Lady Calamity and the Shepherd (Tales of Berseria × Tales of Zestiria Crossover)

Chapter 31: The Cause of Velvet's Malevolence

Sorey covered his face with an arm as he descended into the maelstrom of Malevolence. Wind was blowing the Malevolence everywhere and scratching and cutting all of Sorey's body. Then, it felt like he walked off a cliff and he was plummeting downwards. "AHHHH!" Sorey screamed. Then, his sight returned, and the purple Malevolence vanished. What he saw in front of him made his eyes widened. He was above what looked to be the continent of Glenwood, but it was different. It looked like many different islands. "Woah... beautiful..." he muttered to himself. He then started plummeting at a faster speed. "Oh no... THIS IS GONNA HUUUUURRRRRT!" He screamed as he fell towards the eastern island. As he grew closer to the ground, he saw a port town and a secluded town in the middle of the woods. As he finally came close to the ground, he closed his eyes and winced, waiting for the impact. When he didn't feel an impact he slowly opened his eyes and found himself floating an inch above the ground. Sorey repeatedly blinked. Then he fell with a loud grunt.

"Ow... my nose." Sorey muttered, rubbing his nose. He got up and looked around. He had landed in the town in the middle of the forest and right in the middle of the hustle and bustle. People were talking, smiling and doing their jobs. He saw a guy around his age trying to calm some cattle. The cattle seemed to be spooked and weren't listening to the guy. Sorey walked over to him and asked, "Need some help?" The guy didn't respond, except continued trying to calm the cattle and seemed to not hear him. "Hey-" Sorey called out, putting a hand on the guy. Though, as soon as his hand touched the guys shoulder, it past through him and out the other side. Sorey gasped and jumped backwards, retracting his hand from the guy. "You damn animals! Just listen for once!" the guy yelled out. Then, a familiar girl ran towards him and started helping. "Shhhh! Shhhh..." Velvet shushed calmingly, rubbing one of the cows' head. The cow calmed considerably, and so did the rest of the cattle as soon as she approached.

The other guy just watched, same as Sorey, but while the guy watched with admiration, Sorey watched in shock. Velvet had her long, black hair tied into a braid that went down her back and her hair looked tidier then the current Velvet he knew. She wore a short sleeve brown shirt and pants that stopped mid shin. "Wow Velvet. How do you do it?" the guy asked with a grin. Sorey regarded him and took in his appearance. He had black, tousled hair and black as night eyes. He was wearing a blue t-shirt and brown shorts. Velvet just giggled and said, "Celica always said took keep a calm composure when dealing with animals and Arthur continuously drills in my head that, when hunting, to keep a level head and never lose your cool." The guy chuckled. "You all done for the day Chris? I was going to the shop and meeting Rebecca and Niko there. Wanna join?" She asked the guy. Chris just smirked and said "Lucky for all three of you, I'm all done. Meaning you all can be graced with my prescience." Velvet just deadpanned.

"And this is the reason I wonder why I became friends with you..." Velvet said, turning around and walking towards a man with tables set up and an assortment of stuff on them. Chris and Sorey followed. "Because I am Rebecca's boyfriend!" Chris said with a grin. "Yeah. Whatever." Velvet snorted. When they reached the shop, they met up with a red-haired and a blonde-haired pair of girls. The red head wore a yellow dress with a white undercoat. She had on white leggings and a pair of brown boats. Around her neck was an orange and white ascot tied into a bow. Her orange eyes sparkled with joy as she laughed. Her hair was a short bob cut style but had two locks of longer haired tied up in two yellow bows and were thrown over her shoulders. The blonde-haired girl wore a red sundress and had on a pair of black, knee high boots. Her red and orange eyes shined with mirth as well, making them seem like dancing flames. Sorey looked at the pair of girls with wonder. Both were strikingly beautiful.

"Hello ladies! The one and only Chris has arrived!" Chris exclaimed, stealing a kiss from the blonde and sitting beside her. Must be his girlfriend... "And me." Velvet said with a smile, glaring playfully at Chris. He just smiled. Two dogs ran around from behind the red head that Sorey immediately recognized. "Orthie! Russ!" Velvet squealed, kneeling down and scratching behind both dogs' ears. They barked happily at her. The red head just huffed and rolled her eyes. "Those scared-y-cats were hiding in the house the whole day, whimpering!" she stated. "Now, now Niko. Calm down." The blonde, Rebecca said with a calm smile. And so, the four began to talk about random stuff. Mostly about Velvet needing to find a boyfriend. Though she would repeatedly shoot them down, saying "I have no time for romance." Sorey just watched. "Why would the Malevolence send me here?" he wondered out loud. A feeling inside him told him to continue sticking around Velvet and he would know.