The Grand Crossover RP - Pathway to Origin [IC/PG-13/Moved to NCM for Finale]

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"It failed...? Why? I need...I need more power. I can't just lose here!"

 

A grunt came from the sword as her effort had been deflected by Arturia putting in more effort into her attack. This was different from when she was capable of deflecting the blast from Clarent back on Death. Excalibur was too powerful for her, and she was losing. This was not how it's supposed to be. The girl knew it. She could read the memories stored on the sword - she could see that with enough conviction, even she could have deflected something as absurd as the combined malice and hatred of an entire universe. Yet...she was losing here. Was her resolve to stand before Arturia not enough. Was her resolve to create a better future for everyone else not enough?

 

"This is not the time to just stand there! Just go do your own thing, I'll do my job as the Hakurei Shrine Maiden to give you the opportunity to do so!

 

Boundary: Hakurei Danmaku Barrier!"

 

Snapping the sword out of her thoughts, Reimu phased away from the sword that was still spinning, reappearing on the ceiling. A Spell Card was formed before her, and as she invoked its name, a series of eightfold barriers started to rise up from the ground, blocking the primary wave while smaller ones formed on the split beams, hopefully capable of blocking it still. Reimu was temporarily invoking the creation of the Great Hakurei Barrier itself - a barrier to separate fantasy and reality. Now protected by the barrier and being able to focus better with Hapshiel not on her side, the sword focused her mind into the task at hand. She whispered an expression of gratitude to Reimu before her voice rang through the area as she started to sing her attack chant.

 

As the voices of people seeking salvation echoed eternally through the fire bell,
(Not yet forgotten, inside the heart, for eternity.)
 

The running emotions of everyone on the Hallway, the girl had taken it into herself. The golden blade shines brighter as the radiance of everyone's spirit started to inhabit it. She could feel it. The anger, the disappointment, the frustration everyone felt regarding Arturia. How some of them still felt some sort of denial about her true motives. About how some of them solely wished to crush her now that she had shown the truth. The sword could not do anything about all that for she also fought on their side, but she silently hoped that in the end they could still see Arturia's cause even after she fell under their combined might.

 

A scarlet blade was in the hands of that maiden, who walked upon a path contrary to the tailwind.
(Exchanged into life. Nobody can be allowed to die yet.)

 

A blade that identifies and exploits the very nature of the spirit. Just by touching the beam, the girl had seen the similarities between what Arturia fired and her own weapon. It too, it was also the expression of Arturia's own resolve, formed by the collective emotion brought forward into a destructive blast. Acknowledging that similarity, the sword believed that it would be the key to be able to over turn this storm. She took everything in, and sought for an opening.

 

The morning fog, the evening fog: they become a large boat, facing the storm.
O, release it! O, release it! I am all.

The morning haze, the evening haze: o, please save everything!

 

The maiden of the heavens shall now save all creation!

 

"I will not back down! Revolution: Change Air Blade!"

 

A repeat of the attack that the sword tried before. A large beam of scarlet light passed through Reimu's barrier, and pierced through the golden light. The sword continued to funnel as much power into the light as possible, believing in the ability of hers to understand Arturia's heart as she continued to stand her ground before the attack.

 

"No matter how many times, I will see it to the point where my words can reach you, Lady Arturia!"

 

---

 

The red eyestalk had traveled around the Hallway seeking someone that she could lend any sort of help. Yet, she couldn't find anyone she could trust with what she had. How...irritating. Was she being too cautious now? For her powers to be misused? Not even when Arturia blasted everyone with her largest Excalibur yet had Satori found someone for her to latch to. The light gave her a sense of bitterness. She knew that she could have fought it back alongside others had she was still capable of using Recollection. Yet, without it she started to feel more and more useless. What good of an older sister if she couldn't fight and protect her younger sister when she's incapable of doing so?

 

Everyone's effort managed to stop the blast for a moment, as Satori continued to dodge the commotion with her small size. As Arturia fired her Invisible Air throughout the room, Satori had decided that she would sneak behind Arturia during the time. As soon as she was in position, she noticed the presence of a witch seemingly being tortured by Arturia somehow. A closer look made the cause clear for Satori however, who was quite really familiar about what was happening.

 

Could she help her? Hopefully, Satori noted. Whether the woman was the right person or not, she definitely needed her now. Silently, Satori crept towards the woman and wondered whether she should immediately embed herself into her as she was being mentally assaulted and start forming barriers inside of her mind. That ought to repel the mental attack before it's too late.

 

However, whatever she was planning ended up not happening anyway as a figure suddenly appeared on Darcy's side, coming out of nowhere into the corner, seemingly nonplussed about the fact that Arturia had just fired another Excalibur just now. As soon as the figure's presence was noticed by Satori, she could feel an almost impenetrable mental barrier had surrounded herself and the witch. The witch would feel that all mental attacks had been repelled by a strange force at that moment.

 

"Why are you so full of spite? These people just wanted the best, yet you discard them all. Why? I can't understand you at all..."

 

Still looking like she was fresh from crying, Koishi Komeiji had appeared, shutting Darcy temporarily to protect her from the invading light. She must've used her ability to not be noticed to suddenly appear there. Satori wished to reach out for her, to yell that this was too dangerous for her. Losing Yukari who she had grown to like even after their short interaction had hurt Satori enough, but the thought of losing Koishi soon after was unbearable. Nothing came from her however as Koishi's mental barrier prevented her to speak with her now. In silence, she watched as the girl continued to address Arturia, a tone of genuine bitterness on her voice.

 

"I don't get you...she said you were an admirable figure...but why are you so filled with hatred then? Big sis...Yukari...they said you weren't a bad person, so I want to trust you too. I just wanted to believe you're working for the best. Despite all of this, all of the reasons to not trust you, I want to believe that you're fighting for what good you beiieve in still.

 

I just...I can't do it anymore, I can't bring myself to believe in you now. I'm sorry. Even now, I don't want to harm you...but you have killed Yukari.

 

Why did you do that? Why did she have to die? Bring her back to me! Bring my big sister back to me, Arturia!

 

Recollection: Morningstar!"

 

Her voice changed from hints of bitterness and disbelief into anger. Her childish mind was barely able to handle the loss of someone so close to her now. As she declared her attack towards the still-Invisible Air-clad Arturia, the area around her started to distort as her ability started to work its magic. Inside of her mind were the brightest light she could vividly remember from recent events, the light that has been previously fired to stand against the might of Arturia's strongest Excalibur. Bending the surrounding to recreate the light from her memory, Koishi had made the light to be fired from right above where Arturia was standing, creating a brilliant pillar of light as the so-called Morningstar blazed forth to bathe the former king. The demonic light continued on, and Koishi stood there, preparing herself to continue attacking Arturia. She couldn't cry anymore, right now she was the only one that could carry on the youkai's dreams.

In the meantime, Satori silently watched what her sister did with a sorrowful expression. Unable to reach out or to console her in a time like this...perhaps Koishi didn't even consider her to be her older sister anymore. Yukari had been a far better older sister than she was, anyway. A solemn look on her as she turned away from the sight, she ended up equipped herself into Darcy. As she did so she gave her all the information she had stored inside regarding Arturia and the nature of her weapon to the witch. She wouldn't be able to provide her with insights into Arturia's heart like what she did while she's with Yukari due to Koishi's presence, but she would try her damnedest to help in defeating everyone's adversary now, and to protect her sister even if she didn't want to be protected.

 

"Do not worry Darcy, I am on your side. I'll assist you in any way you find necessary, and will not obstruct you in any way. Are you fine now? Let's end this tyrant's reign if you can get up now."

 

---

[Tesability Black]

~Counter Corps? - Jace's POV~

That would've been nice to know, demon... And yet, you still chose to defy me? Clearly, your morals shapeshift as often as your body!

Someone nearby was thinking loudly, excessively loudly, making the telepath wince visibly. Knocked out as he was, the psionic abilities he had started to leak out of his head, projecting what he heard in his head to others around him.

Shut up. You... You're too late!

Nero, you...should know war! You should KNOW the sacrifices that have to be made!

How hypocritical of you, you sham of an Elder-

Hapshiel... You are an angel of the highest caliber. However, it was your misfortune that you should meet me!

Whatever you two are talkingabout..This effort will make you accomplish nothing in the end!

Don't be ridiculous. NO ONE is worthy of such a right!

You don't know when to give up, do you lot?

What a disgusting pair-

The only one who would not hear the voices was Arturia herself. Though it wasn't like anyone truly heard them, more like they would know that these thoughts were being made by the supposed King of Kings opposing all and demanding them to sacrifice their lives to a futile cause.

Jace opened his eyes, dark-blue eyes glowing with blue mana as he cautiously stood up despite the splitting headache, an idea brewing in his mind as to how to deal with her.

Despite his being unconscious, a cursory glance through all the minds around him gave him more than a good enough picture of what had happened while he was unconscious, how she had used a wind-based ability to see through invisibility.

Well, he had one thing most illusionists did not have in that regard.

Suddenly, there was no one visible to anyone's eyes, though the telepath gritted his teeth as he connected all the minds he could around him, save for Gemini and Arturia, the former being impossible and the latter to avoid giving him away.

Everyone, get moving! Now!

If Arturia were to use the strange attack again, sure she could feel the originals...but she would also be feeling several duplicates of everyone fighting against her right now.

Unlike most illusionists, Jace Beleren has the ability to make his illusions corporeal and viable to more than just the sense of sight. Hearing, scent, even taste and touch could be fooled by him. To make sure, he put enough substance behind them to make sure the duplicates could be felt by the Invisible Air. He was straining himself soon after he woke, but the pain he felt was nothing compared to when...something...opened in his head to allow the voices to enter his head.

[Gαr]

Team Ed - Hallway of Origin

 

The Hallway was nice at first. The golden plates containing information on everyone in the Hallway. Everyone milled about, reading the plates and talking among themselves. Gon went off with Killua while Ed and Elsa shared what was written on their plates. Ed could feel the atmosphere of the Hallway change. Not physically, but tonally. The words bandied about became sharp and heavy. Ed put his plate back up on the wall and stepped closer to Elsa.

 

"Things are turning up in here."

 

"You've noticed, too? I've been to diplomatic meetings that have gone sour before and this is shaping up to be one of them."

 

As if one cue...

 

“I fail to understand.

 

You… None of you grasp what is genuinely at stake here. Why are all of you such IMBECILES?!

 

Do you not understand the dangers that anyone would pose if they were to access the Door of Origin? Yes, it may be true that Isamy ended several million universes… Yet as terrible as that is, that means little compared to the rest of reality. It is a marginal number, a speck of dust compared to the grandness of the whole multiverse.

 

Returning home? ‘Fixing things’? Making them how they used to be? To think that their insignificant lives hold more importance than this, how much more selfish can the Counter Corps be? There’s no difference between them and the Divine!

 

Making sure that there is zero possibility of reality being threatened. That’s our job as Counter Guardians.

I cannot state enough how much of a danger the Door is to all of reality. That is why we must all spend the rest of our lives in this Hallway and perish, never to advance. It is time to carry out my assigned mission.

 

Hence, I will destroy you.

 

And in the process,

 

I WILL DESTROY THE KEY OF ORIGIN!”

 

The leader of the Counter Corp's words set things off to say the least. Elsa tugged on her jacket sleeves and flexed her hands. Ed thumbed his sword out of its scabbard but did not draw it.

 

Ed scanned the crowd and found Gon and Killua. Kenpachi, Yachiru, Kratos, and Revy weren't difficult to spot. Ed and Elsa first met up with the two boys then headed towards the big guns, but not before Nero. It's been awhile since Ed last saw Nero.

 

The situation was not alleviated when Arturia herself reappeared. And why should it have? Her idea of damage control was to feign ignorance while standing next to Yukari's body. One speech later, she said, "I must say, whatever did I miss? Why do you all have such expressions on your faces?"

 

Proponents questioned the Counter Corp's leader while critics read the Counter Guardian's receipts. Revy went off and Killua tried to stop her. "Killua!" Gon reached out to try and grab his friend but missed. Gon didn't know what to do. Was he supposed to follow Arturia or fight her?

 

Gon stood next to Killua after Kratos knocked out Revy and summoned an undead legion. They watched the angry march of two giants and countless undead pass by them. "What should we do? Should we help her..." Gon motioned to Revy's unconscious body. "Or should we fight her?" Gon pointed to Arturia.

 

Gon didn't need a response from Killua, Arturia responded form him."Then I shall take this as treason."

 

Ed drew his swords, but Arturia's attack was blocked on a united front. Arturia was caught off guard by a gruesome headshot. She recovered from that and kept on the pressure. She caught Darcy, the person who burned her face, and used her as Excalibur's second wind. The wall crumbled and the blast scattered across the battlefield.

 

Reimu fired her own blast at Arturia. Rhadamanthys closed the distance and attacked her up close. Butlerok summoned his own undead army and attacked her flank. That left her other flank wide open for Ed. "Kiotso Kurokoriwa! Black Dragon Sword Style: Dragon Avatar!"

 

Ed arms were first covered by his Zanpakuto, and then his entire person in black flames. The flames expanded outwards until they formed a coiled oriental dragon. The dragon uncoiled and rose into the air. The black fire solidified into black ice. The dragon pulled its long serpentine body back into a coil. It lunged with an open mouth and icicle fangs at the Counter Guardian's other flank.

[Dad]

The Hallway

 

Earlier. . . 

 

Revy had been consumed by. . . whatever this was!  She felt her head writhe in agony, she fell to her knees as she was suddenly filled by what she thought was some kind of toxin.  For a moment, she was completely blind!  Was this Arthuria's doing!?  She couldn't even think straight, let alone make out where the "attack" came from.  Then, for a moment, there was only silence.  Was she deaf now too?  Revy placed her hands on her face, hoping this was all a bad dream.  She tried to speak, but couldn't hear her own voice.  What was happening!?

 

A feminine voice echoed to her from the blackness of her world, clear as day.  

 

Listen love we don't have much time, but your body is reconstructed to give you a set of...abilities so to speak. Now this is going to come with some challenges and I need know when I put your conscious mind into your new body you aren't going to snap and start shooting us. Are we clear?

 

"Abilities?  Wha--" she could hear herself again.  Was she thinking this or saying it?  "What the fu--God damn it!  What is this!?"  Revy could feel herself growing agitated.  She had to calm down.  She took a several deep breaths, and held them.  Her breathing slowed, to a normal, acceptable rate.  "I'm sorry.  What--abilities?  You're gonna have to be more clear about that, whoever you are.  And how'd you get in my God damn head?"  She sighed, carefully taking herself to a knee, whilst she was blind.  "I can't shoot what I can't see.  And you ain't exactly tryin' to kill me I don't think.  So, whatever you've gotta do, if it helps me fight. . . do it."

 

---

 

Kratos and Kenpachi were now faced with what was Arthuria's overbearing, full force.  A grand light appeared to consume the entirety of the Hallway, and every combatant--Divine and Counter Corps alike--were attempting to push it back.  When Arthuria was pressured by the opposing, repelling force, she managed to snap her power back once more, and yet attempt to crush the Counter Corps.  The King's next attack targeted Revy, but thankfully Team Dorian was quick to react, shielding Revy, and even Yachiru from the blast.  A number of Kratos' brothers sacrificed themselves, leaping before Kenpachi, Kratos, Reimu, and Nero with their shields raised.  It was enough to dull the damage coming their way, and keep the warriors on their feet.

 

Byakuya too was threatened, but with a raise of his hand, he created a pin point barrier black barrier that spread Arthuria's attack across its surface, and weakened it enough to withstand the force behind.

 

Kenpachi was slow to react, thankful to be working with his foes for a change.  He would thank them later.  Kenpachi turned to Kratos, nodding at his wrist.  "That thing still work?" he asked, noting Kratos' Golden Fleece.  

 

Kratos nodded.  "It is impervious to magic or man," he said, turning to face Arthuria.  "Something I don't believe she is aware of."

 

Kenpachi nodded as well.  "Then let's give her somethin' to worry about."

 

Kratos commanded his Army of undead Spartans forward, having them to march beside Butlerok's own army of the dead.  He took opposite their position, flanking from the west with Kenpachi at his side.  As Kenpachi and Kratos raced forwards, the Shinigami Captain snatched his eye-patch from his face, causing his power to soar.  Raising the Zanpaktou at his side, Kenpachi and Kratos attempted to take Arthuria down with sheer force.

 

---

 

Killua's claws were bared, his hair standing on edge and his eyes moving about like daggers.  He and Gon had gotten their answer from Arthuria.  "We fight.  Me and you.  Like old times."  Killua exchanged a fist bump with Gon, as he watched the light-show before them.  "Man.  She's pretty scary," he admitted.  "Good thing we're here."  Killua's body was then submerged in a bath of lightning, as he silenced every sound around him that he was unwilling to hear.  He could hear his comrades, and he could hear Arthuria.  But the restraints of hearing explosions, being deafened by the impact of powerful magics on one another, was not something he had to concern himself with any longer.

 

Behind him, Ed prepared for battle, his Zanpaktou at the ready.  This was it.  They couldn't afford to hold back.  "Gon," Killua said, turning with a cheery smile to his best friend.  "Don't get reckless."  With that, Killua zipped ahead, a lightning bolt in either of his hands.  He got as high as he can, and gripped the bolts tightly, causing them to take on unusual shapes, and a black coloring.  "Catch!" he called down at Arthuria.

[Reinforce]

Darcy

 

In a matter of moments, she'd been caught and slammed around by the caster, her invisibility and illusions not doing a think to deceive the Counter Guardian. Now, a sensation she was unfortunately well familiar with had started again, the feeling of someone invading her mind. This one was, if anything, even worse than when the creature of despair, LERNA, had attacked hers. For the dark witch, light was very much a hated enemy of hers, and a mental assault with a distinctly light attribute was just painful in a way even LERNA hadn't managed. Not to mention the whole idea of the light mindraping people was reminding her of lightrock prison as well, and that was never a fun thought to be had. It got even worse when it started to pull out magic from her, draining her of power to charge it's own attack.

 

As such, she was very glad when a mental barrier far stronger than hers had been showed up and blocked out the mindrape. With that, she could finally focus on freeing herself from the blade's burning presence. Without moving her body, she shifted positions, teleporting across out of Arturia's grasp just before the beam of light came down upon the warrior. And with more opponents finally showing up to oppose the warrior, she could take a moment to recover and parse the information flooding into her mind from Satori. Arturia may have been right in her assumption, she didn't stand a chance of fighting Arturia directly, but that wasn't her only option anyway, and with way more knowledge about her strengths and weaknesses, she could fight the way she fought best, nullifying her opponents strengths and exploiting their weaknesses.

 

Stepping back slightly further, she pulled upon the extra wellspring of power she'd taken through this whole sequence of events, one that even the draining of her power hadn't started to touch in favour of going for her own magic. With a flash of heat and light, flames covered her body, replacing her previous outfit with something new, a long dress in purple, with red dragon highlights and bangles of gold settling on her wrists and ankles. A new transformation, drawing upon the power of the Dragon's Flame that she'd been assimilating since she'd gained access to it, and had only just finished settling into her form. What's more, having fully opened herself to use of the dragon's flame at last also further refreshed her own drained power, drawing from the fire to replenish herself and restore her body.

 

The addition of illusions over the battlefield was interesting, particularly one copying every member in such a way that they seemed substantial to the senses, with even her only able to tell the difference because illusions happen to be one of her own specialties, and even she hadn't been capable of doing what the other mage was. With a wave of her hand, shadowy tentacles thrust up from the ground underneath Arturia, grabbing for her legs and arms, to try and bind the guardian in place and leave her vulnerable to the attacks to come. In addition, she used her own abilities to get payback for the mental assault, taking the lesson from LERNA and simply using her magic to barge straight into the mind with the memory of the Pain she'd just been subjected to and the Despair she remembered from LERNA's assualts.

 

---

 

Ayame

 

With the burst of light mostly thwarted, Ayame leapt forwards, using her wings to push her ahead quickly at the enemy ahead. Even as she did so, one hand  drew the ice sword she'd been carrying around since the fight with LERNA, while the other touched the back of her neck and let a jolt of lightning sink into it with a whispered, "Nerve Shocker"

 

Using her wings to dart right over Arturia's head as the others attacked her, she flipped around and took a swipe straight for the neck from midair. As she did, the sword burst into black flames oddly reminiscent of the flames wielded by Ed, though the ones around her sword were simply staying around her blade rather than bursting into any fancier tricks.

 

"Just funking Die Already!"

 

---

 

Chandra

 

With a brief clear line of fire as other members charged at the Counter Guardian, Chandra raised one hand and cast a Firebolt, which was quickly followed by another, even as her Pyromancer Ascension flared into full strength. As the fire raced towards Arturia, in it's wake 4 of her Phoenix burst back into life, following the fire to harass Arturia even as the other warriors attacked her. Waving her hand, two Skarrgan Firebirds flared back into life before her, wreathed in fire and floating in front of her ready to attack or defend as necessary.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"This is...no, I can't just say that it's hopeless. There will always be a way. I'll make sure of that!"

Markings formed on Kazuya's arm as he continued to fiddle with his COMP. The strengths of the Bel demons that had been dwelling inside of him would soon erupt, and using the COMP to channel it, Kazuya summoned Beldr to his aid. The Norse God that had made a contract with the world, the one that ended up wishing to spread sorrow and lamentation to the world that refused to weep for him. He was now merely but a fragment to him, and thus, he was no longer problematic. Kazuya ordered Beldr to stand before one of the stray beams, confident that his immunity would be capable of tanking the attack.

 

"Your reign will end now, old king!

Heed my call, Megami Ishtar!"

 

The demonic circle before him was blaring with light as he invoked the name of the demon he's summoning now. From it, a black-haired lady with twintails wearing white and gold clothing and riding what looked like a pair of giant bows appeared. Yet another stranger form of demons Kazuya had been familiar with. Nevertheless, Kazuya ordered her to attack towards Arturia's direction.

 

"Fufu, think of it as an honor. This is my full throttle...!

Be crushed to pieces, 'Kindle of Venus for Tectonic Deformation, An Gal Te Kigal She!"

 

Compressing a significant amount of energy into the arrow to her bow, Ishtar then would have it be fired right towards Arturia's direction, with enough power that it should even pierce through Excalibur, hopefully not losing power before reaching Arturia as Kazuya had little idea how much power the attack would have due to his unfamiliarity with this form of his summoned demon. WIth it being a divine tool though, Kazuya was somewhat confident that it could reach Arturia and damage her. The goddess turned to Kazuya and gave her a smile before disappearing into light like his previously summoned foreign demons.

 

Seeing that, Kazuya shifted his gaze back at Arturia's direction as he continued to fiddle with his COMP. His capability of buying demons from the compendium and performing fusion had become more and more refined. He could have now done the entire process in less than a few seconds, even.

 

"How long will you last, Arturia? You might make me run out of Macca at this rate."

 

---

[Love of Ghibli]

Team Dorian: Hallway of Origin

 

Inside Revy's head was a pretty desperate conversation and Gyokuen was trying to spare her feelings, but it looks like Revy wants to engage and engage quickly. Luckily the Black Blood has already flowed through her body and the Rukh have flown back into this new vessel. Revy would then open her eyes and see the complete fuster-cluck that had become the ensuing battlefield. She would look at her completely blackened skin and gold glowing veins. 

Okay, quick version. Those "guys" from the Divine you talked about earlier. One of them has the ability to actually give abilities to others...by turning them into psychotic creatures of madness. Of course thanks to me that won't happen to you but it is something you should probably look out for. Now the upsides are that you are pretty much immortal and have nigh instant regeneration. The downside is that we have completely restructured you're genetic make-up to the cellular level. I'm not sure if you can have children right now. All that aside you should be able to participate in this fight right now. 

Gyokuen finished her explanation hoping that the rest of her abilities would probably manifest themselves in the battle that was currently ensuing. Any more questions?

[Dad]

Revy

 

"Okay, quick version. Those "guys" from the Divine you talked about earlier. One of them has the ability to actually give abilities to others...by turning them into psychotic creatures of madness. Of course thanks to me that won't happen to you but it is something you should probably look out for. Now the upsides are that you are pretty much immortal and have nigh instant regeneration. The downside is that we have completely restructured you're genetic make-up to the cellular level. I'm not sure if you can have children right now. All that aside you should be able to participate in this fight right now.  Any more questions?"  

 

Revy shook her head, or so she assumed.  "Nah.  I never wanted kids anyway.  So what exactly is it I'm capable of, besides having a lot less chance of dyin'?  Can I fly like your friends?  Do I have super speed?  Am I vulnerable to Kryptonite?  What can I do?"

 

Revy blinked, and her sight was restored.  "I can see!  I can see!  I. . . I can fight.  Alright pretty voice in my head.  Let's get down to business."

 

Revy charged headlong into battle, hoping whoever this was that was talking to her would guide her.

 

---

 

Yachiru

 

From beneath Butlerok's shield, and her own, Yachiru watched the light show take place.  She could feel Arthuria's overwhelming force, even beneath both barriers that protected her.  "Wow," Yachiru commended of Arthuria, softly.  "If only you were on our side."  Because Yachiru's senses were so great, she was able to feel beneath Arthuria's strength, where she could sense a growing power that she recognized.  She smiled, putting all of her faith in her best friend.  Beside him was her companion, and behind the two of them was a team of warriors who were fighting for a common goal:  to save the multiverse.  She couldn't help but cheer them on.

 

"Go get her!  Put the shining pretty lady in a box and mail her to the Soul Society!  Make her dead, dead, dead!  Go team super fighting heroes!"

 

A simple list of words with very little meaning, but a lot of love behind them.

[Phantom Roxas]

[Remembrance C8] - Arthur, MirageGaogamon, Eria, Gagagigo, Sora, and Kairi

 

The blizzard had subsided by now, sooner than any of them would have expected. For a moment, it felt as if they had reached the end, but this was still the Pathway to Remembrance. Stars lit the night sky above them. Arthur imagined himself sitting beside a campfire with all his brothers and sisters. Sora and Kairi could be watching shooting stars pass over Destiny Island. Eria and Gagagigo would be with the other Charmers and their familiars, competing over who could find the most constellations first. MirageGaogamon would be looking up to the moon with the Royal Knights, celebrating the rare nights of peace and calm.

 

The cold wind breezed against them once more. Whispers echoed around them, and a familiar voice called out to them. It was none other than the Counter Guardian herself. Arturia.

 

 

 

“I fail to understand.

 

You… None of you grasp what is genuinely at stake here. Why are all of you such IMBECILES?!

 

Do you not understand the dangers that anyone would pose if they were to access the Door of Origin? Yes, it may be true that Isamy ended several million universes… Yet as terrible as that is, that means little compared to the rest of reality. It is a marginal number, a speck of dust compared to the grandness of the whole multiverse.

