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Chapter 206 The Forbidden Art of Oolacile
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The warm, colorful glow of the Homeward Miracle faded from Naruto's skin, its soft divine shimmer melting back into the quiet stillness of Lordran. The air here was heavier, yet somehow, it felt… comforting.
Naruto stretched his arms overhead, letting out a slow breath. "It's been too long."
Oscar gave a noise which translated perfectly to: We were literally here yesterday.
"Yeah, but we didn't do anything yesterday, other than sit at Firelink Shrine and come up with a lie for Jiraiya and the others."
Oscar tilted his tiny head, chirping again.
"Okay, fine," Naruto said, rolling his eyes. "You did help, if you count watching me brood about Sakumo-san and my clan's destruction as 'help.'"
The crystal lizard gave a sharp, proud squeak, as if saying emotional support counts.
"Yeah, yeah. You're the best emotional support lizard anyone could ask for."
Their lighthearted exchange faded as a gentle, graceful voice drifted down from the staircase above them.
"Sir Naruto. It has been some time since you last came to visit."
Naruto looked up to see the familiar figure of Dusk of Oolacile, seated elegantly on the worn stone steps. "Hey, Princess. Sorry it's been a while. I got caught up with… a lot of stuff back home. You know how it is."
"Indeed. Though, to my understanding, time flows differently where you hail from. It has been nearly a month here in Lordran since your last visit."
Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, that whole time dilation thing's a pain. Good for training but not for being away. Makes me look like a bad friend."
"Perish the thought, good knight. Your return gladdens me nonetheless."
"Your speech, it's… different. Easier to understand, actually."
Dusk looked faintly proud. "Master Andre has been most diligent in correcting my manner of speech. He said my 'idiolect' required refinement."
"Yeah, I'd say so. No offense, but the old-timey talk made me feel like I was reading one of those ancient history scrolls out loud."
Her lips curved into a soft, knowing smile. "I shall take that as a compliment, Sir Naruto."
"Well, I didn't mean it as one, but sure... let's go with that."
Naruto raised an eyebrow as he took in Dusk's new appearance.
Gone was the ivory gown of Oolacile, replaced now by a more humble yet regal ensemble.
Her dress was crafted from a dense, dark brown fabric with a natural, homespun texture, thick enough to stave off Lordran's chill. The long skirt reached her ankles, pooling slightly with weight and sweeping out in structured folds like the petals of a blooming night flower. At her waist, a leather belt cinched the layers together, accentuating her slender figure with both elegance and simplicity.
Underneath the dress, she wore a long-sleeved undershirt of ashen wool, the sleeves snug to her arms and gathered at the wrist. Draped across her shoulders was a short cloak of the same dark brown material, fastened by modest brass buttons at her throat. The high collar framed her neck with dignified warmth, while her boots were ankle-high and laced with sturdy leather, clearly meant for long walks across uneven terrain.
"Master Andre made it for me," Dusk said softly, turning in a slow, graceful spin.
Naruto and Oscar both clapped enthusiastically.
Dusk gave a polite, regal bow in return, one hand placed over her chest, the other extended outward, fingers elegantly spread in the formal gesture of Oolacile grace.
"Man, you look amazing, Dusk. That old blacksmith's got some hidden talent. Didn't think he had a fashion sense buried under all that muscle."
"Master Andre takes pride in all his crafts. He claimed the challenge was… refreshing."
"You know, when I get a bit more time, I might ask him to teach me how to make clothes too."
Oscar tilted his head sharply at that, letting out a questioning chirp that translated to why on earth would you do that?
"A most practical skill, to be sure. Yet… I find myself sharing the wise lizard's confusion."
"Well, recently I got some clothes made for Tsunami, and they were kinda expensive compared to everyone else," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Something about my size being more like an adult's. And I figure, I'm probably gonna run into that problem a lot more down the line, so it doesn't hurt to learn, right?"
He puffed his chest a little, trying to sound proud. "That, and I've come to appreciate fashion. Right, Oscar?"
Oscar slowly turned his head toward Naruto, then at the tattered Balder Knight's cape the boy was wearing and gave a very slow, unimpressed shake of his head.
Dusk let out a soft, melodic giggle behind her hand.
"Oh, shut it, you little rock ball! I'll make you clothes too!"
Oscar made a dubious chirp, like he was questioning whether he should be worried.
"I'm thinking… an orange jumpsuit."
