CH 1| Catastrophic failure and a unique restart.

A.N\ yes. I did just call the first chapter unique, cuz it is.

~Rimurus's POV~

As we were dealing with Chronoa in Luminous's castle, trying to survive as long as possible. trying to figure a way to calm her down, if not then defeat her before she destroys everything.

Leon, who was helping me with her, as it his limits. and Luminous (should I change her name to Ruminas?) is barely alive after her battle with Garnbell, seemed to has regain some of her energy.

'nice! we might get some support from Luminous! hold on a bit longer Leon!'

after I thought of that, I saw Leon flaying, to then slam the wall, shattering it and making the whole building crumble. then, he fell to the ground. completely knocked out.

'Shit! if we don't deal with her now, we won't be able to stop her! Raphael-sensei, did you figure out a way to calm her down?'

<<Affirmative. by entering her consciousness we can forcibly separate the individual Chronoa from the individual Chloe. to do that, individual Rimuru must temporarily seal/contain their magicule output to remove the chance of individual Chronoa fleeing after being separated. after that individual Rimuru need to forcibly open a soul corridor via something of great emotional importance to them to create a vulnerability and enter their consciousness.>>

A.N\ I don't remember what exactly happen and what did Raphael say, but am 99% sure it wasn't the above. anyway, it works for the plot so whatever.

'uhhh...'

<<....You need to make her wear individual Shizu's mask and being in touch with it while it's on her face>>

'ah, wait, didn't your way of talking change a bit? and why did you sound annoyed?'

<<No. it's you're imagination>>

'No am sur it wa-'

I was cut off by Chornoa's attack, which I barely dogged. 'now's not the time to get distracted. what's important is, we have a way to stop her'

"Hey! Luminous! can you hold her down for a second? I think I have a way to calm her down!" A.N\ just so you know, I use '!' when the characters are screaming/being loud

"Are you sure? I won't be able to hold her for long. and if you failed, all of us are doomed!"

"what can we do!? we have no other choices, so we have to gamble everything on this!"

A.N\ when characters talk, they would have their names before their dialogue. except in casses where it's very obvious who's talking like now.

Luminous just nodded. and after I blocked a side slash from Chronoa, Luminous came from behind her and hugged her. which gave me enough time to bring out the mask from my [imaginary space] and jumped straight forward at Chronoa, with the mask at the tip of my fingers, aimed to her face.

but when I thought that I placed it on her face, nothing happen. I instantly noticed that was because she was moving her head around, resisting Luminous's grip, which lead to the mask being misplaced.

just when I thought that we have failed, Luminous placed her hand over mine's and corrected the mask's placement.

'Raphael-sensei, now!!'

<<Connecting to individual Chronoa's consciousness>>

~Luminous's POV~

after when Leon got knocked down, Rimuru said that he have a way to calm her down. I didn't believe it at first, but I remembered that it's Rimuru, who can just ignore logic (as in all that he did up until now is out of logic).

I was reluctant, because if he failed, all of Rubiros would be destroyed. but he's correct. we have no other options.

so, when I saw an opportunity, I came for behind her and held her down by hugging her. at that moment, a large amount of memories flooded over me, as I remembered her once warm and kind embrace, which is now cold and full of hatred. and I started to silently cry.

'you mustn't fail, Rimuru, pleas, don't fail.' I thought in desperation, wishing to see her smile again.

as he was about to place the mask on her face, she moved her head, which lead to the mask being placed incorrectly. 'NO! I won't allow it to fail now!' then, I placed my hand over Rimuru's and corrected the mask's placement.

A.N\ if you're wandering how she guessed that the mask need to be placed on Chronoas face. then my answer is: Luminous is smart enough to guess the obvious.

then, I felt a strange headache and feel unconscious. when I woke up, I couldn't see anything but darkness, and my entire body felt heavy. I was laying down on what felt like.. grass?

I tried to activate [Universal Perception] but I wasn't able to. no, it was more like I didn't have it anymore. in fact, it felt like I lost most of my skills and power.

"what the hell happened?"

~Rimuru's POV~

after I placed the mask on Chronoa's mask with the help of Luminous, Raphael started to connect my consciousness to Chronoas.

<<ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR ERORR>>

'AHHHH! what's that noise??!' it sounded like a synthetic voice breaking down, and as if tens were on at the same time. 'wait, a synthetic voi-' before I was able to complete my thoughts' I felt a strange headache and went unconscious.

when I woke up, I was in my slime form, feeling very heavy and unable to see or feel anything other than the grass which I was on.. 'wait a minute, grass?' what the hell happened? all that I remember is that after I placed the mask on Chronoa, I heard Rapha-

'RAPHAEL!! are okay?! what happened??!!'

