A Nascent Kaleidoscope

Chapter 546:

"Nice to meet you, I'm Kurosaki Ichigo." I looked at her, unphased as her presence bore down on me. Despite doing so, she wasn't disrupting the surroundings.

She narrowed her eyes. "Do you think I wouldn't know about Ddraig's user for this era?"

"Yes."

"….no wonder you are his wielder, you are just as shameless as the Great Welsh."

"I've never met him before in my life." I crossed my arms.

"There is something peculiar about you."

"Is it my handsomeness?" I asked.

She blinked again, looking at me as if she was trying to pry into my secrets. "…..When Mortals lie, there are signs. They are miniscule, but I'm able to detect them, increased heart rate, certain scents they let off. But you are utterly unphased despite the fact that you are lying to my face."

"Do you have proof?" I raised an eyebrow.

She pointed her finger at me and I felt something strange as the Boosted Gear appeared on my arm without my prompt. "Would you care to correct yourself?"

"[I've never met this person before in my life.]" Ddraig defended me as the jewel on the Boosted Gear lit up.

Ddraig, how the fuck did she force the Boosted Gear out of my soul?

[She can sniff out any treasures! If she wanted, she could take things out of your ring too. There's a reason she's still pissed that I took some of her treasures centuries ago.]

That would have been helpful to know beforehand.

Some kind of treasure hunting ability? Not the strangest thing I've ever come across.

[I'm sorry, I was preoccupied with the powerful angry dragoness that won't stop hunting me down every time I find a new host!]

"This is clearly the Divine Dividing." I continued.

"[My name is Albion, the stupid white dragon.]"

"I'm quite literally looking at the Boosted Gear, Great Welsh." She deadpanned.

"[I, Albion, realized that Ddraig is better than I'll ever be and I changed my stupid wings into an awesome Red Gauntlet.]"

"I am aware of who Albion's host is." She said dryly. "I met with him by chance recently and he was more than happy to pass on your information."

[That bitch!]

"Nah, we switched the other day. He has the Boosted Gear now." I shot back without missing a beat.

"Enough of your nonsense. I came for Ddraig." She frowned.

"…..is this a booty call?"

"….I'm starting to sympathize with Indra." She just looked at me.

"Considering how much of an asshole he is, that's a rather impressive feat then." I complimented myself. I decided to stop avoiding the point of contention. "What do you want?"

"I want my treasures back." She said plainly.

"Ddraig, did you hear that? Time to cough up her treasures. Wait, you're locked in a prison." I deadpanned.

"Then the debt falls to you." She pursed her lips.

"No."

"No?" She repeated in confusion.

"In what world would you think I have to pay that kind of 'debt'?" I answered back.

"You're his user – "

"….And?" I interrupted her.

She furrowed her brow and went silent. She went utterly still, unmoving and it was a bit unnerving for it to happen all of the sudden.

"…..what's wrong with her Ddraig?" She just silently stood there, and I was becoming mildly concerned.

"[Uh oh.]"

…what?

"[She's going to do that thing!]"

I was going to question what he meant by that, but the Dragon Goddess in front of me, well, she sort of stopped reining in her 'presence'. Granted, she didn't intentionally exude it, but that didn't really matter when there was a fuck off powerful dragon standing right in the middle of Kyoto.

I readied myself for a fight, I would have to lure her outside of –

She just plopped herself onto the ground, expressionless, lying there staring up at the sky.

"…..Ddraig, what the fuck am I looking at."

"[This is what she always does! Every time we had an argument, she would just lay down silently until I gave in!]"

"I thought she chased after your previous users!!?!" I gestured to the Dragon Goddess laying on the literal street, staring up at the sky.

"[She would follow them back home and make a nuisance of herself like this and not leave them alone!]"

I wanted to say something, really anything, but no words could properly convey my thoughts. I just stared at the Dragon Goddess that reached a level of shamelessness I didn't even know existed.