The horror was immediate. Oscar froze, gave a strangled squeak, and flopped backward like a fainting noble. He clutched his tiny claws to his chest, squealing in exaggerated despair.
Dusk covered her mouth but couldn't hold back a laugh. "Oh, dear… perhaps something a touch less flamboyant for your noble companion, Sir Naruto."
"Fine, fine. Maybe I'll give him a tiny hat or something. A fashionable knight deserves a good accessory."
Oscar peeked one eye open, still pretending to be offended but intrigued by the idea of a hat.
Naruto chuckled. "See? He's already thinking about color choices."
The laughter between them faded into a soft, comfortable quiet.
Dusk tilted her head gently. "So… what brings you back this time? Sir Siegmeyer says you often come when your heart is heavy."
Naruto's smile softened. "Yeah… I guess I do." He leaned back on his hands, gazing at the bonfire. "I'm in the middle of something big back home. Complicated stuff. But I think you and Andre might actually be able to help me."
"Help you in what manner, Sir Naruto?"
Naruto nodded, rubbing the back of his neck as he thought. "Back when you were teaching me the Hidden Body spell, you mentioned a spell used to mend armor and weapons."
"Ah… the Repair sorcery. A gentle, humble art, yet one of Oolacile's greatest treasures. In our golden age, it was said the sages used that very spell to mend the ruins of a kingdom lost to time into Oolacile."
Naruto's eyes lit up with sudden understanding. "That's it! That's exactly the kind of magic I need to fix the Altar of Beginning!"
"Of course. I shall transcribe the spell for you. Just give me a moment."
"Well, I'll be with Andre if you need me," Naruto said with an easy wave as he headed down the worn stone steps toward the blacksmith's forge.
Dusk followed a few minutes later and found the duo standing over a thick stone slab resting atop the anvil.
"What's going on here?"
Andre let out a booming laugh. "The brat here's got it in his head that a pinch of repair powder can fix a blasted altar. So we're runnin' a little experiment."
"Scientific research," Naruto corrected with a grin.
Andre ignored him and, without warning, slammed his massive palm down on the slab. The stone split with a satisfying crack that echoed through the forge. Then the blacksmith sprinkled a faint shimmer of golden dust across the surface.
Before Dusk's eyes, the broken stone began to knit itself together. The cracks glowed faintly, sealing shut until the surface looked perfectly smooth.
"It worked!" Andre grinned, slapping Naruto on the back with enough force to make the boy stumble forward.
Naruto steadied himself and frowned, focusing chakra into the slab. Seals of faint blue light appeared across the surface like threads of a spiderweb… only for them to flicker and fade out.
"The fuinjutsu didn't repair," he said, shaking his head. "So it's a no-go." Turning to Dusk, he added, "Can I see how your Repair spell works? The real one?"
"Of course," Dusk replied warmly. She gracefully sidestepped Oscar, who was busy chewing on a broken sword handle like a dog with a bone. The little lizard gave an indignant chirp when she passed, as though to say don't judge me.
Lifting her Ivory Catalyst, Dusk's posture straightened, and the air in the forge seemed to still. Soft gold light gathered around her branch, coalescing into motes of luminescence that shimmered like fireflies. When she released the spell, a warm radiance descended upon the broken slab.
"Well, I'll be damned," Andre muttered, stroking his beard. "That's cleaner work than any tool I've ever held. But far as I can tell, it did the same thing as the powder."
"Nope." Naruto popped the p as he crouched beside the slab and pressed his hand flat on it, funneling chakra into the stone.
The response was instant. The fuinjutsu etched into the slab flared to life for a brief second and then the explosive seal activated with a faint boom, sending up a puff of smoke that rolled over everyone's faces.
Dusk jumped with a startled squeak, her hands flying to her chest as the soft explosion sent a faint puff of smoke curling through the forge.
Naruto coughed once and waved the smoke away, glancing at her with an amused look he tried and failed to hide. "Relax, Princess. It's a low-yield explosive seal, not a bomb."
Her cheeks flushed slightly as she composed herself, smoothing her dress. "That… was most unexpected," she murmured.
"So," Andre said, eyeing the singed slab, "mind explainin' what in the blazes just happened here before the next one decides to explode?"
"Okay, so here's the deal. This slab had an explosive seal on it. When we broke it, the seal itself got destroyed. The repair powder fixed the stone but not the seal. What I needed was something that could restore both. That's what Dusk's spell did perfectly."
"Alright, I follow most of that. But what I don't get is why the spell fixed it."