I didn't get a response, which made me panic. but after focusing my mind, I heard something at the edge of my consciousness, when I entered my consciousness and reached the source of the noise, I was a copy of me, but with red eyes, crying.

<<I failed.. I failed.. I failed.. I failed.. I failed.. I failed.. I failed.. I failed.. I failed.. I failed..>>

it sounded like [Great sage] more than [Wisdom king: Raphael] and it felt like it was crying.

'it's alright, everything is fine. there is no need to cry'

<<but.. I failed master! I failed as a skill! there is no more reason for my existence!!>>

she continued to cry, lamenting herself. I came closer to her, bent down, hugged her, and let her face on my chest, so she would cry her heart out. I don't know much about this world of consciousness, but I can feel that time flows different here.

I don't know what happened, or what's going on. but what I know is: Raphael, or as she is right now, Great sage, made a mistake. because of that she thinks there is no more reason for her existence, because she failed. and now is probably thinking that I will abandon her.

after a few hours have passed, Great sage stopped crying, but it didn't let go of my embrace. 'she doesn't want me to leave her' I started caressing her hair, and gave her all the time she wanted to know for sure that I won't leave her.

after a few more hours passed, she left my embrace. <<am sorry master.. *sniff* I failed you... I wasn't capable of fulfilling *sniff* master's wishes>> she said as more tears fell from her eyes. <<pleas don't leave.. *sniff* I will never fail you again...>>

"you don't need to worry. I will never leave you. I won't hate you or leave you just because you failed once. without you, I would have went insane and died long ago in Veldora's cave, and even if I survived, I wouldn't have been to do tenth as I you did with me. you can fail again, you can fail a hundred more time, you can always fail, but I won't hate you, I won't leave you. because I would never be able to repay what you did for me, and how you've always been there for me no matter what."

I moved my hands and held her cheeks, my face drew closer to her head, and I kissed her in the... forehead.

"I would never leave you. you are like a sister to me, a sister I never imagined, a sister I never deserved, a sister I never even dared to wish for. no, more than even that. you're my literal half that I can never live without of ever again. many times have I feared losing you, many times have I feared that you would leave me. you're someone whom I love from all of my existence. so, don't cry like that, I will never leave or abandon you no matter what. even if it meant letting the world meet it's end." I started crying my self as I was saying that.

A.N\ remember! this's a Rimuru X Luminous, not a Rimouru x Ciel. so just so you know, they doesn't have a romantic love to each other. their love is similar to that of a family, but pumped to extreme. how much is pumped extreme? well, have you heard 'pumped to 11'? it's the same, but instead of 11, it's 17.

I was actually thinking of doing something a tad evil. aka make Great sage's story sad since she isn't the FL (female lead). but after writing their interaction, I realized that if I continued with my sad plans for Great sage, everyone who read this would come to stab me. so I chose the second best option. btw, the chapter is far from done.

I smile as I look at her eyes, while tears are sliding aside my smile and falling down, I hold her hands and say.

"promise me that you won't think that I will abandon you even again"

<<I promise>> she said with a radiant smile and closed eyes, her voice felt oddly.. pure, as if all the worries she disappeared and was replaced with a sense of bliss. 'well, I guess the same could be said for me.'

she jumped to me and hugged me, and I caressed her hair again for hours. 'both of us need some time to get back to our usual state'

after we felt that we are ready, we left each others embrace.

"it looks like you have acquired emotions. it doesn't feel correct calling you Raphael or Great sage any more, so I will name you Ci-"

before I was able to say her new name, she left her hand to my face, sighing me to stop.

<<Not now, master. naming me would make me evolve the same way it would for monsters. and the reason you shouldn't name me now, is because am only the Unique skill [Great sage] naming me now would only evolve me into the ultimate level of skills. but if you name me when am at leas the ultimate skill [Wisdom king: Raphael] or higher so that I may evolve into beyond an ultimate skill. that way, we could get the most effect from naming me.>>

huh. I didn't know about that. "wait, then I can evolve any of my skills by naming them?'

<<No. you can only name skills with egos or one that are strong enough to be 'special'>>

well, that make sense. otherwise, at least someone would have named their skills and that would have been very overpowered. that matter aside, here is the really important matter.