"I have so many questions, like what the fuck am I looking at?" I emphasized again, but the first time I asked that didn't help. It was rare that I found myself so genuinely speechless.

I could gear Ddraig grumble. "[Despite being one of the strongest Dragons…..she doesn't like fighting and is the most Gentle of our kind.]"

I assume 'gentle' had a different meaning when it comes to Dragons, but that still has significance I suppose.

"Why didn't any of your previous users just force her away?" I sighed.

Well, besides being too weak to do so. But that wasn't a particular problem for me. She was strong, but I was stronger.

"[...how could I ever hurt her?]" Ddraig said quietly.

I sighed again because now that Ddraig said that, I couldn't bring myself to harm her either. Someone that Ddraig cared about, after everything we've been through, I couldn't raise a hand to the Dragon Goddess that was laying down in the middle of the road until she got her way.

"You're lucky that I'm here with you, Ddraig. Thankfully, I have a technique to counter hers."

Ever so slightly, the Dragon Goddess twitched, as she was clearly listening to me and her eyes locked onto my own.

I took out my Kaleidophone, making a call. "Izzy, I need an adult."

Very quickly, and before I could even explain properly, a wooden scaffold pushed up out of the ground, rupturing the concrete as a vortex swirled underneath. It had been awhile since I've seen Izzy's method of entering and leaving Yomi.

Izzy strode out, looking at the scene, but before she would utter a word, someone peeked out from behind her.

"Mother!?"

Tiamat perked up, sitting up, but still on her butt. "Oh. Hello Ereshkigal."

@***@

This was turning into a rather odd day.

What were the chances of meeting two Mesopotamian Deities like this back to back? I was fairly sure that there weren't many of them around anymore.

Tiamat, seemingly, wasn't as shameless in front of another member of her pantheon.

Izzy, rather sternly, made everyone come back to Yomi rather than cause a commotion in the middle of Kyoto Youkai territory.

Ereshkigal, she had long black hair and wore quite a few ornate hair pieces but a simple white dress, seemingly made from cotton, but I wasn't too sure. Other than the few ornaments, her appearance was….simple, even if she was rather beautiful. A bit on the petite side, perhaps a couple inches taller than Artoria.

Tiamat, walked to Izzy's house, didn't seem perturbed in the slightest. Rather, she took the Goddess into her arms, found a seat on the empty couch, sat down and put Ereshkigal into her lap as she fawned over the other Goddess.

"How many years has it been?" Tiamat hummed. And while she was acting the part of a doting mother, there was the feeling of…detachment. "A thousand years?"

"Yes, Mother." Ereshkigal said softly.

Tiamat's nose twitched, and she looked down at the other Goddess. "You have a Treasure on you I don't recognize, where is it?"

"M-Mother!" Ereshkigal squawked as Tiamat's hands started to inspect around her until she pulled out a string from around her neck and attached to it was some sort of pale looking key.

I tilted my head because I had the feeling I've seen something like it before.

"That's strange, there's nothing special about it." Tiamat shrugged, clearly losing interest and letting go of it as the other Goddess seemed to quickly stuff it back down her shirt.

Izzy and I….were kind of just silently watching them.

"Ahem." Izzy, very unsubtly, cleared her throat.

"Ah?" Ereshkigal made a small noise. "Erm…Mother…."

"Hmm? Oh yes. Ddraig's host still owes me a debt." Tiamat looked back at me.

"I am very close to physically expelling you from Japan." Izzy narrowed her eyes. "I find it odd that one of the rare times I'm meeting with Ereshkigal, that you happen to appear."

"She messaged me the other day and happened to mention that she was meeting you,, so I thought it was a good opportunity to seek out Ddraig's host while you were preoccupied." Tiamat didn't even hide it.

"M-mother!?" Ereshkigal squeaked. "Don't use me to distract Izanami!"

Izzy let out a sigh, covering her face.

