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

[Phantom Roxas]

Previously…

 

[spoiler=The Memories We Shared][Remembrance C8] - Counter Corps vs Protheus Maximus

 

The dark sorcerer observed them once more: A Charmer, her pet reptile, a Digimon, and three Keybladers, alongside an out-of-fashion god. It was such a mismatch of a team, formed out of some silly ideals of friendship rather than actual combat compatibility, that the sight alone amused him. And he would delight in breaking it apart.

 

Although she was certain that Slifer had destroyed his barrier, Eria could still feel his Death Aura on her. The sensation felt the same as when should could charm animals, but she would only ever ask them for a mundane task, like gathering water or picking berries. This aura was Protheus commanding her to be afraid.

 

And yet, it was not as if he was making her afraid of something, changing her mind the same way that Butlerok would. In the battle against LERNA, he had shown her an illusion of her friends dying, her village ruined, and Arthur, MirageGaogamon, and Gagagigo killing everyone. That could never happen, but that was the difference between Butlerok and Protheus. Butlerok fed her lies, yet Protheus was simply reminding her of the truth.

 

This was truly Wynn standing in front of her. A servant of Protheus, just the same as in the Shadow Realm. Eria didn’t want to look at Arthur. He had apologized, and yet Protheus was doing the same thing that Arthur had done. This was her chance. She had sworn to kill Arthur back in the Shadow Realm, but she forgave him. She couldn’t imagine that she would forgive Protheus.

 

”Leave my friends out of this!” Eria screamed, holding her head. ”Wynn… Hiita… Aussa… why do you all use them against me?”

 

“Mere coincidence. It is simply your misfortune to be a Charmer...among the most gullible girls in the multiverse.” Protheus responded with a nonchalant shrug. Next to him, Wynn stared at the blunette, having dead eyes that would not hesitate to end her in a heartbeat.

 

“Why do you hesitate?” Slifer snarled. ”She may have been your friend, but now she is Protheus’ puppet. Do not let him use her against you. You have come too far in this war to stand down now.”

 

He was right. Slifer had everyone reason to chide Eria, yet she couldn’t answer him. For every moment in this war, Eria could find rage, summoning power that would otherwise be beyond her. Yet now, she relented. Protheus could finish her off in a moment, yet she did prepare any sort of defense. If the choice was between dying, or raising her hand against Wynn, Eria would invite death in a moment.

 

”Lord Slifer… I’m sorry. Please, You need to handle this on Your own.”

 

”This is what he wants! For you to give in, to not even put up a fight. This is not you. I chose to aid you because I saw the makings of a warrior. Was your father not a warrior as well? Think what you will of why those Counter Guardians chose you, but I expected better of you. I saw a genuine purpose, a drive to keep fighting. I will not handle this alone. A truly powerful mortal does not simply beg. When soldiers enter war, they do not look to the skies and demand that I ‘do this on My own.’ They pray for My aid, for anyone who will lend them an ear, and they still fight their own battle. I will help you in this fight. You have earned that much, Eria. But do not be mistaken that you are to simply run and hide.” Slifer lowered his head to ground. Eria stirred from the movement, her body suddenly growing cold. Slifer huffed, looking away from Wynn, caring only for the sorcerer controlling her. ”There is a chance that none of you may survive. But you must press forward in spite of that. There is something that I can do… and Ra must help as well.”

 

”What do you have in mind?” Eria spoke only to fill the silence. There may have been a hint of curiosity, but it carried little hope with it.

 

”That boy, Dorian. He found the three of Us in those cards he carried. The cards bound Us. If I must be blunt, it also made it rather… convenient, to carry us in such a small rather than demanding that We find accommodations on that vessel that brought you to these Pathways. For a while, you and Sora have given what power you have to sustain us. We have required a symbiotic relationship of sorts. That must end.”

 

Eria looked up, but her heart pounded in her chest. Even the smallest emotion seemed to be enough for Protheus to twist into terror. ”Are you sure? Neither of You are at full power!”

 

”That is precisely my point!” Slifer fired a volley of flames at Protheus. It was highly unlikely that Protheus felt any pain, but with any luck, it would be enough to stall him. ”For Ra and I to regain our full strength in instants, We would need to drain your entire life energy in but in an instant. But I will not do that. We must take from the cards themselves. Destroy the power that binds us. Then Ra and I may see true power.”

 

The flames didn’t even get anywhere close to the dark sorcerer as Wynn jumped in their way. Wielding her staff, she manipulated the air to create carefully-controlled vacuums, extinguishing the volley of flames one at a time. Although, strangely enough, Protheus was not acting at the moment, content to simply stand in place and wait for them to resume the fight of their own accord - still, when Slifer mentioned the word ‘Ra’, his eyebrow raised, as though he were partly listening in.

 

Eria forced a half-smile. ”You think that would work?”

 

”It is only a theory. One that even I am not certain of. But we must try everything. Slifer’s head nested into the snow beside Arthur. ”You, boy. I will leave her in your care for the moment. I will focus on Protheus himself. And Eria… I will not harm Wynn. If there is something of the girl you knew still in her, then you must reason with her. Do whatever you must.”

 

The scales on Slifer’s forehead began to shimmer as Eria could feel herself slipping away, the fusion between herself and Slifer seemingly breaking apart. She pulled her legs free, slowing bring herself to stand up. Eria jumped off from Slifer’s head, landing into the snow, yet stumbling onto her knees. She clutched her chest, the Death Aura still holding a grip on her. Even without being active, Protheus drew amusement from torturing the weakling’s mind, though his eyes were very much trained on the god.

 

For a moment, Slifer’s body began to change. His figure seemed to grow more transparent, as if he was fading away. Eria reached into her pocket, and drew out two cards. The first was red, depicting the god, with a name labeling him “Slifer the Sky Dragon.” The second was a yellow card, depicting another dragon, “The Winged Dragon of Ra.”

 

Eria held the two cards up, shutting her eyes to fight back the fear from Protheus. ”My Lords Slifer and Ra. You were once three, as the great Obelisk stood alongside You. You were kept in cages, and taken by the Divine. And yet, a group such as them has no right to call themselves the Divine, for it has always been You, and You alone, who hold the honor of such a title. You are the true Divine, and in this war, you have been treated as though you are less than that. You’ve required aid, but no more. Whatever these cards may be, they have served as your prisons…”

 

Did she have any power to free them? Whatever these cards were, they must have been powerful to contain the will of the gods themselves. And yet… of course. The Keyblade she wielded. There was something peculiar about them. Sora and Kairi were better suited at using them, but in spite of the weapon’s structure, it could still be a key in the literal sense.

 

Eria raised her Keyblade up. A light emanated from the Keyblade, surrounding her. She inhaled, breath returning to her as the Death Aura began to subside. No doubt it would only be for the moment, though. ”If shackles may still bind You, then I shall release you from them!” The two cards in her hand glowed, red and yellow lights obscuring even the faintest detail on the cards until it seemed that the lights themselves were in her hand. And yet, within moments, the lights shattered.

 

Thunder roared in the sky. The trees began to bustle, but not by the return of the blizzard. A warm breeze surrounded them, and Eria smiled. It was a complete smile, as she pointed her Keyblade towards Protheus. ”I summon thee! Slifer, the Sky Dragon! Let Protheus Maximus receive your judgment on this day!” The red dragon’s body regained substance, no longer transparent. His twin mouths roared, as the thunder seemed to roar once more, with the god inviting the sounds. ”Sora… I doubt he understands the gods the way I do, and yet he still helped keep them on. He carries burdens with him, just as everyone else in this war does. All because of you, Protheus. I summon the Winged Dragon, Ra!”

 

The trees leading from the forest burst into flames into an instant, as the divine, golden dragon appeared, with wings dragging up gusts of wind. ”We… are returned!” Ra spread his wings, the flames scattering in but an instant.

 

With a cautious indifference in his eyes, Protheus had his hands held behind his back as he watched the the two gods being released from their confinement as cards. The fact that they had not one but two gods under their possession was admittedly a surprise, and Ra in particular would be an opponent he would be forced to take seriously regardless of the circumstances. He reached to his belt, towards a card that appeared to be resonating with their presence - and tapped it gently, as if to say not yet.

 

“Lord Ra, what an unexpected honour. For gods like you and Lord Slifer to choose to support mortals… Oh, how the mighty have fallen.” The sorcerer briefly shrugged, before turning his attention to Eria. “Little girl, you must feel pride in releasing them from their ‘prisons’, I’m sure... But once again, you’re making ridiculous decisions, based on your groundless moral standards. Now, without the convenience of their cards, they cannot be easily transported. They cannot be controlled. They cannot be fused. Why, I feel as though you would belong in another universe’s Team Plasma! Carrying around signs that read out ‘PokéBalls are torture’, kidnapping the occasional Pokemon from its trainer, and everything. Hmph!” He held out his hands once more, this time holding another, different trading card. “Well, I suppose since you brought out Ra, it’s only fair that I bring out another monster of my own… don’t you think, dearest water girl?”

 

Wynn momentarily glanced at the two summoned gods, their hulking forms threatening to tear space asunder from a mere short distance away, and then at her master, who held the contained form of an ally.

 

“Come forth… Hiita the Fire Charmer!”

 

A blazing fire erupted out from the card, materializing into human form. Another figure who would’ve been far, far more familiar than one would like. Directly next to the Wind Charmer, a female with red hair materialized, garbed in a cloak as she wielded her staff. Unlike her, she appeared to be in perfect condition - but her brash, fiery attitude was nowhere to be seen as she fixated a blank look into the distance, briefly eyeing Eria in disinterest. Landing onto the ground, Wynn and her exchanged looks, as though understanding what needed to be done.

 

“What is your will?” Hiita muttered, in a monotone lacking any energy.

 

“It’s quite simple, really… Take care of those oversized birds for me, won’t you two?”

 

At that, Hiita and Wynn simply nodded silently. The two Charmers, devoid of fear, did not even consider protesting or questioning the odds regarding this command. Hiita took a step in front of her ally and thrust her staff forth, generating two fireballs that burned brightly in spite the coldness of Remembrance. Wynn assisted by maneuvering oxygen directly into the two fires, causing them to swell rapidly, each one matching a small house in size. They turned their attention to the gods, and promptly, together, launched the two enhanced fireballs at Slifer and Ra, each one leaving trails of smoke behind them. In tandem with this, both Charmers started running, following one of the fireballs straight towards the Sky Dragon’s location.

 

Slifer roared, smoke billowing around the god, although the fireballs had done little to deter him. As flames and electricity gathered in his upper mouth, the snow itself seemed to move, a wave appearing before Wynn and Hiita. The snow itself descended, peeling away to reveal a wall of ice. Behind it stood Eria, facing the other two Charmers. ”Milords… I apologize for my hesitation. It is as Slifer said; I must fight my own battle. I can handle these two.” Eria was certain that Protheus had a card of herself. If he could summon Wynn and Hiita, then there was a chance he had the others under his control as well. ”I know what you’re trying to do, Protheus. You want to pit my friends against me, so where are the rest of them? Aussa, Lyna, Dharc! I want to see them!” It was a risk. Could she possibly handle all five of them at once? Or even worse, all six, assuming he would really summon that “other” Eria. Even so, there had to be some way to defeat Protheus. One way or another, someone could figure it out. Eria would take on all of her friends at once if she had to. Then none of them could interfere in the fight. Everyone else would be able to focus solely on Protheus.

 

The dark sorcerer had appeared to lose interest in her by then, having temporarily moved his attention away from the gods and towards the main fighters - Sora, Kairi, and MirageGaogamon. He grinned as though mocking them for their caution, daring them to approach, while making sure to spare some attention on the Charmers’ activities - after all, their sight were linked to his own. The ones who did respond to her words, however, were the very two elemental magicians she’d stopped.

 

“The Charmers of Light and Dark were not recruited for the Origin War. Our master holds absolute dominion over those elements… He had no use for them on the field. To our knowledge, they are no longer alive.” Wynn responded coldly, divulging the information without a thought. There was no hint of the optimism, hope, or kind nature she once had. As she spoke, she was focused on manipulating the wind around her, she flew upwards into the air, aiming to jump over the wall of ice. As soon as she did so, blades of wind were thrust downwards onto Eria.

 

“Although we successfully salvaged her staff, the Charmer of Earth was neutralized in the battle with Tenco the Traitor. So we are the last.” Hiita continued, completely lacking in emotion. Her fiery personality, her exuberance, and her excitement in the midst of battle were all absent from this version, who glared onwards with nothing but malicious intent in her empty eyes. Those same eyes glistened for a moment, as though a spell were covering them; recording everything they saw. Thrusting her staff forward, a jet of flames erupted outwards, hitting the wall of ice head-on; rapidly melting through it, and threatening to incinerate anyone on the other side. “False Water Charmer, you would do well to die… as per our master’s wishes!”

 

The blade of wind would be difficult to fend over. Even if Eria used ice or water, Wynn would cut through it all the same. She stepped out of the aim of the blades, the snow guiding her steps at her command, easing her path and almost pulling her steps ever so slightly. Hiita, however, would be easier to handle. If nothing else, Eria was certain that she would always have the advantage against her. Eria summoned water from the snow, splashing against the flames. The flames burned through even the water, steam forming in place of the clashing elements, and melting the snow beneath them. Eria could feel her rage, and yet, it lacked a certain… “force” to it. It was almost unsurprising that Lyna and Dharc were already dead, or that Aussa had been killed in this war. Even worse, it almost seemed normal. ”I am not a fake… and neither are either of you! Don’t you realize that Protheus is not your master? Lady Doriado taught all of us! I know that you are not from the same world as I am, but there must be something that makes us similar. That there are other Charmers at all should be proof of that! We would be nothing without Lady Doriado to guide us! If all of you existed in another world, then she must have existed in your world as well!”

 

Reasoning with them would not be enough. There were intent on fighting Slifer as Protheus had commanded. As the snow around them melted from the clash of elements, Hitta focused on maintaining her constant blazing stream, defying Eria’s efforts to douse her assault even with more intense fire, causing an evaporating tower of steam to rise higher and higher into the sky - any normal fire magician would have given up, yet Hiita simply poured even more of her energy, determined to overwhelm her opponent. Wynn had paused for a moment, her gaze locked onto Slifer.

 

“Lady Doriado… She was a good teacher, it is true. However, when the war came and we needed her most, she abandoned us.” The Wind Charmer spoke all of a sudden. “Did your world have the war? The Invader of Darkness and his ever-growing forces, in opposition to all the kingdoms in the land? Did you see, like we saw, the false promises of our leaders? The crushed hopes of our families? The corpses of our friends? That woman had good intentions, and yet, she ended up dying a war criminal. A Shadowpriestess of Ohm.”

 

Eria refused to believe her. If there was truly a war, then it must have been what Erebos was preparing for when Megiddo had arrived. What if Megiddo didn’t interfere? Was there naturally supposed to be a war no matter what? If that were true, then… it wouldn’t have made a difference if Doriado had survived. What possible reason would Doriado have abandon them? She was no traitor. She would have fought until the very end.

 

Eria wanted to call Wynn a liar, and yet, Eria could believe that this was true. It was clear that Wynn did not possess the capacity to feel much emotion, lacking in heart and lacking in soul. However, even so, the tinge of pain in her voice was undeniable. Her damaged throat was already struggling to speak, and as she talked, blood welled up inside her mouth from the unnecessary strain - blood she ignored. There didn’t seem to have any purpose behind why she was speaking - she had no desire to convince Eria to stop fighting, and she felt no pleasure in recounting the tale. Rather, it was simply as though, in response to Eria’s words, she felt the need to inform. “Our master was the one who ended the war. Lady Doriado may have given us words. But Lord Maximus gave us opportunity."

 

While speaking, Wynn had raised her staff into the air and closed her eyes. Concentrating on the snow on the ground, as well as the falling snow in the sky, controlling the wind, rushing the wind, spinning the wind; until a huge pile of snow was rotating around her body, manipulating it akin to a miniature snowstorm. At last, she thrust the snowstorm downwards, attempting to overcome the entire area surrounding Eria.

 

As though they’d planned this prior, Hiita proceeded to release her assault. Once the intense snowstorm was unleashed, Hiita rushed to the left, racing across the puddles of melted snow to circle around the distracted Eria - and ran onwards to Slifer’s position, launching a volley of smaller, concentrated balls of fire at the god.

 

Ra raised one of his wings, pushing back against of fire, propelling them right back to Hiita. ”You are but slaves to him, then. What ‘opportunity’ could you possibly have serving one who cares nothing for the destruction he leaves in his wake? You cannot hope to stand against a god, let alone two!” Finding no point in responding to her designated enemy, Hitta raised her staff and kept her position still, opting to meet the oncoming flames head-on. As soon as they hit, they were absorbed straight back into her weapon, re-energizing her with a small amount of mana.

 

Slifer laughed. ”You do not need to speak for Me, Ra. Listen well, Eria! If you truly wish to fight these two, then I shall aid you. But you must realize that these are not your friends. They are puppets of Protheus Maximus, and they fight solely to kill on his behalf. They will not relent, and neither should you. I realize that it is not the outcome you desire, but you must be prepared for kill them.”

