issei fear manifest

chapter 5 umbris

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Issei: "Umbris, huh? A pretty fitting name, I suppose, seeing as you're all spooky and shit."

Umbris: "I'm choosing to take that as a compliment. Anyways, to get back on topic, we need to get you cloaking before our energy begins leaking like a broken showerhead."

Issei: "Well, how do I do that?"

Umbris: "Concentrate. Envision yourself like an open vessel. You must close this vessel before the contents escape."

Issei: "Alright, I guess I'll give it a try." He took a deep breath and did as Umbris said. He envisioned himself as a chest and metaphorically closed the lid. "Did I do it right?"

Umbris: "Indeed, you did. You're a natural. I'll have you trained and in tip-top shape much sooner than I anticipated."

Issei: "That's good, I guess. What should I do next?"

Umbris: "Rest. You've had a long night and need to be rested to properly learn. Cloaking was simple, but it only gets harder from here. I need you at the top of your metaphorical game."

Issei: "Oh, okay then. Goodnight, I guess. See you tomorrow."

Umbris: "Goodnight, Issei."

With Ichika and Rias:

Ichika: "Hey, Rias, did you feel anything weird a while back?"

Rias: "As a matter of fact, I did. It was certainly supernatural in nature, but it wasn't any energy I recognize. It made me feel uneasy, like I was being watched."

Ichika: "Yeah, I felt like that too. I had chills running down my back."

Rias: "Well, whatever it is, it's most likely dangerous. I want you to be extra careful. Now, I need my beauty rest. Come over here already." The redheaded girl said as she laid in only a pair of panties.

Ichika: "Yes, ma'am." The brown-haired girl climbed into bed with the redheaded beauty. It was a dream come true for her. She had always been popular, and any guy in the school would lick her feet if she ordered, but she never felt any attraction towards them. She had quickly realized she was a lesbian after a game of spin the bottle at a party led to her making out with another girl. (Author's note: She's literally just as perverted as Issei.)

Draig to himself: "It seems another player has taken his seat at the table. I wonder how you will fare, my host."

The next morning with Issei:

Umbris: "Issei, wake up. We have much to do."

Issei: "Mhhm, five more minutes."

Umbris: "Nope, none of that." Suddenly, Issei felt something akin to a cold wind push him from the bed.

Issei: "Hey, what was that for?" He said as he sat up and opened his eyes.

Umbris: "No time for lazing about. Get ready and then return to this room. It's time for a crash course on the truth of the supernatural."

Issei: "Okay, okay, I get it." Issei got ready, took a shower, got dressed, and grabbed a toaster pastry from downstairs for breakfast. He then returned to his room. As he passed by the living room, he saw a becoming all-too-familiar sight: his parents and sister joined by the so-called Queen of Kuoh, Rias Gremory. Although this time was different—the red-haired woman was surrounded by a faint red mist, same for his sister. He was surprised, so the quick glance turned into a stare, and unluckily for him, he was noticed by Rias.

Rias: "Hello, you must be Issei. I'm Rias. I don't believe we've had a chance to properly meet yet."

Issei: "You're right, we haven't. Issei Hyoudo, nice to meet." He said coldly with a disinterested tone.

Rias: "I hope me spending so much time here hasn't been a bother to you. You know it's just that Ichika has been helping with my homework, and then it gets late, so it's easier to just stay here." As Rias said this, Issei noticed what appeared to be red waves traveling his way. As they passed by him, nothing happened, but he was still unnerved.

Issei: "I don't care. Not like it actually affects me. Although if you want an excuse to come over, I wouldn't use that homework one. I've seen my sister's grades. She's not totally brain dead but definitely not tutor material. Anyways, I've got stuff to do, so bye." With that, Issei excused himself. "Umbris, what the hell was that?"

Umbris: "She was trying to use suggestion on you. I'll explain soon, don't worry." Author's note: Always assume Issei-Umbris convos are subconscious unless stated otherwise.

Issei: "Alright." Issei returned to his room. "So, care to explain?"

Umbris: "Yes, I will." Umbris proceeded to explain the supernatural to Issei.

Issei: "So, you're telling me all that's actually real? Angels, devils, mythological gods—all of it?"

Umbris: "Indeed. Unfortunately, we don't have time for all that to soak in. We need to begin your training as soon as we can. I can feel disaster on the wind."

Issei: "Wait, can you see the future?"

Umbris: "Haha, no, my boy. Once you live as I do, you start getting a knack for this kind of thing. You can just feel when things aren't right."

Issei: "Oh, okay. Anyways, we should start training, right? What should I do?"

Umbris: "I appreciate the enthusiasm, but not here. The devil girl and your sister would sniff us out if we started using magic here. I found a place on the edge of town while you were asleep. It should work well for your training—nice and remote. I'll share its location with you." Issei felt a strange sensation. It was like having information injected right into his brain.

Issei: "Whoa, that's trippy."

Umbris: "Do not worry. You'll get used to it. Now, let's go. We're burning precious time."

Issei: "Right, sorry." Issei left his house unnoticed and moved towards the location he was given. When he arrived, he saw it was an abandoned and run-down warehouse. "Alright, we are here. So, what now?"

Umbris: "Alright, luckily you're already adept with mana, so I don't need to go through that with you. We can skip straight to the book."

Issei: "Book?"

Umbris: "Yes, a book. Do you remember the sacred gears I told you about?"

Issei: "Oh yeah, the artifacts that some people are born with."

Umbris: "It's kind of like that. Focus and try manifesting it."

Issei: "Okay." Issei began concentrating. He looked within and felt something like a solid mass in his energy, and suddenly, he was holding a black leather-bound book with a shadowy chain connecting it to his core. "Whoa."

Umbris: "Whoa indeed. Say hello to the Tome of Nightmares. It's what's stopped you from dying all this time."

Issei: "Wait, what?"

Umbris: "You see, normally, if a normal human had as much power as you do, their body would shut down. But the tome acts like a cork, stemming the flow so your body can handle it. Open it up."

Issei: "I guess that makes sense. Okay, I'll give it a look." Issei opened the book and soon found only four pages with anything on them. One was titled "Ruin Crab" and had an illustration of a crab. The next, "Somnophage," had an illustration of a smoky black figure similar to Umbris. The next seemed to be some kind of transformation called "Thief of Sanity," and the last was a spell called "Breath of Fear." "So, Umbris, care to explain what all this is?"

Umbris: "Patience, my boy, but yes, I'll explain. You see, our magical proficiencies are summoning, transformation, and illusion. I'll explain the currently available ones. First, the Ruin Crab is a crab that emits a frequency which causes unease in humans. They are also quite resilient, so they make good shields. Next, the Somnophage is like worker bees. They collect fear in the wild and return it to me. The Thief of Sanity transformation allows you to turn into a flying specter-like creature that's quite sneaky, and the Breath of Nightmare allows you to release a gas which, when inhaled, causes the victim to temporarily see their worst fear."

Issei: "Gnarly. So should we get training?"

Umbris: "Yes, sounds about right."