"It's not like I caused any disturbances with the mortals." Tiamat said offhandedly.

Which….was technically true.

"I think a Dragon Goddess revealing herself fully in the middle of Kyoto is enough to be called a disturbance." I said dryly.

Tiamat showed me a scowl, which followed Ereshkigal with a wince. "I am not a Goddess." Tiamat's words were spoken with a faint but noticeable growl to them. "Anymore."

Well, consider that nerve touched.

"Um….you're Izanami's…B-boyfriend?" Ereshkigal looked at me.

I quickly switched gears, smiling politely back at her. "That I am." I said proudly, my Death Goddess adopting the faintest of red. Though she didn't deny it. "It's nice to meet one of Izzy's friends."

Ereshkigal's demeanor shifted and she smiled brightly. "I heard a lot about you! Well, I think most people have at this point…..but it was so sweet the way you confessed about you both while so many people were watching!"

I may have shot Izzy a wide grin, much to her chagrin.

"Sorry for interrupting whatever it was you were both doing. I simply had an…..odd situation I found myself unable to handle without help." I glanced at Tiamat who didn't show an iota of regret over her actions.

[Don't hold your breath, she's used that technique on me so many times, and I've lost to it every time.] Ddraig grumbled inside my soul.

How frightening.

Frankly, I pictured Jinn doing something similar, and I absolutely wouldn't be able to beat it either, so I couldn't find it in myself to joke at his expense.

"We were simply having a chat about certain things." Izzy said dismissively. "Nothing overly important."

"I've heard about Kur, it's supposed to be a rather peaceful home for dead souls. I wouldn't mind visiting it at some point." I continued, making polite small talk.

"You….would want to visit Kur!?" Ereshkigal's eyes widened.

"Uh….yes?" Did I say something wrong?

She held her cheeks. "…..no mortal has said that in a long time."

"We wouldn't mind visiting at any point, dear." Izzy's expression turned warm and gentle when dealing with the other Goddess associated with Death.

"It's no Hades, but I can entertain guests!" She pumped her fist rather cutely. "My first guests in so long!"

Why did that make me feel bad for her?

"Before that, we should deal with the Dragon in the room." Izzy crossed her arms, her eyes focused on Tiamat.

"I just want what I am owed. This one smells of treasures plenty." She held her hand up, pointing at me.

"You're no in the position to demand anything." Izzy scowled. "The fact that you showed up without any warning is already enough to throw you out without caring about politeness."

Tiamat tilted her head. "I'm very persistent."

[She's not lying. I remember the first time she did that thing to me. She laid in the same spot for over a decade until I finally caved.]

….I don't know if I should be impressed or not.

You really still care about her, don't you, Ddraig? I didn't need him to answer, his attitude said it all.

He was the type to hold a huge grudge, his rivalry with Albion evidence of that. Yet, despite Tiamat chasing after him over so many users, he never once thought about being forceful or harming her in any way.

I could tell Izzy was having a headache on how to handle this situation as well. Tiamat was at the threshold of being powerful enough that you couldn't simply command her to do something she didn't want to do.

And honestly, what could you even threaten her with? From what I recall, she lived in isolation in the middle of the Familiar Forest in the Underworld.

Her 'attachments' to her Pantheon? Ereshkigal called her 'mother' which made sense considering she's their Primordial Mother, but Tiamat never once returned that kind of affection. There's obviously a sort of invisible wall she keeps up between herself and her 'pantheon'.

[Sorry for getting you wrapped up in my mess.] Ddraig uncharacteristically apologized.

I wanted to point out his rivalry with Albion again but…..his attitude gave me pause.

"You said Ddraig took your treasures, explain what you mean?" I sighed, realizing what the best way to handle this was.

"He stole my treasures." She said with full seriousness.

Ddraig….

[I only took a few!]

How many is a few?

[….a few.]

"How much did he take?"