 

Returning home? ‘Fixing things’? Making them how they used to be? To think that their insignificant lives hold more importance than this, how much more selfish can the Counter Corps be? There’s no difference between them and the Divine!

 

Making sure that there is zero possibility of reality being threatened. That’s our job as Counter Guardians.

 

I cannot state enough how much of a danger the Door is to all of reality. That is why we must all spend the rest of our lives in this Hallway and perish, never to advance. It is time to carry out my assigned mission.

 

Hence, I will destroy you.

 

And in the process,

 

I WILL DESTROY THE KEY OF ORIGIN!”

 

Who could she have possibly been talking to? Was that truly her voice? Was it someone simply pretending to be her? No, it couldn’t have been. It had to be her. She spoke with more conviction than even when she had first told them the truth onboard And With Strange Aeons. Or was even that the truth? She had been in so much pain before, yet the words she spoke now were so clear. She had told them that their homes, their entire universes were destroyed, and yet none of that mattered to her.

 

”How dare you…” Arthur looked up at the sky. If he had become a Counter Guardian, it would have only been a shortcut to be with Eria. Arturia wasn’t simply doing her job, she made it loud and clear what she was choosing to do. ”Is that all a Counter Guardian is, Arturia?! For you to decide who gets to live and who gets to die? All of us lost our homes! Isamy and Protheus took them all away, and you just them do it! I joined this war… I joined Isamy because I thought I could set everything right!”

 

Eria took Arthur’s hand, but he didn’t even acknowledge her. Even if Arturia couldn’t hear him, Arthur wished she could. ”This whole stupid war has been race to find a reset button. I thought I could live with being a demigod. That there really is some whole pantheon of big-shots looking down on everyone. Are you really any better than them? What’s the difference between you and Protheus?”

 

Sora opened his mouth up to answer, but he couldn’t think of anything. He stood back and looked at Kairi, who looked away towards the snowy ground.

 

”This was never supposed to be my war,” Arthur continued. ”I’ve spent way too much time changing my mind over the past few days. Every time I think I was wrong, every time I time I realize that I don’t have to fix something, you just go and show that I was right in the first place. I wanted to erase the gods! I thought I was just being an immature brat trying to blame whoever he could, but you… you are so much worse than any god could ever be.”

 

Arthur stomped through the snow, faster than he was already walking, but Eria still held his hand. ”Arthur, where are you going?”

 

”We’re ending this war, Eria! The Throne’s just been trying to get the Key before Isamy or Protheus could. There might as well have never been a Counter Corps. It’s like Emiya said, you were only brought into this war to save Gagagigo.”

 

”But that wasn’t even the real Emiya. You can’t-”

 

”It might as well have been him! The Divine’s always been expendable, and so are we. If Protheus or Arturia get what they want, then it’ll be just the two of them facing each other at the Door. By that point, it doesn’t matter who would win. We’d have already lost, and our worlds wouldn’t be coming back anyway.”

 

Gagagigo grunted. ”And you really think running to your death know would change anything? What do you expect to do, run up to Arturia and kill her right then and there? Even if she was weakened by the Madara, she still must have been chosen by this ‘Throne’ for a reason.”

 

Arthur pursed his lips. ”Well… I can’t just sit around and let her destroy the Key.” The Guardian in Truth had said that Arthur would open the Door. ”I guess even the so-called ‘Truth’ was just more lies. We’re back to talking about ideals, I guess. It’s the Madara all over again. About how what we want isn’t what we’re going to get. If she fights Protheus, then she gets the Key anyway.”

 

”But if we take the Key from Protheus,” said MirageGaogamon, ”Then we become Arturia’s next targets. Either way, it’s as Gagagigo said, we just end up fighting Arturia. And that’s assuming we can even take the Key from Protheus and get away with our lives… which doesn’t even solve the problem of Protheus himself.”

 

Arthur’s hands were shaking. ”So… I guess our plan doesn’t change, then. We’ll have to find Protheus before we can even think of finding Arturia. I guess it would be too much to hope that we could pit them against each other?”

 

”We can take Protheus!” Even Sora could only barely force a smile of confidence. Arthur couldn’t tell if Sora wasn’t so certain about fighting Protheus, or if he was more worried about facing Arturia.

 

Eria’s gaze turned forward. ”That’s… strange.”

 

Kair summoned her Keyblade. ”Is someone coming?”

 

Eria shook her head. ”No. Not yet, at least. I can usually detect bodies of water, like rivers. I can sense a lake, but something about it…” Eria closed her eyes, but winced after mere moments. She remembered Arthur screaming at Arturia, the words and even the exact tone of his anger still echoing. As she opened her eyes, Arthur was simply looking at her, waiting for her to say something more. ”There’s a lake nearby, but it’s definitely not normal. When we get to it, we might have to find another way to crossing it. I don’t want to risk using my powers.”

 

Sora tilted his head. ”Sounds like the river back in the Shadow Realm.”

 

”Possibly? Though I think this is different from even that. It could be nothing, but… I don’t want to risk it.”

 

Arthur stepped ahead of her. Far beyond the trees, he could see a faint, teal glow flickering in the distance. The light itself was calling to him, and his eyes glowed back in response. ”I think I see something past the lake. If it’s anything like the last two Pathways, that light is our way out.”

 

Sora patted Eria and Arthur both on the back. ”Alright, then we know where we’re heading. Lead the way!”

 

Arthur smirked. A part of him almost wanted to be insulted by Sora’s perkiness, yet it was also refreshing. ”Sora… I have no idea how anyone can stay so happy all the time, but can you please just take this seriously?”

 

Sora stepped back. ”Listen, if I know anything, it’s that we can focus on what’s important, and still be happy. You know what I mean?”

 

”…Well, I guess that’s something I can believe in,” Arthur said with a laugh.

 

Eria took Arthur’s hand, and the two of them led Sora, Kairi, MirageGaogamon, and Gagagigo forward. The only thing between them and the exit would be the lake. No one, not even the Counter Guardian, could stop them from going home. As long as there was still the Key, there was still hope.

[Kingdom Xathers]

Team Lombax

Hallway of Origin

 

 

“GUYS, WATCH OUT!!” Atsuko shrieked out, as part of Arthuria’s Excalibur Attack suddenly broke off in different directions past the frontline, threatening to strike anyone on the rear lines. In the young girl’s panic, she almost forgot to trigger one of her defensive Trap Cards: “Rainbow Life”. By discarding the “Electromagnetic Turtle” from her hand, she conjured a rainbow-colored aura around her allies (basically, anyone NOT named “Arthuria”), allowing them to convert whatever damage they’d receive from Excalibur into invigorating energy. And not a moment too soon, too, as an offshoot of Excalibur’s energy struck Bayonetta head-on, the Umbra Witch being able to hold her ground thanks to some assistance from Butlerok’s Borg covering her and the others.

“... okay, new rule,” Bayonetta seethered slowly as she attempted to shake the Borg off her arms: “the ONLY black substance allowed to cover ANY part of my body at ANY given time is my HAIR. Violators of that rule will receive a paddling that they are NOT allowed to enjoy.”

“In any event,” Jeanne spoke up while hiding her own disgust of the Borg covering her, “as per the General’s orders I’d say this qualifies as Arthuria’s attack breaking through our offensive.”

“Which means,” Ratchet added as he armed himself with the Devastator (it would've been the R.Y.N.O. V, but that had gotten wrecked in his more-than-verbal dispute with Red back on Death Path), “that it’s our turn to enter the fray--”

“--don’t you dare, Ratchet!” Alister called out, still focused on--and straining to--keep up his Spiraling Inferno in the face of the strengthened Excalibur attack.

“Wha--Why not?! Al, don’t deny that you guys need our help!!” Ratchet protested just as Hapshiel landed squarely on his heavenly-toned rump between the two Umbra Witches.

“Ratchet, I--GRRRRR!! Okay, fine!” Alister conceded in the exacerbated, defeated tone of a parent relenting to their child’s want of sweeties. “But if you get so much as a bruise from this, I’m tanning your hide young man! You hear me?!”

“Fine by me! Let’s go, pal!” Ratchet said as he charged in with the just-now transformed Giant Clank.

“... and since when did we start working with Angels?” Bayonetta blurted out upon glancing at Hapshiel, feeling that she should find the irony amusing.

“Hell if I know, Cereza, but as long as he doesn’t give us any issues, I’ll agree not to complain,” Jeanne shrugged as she and Bayonetta called on their Demonesses before joining in the effort to force Excalibur back.

“... guh--AAH…!” Alexander gasped out as he and Umbris collapsed to their knees, the effort of using the Morningstar attack having taken its toll on them even with the Dragon Mana flowing through Alexander.

“Alex!” Gabriel yelped, fearing the worst as he ran over to the lombax’s aid. “Alex, are you okay?”

“I… heh… I wanna say “yes”...,” Alex admitted, trying to play off his exhaustion with a weak smile.

Gabriel took a brief moment to notice the various illusions that had suddenly appeared earlier. “Looks like someone’s trying to confound Arthuria with numbers,” Gabriel observed. “They probably won’t help with what I plan to do to help you, but there’s plenty of us here already, so….”

“W-Wait, what’re you…?” Umbris questioned in between heavy pants.

Wordlessly, Gabriel replied by activating the “Gift of the Mythical Elf” Trap Card; the image of a blue-skinned female elf wearing a flowing green dress appeared before Alexander and Umbris, a shimmering aura surrounding them both as the Mythical Elf chanted her holy prayer. “I mean that, since there’s so many of us here already, the Mythical Elf’s Gift should be able to provide you with more than enough energy to get back into this fight.” And indeed, Alexander and Umbris could feel their strength returning, and then some, as the Mythical Elf’s prayer gathered energy from every active individual within the Hallway and bestowed it upon the lombax and Neo-Spacian.

“Well, we appreciate this, Gabe,” Umbris nodded to the Luchador, “but it may not mean much if Arthuria decides to launch another assault.”

“I’m well aware of that,” Gabriel replied in a hushed tone, heard only by Alex and Umbris. Kneeling before the two, he continued. “Atsuko and I have quite a few backups ready to spring if and when Arthuria strikes again; I have every intention of putting a stop to anything Her Highness may throw at us, especially if it’s another Excalibur. Whatever she may try, we’ll knock her off her high horse for sure. Until then, do whatever you guys can to break through--I’ll even try and give you guys a boost,” he added, giving a quick glance towards Red and Alister.

“Okay, we trust you, Gabe,” Alexander nodded, understanding Gabriel’s intentions and resolve. "We’ll leave you to that, then.” With that, the Mark of Burning Soul shone through Alexander’s shirt, a vibrant crimson aura surrounding him as he prepared to call upon one of Red Dragon Archfiend’s many personae.

Getting back to his feet, Gabriel pulled out three cards from his own Deck, taking a moment to gaze upon them as he reflected on the memories they brought to him. “... we’re still in this together… right, Idris? Yuri?” he uttered solemnly as he looked upon the “Eye of Timeaus” and “Fang of Critias” cards in his hand, along with “Claw of Hermos”. The three cards gave off a faint glow, a trio of dragon roars echoing silently in his head, as if giving him support. A faint smile crossed the Luchador’s lips, knowing what to do. “Okay, then. Showtime.

“Here goes! First, I call upon Alexander’s Dark Magician, and enhance him with the power of Eye of Timeaus!” Alexander’s black-and-white Dark Magician Summoned itself from the lombax’s Deck, enshrouded in Timeaus’ teal aura. “Now, awaken your power of the Dragon Slayer! Arise, Dark Paladin!” The aura surrounding Dark Magician intensified, only dying down once his transformation into Dark Paladin was complete.

“Next, I call upon the power of the Fang of Critias! Draw upon the power of the Tyrant Wing Trap Card, and become Tyrant Burst Dragon!!” An indigo blaze erupted above Gabriel, out of which a violet dragon burst forth, its wings and forehead jewel shining brilliantly.

“And finally, I transform the Dark Paladin with the power of the Claw of Hermos! Grant your power into the Dark Magical Raiment of the Dragon Master!!!” The Dark Paladin vanished in a burst of crimson energy, rematerializing as an ornate set of black robed armor and magical halberd.

Once his play with the three Legendary Dragons was completed, Gabriel gave one more command: “Now! Tyrant Burst Dragon, combine yourself with Risen Dragon Elder, Red! And Dark Magical Raiment, equip yourself to Lombax Praetorian General, Alister Azimuth, and grant him your power!!”

“Excuse you--?!” “Wait, what--?!” The Dragon Elder and the General had barely enough time to blurt out those respective lines before the two monsters Gabriel had created suddenly merged with them: Alister found himself donning the Dark Paladin’s robes, and he now wielded the sorcerer's magical halberd in his other hand, dual-wielded alongside the transformed Z-Wrench. Red, meanwhile, found himself transformed from his union with Tyrant Burst Dragon, the biggest change being the (temporary) restoration of his damaged left wing.

 

"Sorry for the forced change, guys," Gabriel apologized, "but I had a feeling this was the best option I could provide you."

 

"Risen Dragon Elder, Red?" the great dragon incredulously questioned, despite feeling some elation for having two whole wings again, however long that would last.  "I do believe you could formulate a better title than that, young man."

 

"We can discuss that later!" Alister blurted as he hurriedly mounted Red.  "We still have an attack to break through," he added, charging up his Raiment's ability:

Dark Magical Raiment of the Dragon Master
DARK/Lv 8/Spellcaster/Fusion/Effect/2900 ATK/2400 DEF

Must be Special Summoned with "The Claw of Hermos", using a Spellcaster Fusion Monster, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. If this card is Special Summoned: Target 1 other face-up monster on the field; equip this card to it. While equipped to a monster by this effect, the equipped monster gains 500 ATK for every Dragon monster on the field and in both player's GY. Once per turn, you can target 1 face-up Dragon monster on the field; the equipped monster gains ATK equal to the target's ATK, until your next Standby Phase.

 

"So," Red questioned, "you'll be "targeting" me for that effect, then?"

"I was thinking that," Alister replied, "but then I.T.'s analysis pointed out another option...."  The general trailed off, his gaze focused on Arturia.

[The Warden]

~Hope vs Oblivion~

The snow had turned inexplicably, eerily quiet all of a sudden. Out beyond the snowstorm of Remembrance, a man clad in white regalia emerged, his expression focused, yet also with a hint of annoyance. Taking one final glance behind him, he checked to see if that ragtag team of rebels would reappear for a new round - apparently not. 
 
A team associated with neither the Divine nor the Counter Corps had earlier emerged from the snow to engage him in battle. An interdimensional mecha with equipment from the Vault called ‘The Jaws of Hell’, controlled by a talented pilot named Azumi, some soldier, and lastly the Warrior of Sin, Jecht himself - who possessed such strength that he’d managed to back Arthuria into a corner in a one-on-one duel on the Sphere Forest. They combined their efforts to take him down, and in turn he met them at full force. With vision obscured by white, he had to counter endless missiles filling up the air while the apparently suicidal Warrior of Sin had sealed away Impure Future and continually backed him into a corner at close combat. They’d fought well...yet clearly not well enough. 
 
As strong as their formation was, it broke apart when Protheus separated them. The mecha and its pilot were sent into a reality marble to deal with - well, one could call in his ultimate servant - while he brought Jecht and his partner into a separate reality marble. Within he was able to regain Impure Future and slay the unsuspecting warrior before he even realized it, before moving on to the weaker one... The mecha and its pilot were no match for a fallen god, and hence were torn asunder by darkness. 
 
Such was how that battle ended, never to see the light of day. More victims to the oblivion that was Protheus Maximus. Were this not desperate circumstances without the Key in his possession, he may have almost felt it a shame. 
 
Only seconds later, the very battle had almost entirely drifted away from his memory. A minor footnote in his journey. To him, those four hadn’t achieved a single thing but delay him for a little while.
 
…
 
But unbeknownst to him, their sacrifice was not for naught. Having been inside a reality marble during the last parts of the battle, he had altogether failed to hear the broadcasting of Arturia’s oh so crucial announcement-
 
...
 
He looked towards the end of the lake. His hands clenched tight, as if meant to hold onto something that was no longer there. 
 
A strangely powerful smell of blood was emanating from his body, mixed in with an equally dense aura of darkness, its intensity such that it took effort just to look at the dark sorcerer. Of course, this had been his method of avoiding any confrontation. Only those with a strong mental fortitude were capable of even seeing him directly, hence how others had subconsciously steered away from his location on their journey to the end. At this point, only two had proven capable of piercing through it; the Celestial and that Warrior of Sin. Both of whom were now gone.
 
“So, there it is. The end of this ridiculous place.” Protheus Maximus muttered, his gaze crossing the vast lake, to rest upon the exit far away. “There have been an awful load of obstacles, haven’t there? Regardless, from here, it is a straight path to victory. I’ll make sure to take extra care in making that shapeshifter suffer for taking away my Key… Hmph!”
 
Somehow, just looking at the water within made him feel uneasy. It was deathly cold, yet ran as fluidly as ever, and no doubt had some memory-associated property attached to it. Contact with it would not be preferred.
 
“Eternity awaits…”
 
He walked over towards the edge of the lake. Not in a rushed manner, since when one has lived so long, the seconds tend to lose their meaning, but rather, in a controlled manner, as though he was conserving most of his energy for an explosive finale. For some reason, his movements felt slow, delayed, as though a greater force was reaaaalllllyyyy taking its time in guiding him. His left hand gripped onto the hilt of his blade, Impure Future, anticipating an enemy at any given moment.
 
“I sense a peculiar presence.” He spoke suddenly, glancing over to his side.
 
Tmp. Tmp. Tmp. Walking towards the omni was a knight in gold, dragon-style armour. Their visor down, they stood before the lake, and turned to him. Their form betrayed no emotion as they held onto their unusual looking staff. All they seemed to be doing, was looking, and waiting.
 
“Intriguing.” The silver-haired man’s face changed to a small smile. “I cannot tell what you are…don’t believe I have ever met the likes. I would assume that you are one of the new members of the Counter Corps. If so, well, at least the C.G. has some good taste this time.”
 
Impure Future was already out in his hand. He didn’t feel the need to take a stance just yet. While he couldn’t determine anything about the being before him just yet, if nothing else, he knew a powerful opponent when he saw one.
 
“I’m curious. I would like to know something, if nothing else, before I end you here and now. Do tell, what is your name?”
 
No answer. The knight remained silent, their feathered wings blowing in the cold and heartless breeze.
 
After a moment of silence, Protheus flicked his hand and three cards materialized out of nowhere, before exploding into three entities of darkness. Beta, a twisted, humanoid creature wielding two guns larger than itself. Gamma, a shadowed giant crow with four wings. And Delta, an armoured knight wielding a blade; the spitting image of Viligance. Each of them a great Dark One, husks of unlife bound to his service.
 
“The silent type I see. No matter. I’m a little interested, so why not? I’ll play with you for a bit… Show me what you got!”
 
And as he waved his hand, the three monsters rushed at an impressive speed to assault the knight from different directions. Beta attacked from the knight’s left by firing two massive purple lasers with its weapons. Gamma let out a piercing screech from the right that would shatter any human’s eardrums. And Delta charged straight at the knight, wielding a black European sword that was sharp enough to pierce even mythril.
 
The knight bowed their head, their body moving hastily. With their left hand they forced all the snowflakes around them into a floating shield of ice. Beta’s lasers struck the ice and became thoroughly refracted, with some beams aimed right for Protheus and Delta, while two weaker beams passed by the knight on their way to Gamma. The laser hit Delta, pushing him back just a few feet before he continued his charge, and the sorcerer simply sidestepped it without much thought. Something strange occurred on the knight’s right, Gamma’s screams stopping flat out. With their right hand free, the knight aimed their staff at Delta, revealing a glowing teal gemstone in the center. Without much grandeur a beam of that same teal was fired from the gem, piercing the knight in its chest, but leaving no marks.
 
The two Dark Ones looked to their comrade who had frozen in place. WUMF! Delta’s swords fell from its hands as it started to scream to loudly, a hole burning its way out from where it was struck. The knight’s form burned away into black ash, and so did its card once its physical form was gone. Protheus could no longer sense Delta’s monster spirit. It had been utterly annihilated.
 
As the card in his hand disintegrated, he raised an eyebrow, less amused than he was impressed. Taking a few steps back to maintain his distance, he spoke again, “Well, that’s certainly something. It’s good to see that your power matches your appearance, even if only a little…”
 
With a shrug, he held the other two cards up in the air. “But what good are decent reflexes and one insignificant quirk when-”
 
In his monologue, the knight had attacked the other two monsters using what they used to destroy Beta without even turning their staff, making Protheus narrow his eyes in annoyance. The dragon heads holding gemstones in their mouths simply turned to Gamma and Beta, channeled for a second, and then fired. Beta fired back with an extra onslaught of lasers, meeting the beam with great intensity, but it didn’t take long until the Dark One was overcome and suffered the same fate as Delta. 
 
As for Gamma, it abruptly split into two smaller crows, barely avoiding the beam. Wasting no time, the shadow birds darted forth to encircle the mysterious knight and screeched once again at high speeds, hoping to avoid whatever it was that had blocked the screech the first time. Their screamed failed to meet their mark, and they were rapidly growing weighed down by ice crystallizing on their wings.
 
Another card had formed in Protheus’ hand by then, followed by another Dark One appearing. Just as they were about to crash into the ground, a humanoid with a skull mask and deep-red suit merciless struck them down itself, wielding large butcher knives. The birds were promptly absorbed into Epsilon, making the deadly knives grow larger in size (increasing its ATK) as feathers seemed to form around its neck. Protheus made a small gesture to it. “Go on. Kill.” Just like that, the blood-splattered Epsilon lunged crazily at the knight with a bloodthirsty cry, leaping unpredictably here and there before finally going in for the kill, slashing at the knight with its life-sucking properties.
 
And of course its weapons swung at empty air, as the knight had disappeared beneath the snow and soil, their hole filling in after departing. Epsilon positioned itself directly above the covered hole, swaying back and forth like an excited predator, with its slasher grin growing ever larger. 
 
As for Protheus, he rose up into the air to avoid any possible side effects, regarding the earth with a distasteful look. “What kind of warrior sinks beneath the mush and dirt, like a lowly earthworm? Come now, destroyer of souls, that’s no good of you… If you’re not going to give me a show, I may as well eradicate you at this very moment...” 
 
His arms stretched out, as though reaching out to any residue mana left in the air by the mysterious assailant, before putting them down again. “I see you’re an ‘original’. That makes things a little more complicated.”
 
One more card appeared beneath his sleeve as he observed the earth, it was styled black and its name read simply ‘The Twilight One’. The aura it emitted, the power it contained in the brief moment it was revealed, seemed to encompass even Protheus’ own; which couldn’t possibly be true, could it? After some consideration, he opted to take it back. It wasn’t nearly the correct time.
 
Instead, another, weaker card replaced it, ‘Dark One Sigma’. The corresponding creature materialized on the ground, humanoid from the waist up with a long flowing cape and a mask over blue skin; yet, instead of legs, its entire waist was simply a massive protrusion with four attached cables, which then ‘connected’ themselves to the snow. As a result, corruption rapidly spread throughout the area until all the snow within a mile-radius had gone a deep black. This was, after all, a Field Monster Card, decreasing the sanity of all that came into contact with its effect.
 
When the black snow touched Epsilon, its knives turned black and a creepy lingering became a desperate, thirsty craze as it let out a wail, before leaping into the air again, then again, then again, then again, moving in a circle around Sigma all the while slashing at the air, acting not unlike a child on drugs. Preparing for the knight to resurface. “?!?!?!”
 
Bursting out of the snow a short distance away, the knight resurfaced sans staff and wings. Epsilon, grinning with blood thirsty excitement, ambled towards the armoured being, who took up a fighter’s stance. Laughing maniacally, Epsilon swung its blades, the knight blocking with its bracer, the sharpened edge unable to pierce the strange metal as their golden fist impacted with its face. Distending inwards, the monster was sent flying with one swing, its body skipping across the corrupted snow before coming to a stop just before the lake.
 
“Curious.” Protheus noted not only how the metal had resisted its attack, but also the absence of the staff and wings. Whoever this opponent was, they were putting on quite the entertaining show thus far, enough that he exercised a hint of caution at every turn. 
 
Himself separated from the fight by being high up in the sky, his hand moved slightly, withdrawing Impure Future by a mere few inches. Before letting go with a smile. Instead, coming up with an idea, he flicked his hand, and a chain of cards followed.
 
Promptly, a little boy, who couldn’t have been any older than ten, fell from the sky, garbed in a crimson robe with his face obscured by a talisman attached to his head. Unlike the other monsters, this one immediately started SHRIEKING as he crashed through the skies, waving his arms and spinning about in a panic, trying desperately to defy gravity… ”Ah, AH, AH?! AHHHHHH!!!!!!” before Dark One Mu hit the ground in a very violent fashion. 
 
The right side of his body forcefully smashed into the snow, snapping nearly every bone within, his legs cracking backwards, some of his bones piercing outwards from their outer skin, and any damage done to the head was covered by the talisman, quickly turning a purple colour. Were it not for the violet stream of blood quickly spreading outwards, soaking into the snow, that laying form might’ve almost been mistaken for a broken doll. Yet he was clearly still alive, holding onto life with little twitches and a barely pumping chest. The mangled child reached out to the sky with his only somewhat intact limb, the left arm, as he let out a prolonged, faint wheeze; his best attempt at making any sort of sound, at expressing the immeasurable shards of pain that had stabbed into every inch of his physical body. Perhaps attempting to convey a single thought - why would you do this? 
 
Only moments later, it turned out that this was far from over. Another child fell from the skies, this one a girl garbed similarly in the same sapphire robes. Silent at first, it took only seconds for reality to set in as she let out a high-pitched scream, “YAFFFGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” whilst helplessly crashing into the snow. Sharing the same fate as the boy, her body was inflicted with immense damage; her entire lower self shattered into bits of meat and bone, her left arm snapped off from her body and the rest left a bloody mess. Face-down against the snow, the majority of the damage was hidden. That is, until with what strength she had, she pushed herself off against the ground. Ribs protruding out from her garments and a torn talisman revealing a face of stripped flesh, with bits of white here and there. Dark One Nu looked up to the sky before losing her strength, collapsing back onto the ground.
 
Two more children followed, both wearing crimson robes with faces hidden by talismans, being mercilessly dropped by the sadistic sorcerer. The boy screamed against everything as loud as he could before cracking against the ground, with all but Dark One Xi’s head leaving a disgusting display of flesh. Groaning loudly, his collapsed trachea making speech impossible. 
 
As for the girl, who appeared to be around five, she was unusually silent, suppressing her horror at the situation she’d been thrown into, wrapping into a ball as she plummeted. A red energy bubble formed around her, but it wasn’t nearly enough as it shattered on contact with the surface. Looking over her surroundings in a panic, she opened her mouth, but was overcome by emotion at the utterly horrifying sight of her brothers and sister, with only pained whimpers came out. Then she tried to take a step back, but a sudden shot of pain forced her to stop; while not as bad as the others, her right foot barely resembled one anymore, pointing in a direction it ought not to. Dark One Pi, grabbing her mouth in horror, stumbled onto the floor.
 