"So, what exactly happen? and why did you devolve from [Wisdom king: Raphael] to [Great sage]? and why did I lose consciousness? and why did I feel very weak?"

<<When master misplaced the mask on Chronoa, Luminous helped by pushing the mask over to Chronoa's face. the mask was supposed to be something akin to a gate (sealing her magic was an extra) to allow us to entre her consciousness. but because Luminous's hand was on the mask, she entered along side master. due to her being extremely emotionally unstable and 2 of the people she cared about the most came to her consciousness directly, she exploded. her emotions and hence power to be exact. and that lead to us traveling back in time to when master just reincarnated. but master wasn't safe from the explosion, nor was luminous. so to protect both of you, I sacrificed most of your skills to protect both of you. but Luminous got the worst part of the situation. since she became way weaker than she should be at this point in time. Luminous devolved from a [Divine Ancestor] into a [lesser Vampire] and master also devolved from [Demon Slime] into a [Lesser slime]. skill wise, I was able to secure my self and [Predator] though me and predator are weaker versions, other than that master has the intrinsic skills , and for Luminous, I wasn't able to save any of her skills, so she have only her intrinsic skill, but I was capable of giving her immunity to sun light and less need for human blood consumption. but if I didn't protect Master and Luminous, they would have been erased from all time>>

'ahhh, that's a lot of information. but the jest of it is that we traveled back in time and we are now way weaker than before, right?'

<<Yes>>

'then where is Luminous right now?'

<<right next to you>>

'!?'

'wait wait wait! I can't see anything right now, so can we acquire [Magic Sense] like we did in front of Veldora?'

<<yes master. though it would take more effort due to your nature as a lesser slime>>

ah well, it's fine as long as I can get it back.

~Luminous's POV~

in my confusion, I try to sense the area around me sense I can't see, but it feels as if my skills have disappeared. but, I keep trying anyway.

[Notice: Extra skill [Magic Sense] have been acquired]

what? I got an extra skill? and it's magic sense? if so... then my skills have really disappeared. but.. how? and why? the last thing I remember before I lost consciousness was that me and Rimuru placing a mask on Chronoa's face, which according to Rimuru, should have calmed her down, but, what is actually happening?

well, using [Magic sense] that I just acquired, I looked at my surroundings. the walls and celling are made out of stone, while the ground is covered by grass. there looks to be a pond nearby, which is the reason the grass is able to live. 'looks like am in some kind of cave'. I suddenly noticed that all this time, next to me, was a small blue blob. it looked like a slime, but it was too small for the average slime.

"what are you little guy?"

as I said that, the slime suddenly started to bounce, and it was very slow even for slimes. well, that little thing aside, I noticed that my body is smaller than what is should have been, and that am naked. I looked back at the slime, I saw that it ate grass and using the empty spaces to form letters. 'hoh-oh, this is interesting' but I was completely dumbfounded by what it was trying to write.

"I.. M... R.E..M.... it can't be, right? don't tell me that you're..." as I said that and looked at the slime. it move in a way that can only be deciphered as nod. then I I suddenly remembered that... I'm naked.

I could feel the heat on my cheeks as I try to cover as much of my self as possible. he then start to wooble, after a moment, he spits out something that looks like a dress.... that's made out of grass... which only covers the torso and is just long enough to cover my womanly parts.

"you expect me, the queen of nightmares, to wear a shabby dress mead out of grass?"

he just nodded his head.

no matter how much I frown at it, it better than being completely naked.

as I take it and start wearing it, I couldn't but think of one thing: 'this is so embarrassing! why do I have to be naked, then wear a shitty dress made out of grass in front of him? I would have been fine with it if it was Hinata, but it was him.... I feel so sad an miserable!

"ahhh... ooohhh.. eeehhhh....oooollllll..." after I finished 'dressing' I heard few sounds from behind me. 'it looks like Rimuru is trying to get his capability of speech back' I figured that he wasn't able to talk when he needed to write, which most likely means that he needs a skill to talk, at least it's so for his slime form. 'the moment he get back his ability to speak I will ask him wat's going on'

I just walked in circles, when I started to feel cold I heard Rimuru's voice. "ah! I can finally talk again!" he said while jumping enthusiastically.

"so, care to explain what the hell is going on?"

"Well, I-" he suddenly stopped for a moment as if he was thinking of something, then he continued.