"Over half of my hoard." She scoffed in annoyance. "I managed to retrieve some of them over the years, but I'm still missing a lot. As his host, it's your job to get them back."

God dammit Ddraig. I have no idea how long that would take, and the fact that they've probably found new owners all over the world….

"….what if I was willing to give you some of my treasures?"

She perked up at that.

@***@

I pushed the door to my house open. "If you touch anything without permission, I won't care about Ddraig's affection towards you and I will not be polite. This is my home." I made it clear to the not-goddess Dragon.

Tiamat didn't speak to acknowledge my warning, just humming as she peeked inside, followed by Ereshkigal and Izzy. Izzy of course would supervise, and Ereshkigal was currently a guest so it would be rude to tell her to hang back.

And I didn't mind, she was Izzy's friend so she was more than welcome to visit my home. Truthfully, it was Izzy's home as well, even if she had a home in Yomi just as well.

Tiamat's nose twitched excitedly. "I smell a lot of treasures." She preened and nearly shot off down the hallway.

"What the hell!?" I heard Rin's voice as I quickly followed after the Dragon.

"What did I literally just say?" I grabbed the Dragon's arm as she stood in the doorway of Rin's Workshop.

"Schweinorg, what the hell?" Rin was confused and perhaps a tad angry at the suddenness of what was happening.

"Sorry, it wasn't intentional. Rin, meet Tiamat." I briefly made introductions.

Rin immediately recognized the name, staring at the Dragoness. "….why is she trying to get into my workshop."

"I smelled something good." Tiamat said simply.

"….thank you…?"

"She can apparently sniff out 'treasures'." I sighed. "But that's not where she should be going and is off limits. We're going to where I keep the majority of my stuff."

"….right." Rin was probably still confused at what was happening.

I was starting to think when you lived long enough, you developed some sort of odd quirk. Odin…Tiamat, others….there was a pattern forming.

Izzy quickly rejoined us, putting a not so gentle hand on the Dragon's shoulder. Tiamat just had a playful smirk on her face despite the situation.

[…I think she's having fun. She rarely comes out and interacts with people anymore]

That would….explain a lot.

"Ah?" Ereshkigal let out a noise, looking at Rin.

"Eh?" Rin returned, in confusion as the Sumerian Goddess stared at her with wide eyes.

"Be my priestess!" Ereshkigal blurted out.

"….what?" Rin blinked.

"I second that." Izzy replied.

"I…." Ereshkigal looked around awkwardly. "I didn't mean to blurt that out! It's just…..I was surprised. As soon as I saw you….a Mortal, I….I've never seen someone so compatible with me before."

"Perhaps you should start off by introducing yourself." Izzy offered.

"Right! I'm Ereshkigal, Goddess of the Underworld!" She said proudly. "Be my Priestess!"

"I'm Rin Tohsaka, and no."

"Wah? Why not!? I'm a Goddess!"

"I'm a Magu – Magician, why would I care about those sorts of things."

"I…..I can give you stuff….?"

Rin's eyes began to sparkle. "I'm listening."

Well, looks like Rin has this handled, I won't meddle in it then. Though I am curious about what's going on, so I'll ask her later.

"Where do you think you're going?" Izzy hissed under her breath as Tiamat seemingly tried to sneak away. "It's this way."

Well, I was content to let Rin handle her own matters as Izzy very gently navigated Tiamat down the hallway to the correct room.

Tiamat's nose twitched again and her eyes lit up. "I smell a lot of good things here." She didn't even wait for me to speak before pushing the door open.

Technically, I called this my armory, because it sounded cool. Realistically, it's just where I kept things that I don't keep in my Ring.

Magical and Enchanted weapons lined the walls. Magical ingredients of varying quality. There was also a good supply of potions set up on the shelves for emergencies when I wasn't around. There were duplicates of Magical Tomes which were properly housed in the Library that Jinn took care of. And there was a plethora of other random things that I found some degree of value in.