“W- w- w…. Wa… Wai...” No, it was obvious who had done this. Too obvious. The little girl moved her head up to the sky. It was an extraordinary effort for her tiny mind to form words, especially as a cloud of corruption was actively eroding it. “M-……. M- mas..tah… Wai…?!” Sprawled mere meters from each other across the plain, all four children had been summoned in a sadistic fashion and left to struggle. All of them, being extraordinarily weak Level Ones, should have died on impact, but the empowered black snow was fueling them with barely enough life force to stay alive.
 
“Nice seeing you kids.” The master casually responded back, without even the slightest hint of remorse. And then clicked his fingers. 
 
The murderous clown Dark One Epsilon rose up from the snow as though awoken, a newfound glint in its eyes due to the presence of new victims. Its skull had been mashed up, purple blood oozing out of it, but it was still quite functionable. “Igi… Igi… Igigigiigigigiigihi!” It began to giggle wildly, readying its large butcher knife as it stalked over towards the powerless children. Mu, Nu, and Xi were utterly capable of a response, whereas what could be seen of Pi’s expression dropped to a further horrified look, freezing in terror from its approach, before looking back at the only unfamiliar figure; a knight. Her eyes lit with the dimmest glimmer of hope.
 
Overall, the intent was clear. It was going to brutally murder them and absorb their essences, directly in front of the mysterious warrior. All the while, Protheus observed.
 
Eyeing the children, and the monster encroaching on them, the warrior was silent, save for the quiet rattling of their armour as it raised a fist and slammed the ground hard. All four children’s cries were silenced the second the spikes of stone lanced out and speared them all through their chests. Just like that, with a faint hint of relief from Pi, it was over - each kid dispersed into dark energy before Epsilon had even gotten near.
 
“An amusing sight.” Protheus chuckled, floating somewhat lower. “Come now, was your heart not moved even a little by that performance?” He asked mockingly, beckoning for a response. “Little by little, I am figuring out what sort of a person you are. Very practical, yet inherently kind-hearted, from what I can discern. Now, I must wonder...how much longer are you planning to stay on the defensive, Counter Corp?”
 
As he talked, back on the ground the monster Epsilon’s giggles had stopped, switching to the annoyed, animalistic noises as it resumed its charge towards the knight, each footstep propelled to greater speed by the corrupted snow. Visibly pissed at its prey having been stolen. Since its previous attack had failed, this time it swung right for the helmet eye slots, aiming to pierce into whoever was within. “GI GI GIIIII?!?!?!”
 
Epsilon’s attacked had been stopped by a firm grasp on its wrist. The golden gauntlet clenched it tightly, and no matter how hard the deranged thing struggled, it could not free its arm from the knight’s grasp. It yelled, struggling for a time as it attempted to wiggle out without much progress. Its frustration growing, it then reached its head to its shoulder at an unnatural angle, and used its own jaws to tear itself off from its arm, causing a ton of purple blood to splurt outwards.
 
As this occurred, Protheus threw in another card for support, and another Dark One abruptly appeared behind the knight. Dark One Upsilon, an undead sorcerer that seemed to become stronger as its feet made contact with the snow. It took advantage of Epsilon’s distraction by firing a bolt of lightning at the enemy. The knight responded by tossing away the monster arm it was holding, and held their arms out at a 90 degree angle. The lightning raced through their upwards facing arm, and then out their horizontal one, right into Dark One Epsilon’s body. It was an instant death, electricity incinerating their every vein until they were left a charred corpse.
 
“Hm...  Truly peculiar, you are.” With a flick of his hand, both Upsilon and the deceased Epsilon vanished away. 
 
Then, for a passing silence, he seemed to be in thought, merely observing the annoyingly mysterious warrior for what it appeared to be. Was it even alive? He could hardly sense signs of life resonating from it; it may simply be a shell of armour animated by a habitant soul, similar to the late Viligance. In which case, perhaps it was incapable of speech as opposed to refusing to speak. Although he felt something may be wrong with this hypothesis, his twitching right hand begged to differ - even though this inferior opponent intrigued him, it also posed a mysterious threat with regards to its earlier attack. Also, he did want to hurry along and retrieve the Key.
 
The sorcerer reached to grip upon the hilt of his blade, Impure Future, tempted to unsheathe it - and yet as he thought of the soul-destroying beam that he’d previously witnessed, decided against it. Despite his confidence in his own abilities, he would much rather not risk directly engaging an attack of that kind.
 
No, there were other, far more efficient ways to deal with an opponent such as this.
 
Protheus proceeded to float away, towards the center of the lake - there were two more cards in each of them. One read ‘Dark One Alpha’, the other read ‘Dark One Omega’.
 
“Let me tell you a little bit about myself. As peculiar as this may sound, I originally came from a universe where people would settle their scores...by playing a children’s card game. Modern society called it Duel Monsters. I myself drew my power from a dark entity who loved games of this sort. And we twisted its concept, just a little.” He smiled, faint nostalgia of a far simpler time. “Shadow Games were introduced to my world, games of all kinds in which its participants could have fun. That is, except to lose meant to lose one’s own soul to the Shadow Realm. It was, in effect, an involuntary ritual of sacrifice.”
 
Both cards, Alpha and Omega, flew out of his hand. Immediately, they positioned themselves to the left and right, floating ominously at opposite ends of the lake to serve an unknown purpose..
 
“Games are a wonderful thing. Physical strength no longer plays a factor, and in its place only concentration and cunning take over - it is the ultimate display of superiority, and rather enjoyable too… Of course, you don’t have a deck, so there’s little point in a card game. However, we can play something else.” He carried on, before reaching out his hands as if offering an invitation to the knight. It was a clear invite for the knight to leave the ground and approach him in the skies.
 
“I suppose you can fight as you will, if you want… But if you have a spirit for entertainment, won’t you join me up here, silent corpse? We have no Shadow Realm here, so to lose would tear our souls out to be consumed by oblivion. This is your best chance at defeating me.”
 
The knight stared at him, but made no motion to move. Was it thinking it over, orrrrr oh, it had turned its back to him instead. Tilting its head slightly, the knight seemed to be thinking as it folded its arms, or it could just be mocking Protheus.
 
“...How rude.” His subtle excitement at beginning a game had been dampened by the armoured figure’s overly apparent rejection. He narrowed his eyes.
 

 

~ Supreme King ~

 
The dark sorcerer’s pompousness gave way to utmost annoyance. He disappeared for a second, having moved quickly to a point at the edge of the lake. Then he disappeared again, and was on the ground - Impure Future fully unsheathed in his hand. The cards Alpha and Omega had moved forward as well, so that they were positioned between the two. 
 
“I see you’re not much for games… Then, we shall play a game of strength. Let’s get this over with.”
 
The knight pivoted on its heel to face him again, and it carelessly shrugged at that suggestion. In turn, Protheus scoffed at such overt lack of respect, raising his blade high.
 
“There will be no spells here. Only brute force will determine the winner...” He explained coldly.
 
A ring of purple flames expanded from the Alpha and Omega cards, rapidly circling around until it encompassed the two warriors, sealing them from any escape until one attained victory. The sky turned dark and a slight despairing pressure descended. Movements were heavier and magical attacks from either individual were significantly dampened. It clearly drained Protheus somewhat. Even so, he was still more than confident in dealing with this enemy, wielding Impure Future in his left hand.
 
This could be considered to be a cheap tactic, yet it had constantly proven effective in his long life of disposing of troublesome opponents. Individuals who relied solely on their ability as a sorcerer were doomed to fall - this was a shortcut that allowed him to ignore silly spell-related gimmicks and face them head-on. The very idea of it made him regain some of his smugness, a smile creeping back up on his face.
 
The Shadow Game had been activated.
 
The knight oddly seemed to be shaking now. Not in the normal manner of fear, but rather like it was having some kind of spasm, given how it was jerking about as it awkwardly walked towards Protheus.
 
“...” Protheus tilted his head, actually rather confused. This was, somewhat unexpected. After all, his opponent had maintained a normal, static demeanor this whole time. Why was it shaking? Had magic truly been its only chance at victory, and now that he’d stolen that away, all it could do was march do its death? “How laughably pathetic...”
 
He assumed a stance, pulled Impure Future back - and as soon as the knight had entered his range, lunged forth at an impossible speed. Just like that, a hole punctured itself into its chest, followed by the blade proper, emerging right out the back. However, with impossible speed, comes a supreme lack of breaking as the ease of the slice took Protheus by surprise, as did the clear lack of blood. Brought all the way to the hilt, the knight spared no effort in catching the dreaded sorcerer in a very strong bear hug.
 
“W- what?!” So, it was an animated piece of armour after all! He found himself being crushed by the hunk of metal, and although he was enhancing his body with as much magic as he could, his own activated Shadow Game was backfiring, preventing him from mustering enough strength to throw off the knight. He’d been so confident in his speed in such a situation... wait, what was that sound? “Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!”
 
Was it getting louder? “Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!”
 
But where was it coming from? Looking around desperately, even Protheus’ enhanced senses couldn’t see anything coming for miles around. Where could it possibly coming from? He couldn’t even tell if it was human- “AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”
 
That noise, it was coming from… above?! Looking right up, something golden was flying at an incredibly fast speed. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!”
 
From the rapidly growing image, it was a female, with red hair and hints of gold all over her body with… “THE WINGS!” Protheus realized. Somehow, the person in the armour must have removed it underground, and sent it up to fight. She then must’ve… tunneled out of the Shadow Game’s range.
 
“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”
 
With the force of a ballistic jabroni missile, Lydia pointed her taloned feet right at Protheus and stomped him several feet into the ground, the sorcerer little more than a goomba under her feet.  His own body, fragile without the enhancement of magic, was thoroughly wrecked, and any attempts at mustering a counter-offense were negated by his very own spell. Truth be told, it was hard to tell if the actual attack or the humiliation of its methods was more painful. The sheer shock of the situation had left his lodged body entirely immobile, as he struggled to process just what was happening.  What? What?! WHAT?!
 
But it seemed the Shadow Game was now in full effect with the real player as Lydia tore Impure Future from her armour as it collapsed to pieces, her control broken by the field. Taking several steps backwards, the Sorceress Supreme held the katana cautiously, a wary eye on both it and the now buried Protheus. And now in full sight, it was… interesting to see what had become of her. Golden scales had grown all over her body, in the desire of something much like a body suit, leaving her feminine areas covered, but the more practical parts completely exposed. Scales had coated the full length of her forearms, leaving her with clawed hands. Sighing loudly, Lydia brushed her gold-tinged hair from her eyes, and awkwardly brushing against the slight scales growing on the tips of her ears. And in tandem with her brushing, her right wing flexed wide, golden feathers rustling in the cold, cruel wind.
 
“YOU!!!” At last, everything made sense. Protheus’ shock gave way to an immense wave of HATRED for the now-revealed identity of the Counter Corp, his eyes widening at the sight of the changed dragonic woman. His words came out breathlessly, “SLAYER OF LERNA… LYDIA!”
 
The dark sorcerer used all of his strength and accessible mana to boost himself from the hole. Climbing upwards with seething hatred, his expression was being extremely distorted, facial muscles pulled to their limits to convey just how pissed off he was. Although it seemed like he would at any given moment, he didn’t scream, he didn’t curse - NO WORDS WERE SUFFICIENT TO DESCRIBE THIS UTTER INSOLENCE.
 
As soon as he’d reached the surface, he threw out his left arm, reaching his hand towards the stolen Impure Future - as if about to recall it. However, it wasn’t returning to him. His precious weapon. The purple flames surrounding him prevented recalling it. Yet another backfire.
 
Inhaling sharply, Lydia didn’t even seem concerned with Protheus, save for the battle. Wrapping her wings to reduce resistance, the Sorceress Supreme kept Impure Future at the ready as she charged right at him, the girl still utterly silent as the snow scattered before her like a blizzard.
 
Very well. He could handle this. Muttering words under his breath, he thrust both his arms forth at the woman. 
 
“Akh…” 
 
This was enough. 
 
“Amenti…” 
 
THIS WAS ENOUGH!
 
”...!!!”
 
Fully prepared to unleash his greatest attack, The Truth Of All Souls Upon Death on her, he called forth the various collected deathly souls within his possession - but he couldn’t reach them. They were right there, yet once again, HE COULDN’T USE THEM. The Shadow Game was preventing him from doing so.
 
Locking his eyes onto the charging Sorceress Supreme, the powerless Herald of Darkness considered his options. And then, he found himself doing something he’d never done before. Turning... t o  r u n  a w a y.
 
I will not accept this! In the crudest and most desperate attempt, he moved at speeds faster than the human eye could see to avoid her charge, zigzagging. Without his blade, his speed was the only advantage he had left. He kicked up the snow while running to obscure her vision. Slowing to a crawl, Lydia watched blankly as Protheus made his escape, the Shadow Game fading around her as the violet ring of fire followed his movement.
 
And then… The flames disappeared, as though the victor was clear. A Shadow Game only concluded once it was apparent to both participants who had won, and despite the sorcerer’s overt refusal of the result, even he understood there was little way out of this under the circumstance.
 
The body of Protheus Maximus - who’d earlier been filled with so much arrogance and overwhelming power - collapsed just as he reached the shoreline. It was as if his very life had been taken with the shadows. The last thing he took out before falling was a single card with the name ‘Water Charmer’...
 
And promptly, everything 
 
that made up his physical form 
 
dissipated quietly into dust...
 
And like that, Protheus appeared to be gone. Glancing at her armour, Lydia made a motion with her hand, and the parts flew towards her, their bond made whole as each part took its place on her, until she once again became the golden knight the dark sorcerer had so callously underestimated. Now better armoured, Lydia willed the metal, fixing the hole punctured by Impure Future, which she still held in her hand. This weapon was something else. It made a hole in such durable armour effortlessly, and before the sword even made contact with it. But, to matters at hand. Raising her free hand, the Sorceress Supreme called into the earth, bringing her staff back from the depths. She should have brought it with her, but it seemed her sneak attack worked to separate Protheus from the sword he so enjoined fondling. And now, the other matter.
 
Gliding through the air on the winds, Lydia settled by the remains of Protheus. Eyeing the card he had left behind, the Sorceress Supreme couldn’t help but feel it insignificant to her plot, so she let it be. However, Protheus’ corpse didn’t deserve such respect as she fished through the ashes. Feeling something solid, her gauntlet held it tightly as she pulled it free, revealing Impure Future’s sheathe. Naturally she hooked it around her own waist and set the sword in it, returning it to its home. Feeling about again, there was nothing left in the pile. “It’s not here” a powerful voice growled.
 
“Someone must’ve taken it from him earlier” Lydia somberly remarked, her once exuberant voice hollow and empty.
 
“One of the others then. It might already be in the Hallway!”
 
“Then that’s where we have to go. Protheus has been dealt with, so now-”
 
“We deal with the traitorous jabroni!”
 
Looking to the end of the long road, Lydia took to the skies, the winds rocketing her through the air to the end in no time at all. Standing before the final roadblock, it asked of her
 

“Are you satisfied with your past?”

 

“My past is my dearest, most precious thing. It has helped define me; defined us, Avalon and I. I will never give up the memories of the people I’ve left behind for the world, the universe, or even the multiverse. Their love, their strength, they are what give me power in this time. And... I REFUSE to allow Arturia to take it away from me!”
 
“I have lived long, and have never known anything to hold me back. But, upon my honour as the one and true Dizaster, I will use what I know to guide this girl to her destiny. Our pasts are different, but our future is as one!”
 
Satisfied with the answers, the sorceress was allowed passage, her journey finally complete.

[Merci]

Abandoned ashes began to coalesce, moving by a mystical force towards the lake that lay at the end of Remembrance.

 

Willingly, each particle submerged itself into the giant body, diving down into the waters of regret.

 

Drifting deeper and deeper, until every last remnant of the dark entity hit the dark bottom. Gathering together. Consumed in nostalgia.

 

As the unexpectedly competent sorceress took their leave, their energy disappearing entirely from the realm, a young woman stood on top of the surface of the lake, wielding a staff of unimaginable power. Watching her leave wordlessly, with an expression that seemed to be empty at first. Yet actually displayed a certain emotion. Disappointment.

 

"..."

 

The woman proceeded to sink inwards, letting herself be consumed by the lake. From her feet, murky colours of black and grey rapidly spread across the liquid of memories, as though merely making contact with it was heavily corrupting.

 

Once her head had reached the surface, she quietly muttered a few words,

 

"̝̻̘͟H̟̤̗͚̻͓̺e̟͕̼͇̪ ̵̟̝̖̲is ̬̤̹͔͙̩a̭̫̞͉̤͞ ̝̩̖̠̕ĺ̫͈̜̺̬i͚̰̫̰̰͓c͏̩̫͔͎͍ḫ͎́ ̹͍̲͖̝̹̀a̪̠̺̹̠̖̺f̵͙̜̬t͏̩͔͚̣̺e̤͎̲̲ͅr̸͚̩̟̞̘ ̵̞̪̼̗̗̻ͅa̠͓̠͝l̨͎͙͔̰͙̠̭l͠.̀.̰̥̹̣̮̞̼̕.̻̜͚"̸̱

 

 

---

 

~ Arturia Pendragon ~

Hallway of Origin

 

As much as the former Counter Guardian hated to admit it...

 

...these people were actually strong.

 

Almost as soon as Arturia had replenished her failing Excalibur blast, she heard the word "Bankai" being uttered from a mouth at her feet, bringing forth pillars of fire straight at her. Having to manage both her Excalibur blast and Darcy's containment, she improvised by manipulating Invisible Air, constricting the available air around the flames to create vacuums - extinguishing them moments before reaching her.

 

What a powerful magic you have at your disposal. He stated, with the Alpha Stigma visibly apparent in two of his five eyes. Flaming corpses had risen up from the eyes within the Black Blood, slowly marching towards her. Alongside them was all too troublesome Butler-Ragnarok, and it seemed that a copy had melted next to Dorian, further covering the area in that same, oozing Black Blood.Its regenerative properties are almost instantaneous. We can see why you were chosen in position of leadership. I fought the other Counter Guardian before. Did you know that? I don't think I could've won at the time, but I have picked up a lot of new skills since then. Please, would you so kindly...fall into madness. 

 

And promptly, the zombie horde charged at Arturia. For some reason, observing them triggered her Instincts to fire away, as something about them felt off - for mere mooks, they contained too much unstable mana, so it would be best to avoid them.

 

"Truly, you're not the same. You're worse. Emiya fought a monster... How do I even begin to describe you now, you cruel fiend?!"

 

Judging by their speed and distance, it would take a little while until reaching her position. Leaving it for later, she moved her attention to Reimu's blade, which had a beam of scarlet light that pierced into the contrasting golden light. Arturia regained her footing and resisted, ensuring that the wave was still moving forward rather than away, keeping everyone to the edges of the Hallway. Concentrating on this matter, she heard words being cried over the crashing roar of energy attacks.

 

"No matter how many times, I will see it to the point where my words can reach you, Lady Arturia!"

 

Strands of the scarlet energy mixed in with the gold representing Arturia's former kingship; and with them, glimpses into the sword's old life diffused into her memories. Tiny bits of her existence as Tenshi. She acknowledged her life with Unsurprised, she fired back with even more determination, in a quick attempt to win her over..

 

"No... Let mine reach yours."

 

She grasped tighter onto Darcy's head to ensure that every last drop of her hope was drained away for the sake of victory. Despite all the remarkable resistance, Excalibur's main wave was capable of maintaining itself as a result of this unruly source. However, a strange being suddenly interfered with the connection, generating an incredibly powerful mental barrier around both it and the witch herself, such that it was even able to resist the pull of Excalibur. This was surely the work of Koishi Komeiji. How had the king not noticed her presence sooner?

 

"Why are you so full of spite? These people just wanted the best, yet you discard them all. Why? I can't understand you at all..." With apparent bitterness in her voice, she addressed the knight king. "I don't get you...she said you were an admirable figure...but why are you so filled with hatred then? Big sis...Yukari...they said you weren't a bad person, so I want to trust you too. I just wanted to believe you're working for the best. Despite all of this, all of the reasons to not trust you, I want to believe that you're fighting for what good you beiieve in still.

 

"..." She hesitated in her response. 

 

Wanting to say, there is no other choice. Wanting to say, this may not be the best, but it's necessary. Wanting to say, if you can read my mind, can't you see I'm fighting for justice?

 

However. It was precisely because of Koishi's ability that she understood, saying those words would be pointless. A sense of justice was certainly there, yes, but deep within her heart, the true feeling driving her...was none other than fear. Fear of the possibility that everything could be lost.

 

I just...I can't do it anymore, I can't bring myself to believe in you now. I'm sorry. Even now, I don't want to harm you...but you have killed Yukari. Why did you do that? Why did she have to die? Bring her back to me! Bring my big sister back to me, Arturia!

 

"This is war, little girl. I wouldn't have if I had a choice, but this is what soldiers DO! Grow up!"

 

 

 

 

 

Recollection: Morningstar!"

The frustration having transitioned into a burning hatred, she watched as the prior attack unleashed by Alexander and Umbris was replicated in the form of a wide, 

transcendent beam; a pillar of light blazing downwards from the air. Distracted by this, the Divine's witch had used the opportunity to teleport away from her grasp, 

before she could reassert any form of dominance. The Excalibur beam wouldn't last much longer without that one. 

 

 

 

At the exact same time, Rhadamanthys darted straight towards Arthuria, yelling as he deflected away some of the stray beams that got in his path. As she approached, she brought up as much mana as she could muster in anticipation, able to sense his ridiculously high strength all too high. She would almost certainly have trouble with this one alone, let alone when surrounded by everyone else! Wielding his blade, the God of Death attacked her from the left.

 

"Kiotso Kurokoriwa! Black Dragon Sword Style: Dragon Avatar!"

 

Also at the same time, as though they'd actually planned this, Ed charged forth. His body was enshrouded in black flames through the power of his Zanpakuto, until solidifying into an oriental dragon of black ice, lunging at her other side with great power.

 

As the triad of attacks approached, Arturia inhaled once, analyzing the situation in an instant to ensure the best possible chance of success. At the moment, all of her sides were occupied. One arm was still wielding Excalibur, focused on maintaining the narrower yet primary wave of devastating light and keeping the majority of warriors away. 

 

To her left was the God of Death, to her right was a charging black ice dragon, and directly above was a destructive beam of light on par with her holy sword's average level of strength!

 

Even if she were to abandon Excalibur, to move forward would be to close in on the army of corpses to her left flank further ahead - oh, would you look at that, Kratos's army of undead Spartans had joined them to her right flank, led by Kenpachi and Kratos - lined up on both sides of the walls where Excalibur's beam had narrowed as they made their way to her position. The distractions from the mooks would leave her open to attacks by three Top Tiers.

 

Avalon was not an option. It would take her a precious two seconds to withdraw it and seal herself away from the oncoming attacks. Escaping and defending were nigh impossible.

 

Therefore, the only option was to fight back. With clever wit, and the overwhelming strength of a Counter Guardian!

 

Arturia separated her blade Excalibur from the almighty wave, which carried on by itself. Afterwards, perhaps to Rhadamanthys's surprise, she proceeded to duck under his sword's attack, then thrust her arms around his waist, constricting with enough tightness to smash titanium. When it came to physical strength, she wasn't sure how much she surpassed him if at all, but surely such an unknightly move would take the man off-guard. Akin to some sort sort of gymnastic wrestler, she threw her own body off the ground, moving his momentum with her, before kicking him away - directly to her original position, where the Morningstar and Ed's dragon were about to collide!

 

 

 

 

She landed on the ground with grace, skidding across the Black Blood with her blade in hand, awaiting the next assault.

 

However, her guard was bypassed considering that, as soon as her body had come to a stop, shadowy tentacles suddenly thrust up from the ground underneath and gripped at her legs and arms. Immobilized, her battle Instinct fired away to think of another solution. However, at that very moment, a telepathic force slammed itself into her mind, what seemed to be the very manifestation of everything that had been prior inflicted upon Darcy's mind - semblances of the pain from Excalibur, as well as an unusually powerful mindbreaking force, encompassing Despair, that mercilessly ravaged through her mind. 

 

Right then, she heard a "Catch!". Killua had sent down black lightning bolts at her. And, just as she was about to twist her body to evade it, someone else called out,"Just f***ing Die Already!" Ayame used the opportunity, attempting to decapitate her with a sword of Ed-esque black flames. Understanding that this was the far greater danger, she manuevered her head and CHOMPED onto the blazing sword with her jaws. Arturia then turned and snapped her head with a mana burst, that alone containing such power that Ayame found herself flung towards one of the walls.

 

This had left Arturia almost totally defenseless, yet she managed to just about deflect one of the black bolts with Excalibur. Even so, the other struck her armoured chestplate. It had contained enough force to blow her back, yet due to being held in place by the tentacles, it inflicted much more damage; conducted through the metal of her armour, dark electricity swarmed through her whole body and ruptured many of her blood cells, temporarily covering her in light. She shut her eyes and grit her teeth, bearing with the pain - as much as she was used to pain on this level, it had certainly dealt a number on her. An attack on this level would take a little while to heal.

 

From the chest where she'd been struck, a light glowed. Avalon exerted its influence, and Darcy's telepathic attack was pushed back by a golden force, temporarily staving off the major mental distraction. With that, Arturia channelled mana into her arms and legs and tore off the tentacles, jumping away.

 

And yet it was at that moment that Chandra took advantage of that brief, clear line of fire. Literally. The flames of a Firebolt raced towards her, closely trailed behind by four phoenixes. Arturia manipulated the wind around her with Invisible Air and, as before, separated the oxygen to create a brief vacuum that snuffed out the oncoming blaze. The phonenixes left wide open, she used her golden blade Excalibur to quickly slice through the four of them in a single, wide swooping slash. 

 

"Your reign will end now, old king! Heed my call, Megami Ishtar!" Kazuya was the next to join the fray. He summoned a female demon on ton of a pair of giant bows who yelled, "Be crushed to pieces, 'Kindle of Venus for Tectonic Deformation, An Gal Te Kigal She!" With a large amount of energy contained into her bow, it fired an arrow that held properties. After some difficulty, it managed to actually pierce through the main beam.

 

And thus, having been thoroughly held back, corrupted, and punctured, the once-holy beam of Excalibur finally dissipated into nothingness. Nothing was holding the others back now. As soon as Arturia had dealt with the phoenixes, her eyes opened wide in shock as an arrow tore through the brilliant holy lhite at the other end of her blast and stabbed into her right leg, blood splattering out the other hand. After all those agile movements, she couldn't have reacted even if she wanted to.

 

"How long will you last, Arturia? You might make me run out of Macca at this rate."