 

As the snowstorm bared down on Eria, she could only barely hear Slifer’s words. She command the snow to stay away, but it was not enough to repel them completely. Wynn’s magic was still at an advantage. Eria’s own abilities would not be enough. With one hand to slow down the snowstorm, Eria used her other hand to keep her Keyblade close. Sora, Kairi, and Arthur had all displayed more magic. Their control over the elements seemed to be instant, lacking the control of a Charmer, yet the individual spells were more than enough. There had to be something else she could try…

 

“You hesitate.” Wynn muttered. Keeping Eria on the ground, she pushed the snowstorm even further downwards, and with every passing second scooped up more snow from her surrounding. Even with Eria’s control, there was surely only so much she could do in the face of a pelting hurricane. Wynn began to slowly drift to the ground, the snowstorm shrinking in size as it concentrated and intensified on Eria’s exact position. Eria screamed as the snow broke through her resistance, the snow striking against her and keeping her buried. The Wind Charmer spared a moment to look across the battlefield, where the all-too-familiar lizard Gagagigo was. Whatever thought went through her mind then, if any, was impossible to decipher. ”...She did not hesitate.”

 

As her eyes met Gagagigo’s, the lizard charged forward. “Get away from her!” His hand clenched into a fist, Gagagigo struck at Wynn. Appearing surprised for some reason, she jumped back, her control over the snowstorm weakening somewhat as she pushed him back with a gust of wind. Gagagigo pushed through, though the force of the wind because to cut through his scales. “You may wear Wynn’s face, but you are not her! Neither of you have any right to judge Eria, or anyone else, as ‘false’!”

 

“So it talks.” was Wynn’s only remark at the approaching lizard’s speech, deadpan staring at him. Although, there was little need for her to focus on him - Hiita jumped in at that point for support, blazing Gagagigo from behind with a flurry of superheated blue fire. Gagagigo howled as the flames seared his armor, burning into his scales, and even beneath that. As Hiita concentrated on Gagagigo, Wynn moved her attention back to Eria, resuming her exertion of the snowstorm.

 

In the midst of the battle between the Charmers, one point simply had to be touched upon. At the moment, despite the two servants of Protheus having certainly remarkable magic, their abilities seemed leagues away from being able to match the combined powers of the gods. Hence, one had to wonder, why was it that Protheus seemed so confident that they could accomplish this task?

 

Eria would need to take them down one at a time. At most, she could defend against one, and concentrate on the other. It would be so much easier if these were more illusions like the previous Pathways. Then they wouldn’t count as someone she could accept having to fight. After all, it was not like she was truly killing anyone. And yet… that was nothing more than dehumanizing them. It was no better than everyone dismissing her as a card, as if she was some doll that could be discarded. If there was any wish she could make on the Door, it would be to ensure that all the worlds were restored, back to the way they were. Even if this other Wynn or this other Hiita would die here, Eria could wish their world back as well. Then again, that would be just another excuse. Killing them with the intention of bringing them back wouldn’t change that she had killed them in the first place. Why make a mistake and plan to fix it when you could just never make the mistake in the first place?

 

”Don’t make me do this!” Eria called upon the snow, pushing the storm further away from her, even as Wynn continued to command the winds. The snow hit with such force that Eria felt as if her body was being struck with stones. Even as the snow pushed her body down, commanded the snow to beneath her to lift up back up. As the snow hit her, the occasional snowball would immediately melt into water. The more the snowstorm persisted, the more snowballs would melt. Eventually, every snowball melted on contact with her. Eria glared at Wynn, and with each step, the snowballs would melt even before they reached Eria. Eria was drenched in water, but she commanded more of the melting snowballs to soak her even further.

 

Holding her Keyblade out, Eria watched the snowstorm. Although Wynn was commanding the winds around the snow, Eria could command the snow itself. Eria decided that snowstorm would simply stop. She imagined the snow no longer hurtling towards her, instead staying suspended in the air. Instead, the snowstorm did as she asked, resisting the push of Wynn’s wind. Eria clenched her fist, and every last piece of snow that Wynn had gathered was drawn into a single point, forming one giant snowball. Eria swung her Keyblade, and the snow instantly transformed into ice. Eria gripped her Keyblade with both hands, and the ball of ice launched from its position in the air, flying, falling directly onto Wynn.

 

As though noticing the Keyblade in her hands for the first time, Wynn tilted her head in confusion. But not for long, as she witnessed the snowball of ice hurtling towards her. Her own snowstorm turned against her. Without any way of stopping it, at first it appeared that she was staring it down, awaiting her death. However, that was not the case. As soon as it closed in her, she took out a card, reading out ‘Dark One Lambda’. A Winged Beast promptly materialized, a mangled vulture of darkness that responded to the snowball with an ear-piercing screech. As it boomed outwards, she manipulated the air to amplify the sound vibrations as much as possible.

 

“KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”

 

Just like that, cracks rapidly spread through the ice, until it broke apart into tiny shards all around the Wind Charmer’s body - causing minor cuts in her cloak all over, with some blood dripping from a cut to her cheek. Even so, no significantly crippling damage had been inflicted.

 

Slifer’s eyes widened at the sight of the Dark One. Lightning and flames gathered in his mouth, and in an instant, the beast found itself bombarded with a flurry of elements. The ground beneath it shook, snow splashing against Wynn. Although the beast had only just appeared, it could feel a portion of its initial energy significantly drained as it fought to simply survive the blast, having endured it head-on. Suddenly lost for breath, it fell to the snowy ground.

 

“Naturally, we are not the only servants assigned to oppose you.” Wynn spoke out, watching carelessly as the newly-summoned creature was stripped of most of its strength so suddenly. She stepped on top of one of its wings, and gazed down at it. “Of course, as it is, it is simply not strong enough to oppose a god.”

 

Then, Wynn raised her staff, fixating her gaze on Eria. The crystal at its peak began to glimmer, as though preparing a mighty spell. Perhaps even a spell her opponent may, to some extent, recognize.

 

“Spiritual Wind Art...”

 

A magic circle formed around her waist as she invoked an incantation. The dying creature, with its crimson eyes, looked up at her in expectation. However, in turn, she coldly glared downwards. The winds were quickly beginning to spiral around her, faster and faster, until her whole body was enveloped in an untouchable spinning whirlwind. Then - all of a sudden, the pressurized winds shot downwards, and the weakened Dark One was gruesomely ripped apart. Its head, wings, legs, heart, intestines, blood and flesh were grinded into the snow in an all-too-cruel sacrifice.

 

From that corpse, its soul was immediately absorbed into the staff, which she pointed at Slifer. A soul of wind to fuel a forbidden spell.

 

“Miyabi.”

 

And just like that, as though the trigger to a shotgun had been fired, a ravaging, racing, raging tornado burst out from her adorned staff, the strength of it such that it threw her backwards. The life force of that creature having been converted into raw energy to power a curse of wind, the practically uncontrollable tornado rushed across the battlefield, akin to a hungry ghost of death, until it hit the very form of the hulking Sky Dragon. From there, it expanded, more and more and more, encompassing even the size of the ultimate god, and proceeded to push downwards - for all its strength, it found itself struggling to resist this spell that ended up pinning this divineness to the very snowland it ought to lord over.

 

Eria recognized the Spiritual Art rather well, but for Wynn herself to actually use it was beyond what Lady Doriado would allow. The Spiritual Arts were ordinarily meant to act as a seal for enemies, a final resort at a very great cost. It was well within a Charmer’s power to sacrifice someone they shared with affinity with, but to do so would be to trespass on the laws of magic. To call it a “Spiritual Art” was to hide its true nature. It was Blood Magic, using the life of another to manipulate the fabric of the world itself. As such, it was decided that if the Charmers must use their Spiritual Arts, they must be willing to sacrifice their own life. And yet, it was clear that this “other” Wynn was willing to sacrifice anyone else before risking her own life.

 

Surely, Slifer wouldn’t be sealed by the wind barrier for long, but it would occupy him - and in that time was the opportunity to end him. “Lady Doriado taught us much. As Charmers, our control over the elements are what truly define us, what give us the edge against much stronger opponents. At our peak, even gods may fall to our will…”

 

At the same time, Hitta recognized the opportunity paved out for her. Having been engaged in battle with Gagagigo, keeping the lizard at bay with an unusual familiarity to most of his movements, she’d been keeping him from interfering. Now that the troublesome god had been downed, she launched a flame-enhanced kick into Gagagigo’s chest, making him stumble backwards. From there, the redhead rocketed towards the sealed Slifer - her own staff lit with a brilliant fire. Even if it was a god, surely it couldn’t survive its own brain being incinerated?

 

Unfortunately, Slifer was not alone, as Ra stood before Slifer, crouching over the Charmers. The flames were drawn away from Hiita’s staff, flowing towards the second god, as Ra began to inhale the flames. His flames blended in with Hiita’s own. Spreading his wings out once more, the god charged towards the Charmer. As the god soared overhead, Gagagigo crouched throw the snow, looking towards Wynn. He clutched his chest, only to irritate the burns that Hiita had left. Digging his fingers into the snow, Gagagigo crawled closer to Eria and Wynn.

 

Flames trailed behind the Winged Dragon of Ra, turning snow into water in an instant, and the water into steam. ”I would think that Eria’s water would be the natural counter to one such as you, but I suppose that, as you mortals would say, I must fight fire with fire.” Ra slammed his feet behind Hiita, turning his body directly above the Charmer, and breathed fire directly onto her. ”Eria is hesitating. To show you mercy would be foolish so long as you serve Protheus. If you are not the only servants, then I would see the others. I have no time for you!” For a moment, the color in Ra’s chest drained, as the flames began to burn to a bright white. His own stamina was converted into pure energy, empowering his breath of fire.

 

Even if Hiita tried to flee, he had already decided her fate. She would be dead in an instant. In that moment of certain death, her eyes widened, as though regaining a single emotion, the most fleeting trace of awareness of her former self in her very last moments… And then Ra breathed white hot flames on the Fire Charmer, incinerating her where she stood.

 

Wynn watched this transpire, and even as she lost another one of her comrades to a badly-timed assault, she remained unphased. Placing her attention back on Eria, Wynn proceeded to take the Charmer by surprise before she could form a counter-offense, in a manner the girl might’ve assumed she wasn’t capable of. During the god’s counterattack, she’d gradually extended her influence towards Eria, surrounding her neck.

 

Then, Wynn manipulated the air around the blue-haired girl’s neck, constricting it in a manner that was quite akin to being Force Choked. She started to walk towards the blue-haired girl, the alternate version of her former best friend, with deadly intent in her eyes, and it was clear that she wouldn’t hesitate to dispatch of her if any of the others interfered.

 

“Ra… why?” Eria coughed, struggling to get the words out. She couldn’t stop Hiita from dying. Even Aussa was already dead. Now there was only Wynn and… no. Eria did not want to think of that. ”…Aero!” Using her Keyblade, Eria pushed the air away from her. If Eria didn’t act now, Ra would kill Wynn regardless.

 

”You mentioned a war… it sounds like the Counter Corps and the Divine could have recruited us from any moment in time. I think I was recruited from before that war. But I saw it, just before I finished the Pathway to Truth. I saw Erebos, the Invader of Darkness. He was gathering his armies, but… neither side fought each other. Someone else appeared.” Eria clenched her hand. ”I didn’t see a war. I saw a massacre. And yet… my mother and my father were waiting for me. Doriado had faith in me. She stood against the invaders! Please, tell me what happened. Tell me why she abandoned you. I refuse to believe that she would betray us. I refuse to believe in a world where any of us could believe that Lady Doriado is a villain and Protheus is a hero!”

 

Even as she was pushed back, Wynn kept her staff raised. Her own eyes moved, alternating between Eria, the Winged Dragon of Ra, and Hiita’s staff that had since dropped onto the ground. Thinking. With caution, she took a slow, single step towards her former friend, the Water Charmer, carefully calculating her every move.

 

“Our Lady Doriado was like yours. Kind, strict yet patient, with a passion for justice. Very much a mother. Even when the world around us started to collapse, our little family believed in her reassurances; that we would come to no harm. However, there came a point when the war reached us…”

 

Even though these events had no place in Eria’s own world, she could somehow picture it in her mind. The fear and panic of the local populace, wondering if they would survive. The advancing army of Dark just beyond the horizon, a sea of pitch-black marching across the greatlands with too little time for retreat, creatures of various assortment bent only on their own victory. The determination of their teacher in the face of a hopeless scenario, giving those around her hope, wanting nothing more than for everything to resolve peacefully.

 

“Lady Doriado gathered us before the Ancient Tree and told us that she had a plan. The armies of darkness would arrive in two days’ time, and in that time, she would travel to the Magical City of Endymion to recruit their help. It made sense. While a distance away, the spellcasters there were more than capable of teleporting to meet the Invader’s forces, and hence stood the best chance of opposing them.“ A pause. “The Charmers, including me, awaited her to the very last hour of midnight… Yet she did not return. Out of all of us, you were the last one to still believe in her - and even you lost hope when the Invader himself crossed the barrier. Perhaps something had gone wrong, or perhaps she had simply ran away altogether. The forces arrived and decimated the town, and we barely fled with our lives intact. We never saw her again. Or at least, I never did.”

 

An image of the darkness arriving, with Erebos at the forefront, entering and defiling their sanctuary without a second thought, and all their hopes defied.

 

“Having been recruited into the Gishki, your platoon met her again nine months later. Hiita and I couldn’t believe your account at first, but you were the one who believed in her the most. For your beliefs to have switched so suddenly...it could only have been true. You told us that Doriado had been alive and well this whole time. That she had used the forbidden Spellbook of the Master and joined the darkness as a ‘Shadowpriestess of Ohm’. That, by some happening, she had been given a mad lust for power. You didn’t even recognize her in the midst of battle, until she revealed herself and attempted to trick you into standing down. You soundly defeated and captured her, and it would not be long until she was executed. Whether she’d been corrupted or consumed in her own fear… Lady Doriado left us to die. Your idolization of our Elemental Mistress is misplaced. She’s just another fairy who taught us to sate her own ego. For all her knowledge, she wasn’t even a very good spellcaster.”

 

That Wynn had said so much was impressive. Despite the horrors that she had experienced… there must have been something that even Wynn herself did not know. ”No, I don’t believe my faith is wrong. You said it yourself, that the Lady Doriado is your world was just like mine. Of course… you think that I… that the other ‘me’ was wrong. What difference does it make if I tell you I still believe in Lady Doriado? Something must have happened! Something after she left for Endymion. There must have been a reason that she never returned. Maybe she was captured, possessed by someone working with Erebos!”

 

Had the war truly progressed so far? How could the Gishki had possibly gotten involved? Among the fairy tales that Eria’s mother would tell her, the Gishki were among the most fascinating… yet terrifying. They were an entire tribe of Spiritual Artists, using the lives of anyone, even themselves, to summon creatures, or even demons. ”The Gishki shouldn’t be real.” Then again, this Origin War was all about people from countless worlds meeting. As far as Dorian or Protheus were concerned, Eria herself was nothing more than a character out of game. For the Gishki to be more than just a fairy tale was something that seemed far too possible now. ”But if they are real, and I joined them… No, I wouldn’t join them, not by choice. They would have to force me to work with them. Don’t you understand that, Wynn? Someone else drove us apart! Someone must have forced Lady Doriado to become a Shadowpriestess, just as the Gishki must have forced me to work with them! It’s not different than what Protheus is doing with you. What he did to Hiita and Aussa!” Eria looked to the staff that Hiita had left behind. She could barely look at Ra right now. After all the compassion and even camaraderie Ra had shown, he killed Hiita so easily. ”What do you expect to get when Protheus reaches the Door? Do you think he’ll reward you for helping him? Or will he just keep you as his servants for whatever he would plan next? Is that what you want? To have your future decided entirely by that maniac?”

 

”Do not waste your breath, Eria!” Ra turned his attention to Wynn, gathering flames, preparing to burn her away just like Hiita. ”Listen to her. That ‘Death Aura’ that Protheus boasted about worked because he could prey on the fears that you already had. No doubt he had done the same with your friends. They followed him not because of any trickery. You may not wish to hear it, but perhaps there is some truth to what she said about you and Doriado. They flocked to Protheus like sheep to their shepherd. This one already knows one Eria who gave Doriado the benefit of the doubt, and even that one gave up. This is not the Wynn you knew, and you are not the Eria that she knew either. You are each a ‘fake’ to one another. There is no hope of convincing her. If Protheus wishes her to kill you, then Wynn will follow his command. Not because that is what she must do. It is what she has chosen to do.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~~~

 

 

Wynn was happiest not only using the power of the wind. Every part of nature itself seemed enough to make her happy. ”The first thing I want to see in the morning is the sun,” Wynn had said. ”A clear sky where the sun shines bright… That’s how I know that there’s still hope in the world.” It had been an insult to her memory that LERNA had used her as a tool for preaching about despair.