"when you helped me with the mask when we were dealing with Chronoa, you accidentally entered her consciousness with me, and due to her unstable emotions at the time and seeing both of us, 2 of the most important people to her, she exploded. which made us go back in time, and as a means of protecting us, my then Ultimate skill [Wisdom King: Raphael] chose to sacrifice most our skills and power so we won't be erased from time. we devolved into [lesser slime] and [lesser vampire] I was able to save a weakened version of my unique skills, one of which is [great sage], the unique version of Raphael. and you got immunity to sunlight and in less need of blood consumption to survive"

.....

.....

...

.

it took me a bit to fully comprehend what happened, but looks like the situation is dire.

"then I guess our first priority is to get out of this cave" I said as I started to move while shivering from the cold. 'huh, so that's how it feels to be cold' it's a new sensation to me.

as I moved, Rimuru followed behind me, as time went, I started to feel colder and colder.

"hey, Rimuru, do you also feel the cold?"

"yes, all of our resistance are gone, including cold resistances"

he said in an unenthusiastic tone. 'it's weird for that guy to be this unenthusiastic, but then again, our situation is dire.' as we move a bit more forward, we saw a giant bat.

it gazed at our direction for less than a second, yet am already a shivering mess. 'what is this?' I asked unable to understand this new sensation. 'is this... fear?'

at that moment, I truly understood how weak we were. if it was me from before, I would have been able to make the that entire race go extinct in a day, yet, here I am shivering in fear just because it looked in my general direction for a moment.

when I regain my ability to stand and walk, I instantly went back to the cavern we were in. since it looked to be the closest place to a safe area.

when we returned, I just fell to the ground. my legs were no longer capable of resisting the cold. 'how are we supposed to survive this?' I asked my self, shivering, and powerless, I had no way of surviving. as I was about to cry in despair, I heard a Rimuru from behind say:

"here, take these. they are jeans and arm covers. yes, they all are made out of grass, but it's better than nothing right?" he said as he spitted out some cloth.

"oh and follow me, I have a nice surprise" I wore what he gave me and then followed him. close to one of the cavern walls, was his surprise.

"Tada~ a mattress and a pillow, they might only be made out of grass, but they are better than nothing! buy now for cheap!! and you will also get an extra thick grass blanket for free!"

"Pff, haha" I give a slight laugh. in any other time, I would have called it a 'lame joke whos only entertainment come from the clown that made such a sad thing'

but maybe because of the pressure that have been collecting on me, I laughed at it.

"did you make them for me?"

"yes, it looked like you were quit cold, and you look tired, so you should better sleep." I have never thought that I would ever be so thankful for someone being considerate to me. well am a bit tired so might as well go to sleep since he made it for me.

when I layed down, Rimuru jumped into between my arms, or in other words, to my chest.

but before I even started to gaze at him, he moved a bit, so he became between my arms and closer to my abdomen than my chest.

"I ate a lot of grass, and since this is a magicule rich cave, even the grass have a bit of energy stored in it. so, I have quite a bit of stored magicule, which I can use to make the cells of my body move faster, hence generating."

I stared at him, surprised. I knew he was the type of person that would give and help others, but I didn't expect it to be this much especially in such situation. I suddenly remembered on thing that I glossed over before.

"Rimuru, may I ask why did you tell me about your skills? especially since it looks like that's the most important one of them since I never knew about it before, let alone the fact that there is a high chance that you might acquire it again."

"ah, simple. because I trust you."

'just that? just because you trusted me?' I was completely dumbfounded by his response. but, it for some reason put a small smile on my face.

"thank you for trusting me, Rimuru" I said as I hugged him more and closed my eyes, finally going to sleep.

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A.N\ ok so some of you might say that her actions make no sense for her character. counter point is: she have experienced the cold, powerlessness, fear or maybe even terror, and most importantly, hopelessness. all at once when she went back in time with no clue where she is or what's going on to her people. so of course she would act that way. cuz she's overwhelmed.

if there is anything none cannon like names tell me. and if you think the logic that started this whole thing make no sense in cannon then fuck cannon plot is more important.

anyway, I was intending on writing something at most 1500+ words and to not take more than 4 hours so I can study and sleep. that was at 2:30 am. now it's 8:40 am, I have written 3200+ words, I didn't study and I didn't sleep for around 23 hours and I have a mid year exam in 1 pm, while I go outside of my home waiting for my driver at around 12 pm. so I have 3 hours and am fucked. anyway hop you enjoyed this and I will hopefully make chapter 2.

goodbye~