 

You insolent brat...! The arrow disappeared shortly, after but the wound remained. Even if it was quickly regenerating, it wasn't quickly enough. Even ten seconds of being unable to walk would be fatal-

 

"Go get her! Put the shining pretty lady in a box and mail her to the Soul Society!  Make her dead, dead, dead!  Go team super fighting heroes!" Over the battle of fighting and crashing, the voice of a girl could be heard. Yachiru. 

 

It was at that very moment that Arturia looked around, and realized the sheer amount of s*** she'd landed herself in. Right now, as of this very moment, she was surrounded. Although she had managed to counter all the long-ranged attacks and successfully keep off the short-ranged ones, the two things she had neglected had now drawn far too close to her than she would've preferred. To her east was Butler-Ragnarok and his army of Black Blood corpses filled with unstable energy, and to her west was Kenpachi and Kratos, with their undead Spartans. Having been so thoroughly occupied, the mooks had had plenty of time to surround her.

 

It would only be a matter of time if she was rushed - and she didn't dare use Avalon's barrier in such a dangerous situation. After all, the only way to activate it was to withdraw it from her body, and if she did that, then her source of immortality would be gone...

 

Instead, she looked towards her own blade. Excalibur. Or rather, what it actually was.

 

Strange creature... If you can replicate even the holiest of artifacts, then surely!

 

Her Invisible Air temporarily retracted around her, not to hide her position, but simply to mask her actions as it turned everything within arm's length of her invisible. Her golden blade turned a crimson hue, and from there, three unusually familiar crimson blobs separated away, each of which contained a quarter of her energy. From there, each one solidified - into realistic copies of Arturia herself, possessing the exact same level of strength and abilities. Having hidden away which one was truly real, she undid the invisibility.

 

Now, at the center of the two undead armies, there were four Arturia Pendragons.

 

 

"Demons, it is long due your time to be purified!"

 

Arturia One took a deep breath, before unleashing a wave of flames at the approaching Black Blood undead army with her dragon breath, incinerating them several at a time. Her feet was lifted off from the ground by wind to avoid contact with the black-swarmed floor, and she flew towards Butler-Ragnarok, her weapon transforming into Caliburn. As soon as the knight was within range, she stopped her wave of flames and cried "CALIBURN!" The holy sword in her hand blazed with an immensely pure light; the mere sight of it made it obvious that to be cleaved with it meant certain death. With such a sword, she attempted to stab straight into the enemy.

 

 

"Believe me, I admire you two... Know that I have no choice in this!"

 

Arturia Two took no such caution; diving into the undead Spartans with the madness of a warrior who had never experienced defeat. She sliced through what ought to be experienced fighters, one after another as though they were paper dolls, all too familiar with being the strongest in the heat of the battlefield. Her eyes locked with Kenpachi's - noting his missing eyepatch - before her weapon transformed into a spear. As soon as she'd gotten within range of two of the strongest Counter Corps members, she unleashed Invisible Air all around her; a powerful gust of wind smashed the nearest warriors, and the threw the others off onto the floor. With a circle of empty space surrounding her, her weapon transformed into a spear and she jumped into the air - straight at Kratos! She screamed "RHONGOMYNIAD!", and that word of power caused her her spear to be enveloped in brilliant light. Its brilliance such that it negated the power of gods. It started spinning as it made its way towards the God of War's heart-

 

 

While the two armies were occupied, the remaining Arturias scattered. Arturia Three went towards the exit, direction of Ed, Rhadamanthys, and - was that Darcy? Her energy somehow felt rather different. In any case, she approached them in the aftermath of the usage of Recollection: Morningstar. 

 

"Are you okay, Ed?" Arturia Three asked, her tone temporarily returning to its prior, warm voice. After ascertaining his condition, she continued,

 

"In the short time you knew Emiya, you admired him. You even went out of your way to attempt to be by his side, way back in LERNA's barrier. I know that feeling... Like you, I only knew him for a short while, but it was enough to know how amazing he was. You must know that, even during the Shadow Realm, he shared the same goal as I." In the aftermath of the collision, she appealed to the black swordsman, reaching out her hand to him. "If anyone here will understand our mission, it's you... Help me. I cannot do this alone." Having said that, her weapon took the form of a spiral spear as she eyed the God of Death, as well as the newly-transformed witch. Both members of the Divine. "If people like them obtain the Door... everyone would be doomed."

 

 

Lastly, Arturia Four went towards the entrance. As she let out a quick wave of Invisible Air, scanning the area, she noticed something unusual; that there seemed to be multiple, fully realistic copies of just about everyone, resisting her. What on earth...? There were only two people who hadn't been copied, Arturia herself and Gemini- Oh, that was right.

 

"GEMINI!" Arturia Four yelled out. "Didn't you say you and I share the same goal? If we're on the same side, what's the point in letting these lesser beings?! Help me and the Key will be safe! If you go with them, you know that they'll subdue you! I am your only chance of success!"

 

Her eyes drifted across Neos's, as though intentionally choosing to ignore his existence, before locking onto a conveniently gathered group of Counter Corps.

 

"And Dark Magical Raiment, equip yourself to Lombax Praetorian General, Alister Azimuth, and grant him your power!!” “Excuse you--?!” “Wait, what--?!” The Dragon Elder and the General had appeared to be merged with unusual equipment, gaining extra powers due to some sort of card-related sorcery.  Next to them was Gabriel, Umbris, Alexander, Ratchet - as well as two of her most dangerous opponents, Bayonetta, Hapshiel - and wait what, wasn't Jeanne dead?! 

 

Arturia Four wiped her look of surprise away as she charged towards three of her most dangerous opponents, to deal with them as soon as possible. Now that Excalibur's blast had dissipated, there wouldn't be anything stopping them from joining the fray. Flames erupting from her feet, she jettisoned towards them as her weapon changed into a sword. Two demonesses and one angel, what an interesting assortment!

 

"CALIBURN!"

Arturia Four declared. As with the other copy, her weapon blazed with an immensely pure, destructive light as it was held out. To simply make contact with it would be to let the light enter their bodies and incinerate them from any impurities. Gliding through the air, she aimed to slice through Bayonetta, Hapshiel, and Jeanne in a single, clean and thorough holy strike!

 

 

[spoiler=~ Status of Arturia Pendragon ~]

 

 

>threw Rhadamanthys between Koishi's Morningstar and Ed's attack.

 

>main Excalibur beam intensified, but ultimately broke apart from Reimu's attack.

 

>used powers of her blade to make three exact clones with a quarter of her energy, their creation masked by Invisible Air.

>>One burned through Black Blood army w/ dragon breath, attacked Butler-Ragnarok w/ Caliburn

>>Two fought through Undead Spartan army, attacked Kratos w/ Rhongomyniad

>>Three appealed to Ed

>>Four appealed to Gemini, attacked Hapshiel, Jeanne, and Bayonetta w/ Calburn

 

 

~ ~ ~

Arturia One

Total Health: 250

Total Mana: 1000 -> 475

Weapon: Caliburn (instant kill sword - costs 500 MP)

 

 

Arturia Two

Total Health: 250 -> 150

Total Mana: 1000

Weapon: Rhongomyniad (anti-supernatural spear - costs 100 HP)

 

 

Arturia Three

Total Health: 223

Total Mana: 1000

Weapon: Rhongomyniad (anti-supernatural spear - costs 100 HP)

 

 

Arturia Four

Total Health: 250

Total Mana: 1000 -> 500

Weapon: Caliburn (instant kill sword - costs 500 MP)

 

 

 

[The Warden]

With the blast subverted, even for the moment, the great angel Hapshiel shook his fingers, which held burns from pushing such holiness back. "It is powerful, but that still wouldn't be enough to challenge the power of God" he deduced.

 

Powerful she was, but she was nothing in the face of true divinity, the pure and devout angel of God. A fact that foolish queen could not appear to accept. "CALIBURN!"

 

The foolish girl was attempting again? And with a weaker light this time? A pity, but an angel could not allow the lives of two ravishing demonic beings like this perish, the Scales of Balance would not allow for such a thing. Stepping before Jeanne and Bayonetta, the mighty Hapshiel raised both fists clenched together, and swung downwards, his pure light clashing with Arturia Four's, and the Caliburn was undone, shattered like feeble glass. Shaking his fists again, the angel's eyes narrowed as they stared right through the no doubt perplexed eyes of the Divine Spirit. "I am not one for violence; in fact I am very much opposed for using my fists to settle disputes that could be concluded with a hug. However, I am afraid that I cannot allow your blasphemy to prosper Miss Arturia. You have taken everything I have come to value in vain, and have prostrated yourself to be above God and his infinite wisdom. For someone with only war in a heart that has no room for love, I MUST end you" Hapshiel solemnly vowed as he took up a fighting stance. "And feel free to assist me if it pleases you my fellow divine beings, for it has been a long time since I have sided with the fel in battle" he added to the Umbra Witches.

[Tesability Black]

~Gemini's POV~

"Help me and the Key will be safe!"

As Arturia continued to speak, Gemini felt a giggle bubbling up in his throat, letting it out in a mutted tone that continued to increase in volume as she continued talking at him.

His voice errupted into a maniacal laugh once she was done, slapping his leg as he bent over slightly, acting as if he just heard the most-hilarious joke in his existance.

"Arturia, Arturia, don't you know that first reactions are oftenmore true than not? If you really thought that, you would have said so instead of making an enemy of all of us." Straightening up, he noticed how pointedly she was avoiding Neos, another thought that amused him. "Afraid to look at someone you personally knighted, m'lady," Gemini taunted, before pulling back his dark-purple business suit jacket, reaching a hand into it. "As for the claim that my morals shift more than my form?" Teeth revealed themselves as he sported a wicked sideways grin, certain that Arturia would be wondering how he caught that thought. "That is not something that's changed as much as it has formed since my seperation and solidification in this place."

"And for the record, deary, the Key is already safe," he declared as he quickly crafted a duplicate in his coat pocket before swapping it out for the original, careful to keep all the glow dulled down to none at all before pulling out the Key itself for Arturia's view. "By the way, if you even think about killing my counterpart or myself for this, you will not have a Key to worry about, for it will be out of your range somewhere outside of the Pathway of Origin at a completely random location in the Omniverse while you remain trapped here with the rest of us. A rather-pitiful way to sacrifice yourself for nothing at all, yes?"

What's worse? Gemini could actually do it. He wouldn't be able to get the Key back if he did and the pain that would cause from recoil would be further maddening and potentially enough to permenantly send him back into his prison within Neos, but he could indeed follow through with that threat.

Key back in his jacket before buttoning it up for once, he patted his pocket then zipped in front of each of the Arturias after a sudden split, not caring about the potential danger. "Now, now, let us talk like reasonable people while I still can be reasonable, yes?"

Trying to attack him or get the Key off him would be pointless, since Arturia would find herself holding a fake Key if either thing happened against any of them.

~Neos's POV~

"Way to plant a bullseye on our asses, Gem," Neos remarked about the darker double in all of Arturia's faces upon seeing the Key of Origin, a glow in each hand as one of them shifted into a crystaline knight's shield and the other manifested into a crystaline greatsword that should be wielded by two hands with anyone else.

While Gemini had just straight up left the hall temporarily to avoid the earlier attacks, Neos hugged the wall to avoid the golden beam, pushing Jace against it as well and shielding both of them to the best of his ability by creating a smooth and almost flat shield of energy around them that would cause the beam to gently move around them.

Jace was unscathed, Neos still ended up looking like he had a fire explode in his chest and face. He was doing a decent job at hiding the pain from this as he glowed momentarily, the wounds healing rapidly and the clothing restitiching themselves. "Got any ideas for this madness, Jace?"

~Jace's POV~

At least that's not on me again, Jace thought to himself, unaware that he was the one that brought the Key into the golden hallway to begin with. He was watching as Gemini taunted Arturia, even bringing the Key of Origin into her sight with a threat that, from what he's sensing from how Neos tightened up at it, the demon could actually follow through with.

"Got any ideas for this madness, Jace?"

"No, I do---"

His voice cut out suddenly as he winced, he suddenly feel power that was not his own, using colors that he had no control of flow through him and into another...then widened as he began to see the ghosts of those from various realities began to appear around each of the Arturias, making it near impossible to attack with something like the Excalibur strike without hitting at least a few of them.

None of the ghosts seemed hostile, even for those whom were well known for such though.

"May the Souls of the Faultless show the fallen knight the error of her ways. Many of these beings were destroyed by the Omniverse collapsing onto itself, no longer able to sustain such worlds despite most of them being nowhere near the worlds that the Divine ravaged." Jace turned towards the large masked figure that had been following him, hands outstretched as if it was the source of the newcomers. As if to stress a point, the many ghosts kept increasing in number and variety, soon getting to a point where Jace was thankful they were insubstantial...if they weren't in the way of an attack.

 

Testing a theory, Jace purposely tried balling up his fist, subconciously having his thumb inside his hand as he did, before taking a swing at one ghost. His fist went through and he felt no recoil. These ghosts were on their side, which meant that only those whom opposed him and those he was with, such as Arturia currently, would have problems with them instead.

[Dad]

Kratos

 

His Spartan brothers were laid to rest, little effort given by Arthuria.  He was not surprised.  Even with their magical bodies, they were no match for the Counter Guardian's might.  Try as they might, the raised Spartans soon fell once more, returning to dust, and their magical essence being absorbed by Kratos.  Arthuria was strong, and he knew it.  Though, this was not the first time Kratos had challenged someone who was much stronger than he.  He had lost count of how many times he stood on the seal of death's door, but never crossed it.  From his days as a lowly warrior, to his rising and falling as a god.  From his triumphant emergence, to his pitiful defeat.  He had met death not once, not twice, but three times.  He refused to meet death again.

 

Arthuria's body parted into four separate beings, the second of which challenged Kratos, and Kratos alone.  Her own powers triumphed over Kratos' goldy blessed weapons, rendering their magical properties useless.  Kratos understood this when his Golden Fleece hummed on his wrist.  But he was not deterred.  He was emboldened, as Arthuria brandished a spear, and aimed for Kratos' heart.

 

Both of his unpowered, dual weapons on his back were still drawn in his hands.  Kratos stood his ground, spreading his guard wide.  And as Arthuria dove towards Kratos, he drove his blades into the ground, stretching their chains.  With all of his might, he leaped over Arthuria, tangling his blades and bringing the chain to a bind around her neck.  He fell behind her, his grip tight as he attempted to strangle Arthuria's clone.  He called out to her, a famous Spartan cry.  One his brothers had told before him.

 

"You should reach the limits of virtue, before you cross the border of death."

 

---

 

Kenpachi

 

Even he was admittedly taken aback when Arthuria managed to lay waste to entire armies of undead in one fell swoop.  Kenpachi smiled as he raced forwards to take on Arthuria.  He was--for the first time--impressed.  But before he could lay a hand on Arthuria, she blew him back with a powerful wave of magic.  He braced himself, trying to stay upright.  "Kratos!" he called out, as Arthuria leaped forwards towards the god of war.  A blessed spear in her hand, Arthuria attempted to run Kratos through with one attack.  But she was challenging a very experienced fighter.  Surely, she should have thought such a reckless attack through.

 

Kratos narrowly avoided the death strike, leaping fearlessly over Arthuria's head and binding her throat with chains.  Kenpachi could read this situation quite easily now.  As his reiatsu continued to climb and climb, he burst forwards to the bound Arthuria, whom Kratos held in place.  With both hands on his Zanpaktou, Kenpachi aimed for Arthuria's chest.  He raced around to face her, and bared down on her with great ferocity.  "Drink.  Nozarashi!" he declared.  

 

His Zanpaktou enveloped in a great, radiating power, it reached with its many teeth for Arthuria's own heart.

 

---

 

Revy

 

She stopped as Arthuria split herself into four.

 

"What the funk?  Actually, I shouldn't even be questioning it at this point.  You guys are all funking weird."  Revy had faith in Kratos to handle his own.  As she watched him barely avoid death, she let out a relieved sigh.  "Go get her, big guy," she thought to herself.  Turning her attention to the rest of the battlefield, Revy found an opening.  The only Arthuria that wasn't engaged in combat was talking with Ed.  Revy barely knew the kid, but she knew he was buddy-buddy with Kratos and Kenpachi.  Whatever Arthuria may have been telling him--at least, this version of Arthuria--couldn't have been good.

 

She raced to Ed's side, her prediction accurate.

 

"... Help me. I cannot do this alone.  If people like them obtain the Door... everyone would be doomed."

 

"And if you had it your way, you'd kill everyone and everything.  I'd take a chance on tall, dark, and ugly over there before I agree to your terms," Revy said, gesturing towards Rhadamanthys as she interrupted Arthuria's speech.  "Don't listen to her, kid.  She's a God damn maniac.  Whether you help her or not, she'll kill you in the end.  Once a traitor, always a traitor."

 

---

 

Byakuya

 

As he dodged, side stepped, and avoided every obnoxious stray attack that found its way towards him, Byakuya silently mused to himself.  There was so much happening, and so little progress.  He could only observe.  His former opponent nearly lost his life.  The former Head Captain was still wrought with power.  There were two new Death Gods he didn't recognize, one who could even summon the undead, much like a Hollow.  And another who reminded him much of the strawberry haired young man of before.  And then there was Yachiru, standing in her large, orange bubble shield, enjoying the fight of the ages.

 

Simple whelp.  Her innocence was also her ignorance.  But Byakuya couldn't help but laugh at her.  How she could be so carefree at a time like this was a mystery all its own.

 

Nevertheless, he did not engage Arthuria, the Counter Corps, nor the Divine.  He watched, and waited.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

The addition of illusions on the battlefield made everything more confusing, but Satori managed to keep her focus on what was important. As she was still hooked up to Darcy, she continuously pumped her with all the information she had about the artifact embedded inside of Arturia, and more importantly, of the remnants of a creature that Arturia used as her weapon. Flashes of a peculiar centaur-shaped monstrosity were still stuck on her mind as she parsed through the information gathered by the projected scarlet sword earlier in Camelot. An adaptive...thing of the ultimate degree, it was only held back by Arturia's own personality that would rather use it as copies of weapons she's familiar with. However, right now the King of Knights had shown to everyone what the thing was capable of, by using it to create full copies of herself, practically indistinguishable from the real thing.

 

Even Satori herself was unable to discern which one was real - all of them practically had their own train of thought, all of them were Arturia in their own way. Waiting on Darcy's initiative, Satori continued to watch as one of the knights were talking to one of the person near her and Darcy right now. She was pleading for his assistance, and Satori had to tune out of it, as she had heard and seen enough of that now. To distract herself, she decided to talk to Darcy again.

 

"This eye can see right to the hearts of anything, and even if any of the Arturia used Invisible Air, I would be able to locate her. As long as I am here, Darcy, you shouldn't need to worry about your assault missing.

 

I could offer you little else however since I have ran out of energy, but do tell if you believe I could offer you other assistances. Whatever it takes to be able to bring her down."

 

---

 

"No... Let mine reach yours."

 

The last thing she remembered were hearing Arturia's words as the golden and scarlet light bathed her all over. The nameless girl opened her eyes, and found herself in an all-familiar dark chasm. Right, there was one last thing that she need to sort out first. Faint female voices started to gather around her as the only stimulation her senses were receiving. It started out as faint and distant, but the girl slowly could make out all the different tones that those voices had as they get progressively more noticeable. Thousands of voices soon entered her senses, and the girl started to feel overwhelmed by it. Some were panicking, not understanding yet the situation they were in. Some were angry, mad at the circumstances that led them to be stuck in this chasm. Some had fell far into despair and now were laughing like maniacs. Some cried, some called out for the name of people that were dear to them, some went into a fit of hysteria, some tried to calm everyone else down, and even more had chosen to be quiet, either resigning to their fate, or simply chose to not act for their own reasons.

 

And completely separate from all the disembodied voice, a figure then appeared before the girl. A short-haired girl, perhaps around the same apparent age as her, with a rough-looking exterior that was quite distinct from the other similar girls she had seen before. Somehow, this short-haired girl had survived with her sanity intact in this roving pool of madness, something that Nameless was unable to understand well. It seemed that she wished to commune with her right now.

 

"Been a long while eh, Amato? Didcha crush those bastards that you need to crush yet?"

"...That is a name I hadn't heard for a while. Please don't call me that, I am not the real her."

 

"C'mon, you're just being too tight about that now. What do you want me to call you instead, something like Bluehead McSwordface?"

 

"Heh, that isn't actually that bad, let's go with that if you wish to. Why do you wish to talk to me, however? Were you the one that summoned me here?"

 

"Cor-rect! Then again it's ain't hard to guess, what's with everyone else here being raving lunatics already. Yea, timing's bit unfortunate, isn't it?" The short-haired girl laughed for a bit. She definitely didn't mean any harm - perhaps she was just relieved that she had someone to talk to again this time. "Listen, I've pondered this for a while, and since everyone's on board with me as their speaker or some such, I'm here on behalf of all those crazy loons around you now."

 

"Ah...in that case, may I ask for-"

 

"What, you expecting us to just help you like that? Not a chance. At least, not yet. You're forgetting that we're talking about lunatics here. They had all lost their mind. They had lost everything, their form, their will, even their name. Just voices of anguish were left.

 

Well, I could lend you my help instead for now. You still had things to fight for, people you'd like to protect, and yadda yadda yadda. Meanwhile I'm just a wreck that couldn't even get a chance to fix my own goddamn mistakes.

 

You now go out and fight that mad king of yours with my assistance, then I'll see if you're worth the effort of dealing with these wraiths. You got it?"

 

"Uh...alright, I understand. Thank you very much for it, I will try my best not to disappoint you." The girl was glad that the short-hair was understanding enough about her situation, and she had a point too with wanting to judge her first. After what happened with Tenshi, something like that was expected. The nameless girl was glad at least - they had trusted her enough to finally respond to her plea. Seeing the nameless girl being lifted by the acceptance, the shorthair giggled for a moment.

 

"You better not disappoint me, I'll renovate the crap outta your ass if you dare die after I lend you my help."

 

"Pfft...like hell I will. Not after everything else that happened."

 

Glad that the topic had been sorted out, the two shared a last laugh in the end before the nameless girl chose to return back to reality.

 

---

 

"...She can do that? No...wait...this isn't natural. Something is off from the sword's analysis so far."

 

The nameless girl woke up at the sight of Excalibur dissipating, only for Arturia to split into four full copies and attacking separate people at once. She couldn't notice Reimu anywhere, and the body of Yukari had disappeared from sight too - perhaps due to the beam? The girl could only sigh for now before she started to release a swarm of scarlet temperaments from the Sword of Hisou, creating a cloud around the blade. With those lost souls had finally responded to her attempt of contact, there was little reason for the girl to still be stuck as just a sword. The cloud soon solidified and reformed into the body she was most familiar with. The body of a girl called Tenco, the one that had perished at the hands of the Avatar of Prologuous. The scarlet sword in her hand, the nameless girl had now been fully reborn amidst a sea of flames.

 

 

It was then that she realized just how dangerously close she was to the heat of battle right now. She was near substances that were identified by the Sword of Hisou as "Black Blood" although its properties were still being analyzed, and the source of this substance were a friend of Dorian's, who were now being in range of attack by Arturia. Without thinking much, she decided to rush towards them both as Arturia fired her attack with Caliburn.

 

"I still believe in you, Lady Arturia. I believe that your cause is just. You have came to the correct conclusion that it would be foolish for anyone to be able to be trusted with the absolute power of Origin. I might not like your methods, but I understood why you were doing what you did. However, even if you're correct, it doesn't mean that what you're doing is right. At least, that is what I believe. I might not be much for a show of force but...

 

Unseasonal Blooming: Cage of Ephemeral Flowers!"

 

Floating above the Black Blood using her temperaments as a lifting force, the nameless girl called out her attack name. The same attack that she used back in the Pathway of Death. Using her nature as the Sword of Hisou, she created copies of the blades with its same adaptive abilities that the original had, and formed a multi-layered cage of blades around Arturia as she attacked Butlerok. The situation made it unclear about whether Arturia's attack had connected or not before the nameless girl summoned the swords, but whatever was the case, the cage of swords then collapsed into the king's body, threatening to pucture her all over with a force that would adapt and counter most form of protections.

 

"I will stand against you. I acknowledge you as correct. I simply decided that I don't like the conclusion you're aiming for. As long as I draw breath, I will selfishly fight for what I believe in, to honor you of course.

 

I still adore you, you are still my idol. If you hate me for standing against you, then you can kill me. I won't make it easier for you to honor you, but I will not bear any grudges, really."

 

---

[Reinforce]

Darcy

 

With knowledge flowing through her head as to exactly what the king's weapon and clones were made out of, Darcy couldn't prevent a twinge of annoyance, as she fed information back to Satori about what she'd know of the gigantic red centaur they'd fought in the centre of the sphere forest, and it's capabilities for absorbing attacks. She didn't know if it's remnants retained that ability, but it certainly had an impressive level of mimicry available to it. Still, she focused in on the version of Arturia directly in front of her, passing along a message mentally as she did so.

 

"Focus your attention on this particular one for now then. The best way you could help me currently is just to let me know if she chooses to attack so I have prior warning, along with the information about her capabilities that you've already been doing. I should be able to manage the rest for myself."

 

Smirking at Arturia's words, she waited for Arturia to be somewhat distracted by Revy's words before launching another jet of dark fire at the Counter Guardian, this one bigger and stronger than the first one had been, augmented by her newly enhanced transformation, speaking as she did so.

 

"Dark Witch I may be, but I have no interest in dooming everyone. That's rather counterproductive really given that everyone could conceivably include me, and destruction of everything isn't my style."

 

---

 

Ayame

 

Acting fast as she was thrown away, Ayame used her wings to stabilize her horizontal movements, tilting so that instead of slamming into the wall, she'd land on it feet first. Instead of pushing off straight away, she took a moment in shock at the reckless move Arturia had used to block her attack. Nonetheless, after that moment's hesitation she darted forward once more, pushing off the wall to strike again only to be knocked into another spin by the gust of wind that suddenly blew from around the Counter Guardian. Repeating her feat of just before, she managed to land feet first again, this time up against the roof, as four copies of Arturia showed up. Taking a moment to analyze the new situation, she launched herself towards the one attacking Hapshiel, attempting to cut her down from behind in a burst of speed.

 

---

 

Chandra

 

With now 4 versions of the same counter guardian, and her previous attack proved useless, Chandra knew she'd have to pull off something stronger to have a chance against this particular opponent. Still, her normal strategy hadn't really been proven worthless yet, so plan More Fire was still a workable strategy. Plus, with Pyromancer Ascension at full prominence, she'd be able to pull off stronger levels of burn than previously. Thinking it over, a mote of inspiration occurred to her, bringing her to cast the powerful miracle Bonfire of the Damned at her opponent. She may not know which Arturia to hit, but that just meant she'd have to hit every one of them at the same time, which it would in a pillar of flame around each individual Arturia. As she did, the mirroring effects of Pyromancer Ascension and her Pyromancer's Goggles let the spell cast three times over instead of the once it would otherwise hit. Finally, the fire raging from her newest spell caused all four of her Phoenixes to burst into life in front of her, which she sent to attack one of the counter guardians each per Phoenix.

