Anima Requiem: I Bought a Katana Online and Triggered the Apocalypse-Chapter 67: Bonding with Anima 3

The dragon, Axel let out a dry chuckle, the experience with lightning and fire still fresh in his mind.

"It is made entirely of zvezdan." Indus continued, "so if you manage to kill it, you’ll have abundant material."

Axel winced at those words, rubbing his left hand, no way in hell was he going close to that monster.

"You said four guardians?"

Indus nodded, "Each terrible in its own right, each representing a pillar of ancient Tihodol."

Hmm, so this should be the ruins, "and what does the dragon signify."

"Alchemy."

Well his hopes of learning crafting had basically been dashed, for now.

Axel sighed, "so no other way then."

Indus nodded, "Why do you want to learn?" his tone was a lot more serious now.

Axel stood silent, he took a deep breath, "To heal someone."

Indus’s gaze lingered on him for a second, almost like he was studying him, "I see."

"If it’s healing you want, the Gishiki can do that."

Axel’s eyes widened, gleaming with hope, "really?"

"Yep," Indus coughed, "I can teach you how to control it, of course you know what to do." He smiled.

Axel quickly got to one knee, "Master, this disciple greets."

"Don’t do that," Indus voice came, sharp and annoyed.

Axel looked up, what did I do wrong.

"You’re my disciple, not my slave." He looked away.

Intriguing, Axel thought to himself as he sat back down.

"What do you know about the Gishiki?" Indus asked.

Hmm, looking up Axel contemplated what he really knew about the Gishiki, time stoppage, has a will of it’s own, intangibility.

"I see, not much." Indus muttered, making Axels brow arch.

Standing up, he reached for the Gishiki, Axel looked on with anticipation, waiting for the so called rejection.

But Indus lifted it effortlessly, making him the second person since he got the katana.

What was I expecting, he made it after all.

Indus held the katana with both hands and studied the edge of the blade, the faint light of the lantern glinting along it.

"What is the greatest thing about humanity?" He mumbled, almost subconsciously.

The greatest thing about humanity, Axel looked up, wondering, uniqueness, I bet he wants something philosophical, if so...

"Ingenuity, innovation..."

"Wrong," Indus’s voice came, sharp and dismissive as he dropped the blade on the table.

"Thought?"

Indus glanced at him, a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

"Discovery, growth, dissatisfaction...greed" Indus said. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Those are what give rise to anything, the urge to grow, that is what makes humans unique, and that is the essence of the Gishiki."

Axels eyes darted back and forth as he thought of a counter argument, but nothing was coming forth.

"The will to grow, achieve perfection, although that in itself is a paradox."

"Because, there is no true perfection," Axel mumbled, "there will always be something better."

Indus nodded, a faint smile on his lips, "exactly."

So the Gishiki, the keeper, Everything finally came together in Axel’s mind, multiple powers, perfection.

But it doesn’t make sense, that’s just mindlessly collecting powers.

"You’re right," Indus’s voice drew him out of his monologue, "it wouldn’t make sense to just mindlessly collect powers."

Axel’s eyes narrowed, he can read minds?

"That’s why it looks for something that can overcome its current self, a power that can outdo the current blade," he slid his finger on the blade.

"Then it takes it for itself."

"How does it determine a power is better than it?"

A small scowl formed on Indus’s lips, "mostly by death."

Axels head tilted, "death?"

Indus nodded, "of course the current user has to use all available abilities and if he still fails, that’s when it happens, but of course that’s just one way."

"So you don’t necessarily need to die?"

Indus nodded again, "but I don’t know the other way."

"But that’s the Gishiki, active improvement, evolution," he spoke before Axel could reply.

"And it has seen you as a person worth investing in."

"You’ve bonded with it, but haven’t made first contact have you?"

Axel gulped and nodded.

"Here," He threw the blade to Axel.

"Close your eyes and look deep within yourself, feel the connection between you and the Gishiki."

"How would I know?" Axel asked as he held the blade.

"You will know, just focus on the blade."

Axel got in a meditative pose and closed his eyes, the Gishiki rested on his legs and he took a deep breath.

Except there was a problem, he knew he wasn’t really bonded with the Gishiki, so he was expecting failure.

Well I’d just try, if there is no reaction I can just make an excuse or I could just focus on the thread of continuity.

But nonetheless, he focused on the blade, curious to see what would happen.

At first nothing happened, no reaction, no dramatic inner world, nothing, just as Axel expected.

Although it was disappointing, his attention was about to shift to the thread of continuity when the Gishiki hummed as if trying to draw his attention back.

Axel’s eyes opened, no way, disbelief was written all over his face.

Indus tilted his head, his lips pulled down forming a frown, "you’re not done."

"Right," Axel chuckled and closed his eyes.

Did I really bond with the Gishiki, how. His mind went back to when the Gishiki glowed red back in the jungle, at that time he thought he was imagining it. But...how? didn’t it already have a wielder? could he be dead?

So many questions ran through his mind.

In the end he just chose to accept it, a grin formed, either way this just got interesting.

Axel exhaled, his face a lot more serious this time as he focused on the Gishiki for real this time.

This time it didn’t take long, he felt the Gishiki thrum on his laps, then it slowly got warmer.

The warmth started spreading, getting into him, it was like it was transforming him, he was becoming something else, he was...a metal, a lump, a blank lump.

Clank, a sound rang out in his head, sudden pain slamming into his head, rattling it.

Clank, the sound again, his eyes almost flew open but he bit his lips and kept it shut, not yet.

Clank, again, and again.

Eventually he gave up, the pain was too much, but he found his eyes couldn’t open, no matter how hard he tried.

Clank, the sound came again and with it pain, Axel wanted to scream but he couldn’t.

He could only endure the pain as the sound came over and over, it was like someone was hammering him, reshaping him, turning him to a....

Blade, the Gishiki, he was no longer Axel, he was no longer the Gishiki, he was something else.

They were one, then clank, the sound rang out again, louder this time, reverberating, Axel couldn’t hold it anymore.

He screamed out, this time a sound came out, his eyes flew open.

Before he could react, Indus in one fluid motion, picked up the Gishiki and spun around, thrusting the blade towards Axel.

His eyes widened as the blade plunged into him, tearing muscles, tendons and bones effortlessly, penetrating his heart.

Then thrum, energy blasted out from his chest, pushing the old man and everything away from Axel.

Then everything turned black.