A/N: A Ferro POV feels about right at this point, so let's take a look in his mind real quick!

  He's perhaps a little frazzled. Fbbergasted, even.

  -x-X-x-

  Ferro, Ancient God of Forges and Smithing, was not used to being surprised at this point in his long life. Even when Tyranos and the other Void Gods had immediately turned on him and chained him up upon his arrival in the Void, he hadn't truly been all that shocked. Deep down, part of him had always known it was a possibility, even as he'd hoped their reaction to his arrival would be more positive.

  But this? This was something else entirely. He'd been convinced that he was hallucinating when the Otherworlder and his niece first showed up oh so miraculously. There was just no way they could be real… right? His two greatest regrets had come to torment him, that was the only thing that made sense.

  And yet… Ferro no longer believes he's hallucinating. Which frankly just makes matters worse, truth be told.

  "How… how are you here? How can either of you be here?"

  Sophia and Oren share a gnce at that. In the end, the Otherworlder speaks first.

  "As I told you before, I spared Sophia's life in the Heavens. Then, I went on to fight Law. After he shattered the illusion and breathed his st breath, I fled to the Mortal Pnes where I hid the armor and sword you crafted for me away. My pn after that was to go and live out in the wilderness… maybe build myself a log cabin if possible."

  His niece cuts in next.

  "Meanwhile, after Oren spared me, I fled to the Mortal Pnes as well. I could sense something was coming… no doubt the Void Gods entering the Heavens behind Oren to begin cleaning things up and taking over. Unfortunately, while I unknowingly escaped their notice, I was soon sniffed out by God Hunters here on the Mortal Pnes."

  Sophia scowls a bit, her hands curling into fists at her sides.

  "Maybe now I could have lost them properly, but I didn't have the power to escape or fight them off back then. By the time I stumbled upon Oren, I had completely drained myself of divine power. I was on my st dregs."

  Oren takes over again with a grunt.

  "I fought off her pursuers and once I realized exactly who she was… I decided to help her get to safety. What neither of us knew was that she was being hunted by a Void God by that point."

  Frowning, Sophia shakes her head.

  "Hang on a second. We don't know for sure Raythe was after me. It's possible that he was after you, Oren! After all, you were the one with the knowledge he wanted."

  Shrugging, Oren inclines his head.

  "Perhaps. Either way, he hunted us down and we had to kill him."

  "R-Right… though not before he spilled the beans about just who Oren was to me. I… reacted rather poorly."

  Sophia looks embarrassed and ashamed of herself, but Oren just scoffs and squeezes her hand a little tighter, something that Ferro doesn't fail to notice.

  "I'd say you reacted perfectly proportionately. If anything, you were kinder to me than I deserved. You'd just found out I killed everyone you knew and loved… you would have been well within your rights to just kill me and be done with it."

  Huffing, Sophia shakes her head.

  "And then where would I be? Probably dead ten times over, all things considered. Besides, you didn't know what you were doing. We've been over this; it wasn't your fault."

  "Sophia…"

  "Oren…"

  Ferro bangs his stumps together, pulling the two out of what looked like the beginnings of a lover's squabble.

  "Enough! I didn't ask for your life stories, did I? How did you get HERE?! To the Void?! And why in the world would you come here in the first pce?!"

  Sophia and Oren exchange another gnce at that. Ferro could honestly hardly believe it. His niece and the Otherworlder were truly a couple, weren't they? It was utterly ridiculous… and yet, who was he to judge?

  "Well… to cut a long story short, Tyranos tricked us into leading him right to the armor and sword that Oren used to sughter the Heavens."

  "Tricked me, you mean."

  "Us. Or are we not in this together?"

  Oren grumbles but doesn't try to correct her again, prompting Sophia to continue on.

  "Anyways, we barely escaped with our lives after Tyranos revealed his true nature. From there, it all seemed a little hopeless… until we realized you must have been the one to forge the weapon and armor in the first pce. At which point, our pn became focused on getting to you."

  Nodding, Oren picks up where Sophia leaves off.

  "There was a portal to the Void with a blood lock on it hidden under Skycastle, the city where the God Hunters first started popping up. Sophia was able to unlock it because she's Tyranos' niece. After pilfering some Celestial Metal from the God Hunters, we came here hoping that against all odds, you might still be alive."

  Oh. Oh no. Ferro feels his stomach dropping as Oren looks down at the stumps where his hands used to be. After a long, pregnant pause, the Otherworlder continues on with his expnation.

  "… We came here to find you because we hoped you would be able to craft a new set of armor and a new sword. Armaments that would allow us to take the fight to Tyranos… and maybe allow me to kill him, once and for all."

  Of course. They were here because he was their st hope. Suddenly feeling every bit his age, Ferro droops back against the anvil behind him while letting out a humorless ugh.

  "Heh. Sorry to disappoint then."

  Silence falls for a moment as the two try not to stare too much at his stumps. Finally though, Sophia breaks the silence, unable to hold herself back any longer.

  "Tyranos did that to you, didn't he? He didn't want to kill you, but he also couldn't risk you ever making something capable of stopping him."

  Huffing, Ferro slowly nods.

  "Yes. Though you might think it was because of some remaining embers of brotherly affection or something. This was not the case. Tyranos… he isn't the God of Murder or Killing. He's the God of Tyranny and Conquest. Leaving me alive but removing my hands so I can no longer create, no longer forge… that's something that undeniably strengthens his domains."

  Ferro closes his eyes for a brief moment, grimacing in remembrance. Neither of his brothers had been perfect. But it had taken him far too long to accept just how imperfect they both were. He'd allowed his familial love to blind him to their faults until it was too te. Until both of them were stained with more blood than he could imagine.