[Love of Ghibli]

Team Dorian: Hallway of Origin

 

Needless to say the super knight was not going to go down easily. In fact she held on to the very aspect of life. Butlerok looked at Arthuria literally grapple with Rhadamanthys and toss him into two other attacks. Needless to say he got a slight chuckle out of that. Watching on as the former leader dealt with the whole two armies thing the Alpha Stigma picked up that Arthuria was wrapping herself with a sheet of wind. 

Hmmm that is pretty effective. Butler thought to himself.

Now I wonder can we do that? Ragnarok added.

What got interesting though was that the Leader arose from this wind but this time in a set of four. 

Butlerok smirked as he wondered why he couldn't readily sense the presence of the true Arthuria. He couldn't wonder what was happening but maybe this was a flashback to the battle with the Madara. Could she have used a piece of that creature to formulate a weapon? If so...how devious this leader is. Hades added. This was almost respectable to the Kishin. 

 

He looked on as one of the Arthuria clones made there way by blasting the Zanka no Tachi horde. It was pretty weird to use fire to blast things that were already on fire. Nevertheless it did do work. Butlerok smirked at that bright pure light as if it were some kind of challenge to taint and seep into madness. However she kept coming and coming and coming through all of the horde. 

She hasn't noticed it yet has she? Ragnarok said inside the colelctive.

 

No, but she'll find out soon enough. Butler added

 

"CALIBURN!" 

 

Butlerok smirked as she was about to fall into a trap but....

 

I still believe in you, Lady Arturia. I believe that your cause is just. You have came to the correct conclusion that it would be foolish for anyone to be able to be trusted with the absolute power of Origin. I might not like your methods, but I understood why you were doing what you did. However, even if you're correct, it doesn't mean that what you're doing is right. At least, that is what I believe. I might not be much for a show of force but...

 

Butlerok's eyes widened as there was a new character coming into the battle. Was someone actually trying to defend him? This is new and definitely unexpected.

 

Unseasonal Blooming: Cage of Ephemeral Flowers!"

 

Oh he muttered as Arthuria was surrounded by blades while she was taking a swing at Butlerok. Of course the question of which would connect first was still on everyone's mind. Well not everyone. 

Right in front of Arthuria as she was about go in for a slash with her purifying blade a breeze blew across her face and out of nowhere Dorian appeared directly in front of Arthuria already lunging forth. 

QUINTET WALL!!! Dorian yelled as five massive spheres of energy expanded and bounced Arthuria back long enough for her to have to deal with the sword prison.

 

Dorian skidded back and stood upright somewhat proud. Not bad with the "Invisible Wind" knock off. 

Foolish of her to wield a magic so many times in front of me and not think I couldn't at the very least imitate it. Butlerok replied and the sounds of mental high fives were going on inside of Butlerok's head. Poor woman, we are everywhere on this battlefield. There is no tactical advantage for her in this battle. The magic reservers are something to be studied. 

Dorian looked back at Butlerok quite inquisitive. Why do you care about that? 

I don't, Gyokuen does for some reason. Though on the bright side this does give me reason to keep her alive more. 

Like I said Butler...He/She has to suffer first. I don't think our Yokai friend will be happy if we let him/her off lightly. 
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Oh this was rich. This beast dared to actually grappled with the God of Death. Rhadamanthys couldn't help but chuckle at the ironic metaphor that Arthuria was demonstrating. She tossed him into two other attacks. Rhadamanthys extended his hand and snuffed the black dragon flames that was coming at him. As the pressure of the MorningStar kept crashing down on him he let out a huge roar and repelled the rest of the attack. Granted in his lower form he was able to literally palm the force of the Big Bang with little effort. Fully accepting his Divinity now these attacks would not be much work God of Death. 

 

Unfortunately these attacks caused enough of a distraction that he didn't intervene with the Invisible Air trick and the breaking into four. Rhadamanthys looked as one of the female knights came to the aid of the black flame swordsman. Rhadamanthys raised an eyebrow as he noticed her sword was changing into a spear. 

 

"In the short time you knew Emiya, you admired him. You even went out of your way to attempt to be by his side, way back in LERNA's barrier. I know that feeling... Like you, I only knew him for a short while, but it was enough to know how amazing he was. You must know that, even during the Shadow Realm, he shared the same goal as I." In the aftermath of the collision, she appealed to the black swordsman, reaching out her hand to him. "If anyone here will understand our mission, it's you... Help me. I cannot do this alone." Having said that, her weapon took the form of a spiral spear as she eyed the God of Death, as well as the newly-transformed witch. Both members of the Divine. "If people like them obtain the Door... everyone would be doomed."
 

Hmph he scoffed. What made this more interesting was that Kratos' loud-talking wench ran into the battle. Something was off about her. He entire Cosmos was drastically shifted. She was a modicum of a threat...to others...now. Rhadamanthys looked straight down and realized his teammates have acted inappropriately...again.

 

....I'd take a chance on tall, dark, and ugly over there before I agree to your terms," Revy said.

 

Why? he thought quietly looking at his reflection in his own sword. 

"Dark Witch I may be, but I have no interest in dooming everyone. That's rather counterproductive really given that everyone could conceivably include me, and destruction of everything isn't my style."

 

The other member of the Divine uttered words. 

This issue of the boys faith did not concern Rhadamanthys in the slightest. He could just as easily kill the boy and be done with this issue. But it seemed like this situation required...words. 

Rhadamanthys simply looked at the young swordsman. I have seen your kind before. Young lion cubs who hunger for what you call an "honorable battle." You will not find that here. There is no honor here. You are millennia too short to stand on this stage and yet here you are. Accept your fate whatever it is young one... Rhadamanthys then points his sword at Arthuria 3...Unlike this COWARD who still doesn't want to acknowledge their loneliness.

 

Rhadamanthys started glowing. Foul remnant of a king, YOU ARE ALONE! No one sides with you, no one sees your point of view, no one follows you and THAT IS YOUR STORY! You don't even have the conviction to truly defend your beliefs on your own.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Nero - Keyblade War Master / The X-Blade's Wielder ~ Hallway to Origin

 

"This is war, little girl. I wouldn't have if I had a choice, but this is what soldiers DO! Grow up!"

 

While not in the area where Arthuria said this, Nero did hear it...she apparently was quite the shouter at this point. This WAS war... And although different from the one he originally fought in...he knew that his life wasn't just in the balance of this fight. Divine or Counter Corps, it didn't matter...ALL lives were hanging in the balance.

 

"Alright..." Nero exhaled slowly, before his grip on the two blades tightened. Now there were four different Arthurias on the battlefield. One fought Butlerok, the second attacked Kratos and Kenpachi, the third went for the exit, and the fourth went for the entrance and attacked quite a number of the Counter Corps members. Each one was doing something and also currently being plagued by Gemini...and a pillar of fire, courtesy of Chandra...but out of the four...he knew which one needed his help.

 

-BGM-

 

Without a second to lose, Nero rushed forward, only throwing Divine Remnant in front of him as it changed into his Keyblade Rider hoverboard. Jumping onto it, he quickly made his way towards the second Arthuria that had pinned down Kenpachi and Kratos.

 

Kenpachi...from what I overheard...is real close to Sora. Nero thought, nodding as he kept soaring overhead, doing his best to dodge the others and even stray attacks. Meaning...he'll know how to work well with a warrior with a Keyblade... he smirked, before seeing where Kenpachi and Kratos were.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Focus your attention on this particular one for now then. The best way you could help me currently is just to let me know if she chooses to attack so I have prior warning, along with the information about her capabilities that you've already been doing. I should be able to manage the rest for myself."

 

"I shall do it, in that case."

 

With Darcy saying that, Satori ended up continuing with what she was doing, silently listening to everyone saying their piece of mind to Arturia. She wasn't able to notice Koishi's whereabouts yet, which made her worry. The last time she noticed her presence was when the pillar of light collided with someone else's attack. While she most likely survived that, Satori still had her worries. However, her attention was taken away from the thought of her sister when she noticed Gemini appearing before Arturia and manifesting a fake key before himself.

 

"By the way, if you even think about killing my counterpart or myself for this, you will not have a Key to worry about, for it will be out of your range somewhere outside of the Pathway of Origin at a completely random location in the Omniverse while you remain trapped here with the rest of us. A rather-pitiful way to sacrifice yourself for nothing at all, yes?"

 

For a moment, Darcy could hear Satori's mental scream of anger as she listened to Gemini's words. How cocky was that damn glorified blob to think something like that would be able to act as a deterrent? Now Arturia knew that Gemini held the key. Knowing her, she would most likely take on Gemini's bluff and attack him anyway, which would doom everyone on the Hallway since it would remove the Key one way or another from anyone's grasp. And why would Arturia comply to have a civil talk at this point? Everything...everything that had been sacrificed so far, Yukari, it would all be for nothing just because of this.

 

No, she couldn't let that happen. Seething with anger, Satori mentally yelled an attack as her eye shifted to Gemini for that moment. Using up the few bits of her ability that she could muster to cast it, she withered a bit afterwards, leaving her barely able to focus had she's not hooked to Darcy at the time.

 

"Recollection: Switcheroo!"

 

The attack came in two steps. The first was replicating Gemini creating a replica, and the second was to swap the real Key that he held with that replica of a replica. Satori, overtaken by her emotions at that point, held the construct on one her tentacles, hiding it from view by having it be behind Darcy. She wasn't in a position to check if it was the real one she took or not, but unless she read Gemini wrong, it would seem that it'd probably be the right one. Perhaps.

 

Darcy would be able to listen to and notice what Satori was doing at this time.

 

---

 

Dispelling her Hakurei Barrier mockup after Excalibur has been neutralized, Reimu watched at first as Arturia split into four and attacked separate entities, and soon, lost souls suddenly filled her view. Unsure about what those specters were, Reimu at first went up in arms and thinking that Arturia's actions had made the dead rise up again and readied herself to exorcise those spirits, but her instinct told her that they seemed to be pretty benign. They seemed to be from the worlds that had been destroyed so far by this conflict, but Reimu found it somewhat disappointing that she didn't manage to find anyone she recognized from them. Then again...her world was destroyed by something entirely separate of this conflict.

Everything was quite chaotic, and Reimu was quite mentally tired right now and needing the recovery from the black orb again before she could continue fighting. She brought up more of her amulets from her pockets, and using them, she ended up creating four clones of herself, and distributed them on each ongoing fights while she floated away to find a nice spot to relax and recover her mind. The amulet clones would fight each Arturia for a moment before exploding into a quadruple barrier to protect the other combatants.

 

---

 

"Dorian, Dorian, you're doing fine!"

 

After Dorian parried Arturia to let her enter her sword prison after he reappeared after using his Invisible Air knockoff, the nameless girl raised her hand to greet him cheerfully, on the short momentary respite before Arturia would move again and the damage from the attacks could be calculated. She approached him and Butlerok with a smile on her face.

 

"Letting her alive just to make her suffer more...? Well...I'm not really opposed to that...but actually...what magic reservers are you talking about?

 

Nevertheless, I'm up for either a quick or prolonged death. By taking this path, Arturia would have understood what might happen to her. Honoring her choice by playing up the risk is important, right? I might not be of much help, but may I fight alongside you two here?"

 

---

 

To keep his magnetite reserve from depleting, Kazuya unsummoned Beldr the moment Excalibur dissipated, and he opted to observe the fight first before doing anything further. This new style of summoning was powerful, however it's way too costly as he wasn't capable of keeping any of the demons he summoned this way due to their unstable nature. He would need to gauge things better sooner or later. He shouldn't be running out of Macca soon, but it's a real possiblity, and what kind of a lame thing it would be for him to fall just because he ran out of fuel for summoning demons? Instead of trying out the new fusion system further, he decided to just open his Compendium and grab one of the stored data there.

 

"Come forth, Megami Parvati! "

 

A purple-haired lady in a sari appeared, and started chanting as the words "Salvation" was chosen on Kazuya's comp. As the chant finished, a brilliant light of the heavens spread out through the Hallway, which would heal everyone from their injuries. Keeping the demon with him for the time being, Kazuya then opted to watch over the situation and figure out what he should do next. The specters that started to flood the hallway seemed to be worrying, but from a glance Kazuya thought that she saw people he recognized amongst them. He tried to reach out to them, but relented at the last second, feeling that he'd do them a disservice by doing that.

 

---

 

"This is war, little girl. I wouldn't have if I had a choice, but this is what soldiers DO! Grow up!"

 

"Grow up? If growing up means doing what you do, if it would be the only thing I could do...I don't want to grow up.

 

I don't want that. I don't want any of that. I just want Yukari back, Arturia."

 

Anger disappeared, replaced with empty monotony as Morningstar dissipated after hitting Rhadamantys. Koishi soon followed, disappearing from view and mind of people immediately afterwards leaving only rose petals where she once stood. Everything then returned to its usual chaotic state as everyone fought each of the Arturia clones with their own way. Koishi was nowhere to be seen.

 

The Open Eye of Love, that was what she was once known as. Inside of her child-like mind, Koishi had no capability nor any wish to hate anyone. As she only received hate in return from the people she loed, she hid herself in the depth of her mind, not wishing to feel the pain of being hated. Yet, she still was unable to push herself to feel any hatred towards those people. Closing off her minds, she became a vessel of everyone's feelings and emotions. She displayed hate, she displayed spite, yet it was simply others' hate and spite being reflected at them by the wall surrounding her mind. In the end, the real Koishi was unable to feel such thing.

 

Yet, facing the first time that she felt loss, the first time she lost someone so dear to her, Koishi crumbled.

 

 

Koishi reappeared behind the fourth Arturia, near the people she copied Morningstar earlier from and the angel that was full of love. Her third eye gave off an empty gaze towards the king for a moment before closing itself off as Koishi lost herself in her grief, leaving her empty shell controlled solely by her basic drives now. The empty girl eyed the king as she went on with her attack, which got blocked by the Angel. The empty girl walked towards the king as roses bloomed around her. The empty girl started speaking.

 

"What are you doing, Arturia? You're not making any sense. You want others to understand you yet you refused to understand others. But ah, the time of understanding is over. You had done what you done, and now I'll do what I'll do. It's only fair, right? An eye for an eye. Is that what people usually say? If you hurt me, I'll hurt you back. I don't understand that at first, but...I think I might get it now.

It hurts, Arturia. It hurts to lose someone. It hurts. It HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS BRING HER BACK TO ME!"

 

As she yelled, a Spell Card manifested before her, titled "Dream Sign: All Ancestors Standing Besides You". With the Spell Card active, Koishi went on to pull any sort of triggers from Arturia's subconscious, Koishi used her Spell Card to force specters of the past to appear in physical form on the battlefield. Roses started to gather around her as Arturia's own memories and repressed feelings came to life, forming the figures of those that were close to her.

 

"From the depth of the sea of the unconscious, I call to thee. Sir Gawain. Sir Lancelot. Sir Bedivere. Sir Tristan, and Sir Mordred. Knights of the Round Table, come forth, and dethrone this unworthy king bearing the name Arturia."

 

Five knights materialized from the sea of roses and as soon as they appeared, they had prepared their weapons to strike at their former king. These were not simply empty specters born with the likeness of Arturia's former finest men. They were born from Arturia's own thoughts, memories, and feelings about them. Their thought would be the thought that she thought they had about her. Guilt manifested into physical form, or simply constructs that acted on Koishi's order? It was unclear for now.

 

"Until the moment you perish, you'll savor all this feelings, Arturia. This feeling of loss. Again and again and again and again you will relive the feelings of those close to you being robbed away from you again. I will dig through all your repressed traumas, I will lay them all bare before you. I will make you feel vulnerable like a child without anyone to give them protection or comfort.

 

No matter how hardened your mind is...I will break you."

 

---

[Gαr]

Team Ed - Hallway of Origin

 

Ed didn't realize the kind of firepower that was being leveled at Arturia, and he was charging headlong into it. Luckily, Rhadamanthys was enough to cancel out everything Arturia had redirected him into. He hopped out the extinguishing husk of his dragon and onto the ground.

 

"Are you okay, Ed?" Arturia Three asked, her tone temporarily returning to its prior, warm voice.

 

"Oh, you know, just surviving by the skin of my teeth. Typical stuff, I'm sure you're aware of."

 

After ascertaining his condition, she continued,
 
"In the short time you knew Emiya, you admired him. You even went out of your way to attempt to be by his side, way back in LERNA's barrier. I know that feeling... Like you, I only knew him for a short while, but it was enough to know how amazing he was. You must know that, even during the Shadow Realm, he shared the same goal as I." In the aftermath of the collision, she appealed to the black swordsman, reaching out her hand to him. "If anyone here will understand our mission, it's you... Help me. I cannot do this alone." Having said that, her weapon took the form of a spiral spear as she eyed the God of Death, as well as the newly-transformed witch. Both members of the Divine. "If people like them obtain the Door... everyone would be doomed."

 

"And if you had it your way, you'd kill everyone and everything.  I'd take a chance on tall, dark, and ugly over there before I agree to your terms," Revy said, gesturing towards Rhadamanthys as she interrupted Arthuria's speech.  "Don't listen to her, kid.  She's a God damn maniac.  Whether you help her or not, she'll kill you in the end.  Once a traitor, always a traitor."

 

"Dark Witch I may be, but I have no interest in dooming everyone. That's rather counterproductive really given that everyone could conceivably include me, and destruction of everything isn't my style."

 

Rhadamanthys simply looked at the young swordsman. I have seen your kind before. Young lion cubs who hunger for what you call an "honorable battle." You will not find that here. There is no honor here. You are millennia too short to stand on this stage and yet here you are. Accept your fate whatever it is young one... Rhadamanthys then points his sword at Arthuria 3...Unlike this COWARD who still doesn't want to acknowledge their loneliness.

 

Rhadamanthys started glowing. Foul remnant of a king, YOU ARE ALONE! No one sides with you, no one sees your point of view, no one follows you and THAT IS YOUR STORY! You don't even have the conviction to truly defend your beliefs on your own.

 

Ed had never got this much attention in his entire life, and honestly, he was flattered. "Straight up, I don't know what's going on here most of the time. Hell, when stuff does go down, I haven't really stepped up. I bought what Emiya was selling, not because I liked it and believed in it. I joined this war because I wanted the kind of power of he had. A little selfish of me in hindsight..."

 

While everyone was paying attention to Ed, no one was paying attention to Elsa and Gon, who were busy sneaking up behind Arturia Three. Elsa raised her hands and shouted, "Now!"

 

Oh thank god she has a plan because I was about to get existential.

 

Jagged chunks of ice ripped through the ground. Before the ice had even reached Arturia Three, Ed raised his swords above his shoulder and behind his back. She was immobilized in a pillar of ice. He swung in a circle and launched two dragons, one made of ice and another made of black fire. "Black Dragon Sword Style: Twin Dragon Spear!"

 

On the other of the trapped Arturia Three and Ed's attack, Gon charged up his Nen. "First comes rock! Paper!" Gon hurled a ball of his darkened Nen at the pillar.

[Kingdom Xathers]

-Bayonetta and Jeanne-

“For someone with only war in a heart that has no room for love, I MUST end you" Hapshiel solemnly vowed as he took up a fighting stance. "And feel free to assist me if it pleases you my fellow divine beings, for it has been a long time since I have sided with the fel in battle"

The two Umbra Witches shared a brief incredulous glance with each other, as did their respective Demonesses. True, they were Witches who had made a pact with Inferno, and who hunt Angels for a living (in multiple senses of that phrase), and yet THIS particular Angel--whose outfit leaves MUCH less to the imagination than anything either Umbra Witch would think to wear on a regular basis (hair-leather catsuits notwithstanding)--had essentially saved the lives of their Demonesses, and theirs by extension. “Well,” Bayonetta spoke shortly after, “I think we can just stop trying to question what goes on during this war and just go with it.”

“Agreed,” Jeanne shrugged as she and Bayonetta joined Hapshiel in assuming combat stances. “Sure, Angel, we’ll take you up on your invitation. But so help me, any funny business from you and there’ll be a Spanish Donkey with your name on it in your future…!”

“... something tells me he might be looking forward to that, Jeanne,” Bayonetta uttered, taking notice of a fleeting, shimmering sparkle in Hapshiel’s eyes at the mention of the Spanish Donkey.

-Alister, Red, Alexander, Umbris, Ratchet and Clank-

“Oh, just our luck,” Ratchet groaned upon seeing that Arthuria had somehow duplicated herself. “As if these illusions of all of us weren’t enough…!”

“At least these illusions of us are on our side,” Red said, getting some agreeing nods from his illusory copies.

“Dammit…!” Alister cursed under his breath, unable to pick out which among the four Arthurias was the real one. “I.T., can’t you work any faster…?!”

“YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN TO TRY AND RUSH A COMPUTER’S FUNCTIONS, ALISTER,” I.T. spoke through Alister, the General’s eyes glowing yellow as he spoke. “UNFORTUNATELY, MY SCAN CANNOT SO EASILY DISCERN THE TRUE ARTHURIA FROM HER REPLICAS, ESPECIALLY NOT WITH THEM ALL SCATTERED THROUGHOUT.”

“What about you, Umbris?” Alexander asked the Umbra Panther. “You can tell which ones are fake, right?”

“I could, yeah,” Umbris replied with a hint of uncertainty. “Problem is, Arthuria herself seems to have changed a lot since we last saw her, too, so figuring out her overall behaviour while comparing it to the replicas is--”

“--gonna take a while,” Ratchet completed Umbris’ sentence with a weary sigh.

“I suppose the best option at this time is to divide and conquer,” Giant Clank suggested. “This way, at least one of us will be facing the true Arthuria.”

“Dividing sounds like a good plan, actually,” Gabriel spoke up as he approached the group with Atsuko. “In fact, I’ve got a little something along those lines.”

“And what, pray tell, is that “something”?” Red enquired.

Gabriel’s Duel Disk gave off a red glow as it changed form, becoming an ornate sword. “The more I understand about my origins, the greater my power develops. I was born from the powers of Nigredo, Albedo, and Citrinitas, who had each used a part of their own souls to forge mine. As such, I can use any of their powers, too. In this case, though… I’d say it’s time for me to introduce you all to them personally.” Holding the sword before him in salute, forehead pressed to the flat side of the blade, a red aura began to emanate from Gabriel, just as three “shadows”--one pitch black, the second a pale white, and the third a shining yellow--branched out from beneath his feet. “Unum omnes, et omnia in unum!”

From each of the three “shadows”, a knightly figure arose, each performing the same salute as Gabriel, yet each once vastly different from him and each other:

From the black shadow arose Nigredo, the largest of the knights. His heavy ebon-colored armor reflected no light, as did his timid-like eyes, partially hidden behind the thick mass of long black hair. In his hand was the massive spiked kanabo, “Nekrotisk Svart”, its corrosive gunge already slightly seeping from the spikes lining its massive girth.

From the white shadow arose Albedo, the shortest of the knights, yet his authoritative presence seems greater than even Nigredo’s size. A pale sheen highlighted his white armor and his piercing, pale grey eyes. His weapon of choice, “Puritatem Albus”, gave off a faint hum from the positron energy stored within the glaive.

From the yellow shadow, amidst a shower of golden rose petals, emerged the flashy and fabulous Citrinitas, his “Brillant Aube” saber fans already unfolded as he abandoned the shared salute of his brothers to show off a dazzling pose, a radiant golden light radiating from his effeminate eyes, weapons and armor.

“... … … … okay, if we’re all done showboating,” Gabriel sighed as he removed his palm from his face, “each of us will take on one of the Arthurias--”

“I call the one fighting those glamourous Witches~! (Arthuria 4)” Citrinitas blurted out before anyone else could choose.

Albedo took a brief moment to glare at Citrinitas before declaring tersely, “I will assist the God of War. (Arthuria 2)”

“I--I guess… I guess I’ll partner up… with the servile gentleman and his master (Arthuria 1),” Nigredo stammered slowly, a hint of uncertainty evident in his tone.

“Which will leave me with the remaining one that was frozen by Miss Elsa (Arthuria 3),” Gabriel concluded. “With that, brothers, I say: “Good luck”.” Without another moment’s pause, the four Knights of Magnum Opus each charged towards their chosen Arthuria.

“Okay, so then…,” Alexander spoke up as soon as Gabriel and his doppelgangers had left, “... time to call out a new face.”

“”New face”?” Umbris repeated. “You’re calling out a new persona for Red Dragon Archfiend?”

“Not just a new face,” Alexander added. “Technically two.” He held out a card, blank except for the orange border indicative of Effect Monsters. “Apparently, Red Dragon Archfiend wishes to be more than just a servant to the Crimson Dragon--he knows that once this War is over, my time as a Signer may come to a close, and he will leave our side. Which is why,” Alexander added, as the card in his hand gained more details, including a picture of a horned, black-and-red humanoid demon wearing what looked to be Space Age spandex, “he wishes to give us a piece of him to remember him by, Umbris.”

“”Us”?” Umbris once again parroted. “You mean he’s--”

“--joining the Neo-Spacians!” a voice rang out from the card in Alexander’s hand, the speaker Summoning himself and revealing his new form (and info):

Neo-Spacian Crimson Fiend
FIRE/Lv 4/Fiend/Tuner/1500 ATK/1250 DEF
Cannot be used as an Xyz Material. If this card is Summoned during your turn: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower “Neos”/”Neo Space”/”Neo-Spacian” monster from your hand, Deck or GY, except "Neo-Spacian Crimson Fiend", ignoring its Summoning Conditions (if any), but its effects are negated. You can only use this effect of “Neo-Spacian Crimson Fiend” once per turn. You can send 1 “NEX” Spell/Trap Card from your hand or field to the GY and Tribute this monster (Quick Effect); Special Summon 1 Level 8 “Red Dragon Archfiend” Synchro Monster from your Extra Deck or GY (This is treated as a Synchro Summon).

“Really, now!” Umbris blurted out as he studied his apparently-new Brother-In-Archetype. “What really made you come to this decision, R.D.A.?”

“First off, you may refer to me as “Crim”,” the Crimson Fiend huffily corrected the Umbra Panther. “But, if you truly must know… it would seem that a part of me has become sentimentally attached to Alexander, and the rest of you Neo Space lot,” Crim admitted, a tender tone faintly detected through his otherwise edgy facade of badassery. “At first, I had my doubts about the lombax--he was not always willing to use me to my full potential when I was first assigned to him. He seemed… put-off by my destructive, absolute power, and my solitary mindset. Now, however? I see that it was purely because he values unity, the coming together of many individuals, each with a role no more important than the other, all bringing something of value… being something of value. And all of those values, views, worlds, all coming together as one, creating a force greater than any one being could ever muster alone, a force with the potential to shake the very foundation of Creation itself. “

That… is what I have come to value of Alexander, and it is something I wish to see progress and grow, not just within him, but you all, as well,” he added, holding a hand out towards Umbris. “I wish to see… how far this power of unity will take him, where it will take us, and that is why I have chosen to join you, chosen to stay by your side, to fight allow side you for as long as it takes!”