"Because the spell doesn't just fix what's broken. It rewinds time and turns it back to the exact state it was in before it ever cracked."
Naruto looked to the princess. "Right, Princess?"
"Of course. Light is time, and time remembers. Every beam of sunlight carries the echo of a moment long past as it shines upon the present, but it was born in the past. The sorcery of Repair does not command light, it listens to it. It asks the light to remind the world of what once was."
"That's… insane." His voice trembled with realization. "Do you know what that means? This isn't just restoration rather it's reversion! We could literally turn back the clock on an object. What if… what if we applied this to a person?" Naruto's words came faster, his eyes widening with every thought. "Heal someone back from nonexistence… reverse a death… bring back a loved one… what if we reversed a Hollow's mind?"
Andre said, "You're talkin' like a madman, kid."
Oscar clutched his tiny reptilian face with both claws, squeaking dramatically, whether out of horror or excitement was anyone's guess.
"Sir Naruto," Dusk said softly, "your passion does you credit, but I must clarify."
Her expression grew more solemn as she clasped her hands in front of her. "The Repair sorcery, like all magics born of light, has its limits. A novice can mend the durability of a blade. A scholar may restore a broken tool to its former shape. A master… perhaps they could reverse a patch of earth to the way it was a few moments prior. But to touch the flow of life... to turn back the river of time for a soul would be to challenge the very weave of existence."
She looked down. "To manipulate time as you imagine would require mastery beyond that of the Albino Archdragon, beyond the gods themselves. It would demand an understanding so vast, so complete, that even sanity might break beneath its weight."
"So… you're saying I'd need, like, ninety-nine Intelligence."
Andre groaned. "I'm startin' to think you already hit ninety-nine in stupidity."
Naruto ignored the jab, his expression turning serious as he stared down at the restored slab. "Still… even if I can't rewrite time, if I can use this to fix the altar back home, that's worth trying."
He looked up at Dusk, eyes burning with new determination. "Let's get to it."
Dusk's smile was small but proud as she reached into her satchel and withdrew a rolled spell scroll. "Then take this, Sir Naruto. May your light remember what the world has forgotten."
Naruto accepted the scroll with both hands, bowing his head slightly in respect. The parchment pulsed faintly with golden warmth, the magic within almost eager to be understood.
I wonder… what would this spell become if I enhanced it with chakra?
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[ Item: Repair Spell ]
[ Description: Ancient sorcery of the lost land of Oolacile. Repairs equipped weapons and armor.
This sorcery was part of everyday life in Oolacile. Its effects resemble repair powder. While the effects of this spell are rather subtle, its foundations are a well-guarded secret. Light is time, and the reversal of its effects is a forbidden art. ]
Despite how complex and dangerous reversing time sounded on paper, Naruto had little to no difficulty attuning the Repair sorcery.
Dusk helped refine his control while Andre grumbled about "kids tamperin' with cosmic nonsense" and hammered in the background. A day later, after endless shadow clone trials, explosions, and near-death experiences for the dummies (and once for Naruto), the boy stood ready for the real test.
Andre stood beside him, frowning as he eyed the preparations. A wide barricade of stone and steel surrounded the testing area, with two of Naruto's clones standing inside the ring. In the middle sat a mannequin wearing the shattered remains of a Black Knight armor set.
"So, how likely is it that the whole church collapses on our heads?"
Naruto tilted his head in mock thought. "It's not… uh..." He paused mid-sentence, glanced at the cracked ceiling, then wordlessly handed Homeward Bones to Oscar, Dusk, and Andre.
Andre squinted. "You sure inspire confidence, brat."
"Safety first, old man," Naruto said cheerfully. "Didn't you teach me that?"
Dusk looked deeply unconvinced, her delicate hands clutching her catalyst. "I do not know about this, Sir Naruto. Tampering with time's flow, even in fragments, is not a feat to take lightly."
"Come on, what's the worst that could happen?" He turned and yelled to his clones, "Hey! A little farther back, guys!"
"You are still working with a spell that bends time itself, and your explanation of what chakra does to magic was far from comforting."
Naruto shrugged. "Then you can leave, if you want. I don't mind."
Dusk sighed and gave a small, resigned smile. "Sir Naruto, you are without question the most foolish… and yet the most delightful soul I have ever met."
Then, with sudden earnestness, she stepped forward and hugged him tightly. "Please do not die. I would be most upset."
"Nothing to be scared of, my lady," Andre said, though he was already crouching behind Naruto.