 

During the Rite of Enchantment, they found a fountain at the mountain’s peak. The fountain was made from pure ivory, and the water stretched out to the edge of the rock walls. Looking around, there had been nothing else at the peak. The fountain itself was the peak. While Eria stepped into the water, Wynn watched the sunset. ”It’s getting late. Sooner or later, this mountain will probably be as dark as whatever cave Aussa and Hiita have lost themselves in. Though, it might be funny if we finished before they did.”

 

The wind and the water were cold. The crystals that would soon adorn their staffs were blank, each one designed to be a focus for their elements. Eria knelt down and dipped her crystal into the fountain, but the crystal had only a faint blue glow. Stepping further into the fountain, Eria let herself keep along the floor beneath her. She hardly noticed the water passing over her body, even as she was entirely submerged. Her feet left the ground, as the pool in the fountain seemed to extend deeper. She thought of a prayer, and the crystal itself finally began to shine more brightly.

 

Eria didn’t need the staff anymore, yet the moment she had charged the crystal was always her first true step towards becoming a Water Charmer. Even once she was finished, she stayed in the center of the fountain. This was only a test, but even the cold water brought a sense of comfort.

 

A voice called out to her above the pool. She had been keeping Wynn waiting for a while. As Eria rose from the fountain - almost swimming, in fact - Wynn raced up to the edge of the pool, holding her own, green crystal close. ”Eria, look! I… and you! This means we’re both Charmers!” Wynn looked at her crystal, in awe of its light.

 

”Someone’s happy today,” Eria laughed. Wynn looked back at Eria, confused. Eria bobbed her head, trying to look more casual. "Sorry, that came out wrong. It’s just… you’re usually so quiet. Just the other day, I was worried you were going to spend that picnic sulking behind the tree all day.”

 

”I was… nervous about today. What Lady Doriado told us all to do sounded simple enough. We simply had to gather enough energy from one point. I think this mountain is more ceremonial than practical, but… well, when she said we had to go in pairs, I’m glad she sent me with you. So, I wanted today to special.” Wynn shook her hands, like she was trying to get something off. ”Sorry, I wanted to get you a gift, but I didn’t know what you’d like… and I couldn’t exactly ask you, either. I wanted it to be a surprise, you know?”

 

”Wynn, you didn’t have to get me another. We passed the Rite, so let’s go find Hiita and Aussa!”

 

”No!” Wynn pulled Eria’s arm before she could walk away, only to immediately draw her hand back. ”I’m sorry. I’m really ruining the moment, aren’t I? I… wanted to wait until we were both Charmers. For real. And with this sunset… I can’t think of a better time.” Wynn smiled, taking in a deep breath. ”Eria… I…”

 

”Hurry up, you slowpokes!” Hiita was stomping her way up the mountain, with Aussa just a few steps behind her. ”Aussa and I finished, like, an hour ago, so I wanted to see how you guys were doing. You guys are done now, right? Come on, Lady Doriado promised a big feast to celebrate. I’d like to have some before it gets cold.”

 

Aussa adjust her glasses. “To be fair, you could heat it up yourself if you’re worried about that.”

 

”Yes, but that defeats the purpose of Lady Doriado cooking for us. If I think it’s too cold, then would be really ungrateful to Doriado’s cooking talents.”

 

“…You really don’t like using your powers for cooking, do you, Aussa?”

 

”Because that’s a really stupid waste of my power! And besides, I know that as soon as I start doing that, you guys would expect me to cook all your meals for you so you don’t have to do it yourself.”

 

Aussa pursed her lips. “That would not be a disagreeable scenario.”

 

”You would have never found your way out of that cave if I didn’t make torches for you.”

 

”Can you guys… leave this for later?” Eria could see that Wynn wasn’t paying attention to the conversation anymore. She had been sitting on the ground, watching the last of the sunset fade. ”You two go on ahead. Wynn and I will catch up in a bit.”

 

Hiita raised her hands in frustration. ”Lazybums, I swear.” Hiita and Aussa walked away, leaving Eria and Wynn alone again.

 

”Hey, sorry about that.” Eria sat next to Wynn, watching the sunset with her. ”Hiita has terrible timing. Tell you what. Tomorrow, you and I can go to the market. Maybe I’ll find something there I might like. And, hey, how about I get you something, too?”

 

”That works.” Wynn seemed almost angry. She didn’t even look to Eria as she answered.

 

”You wanted to say something, right? I thought I heard… something, just before Hiita and Aussa showed up.”

 

”It’s nothing.”

 

”…Are you sure?”

 

”Yes.” Wynn stood back up, and Eria followed. Wynn rubbed her hands over her eyes. ”Hiita’s right, we should probably head back.” Wynn walked away so quickly, it seemed that she was almost running. Eria walked behind Wynn, the Charmers all heading home to see Lady Doriado.

 