The Umbra Panther could not hold himself back from giving Crim a warm, excited grin. “Well, all right then! Good to have you aboard, Crim!” he declared, firmly gripping the Crimson Fiend’s hand in his own.

“Excellent. And now that I know I’ve been accepted… ALEXANDER!”

“You got it!” Alexander replied as he pulled out the “NEX” Spell Card. “I send “NEX” from my hand to the Graveyard and Tribute “Neo-Spacian Crimson Fiend”! The evolution of the reincarnated King commences as two different worlds join as one!”

Crim released Umbris’ grip as he became engulfed in a wild crimson flame, a faint chuckle echoing from within as the flame steadily grew in size.

“As a new life emerges, may its Creation-shaking roar echo through the heavens to the stars above! Alternative Synchro Summon! Arise, newest denizen of Neo Space! “Neo-Spacian Red Dragon Archfiend”!!”

Neo-Spacian Red Dragon Archfiend
DARK/Lv 8/Dragon/Synchro/Effect/3000 ATK/2500 DEF
1 or more Tuner(s) + 1 or more non-Tuner monster(s)
When this card is Synchro Summoned: Target a number of cards on the field (min. 1), up to the number of "Neos" / "Neo Space" / "Neo-Spacian" cards you control; destroy those targets. The effects of cards destroyed by this card (either by battle or by card effect) are negated.

The newly-evolved Crim, both Signer Dragon AND Neo-Spacian, burst out of his blazing cocoon with a resounding roar, the cry reverberating throughout the Hallway of Origin. As he roared, Crim had formed two spheres of blazing energy, one in each hand, signaling the start of his effect: the Dragon launched both spheres into the air, the powerful infernos hanging for a brief moment before descending at an alarming rate, hurtling towards two of the Arthurias (Arthuria 1 and Arthuria 2).

[Merci]

~ "Knight of the Wind" by Crash 40 ~

~ Arturia Pendragon ~
Hallway of Origin
 

---

Arturia One
 
As Arturia soared over the Black Blood army, melting their already-flaming corpses to ash with her dragon breath, she heard as the physical figure of the sword called out to her, rushing to intercept them.
 
"I still believe in you, Lady Arturia. I believe that your cause is just. You have came to the correct conclusion that it would be foolish for anyone to be able to be trusted with the absolute power of Origin. I might not like your methods, but I understood why you were doing what you did. However, even if you're correct, it doesn't mean that what you're doing is right. At least, that is what I believe. I might not be much for a show of force but...

Unseasonal Blooming: Cage of Ephemeral Flowers!"

All of a sudden, various copies of the Sword of Hisou materialized around Arturia, trapping her in a multi-layered cage of blades - regardless of this fact, it wouldn't stop her from reaching her target! Wielding her blade of kingship and purification as she zeroed in on Butler-Ragnarok's position, she stopped her wave of flames called out its name to activate it; crying out "CALIBURN!" To recap from there, the holy sword in her hand blazed with an immensely pure light; the mere sight of it made it obvious that to be cleaved with it meant certain death. With such a sword, she attempted to stab straight into the enemy.
 
Yet, just as Arturia came close to doing so, the man named Dorian appeared next to her all of a sudden, in a breeze that was quite apparently an Invisible Air knockoff. Before she could react to this, he  and fired five spheres of energy at her with a "QUINTET WALL!", harmless yet just enough to bounce her back. The surrounding prison of swords proceeded to collapse with the aim of puncturing the former king's body throughout. No longer within range of her target, Arturia instead opted to burst forward; when the rapid-moving blades came close, she used the still-active Caliburn to shatter several of them, and in that opening jettison outwards through Invisible Air. Despite this, a few of the blades still managed to stab through her upper left arm, heart, and abdomen.
 
The Counter Guardian quickly covered herself in Invisible Air to make herself, well, invisible again. It wouldn't hide her from that Butler-Ragnarok monster, but it at least provided some minor cover from Dorian and the Sword Girl as she - with great pain - pulled out the blade lodged into her heart. This let it regenerate properly, and she undid the invisiblity after that. The other two blades were still in her body, but it couldn't be helped, for she had to operate without them.
 
"I will stand against you. I acknowledge you as correct. I simply decided that I don't like the conclusion you're aiming for. As long as I draw breath, I will selfishly fight for what I believe in, to honor you of course. I still adore you, you are still my idol. If you hate me for standing against you, then you can kill me. I won't make it easier for you to honor you, but I will not bear any grudges, really."
 
"Then you are a hypocrite!" Arturia yelled, yet knew too well she had no time for a more clever or insightful response.
 
Fires erupted from her feet - a wave of flames that lashed out at 'Tenco', hoping to incinerate her - yet the girl was not her main target. The fires acted as propellants that intensely accelerated her body towards Butler-Ragnarok once more, this time at even more ridiculous speed. A grand total of four obstacles got in the way, whose properties she quickly came to find out. A burning pillar of flames unleashed by Chandra followed by a phoenix that was about to die, a Reimu clone whose destruction would create troublesome barriers (as found out by the second Arturia), ghosts from the past that would obstruct her movement exclusively (as found out by the third Arturia), and a Gemini clone holding a false Key (as found out by the fourth Arturia).
 
Rather than combat any, she slammed her fist into Dorian's face to send him flying into the Chandra's Bonfire of the Damned, before slamming past the others through the sheer velocity she was moving at - in the process sending a Reimu clone hurtling straight into the approaching Nigredo soldier which would proceed to explode on him and cast a quadruple barrier, as well as avoiding a spherical blast by a demon-dragon. The other surrounding warriors she could deal with at any given point... But this one she absolutely had to take down if she was to ensure victory for herself.
 
"Ragnarok... Are you ready to die?!" 
 
Just as she closed in on the dark man-creature, she gathered plenty of Invisible Air around her before unleashing as much of it as possible - not at him, but at her general surroundings. Greatly pressurized winds slammed against the ground - not only pushing back the nearby black blood undead, but also splattering away and tearing off all Black Blood attached to the ground within a three-meter radius.
Having cleared space for a ultimate attack, Arturia landed onto the ground, lunged forth at Butler-Ragnarok and thrust her glowing sword, hoping to plunge it into the dual entity's chest area. 
 
As it glowed, it was as though she were wielding a pillar of pure, concentrated light rather than a sword of any sort. It was going to drain the rest of her mana supply, such that it wouldn't even be quite as powerful as the previous, but it would still be more than enough to purify this thing. Once again, she declared, "CALIBURN!"
 
...
 
At the same time, endless arrows with white-flaming tips rained down from the skies.
 

---

Arturia Two
 
As Arturia Two unleashed Rhongomyniad, strangely enough, Kratos seemed to stand his ground, spreading his guard wide. Then, as she drove towards the awfully brave warrior, he took out his two blades and stabbed them into the ground, letting their chains fly overhead. And just like that, this mere man - apparently devoid of any semblance of fear - actually went straight past the blazing light of Rhongomyniad and leaped over her, tangling his blades and bringing the chain to a bind around her neck. Falling behind her, his grip tightened in an apparent attempt at strangulation, and called out, "You should reach the limits of virtue, before you cross the border of death."
 
Losing energy, Rhongomyniad reverted back to its normal form, and a heavy toll was taken upon Arturia. As a matter of fact, its usage drained her life force, as well as shortened her overall lifespan. Hence, she was temporarily too weak to resist the chains wrapped around her neck and tightened, to stop her from breathing if not downright tear her head off. After only a few seconds though, her strength had come back to her.
 
"Then it is a shame I already had my death, no?" She retorted, and grabbed the chain around her neck with her free hand. With mighty strength pulled the metal links, jerking Kratos towards her position in order to simply stab him with her long spear. It was at this point that various things materialized around her - a Reimu clone, a Gemini clone, ghosts from lost universes, and a blazing pillar of flames. Ignoring the others for now, she vacuumed back some of the Spartan Warriors and threw them into the flames with her Invisible Air.
 
Distracted and bound by all these different factors, the far more powerful Shinigami, Kenpachi, burst down upon her with a charged Zanpaktou. She recognized the threat immediately - even without much foreknowledge of the individual, she could clearly tell how much his power had raised upon the removal of eyepatch. In his home universe, she surely wouldn't have stood a chance! Declaring "Drink. Nozarashi!", he enveloped the giant cleaver in his hands in radiant power that reached with its many teeth for Arthuria's own heart. It appeared that there wouldn't be enough time to unbind herself and evade, so her only choice was to meet it head-on.
 
If that were the case, then she would use as much of this opportunity as she could. Having the chains wrapped around her neck may prove to be a convenience, as she could act as an anchor. Pouring most of her mana into her free hand, she relaxed her grip on the chains... Before jerking them outwards and backwards with as much force as she could muster, her overwhelming Mana Burst hoped to thrust Kratos directly into the air. 
 
"Holy spear, anchor."
 
Once more, Arturia's spear was enveloped in a spiraling pillar of destructive light. Just as Kratos was a God of War, Kenpachi was a God of Death; all supernatural phenomena had no choice but to bow down under its magic-killing resonance.
 
"RHONGOMYNIAD!"
 
As she thrust her spear forth, a beam of light erupted from it. It effortlessly decimated the ghosts like fire through paper, stabbed into Reimu and stabbed through the barriers that attempted to separate from her, before meeting Kenpachi's Nozarashi head-on. It was a ridiculously powerful collision of power, energies of white and red dancing and roaring in the air. In normal circumstances, a weapon with the same strength would have fallen to the released Zanpaktou. Could even a meteorite stand a chance against such ridiculousness? Yet ultimately, Rhongomyniad sealed most of its strength and tore through it, charging towards Kenpachi's very own heart.
 
However, it wasn't to stop there. With her free hand, she pulled on the chain of the now-flying Kratos and tossed him back down. With perfect timing powered by an unmatched battle Instinct, their positions aligned - should the beam penetrate through or miss Kenpachi, it would advance until it pierced through Kratos!
 
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the Keyblade Warrior Nero approaching them, along with a white knight named Albedo. One of her hands was on Rhongomyniad, the other was on Kratos's chains, her attention was entirely occupied on piercing the two ultimate warriors at the same time, leaving her only defense as Invisible Air - oh hold on, a demon-dragon had just fired a blast at her, so she had no choice but to release the pressurized wind into neutralizing that attack. Now, she could only hope she had enough time to finish off Kratos and Kenpachi before things got messier first-
 
...
 
At the same time, endless arrows with white-flaming tips rained down from the skies.

---

 

Arturia Three
 
As Arturia Three appealed to the warrior, others opted to interfere in her attempt at a dialogue. She brandished Rhongomyniad's unreleased form in preparation for battle.

"And if you had it your way, you'd kill everyone and everything.  I'd take a chance on tall, dark, and ugly over there before I agree to your terms," Revy said, gesturing towards Rhadamanthys as she interrupted Arthuria's speech. There was a strange, yet familiar aura within her - could it be Black Blood? If so, it was of no surprise, yet disgusting nontheless. "Don't listen to her, kid.  She's a God damn maniac.  Whether you help her or not, she'll kill you in the end.  Once a traitor, always a traitor."
 
"Please. The only traitors are you lot, who refused to obey me. And isn't tasteless killing your style, girl?"

From there, the transformed Darcy spoke up. "Dark Witch I may be, but I have no interest in dooming everyone. That's rather counterproductive really given that everyone could conceivably include me, and destruction of everything isn't my style."
 
As she spoke, she unleashed another jet of dark fire at the Counter Guardian, this one bigger and stronger than the first one. But it wasn't about to take the knight off-guard anytime soon - Arturia opened her mouth and a flaming orb of condensed Dragon Breath was fired outwards. It collided with, and ultimately neutralized the dark breath
 
"Yet as a Dark Witch, you're naturally inclined to seek out power. It wouldn't surprise me if your goal was vengeance against those who wronged you, or ruling your world... If you got hold of the Key, do you truly believe those desires wouldn't infect the rest of the multiverse? You're as despicable as you'll ever be!"

As for the other God of Death, Rhadamanthys, he simply looked at the young swordsman. I have seen your kind before. Young lion cubs who hunger for what you call an "honorable battle." You will not find that here. There is no honor here. You are millennia too short to stand on this stage and yet here you are. Accept your fate whatever it is young one... Unlike this COWARD who still doesn't want to acknowledge their loneliness. 
 
"Such words are shortsighted. Why would anyone listen to a mere, overimportant demon-"
 
Pointing his blade at the woman herself, his body started to glow with power. Foul remnant of a king, YOU ARE ALONE! No one sides with you, no one sees your point of view, no one follows you and THAT IS YOUR STORY! You don't even have the conviction to truly defend your beliefs on your own.
 
At that, Arturia's eyes lit with fury. Her hands tightened their grip around Rhongomyniad, this stubborn god having thoroughly pissed her off with her nonsensical words. Of course, regarding what he'd just said, he was not wrong. Not at all. Rather, it was the painful truth, even more painful than the Counter Corps' revelation at the beginning of the arc; even though everyone had listened to her, not a single one of them had chosen to take her side. And hence, she found herself fighting wholly alone.
 
"A god of death. A dark witch... And a ghetto rat with a gun." One by one, Arturia eyed the three, before turning to Ed himself. "You are none of that. Surely, you understand?"
 
Yet, as the hybrid warrior finally responded, the words coming out of his mouth were not even remotely close to what she'd hoped.
 
Ed said, "Straight up, I don't know what's going on here most of the time. Hell, when stuff does go down, I haven't really stepped up. I bought what Emiya was selling, not because I liked it and believed in it. I joined this war because I wanted the kind of power of he had. A little selfish of me in hindsight..."
 
"Then... you are no different from a Divine. Vain and power-hungry." Arturia spoke coldly, any hint of emotion leaving her face. Internally fillde with anger, her hands clenched even further, to the point that bits of blood were beginning to leak out, running down the spear - before a glow retracted them back, regenerating her form.
 
Yet, just as she was prepared to lash out and begin fighting, she suddenly sensed two other individuals having approached her too closely. Elsa and Gon. The sorceress of ice raised her hands and shouted, "Now!" Jagged chunks of ice ripped through the ground, until surrounding her with it, effectively immobilizing her in a pillar of ice. Acting in accordance with this, Ed swung in a circle and launched two dragons, one made of ice and another made of black fire. "Black Dragon Sword Style: Twin Dragon Spear!" On the other of the trapped Arturia and Ed's attack, Gon charged up an attack, "First comes rock! Paper!" and hurled a ball of darkened Nen at the pillar.
 
Arturia breathed harshly with flames, melting through the ice and freeing her. Even so, it had delayed her just enough that the attacks had drawn far too close to evade. Without a choice but to face them head-on, she unleashed another ball of dragonfire from her mouth that collided with Ed's dragon and focused all her Invisible Air into a singular blast of pressurized wind that just barely negated the darkened Nen.
 
Still, these two attacks left Arturia open as the dragon of black fire crashed into her. She swung Rhongomyniad through it with a mighty burst erase much of its intensity, but it still sent her flying into a wall. Her body was covered in various dark burns, the black fire threatening to spread across the rest of her body. To counter this, she emitted a light from her body that snuffed out the flames and repaired the burns in a mere second.
 
From there, four different kinds of distractions arose - a Gemini clone, a Reimu clone, a burning fire attack, and what appeared to immaterial ghosts from lost universes surrounding her. The lattermost of which couldn't be easily ignored; when she lunged forth in an attempt to escape being surrounded, her body slammed into their physical forms - they looked upon her with quiet, judging looks. She matched those looks with a cold determination, having seen them too many times before.
 
Lacking any time to actually break through the ghosts, Arturia Pendragon opted to stand her ground instead. Manipulating Invisible Air, she used the wind that had just collided with Gon's attack to surround the boy himself and throw him into Chandra's Bonfire of the Damned attack.

"Face the might of a true Pendragon..."

Then, opening her mouth, she let out a wave of white flames, enhanced by Invisible Air to force back the others - Elsa, Gon, Rhadamanthys, Darcy, Gabriel, and anyone else who may be nearby, even scolding the edges of her own lips and mouth. They burned into the Reimu clone as it lunged at her, forcing it to the ground. As she pivoted on spot, the blazing-hot silver fire ultimately formed a circle around her, a near-impenetrable inferno wall within which the ghosts blazed. The Reimu clone proved to be an example of its intensity; set alit, it took seconds to be incinerated into bones, and the quadruple barrier it created didn't even last that.
 
Quite apparently, these flames possessed such intensity that they could greatly injure the strongest of warriors, burning at around 5000°C. Such that she was even putting herself at risk under these high temperatures. Her insides were somewhat charred merely from creating them, even as they regenerated. Dragon breath had virtually no limits with regards to how hot she could go, except for the limits of her own body. As resistant as she was to flames, she was very clearly not immune.
 
All of a sudden, a phoenix burst through the wall. Had it been following Chandra's pillar of flames from before? In which case, the other three must be the same case... Arturia stabbed her holy spear into the phoenix and kicked it back into the white flames.
 
Having an idea, Arturia proceeded to morph her spear into the shape of a black bow. A crude imitation of her knight Sir Tristan's most-famed bow, which she was only able to pull off at all due to a certain other summoning copies. With the amount of time she'd bought - compared to the others who were immersed in the thick of combat - she created hundreds of specialized arrows by separating bits of spare red energy from the bow, and set their tips alit with a single burst of white flames. Understanding that this was war, the other Arturias needed the support in the face of so many undefeatable opponents and unexpected elements.
 
"You have made your choice, warriors! DIE!"
 
Letting go of the string, an countable of white-flaming arrows flew up from the circle of flames into the sky - before raining down, all around the Hallway. 
 
Some were aimed at the ground immediately around her, hoping to strike the most nearby warriors, but the majority spread outwards to evenly mow down the rest. The undead Spartans, the Black Blood corpses, and the other three phoenixes were struck down effortlessly by the blazing projectiles, and they threatened to do the same to the many warriors of the multiverse as well.
 
Not only that, but the source was protected amidst a circle of brutally intense white flames - going through them would be tantamount to suicide for most, and to attack from above would give her a clear path of fighting back with her bow.
 
Even if her talent lay in being a Saber and a Lancer, she would not hesitate to be an Archer.
 

---

Arturia Four
 
The usage of Caliburn almost immediately became apparent as a mistake. Using his fists alone, the angel swung downwards, his own pure light clashing with that of the blade - to the point of overcoming it! The Holy Sword Caliburn shattered like glass, and as Arturia jumped back in shock, Hapshiel returned it with narrowed eyes and a displeased expression. 
 
"I am not one for violence; in fact I am very much opposed for using my fists to settle disputes that could be concluded with a hug. However, I am afraid that I cannot allow your blasphemy to prosper Miss Arturia. You have taken everything I have come to value in vain, and have prostrated yourself to be above God and his infinite wisdom. For someone with only war in a heart that has no room for love, I MUST end you." Hapshiel vowed, assuming a battle stance. "And feel free to assist me if it pleases you my fellow divine beings, for it has been a long time since I have sided with the fel in battle."
 
"Holy angel, believe me when I say that I detest the tragedies and deaths of war. Were love alone strong enough to unite the omniverse, we would... Alas, it is precisely because it cannot that Counter Guardians like I exist!" Arturia responded, whilst in thought. Divine beings? Them? If that were the case, Arturia had made a critical error! As the shards of Caliburn turned into red blobs and raced back towards her hand, they formed a new weapon, a spiral spear, Rhongomyniad. As soon as it had solidified, she jumped back to distance herself from the three.
 
It was at that moment that a maniacal laugh burst around them - coming from none other than Gemini. With much amusement, he taunted her, "Arturia, Arturia, don't you know that first reactions are oftenmore true than not? If you really thought that, you would have said so instead of making an enemy of all of us." Pulling back his dark-purple business suit jacket, he reached a hand into it as if to retrieve something... No. Could it be? "As for the claim that my morals shift more than my form?" Arturia narrowed her eyes in caution; was he capable of telepathy as well? "That is not something that's changed as much as it has formed since my separation and solidification in this place."
 
While Gemini spoke, Arturia's Instinct fired up as a warrior was apparently launching herself at her from the ceiling. Ayame once more, this time, attempting to cut her down from behind in a burst of speed! "You again?! You refuse to learn, do you..." Arturia was even quicker to turn around however, and just as the blade closed in on her, she deflected it with her spear. With the warrior wide open, she grasped a firm hold of Ayame's left wing with her free hand-
 
-and coldly tore it off with brute force. With this created opening, Arturia opened her mouth and unleashed a ball of fire at Ayame that sent her flying into the distance again. As extraordinary as Ayame was, the simple fact of the matter was that Arturia surpassed her in physical stats - she simply did not possess the close combat capability that Kratos or Hapshiel did. Without a second thought, the former Counter Guardian returned back to Gemini's words, just as her blade shook to inform her of a certain something.

"And for the record, deary, the Key is already safe." Gemini declared.
 
Out in his hand, he pulled out the Key from his coat pocket, a bright, condensed light - for some reason, it was no longer contained in the spatial box it was supposed to be. Although, its true form was masked from even her great perception. She watched it, and the man holding it, with intense keenness, having all but forgotten about the others.
 
"By the way, if you even think about killing my counterpart or myself for this, you will not have a Key to worry about, for it will be out of your range somewhere outside of the Pathway of Origin at a completely random location in the Omniverse while you remain trapped here with the rest of us. A rather pitiful way to sacrifice yourself for nothing at all, yes?"

Key back in his jacket before buttoning it up for once, he patted his pocket. As soon as he did so, three other copies split from him, materializing next to the other three Arturias, apparently going out of his way to mock her. One of the copies, or perhaps the original, or perhaps they were all the same, regardless one Gemini approached this Arturia and said, "Now, now, let us talk like reasonable people while I still can be reasonable, yes?"

...however.

At that, Arturia smiled. Amidst all the chaos of the battlefield, Gemini's words that had been intended to break her spirit... had instead rejuvenated it with great hope. Infused her with COURAGE and the idea that she could actually SUCCEED. Even as a Reimu clone, pillar of flames, and 

"Very well.
 
Do it, Gemini."

Turning away from the others, she brandished her spear, which had changed from a shiny metal to a deep crimson hue. "I have no doubt of your ability to exit the Pathway to Origin, nor of your madness to leave the Key in such a condition. Even so..." She looked upwards, beyond the ceiling, towards a realm just as splendid as this. "If the Key returns to the omniverse, it will fall under the dominion of the Throne of Heroes. Should it be forever lost to oblivion, my mission is done. And should it be found, the Throne will know and send another, even greater Counter Guardian to destroy it where I failed!"
 
And then Arturia pointed her spear at him. It had turned temporarily translucent, a more slimy, liquid form, moving about as if it were a living thing. Gemini would not have recognized it, but for the others... Could it be?

"Ah yes... The creature inside here recognizes the Key. Thank you for showing me its location." Even though he'd split, now that she knew its wielder, the 'thing' in her hand could easily lead her to its source. "NOW THEN..."
 
Just as the female knight had gotten onto her knees, all too prepared to defy Gemini's words and rush the Key of Origin, an unexpected enemy got in the way. Her path was blocked by roses blooming in every direction, at which point a familiar empty girl started to address her. Koishi, who replicated the earlier Morningstar...
 
"What are you doing, Arturia? You're not making any sense. You want others to understand you yet you refused to understand others. But ah, the time of understanding is over. You had done what you done, and now I'll do what I'll do. It's only fair, right? An eye for an eye. Is that what people usually say? If you hurt me, I'll hurt you back. I don't understand that at first, but...I think I might get it now.

It hurts, Arturia. It hurts to lose someone. It hurts. It HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS BRING HER BACK TO ME!"
 
As she yelled, a Spell Card manifested before her, titled "Dream Sign: All Ancestors Standing Besides You". With the Spell Card active, Arturia found her subconscious being invaded by a foreign force. Although she tried her hardest to resist, memories of the past were effectively torn out of her, manifesting into physical specters on the battlefield. Roses started to gather around her as Arturia's own memories and repressed feelings came to life, forming the figures of those that were once her most trusted allies-
 
"Ah..."

"From the depth of the sea of the unconscious, I call to thee. Sir Gawain. Sir Lancelot. Sir Bedivere. Sir Tristan, and Sir Mordred. Knights of the Round Table, come forth, and dethrone this unworthy king bearing the name Arturia."
 
Five knights materialized from the sea of roses. Each name a name that King Arthur knew all too well. As soon as they appeared, they had prepared their weapons to strike at their former king. These were not simply empty specters born with the likeness of Arturia's former finest men, but forged from Arturia's own thoughts, memories, and feelings about them, a reflection of their former glories as viewed by her.
 
"Until the moment you perish, you'll savor all this feelings, Arturia. This feeling of loss. Again and again and again and again you will relive the feelings of those close to you being robbed away from you again. I will dig through all your repressed traumas, I will lay them all bare before you. I will make you feel vulnerable like a child without anyone to give them protection or comfort.
 
No matter how hardened your mind is...I will break you."

For a passing moment, the fourth Arturia Pendragon had stopped in place, frozen in a mixture of confusion and terror when directly faced with the ghosts of her former compatriots.

However, as she looked at Gemini, her determination was refueled. She charged into battle against her former knights. As they retaliated, she kicked Sir Tristan specifically to the ground and grabbed hold of his legendary bow, and focused on it, making sure to send the data to another Arturia. Ensuring that she would, rather than let these specters mentally get to her, use them as a strength to overcome the others!
 
"You think this will get to me, little girl? How simple-minded of you..."
 
All too familiar with the knights' fighting styles and having already conquered her demons of them long ago, she bested them one by one. Already disabled, Tristan's head was sliced off. She punctured Mordred's armour from behind with Rhongomyniad, not even needing to turn around. Leaving behind her lance to rush towards Lancelot and Gawain next, they attempted to strike her with their holy replicas of the fabled Arondight and Excalibur Galatine. The former she tricked into attacking her first before opening her mouth at the first opportunity - incinerating his body from within his armour with dragon breath - and just as the latter was about to activate Excalibur Galatine's ability, she grabbed Gawain's hands and shoved his blade through his own heart. Lastly was Bedivere, whose head was punctured when Rhongomyniad flew through the air and returned back to Arturia's own hand.
 
Within the span of five seconds, all five of the Knights of the Round Table had been thoughtlessly dispatched. However, there was still one more knight approaching. A golden, effeminate armoured figure (Citrinitas). Noticing the approach of a pillar of flames, she gathered the Invisible Air around her back together before unleashing it at the knight, sending him into Chandra's flames as her copies had. As she reached Koishi's location, she grasped hold of her head and thrust her towards the Reimu clone, now well aware of how explosion-friendly they were.
 
