definitely human-like, but then again, he wasn't a normal spirit beast. I felt that in my core, no... my soul felt that way. I brought him close to my chest and focused on mending the wound on his leg. It was difficult considering that the wound was inflicted with miasmic properties.
My brow wrinkled at that understanding.
'I shouldn't have been so fuckin' careless. Miasma is potent against spirit beasts like him. Stupid! Fuck!'
It was ideal to retreat, and he had constantly advised me to do so. Had I listened, we wouldn't have been infected with this miasma! It was ego that blinded me, and now Fawkes was paying for it. He was not the only one, either. Claire placed her trust in me, and thanks to my arrogance and recklessness, we were all tainted by the miasma's effects.
I was supposed to protect her and Mikangleo, and yet, I watched as they nearly killed each other. If not for Scurra, things would have been worse than they are.
'I am tired of these bailouts, and I'm sick of running away. I am supposed to be stronger and smarter than this! How can I create a narrative for my friends when I've brought nothing but chaos to my alliances?'
"I-It stinks...It's stealing my..."
A large explosion erupted, cutting the young fox's words off. The air around us became a whirlwind, and I turned my back to shield him in my arms. When the dust settled, the reality of what transpired hit me. The Miasma Kroc had hit the grass underneath with enough power that it kicked up a cyclone made from mana.
The barrier shook underneath the impact, but it remained stalwart. That was to be expected, but what I didn't expect was the interior of the barrier to be empty. My eyes widened, but I did not allow hesitation to grip me. There was only one way for the monster to escape from the barrier-underground,
Holding Fawkes tight to my chest, I focused intently on the ground. My ears twitched as I focused on detecting the potential burrowing bastard. Being comparable to a crocodile from my world, I knew that there was a possibility for him to escape that way. I honestly did not think it would be intelligent enough to take that route.
'There? No... It's too simple... that means..'
Without a second thought, I crouched and leaped at least ten feet into the air. As I did so, the area where I once stood was penetrated by a massive claw. It ripped into the air ferociously before latching onto the ground. Upon my landing, I watched as the ground bulged from the Miasma Kroc's emergence.
'Not a bad attempt, but I know that it will take longer than desired to repel this creature from our sanctuary. It's learning and adapting, but how is the question?'
The Miasma Kroc's blue eyes flickered with confusion as he did find me where I once stood.
"You... there? How?" the creature asked before assessing its own question. There was a blossoming intelligence in its eyes, one similar to how I viewed Fawkes.
While I was aware that this creature was consistently evolving, I was beginning to think that there was more to be seen and understood. While it would be more effective to shift the barrier to confine the creature, I instead willed Eternal Bind Root into existence.
The earth churned as three thick tree roots sprouted and wrapped around the Miasma Kroc. It hadn't expected that, but this time there was no roar of defiance or anger.
"Fawkes..." I said, craddling the sniffling spirit beast.
While his wounds were stubborn, within this area, my command over mana was absolute, so sharing it with my child was a no-brainer. However, I can see by his eyes that while his body was no longer wounded, his pride was. I need to correct that.
"I must return to the outside world and confront the source of this creature. There is something responsible for this creature's continuous evolution. I am being attacked inside and outside by this poisonous miasma."
The young fox's eyes widened as his panic set in. He began twisting and turning in my arms with desperation.
"No! You can't! You can't leave me here! You can't choose them over me?! I-I am your son! They are-"
"I choose both," I said with finality. His movements stopped, and in their place was a vehement shaking of his head.
"You can't. You don't have the magical strength to act on both! You'll spread yourself too thin...you'll... you'll"
I gingerly pressed my finger to the lips of the paniacking fox. We locked eyes briefly, and I felt myself drawn to scratching underneath his chin, so I did so. His eyes widened, and his mouth widened slightly, but his panicked features began to mellow.
"Watch as your Old Man does what you believe to be impossible. I can feel it... I can do both, or I will try. A man... a kitsune keeps his words to his allies...to his brothers, Fawkes. We have a great power, I understand that now, and I have shown you that," I said, flashing the young fox a dazzling, confident smile. He became wide-eyed and attentive, and I held him by his waist.
Watching his little fox legs dangle and tail sway quickly strengthened my resolve. I propped him onto my right shoulder. He stumbled briefly before I could feel his X-shaped gaze shift in my direction.
"It is time that I show you the great responsibility that comes with it," I declared. I could feel the tail of the young fox wag against my back, and my tail mirrored its intensity.
"I do not have to choose to save either my allies or my son. I can do both, I was certain. I have the desire, and I have the will, and my will dictates that I will not allow anyone or anything to prevent me from accomplishing my goal. Just sit back and watch as your Old Man goes to work!"