 

~~~

 

 

The girl standing before Eria was empty. None of that happiness mattered. In a way, Wynn and Hiita were different from the Divine. They were loyal to Protheus himself, all because of that war. Someone like Megiddo or Arturia had control over her, but Eria could still stand against them. She was still in her right mind. But Wynn wanted to follow Protheus. It was hard to believe Wynn’s reasons, or even Hiita’s, but they still had their reasons. Even worse, they truly believed in them. ”Wynn… I just need to know one more thing. Despite everything that happened… if even if you think I was wrong for believing in Lady Doriado, we’re still friends, right?”

 

“...”

 

At that question, Wynn’s staff fell as the intensity in her dead gaze lightened somewhat - even it was only a faint glimmer, an emotion displayed itself for the briefest of seconds - yet it was gone just as quickly. Raising her staff once more, she paid a sparing glance to Ra one last time, before fixating it on the Water Charmer. While other options had been considered, it was clear that her enemy was intent on facing her alone. A convenience that could be taken advantage of. Even if she possessed strange new powers such as a Keyblade and non-water-based spells, she was still too familiar with her opponent’s combat style. Her victory was all but assured.

 

And then,

 

“...always.”

 

It was the only word that needed to be said to Eria. That, despite everything, she was still the very same friend Eria once knew. Just, a version who had simply undergone more unfortunate circumstances and had her beliefs shaped differently. Even if there wasn’t much left of her, even if her heart was missing, and even if there was so little life in her that the Pathways themselves hadn’t identified her, it didn’t change the fact that she was Wynn the Wind Charmer.

 

With that, the green-haired girl enacted her plan. Suddenly throwing her free hand into the air, Hiita’s staff was thrust out of the snow by a carefully-established wind spell, sending it flying directly into her grip. As a matter of fact, the entire time they’d been talking had been a distraction, solely in preparation for this! Triumphantly, he grasped hold of the Fire Charmer’s staff, complete with its crystal, and it glistened to acknowledge its new owner.

 

When she grabbed it, her hand glowed a deep red colour, sufficient information being downloaded into her body as per Protheus’s magic. Of course, for his designated Charmers, it simply wouldn’t do if he sent the team into battle and one was to be lost. It would ruin the synergy of teamwork, and more importantly, would make it more time consuming for him to find a new elemental amplifier. Hence, he’d painstakingly ingrained magic into each of them that enabled to absorb the abilities of the others, for precisely this scenario.

 

 

~ Wind God Girl ~

 

 

“You and I. Let us end this… Eria.”

 

It was the last answer that Eria had been hoping for, but Wynn had made her decision. ”I’m sorry it’s come to this. If there really is no other way, then I will not hold back. Not even against you, Wynn.”

 

In her right hand was the former staff of Hitta, and in her left hand was her own staff. The power of Fire and Wind, controlled by a single individual. Wielding both ambidextrously, Wynn proceeded to manipulate the air in front of her. Maintaining the cold, dry air of Remembrance on one side, and greatly heating the air on another side. She spun them around each other playfully, before forcefully colliding the two air masses together - exploding into rising wind,the updraft causing it to spin, more and more destructively, until it formed a natural giant tornado, towering high above the girl caster.

 

Without hesitation, Wynn thrust the natural disaster forth, and it mercilessly stormed through the ground, endless snow being dragged upwards, ripped apart, and ultimately scattered around. However, as it reached her position halfway, it turned out this attack was far from over. At the center of this tornado was a sudden ignition, a casted fireball being quickly swept up across its entirety, fanned to extreme intensity along the way, ultimately caused the two elements to contract into a dense, gigantic fire tornado, its entire snowy path into steam from the heat. The winds surrounding it were picking up greatly, to the point that Eria found herself being pulled off the ground, towards the inferno!

 

Eria pointed her Keyblade at the snow, forging ice in her path. The flames melt through the ice as if it was simply never there, but Eria continued to summon wave after wave of ice and snow, taking the brunt of the flames into it. Wynn already had the advantage against her when she was simply using her own power, but now, somehow, she could use Hiita’s powers as well. Just as before, Ra appeared, commanding some of the flames to draw towards him, yet only a portion of the tornado seemed change course.

 

”Gravity!” Eria cast the spell in front of herself, pushing herself away from the pull of the wind just long enough touch the snow for a few moments. ”Please make yourself useful…” Eria clenched her right hand, but not solely to focus on her Keyblade. The brand on her palm shined brightly, and streams of water sprung from the snow. One by one, the water grew higher and higher, until a full torrent appeared before the tornado. Steam hissed as the flames made contact, the snow nearby melting as it made contact. So much snow had melted during the clash of the elements, leaving water that slowly streamed past Wynn’s feet, reaching towards the lake. Though there was bound to be some actual rock and stone beneath all the snow, the point where the snow ended and the lake began began to blur.

 

The torrent of water splashed forward, dousing the remainder of the tornado. A wave rose up, the water looming over Wynn - it was countered with a concentrated blaze of flames, fanned with her own wind to become a superheated inferno in seconds, evaporating the entirety of the torrent before it even got close to its target. As the water subsided, a giant serpent towered above Eria and Wynn, almost reaching Ra’s own height. Her opponent raised an eyebrow, having not expected this strange new summon at all.

 

”The Leviathan,” Eria said sternly. ”I’m not the only one who serves someone else now… even if it’s against my will, unlike you.” Eria screamed, the brand burning yet again. She was almost afraid to look, but the brand had changed once again. The crown on the brand’s “head” seemed to expand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The brand had changed before she entered the Pathways, then on Death, and once more on Truth. If it had changed again, how much more would the brand change? ”No…” Even if she could defeat Wynn, Protheus had one more card. The ”other” Eria. Somehow, the brand itself seemed to be anticipating that. The burning was a reminder what Eria would have to do.

 

The Leviathan lunged toward Wynn. The serpent cast its own Blizzaga spell, as a dozen shards of ice appeared, surrounding the Charmer on all sides until they shot forward, all aimed to skewer her. Wynn countered immediately, manipulating the wind in such a precise manner that their trajectories were altered, causing them all to harmlessly stab into the snow around her. The Leviathan slithered away, its hulking body dragging across the snow in mere seconds.

 

Eria pointed her Keyblade up, and more streams of water appeared, this time all around her. There were six in total, each one coiling, the top of each stream branching out to form a hand. Six arms of water all reached out to grab Wynn. One hand covered her entire body, and a second hand wrapped over the first, then another, each hand wrapping together. Eria summoned even more arms, joining the grip. Wynn was capable of both burning and cutting her way through the water, so Eria commanded more of the water to compress, increasing the density of the resulting sphere of water that encased Wynn. As she resisted, air bubbles escaped from her throat; before they were drawn back inside, manipulating her own oxygen to avoid drowning.

 

Concentrating her hold on the sphere into one hand, Eria pointed her Keyblade, looking just above Wynn. Another sphere appeared, this one made entirely of ice. Wynn had destroyed one before, but this time, Wynn had to worry about the sphere of water first. The Leviathan raised itself up, but Eria nodded her head, commanding the Leviathan to attack from a better angle. The only concern now that Eria had was that, beyond Wynn, Protheus was fighting Arthur, Sora, Kairi, and MirageGaogamon. She was afraid to unleash a powerful attack that could have the others caught in the crossfire.

 

”I don’t want to do this, but I have to. I can only hope you’ll let me set this right. For both our worlds.” Eria let go of her control over the ice sphere and pulled her left hand down, forcing the water sphere to slam Wynn down to the ground. With the ice sphere already falling, Eria command the water drenching Wynn to freeze before she could retaliate, holding the Wind Charmer in place long enough that she couldn’t aim her hands at the ton of ice that was about to fall right on top of her.

 

Wynn glared at the oncoming ton of ice even as her entire body was encased in ice. For all her prowess, she certainly didn’t possess superhuman strength, yet there were other ways to deal with this. Using the staff of fire in her left hand, she began to warm up her own body; carefully maintaining a thin barrier of heat directly above her skin, melting through the ice. Once enough space had been made to aid in her movement, she burst out from her imprisonment by unleashing an intense blaze from her whole body, freeing her. Yet, there was simply too little time to deal with the giant sphere of ice. What could she possibly do?

 

Devoid of any fear or hesitation in her eyes, the Wind Charmer relied on her instincts, coming to only one possible conclusion. Using wind, she proceeded to launch herself at the sphere of ice, pointing both her arms - and their respective staffs - forward. In seconds, a concentrated shield of flames materialized in front of her, amplified by air fanning, forming a sharp ‘^’ shape. By the time they made contact, her form had essentially transformed into a blazing arrow. Shooting onwards, the caster punctured through the outer edges of icy meteorite, firing on and on, hot-slicing her way through the massive object until at last she burst out above, at the other end.

 

The blazing shield finally gave way and dissipated, whilst Wynn had emerged victorious in the air, watching as the sphere of ice slammed straight into the snow - containing such immense force that it caused huge ripples of snow to hurtle in every direction. Pelting the gods. As it reached Eria’s and Gagagigo’s respective positions, they may have ended up buried in snow.

 

“You will set this right. With your death.” Wynn spoke in return, suspended amongst the cloudy sky. Holding out her arms, another trading card floated out of her cloak. Collected alongside the staff from Hiita’s decimated corpse, it would certainly prove to be of more use now that Slifer had been downed. “Come forth… Dark One Zeta!”

 

From high in the skies, a thin lightning bolt shot downwards. As soon as it reached Wynn’s height, it stopped and bursted into a humanoid shape. More specifically that of a winged demon, garbed akin to a gothic cowboy with twin shotguns in each of his hands (ATK 2700). Dark One Zeta grinned madly when it scanned the battlefield, focusing especially on the Leviathan. It didn’t even need to be told what to do, as it pointed both guns at the serpentine monster and proceeded to fire powerful bullets, aimed at its head with the utmost accuracy.

 

The Leviathan roared, the bullets piercing through its scales, yet the Eidolon merely snarled at the beast. Before the Leviathan could retaliate, Gagagigo was already charging at the Dark One, ducking and grabbing the demon by its waist, knocking it to the ground. ”I may not be able to help Eria against Wynn… but I can at least handle you.” His fist pummeled against Zeta’s face, hoping to keep the Dark One down. Standing back up, Gagagigo kicked Zeta aside. ”Is that all you have? In my world, I would see many who have special talents. Even those who were not spellcasters had abilities that bordered on magic itself! I have never known such a talent myself. I have relied on brute force. That often serves me well.”

 

Gagagigo grabbed the Dark One by its wrists, and looked up at the Leviathan. ”Here. Take care of this distraction.” Gagagigo strained his arms, once more reminding himself of the burns across his body, yet he managed to completely throw Zeta through the air towards the Leviathan. The serpent clamped down its mouth, swallowing the Dark One hole. Its throat swelled for a moment, and the Leviathan actually spat the Dark One back immediately, frost streaming from the Leviathan’s mouth as Zeta was expelled, encased in ice. The Dark One struck the ground, its body shattering within the ice.

 

Able to turn her attention away from the powerful summon shortly, and paying no mind to what had just befallen the Dark One, Wynn followed up by casting a volley of fireballs downwards. Being in the sky had its advantages, as it let the dozens of blazing attacks scatter - with help from wind manipulation - and cover a much greater range, leaving Eria on the ground little room to run.

 

Not that Eria was in any mood to run. A shield of ice formed above her, taking on all of the fireballs. Even as the ice melted, Eria manipulated the resulting water, sending smaller shards of ice away, yet missing Wynn entirely, firing off at an angle completely away from her. While Wynn did seem unstoppable, there was one wound she hadn’t quite healed from: The scar on her neck. Eria was disgusted by the plan she had in mind, but she couldn’t afford to ignore the opportunity. As she reinforced the ice shield, Eria swung her Keyblade horizontally. The shards that had flown past Wynn began to reverse their course, suddenly shooting directly at Wynn, cutting across the scar already on her neck, reopening the wound once more.

 

Out of all the moves Wynn had expected her opponent may have used, this was not one of them. The shock in her eyes was perfectly visible, as the irreparable damage left by LERNA was renewed. Her neck slit in a manner that was difficult, if not downright impossible to recover from, Wynn found herself plummeting from the skies - until crashing straight into the snow, blood escaping from her neck. “...” She couldn’t even speak as blood welled up in her throat. Death appeared to be imminent.

 

However, this wasn’t about to be the end. Not just yet. Spiritual Fire Art, Wynn mouthed, grasping onto the staff that didn’t belong to her. A red spellcircle formed around her bodyin accordance with the spell. Gurgling on her own blood, she incanted the key word for Hitta’s very own ultimate attack, “KURENAI!”

 

It appeared that she had no target for it at first, no appropriate spirit of fire anywhere in the vacancy. Nearby, where Dark One Zeta had crashed, the pieces of ice were beginning to vibrate and reunite, bringing the entity back to life. After all, its special effect was to return from the ‘graveyard’, at the cost of vastly lowered strength. This renewed existence wouldn’t be long since, as soon as the demon gasped deeply, it was immediately sacrificed. Flames igniting from within its heart, consuming it from the inside out. As its soul departed, the contained life force was converted into a violent ball of wildfire.

 

With unprecedented speed, the ball zapped straight to incinerate, or at least mortally wound its target, racing far more quickly than the standard fireball. Rather than a fire attack, it was more akin to a vengeful ghost, blazing with the fires of hell to inflict punishment on others. At first, it appeared that Eria was the target, but as soon as it reached her proximity, it swerved straight past her. The designated subject of this soul-fueled inferno happened to be none other than the lizard Gagagigo himself.

 

Gagagigo had no way to defend himself as the Spiritual Art struck, his entire body immolating as the flames exploded around him. As Gagagigo screamed in horror, Eria could hear nothing else. Nothing else mattered in that moment, as Gagagigo’s cries fell to but a whimper. Even as Gagagigo’s body slumped to the ground, the flames continued to burn all over his body.

 

”Gagagigo…” Eria ran as fast as she could, ignoring Wynn. She summoned water to douse the flames, yet the water was gentle. It passed over his body, then back again, until the last of the flames were finally gone. Eria wanted to embrace him, but his scales were a mix of red and pitch black.

 

Eria gathered more water, this time to soothe his body. Her water was good for healing, but she had no idea how to heal such intense burns. What was she supposed to do? Simply imagine the burns gone, and they would disappear? At most, the color of the burns seemed to pale, but it was not enough. ”Gagagigo, please!” Eria fought back tears, continuing to use whatever water she could gather from the snow to help. ”I just got you back… but Wynn and Hiita… I don’t want to lose you again. Not because of them.”

 

”Protheus…” Gagagio coughed. Eria had expected to see blood, but Gagagigo was practically choking to even make a sound. ”Leave me here. I’ll… be okay. Stop… Protheus!”

 

Eria fell to her knees, moving her hand in a cradling motion, but not actually holding Gagagigo. ”I can’t do this without you, Gagagigo.”

 

Gagagigo chuckled, only to cough again. ”You made it to the Periphery before me. I just… need time to recover. The others need you, more than I do. Arthur needs you.” Gagagigo managed a smile, and Eria smiled in return, but only for a moment. Gagagigo reached out his hand, and stroked his hand along Eria’s face. ”I’ll be fine. Go, Eria.” His hand slumped to the ground. For a moment, Eria feared the worst, but she could still sense that he was alive, if only barely.

 

At last, Slifer broke free from the spell that Wynn had cast. The god lifted himself up, following behind Ra and the Leviathan. Eria looked up to the three of them, and nodded back to Gagagigo. ”Lord Ra… I’m sorry that I hesitated against Wynn. Seeing what You did to Hiita… I’m not sure I can forgive that. I can’t forgive myself either.”

 

Ra huffed, although Slifer nodded at Eria, answering her instead. ”You will find a way to make it right. That much I can promise you.”

 

”Thank you, milord.” Eria ran through the snow, taking one last look back at Gagagigo. ”We’re coming for you, Protheus.” But it wouldn’t just be him. Even after Hiita, Wynn, and those creatures Wynn had summoned, Eria knew that Protheus was still far from alone.

 

 

---

 

As Protheus turned his attention away from Eria, Sora returned to the edge of the lake. Sora was certain he had recognized the green-haired girl from LERNA’s Barrier, but she was focused on Eria. ”Sora, what are you standing around for?” Arthur asked. His question sounded more like a demand, yet Arthur was looking up at Protheus, stepping away from the dark sorcerer, waiting for Protheus to take his first step closer.

 

Protheus floated just above the surface of the lake, with an undeniable brimming confidence. He had Pure Edge held in his left hand, so he was certainly prepared for combat, yet his menacing aura had lightened somewhat. “Take all the time you need, Madara Slayer. No matter how much you prepare, it simply won’t be enough. You and your friends must get past me somehow, and get to the Hallway… Hence, sooner or later, you will fight me.”

 

He took out a trading card from his sleeve, its back turned to the others as he casually glanced between it and the battle of Charmers & gods. With a shrug, he proceeded to put it back, and moved his attention back to his four current opponents. The three Keyblader Warriors, alongside a Digimon.

 

“I will say this much. If you’re hoping to kill me with your flimsy weapons and lasers, you may as well give up - your best chance at survival is to make a run for it. I am immortal, after all.”

 

”No one is really immortal.” Arthur knew that much. Even gods could die, and Protheus was no god. He was so powerful that he may as well have been one, but that was not the same thing as actually being a god.

 

Sora commanded his Keyblade to vanish. ”Arthur, I need you to stand back. MirageGaogamon, make sure he doesn’t jump in.”

 

”Let me help!” Arthur could still use Reflect spells, but Protheus had broken through them so easily.

 

”Just run!” Sora ran towards Protheus, his Drive ending as Kairi appeared next to him.

 

”Sora, tag out!” Kairi grabbed Sora’s hand, and this time, it was Sora who disappeared. Kairi’s armor turned blue, as she herself had transformed into one of Sora’s own Drive Forms: The Wisdom Form. Unlike Sora’s Keyblade, her own was still intact, with the severed piece of Sora’s Keyblade still resting in the snow. Her feet hovered inches above the snow, as she skated through the air, keeping away from Protheus. Pointing her Keyblade forward, sparks of light shot forward like bullets - his grin widening at the resuming of battle, he dodged past each of the sparks with great speed, expertly maneuvering his body in midair.

 

Kairi looked back, and she could see MirageGaogamon carrying Arthur away from Protheus. It didn’t mean that they were entirely safe, but hopefully she could keep Protheus’ attention. Narrowing her eyes, she looked between Protheus and that sword he carried, Pure Edge. Blinking her eyes for a moment, she was able to Scan different targets around her. There was Protheus himself, as well as the people he had summoned, Eria’s friends. She could also detect multiple points on Pure Edge. There was the blade itself, and then there was the hilt. Something about the make of the hilt differed substantially from the blade itself. Protheus had called it a two-dimensional universe given shape. How such a thing could be possible, Kairi was not sure. Sora had more experience with something like that, given what he had said about helping Tron save the Grid, but that was too a complex system. Even if Kairi could compare the sword to the Grid, what difference did it make?

 

Protheus no doubt had many more tricks up his sleeve, but that sword was the most obvious one. Even if he was immortal, there had to be a limit to his power. Destroying that sword could push him one step closer to whatever that could be. Another spell like Meteor would be too… extravagant. Whether the spells were too big or too small, it didn’t seem like it would make a difference. There couldn’t be too much harm in trying a more subtle spell. Kairi cast Ignite, focused not on Protheus himself, but rather, Pure Edge, at the point where the blade met the hilt. Trying to cut the blade physically wouldn’t work, as contact with the blade wouldn’t work. For the moment, it couldn’t be like Slifer suggested. Pure strength was not an option against Pure Edge. Among the spells at her disposal, Kairi would have to rely on the power of fire. There was a chance that she could melt the sword. Hopefully.

 

While occupying himself with dodging her light attacks, Protheus frowned as the hilt of his blade started to spark alight. It was very clearly the Ignite spell, and it was at this point he became somewhat annoyed that he’d sent Hiita off, meaning that he would have to do the work himself. Briefly reaching his influence towards Pure Edge, he identified the mana attempting to exert its influence and neutralized it by pouring in his own mana, negating the Ignite spell with superior MP. It certainly helped that he was all too familiar with Kairi’s energy signature. “Did you honestly believe that would work?” He asked the transformed Kairi. “Even if you hold some more power than usual, you’re still just a Kairi. I can sense the stench of your unremarkable spells from a mile away.” Even so, his fingers briefly ran along the glowing point at the center of the hilt, as though to determine whether those minor sparks had actually damaged it. There was no way they got through the outer shell and melted any of the wirings, yes? Of course, as he expected, the engine was fully intact. “Still, I would suggest being more careful. After all, this weapon is a contained dimension after all. I recall my old darling once telling me that there was a fifty-fifty chance a damaged engine could implode the universe… Even if you had the power to oppose me, would you risk that?”

 

Even then, Protheus didn’t give her the chance to offer an intelligible response, as he decided that it was his turn. He proceeded to launch an offensive, dark energy firing from his feet, his body burst forth towards the shore at ridiculous speed. Even though there had been considerable distance separating the two, he closed it in seconds, pointing Pure Edge directly forward in an effort to stab straight into --- the skull of the less-empowered Arthur.

 

Arthur closed his eyes, and he could feel his body turning. MirageGaogamon turned, allowing Pure Edge to pierce through his armor. In an instant, MirageGaogamon froze. His hands did not falter, having already held Arthur close to him before the sword struck him, freezing his physical body in place.

 

“Hm?” The Herald of Darkness raised his eyebrow in slight surprise as Pure Edge resonated strangely, reacting to the Digimon’s form in some unknown manner. No matter why it was happening, he wasn’t about to find out, as he quickly withdrew the sword and distanced himself. Curious.

 

”MirageGaogamon!” Kairi skated towards Protheus. The flames didn’t work. Even if he could negate magic, there had to be some way that the spells could have an affect. If there was an engine in that blade, then that definitely meant the sword was based in technology. That was something she could work with, rather than any unique kind of magic. If it could implode the universe… no, Kairi would be sending everyone else to their own deaths. There had to be some way to reduce the risks of destroying the sword.

 

Protheus had incredible speed, faster than any of theirs. The only one who could possible compete with such speed was MirageGaogamon - and Protheus had stopped him with the blade. Even so, Kairi stayed close, staying just beyond Protheus’ swinging distance. Keeping her Keyblade trained on the sword, Kairi called out, ”Thundaga Shot!” A bolt of lightning shot out directly from her Keyblade. It was more concentrated than the typical Thundaga spell, launching electricity from a single point. As Kairi dashed away, the shot struck Pure Edge. If she could not burn through the outside of the metal, she could overload the engine and fry the circuitry inside of it.

 

The dark sorcerer hadn’t urgently responded to it at first. After all, a spell he was all too familiar with wouldn’t do much, and Impure Future would be unaffected by such an attack. But once again, his Time Sense brought him back to the reality that he was wielding Pure Edge instead. Frowning suddenly, just as the targeted Thundaga hit his blade and coursed downwards to its hilt, he grasped hold of its mana source. He’d simply had too much experience with attacks of this kind for them to take him off-guard. It was far too rapid for even him to negate immediately, but changing its course? That was a different matter. Being redirected by Arcane Manipulation - the lightning simply coursed around the edges of the hilt, flowing up his left arm and across the rest of his body until it settled in his right arm, decimating it with merciless sparks of electricity and ultimately blowing it off. The man’s right arm dissipated into dust before it hit the snowy ground, and he just watched, completely unperturbed.

 

“You recognize Pure Edge has an engine, and think to disable it with electricity? In theory, it’s not a bad idea.” Protheus chuckled, floating away from the female Keyblader to put some distance between them, anticipating a next strike from her, yet she jumped back as well. It seemed there was still some fear left in her spirit. This Kairi continued to meet the barest of minimums of amusement. From the gap in his right shoulder, which oozed no blood, a new arm was quickly beginning to grow outwards. “The problem isn’t the plan. It’s you. Such standard methods of casting… Dear girl, if you were to enter an art competition, do you honestly believe your stick figures would hold a candle to the masterpiece of a veteran artist?” As if to demonstrate, he uttered a few words under his breath; sparks of lightning materialized around him at random, wantonly blowing up nearby snow wherever it struck. Each one a wasted spell of great power, solely to prove his point. “To me, that’s how sad your grasp of magic is.”[/color] He grinned. “Give up and die, why don’t you?” Even if electricity were not strictly his forte, he was still more than capable of it. To him, Kairi quite accurately fitted into the category of a ‘magic knight’ - someone who was capable of rudimentary magic, yet did not care to properly understand magic. For a sorcerer who had spent his ancient existence unlocking the very inner workings of mana, he expected little more from her. Then Protheus pointed Pure Edge back at her, using it as his makeshift staff. From its tip, seven lightning strikes thundered outwards, spreading in all directions faster than the eye could track...before coalescing on Kairi’s position, in an attempt to electrocute her to death.

 

Several of the sparks hit a Reflect barrier, with Kairi holding her Keyblade close. Arthur held up his own Keyblade, just barely holding his hand free from MirageGaogamon’s grip, and a second Reflect barrier formed around Kairi. ”Arthur, get out of here!” More of the sparks struck the second barrier, shattering it in an instant. Before she could form one more barrier, one last spark struck her body. Kairi screamed, her body burning instead, turning and shocked. Her feet dug into the snow, the electricity still lingering on her body. ”Arthur… I appreciate your help, but you should help Eria. Sora and I… we can handle this. Maybe not stop him, but we can survive.”

 

MirageGaogamon began to move again, his energy having returned to him. His hold on Arthur loosened, and Arthur stepped back away. ”I… I have to help you. Look at him, he’s right in front of us. I could either help you, or I can help Eria. To be honest, I trust Eria’s chances better than leaving you to fight Protheus alone. It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just… we can’t take a risk against him.”

 

Kairi sighed. ”That sword of his is our big problem at the moment. For now, let’s focus on that. If we can destroy it… no, when we destroy it, you need to help Eria.”

 

Arthur looked behind him. Slifer and Ra were aiding Eria and Gagagigo against Wynn and Hiita. He was just one demigod. What help could he offer compared to two actual gods? ”I can try. Any weaknesses in that sword?”

 

”It’s mechanical, so I thought magic could overload it, but…” Kairi’s Scan analyzed the Pure Edge. It hadn’t suffered too much damage, not even from the Thundaga Shot. ”Physical attacks are useless as long as he has that sword, and he’ll just negate any magic we can try.”

 

MirageGaogamon stepped forward, leaving his flail in the snow beside him. ”I suppose there’s one option that I could try. I might be best suited for any technology he may be using. For a sorcerer like him, it doesn’t seem… appropriate for him. Arthur… I have an idea, but it’s a long shot. Do you remember how we defeated the Seven Demon Lords?”

 

That final battle - at least, what he had hoped would be the “final” battle before Ogudomon appeared - against the Seven Demon Lords was, to put it simply, a mess. Arthur and MirageGaogamon - back when he was MagnaGarurumon - had merged with another Digimon and his own partner. They became Susanoomon, but that was not enough. They had to fuse with Lucemon himself, becoming MokushEternamon. They had to fight for control for the fusion. In the end, it took someone else’s power - DreadKaiserdramon - to truly defeat Lucemon once and for all. In a way, Arthur and MirageGaogamon weren’t necessarily the “heroes” who had saved the day all by themselves. At most, they had simply… survived.

 

”You… come on, that sword isn’t a Digimon! You can’t-”

 

Kairi’s gaze at MirageGaogamon was a mix of surprise of horror. ”It’s… something. When I saw that sword, it reminded me of what Sora said about a place he went to. Maybe I should let him be the one to tell you.” Kairi commanded the Drive to end, Sora appearing once again by her side.

 

”Tron,” said Sora. ”There was this one time, when I went with my friends Donald and Goofy to this computer. It… downloaded us somehow. I’m not really sure I can explain it. It’s like we all became computer programs, but we still felt like… well, us. And we could get back out.”

 

”And I am a ‘computer program’ to begin with, so I’m already one step ahead. You said the computer downloaded you? Then in that, perhaps I could upload myself into that sword.”

 

Arthur held up his Keyblade, transforming it into its bow configuration. ”Okay, I think I know what you have in mind. But can I just say, this is one of the dumbest ideas you’ve ever had?”

 

”Worse than us joining the Divine in the first place?”

 

Arthur smirked. ”Harsh… but I guess I deserved that. Sora, Kairi, can you keep him busy? I’m going to need a perfect shot.”

 

Sora and Kairi looked to each other. ”That sword broke the Keyblade, but… I think I can fix that. This time, neither of us will be taking charge. Kairi, let’s fight together.”

 

Kairi took Sora’s hand once more. ”Of course.” This time, both Sora and Kairi disappeared. Standing in their place was a single knight in golden armor, their helmet obscuring their face.

 

”We'll use our Drives together,” the combined knight said. ”Twin Master Forms, at the same time!” Kairi’s Keyblade spun in one hand, and with their free hand, the knight gestured to the severed piece of the Keyblade, the fragment shattering where it lay. Raising the empty hand up, a second Keyblade appeared within their grip. ”Let’s try this again, Protheus!”

 

While the group had been discussing their next battle plan, Protheus’s mind was occupying himself with a different activity. His eyes watched the battlefield unfolding elsewhere - gaining much amusement from the struggles Eria and her gods were facing against the Charmers - as though he were waiting for a golden opportunity. To interfere. Perhaps even to bring her into the fray. It all depended on how well his own servants performed… He casually turned his head around, whilst a new being called out his name.

 

Witnessing the armour, he narrowed in eyes in annoyance as he recalled his previous experience with the armoured Lydia, before his expression lightened. “Hm? Who are… Oh, I see.” Protheus familiarized himself with this magic rather quickly, scanning the nature of the knight and recognizing the combined signatures. Although the combination of two Master Forms wasn’t very familiar, it wasn’t unheard of either. Regardless of its origins, it was still quite distinctively a Drive Form. He raised Pure Edge in anticipation of it, amused at this new attempt. As if all their powers combined could even hold a candle to his full might! “What is this, some sort of friendship-based charge? You think you can make up for knowledge with raw power?” Tiny, yet poignant black orbs materialized around him, numbering twenty-two in all. By then, his arm had fully regenerated, dressed in an equally-repaired coat sleeve. “Very well… Be my guest.”

 

Sora and Kairi knew full well that magic would have no effect, but he still took him some time to respond. The Thundaga Shot had blown up the arm opposite of the sword. It wasn’t as if magic simply failed the instant it made contact with him. Any spell wouldn’t be the finishing blow for Pure Edge, but it didn’t have to be. The knight jumped into the air, and in midair, they jumped once more. As soon as the combined knight did, half of Protheus’s orbs burst into eleven thin beams of darkness, homing in on their exact location in the sky. Clearly, whatever their plan was, he wasn’t about to let it go smoothly. Several of the beams hit yet another Reflect barrier, and one of the Keyblades spun before their hand, scattering the remaining beams harmlessly back into the snow. As the knight descended back to the ground, they cast a Magnega spell in the center of the remaining orbs. A sphere of light appeared above Protheus, and all the orbs were pulled towards the sphere, exploding as they all collided against each other. For a moment the sorcerer chuckled, about to cast a few more - before he found Pure Edge, his own blade being suddenly drawn towards the sphere. “...what?!”

 

The orbs were simply a distraction, and were not the true targets of the spell. His surprise at the unexpected targeting had provided an incredibly brief, yet opportune moment. The moment Arthur was waiting for. Ever since he first summoned his Keyblade, it had always doubled as his Digivice. Although Arthur loathed the feature, the Digivice had the power to hold MirageGaogamon within it. It was meant for “storage space”, but if that was ever an issue, MirageGaogamon had no qualms about reverting to his smaller Gaomon form. An arrow formed in Arthur’s hand, and as MirageGaogamon’s body began to break down into pieces of data, the Digimon picked up his flail, carrying it with him as his body seemed to fade away.

 

In a few seconds, MirageGaogamon was nowhere to be seen. His body had disappeared, all of his data contained into a single arrow. For a moment, Arthur was focused on the blade, but contact with the blade had been exactly the problem. When Kairi had shot the hilt instead, that seemed more effective. Ordinarily, the difference between the hilt and the blade could have been a minor detail, but that difference was everything in this situation. Without another word, Arthur let the arrow loose, sending the arrow - and with it, MirageGaogamon - flying directly towards Pure Edge. “What good will an arrow do?” Protheus snarled, overwhelming control over the gravity spell and snuffing it out. However, he didn’t bother to stop the seemingly harmless object as it hurtled straight for his blade-

 

Then, the arrow pierced the hilt of the sword, where the engine must have been.

 

 