Not long afterwards, endless arrows with white-flaming tips rained down from the skies. The third Arturia must have acted according to plan.
 
Surrounded by a rain of arrows, the untargeted Arturia Four ran towards Gemini's position - as well as the exact position of the Key of Origin - guided by her mysteriously-crimson lance.
 
"...THAT KEY IS MINE!"



[spoiler=~ Status of Arturia Pendragon ~]

>Arturia One
>>a few of Tenco's blades are lodged into her body
>>threw Dorian into Chandra's attack
>>blazed Tenco with dragon breath
>>using Caliburn on Butler-Ragnarok

>Arturia Two
>>threw Kratos with his own chains
>>using Rhongomyniad on Kratos and Kenpachi

>Arturia Three
>>hit by Ed's black fire dragon
>>sent Gon into Chandra's attack
>>surrounded herself in a circle of hot white fire
>>became an archer, fired 300 white-flaming arrows all over the Hallway

>Arturia Four
>>found out the Key's location
>>threw Koishi into a Reimu clone
>>sent Citrinitas into Chandra's attack

~ ~ ~

Arturia One
Total Health: 250 -> 230
Total Mana: 475 -> 0
Weapon: Caliburn (instant kill sword - costs 500 MP)


Arturia Two
Total Health: 150 -> 50
Total Mana: 1000
Weapon: Rhongomyniad (anti-supernatural spear - costs 100 HP)


Arturia Three
Total Health: 242 -> 198
Total Mana: 1000 -> 700
Weapon: Bow (bow - 1 MP per arrow)


Arturia Four
Total Health: 250
Total Mana: 500 -> 450
Weapon: Rhongomyniad (anti-supernatural spear - costs 100 HP)

[Dad]

Kenpachi and Kratos

 

Kratos was jerked backwards, Arthuria's strength surprising him.  In that same instance, she hurled a mighty spear at Kenpachi, and Kratos was destined to fall into its path.  Kenpachi endured the blast for as long as he could, but it nearly shattered his Zanpaktou's aura, threatening to destroy him on impact.  He had no choice but to try and avoid it.  But if he did, Kratos would surely die.

 

Kratos was falling uncontrollably, unable to change his momentum.  Still rendered magicless by Arthuria's spell, he attempted to wrench himself free of her grip.  This proved fruitless, as Arthuria's grip was tight, and powerful.  This would be a test of their mettle.  Who of these two warriors deemed themselves more worthy than the other?  

 

"Kratos!" Kenpachi called out.  "I'm sorry."

 

Kratos nodded.  He understood Kenpachi's sentiment very well.  As the large man used all of his strength to leap out of the way of Arthuria's attack, Kratos continued to fall.  "A fitting death," he thought to himself as he encroached on the beam below.

 

---

 

Killua

 

Gon was thrown towards Chandra.  But Killua was never worried about Gon.  Not now.  He was too strong.  He wouldn't be overwhelmed by something like this.  Killua's eyes darted across the battlefield.  Every one was struggling to hold their own.  But two others were struggling more than he anticipated.  From afar, Killua could see Kratos falling, and Kenpachi leaping away.  Kratos was falling rapidly towards a powerful beam of light, and there was nothing he could do about it.  But there was something Killua could do about it.

 

"God Speed," he growled, his hair standing up straight.  Enclosed in a case of lightning, he became invisible as he dashed across the hallway in the blink of an eye.  He jumped, giving Kratos no warning.  The god of war was tackled at incredible speed, his body jerked out of the air and his chains snatched away from Arthuria's grip.

 

They crashed into the ground, rolling and twisting, until they were stopped by one big foot from Kenpachi.  Kratos groaned, and Killua panted.  Kenpachi helped them both to their feet, dusting his friends off.

 

"Kratos, I--" Kenpachi began

 

Kratos stared at Kenpachi, and shook his head.  "No.  You did it for your little girl," Kratos said, catching a glimpse of Yachiru's orange shielded bubble across the Hallway.  "I would do the same."  Killua's impact had broken several bones, but Kratos couldn't worry about that now.  Arthuria was still standing.  At least, this version of her.  He clutched his side in pain, looking down at his stomach.  Burns.

 

"Sorry about that," Killua piped up.  "Think all the lightning left a scar," he said, nodding at Kratos' mildly burned stomach.  "Why don't we wrap this up and join the others?"

 

Kratos nodded.  "You have my thanks, boy."

 

Killua's hair stood on edge again, as he turned to Arthuria.  "Don't thank me.  Not yet.  God Speed."  In a blur, Killua dashed madly at Arthuria, his claws bared.  In his right hand, he tightly gripped a single bolt of lightning.  Then, Killua realized his predicament, as Arthuria's clone sent forth an array of arrows throughout the Hallway.  "Damn it!"  He withdrew his lightning bolt, dodging and weaving between the arrows, his speed to his advantage.  But what of Kratos and Kenpachi?

 

"Down!" Kratos said as arrows came his and Kenpachi's way.  "Spartans!"  Once more, with feeling, a horde of three hundred undead rose to Kratos' aid.  "Shield!"  They covered Kenpachi and Kratos with their massive combined shields, arrows deflecting and shattering against them.

 

As the attack subsided, the undead Spartans returned to dust, and Kratos stepped forwards.  "Let us lay her to rest."  Hermes' boots materialized on Kratos' feet, and blazed rapidly towards Arthuria.

 

Kenpachi's smile returned.  "Let's try that again."  His aura returning, Kenpachi leaped once more into Arthuria's range.

 

Killua found his balance in the meantime, and returned on the attack, two lightning bolts in his hand this time.  He tossed the first one, crossing wide over Arthuria's west.  And he doubled back, crossing high from her east, as he leaped, and threw the second lightning bolt.  

 

As Kratos reached striking range, he declared boldly, "You were a King, Arthuria!  There will be no more kings!"

 

---

 

Revy

 

"Please. The only traitors are you lot, who refused to obey me. And isn't tasteless killing your style, girl?"

 

"Damn right.  At least I've got style.  This ain't the sixteen hundreds sweetheart.  If you weren't about to be dead, I'd offer to pay for your makeover.  You need one."  Snarky as ever.  

 

That is until a flurry of white hot flaming arrows were baring down upon her.  "Scatter!" she called to Ed and Rhadamanthys.  She dove to the ground, rolling trying to avoid the attack as best she could.  Still, she could feel mass pain being inflicted upon her.  Fortunately for Revy, and thanks to Butlerok, the Mad Blood encasing her was rapidly regenerating her body, absorbing a large portion of the damage that should have been done to her.  Revy gradually got to her feet, trying to steady herself.  "Ohohoho.  You're gonna pay for that.  You might be magic, but a bullet to the head is still a bullet to the head."

 

"I'm gonna make you dance!"  Revy said, drawing both her guns.  She let off six shots from each Desert Eagle, in varying succession.  Two shots, four shots, one shot, three shots, one shot, one shot.  Reloading a single clip, Revy put her second gun away, and took a grenade from her side, hiding it behind her.  With a single hand behind her back, she flicked off the grenade's pin, and held her thumb on its trigger, preventing it from exploding.  With her other reloaded gun, she charged at Arthuria, firing relentlessly.

[Phantom Roxas]

[spoiler=The Funeral March][Remembrance C8] - Arthur, MirageGaogamon, Eria, Gagagigo, Sora, and Kairi

 

Eria took a moment to listen to the waves. Not with her powers, but to simply listen with her ears. It was surprisingly normal, certainly more so than she had feared, but the lake was still. Even the most ordinary lap of the waves were scarce. The lake had not frozen, even though it may as well have considering the winter weather that persisted throughout the rest of the Pathway. The lake had grown still, unmoving, as if it could do nothing but simply…

 

e

x

i

s

t

.

 

The nostalgia would not last forever. As the group reminisced, the slightest of changes began to stir, imposing on that still existence. The tiniest of ripples in the water, the thinnest of movements in the wind, with nary but a single snowflake or two falling from the sky. Gradually yet ever so surely, although nothing could be for certain, ‘something’ that could be sensed was materializing, positioned between them and the end. The ripples transitioned into waves, the movements transitioned into heavy currents, and more and more snowflakes were filling up the skies. All as a dark orb of energy was just barely visible, lurking beneath the surface of that memory-constructed lake - resonating a tremendous amount of power unlike anything ever experienced before.

 

As the Lake of Remembrance grew more and more violent, its very shores beginning to tremble, the orb of darkness at that very center - which must have been the size of a mansion at least - was slowly approaching the surface, apparently fighting against the very substances the water was composed of as it defied everything around it with overwhelming power. Whatever it was, it was hard to tell as the water acted as a layer murking everything within.

 

Perhaps it was the final challenge that Remembrance had to offer them, an extension of the previous areas; the ultimate test to their pasts that would dictate whether or not they were worthy to approach the Door of Origin.

 

Or, perhaps it was something else. Something alien, an outsider to the Pathways, with no concept of mercy. Something that didn’t have a single care for trials and realizations perceived to be unnecessary gratification. Something that would not hesitate to trample over them in an instant given the chance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marcha Funébre - Chopin

 

And then as that orb emerged from the lake, bursting into the air with the waters erupting around it in high-reaching torrents, its energy could very clearly be recognized. Yes, this unnatural amount of dark power, even in this refined form, was no stranger to them - and the figure who exited it even more so. Just moments before Arthur could have taken the Key of Origin, this presence heralded the moment his triumph had given the Divine exactly what they wanted.

 

"Well, well, well. Congratulations, slayer of the Madara."

 

Sora, Kairi, Arthur, and Eria all drew their Keyblades, while MirageGaogamon and Gagagigo stepped in front of them. Now, floating high above them all, was none other than Protheus Maximus.

 

"After all your efforts, surely you must've earned the right to hold the Key of Origin... But unfortunately, I won't be giving it to you anytime soon."

 

Clad in royal white regalia and with traces of dark magic lingering around him, the silver-haired man scoffed to himself. Despite his dramatic entrance, his attention was apparently elsewhere as he was preoccupied with looking up at the clouds, while the orb he’d left behind broke apart and fell back into the lake. Crossing his arms, he spoke to what appeared to be himself. “What a ridiculous little girl…” If one were to look closer at his face, they may notice pieces of flesh being repaired, akin to a new body being formed for him. As if he had previously been engaged in battle with another assailant.

 

As the sorcerer was deep in thought, he paid a sparse glance to the ground just as his senses picked up on more than a few peculiar energy signatures. That scowl faded away into a blank look as that team of warriors on the ground entered his vision, amidst them a few familiar faces.

 

“Oh? This is a surprise!” Protheus declared, his voice resonating loudly enough to be heard from afar.

 

His figure began to levitate a little lower, approaching to get a better look. As he got closer, a menacing, almost repulsive aura expanded outwards, appearing to freeze them all in place.

 

“Of all those who have dared to approach me, I would not have thought to come across such a misshapen, imbalanced team of individuals… This is certainly amusing. And a welcome change from my previous battle.”

 

Eyeing the warrior with messy brown hair first, he went on, “First of all, we have a famous Keyblader in our midst, seems a little older than the standard, which implies more experience… Hm. I wonder, considering Arthuria’s fate, did the Throne of Heroes possess you into becoming a Counter Guardian? Whether they did or not, it is lovely to meet you again, Sora. It’s been some time since I last killed a version of you, so I look forward to that opportunity.”

 

Barely glancing at the one with red hair next to him, “Then there is… Ah yes, you were one of Experiment Nine’s pets, were you not? I originally thought it was distasteful, but when I think about it, you being here now makes this all the better. The one Sora likes...and at times dates, even marries, at times doesn’t. All the Kairis I’ve met seemed exactly the same, so beyond knowing how to hold a Keyblade, I do hope you have some notable skills to help tell yourself apart. And that you last longer than a second.”

 

A brief look at the blue creature, “A Digimon, I see. Some sort of Beast Knight, judging by the shape of your armour… And the ears are a dead giveaway. I can sense that you must be Mega Level, at the pinnacle of your strength, but if your power isn’t comparable to that of a Royal Knight’s at least, then you do not stand a chance. I’m sure we’ll find out soon just how capable you are, little wolf.”

 

”Comparable?” MirageGaogamon laughed. ”In my world, the Royal Knights consider me a hero.”

 

“A word that means nothing.” Protheus casually responded, before moving his gaze to the humanoid lizard for a little while, “Kozaky’s toy, yes? I’m afraid I have little to say about a creature that wouldn’t understand a single word I say. Although, as it just so happens, I actually have some use for you, so look forward to it-”

 

And then, his onyx eyes very visibly lit up as they moved to, that girl. With a familiar body and energy wavelength. That blue hair and equally blue eyes. That aura that he was all too familiar with, that only a Charmer could possess. There were some differences, certainly - her red robe, some traces of alternate auras on her person, and most particularly, that rapier-like weapon with an unmistakable quality to it - but there was no way he could have mistook her for anyone else.

 

“The Water Charmer.” A smile creeped up on his pale face. “See, there’s this funny thing about water. Human beings desperately require it to survive, most of their bodies even made up of it, but they cannot breathe in it. Instead, they drown and die. The balance of water dictates life and death. I say, what a wonderful coincidence it is that we are to meet. As a fellow magician, how do you do? Having come a long way from home, I see you’ve picked up a few things - including a Keyblade of all things! You and I… I think we might just have a little bit of fun.”

 

Then, his onyx eyes locked onto the last remaining warrior. “And to complete this crowd, we have the oh so mighty Slayer of the Madara. From what I can tell, you’re some sort of alternate universe Keyblade Warrior. It was all I had to know to shock you out of your Drive Form. I do hope you enjoyed my attempt to spill all your guts out… Also, it’s a little late, but thank you for the Key of Origin. Needless to say, those cute ideals of yours won’t mean much to me.”

 

Once Protheus had completed his monologue, he was floating just above the lake shore, now grinning mockingly as he met all their gazes with a look that displayed, if anything, a controlled curiosity. A part of him wanted to go further, but he seemed to be suppressing it, as though only partly keen on playing around with the bunch.

 

“I was in a bad mood earlier, but seeing this ragtag team of Counter Corpses is actually somewhat amusing. And I suppose I do have some time to spare.” He remarked out loud, shrugging.

 

The sorcerer tapped on the hilt of his blade, Impure Future, once. For a split moment, he looked down at the all too physical weapon with a passing sense of confusion, before shrugging. Sensed the remaining cards hidden in his belt, to be deployed at will. Flexed his fingers, and sparks of mana coursed down them. His mana hadn’t been fully replenished from his previous battles in the Pathway, but enough so that it wouldn’t make a difference, as far as he was concerned.

 

Over time, a horrible stench could be discerned to come from his body, or more specifically, from the manifested blood-red aura that surrounded him, a thick coat of death that made it difficult to even look at him without subconsciously wishing to turn away in terror. This was his manner of weeding out the weak, how he had remained unnoticed by so many through his journey on the Pathways; merely coming close to him had made others opt to move in another direction without even thinking about it. To look at him directly took one’s entire concentration, the will to pierce through hopelessness and oblivion.

 

“Of course, I am known to be a generous man.” Protheus Maximus chuckled, his eyes now taking in the group as a whole, all too aware of his own power. “If you wish to pass me and leave the Pathway, go right ahead. As long as we are here, it is this place’s job to judge you rather than I, after all.”

 

He had already made his judgment of each and every one of them anyway: They were beneath him. While the terror seemed to surround them all, bearing down like gravity, Kairi pushed her feet through the snow. ”No, Protheus. If you’re here now, we won’t waste this chance. Ophelia brought me here to deal with Xansvita for you, but all she did was give me the chance to save Sora!” She nodded at Sora, and they both held their Keyblades close. ”We won’t leave the Pathway, not until we’re through with you!” Kairi’s body was covered in light, and she took Sora’s hand, so he too was covered in that same light.

 

 

An Epic War is Fight - Gloryhammer

 

”Sora, you’ve always been with me. To think, we’ve lost our island more than once. The first time that happened, you carried my heart with you. The power I have… it’s yours, too. It’s been yours ever since. As for you, Protheus, if I’ve learned anything on these Pathways, it’s that being a Princess of Heart has only made me a target for someone like Xehanort, but now, I’ll show you exactly what a Princess, what I can do!” She had been taken into the darkness before, and not even Protheus’ aura of terror could slow down a heart as pure as Kairi’s. Kairi leapt into the air, with Sora following her, gliding in the air until they were just in reach, bringing their Keyblades upwards to strike Protheus.

 

“Hmph… It was decent, but the last Kairi had a better speech than that.” The sorcerer’s words came out cold. The two warriors were closing in on him quickly, but he didn’t seem even remotely concerned by it as his left hand reached down towards his sheathed weapon. Then, as he grabbed hold of its hilt, what happened next was somewhat difficult to describe.

 

There was no sound nor indication as to how it happened. Both incoming Keyblades were abruptly deflected by the immediate force of an invisible metal object, greatly sending both Kairi and Sora flying off. Just after this occurred, Protheus jumped forth as he withdrew a black katana, swinging it out wide right in front of the duo for no discernible reason, perhaps mocking them.

 

“Honestly, what good is a pure heart? Even if you can look at me, your light means nothing in the face of time… And by the way, that was a terrible first attack. I feel insulted to bring out Impure Future so soon.” Protheus continued, unperturbed. He brandished his blade here and there, considering putting it back-

 

But there was no need for that, for it was already gone from his hand. Or rather, it had never been there to begin with. From the beginning of this battle, it had not been in possession, even though he clearly recalled these events...

 

The lake,

 

the battle,

 

the Origin War,

 

and the universe, it all lurched away from him in that instant.

 

 

---

 

He felt his very existence separating from the fabric of reality and fiction, thrust through auras of teal, red, and gold as his being maintained itself with an iron will. Everything around him was distorted, hidden from view, an eternal mystery for characters who could never comprehend the true reality beyond. Ah, how well he knew of this strange phenomenon, and how many times he had experienced this in his long existence.

 

Time Sense. The mark of an Omni. A power that hooked its possessor to a single continuity, allowing them to perceive not merely changes, but the ones responsible for those changes. In all the multiverse, this was the one skill that truly placed one above everyone else, a signifier of superiority.

 

As he passed through this fabric, he witnessed changed events in his past - if not unknown events that were only now being solidified. He saw Lydia Armstrong as she took hold of his beloved weapon and walked away triumphantly, after having tricked him in a Shadow Game.

 

In other words, Impure Future, which he had felt so solidly in his hand up to that point, was GONE.

 

---

 

Protheus Maximus returned to reality. Although someone else less experienced with this may have been dazed, he was too used to the feeling. The unnatural nausea of returning to one’s own body, the disorientation from being in a different reality without foreknowledge.

 

Protheus, if I’ve learned anything on these Pathways, it’s that being a Princess of Heart has only made me a target for someone like Xehanort, but now, I’ll show you exactly what a Princess, what I can do!” Kairi leapt into the air, with Sora following her, gliding in the air until they were just in reach, bringing their Keyblades upwards to strike Protheus. And this time, he had no weapon to counter them.

 

...that is, except for that. The one thing he believed he would never wield in all his life.

 

Out from his sleeve, a card flew out and was immediately grasped in its palm. If one paid particularly close attention, they would notice a cross sign at its corner - the symbol of an Equip Spell from the Duel Monsters game, should anyone be familiar with it. Just as they came within range and struck forth, it exploded into bright light, signifying its activation.

 

"̯͙͎̬̟́P̝̻͖̬͈͚̞ú̥͚r̦̣̤͓͔̭ḛ ̪̼̠̗̮̻̲͠E̱̩̫̮̩͢ḏ̨̹̙g̸͙̻͕̻̜e͇͘!̡͉̝̟̜̻͈̞"̙

 

From where the card once was, was now another black sword. However, this one was different. Unnatural in form; a rectangular blade that appeared thinner than paper from the side, if not practically invisible. Its hilt had a circular crossguard, with a growing light at its center as though containing some sort of extremely advanced technology. Wielding it with a passing melancholia, he held its flat edge against the duo, and Sora and Kairi’s weapons struck against it-

 

In that instant, they were frozen. In space. In time. There was no moving energy. No gravity to exert upon them, nor brain to send command for their movement. The immense thrusting momentum from their weapons had inexplicably come to a stop, and so had they, in midair. To put it very simply, all energy connected to them had been funnelled into the universe within, rendering their every effort futile. After all, the object they made contact with was the condensation of a 2D universe; 3D movement did not hold sway over it.

 

From there, he charged energy into the weapon and swung outwards with great force. No longer in contact with it, the two resumed their existence and found themselves being flung far backwards. To think that it had come to using this, of all things...

 

As he fixed his gaze on the two Keybladers, he muttered a few words of power under his breath. The terror aura surrounding him condensed, enchanted by multiple layers of shield spells, requiring a strong attack to break through. While it would be a drain to keep replenishing it, this way, it would make it much easier for him to simply go straight for the kill. The same tactic would not work twice. What would they do next?

 

MirageGaogamon charged next, bringing the flail end of his weapon against the shield. His own arms could feel the force of the impact, as though the shockwave of the flail was being met with an opposing force composed of terror itself. His mouth quivered, but he held onto the flail even more tightly, and swung again. As the terror continued, MirageGaogamon could feel something resembling a heartbeat, even with his digital form. ”This… this can only be a trick. An illusion, meant to manipulate us! Protheus… I must admit, I do fear you. I’ve wondered what it would be like to face you again after you stole the Key, but this darkness is not why you have earned our fear. You have destroyed our homes, left them to rot, all for your own selfish ends! The Divine rallied beyond Isamy’s cause, but she never cared for any of them. I don’t expect you to be any different.”

 

“Most of what you’ve said is pretty accurate, yes.” Protheus waved away, performing a mock yawn as the assailant was repelled. He did let out a ‘huh’ when the flail had left a decently-sized crack on the shield - with wisps of blood vapor apparently leaking out from that crack - but he didn’t consider this feat particularly outstanding. Rather, it was merely to be expected for any Mega Level Digimon; thus far, the only thing that stood out even a little about him was his speed. “There’s just one thing. An illusion? That’s an amusing assumption…”

 

Sora and Kairi recalled their Keyblades back into their hands, and ran along the shore, with Kairi on Protheus’ left, and Sora on his right. They were not necessarily focused on Protheus himself, but rather his shield. That sword of his was absurdly powerful, but whether it was the sword itself or his own raw power, they did not know. Flames ignited along Sora’s Keyblade, and flakes of frost spiraled around Kairi’s, each of them preparing some of their strongest spells. Sora called out, ”Mega Flare!”, and a orb of fire launched from his Keyblade, colliding with the right side of the shield in an immense explosion. In only a few moments, the smoke had quickly settled, leaving behind several cracks in the shield, as trails of red wisps leaked from the cracks.

 

”Glacier!” Kairi called up a storm of ice, colder than the Pathway to Remembrance already was. The ice crawled around the barrier, the spell intended to freeze anything that could possibly be frozen. Thus, it spread outwards until it had coated its target in a shell of ice. As the powers of their respective spells still resonated within them, Sora’s body was now surrounded not only with light, but with flames as well. And yet, the fire did not burn him, instead acting as another aura, the Command Style known as Firestorm. Likewise, Kairi gained an aura of ice called Diamond Dust. Even their Keyblades were coated in the elements.

 

As Protheus was encased away from the outside under freezing temperatures, the ice attempting in vain to find an in, he moved his free hand around. Feeling the residual manas of both attacks left behind, already having an intimate familiarity of how the two individuals’ magic operated - even without being able to see them, he recognized the activation of the Command Styles.

 

“I know everything there is about the two of you, and more.” The man spoke. As though to emphasize this, he opened a tiny hole in the shield and reached out to physically touch the ice as it shot at him. However, it didn’t make it past his nail before being, for lack of a better term, ‘snatched away’. Kairi felt her Glacier spell torn out of her control, rapidly overtaken by a foreign mana - and then just like that, it shattered at will. “Did you honestly believe these generic magicks could come close to...”

 

MirageGaogamon withdrew from the shield and began to gather energy in front of him. The mouth on the chest of his armor opened, taking in the energy, aiming for Protheus. ”Full Moon Blaster!” A wide beam of blue energy fired directly against the shield, joining Sora and Kairi’s spells in their barrage.

 

The dark sorcerer’s expression thickened ever so slightly at this new attack, quickly reinforcing his defense with more mana whilst raising Pure Edge in anticipation. The blue beam closed the distance almost instantly and crashed into it with brilliant force, right where the flail had left that mediocre crack. Piercing through the force field with sounds of shattering glass, fumes of blood-red clouds erupting into the skies at each broken layer, until the Full Moon Blaster dissipated at the last one. When the light faded away, the shield was still intact, but severely riddled with cracks concentrated at its front and right side. Red vapors continued to leak upwards, and every time a falling snowflake wandered onto their path, it turned crimson and popped.

 

Seeing its failure, Protheus lowered his sword again, “So you have some bite in you after all, little wolf...” With his free hand, he touched the center of where the beam had impacted his defense, analyzing its lingering properties. Its essence was certainly that of a Digimon’s, matching attributes with that of Data Digimon in particular. He sighed in annoyance, as despite his recognition, it was ultimately outside his control. Being neither spiritual nor magical per se, but closest to mechanical.

 

Then, he moved his gaze back towards the rest of the team, his annoyance replaced with a clear delight as he acknowledged the outrageous fear they were feeling, the unnatural pressure placed upon them that made the very sight of him horrifying and nauseating. Of course, it was only natural that this close proximity would make it have such an effect on them. The previous combatants he’d faced had willed it head-on with their spectacular abilities, and thus he himself had almost forgotten they were the exceptions. Having confronted him beyond all odds. And paid the price.

 

“Such wonderful attempts so far. Although I must say, none of you look so well. How does it feel? My Death Aura. I do recall hearing something interesting earlier, about it being a ‘trick’ or ‘illusion’. Alas.” The Herald of Darkness said mockingly. As it happened, there was a deeper source to this unusual trait. Seeing their pitiful states made him almost want to hold back. Almost. However, the temptation to break their spirits was far more tempting! “Ordinarily, a fear spell would be an impracticality; one has to actually invoke it and target others, using up energy to do so, and even then it would merely serve minor distraction purposes. Akin to a simple confusion spell, which any relatively-leveled entity would have a resistance against. None of those are true fear.”

 

His words sounded distorted. Murky and amplified, more repulsive than it normally ought to be, somehow echoing even in the open sky. There was a sense that behind this fog of utter fear, there was the simple voice of a man speaking...and yet it was so difficult to make out amidst this chaotic nightmare.

