Fenrir's Journey : I Shall Devour The Heavens!

Once again, Fenrir found herself in endless darkness without either space nor time to keep her company. Fortunately, it didn't 'seem' to last long before Fenrir found herself moving through the strange membranes once again. Like before, she took the opportunity to [Devour] some of the strange energy while a voice sounded within her head, the same one she heard previously, ("You have been identified as an anomaly without a Fate, existing outside the Karmic System. In order to evaluate you, Heaven's Will has decreed you shall be sent to a world for observation. As compensation, you have been given the 'Boon' known as [Absolute Obsurance]. Regardless of the difference in Cultivation, you will always appear 'mysterious' to observers and possessing of strong karmic influence. The world you have been sent to is called Xan, though many of the entities residing inside of it refer to it as the Nine Realms. Depending on your performance, you will have the option of making one request of Heaven's Will upon completion of the observation period. Good luck, Anomaly: 003, Fenrir...")At the same moment that the voice ceased talking, Fenrir found that her surroundings had changed completely. She was no longer moving through the strange membranes but was instead falling from the sky at a dangerous momentum. Fortunately, the training with Eva had allowed Fenrir to develop the advanced instant movement technique, [Koku Shundo]. Fenrir slowed her descent with her magical power and created a foothold in the air.The response of the elemental energy in the atmosphere was different than normal, causing Fenrir's foothold to break rather quickly. However, to avoid crashing into the ground below, Fenrir kept creating more and more, slowing her descent speed until she finally managed to stand stably in the air for a brief moment. After that, she dashed down to the ground with a controlled momentum before landing atop a grassy plateau. Looking around, Fenrir noticed that she was in a vast wilderness full of massive trees and strange fauna. There were several scents in the air that sent danger flags off inside of her mind, causing Fenrir to seek shelter so she could evaluate the best course of action.From what the voice told her, this was a world called Xan, the Nine Realms. Fenrir knew that this world wasn't the same as the one her Master resided in as the composition of the elemental energies in the atmosphere was completely different. It seemed far less dense than the world she knew but, at the same time, Fenrir also sensed a different kind of energy present. It was likely some form of Law that she didn't understand and, if not for its similarity to the strange energy she ate in the membrane, Fenrir might not have recognized it at all.After finding a small cave to hide in, Fenrir retreated into its depths and found a safe place to sit. Her heart and mind were not calm, especially since she had been ripped from her world and separated from her Master, so Fenrir needed to focus her mind through meditation. Only by having a calm mind would she be able to think of a solution to her problem. Thus, after regulating her breathing, Fenrir began to practice her [Mind of Still Water, Heart of Eternal Ice]...(Fenrir's Commentary: 'It isn't easy meditating under such circumstances...')

She didn't know exactly how long it took, as the passage of time during meditation was hard to keep track of, but Fenrir finally managed to calm down. During her meditation, she noticed that the strange energy she could sense had actually helped out quite a bit. Just breathing it in had allowed Fenrir to absorb the energy into the 'void' within her stomach, allowing her body to break it down into a form of energy she could make use of. It also had the benefit, unlike normal elemental energy, of strengthening her body slightly. Fenrir felt that 'breathing' in the strange energy was almost as good as eating Magic Cores to sustain herself...Since she didn't know how long she would be stuck in this world, this was a very important discovery to make. After all, her [Insatiable Hunger], which allowed her to convert anything she ate into energy, was also the key to her strength. The more she ate, the more energy her body produced and, by saturating the mana circuits and cells of her body, Fenrir's growth could increase without limits. According to her Master, the name 'Fenrir' was derived from the record of a giant wolf that was large enough to even devour the stars.One thing she was absolutely certain of was that, if she wanted to return to her Master, Fenrir needed the strength to survive until they could reunite. At the very least, she needed to survive until her Master managed to track her down. She knew that, even if she was in a distant world beyond his reach, her Master would still come to her one day. However, not content with just waiting around, Fenrir decided she would instead go to him. If she managed to become stronger than anything else, there would be nothing standing in her way.Judging by the words of the voice, Fenrir inferred that this world was one based on Cultivation, the exact thing her Master had been teaching her about. She even speculated that he might have seen this coming, a thought that made Fenrir's desire to overcome this situation even stronger. It might have been a little irrational, but she found comfort in believing this was the case. However, a part of her mind also told her that he would have never endangered Vana in such a way. Remembering this, Fenrir swore that she would punish whoever had tried to steal her Master's daughter, something that, once again, required her to become stronger.The place she had been thrown to after saving Vana was something beyond comprehension but, Fenrir also knew that there was no such thing. Her Master had always told her that the only 'limit' was your perception of something. If you worked hard to understand it, regardless of what it was, you would one day be able to reach an understanding. This was the same principle to growing strong as, much like her Innate, [Insatiable Hunger], there were no real limits to a person's growth, not even time. Thus, in order to return to her Master's side, punish the bullies that had tried to kidnap Vana, and overcome the strange entity that had thrown her into this world...Fenrir decided to become strong...stronger than anything...Even if...she had to devour everything...(Fenrir's Commentary: 'If the other Fenrir can eat stars, I will become strong enough to eat galaxies...! I won't lose to another Fenrir, not after Master gave me this name!')