~~~

MirageGaogamon opened his eyes.

 

His vision strange at first, yet quickly adjusting. It appeared that he was only capable of looking, as well as moving in two directions. Forwards, and backwards. Physical details were flatter, if not outright simplified. He had lost his Burst Mode, which would have been concerning in its own right, but that was not the end of it. It seemed that his physical form had been converted into a two-dimensional format. Were he anything other than a Digimon, he may not have survived such a drastic transition.

 

 

Looking at himself from a third perspective, he, and this world as a whole, eerily resembled the interior of a retro video game. Upon adjusting, the physical details of the area he was within finally made sense. MirageGaogamon - or rather, DotMirageGaogamon - was currently standing in front of a Japanese-esque shrine, painted a deep crimson with platings of radiant golds. Above, seven suns of varying sizes shone brightly, scattered amongst the vast, textureless blue sky.

 

As if prompted, a humanoid exited the shrine, with red hair, golden eyes, and tan skin, dressed in vestments and an ornate headdress. The symbol of a shining sun visible on her flat chest. As soon as she saw the Digimon, a physical ‘!’ mark materialized above her head, as though to represent her noticing.

[Welcome, Divine Mother!] The woman greeted. Appearing to mistake him for someone considered rather more important, her speech was simple and straightforward. Complete with a textbox. [it has simply been too long since your previous visit to Old Hearth. You must be weary from your travels. Please, do come in.]

 

”What is this place?” DotMirageGaogamon asked. He wanted to look over his hands, but he could only move his arms up and down. Even turning his wrist seemed to be a challenge, as if an invisible force was blocking its movement. ”This sword belongs to Itsu, yes? That is your Divine Mother?” He had no time for this. For all he knew, Protheus was still wielding Pure Edge with ease against the others. The most they could do was wait. DotMirageGaogamon needed to destroy this sword from the inside out. And he would have to do it alone.

 

[indeed, you are the Divine Mother. It is good that you remember your own name. Come, come.] Despite this urgency and the tone of his questioning, the strange woman simply ignored him and walked on inside. As soon as she touched the entrance of the shrine, she disappeared. in videogame terms, teleported to another map. Seeing no other way forward, DotMirageGaogamon touched the entrance, vanishing as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~ The Fade ~

 

 

The two rematerialized in a new area, apparently designed to be the shrine’s interior. It was, simply put, quite unlike the outer religious appearance. Within was a vast, massive library, entire walls lined up with books reading out all sorts of texts - all in a foreign language. Each time DotMirageGaogamon passed by one, he had the strangest sense that he could simply ‘access’ the information of one merely by hovering over it. Yet not knowing what would happen made it unwise to take the risk. The woman walked onwards, past ladders that led to upper levels, presumably with more rows of bookcases.

 

[The Holy Library of Solace has missed you.] She continued as she carried onwards, talking monotonously, more akin to a computer program than an actual living being. [it has accumulated more information in your absence. New sections such as The Loss of Hearth and The Origin War are particularly popular now. Under the latter, you shall find interesting books like Memories of Thermopylae, although it may require referring back to Puella Magi Madoka Magica for easier comprehension.]

 

At last, the apparent woman halted. Before her, at the center of the shrine-library, was a glorious golden statue of another woman, regal, beautiful, and radiant, donned in a simple kimono and holding an umbrella. Yet somehow, this artifact conveyed all the power of a sun goddess. The Digimon would have quickly recognized her as Itsu Fudo, resembling her form during the Desert Seth most. Even though it was a mere statue, and a two-dimensional one at that, it still managed to capture a portion of her true might - a might intentionally suppressed during her time with the Counter Corps. And yet, there was the sinking feeling that she may never return.

 

The follower of Itsu turned around, to face DotMirageGaogamon. She had a smile on her face, but the lack of facial details on her pixels made it impossible to discern whether it was a genuine emotion or not. [i shall now act out my role as librarian. Information is at your service, Divine Mother. What do you wish to remember?]

 

DotMirageGaogamon pitied Itsu. This library contained so much information about her. There was so much potential, yet he could only learn so much. Two subjects came to mind. As far as this servant was concerned, he was Itsu. It would be best to answer this question as if it was Itsu herself asking. ”First, I would like to… study how exactly Pure Edge was made.” For as much as Arthur resented his own place within his world’s “Greek Mythology”, there was one such story that seemed rather suiting. Achilles was a hero in his own time, and for the most part, was invulnerable. And yet, out of everything, Achilles had one weakness: his heel. It seemed to be an almost common phrase in Arthur’s world. Perhaps Itsu would be familiar with the phrase. ”Show any analysis that could give the sword an ‘Achilles Heel’, so to speak. If there is an oversight in the sword’s design, I would like to… address it.” It wasn’t entirely a lie. The librarian could believe that “Itsu” was simply here to cover any weaknesses, rather than exploit them.

 

Intrigued at what her goddess may have in store, the librarian moved her head, in a gesture that could be taken to be a nod. She proceeded to move swiftly, robotically, towards a ladder further ahead. She climbed up to the second level, then up another ladder to the third level, then up yet another to the fourth level, until she finally reached the ninth. After a small passing of time, she made all of her way back down to meet DotMirageGaogamon, having downloaded all the requested information for verbal redistribution. [Would you prefer a full account of the books I have designated, or a summarized version of events?]

 

”Keep it short,” DotMirageGaogamon said immediately. There was certainly much more that could be learned, but for now, he would have to be picky about the information. The sooner that he could destroy Pure Edge, the sooner the others could have something of a chance at stopping Protheus.

 

[Very well.] Then, the librarian proceeded to speak further. [The science behind the weapon of your designation originated on your homeworld of Hearth, which has since developed into a technologically-advanced utopia under your guidance. You tasked Septriarchs with the mission to create an infinite dataspace, in which an unlimited amount of knowledge and memories may be stored. Your subjects rose to the challenge. They provided a solution via the combination of a two-dimensional universe compressor-generator as based on the Clearstream Theory, and a particle containment field as based on Lightsaber physics, ultimately serving your purposes perfectly. This location is the result. A databank recording every experience you have had in its proximity, ensuring that your every thought is accessible and analyzable for future use. However, you soon realized that the device could be wielded in combat. Its anomalous 2D property were unusually practical. In reflection of this, it was given the name Pure Edge for its unrivalled cutting potential. It has since become your staple weapon, synonymous with the very name of Itsu Solace.]

 

Upon answering his first request to the very least of her abilities, she carried onwards with his next request. [Achilles’ Heel.] She had to pause, as though calculating a manner in which to provide this key information. [There are three identified weak points of the Pure Edge.]

 

[The first is the generator-engine of the hilt that maintains both the creation and the containment of the universe. Despite sunsteel circuitry, overheating above 1200 degrees celsius or external damage beyond a kinetic force of 420,000,000 joules may form a destabilization that has a fifty-fifty chance for the universe to either implode on its own weight or explode into full size and annihilate the present realm.]

 

[The second is the two-dimensional nature of the blade, freezing objects from moving in three-dimensional space to avoid logical continuity errors. Such corrections may come into conflict with certain conceptual weapons, such as identified threat Impure Future as wielded by friend Protheus Maximus.] DotMirageGaogamon had to stop for a moment to catch that Protheus could somehow be considered a “friend”. [impure Future innately reverses cause and effect, yet should it come into contact with Pure Edge, which guarantees an object’s stopping of momentum, it prevents Impure Future from moving, meaning that it will be unable to make the journey to Pure Edge. An effect would occur yet its cause would be destroyed beyond a doubt. The annihilation of a cause may bring the laws of reality to unravel, creating a logical implosion, the consequences of which are beyond the limits of science to predict.]

 

[The third is the core of the dataspace within. Contained within the Holy Library of Solace, this maintains the calculations behind operating, regulating, and repairing Pure Edge as well as the infinite dataspace as a whole, ensuring that it may run as Itsu’s compendium for eternity, as the mathematics prove. Hacking is impossible, yet the possibility exists that an advanced ‘data ghost’ may damage the outer shell and invade. Although there is no method of deactivation, its destruction may result in failsafes kicking in to harmlessly deactivate the blade of Pure Edge before the process of destabilization. That is, assuming that the codes from seven million years ago are still valid.]

 

[is this information to your satisfaction, Divine Mother?]

 

Three options, and only one of them was possible. DotMirageGaogamon couldn’t possibly overheat the sword. Kairi had tried something similar, and she barely did anything. “Impure Future” was simply nowhere to be found, even though it sounded like the perfect counter to Pure Edge. The only option was to destroy the core. It was why he had come into this dataspace to begin with, after all.

 

The librarian had mentioned so many names and terms. Itsu no doubt understood all of them, but Hearth, Septriarchs, and the “Clearstream Theory” were all meaningless to DotMirageGaogamon. He would have to ask more about that core later, but now was the time for the second subject. ”Define ‘Protheus Maximus.’” She had called him a “friend”. ”Just as with Pure Edge, I’d also like to kno- I mean, review any weaknesses he may have.” Itsu had to know if he had any… and yet, Protheus was still alive. How could she possibly consider Protheus a friend? ”And please review any scenarios when I could have killed him once and for all, but spared him.”

 

In response to his requests on that man, the librarian fixated a look upon the Digimon, staring at him for a eerily silent five seconds before proceeding with her assigned function.

 

[Very well. Definition of Protheus Maximus: Arrogant jabroni with a heart of gold. Enhanced Dark Signer that has reached the capacity of an Omni. Interested in studying magic and science. Your mortal nemesis, turned best friend and lover. The only one who understands you. But still an jabroni.]

 

After stating thus, she was about to carry on, when she paused again, this time with a ‘?’ notification appearing above her head to indicate visible confusion. [unable to access. You disabled combat information on Protheus Maximus seven hundred and twenty-three years ago during the Orichalcos Incident. Reason stated: “...”]

 

Skipping over it for now, she reached DotMirageGaogamon’s final request. [i have a number of scenarios that fit that description. I have zero moral programming, and therefore, I am unable to review situations that have been categorized under ‘Morality’. However, the memories are available at your discretion.]

 

DotMirageGaogamon snarled at the librarian, but she was harmless. That he even learned this much was a miracle. Asking the librarian to quantify whether or not Protheus “should” have died was beyond her limits. Seven hundred and twenty-three years was a long time. How much power could he have obtained since that? ”I don’t have time to view too many memories. I’ll go with one. Show me that ‘Orichalcos Incident.’” Another name that had no meaning, but this one at least sounded like another chance to learn something. There had to be a reason why Itsu would disable information. Even if Protheus had changed since then, the kind of man he was centuries before still had to mean something, even now.

 

[Your wish is my command, Divine Mother.] The librarian took a step forward, and then a second step to the DotMirageGaogamon, closing in on the distance between her. Then, without warning, she raised her arm and touched his shoulder, directly transferring the memory into him. And what he ended up seeing...was something he couldn’t have possibly imagined from the man-