 

“This, on the other hand… I’m afraid is not an illusion. Those emotions you are feeling, that fear you feel at every word I speak and every move I make - this is a manifestation of preserved, genuine fear accumulated over time from the countless others who died by my hand.That fear you feel right now is as̶ re͏al ͘a͏s̶ ̶t̕h̵e ̢f͞e͢a͡r ͘t̨h͠e͘y w҉e͘r͡e̷ ͏fęe͢ling,͠ a̶s ͏th̨e͘y ̴beg͘g͡ed ͘me ̷to spa̛r̸e th̶e͏m. ̵O͏r ̵t͞hei̧r͡ fąm̶ìly… ͜Ǫr ͞even t̀h̶eir ̢w̷o̧r͝ld…͠” ͘ Incorporating that lingering fear into my aura has proven awfully practical.The negative emotions that people leave upon dying in vain leave such POWER for me to obtain! Oh yes, I do invite all of you to carry on attacking me…”

 

With a defined grin, he gestured towards the cracks. “After all, it is clear that none of you have a slightest idea of who Protheus Maximus, the Hero Killer, is.”

 

Arthur felt helpless to do anything. He had made it through the Pathways, he had survived so much, and even Protheus had recognized him as the one who had killed the Madara. And yet, as much as Arthur wanted to just dismiss Protheus’ words as nothing more than boasts, he knew Protheus was right. How many people had he killed, or was Protheus the kind of sadist that would lose count? He and Isamy could cause entire universes to die just by existing there. What could the six of them do against Protheus? What could Arthur even do?

 

Eria took his hand. He was shaking, but she could still face him. She was even smiling. ”We won’t die in vain, Arthur. This is our last Pathway, and… I thought Death would be the hardest, but I wasn’t expecting to see him here, not so soon. But if we already beat Death itself once, then we can do it again.” Eria was hovering from the ground, and red auras gathered below her. Arthur and Gagagigo stepped back, as a serpentine figure formed in front of them. In mere moments, Slifer the Sky Dragon was towering above them all, looking down at the Death Aura shield - the sudden sight giving even the sorcerer within some pause.

 

"Cease your prattling, mortal." The Egyptian God stared at Protheus, who returned it with a quiet glare, and even MirageGaogamon stayed back to get some distance. ”No, you do not need to fear Me. You are this one’s ally, so let us destroy this shield. Warriors, spells will do nothing, not as they are! You must strike with pure strength!”

 

“I thought I could detect your energy, but did not imagine you were capable of manifesting… How amusing this is, Lord Slifer, that you have come all the way here from the Vault in the company of inferior specks.” The sorcerer said nonchalantly, more in thought rather than actually interested in conversation with a god he understood all too well. His free hand twitched down to his belt, feeling tempted to take out one particular card to respond to this, but resisted. Soon. “Very well, I welcome such a surprise. Your involvement makes this more interesting!”

 

As Protheus’ aura seeped into the air, breathing felt as though everyone was inhaling blood. The taste was rotten, and they could almost distinguish different “flavors” of the blood. So many innocent lives that Protheus had killed, all lingering as he had said. Pleas for mercy tinged with hatred, not only for the realization that Protheus would not spare them, but that they never had any hope of reasoning with him in the first place. In a way, their memories all lived on, but only as a weapon Protheus was using to inspire those same fears, and the certainty that he had no sense of mercy.

 

Even after Protheus had negated the Glacier, Kairi still had the power of Diamond Dust. She and Sora dashed to their respective sides of the shield, their Keyblades stabbing directly into the shield. ”All these poor hearts… I wish they could find peace!” The light around her shined even greater, its power repelling the Death Aura away from Kairi. Her light was melting past the aura, but this could not be enough. Kairi slashed her Keyblade against the shield, and with an Ice Slide, the edge of her Keyblade led her forward, continuing to freeze it.

 

“Peace? Hmph, I believe I do them a favour… Without me, they would no longer exist at all!” Their attacks gradually left more and more cracks in the barrier, but with each one it thickened, perhaps building a resistance their weapons and attributes. Although, each time he assumed their attacks would no longer have any effect, the duet would prove him wrong by leaving yet another crack. If there was one trait of them he could do little about, it was their resilience.

 

While Slifer reeled his head back, Eria called down to Gagagigo. ”You can fight, Gagagigo! No matter what Protheus can do, you have me! I won’t let this Death Aura stop you!”

 

Gagagigo nodded to Eria, and jumped over the lake. He didn’t trust the waters below him, so he had to make this count. Gagagigo punched against the shield as fast as he could, even trying to dig his fingers into it, but he had nothing to hold onto. He was no longer Kozaky’s “toy”… but would that make a difference to Protheus? He did seem to know what so many of them were like, what they could do.

 

No, none of them could believe this was hopeless. Protheus had to be stopped here. The Counter Corps could still finish him off if he managed to get away from here, but they couldn’t let that happen. Gagagigo kicked off the shield, jumping all the way back to the shore. He did leave a few more cracks in the shield, but it was up to the others.

 

”I’m useless,” said Arthur. ”Everyone is out there, but… magic’s all I’ve got. I had the Key, and I lost it. Because of him. If I go out there, he’ll just kill me in seconds.”

 

”Don’t talk like that,” Gagagigo told him. ”After everything all of us have been through, after every step you have made, don’t you dare give up now. Just look at Eria. Do you think she would have gotten this far if she just gave up? She believed in both of us, Arthur. You and I, we were just tools of the Divine. MirageGaogamon said he is a hero in his world, but doesn’t that also mean you’re a hero? And Sora, he thought you deserved to wield that Keyblade. All of them believe in you. The least we can do is prove that all of them, especially Eria, were right to put their faith in us.”

 

MirageGaogamon took the crescent moon of his weapon, and pierced it into the cracks. Pulling the hook back, parts of the shield began to split off. Protheus stared from the other side in distaste, raising his blade slightly, but not with that much urgency. With the hook in one hand, MirageGaogamon held the flail in the other, and continued to swing it against the shield, breaking its surface and peeling away whatever he could.

 

As Sora, Kairi, and MirageGaogamon once more kept up their respective efforts to break through the shield, Slifer was now flying above it. For a moment, Eria was dizzy being high up and looking downwards, but Slifer focused on Protheus. Electricity gathered in his mouth, but it was not at all magical. This was his own power, for even the god’s breath was as mighty as a storm. ”THUNDERFORCE CANNON!” Sora, Kairi, and MirageGaogamon all flew away from the shield, but Slifer cared little for this supposed obstacle, and fired the volley of thunder and lightning directly towards Protheus.

 

Being the target, the Herald of Darkness finally dropped his relaxed demeanor. Now this, more than everything else that had been fired his way thus far, was something truly worthy of attention. He gripped his sword tightly, assumed a stance, and anticipated its arrival, his free hand reaching down to his belt and tapping on a card - before taking out another. The very sky shook as though acknowledging the essence of this mighty god, blasting across with cackling intensity, leaving a trail of smoke in its wake. All of a sudden, every attack that had come before seemed pointless in comparison. Forget about the barrier, no power no matter how great could hope to survive this. Surely, such an artifact of divine judgment would annihilate that man in one blow...!

 

Making no attempt to dodge it, the oncoming storm connected with Protheus’s barrier and exploded into brilliant light that reflected onto the whole sky, taking up everyone’s vision; and yet it wasn’t a light per se, but rather, innumerable sparks of natural lightning, compactly strung together to incinerate anything that had the misfortune of being in its range. During the process, a shattering noise could be heard, signifying the breaking of the barrier; this was followed up by a dense air wave shot out in all directions, possessing enough strength to part the currents of the lake below as well as knock any standing individual off their feet.

 

A few seconds passed. As they did, the terror that each and every one of the warriors had been experiencing began to subside, lifting to release them from further torment. Was it over?

 

Then the light faded, and in its place was an orb of dark energy, noticeably smaller than the previous barrier. It was much like the one they’d seen at the beginning emerging from the lake...except, looking at it closer, it wasn’t made of energy at all, but actually pitch-black ice. Having managed to endure the immense heat and force Slifer’s attack through sheer brute concentration, it couldn’t hold any more. The dry ice started to sublimate, more and more rapidly, becoming a giant tower of boiling hot black steam that reached high into the sky, hoping to escape the cold air.

 

Eventually, the wind thinned it enough that the man within was visible once more. Protheus appeared, somehow, completely untouched by the god’s attack. His silver hair had been somewhat disheveled by the vapor, but even this was quick to correct itself. He had an unusually cocky grin on his face, as if he was proud of himself for the achievement of a test.

 

In his hand opposite Impure Future- hold on, Pure Edge, he was holding out a Duel Monsters trading card. It appeared blank to most of them, but another familiar power could be felt emanating from within, something Sora recognized upon concentrating hard enough. It was concealed in darkness, yet with an unmistakable tinge to it - within was a godly artifact more than capable of taking on whatever a physical god could unleash. In fact, that shield of ice hadn’t been created via Protheus’s power at all...but from the Staff of Armadyl, which he had somehow obtained!

 

And yet, someone else may have sensed something different. To that individual, the card was not blank, but a blur of distorted text and imagery, seeming to be a Monster Card with its own Effect. If she concentrated hard enough on it, looking even through the fear that Protheus’s aura was beginning to project again, she might’ve just been able to make out the words ‘Water Charm’-

 

And then the dark sorcerer retracted it, placing it back onto his belt with a satisfied nod. As he did so, the blood aura radiated stronger around him, putting everyone back under pressure.

 

“Congratulations, Lord Slifer. My barrier is no more… I do believe that you and your band of insects have successfully passed my first test.” Protheus said with an oddly cheery tone, feeling completely in control of the situation. As he monologued away, which was by the way a habit an ancient man just naturally developed to pass the time, his figure went downwards gradually, his feet touching the shores, his hand loosely gripping Impure Future - reminding himself that he was actually holding Pure Edge -, and his gaze moving from one warrior to another. “In other words, there is some merit to playing with you all a little longer. There’s no need for instant obliteration, is there now? Some people here have potential, while others have surprises. It’s clear to me that none of you would last very long on your own - not even, my lord - but together? That could very well be an amusing battle worth my while.”

 

He stopped just before the ground, his body content floating mere centimeters above it. “Now, what’s next?”

 

Eria kept floating in the air. Nobody was moving. No one could answer his question, not yet. They had destroyed the shield, and Eria should have been relieved, but he must have had more tricks up his sleeve. If anything, breaking through that shield just meant that they could only now begin to truly fight him. When Sora and Kairi went to attack him, he had repelled them so easily with his sword. It could have been that his own raw strength was just that powerful, but that sword could also pose its own threat. Their next step would have to be to destroy that sword.

 

”Everyone, fall back!” Eria may have been too far for everyone to hear her, but they needed to plan their next move carefully.

 

Slifer turned away from Protheus, leading Eria back to the rest of their group. ”I suppose that this is more than a tactical retreat?”

 

”If I’m right, he won’t stop with just that shield. Everyone needs to agree on each strategy, otherwise we’ll just keep charging at him headfirst without knowing what he’s capable of.”

 

”You do not know what that sorcerer can do. Even I cannot anticipate every move he will make. You must be willing to take risks. He must show his hand. Once you know what he can do, only then will you be able to form a counterattack.”

 

Eria smirked. ”I guess we’ll have to live up to the name of the Counter Corps.”

 

A god’s moment of silence was perhaps more damning than if he had growled in frustration. ”Eria. My comrades and I did not thrive for millennia only to indulge in jokes during the midst of battle. Slifer approached the bank of the shore, as Eria’s friends followed close by. He spread his wings and kept his head low, offering them some cover. ”I must admit, the sorcerer did ask a good question. What will you do next?”

 

Sora looked to Kairi. ”We should take care of his sword.”

 

”I thought the same thing,” said Eria. ”But he knocked you both back before. Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

 

”Well now we know it’s coming!” Kairi sounded like that explained everything. ”I mean, he’ll probably still surprise me. But if he wants a sword fight, then Sora and I could give it a try.”

 

”I’ll back you guys up.” Arthur watched Protheus, since the sorcerer may grow tired of standing around for too much longer and let them talk. ”You guys just had to fight your way through a barrier, so let’s make him try the same. I’ll cover you both with Reflect spells. Focus on the offense, and I’ll take care of defense.”

 

”And what about his other barrier?” asked MirageGaogamon. ”He was able to withstand even one of Slifer’s attacks.”

 

”Only as a last resort.” Slifer nudged his head forward, trying to shake Eria just a bit. He must have seen it, too. That card he had. Eria had heard enough about how she was “just a card”, but Protheus was holding actual proof. That card, it must have held the spirit of another Water Charmer. Another version of herself.

 

”Eria!” Arthur was calling to her. Her hand was burning, and for a moment, she didn’t realize that she was screaming. Something was roaring, and a mechanical laughter was echoing in her mind. It was only a memory, but it may as well have been the real thing. If Megiddo could see her now, he would be ecstatic.

 

Eria caught her breath. ”Sora, Kairi. If you’re really going to try it, then destroy that sword, no matter what. I’m more worried about his… puppet.”

 

Sora and Kairi shared a look, but didn’t really question Eria. They both went straight at Protheus, gliding and dashing through the air with ease. Neither of them were in arm’s reach of him, but they were still close enough to attack. Arthur aimed his Keyblade in its bow configuration, and fired two Reflega spells, forming barriers around Sora and Kairi. The veteran warriors threw their Keyblades, which spun through the air in a paired Strike Raid towards Protheus.

 

“Keeping your distances, eh? Wise.” Protheus chuckled - as though he were a parent playing with his children. He tossed away his Pure Edge. “Or at least that’s what you thought.” Then, reaching out both of his arms as the two key constructs spun towards him, his hands lunged just as they homed in on him. And with the most perfect of timing, caught both weapons in midair by their hilts. One thing became clear - he was all too familiar with this skill.

 

He turned around to redirect their force back towards the source. When held by an unknown owner, a normal Keyblade would disappear after half a second, but pouring parts of his own mana in confused them slightly and delayed this process. With that he effectively launched the two Keyblades at far greater strength, both aimed at Kairi. Sora’s blade made contact with her Reflega first, smashing into it before dispersing back into Sora’s hand. Kairi’s own blade followed straight after, intending to return the Strike Raid to finish her off. With his own Keyblade returned to him, Sora parried Kairi’s Keyblade. Kairi held out her hand, and her Keyblade vanished, reappearing back in her grasp.

 

“You know, another Sora - the Mayor of Traverse Town - spammed it an awful lot on me. It was annoying.” Smiling patiently, Protheus waved his left hand slightly and Pure Edge flew back into it.

 

“Mayor of Traverse Town?” Sora raised an eyebrow. Just the very idea of a multiverse was so strange, and the possibilities they offered were just… unreal. Then again, those possibilities were still very much real in those other universes. They just weren’t his universe. He and Kairi had a different place to call home. “Alright, then let me tell you who I am!”

 

“Sora, are you sure this is the right time?” Kairi asked. ”He just wants a fight. It doesn’t matter what we say. We’re nothing to him.”

 

Sora smiled. “I know that. But we’re facing him now, and we can’t just be nothing. Hey Protheus! However many other Sora’s you’ve fought, you haven’t met me. I’m the captain of King Mickey’s guards! My friend Goofy trusted me to follow in his footsteps.” Protheus knew Sora. Or at least, other versions of him. Had Sora been powerful in those universes as well? If they were weaker, that was one thing, but just because they were “other” Sora’s didn’t mean that they had to be weaker. They could have been stronger than even himself. But if Protheus could defeat an even more powerful Sora, what chance did “this” Sora have here? “I fight for the Counter Corps, and the one we’re supposed to ‘counter’ is you! A long time ago, someone told me that I would be the one who would open the Door. They didn’t mean the Door of Origin, but… I think it works just as fine. So I’m going to let you make it to the Door!” Even if Arturia was lying, the Counter Corps still had to mean something. It was more than just the Counter Guardians. No matter how little Arturia must have thought of all of them, everyone who had fought under the name of the Counter Corps had earned their place in this war.

 

Sora reached out to Kairi. Without another word, Kairi smiled to him, and took his hand. Her body shimmered in a pink light, and Kairi vanished as the light wrapped around Sora. He held Kairi’s Keyblade, and the color of his armor changed to crimson. With Nightmare’s End in his right hand and Destiny’s Embrace in his left, Sora dashed once again towards Protheus. For a moment, electricity gathered around his Keyblades, then vanished. Slifer had warned that spells would be useless. Sora needed to rely on pure strength.

 

Sora held his Keyblades close. Sora would have typically relied Goofy to use the power of the Valor Form, but at the beginning of the war, it was almost freeing to not need anyone else. He could activate the Drives on his own. Now, however, he would borrow someone else’s power once more. This is what a Drive was meant for: Sora and his friends fighting as one. Nightmare’s End arched towards Protheus, but missed the warlock by mere inches, so Sora thrust Destiny’s Embrace forward to close the distance.

 

At that very moment, as if resuming a long pause in a collaboration between two writers, Protheus flipped over Pure Edge with the strangest of grins, seeming to turn invisible as its paper-thin side faced the oncoming attack - regardless of this thinness, it appeared so fragile as to shatter at a single touch. He lashed out, arching the object towards Destiny’s Embrace-

 

Keyblades are meant to be indestructible; this is a fact known not merely to all Keyblade Warriors, but to many traversers of the multiverse. Yet, despite this, Pure Edge sliced cleanly through Destiny’s Embrace with so little effort and energy that it was almost laughable. It had, quite simply and effectively, separated the 3D weapon in spacetime. No amount of resistance, supernatural or technological, could possibly get around the remarkably simplistic sharpness of a two-dimensional object after all!

 

As its upper half flew off from the momentum and crashed into the snow, Protheus took the opportunity to smash his boot into the open Sora’s chest, bursting him far back through the fields of white. In the middle of the throw, Sora pulled his body forward. The remaining half of Destiny’s Embrace vanished, as Sora held Nightmare’s End with both hands. Raising the Keyblade above his head, Sora slashed. Although he was far away from Protheus, a shockwave resonated forth. The Keyblade had cut the air itself, the Retaliating Slash sending a gust of wind towards Protheus.

 

The man raised the unusually flat, rectangular sword with a smug grin. Deep within, he felt his Time Sense for some reason, but ignored it as he watched a version of Sora still flying away. “How does it feel?! I introduce Pure Edge, the pinnacle of human technology! A two-dimensional universe given shape; it is oh so delightfully simple. This was once the weapon of a sun goddess whom I believe you might know-”

 

Protheus cut himself mid-sentence as the reality around him warped, Time Sense taking him to its present form - annoyed and now able to perceive the oncoming cut air, and well aware that his blade couldn’t exactly stop wind, he quickly opted to take a, well, rather different approach.

 

A card flew out of his sleeve and positioned itself in front of him as a shield - and from it came another shockwave of wind, negating the Retaliating Slash with equal effort.

 

The card was-

 

“I summon thee... Wynn the Wind Charmer!”

 

From the unleashed wind, a girl with green hair materialized and floated next to the dark sorcerer, outfit and staff and all. Her throat was a deep red, which may have made her much more recognizable as the Charmer out of nowhere, who’d been possessed by LERNA at the beginning of their fight. Now, it made perfect sense how she’d ended up there; summoned by Protheus. Protheus’s aura of fear extended itself, enshrouding her within so that she was surrounded by it as well. Looking at her was almost impossible, invoking the same desolate foreboding and terror as it did him. And yet, was it possible not to look?

 

This peculiar ‘Wynn’ landed onto the ground with grace and gave her master a quiet, soulless look. Such a same empty look drifted across the battlefield, observing and noting her various opponents. As she raised her staff in preparation to cast wind spells, her gaze came to a stop as she noticed, first the all-too-recognizable form of Slifer, in actual physical form, and then, a blue-haired woman perched on its top. Different, yet exactly the same as hers.

 

Eria, she mouthed, but did not say. Could not say.

 

Protheus glanced at the god-riding Charmer, and then at his servant with some curious amusement as to what could happen next, before carrying on.

 

“A good tactic, Keyblade Warrior. However, with a master of wind by my side, do not expect that to work again… Do tell, how does it feel? To lose a part of yourself?” He gestured towards the fallen shard of Destiny’s Embrace, still lodged in the snow. It was not disappearing - being severed had also severed the inherent magic attached to it. “Itsu Solace...was far more powerful and intelligent than any of you inferior insects. How ironic is it, that the treasure once most adored by your comrade, is now the key to your ruin?”

 

”’Ironic?!’ Is that what you think this is?” Eria called down to Protheus before Sora could answer. ”You’re a thief. You stole Itsu’s treasure, and now you steal my friend.” Wynn’s face was empty. Seeing the throat on her neck, Eria grabbed her own. Dorian and Solasiro played the same “game” that Protheus seemed to play, but neither of them had shown what Protheus was capable of. They all said Eria was a card, and Wynn was proof of that. And he had a card for Eria herself. ”How many of us are under your control?”

 

”Eria, control yourself!” warned Slifer. ”That aura of his… you only give into despair if you let him taunt you with Wynn.”

 

”I’ve had enough of despair!” Eria raised both her hands, and snow around the lake rose from the ground. This Wynn was LERNA’s puppet. LERNA was beyond obsessed with despair. ”Let my friend go!” The snow formed into a pair of spirals, melding into ice as they coiled around Wynn, focused solely on Protheus. Eria focused solely on her left hand, concentrating the control over the ice into the hand. Spreading out her fingers, the spirals of ice were joined by three more, all formed from the snow around the lake.

 

Wynn joined Eria on their journey to perform the Rites of Enchantment, their final test to become full-fledged Charmers. The two of them had reached the peak of the mountain, the center of their trial. “Look to the sky,” Wynn had told her. “We can always feel the air around us, but standing here, it’s like the sky is so close that I can almost…” Wynn reached out her hand, holding it towards a cloud. “Is it like when you see the ocean?”

 

”What do you mean?” Eria asked.

 

“Well… Aussa has it easy. The earth is what so many people are used to walking on, they don’t even think about how it’s their home. But I think the sky would be more like home to me. Is the ocean the same way to you?”

 

”I mean… I could see Aussa calling the earth her home, but I can’t really see Hiita saying the same about fire.”

 

Wynn chuckled. “I guess you’re right. It’s probably not that poetic or anything.”

 

Wynn saw something more in the world. She was quiet, but that made the moments she would speak all the more special. Even if this wasn’t the exact same Wynn that Eria had known, someone who looked like her friend was looking expectantly at Protheus Maximus, waiting for his next command.

 

Eria clenched her hand into a fist, and the spirals of ice all collided into Protheus, crashing together. Even as shards of ice scattered all around Protheus, Eria kept her hand closed. The shards did not travel far before returning back to the center of the collision, rebounding towards Protheus. Eria would not allow Wynn to get caught in the crossfire. Her target was Protheus, and Protheus alone.

 

“Steal your friend? Please. As a matter of fact… We struck a deal.” He responded smugly. He didn’t even need to move - as the shards of ice raced towards him, Wynn herself reacted.

 

“...!”

 

Thrusting her staff forth, blades of wind materialized - not dissimilar to Sora’s prior attack - and sliced up the shards into tiny pieces of ice, which lost their energy and hit the snowy ground with nary a whimper. Wynn turned her attention to the attacking Eria.

 

“Shall I get rid of her?” The Wind Charmer asked coldly. There wasn’t even the slightest pause, the faintest hesitation. The recognition was clear, and yet...

 

The dark sorcerer grinned, quite obviously amused at how this was affecting his water-manipulating opponent. “No. Not yet. I would like to see how much fun I can have with these laudable insects first…” He said, and then his eyes locked with Eria’s, making sure to exert as much of his fear aura as possible onto her.

 

“Now then. What are you lot going you do?”

 

Protheus raised his hands outwards, beckoning them towards him. Radiating a terrible, unmatchable darkness. It was an entirely different situation from his previous battles. Tenco and Lydia had managed to meet him head-on with compatible abilities, great strength and unexpected ingenuity, but these people? They were the RABBLE. The ones with weak firepower and little, charming gimmicks that were insignificant in the face of raw power. Even being joined by a god or two wouldn’t make much of a difference. One could call them the true representatives of the Counter Corps. The Key was certainly a concern, but in the time it would take anyone to open the Door of Origin, he would have long since caught up.

 

And thus, he would take his sweet time grinding these hilarious little children to the ground.

 

 

~ ~ ~

 

 

On the other side of the lake, a woman calmly sat upon a porcelain projection of a chair. With flowing blonde hair, dead eyes, and massive white garbs hung over her body, she had the aura of some kind of devout nun; one who had willingly offered up her soul to the gods.

 

There was only one reason she was here right now. The Shadow Realm, the Desert Seth, and the Sphere Forest had each been closely monitored, but the same could not possibly be done for the Pathway to Origin. Hence, she was here...to record the final moments of the Origin War.

 

The Pathways to Truth and Death had been child’s play for her, an entity who not only had no aspirations but was also at peace with that emptiness. What little desires Truth had managed to scrounge up, she strangled to death in a hospital bed. That was how devoted she was to her mission. Chardonnay was not a robot and did not lack emotions. Yet, her manner of thinking was almost too mechanical for the trials of Origin to cope with.

 

These challenges had had such little effect on her she could have easily reached the end long ago, but as it happened, there was a secondary task she had - and that was observing the resolution of her final prophecy. The end of Protheus Maximus.

 

In her left hand, she held a tea cup composed of green energy. But instead of tea, it was filled with water from the Lake of Remembrance. She drank.

 

The past, present, and future. These are the three aspects of time - interconnected, yet untouchable. The past set in stone, the present ever moving forward, and the future shrouded in endless possibilities. Despite this golden rule, however, almost every world found ways to violate it in some manner. In more advanced areas, there were those who studied the functions of time, learning how to traverse the past and future, perhaps even developing time machines. Even in the most rural and desolate of worlds, this rule was violated - individuals would be born with a gift, capable of seeing glimpses of the future. Glimpses which translated into prophecies. Those whom exhibited this supernatural ability came to be known as prophets.

 

She was also a prophet, but she was not born. Rather, she had been cloned from a subject with the gift of future sight, a woman by the name of Sherry, and promptly enhanced with various genetic and cybernetic modifications. Brought up in a strict research environment bent solely on developing her capabilities. Stripped of her desires and aspirations. Never understanding the outside world, never caring for it, only reporting what it was and what it would be. The science of time travel had been combined with the magic of oracles, to create the most powerful of all seers. The ultimate time machine.

 

Chardonnay LeBlanc. The Prophetess of Yliaster.

 

She swallowed the lake’s liquid, which had properties that in contact alone would break the minds of most warriors, perhaps even instantaneously kill a few. And yet she did nothing but sigh a little. The rush of memories clear as day was, to her, practically the same as the rush of caffeine from a cup of coffee.

 

Directly behind her was a massive staircase, leading to the exit. She could leave at any moment. Yet, rather than do so, her golden eyes fixated on the sight beyond the lake. On the battle taking place between the arrogant dark sorcerer and a team of Counter Corps. The last remaining residents of this collapsing Pathway.

 

Chardonnay drank from her cup again.

 

And turned around to give the exit a glance.

 

“Judgment awaits, I see.”

 

 

~ ~ ~

 

To Be Continued…