Naruto chuckled, patting Dusk's shoulder. "A bunch of scaredy cats, right, Oscar?"
The little lizard squeaked and bolted up the stairs to higher ground.
"Traitor." Naruto straightened, clapping his hands together. "Alright, clones! Do your thing!"
"Yes, boss!"
Two clones knelt beside the catalyst and began channeling chakra into it. A third raised its hand and began weaving the Repair spell.
Light erupted from the catalyst; not soft and gentle this time, but fierce and radiant, spilling across the ruin like sunlight breaking through a storm. The air shimmered as the energy folded over itself, and time seemed to breathe backward. Cracked pillars straightened, shattered glass mended, and the faint hymn of Oolacile's magic echoed through the hall.
A few minutes later, when the glow faded, the church stood renewed, as if centuries had peeled away in seconds. The mannequin stood perfectly centered, holding the Black Knight armor now polished and whole.
Naruto blinked once, twice, then burst out laughing. "Ha! It worked! You see that?" He jumped up with a grin that could've lit the whole room. "I just got myself a brand-new Black Knight armor set!"
"Your clones are gone," Andre said, peering at the now-empty section of the church.
"Yeah, probably got reverse-timed out of existence or something."
Andre stared at him flatly.
Dusk pointed to the mannequin and said, "The armor has been restored, but the mannequin itself remains untouched. The spell's light did not affect it."
"That's actually a good observation, Princess. I think the Repair spell's light can be blocked. If an object's shadow or surface absorbs the time flow differently, maybe it just… doesn't revert." Naruto sighed, scratching his cheek. "Guess that means I can't use this spell in combat after all."
"Why's that?"
"The activation time's too long. In a shinobi fight, a few seconds can mean death. And if the spell's effect can be blocked, that means a shield, a barrier, or even a jutsu could stop it. Makes it useless for a battlefield."
"You're thinkin' too much like a soldier, brat. A tool don't stop bein' useful just 'cause it ain't a weapon. A hammer builds houses before it breaks. The worth of a tool depends on how wisely the hand uses it, not how deadly it is. I am sure you are smart enough to understand that."
"So you admit I'm smart."
Andre bonked him lightly on the head with a meaty hand. "Don't push your luck, kid."
"Sir Naruto, even though the spell reversed time for the structure, nothing from the previous age appeared. No artifacts, no people or plants."
"That's strange."
Andre squinted up at the pillars. "Aye, but look at the paint. The color on those carvings came back. That's somethin'."
"Hmm…" Naruto muttered. "So maybe the spell needs an anchor, like something physical still tied to that specific point in time. You can't reverse time mid-air and expect something that used to be there to just pop into existence again. The spell can only restore what remembers itself."
Dusk nodded. "A reasonable conclusion."
Oscar chirped in confusion, as if saying, I still don't get it.
Before any of them could continue, a sudden wave of heat flared behind them. Naruto spun around just as the Black Knight armor erupted into fire.
But it wasn't the flame itself that chilled him; rather, it was the feeling it carried. That same twisted energy pulsing beneath the surface: Chaos.
The embers flared violently, consuming the armor before slowly dying down, leaving behind the same shattered, blackened pieces they had started with.
Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Great. So I guess I really need to figure out how to deal with the Chaos Flame before I try to fix that thing ever again."
"I don't think we can blame the fire for this one."
"Old man, you saw that, right? It just burst into flames."
Andre gave a knowing grunt. "Don't be so quick to judge what you don't yet understand."
Naruto nodded, peering at the remains. The armor was broken again, yes, but there were no scorch marks. No signs of new damage. Even the restored church around them had reverted back to its original, half-ruined state.
"Alright, fair point. Lesson learned... again." Naruto rubbed his chin, thinking. "But that means a few things could've happened here. Either the Chaos Flames burned through time itself, or…"
He glanced up at the ceiling, expression turning pensive. "…Lordran's weird, messed-up time didn't like me making a time bubble and just snapped it back to normal."
Andre grunted in agreement. "Wouldn't be the first time this place told reality to piss off."
"Or," Naruto added, "maybe the spell just has limited uses, like the world only allows so much time meddling before it hits reset."
Dusk folded her hands, her tone almost reverent. "Perhaps, Sir Naruto, time itself resists those who try to master it. It may allow a moment's grace… before reminding us who truly commands the ages."
Naruto gave a half-smile. "Then I'll just have to ask time to be nice to me for a few minutes longer."