 

~~~

October 12, 2032

Detroit, Michigan

22:12 PM Local

 

"And it's time for our update on the green comet Faust. Jeremy, what do you have for us?"

 

"Well, Charlotte, Faust, which is still made of an unknown glowing green rock, is about 4 weeks away from us, and any wanna-be astronomer can see it right outside in the night sky. Just look for the green star. In fact, in about a week, it should be close enough for us to see it during the day. When Halloween rolls around, we should get an eerie green glow in time for the big night. Also, remember to check your property insurance. There have been reports of meteorite fragments already beginning to hit us, and these will become more and more frequent as Faust nears us."

 

"And what is the current estimate of the comet's trajectory?"

 

"It's still hard to say, but it’s said that Faust will just barely enter the space between the Earth and the Moon before heading towards the Sun, curving around it, and then catapulting back out of the Solar System. Every space agency on the planet that can is gearing up to send probes to Faust to figure out what the heck it’s made out of."

 

"Well, whatever it is, it sounds like it's going to make big news here on Action News 7. After the commercial break, we have news on the Columbus Day regional qualifiers held over at Duel Arcadia, and how one scientist is prepared to make a breakthrough in the strange substance Faust is made from."

 

"WXYZ-TV. Serving Detroit for over 80 years."

 

"Does your ski-"

 

A flatscreen television turned off in a flat. The view outside overlooked downtown Detroit, as well as an amusement park located on an island in the middle of the Detroit River. The one who turned off the television got up and walked around the couch she had been sitting on, past a kitchen, and stopped momentarily as she walked by a child's bedroom, filled with toys. The woman kept walking, her bare feet making no noise on the wooden floor, though her long red hair swished slightly with every step. A slender hand pressed a button, which called for an elevator. Once inside, it conveyed her swiftly down from her flat to an underground garage and workshop, where she stepped around several husks of what used to be motorcycles to a blood-red vehicle that was almost all curves, with some areas being unable to distinguish where the painted shell ended and the chrome machinery began.

 

She hopped onto the bike, which immediately revved its engines, as if greeting an old friend. A pair of goggles formed around her golden eyes while the motorcycle eased forward just as she was done positioning herself. Rider and motorcycle moved as one, gaining speed and eventually exiting the garage to zoom through the amusement park, then across a bridge and into city traffic, weaving in and out of the paths of cars with a supernatural grace, the rider's face determined to do something.

 

Finally, she pulled into an ovular park in the middle of a roundabout, got off of her motorcycle, and walked forward until she encountered a cloaked figure.

 

"Where is she?" Itsu Fudo asked the woman, though it was more of a growl than a request. "Where is my daughter?"

 

In response, the woman only laughed and taunted her for her failure, before introducing herself as Archetype Earth. A hero and a champion, who would save the planet's civilization through the power of Orichalcos. Of course, she couldn't be considered much of a hero if she had her goons kidnap a 7-year-old girl from an after-school program.

 

Itsu grimaced and gritted her teeth, her fists clenching in rage. One could almost imagine flames dancing inside of her eyes as she glared at her opponent. The two exchanged threats, the goddess fuming with hatred whilst the reptillian cult leader merely laughed, taking pleasure from her anguish and despair.

 

"Now, I accepted your little invitation to come out here, so tell me where Atsuko is, or I start going down my list of ways to kick your scaly ass!"

 

Yet her only response was a grin. "You want your daughter?"

 

Archetype Earth's eyes glowed, and as they did a green symbol that was the Seal of Orichalcos formed around them. An inescapable dome field that cut them off from interference. A wave of power surged from the leader, a wave that shook and trembled the ground, resulting in the materialization of an ancient Duel Disk on her arm. In retaliation, Itsu's arm-wings extended out, crimson lines forming on them to indicate card slots. A phantasmal head of the Crimson Dragon formed around her left hand, then settled as it turned into a Duel Disk, complete with a deck already loaded.

 

The two duelled, engaging in a card game called Duel Monsters, each duelist displaying ridiculous prowess. Itsu clearly appeared to have the upper hand, swatting her opponent's every attempt with simply much more experience and quality cards.

 

“It’s my turn.” The woman stated bluntly, and drew her next card. “I will not underestimate you. Therefore, you are determined worthy to see this card...” Suddenly, around the ring of Orichalcos appeared a secondary ring, a second line of angelic letters constantly repeating the word ‘Orichalcos’. Madly using up all the cards in her hand to seemingly no avail, she started an ominous chant in an unrecognizable language, a long ne which she skimmed through quickly. When she was done, lightning flashed in the dark yet stormless sky. And the entire field, the entire field of Orichalcos they were in, was all swept in a hurricane of energy.

 

The sky flashed, at which point a vortex ripped through space behind her. From it, the head of a gigantic green-scaled serpent emerged - the most condensed form the Leviathan was capable of. And even then, the card used...listed 'ATK ∞'. Infinite Attack Points.

 

A powerful blast of green energy erupted from the serpent's head, a blast that Itsu was incapable of countering due to Tritos. It shattered through her monster and her set cards, before reaching the timehopper herself. It was very far from full power, but it was still beyond even the strongest force in this universe pulverizing her mythril body into the ground.

 

Arche let out a loud reptillian laugh, which was so inhuman that it sounded like metal screeching against each other.

 

She walked over to the damaged Itsu. She was still alive, no surprised there, but there was nothing more she could do. It had all been too easy. She bent down, low, as if to kiss her forehead like a mother. "For all your bravado, you couldn't even overcome me..." She whispered, and her appearance was starting to once more take a human appearance. She put her hood back up, before resting her hand on the body of the timetraveler. "Your soul alone, ancient and chaotic as it is, will be more than enough to complete my plans. But relax. I am going to save the world. You have died for a great cause...!" Slowly, from the feet, Itsu's body began to harden heavily, into mythril. Archetype Earth was absorbing her powers, her life- and stopped at her head. "Any last words, my dear former Archetype?"

 

Itsu had been pulverized into the ground, battered, broken, defeated, and felt herself slipping away. Slowly, the patches of her body where she was the most injured were turning silvery and metallic. She desperately tried to reach for Archetype, but her arm solidified as it extended out to the monster. She was so cold, colder than she had ever been. However, as Archetype taunted her, she decided her last words would be something meaningful, though not to Archetype.

 

"Caledfwlch..." She coughed as her motorcycle roared to life at the mention of its name.

 

"Contingency...Yankee...Romeo...Papa...One...Six...Niner...

 

...Execute."

 

The motorcycle created a holographic rider clad in black, and sped off through the streets of Detroit back to its home to fulfill its Mistress' last request. She then turned to her opponent with a defiant smirk, whilst Archetype Earth simply let out a "Huh?, tilting her head in confusion.

 

"They'll come..." Itsu finally finished cooling, solidifying into solid metal, as the Orichalcos seal around her glowed brightly, surrounding the park with an incredible radiance. A few seconds later, a pillar of brilliant emerald light fired into the cold night sky, curving thousands of miles above the city towards the comet Faust. The intense energy flowed into the comet, causing it to begin to glow from its core, an event noticeable to Arche when she noticed the green star that was the approaching rock glow brighter, almost as bright as the North Star overhead.

 

Her sacrifice would be the beginning of an epic war that would last for three whole days.

 

...

 

The events in-between her form turning into a mythril statue, and her eventual awakening, had gone past as a blur. It would only be much afterwards when she would be brought up to date.

 

Her contingency had succeeded.

 

Amongst others, Protheus Maximus responded to the call - along with a clone of her, named Natsu, who had apparently awoken as a direct result of her slumber. Her allies brought together capable duelists around the sealed-off Detroit and gathered them in the Duel Arcadia Tower, forming a resistance that was bound to take down the Cult of Orichalcos. Among that group, the three Legendary Warriors were chosen. Idris, Yuri, and Gabriel. For the shortest of moments, there seemed to be hope.

 

Yet with every passing hour, the cult grew larger and larger, its corrupted claws sinking ever deeper into western society. Her right hand man, Sayer, manipulated events behind the background and ensured that the resistance would not get anywhere close to interfering with their operations. At some point, Archetype Earth selected three Heralds of Orichalcos from her most favourite followers to wield a portion of the Leviathan's power. Lucas, Syria, and Carla.

 

For the sole purpose of terrorizing the citizens, making them that much more likely to turn their hopes to the promises of the cult, Archetype Earth had triggered an actual earthquake that affected the majority of Detroit with abrupt, huge tremors, destroying much of the city and killing thousands of innocents. Duel Arcadia Tower still stood, but not for long.

 

Taking advantage of the ensuing chaos, the Heralds tracked down the resistance base with their new powers and fearlessly stormed the resistance. Without a single command to do so. Seriously, no one told them to do it, they just did because they could. And during the resultant bloodbath, they not only killed off much of the enemies but also infected the statue of Itsu, transforming it into a mindless golem of destruction, bent only on serving the Orichalcos. To make matters worse, the resistance's strongest ally, Protheus Maximus, had disappeared utterly while on an excursion to obtain research data on the Orichalcos Stones. In his place was a young girl who vaguely resembled him - an incompetent, confused sorceress, who was of no help to the resistance.

 

Ultimately, the cult's plan reached its final stage. On the last day, Atlantis rose from the great lake as Archetype Earth began to transform Faust into Earth's very own second moon - the action of which would inevitably corrupt all of human civilization into advanced followers of the Orichalcos, creating her very own 'perfect society'.

 

However. Hope was not lost. What little was left of the resistance set out to stop the cult. The three Legendary Warriors set out to defeat the Heralds. Others spread out, helping protect the populace from the lizard soldiers emerging from the sea. Natsu, the clone, had resolved to infiltrate Atlantis, intending on taking on Archetype Earth herself. And as for the strange sorceress, she found herself engaged in combat with the golem…

 

They succeeded.

 

And yet…

 

That comet, Faust, was still crashing down.

 

...

 

October 15, 2032

Detroit, Michigan

13:07 PM Local

 

When Itsu Fudo reawoke at last, she found herself lying amongst the ruins of an ancient city, with traces of wetnes. It cast a shadow upon the entirety of the city remains. Death and suffering could be sensed everywhere, and an all-too-familiar pressure was pushing her down, a corruption emanating from an unknown source, attempting to seep into her very mind. She didn’t have to look long for the source, for above, just beyond that ominous dark sky, was a gigantic comet of brilliant emerald, its shine and size such that she almost mistook it for the sun. This comet was dangerously close to the atmosphere...and plummeting. FAST.

 

"W...

 

What?!

 

WHAT?!"

 

To her side, she saw Protheus Maximus lying on the ground, causing her eyes to widen. Her contingency must have succeeded, but just what had happened in her absence? Her comrade was lying weakly on the ground - charred skin, holes blasted all over his body, and mangled limbs that were struggling to regenerate. He returned her concern with an amused, yet also pitiful expression.

 

"Awake at last, I see… Itsu. Sleep well?" Protheus muttered weakly, letting out a pompous chuckle. His eyes moved to the sky. To that defiant emerald blight against the world. "Your little loss against Arche caused me a workload of trouble, I must say. In any case, if you're awake now, she must be gone. Fused herself with the damn comet. And yet, despite everything, it's still crashing, huh..."

 

As much as she hated to admit it, he really wasn’t wrong. The gigantic hulking object above, which could only be Faust, was only growing larger by the second, itself being 470 miles in diameter and composed entirely of Orichalcos Stone. Its crashing seemed imminent. If she had to guess an estimate based on the average speed of comets, her knowledge on planetary friction, and Faust’s known mass, it would take roughly seven minutes.

 

“You know, I feel like I’m missing some serious context right now. Why is there a floating Atlantis? Why is Faust falling? What’s up with this whole armageddon scenario happening in my absence? What did you mean by ‘she’? Who fused herself? What’s the date? Where’s that cult psycho leader, Archetype Earth? Where’s my daughter? And what happened to you?!”

 

“Eh. Too many questions, too little time.” Protheus responded, pouring all his strength into his arms as he listed himself off the ground. Although slow, he certainly was recovering from whatever it was he’d just gone through. “I’ll go through them as quickly as I can... Turns out everything Arche was doing, including this floating Atlantis here, was part of her master plan to make Faust a moon.”

 

“OK, typical villain cliche then. Next.”

 

“Archetype Earth is now dead. The Legendary Warriors beat her to a pulp in a three-way duel.”

 

“Oh god. Good funking riddance.”

 

“Also, during your AKI Prime days, I made a clone of you. Natsu. Unexpectedly awoke when your soul was taken, went through some kickass character development, and tried to stop Faust - which, by the way, is the true form of the Great Leviathan - by fusing with it.”

 

“...uh. A clone? Seriously?” Itsu shook her head. “Well… I feel like I would’ve liked to meet her.”

 

“Anyway, Natsu’s sacrifice may have calmed the spirit inside, but as it happens, it doesn’t cancel out basic physics. Apparently, heavy object plus strong gravitational pull equals imminent doom, who knew?”

 

“Sounds like we don’t have much time… Where’s my daughter?”

 

At that, Protheus shook his head sadly. “I don’t know. She may still be in the Orichalcos headquarters on the ground, but we haven’t found her yet.”

 

She fixated a stern look on the sorcerer. “You guys didn’t rescue her?!”

 

“Couldn’t find her. The resistance was broken apart almost as soon as it began, so we were barely able to learn about Arche’s plans. I can definitely sense her life signs though. She is alive. I was out of the picture for most of the fight, so-”

 

“As much as I hate to say it, it’ll have to wait.” Shaking her head, Itsu regained her composure. At the moment, understanding the current situation and stopping the comet was her biggest priority. “You look like you were just in a fight. You okay?”

 

Protheus looked down at himself. His right arm, barely attached to his shoulder. The holes around his body, pieces of flesh slowly bridging those gaps, regenerating gradually to ensure that he could function at full capacity. “Not to worry, I’m quite fine. No thanks to you, dear.”

 

“Huh? What do you mean?”

 

“Well, your statue was infected with an Orichalcos Stone, so the cult gained a mythril golem on their side. Our forces clashed against it multiple times, caused some turmoil. Then, when I soundly beat you in a duel, you just haaad to ignore the Seal’s soul-stealing ability and enter PHYSICAL COMBAT. Why? You knew all of my weaknesses and turned them against me, while I was trying not to break that body of yours!”

 

“Oh! Uh, sorry.” Itsu laughed nervously a bit at that. “It sounds like my body caused a lot of trouble for everyone...didn’t think the Orichalcos in this world had such reach. Although seriously, taking you down really isn’t that hard. Anyone with a kitchen knife and third eye could do it!”

 

“Truly, you hurt my heart, woman.” Protheus chuckled, visibly smiling - not out of maliciousness, but out of a distinct warmth. How few times did he get to experience such an emotion?

 

In turn, she smiled back. “Right. I’ll disable the anti-regeneration features holding you back. In exchange, I’m gonna have to ask for your help one more time, okay?”

 

“Yeah, sure, whatever. Anyway, you’ve certainly done worse to me, don’t get me wrong, but that one fight! You were cutting through space and projecting images of other Detroits onto my eyes, just to distract me from your movements! That’s cheating. That battle was just annoying as f… Gah!”

 

All of a sudden, Protheus’s body convulsed. Alien thoughts racing through his mind. Creators speaking in another realm. Time Sense acting erratically, his surroundings morphing back and forth, losing control of his current spatiotemporal coordinates.. He clenched his hands tightly, as if in pain, before gritting his teeth and forcing the cause away, whatever it was.

 

“H- hey?” Taken off-guard, Itsu immediately ran over to his physical body and grabbed him, scanning him with her divine senses. The connection to his soul was stable, and his body, while blasted with attacks that disabled regeneration, was not in any real danger. At least externally, nothing seemed to be wrong with him. So what could possibly be the matter?

 

“Protheus. Boi, get up. What’s going on?” Itsu said quickly, alternating her eyesight between the dark sorcerer, held in her arms, and the ever-approaching doom of the world. Unable to figure out the issue, surely he would be able to tell her himself.

 

“Oh, this? This is nothing.” He waved off with a smug grin, despite his clearly-affected form. For no explicable reason, his timestream was acting out of sync and his mana supply was draining away. “Happened a few days ago too. Just Time Sense messing my soul up due to some weird circumstances, nothing to worry about… But then again, it did knock me out of commission for a few days.”

 

“Are you kidding me? We have a comet to stop, and this happens now?” In exasperation, the goddess glared up at the oncoming Faust - now so massive as to cover up an entire portion of the visible sky. She absolutely had to stop it. But in her vastly weakened state and with so little time to prepare, she was 87% certain that she couldn’t stop it with her own power. “Get up, Protheus, let’s do this.”

 

But instead, he continued to lie down. “Heh. My apologies, Itsu. If you’re that worried, why not do what you did on Maxima and have your future self come back to this exact moment in time? With allll foreknowledge of events and plenty of time to have thought of some clever plan to solve everything~”

 

“That’s cute, really, but we don’t have any time for this right now. My future self can’t come if WE. DIE. NOW!”

 

“I guess you need my help? It’s effort to stand though.” But even if that were the case, Protheus all too clearly didn’t have control over the process.

 

Annoyed, Itsu raised her mythril hand and slapped him, without holding back. A vicious slap that caused his skull to crack all over, his nose bent and his facial features ruined. He looked up at her with open eyes.

 

“OW! Why?!” He spat out, using his hands to crack his jaw back into place as it did so. The regeneration process was now functioning normally, so his head returned to normal in seconds. The rest of the damage was patching up rapidly, holes and burns and all reversing as though they had never occurred to begin with.

 

“Honey, you’re being a b*** again.” Satisfied, she stood up. “Get up, I can’t do this alone.”

 

“Very well, very well… Just give me a second, yes?”

 

Summoning his strength, he started to push himself off the gro-

 

P E N E R.

 

A word suddenly came to Itsu’s mind. It was a word she had not heard before, and meant nothing to her either. A specific arrange of letters that had not been spoken in over nine thousand years. And yet, it seemed to have been projected from Protheus - she could feel a deep sense of nostalgia resonating from his body, even as his convulsions returned. What could it possibly mean?

 

“Protheus. Hey. Hey, stay with me!” Unable to heal or help in any proper way, all Itsu could do was watch and hope it resolved itself quickly. Disregarding his physical form, it was his soul that she had to particularly focus upon. Even though the link to it was waving back and forth in a strange manner, the soul it was connected to surely couldn’t be in any real danger, right? His soul’s frozen in time, so any damage inflicted to it will inevitably snap back to normal… He has to be okay! Just like that, the once-great dark sorcerer was back on the ground, his body phasing in and out of existence at random; Itsu soon figured out that it was skipping ahead of time every few seconds. A surge of power began to emanate from his body.

 

“Leave me…” Protheus murmured, his tone suddenly urgent, having realized that his Time Sense wasn’t about to stop. “Get AWAY!”

 

From his body radiated a swirling sphere of dark wisps - manifestations of unstable time to ensure that the correct timeline was not polluted. Anything that came into contact with them may be rolled up to a thousand years back in time, and how many people would want to discover what the source of the energies making up their forms looked like many millennia years ago? This time-warping doomsphere began to expand until its diameter forced Itsu herself to step back. For all her understanding of him, she was struggling to understand just what was occurring!

 

Within the reach of the wisps, time was going in the reverse, rolling over ten thousand years backwards. The floor only lasted a few seconds before it was replaced by earth, the surface constantly changing from dirt to grass and back again, before finally settling with long, ancient grass. A fresh of fresh, pure and untampered oxygen flowed outwards, a great contrast against the abundance of carbon monoxide across the ancient ruins, which were no longer even ‘ancient ruins’. The nearby buildings had rolled back as well, now fully restored to their former Atlantean glory. Essentially, their entire surroundings within a twenty-meter radius had replicated a time period long before the fall of Atlantis.

 

In the meantime, Protheus’s own physical essence floated up in this swirling sphere of darkness. His body had undergone a dramatic change that, unlike the elements of Earth's nature, was completely chaotic. He transitioned from his current clothing to a Dark Signer uniform to a business suit to a dark robe to armor to a suit again to samurai clothes to his current clothing again to a loincloth to a suit again to nudity to a suit again to spiked armor to his current clothing again...and these were only the appearances that were vaguely recognizable, for the changes on him simply kept transitioning and transitioning as thousands upon thousands of years were condensed, reversed within mere minutes. The scar on his face abruptly disappeared partway through. And another thing, one that was quite noticeable about him was his skin color, which slowly but surely began to change color from his current paleness to a much more prominent tan. Blood appeared to be returning back coursing through his body, his hair slightly longer, his body much slimmer… Yet, as he continued to transform, the dark wisps thickened and blocked Itsu’s vision, completely enshrouding his body from the outside world.

 

When it seemed like it might never end, the swirling doomsphere of time-distortions ultimately dissipated away with a whimper. Where Protheus Maximus once was, another human being fell. A young girl, in rags. Her eyes suddenly opened.

 

“AHHH?!” She let out a loud shriek as she plummeted from twenty feet above ground, and slammed violently into the newgrown field of grass.

 

“Protheus? Is that you?! Are you okay, what the heck just happened here?!” Despite not knowing what had just transpired, Itsu went to the woman’s aid immediately.

 

The girl didn’t respond straightaway, groaning as she rubbed her legs, shaking her head at the exasperation of falling. Finally, she turned her attention to the sun goddess and, with a confused head tilt, said, “Porte… who?”

 

“You don’t know...who that is, do you?”

 

For a while, Itsu stared at her. At first she believed that Protheus had switched places with a girl from ten thousand years ago, but on closer inspection, that may not be the case. She decided to to focus. Analyzing her. Trying to figure out who she was, why she had appeared, and where Protheus may have gone. Eyeing the silver lines of her hair, the greyness of her eyes, and most tellingly, the dark skin and slenderness that was typical of Ancient Egyptians. Why did she seem so familiar...where had Itsu seen such a face before?

 

“Uh. Yeah. Right, look lady… No idea how I got here after fighting this weird golem, but Imma be on my way…” Embarrassed at the thorough inspection this kimono-dressed redhead was paying her, the girl scrambled to her feet with a “Nyeh,” stumbling somewhat.

 

“By the way, I’m Pener. Nice to meet y-”

 

Before she could finish, the strange Egyptian girl noticed the sky. More specifically, the gigantic plummeting comet. At this point, it was encompassing a quarter of the entire visible sky, and was less than three minutes from certain impact. Her mind processed it rather quickly, and her confused yet calm attitude transitioned into horror. “HOLY RA! Is that a METEOR?! We’re all going to die, aren’t we?!”

 