  If he'd stepped in sooner, could he have stopped the schism from even happening in the first pce? If he'd put his foot down earlier, would Law have found a different method for dealing with 'dark' gods? Maybe he could have done more to visit Tyranos earlier, to try and keep him sane before the millennia in the Void utterly broke him and twisted him into the monster he was now.

  It was all his fault, in the end.

  "I still think he made a mistake, leaving you alive."

  Ferro's eyes snap open, moving to his niece. She crosses her arms over her chest and smirks a little bit.

  "In fact, I would say letting you live was definitely a foolish move on his part."

  Narrowing his gaze, Ferro frowns.

  "What are you saying, niece?"

  Sophia gnces down at Ferro's stumps and then over at Oren before finally looking him in the eye once more.

  "You still draw breath, don't you uncle? You can still think, feel… and speak. All of your knowledge and skill hasn't gone anywhere just because you can't personally implement it anymore. Tyranos would have been better off killing you because as you are now… you can still pass on your knowledge to someone else."

  Still holding Oren's hand in her own, Sophia reaches over with her free hand to pat her lover on the shoulder as she smirks.

  "You have a student right here, uncle. Someone with limitless potential no less. Someone who is as strong and fast as a god, and can handle whatever you throw at him."

  From the wide-eyed look on the Otherworlder's face, he hadn't seen this coming any more than Ferro had. And yet… in a way that shows just how much faith Oren has in Ferro's niece, the Otherworlder takes only a few seconds to swap out that shock and surprise for determination and resolve.

  He nods decisively as Ferro meets his eyes.

  "She's right. So Tyranos took your hands. I can be your hands."

  Grumbling, Ferro pushes himself off of the anvil and looks the Otherworlder up and down for a long moment.

  "… I've never taken on apprentices lightly, young man. And normally an apprenticeship under me is the time of decades if not centuries."

  But Oren shakes his head.

  "I'm not telling you to make me your apprentice. I'm telling you to forge me into a tool."

  Its Sophia's turn to be surprised, her eyes widening slightly as she jolts from Oren's words.

  "Wha- Oren…"

  But the Otherworlder is quick to pcate her, offering her a soft smile and bringing his free hand up to caress her cheek.

  "I know what you're going to say Sophia. But the truth hasn't changed. The Void Gods brought me to this universe to turn me into their weapon. They succeeded. All I've known these past few years until meeting you was how to be that weapon. Just this once, I'd rather be used to create something instead of killing. Even if at the end of all of this, we're going to have to do our part in killing Tyranos."

  Sophia's breath hitches and her eyes water with unshed tears as she gazes into Oren's eyes.

  … Ugh. Young love. If the situation wasn't what it was, Ferro would be making retching noises right now and all around being an annoying grumpy old geezer about all of this. As things stand though, they just don't have the time.

  "You're right, of course. A traditional apprenticeship is impossible. Even a truncated one would be impossible. Tyranos would no doubt show up at some point to gloat if nothing else. How much time do we really have, you two?"

  Forced to pull their eyes off of one another, his niece and the Otherworlder fall into a mutual state of contemption. Finally, both of them looking quite grim, Sophia gives their answer.

  "… Not long. When we left the Mortal Pnes behind, Tyranos was working his way through the Ancient Gods found there. I don't know how much longer he'll take… but it won't be more than a week or two more, I don't think. If we're going to do this, we need to do it fast."

  One to two weeks. Heh, it was obvious his niece knew nothing about what went into crafting proper armor and weapons. But to be fair, Ferro was used to clients who didn't understand reasonable deadlines. And to her credit, his niece had a better reason for wanting things done faster than most had in the past.

  But more than anything… how could Ferro say no to an opportunity like this? Even if they failed, even if it didn't work at all… he was a God of Forges and Smithing who could no longer operate a forge or smith a single thing. Without his hands, he was useless. But if Oren could be his hands…

  Looking to the Otherworlder, Ferro makes up his mind.

  "Do you know anything about smithing?"

  Shaking his head, Oren gives Ferro a resolute look.

  "Not a thing, sir."

  Ferro snorts derisively. Heh, at least he was honest.

  "Then we'll have to spend a couple of days just training your hands up before we try to make anything with this Celestial Metal. It won't be easy boy. You will not enjoy it, nor will you learn much of anything from it. It will be grueling, ceaseless work. And we still might fail, in the end."

  Gncing from Oren to Sophia and back again, Ferro simply lifts an eyebrow.

  "Are you sure you two don't want to just run and leave this old man to his well-deserved fate? You owe nothing to anyone in this forsaken universe."

  Once more, his niece and her lover exchange a gnce with one another. Before they even turn back to him though, Ferro can already see that neither is willing to back down.

  "We're sure, uncle."

  "If not us… then who? Besides, Tyranos deserves what's coming to him."

  "Oren is right. Letting Tyranos get away with everything… I don't think I could live with myself."

  Seeing the depth of their resolve, Ferro finally nods, the Ancient God letting out an explosive breath.

  "Very well then. Come, Otherworlder. Let us start with reshaping your hands from those of a killer into those of a smith."

  Oren nods, his jaw set in determination as he pulls away from Sophia and moves to Ferro's side. This probably wasn't going to work… but what did Ferro have to lose at this point?

  Actually… he had a lot more to lose now then he did an hour ago, before these two showed up and gave him a small ember of hope again. Damn it all… he would just have to do his best, he supposed.

  -x-X-x-

  A/N: Yooo, chalk one up for Pn 'fuck it we ball' eh? Actually seems to be working out for our intrepid heroes!

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