Within the endless black void, there was neither time nor space. Fenrir couldn't sense any kind of energy around her at all, almost as if the Laws themselves no longer existed. Even so, though there was no space to traverse, Fenrir had a sense that she was 'moving'. After what felt like a long time, and simultaneously no time at all, Fenrir felt her body pass through several membranous barriers. Every time she passed through one, Fenrir felt the Laws around her strengthening as a vast amount of energy coiled around her body.Though she had no understanding of what was happening, Fenrir was very upset to have been suddenly torn away from her world. She didn't regret saving Vana, but the thought of being separated from her Master made Fenrir feel very 'hungry'. As this vast and unknown energy passed through her body, Fenrir opened her mouth wide and began to [Devour] the energy. Most of it just passed through her body, almost like she was a phantom, but Fenrir still managed to eat a very large amount of energy. Then, before she was aware of the change in her surroundings, Fenrir crashed into a massive blue diagram...Fenrir had studied magic with Eva, so she knew a fair amount about magic circles and wards. This object she had crashed into, however, was unlike anything she had ever experienced. First of all, it was vast beyond comprehension and, no matter how she tried to make sense of the arrangement of runes, it was like something was obscuring her vision. Staring at one spot for too long would give her a painful headache, causing her to ball up in pain until the throbbing of her mind ceased. If not for her ability to revert back to her 'default' state, Fenrir believed her mind would have been shattered by the incomprehensible diagram.Suddenly, a strange voice, almost like several voices overlapping each other, began to speak out from all directions simultaneously. It was very cold and detached as it said, "Hero Summoning has failed. Analyzing anomaly...identified. Target possesses the record of catastrophe class existence 'Fenrir', Heaven Devouring Wolf. Evaluating target in accordance with summoning criteria...failed. Target protected by an unidentified system. Attempting to overwrite...failed. Target system exists beyond all records. Analyzing data...target deemed unsuited for Hero Summoning. Analyzing Karmic Value of the target for relocation...error. Target exists outside of Karmic System. Evaluating options in accordance with Heaven's Will, section 374,993,582, subsection 13. Target evaluated to be beyond existing metrics of evaluation. Target now identified as Anomaly 003, Identification: Fenrir. In order to collect further data, 003 will be sent to an appropriate world for observation. Analyzing the capabilities of 003...indeterminant. 003 contains unknown energy source and unverifiable potential. Selecting record with a high degree of variance for purposes of evaluation...found. Record QZ-000439, Identification: Xan, Soul Tier Evaluation: 1-7. In accordance with procedures, 003 will be given a Blessing to preserve their Soul in the event of death and 1 Boon to aid them in their growth."The entire time the voice was speaking, Fenrir couldn't move a single muscle of her body. It was like time around her had been brought to a stop and, other than the voice, no other stimuli reached Fenrir's brain. She had no idea what was going on but, before she was even able to form a thought, it was already too late. Fenrir found herself thrown into another rainbow-colored portal before darkness claimed her once again...(Fenrir's Commentary: 'That was one of the most confusing events I ever experienced. The only thing I understood was that Vana had almost been the victim of a Hero Summoning Ritual...How cruel...)

Chapter 16: Xan