“Uh, no, Pener. It’s a comet. Get it right.” Itsu responded, but admittedly, she wasn’t sure herself. Even if her thoughts were correct, what could she do with it? How could she fix things? And she couldn’t help but wonder… if her hypothesis was correct, how?

 

Just how did that girl grow up to become Protheus Maximus?

 

“The One Master put me in a really weird situation this time… can my immortality survive that?! That’s ridiculous!” The girl muttered under her breath.

 

It had to be him. It just had to be.

 

While thinking, Pener had turned her attention back to her, possibly pondering something of her own. Hesitated to speak, but eventually found the words. “You...kinda look like Isha.”

 

“Who?”

 

“Ah, it’s nothing. Just um…” The girl averted her gaze. “A friend of mine I once had...she was nice to me.” As if remembering something important, she added in, “We were both slaves, so that’s probably why. But still.”

 

“...I see.”

 

Pener looked back up at the comet. She gulped, with obvious fear in her eyes, but clenched her fists as she invoked a certain sense of determination. “I- I think I can help? I don’t know. I’ve never… It’s so massive, but if I try really hard, maybe one of my spells can…!”

 

“Cute. Thank you for offering, Pener. That’s really kind, and super brave too.” The redhead patted the young girl’s head, rustling her silver hair. It still shone that much, even back then, huh? “But you know? I somehow get the feeling it’ll take you a few millennia of training before you can even consider it.”

 

Pener visibly wiggled her nose, annoyed at her head being touched without permission. “Ehhhh, how mean?! What the hell, Isha- sorry, Itsu. Anyway, I’m the Herald of Darkness now, I’ll have you know! I can command the shadows, and in fact, I’ve read a few old spellbooks too, you know! I may not have the experience, but I’m sure I can… I...” The air was beginning to rumble at the sheer intensity of the comet’s approach, the sky turning from an emerald green to an ominous red. “...I can…”

 

Itsu continued to stare at her with much befuzzlement, far too many questions running through her mind. The random transformation of Protheus into this innocent girl, who expressed about as much emotion as any normal human should, and who may very well be the man himself. The mention of slaves and the One Master just about sold it. This had to be him. In a way, her personal curiosity more than anything just wanted to question this girl, to find out her past and her secrets and perhaps even find any similarities with the old man. She could leave her like this. It was certainly tempting. In some manner, it may even be a blessing, to restart life and possibly be guided onto a different path.

 

But… The one she needed was Protheus Maximus. Not Pener.

 

Without warning, Itsu grabbed onto the collar of her worndown rags.

 

“PROTHEUS MAXIMUS!” The mythril goddess screamed, right in the face of his potentially much younger self, with such suddenness, such force, such unwarranted fury that she’d very nearly wet herself. Pener stuttered uncontrollably with a “W- w- w- wha-”, shaking and unable to break free from the goddess’s grip. “I know you’re in there, so LISTEN! You responded to my call to save me, didn’t you?! Well, let me tell you, you’ve done a fantastic job at that! ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! Right now, there’s a MASSIVE FREAKING ORICHALCOS COMET up in the sky about to crash-land and destroy my resources, my home, and my family, and here you are, hiding by some little girl! What’s the matter? Oh wait! Could it be, are your yandere tendencies finally surfacing?! I know you don’t get along with my virtual wife, but come on, there’s better targets for you out there! At the very least, show your face so I put you in a Yuno Gasai uniform! Or, if that’s not the case, are you just too lazy to exert effort again? Well, guess what, you stubborn man-mistress? If you think you can sit back like a lazy ass and let others do all the work, then too bad! We’ve been through quite a bit together, you and I, so I know you’re more than capable of this! And, exactly because I know this, I’m afraid I am NOT ABOUT TO GIVE YOU A BREAK!”

 

It didn’t seem like it was having an effect at first, merely torturing the young girl with nonsensical words that meant not a single thing to her, bringing her to tears halfway through. However, second by second, word by word, as though a spell were being cast, time-distortion wisps were beginning to materialize around them. Encircling them. Restoring her. Her shaking and panicking came to a stop, and she relaxed at last, as though her consciousness was overcome by a greater power.

 

“So WAKE UP, GET UP, GET OUT THERE!”

 

Finally, the time distortions came to an ultimatum, and a wave of darkness exploded from the girl’s body, consuming her, sending her forward in time to be met with a new him.

 

~ Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There ~

 

“Jeez… Has anyone ever told you how annoyingly loud you are, woman?”

 

Now, the one being held in those mythril hands was a dark sorcerer with an egotistical complex and a cringey sense of humour.

 

“No one does it more than you.” She replied with a shrug, and proceeded to wrap her arms around him, pulling him close - into a ridiculously powerful bear hug. “Forgot to mention. Thanks for coming. Missed you.”

 

“Eh.” Protheus frowned, attempting to display his lack of consent at this glomping with as much of his body language as possible. To no avail. Left with no other choice, he gave up and let her hug him. “Seeing ya was just an excuse to study the Orichalcos up-front. I wouldn’t suggest getting the wrong idea out of it.”

 

“Of course, of course~ ...now then.”

 

With that, Itsu parted from him, and they both turned their attention back to the sky. One and a half minutes until Faust reached impact. It sounded like the others had been through quite a lot, and that Natsu lady - whatever she’d been like - had even sacrificed herself to become one with the Great Leviathan, potentially turning the Orichalcos into a force for good. Would destroying it be the correct idea?

 

To begin with, the comet was simply too close to the surface… It was hundreds of miles in diameter, and even if they were capable of firing a powerful enough laser at it, it would just cause the object to break apart, scattering meteor-sized debris throughout the whole planet. Time travel was already a no-no - Protheus’s suggestion couldn’t be a thing at all considering how, for some reason, this entire event had been timelocked. Perhaps by Archetype Earth, or perhaps by planet Earth itself, which had wished for Faust’s arrival. Overall, there seemed to be very few options remaining.

 

Protheus and Itsu exchanged looks, their thoughts in unison.

 

Obviously, there was only one solution to this troublesome dilemma.

 

“Do you have it?” The immortal of fire asked lightly, raising her eyebrow with a childish grin.

 

“I know, I know.. Hmph!” The immortal of dark responded, flicking his fingers. A cylindrical machine promptly appeared, levitating between them. “I can’t believe this ridiculousness has to happen again. Of all the things we could use it for, it has to be against a falling silly space object? This isn’t dramatic at all! What a waste! Urgh, my body feels violated already…”

 

She punched his shoulder, nagging him to continue. “Get over it, ol’ chum. I gave you full control over it, so like it or not, you have to take responsibility. There’s no time more perfect than this. Let’s do this, okay? Use the Astralizer.”

 

He let out an exaggerated sigh, and looked at his friend directly in the eye. “...are you sure?”

 

“Are you afraid?” She returned his look.

 

“No.”

 

“Then are you ashamed?”

 

He thought about it. “Perhaps. Perhaps a little. This isn’t the first time, but still, to expose so much of myself to you… There are sides of me I would rather not share with you. For all you’ve forgiven, you may change your mind on me if you saw them again-”

 

“Hey, I relate. I had to do the same. But, I did it anyway… and I don’t regret it.” She nudged the floating machine, the so-called ‘Astralizer’, over towards him. “I wondered why Pener was so familiar, and then I remembered. I saw all of you. Your entire past. There’s no denying that you’re a bloody terrible person - but I wouldn’t say you’re a bad person. And it’s not like I’m innocent. I walk on the same path of redemption you do, you know? I understand the pain.”

 

“Pener?” He seemed confused, not recognizing the name, but dropped it. It wasn’t the time. “I saw all of you too. Just like me, you suffered greatly, didn’t you? The two of us were victims to evil forces, and for much of our lives, we were slaves to those forces. As much as we were slaves in our youth. We walked different paths in the end, but you really tried to help me onto yours, huh? And, here I am.”

 

A pause. “I won’t lie that there was a time when I despised you, when I wanted nothing more than your death, but you know what? Protheus Maximus, I believe that you are a good man. I realized that we weren’t so different, and that you were just like me, a victim trapped in a web of evil and strife. I would trust you with my life... in fact, I just have! And my offer still stands. You’re bound to never accept, but you know you can live with me in Hearth anytime, you know? Settle down. As two suns, slowing burning over the course of billions of years. Would that be so bad?”

 

He looked up at Faust. The supermassive emerald artifice had completely taken over the world by then, and everything was tremoring around them by its sheer gravitational pull. It was incoming, rapidly. Thirty seconds until it destroyed all of planet Earth, and that was optimistic. “Itsu Solace, you… are such… a strange one… There appears to be only one way I can thank you for such ridiculousness.”

 

On the right, Protheus poked the Astralizer. “Shall we dance, Itsu?”

 

On the left, Itsu punched the Astralizer. “Keep up if you can, Protheus!”

 

Upon contact with both, the machine emitted a Mass Sphere Field that fired outwards at the speed of light, augmenting spacetime and encompassing the whole planet in seconds - turning it into their playground. Protheus and itsu grabbed hands and danced in a bizarre yet graceful fashion, calmly waltzing across the abandoned, floating city of Atlantis as the comet blazed on. It was the strangest of sights for any observer of this memory, at it seemed for a moment, quite pointless.

 

And yet, such an attitude changed as soon as the duo morphed into energies of crimson and silver, continuing to dance higher and higher into the sky amidst the augmentation of Earth itself. Stopping as soon as they reached the point where the comet met the atmosphere, thousands of feet above ground, the two immortals locked eyes, before their energies at last blended together with a wordless agreement. Fusing, combining, forging a new life to be born from the ashes that such a collision between divinity and undead would surely leave. Yelling only two telling words.

 

“ZEXAL MORPH!”

 

And in a blaze of sunlight and shadows, a new entity emerged. The memory’s observer, MirageGaogamon, could barely see it amidst the sheer amount of light that it was emitting, but it was far more brilliant than anything he had ever seen before. Focusing as hard as he could, he could just see ‘it’.

 

An entity, to whom the comet was about as significant as a speckle in the multiverse. The pinnacle of everything that Itsu and Protheus had achieved, and the everlasting proof of their bond. Of their trust. Of their truth.

 

More than a goddess. A guardian.

 

Its name

 

 

 

 

P r o t s u.

[spoiler=...]

 

And finally, at long last, the recollection came to a close. That of the ‘Orichalcos Incident’, which began with tragedy yet ended in triumph. After the two concurrent sets of memories, complete with the emotional rush accompanying it, the librarian simply smiled as if nothing unusual had happened.

 

[is this information to your satisfaction, Divine Mother?]

 

DotMirageGaogamon was shaking. There was far too much to take in. This was more than just Itsu and Protheus. Sayer did seem to know more than the typical member of the Divine one, but he was just as much a part of this history as Itsu and Protheus. DotMirageGaogamon felt… out of place. More than simply existing in this two-dimensional landscape, he didn’t belong in this war. Not him, not Arthur, not even the Counter Corps, including Arturia herself.

 

”She should have been the one to finish this…” DotMirageGaogamon muttered. He hadn’t seen Sayer since the Desert Seth. Assuming any of them could even survive Protheus, there was still the Divine. There were scores that hadn’t been settled. Knowing Arthur and Eria, they were probably still intent on fighting Dorian and Butler. There were several personal grudges, and yet, this war was not about any of that. Sayer, Itsu, and Protheus… perhaps more than them. This wasn’t a “war”. It was a grudge match that dragged entire universes because Itsu and Protheus couldn’t decide if they hated each other or, Yggdrasil forbid, loved each other. Itsu was even proposing for the two of them to spend their endless lives together.

 

Seven hundred and twenty-three years. How had nothing happened in all the centuries since then that would convinced Itsu that he was a genuine threat? DotMirageGaogamon would have felt guilty over destroying Itsu’s sword. She could have been the one to stop this war long before it ever began.

 

There was only so much he could gleam, but out of everything he could have guessed, he hadn’t expected Protheus to once be a young girl. Pener. That was the true name of Protheus Maximus. Pener spoke about someone he called “The One Master”, and Itsu seemed to recognize the name. As if the One Master was an existence beyond even Protheus, or Pener, or whoever the leader of the Divine used to be. Would this “war” even end with Protheus? The Oricalchos was a threat that Itsu and Protheus had to work together to overcome. It made sense that Protheus wasn’t always as all-powerful as he was now. He had to get there somewhere.

 

The librarian had called Protheus a “Dark Signer”. Did that mean he was like Solasiro or Skorzeny? And yet… she called him “enhanced”. As if he had ascended to something more, an “Omni”. Dark Signers, the One Master, Pener… there was so much more about Protheus that DotMirageGaogamon could only barely begin to understand. Would knowing this much be enough to help the others?

 

”I’ve seen enough,” DotMirageGaogamon decided. ”Take me to the core of this dataspace.”

 

At the Digimon’s request, a question mark popped up above the librarian’s head. She maintained her gaze on him, for an extended, ominous period, as though thinking. Was she even capable of thought? For a data entity, how advanced could she possibly be?

 

[Divine Mother, it seems that you are confused. I am unsure how to answer that particular request.] The librarian spoke sweetly and patiently, processing his words in a manner that worked alongside her various prerogatives. She took a few steps backwards, turned to the golden statue of Itsu Fudo just beyond the two of them, and then turned backwards towards her client.

 

[After all, I am the core of this dataspace.]

 

Although her speech was exactly the same, below her, the textbox accompanying her speech had turned somewhat ominous. The bolding of text and change in font was necessary to emphasize that her mood had shifted, apparently.

 

[Have you forgotten me? Even me, Divine Mother? On my deathbed at the eve of Oblivion, you saved my life. You converted what was left of me into data, and built your dataspace around me. It is I, Rei Tousen! If memories have escaped you, may I bring up the records of Rei Tousen as a reminder?!]

 

DotMirageGaogamon bared his claws at the librarian. ”One last question, then: Do I need you alive to get out of this place?”

 

In response, Rei’s smile dropped. She fixed a scary gaze upon him, returning the sight of his claws in kind. [...Incorrect. You may leave from your entrypoint at any time. My ‘death’ as the core would be counterintuitive to that. All that will accomplish is the destruction of the Holy Library and destabilization of Pure Edge.]

 

The surrounding bookcases split off and began to slide out of the way in either direction, as though in anticipation of a potential fight. Behind, the interior walls of the Shrine of Solace were revealed; pixelated art depicting many of Itsu’s past exploits. Some depicted her surrounded by allies, some depicted her facing monsters in a card game, and more than a few depicted her with a figure resembling Protheus; it was hard to tell whether they were fighting or hugging in them. Others that stood out were a motorcycle stricken by lightning, a shining sun with her at the center, and most apparently, someone who resembled Emiya approaching that very sun. It was a hell of an arena.

 

[Judging by your lack of knowledge and display of hostile intent, perhaps you are not the Divine Mother after all. Your penchant for constantly changing avatars has often eluded me, but do forgive me if I have made a mistake… For I find myself in a position, where I must step of line. If it is not you, my beloved goddess, then you are an unwelcome invader.]

 

On her arm, an object manifested. It appeared to be a sharp, metal arm-blade at first, but then it may very well be one of the “Duel Disks” depicted too. Either way, its purpose would not be apparent until he actually engaged her in combat. [begone from our sacred ground now, this instant!]

 

 

~ Don’t Stop Me Now ~

 

 

”Gale Claw!” There had to be a way out. He was still connected to Arthur through the Digivice, but he had no way to signal if he was ready. If this “Rei” was telling the truth, then there was a chance that destroying the library could take him with it. Even so, DotMirageGaogamon charged at Rei with the force of a hurricane, his claws tearing through her.

 

Her body was struck and pushed back, yet she tore her cloak away before any further damage could be inflicted- revealing a black and pink bodysuit underneath. As he charged towards her, creatures expanded outwards from her blade; summoning forth three one-eyed creatures, each flying around their target, firing magenta-coloured lasers at him.

 

DotMirageGaogamon dodged, dipped, and jumped to avoid each of the lasers. He tried to spin his body, yet the physics of the dimension still restrained his body, as if every action he made was met with a second source of gravity. ”Double Crescent Mirage!” He sent several blades of wind through each of the creatures. It was bad enough that he took as long as he did to learn from the librarian, but Rei was the only obstacle standing in the way of overcoming Pure Edge. How much more did Protheus did have in his arsenal? Would it be enough to destroy this sword?

 

The creatures were downed in an instant from the blades, yet in the instant DotMirageGaogamon had attacked, Rei lashed out with great speed equal to his own. Swinging the Duel Disk on her arm, she fearlessly attempted to slice him in two, his chest from his waist. With the only directions available to be either forward or backward, DotMirageGaogamon chose to slide back. He slashed at the librarian with his claws, but the Duel Disk clashed against them, both Rei and DotMirageGaogamon caught where they each stood. It appeared that she was all too familiar with the workings of the two-dimensional universe, but despite her strength and speed, she lacked in experience with regards to actual physical combat. [Whoever you are, you, dare threaten the holy land, the greatest of libraries? All the gloriousness of our Divine Mother at your fingertips, and instead you choose to destroy it?!]

 

”Itsu…” DotMirageGaogamon snarled her name. ”She is nothing but a disappointment to what the Counter Corps should be, just like Arturia!” DotMirageGaogamon forced his claws against the librarian’s Duel Disk, hopefully keeping her in place. Energy gather in front of his chest, the “mouth” on his chest opening wider. ”You don’t realize what your so-called ’Divine Mother’ did by allowing that monster to live! Even if she loved him once, would she still love him, even now? You don’t know the answer to that, do you? People like Arturia or Itsu should have been leading the Counter Corps to victory! If there was ever any chance that Itsu could have helped us, it’s long gone. The only way to stop Protheus once and for all is to kill you, too. I’d say I’m sorry, but… I don’t think Itsu, let alone one of her tools, deserves that much.” DotMirageGaogamon pushed Rei back, as a beam of white light began to illuminate the two-dimensional library. ”Full Moon Blaster!” The light continued ever forward, consuming everything in the two-dimensional plane before DotMirageGaogamon, with Rei at the center of the blast.

 

[Protheus…] She uttered that word, as though surprised to hear it. Indeed, everything within the two-dimensional plane was being consumed, and Rei the librarian watched as the oncoming destruction made its way towards her position. A wave of light that lacked any divinity, any brilliance, and was simply the unremarkable ability of some crude creature with no tangible connection to her. Conventionally, there was no possible way she could survive such an attack. However, she wasn’t about to accept her fate just yet. [Regardless, you shall not leave here alive, you who defies our DIVINE MOTHER!] She took out a card, placed it onto her Duel Disk and activated it just in time, as the blast entered within range of her body. Then, her body - the core of Pure Edge, and of the library - was obliterated. Everything that was Rei Tousen was gone, and her opponent would never know the story behind her.

 

One thing he was about to learn though, was something far, far more pressing. In the next few seconds, space distorted, stretching out as though a limiter had been removed, returning back to three-dimensional space. Or at least a condensed simulation of it, contained within the data stored in Pure Edge. The surrounding shrine, with all its murals of Itsu’s various acts had now become a full building, DotMirageGaogamon himself returning to his original form. It seemed that the job had been done…

 

...until he heard the tremors of the realm as it began to collapse. As well as that of a ferocious draconic roar, from directly above.

 

Then, a monster descended from the skies, blasting through the ceiling of the shrine and flying, just a short distance before MirageGaogamon. The ground and shrine were beginning to shake, and outside, a high-pitched screeching could be heard - the world outside was acting erratically, the new, spreading three-dimensional nature of it causing it to collapse in on itself. Yet that monster was not concerned with such a thing as it placed its attention on the Digimon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“YOU HOPE TO ESCAPE… BUT YOU WILL DIE HERE, LONG BEFORE THAT HAPPENS.

 

I AM THE HEART OF THE ONE THEY CALL ‘THE DIVINE MOTHER’.

 

SOLACE DRAGON.

 

MAY YOUR END BE KIND.”

 

 

Around them, the realm seemed as though it would not have long until total collapse, and in a hole in the shrine one could see piles of data running across the sky, safeguards preventing the collapse from expanding in a threatening manner. Pure Edge was certainly doomed. However, it seemed that this creature was its manifestation, and she fully intended on taking the intruder down with it!

 

The flowery dragon was far more than a summon. Even though he had never seen such a creature before, he inherently knew that she had some sort of intimate connection to Itsu Fudo, and her overwhelming power was such that he had the strangest feeling it dwarfed Protheus’s own. Not that he would know the story of Itsu’s first meeting with Protheus, or of how she defeated him using this very monster---the dragon placed her sights directly onto her target, opened her mouth, and a single flower was fired outwards - a rose, a harmless rose. But in seconds, that rose transformed into a black, swirling vortex, banishing anything that would make contact with it into utter oblivion. Mercilessly, the vortex was joined by three more vortices as they all converged in on MirageGaogamon’s position.

 

MirageGaogamon turned away from the vortex, the engines in his armor revving as he tried to fly up. The familiar sight, the feeling of ascending, was welcome, even if his perception had been changed for such a rather brief time. Fighting Solace Dragon would clearly not be as easy as it was to fight Rei. This was not a battle to the death, but rather, a race for his own life. He reached out his hand, but the vortices pulled him back.

 

He was an idiot. None of them had planned an escape route. This was a one-way trip. If it could at least mean something, it would be to ensure that Protheus wouldn’t be able to hide behind Pure Edge. Although MirageGaogamon was afraid, he could hope that this sword was one of Protheus… no, Pener’s strongest tools. Even if he could only destroy Pure Edge, this much had to leave their enemy vulnerable.

 

 

“I SENSE RESOLVE, AND FEAR.” Solace Dragon reverberated. “YOU PLAN ON SACRIFICING YOURSELF. AN ADMIRABLE FEAT. YET YOU SHALL DIE HERE NONETHELESS, A RAIDER WHO PERISHED FOR NOTHING!” Using her huge wings, she swooped across the shrine and over MirageGaogamon, tracking his movements, ensuring that there would be nowhere for him to run as the vortexes closed in on his position. While she did so, black thorns abruptly extended outwards from her wings, one of them successfully ensnaring the Digimon’s legs with more directly impound.

 

And yet, there was still so much that MirageGaogamon had learned, so much that the others could not possibly know. He could not die here, not when there was still a chance to understand what they knew about Protheus. Every detail mattered. ”I won’t give up here. Not now, not ever. Especially not to relics that have wasted the time that most could only ever dream of!” MirageGaogamon’s whole body began to glow white, blue, and gold. He reached his hand out again, a single spark of light appeared before him.

 

“THIS POWER…” Even without understanding what it was, the massive dragon knew too well that it had to be something that would aid in his escape. Whatever it was, she wasn’t about to let it come to fruition! More thorns extending outwards from her wings, they had wrapped and stabbed into MirageGaogamon’s legs all over, pulling him directly towards her mouth. “IT IS HOPELESS! YOU SHALL, YOU MUST DIE HERE-”

 

MirageGaogamon refused to hear any more of the Solace Dragon’s taunts, and reached out for the light, clutching it. And then, the world opened up in front of his eyes.

 