Andre snorted. "Kid, you keep talkin' like that, and you'll have a fistfight with the concept of history itself."
Naruto started walking down the stairs, his voice echoing faintly in the quiet church. "If it means fixing Uzushio… then history better learn to fight back."
"And what are you doin' now, brat?"
Oscar scurried down after Naruto. "Gonna run a few more experiments with the Repair spell," he said. "But while my clones handle the resets, I'm gonna learn how to shapeshift into a bird."
"It better be a chicken! Seems more your speed!"
"You'll see when I'm flying laps over your forge, old man!"
The old blacksmith chuckled and shook his head, watching the kid disappear down the path toward Darkroot Garden. "He's gonna break reality one of these days, I swear it."
Andre tilted his head toward Dusk. "You best go after him, Princess. Make sure he don't turn himself into a featherless, flightless disaster."
"I shall do my best to prevent catastrophe."
"Good luck with that."
Andre chuckled to himself, glancing toward the now-quiet hall. "Heh. Been a long while since this place had kids runnin' through it. Nice change from the endless ring of hammers and ghosts."
Outside, a distant voice echoed faintly through the garden. "No, Sir Naruto, do not jump off a cliff to practice being a bird!"
Andre barked out a laugh, shaking his head. "That's my cue to drink." He grabbed his old mug from beside the forge, filled it with mead, and raised it in salute to the chaos the boy brought with him.
"Cheers, you mad little sunbeam," he said fondly. "Don't die doing somethin' stupid. Neither of us wants to see you go Hollow."
He took a long sip, the smile never leaving his face.
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Author's Note: Hey everyone! As always, I hope you enjoyed this chaos-filled chapter of Naruto: The Chosen Undead.
Today's Q&A will be short, since this chapter was pretty straightforward, but there's one question I know everyone's been dying to ask.
Q: Is the Repair Spell canonically related to time?
A: Yep. 100% yes.
And for once, this isn't one of my interpretation-heavy Dark Souls takes where I twist vague lore into headcanon (which I will still do proudly, don't worry). No, the time connection actually exists in canon.
Let's look at the official Repair spell description from Dark Souls III:
"Lost sorcery from Oolacile, land of ancient golden sorceries. Repairs equipped weapons and armor, including weapons with exhausted durability. While the effects of this spell are rather subtle, its foundations are a well-guarded secret. Light is time, and the reversal of its effects is a forbidden art."
That one line — "Light is time" — is massive in Dark Souls lore.
In-game, the Repair spell only restores equipment durability, but lore-wise? It's a terrifying, forbidden form of time reversal.
Now… add chakra to that mix.
In this fic's system, Chakra + Soul Sorcery = broken nonsense. Naruto basically learns to bend time, even if only for a moment, but as with everything in this story, it comes with rules.
It's temporary. The reversal doesn't last forever.
It's slow. You can't snap your fingers and rewind a battlefield.
It needs an anchor. The object must still exist in some form, so no summoning extinct dinosaurs or shinobi from history.
Fun Fact / My Headcanon:
I've always loved the phrase "Light is time." It actually lines up with real-world physics, as light does carry time information. If you looked at Earth from another galaxy, you'd literally be seeing millions of years in the past. So the Oolacile mages basically weaponized that concept.
In this fic's universe, that same principle applies to Naruto's chakra-enhanced version, as he's manipulating the memory of matter through light.
Bonus Question:
Q: If Naruto eventually gains Yin-Yang Senjutsu or learns Truth-Seeking-level arts, would that give him control over time itself?
A: Honestly? I don't know yet. That's probably a Shippuden arc kind of topic. But the idea of Yin Yang release perfectly balancing, maybe even syncing with Oolacile's light-based time sorcery, definitely opens that door.
If you guys have any theories or ideas about what time-based chakra abilities could look like, I'd love to hear them.
So yeah, light equals time. Time equals memory.
And Naruto… he is definitely turning into a chicken.
Let me know what you thought of tying the Repair spell into the lore this way!
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[ Personal Note: First off, thanks a ton to all of you for sticking with this story. Seriously, you guys are awesome. Now, if you're interested in supporting me on P@treon, let me just say that over there, I post these massive 5k-word chapters. But heads up, if you're jumping to P@treon, you'll need to start from Chapter 95, since that's where this chapter lines up with the content there.
To everyone here just reading along, please don't forget to leave a comment! Honestly, your comments make my day, and they let me know you're as invested in this story as I am. So yeah, thanks again, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day!