My inner dragon was happy being in here, despite the fact that I was giving some away.

Tiamat's hands were visibly twitching in excitement. "Can…..can I take what I want?" She hesitantly asked.

It went against my nature, but I relented with a sigh. "Take what you want."

I expected her to start scrambling around, but she was actually very meticulous as she walked up to a large shield, inspecting it thoroughly before pulling it off the wall and walking over near us, setting it down gently.

On the opposite side, she stared at a large two-handed sword for a while before taking it off a weapon rack and once more, gently set it down next to the shield.

She was making a little pile for herself.

She wordlessly started to grow the pile, adding more and more things onto it.

"What's this?" She held up a vial.

"Uh, crystallized Magical Energy – Dust as it's called." There was a bit of Dust stored here for emergencies as well.

Tiamat's eyes lit up and added it to the pile.

"What's her deal?" I asked quietly with Izzy by my side.

"What do you mean?" Izzy looked at me.

"She is….odd."

"She can hear you." Tiamat spoke from across the room.

"You're welcome to leave." I quipped back.

"Wilhelm, she is old. I don't quite think you understand how old she is." Izzy was…well, she was a bit more polite in her tone. "She's older than me."

"I would have thought Ddraig told you already." She stole a glance at me as she added a few more items to the pile. "I thought you were intentionally insulting before, but I guess you really don't know then."

Does she mean when I called her a Goddess and she got upset? Well, in truth, I couldn't feel an ounce of Divinity from her.

She was purely a Dragon. And Ddraig once told me a very brief outline of what happened to her…

"You lost your Godhood, right?" I asked.

"Do you normally bring up a woman's bad memories so bluntly?" Tiamat snorted.

I rolled my eyes. "You threw yourself onto the ground like a child when you didn't get your way."

"And I'll do it again." She said without an ounce of shame. If it wasn't a threat towards me, I would be impressed at this point. "It's not a secret. When my children mutilated my body to create the Heavens and the Earth, a small part of my will was swept up in the new lands they created. Eventually, it reformed into that of a Dragon due to my connection with Dragons when I was still a Goddess. I'm no longer a Goddess, simply a Dragon."

A Primordial Goddess reduced to this.

Simply a Dragon, yet one of the strongest Dragons in the world. It made me genuinely curious how strong she would have been at her best.

Eventually, Tiamat stopped adding things to the somewhat large pile as if she were done. "You're really letting me have these?"

"I'm paying Ddraig's debt." I admit I felt a little bit of an obligation due to my relationship with Ddraig.

Tiamat scrunched her nose. "It's not equivalent. These are nice treasures, but it's still a ways away from being what Ddraig stole from me."

"Don't push your luck." I rolled my eyes.

"Why?"

"What?" I replied back.

"Why are you giving me your treasures? Despite claiming you owe me a debt, I'm not stupid. I didn't expect you to actually pay it off. Normally, I just annoy Ddraig and his host for a while before going back home." She freely admitted to her normal plans. "Though, normally his Hosts aren't nearly at your level, both in strength and in hoard. His hosts are usually very poor. I'm just wondering why you're doing this for me."

"I'm doing it for Ddraig, not for you. Ddraig very clearly still cares about you, so I'm doing this in his stead."

She didn't respond to that immediately, her back was turned to me and I could barely see the edge of her face, but there was just a slight hint of something even if no words were spoken as she fiddled with the pile of stuff.

"You have a good relationship with the Great Welsh." She finally said.

"Of course, he's my partner. Eventually, I'll figure out a way to free him properly from his Sacred Gear and reform his body."

"Is that so?" She muttered to herself, waving her hand, the pile of stuff she picked out disappeared, swept up to wherever she stored it. "This place is rather nice. Lots of different species, and it's full of people. The perfect place for a Dragon to vacation for a while."

I felt a headache coming on.

@***@

A/N

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