~~~

 

 

How long had Arthur been waiting? Minutes? Seconds? Every fleeting moment, no matter how small, was enough to make him fear the worst for MirageGaogamon. Sora and Kairi had maintained their Drive, fighting literally as one and continuing to hold Protheus back, yet Arthur could only gaze at the sword. Waiting for any sign that MirageGaogamon would be safe. Even the slightest misstep could potentially ruin the entire plan. The arrow that had struck it succeeded, yet its disappearance had seemed to only confuse Protheus. At best, they’d be set back to square one. At worst… Protheus had been sure to warn them about the risk of destroying Pure Edge’s engine. There had to be some way to destroy that sword in a way that wouldn’t end up backfiring spectacularly.

 

Arthur looked at the sword with his Keyblade. He needed MirageGaogamon, now more than ever. ”MirageGaogamon… please tell me you’re still alive in there. You need to do what you have to, but I can’t ask you to sacrifice yourself for this. This might sound selfish, but… we can’t do this without you. You’re my best friend, and I refuse to believe that we can’t both survive this. You and I will make to the Door together. I’m going to make things right, but I can’t do that if you’re not here to keep me on the right path.”

 

A faint glow emanated from Arthur’s Keyblade, and a similar light appeared on Pure Edge as well. Had Sora or Kairi cast a spell? Why would they, when Protheus could just negate the spell with less than a flick of his finger? No, it had to be the sign he was hoping for. Without even knowing what was going on within the blade, Arthur couldn’t help but to smile. ”Come back, MirageGaogamon!”

 

Pure Edge started to shake in Protheus’s hands, emanating from its hilt and spreading outwards to affect its two-dimensional blade as a whole. He looked down at it, befuddled at first, then with a focused glare as he remembered the arrow from earlier. Quickly, he scanned the battlefield, looking at everyone. Not far from where they were, he witnessed as Wynn was taken down after Hitta’s own untimely death, being disposed of without even having held Slifer back for long; a sad display of what they’d been trained to do. They were commodities to him, yet their loss to Eria and the gods was still annoying.

 

But more pressingly, he’d forgotten about one of their members. As he came to confirm, that goddamned Digimon was completely missing! It had been a long shot, and they couldn’t have possibly known it would work, without knowledge of its properties or original purpose, but had they actually used the arrow to upload him to the interior system? His suspicions were confirmed when a spark hit his hand. This time not from a spell, but from an electrical circuit within the hilt engine itself, meaning that he was unable to suppress it. Another spark came, and then another, until a torrent of electricity blasted outwards, temporarily escaping from his grip - this wave proceeded to hit the snowy ground, bouncing off the air as the very Digimon that had been missing from the ranks slammed its heel right into Protheus’ face.

 

It was MirageGaogamon, alive and well. His white mane flowed behind him, as his entire body still resonated with static from Pure Edge, funneled directly into the flail at his side. Just as he was before he entered Pure Edge, MirageGaogamon had assumed the Burst Mode. With little more than a passing glance at Protheus, MirageGaogamon nodded over to Arthur. ”Hope you guys weren’t missing me.”

 

“You… You foolish brats, what did you possibly do?! Are you really that hellbent on stopping me that you’d doom us all?!” Protheus yelled out, grabbing hold of Pure Edge again. However, it wouldn’t stop shaking, and for all his magical proficiency and expertise, this weapon was borrowed. He simply did not understand what it was, apart from what his old comrade had disclosed to him. However, surely it had been built with enough care to detail that, even with some internal destruction, it could still function normally?

 

Locking his eyes onto the Digimon with fury, he wielded Pure Edge and zoomed directly towards MirageGaogamon. With vast speed equal to the Digimon’s own, Protheus’s feet buried themselves into the snow as he swung his two-dimensional blade at MirageGaogamon. However, as soon as it made contact with his neck - the unthinkable happened.

 

“Wha…?” It shattered into pieces, beginning from the top. Once it reached the hilt, the hilt exploded right in the dark sorcerer’s left hand, blowing off two of his fingers and his thumb. He simply stared down at it - in a mixture of shock and another, indiscernible emotion. Guilt, at using it so irresponsibly, or regret, at letting her precious artifact get destroyed?

 

Either way, somehow these kids had managed to find a way to RUIN PURE EDGE, and safely at that. The very idea of it made him fill with the utmost rage. How dare they? How dare they? HOW DARE THEY HOW DARE THEY HOW DARE THEY TOUCH, let alone DESTROY HER BELONGING? Within proximity of his enemy, he took a deep breath to calm himself. They must’ve just gotten lucky… He wasn’t about to provide them with any more chance of victory beyond this point. This event only gave him more motivation to want to watch them suffer, burn, and die.

 

“So you got rid of my blade…” In the absence of a weapon, his hands clenched tightly, furious. “How dare you filth? This is an act that CANNOT be forgiven. I will enjoy making ways to find each one of you suffer miserably for your defiance against the Herald of Darkness!”

 

Unwilling to let his assault go to waste, he fired an intense wave of blackness with his other hand, at point-blank range aimed for MirageGaogamon, only for the shadows to slam against a thin wall of ice. The ice shattered on contact, yet the ice itself was not the issue. As Protheus examined the group once more, he realized that they were not entirely alone. He jumped back, against the edge of the lake, wary of whatever this mismatched team of Counter Corps may try next.

 

“You all may have disabled my blade. Figured out its properties and used the convenient walking USB to invade it, taking it out from within. Clever, veeerrry clever. But even so, it was only a replacement for my original, stolen weapon. Certainly not something I intended on using for long. Perhaps I should thank you kids?” Protheus chuckled, a nasty, bitter chuckle that made no attempt to hide his disdain for this rather unforgivable act. Both of his hands fell to his sides. “You must be braindead idiots to still want to fight me, after everything you've seen... Do you not realize this isn't even a tenth of my full potential? How amusing. HOW AMUSING! I shall ́e͜njo͞y̢ kill̵in͠g ęach͡ ̷of y̛ou ̕as p̢a̸i̢nf͡ul͠ly ͜as ҉p͝o̕s̸s̕ib̡le̶.”

 

Eria, the Water Charmer, approached beside Arthur. Slifer, Ra, and the Leviathan all followed her, and yet, despite their towering size, it was the group of fighters below them that seemed so… unusual. Sora and Kairi held their Twin Master Form combination, their two Keyblades trained on the dark sorcerer. Arthur, who had seemed to be nothing more than another typical Keyblade wielder to Protheus, stood between Eria and MirageGaogamon. The only one missing among them was Gagagigo. And yet, that was not entirely reassuring. MirageGaogamon still stood, and in the Burst Mode no less. It would be far too easy to assume that Protheus could have been more lucky with Gagagigo.

 

”That sword you carried…” MirageGaogamon emphasized the past sense, letting the sorcerer stew even more over the loss of the sword. ”I suppose it was only ever going to get you so far. Let that be a warning to what I will do, what all of us will do to stop you. We will overcome anything you can throw at us. We can whittle you down one by one until you run out of tricks.”

 

Eria summoned a barrier of ice around most of them, allowing MirageGaogamon protection while Slifer and Ra began took to the skies. The Leviathan slithered around the edge of the barrier, waiting for Protheus to make the next move. Eria stepped closest to the front of the barrier. ”So many of us have lost our friends because of you and Isamy. People we loved and cherished. And we’ve made friends along the way as well. I will promise you this; I will never let you defile anyone else’s memory again.”

 

The gathered soldiers of the Counter Corps all stood together. Each and everyone one of them was afraid, yet there was one thing they all knew for certain: None of them were going to let the “Hero Killer” leave this place alive, and no amount of bluster was about to change that.

---

 

To Be Continued…

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"When this all over, I do sincerely we don't cross paths as enemies next time."

 

"I do hope so, although If I am allowed to tell the truth, I tend to end up murdering anyone I held any affection to, but I sincerely believe that could change now."
 

With a smile, the nameless girl watched the fireworks unfolded - a brilliant showcase of light and magic and extreme power, as Arturia's last blaze of determination was faced with the combined efforts of Divines and Counter Corps both. She watched with interest as Dorian and another worked to break the illusion affecting everyone else. Not long after, the light from Excalibur had then be consumed by a strange green goop. It was a bit of  disappointing for the King of Knight's last gambit to end in such a way, but the nameless girl was just glad nevertheless about it being ended in a such definitive manner.

 

And, without her even putting much thought into it, the nameless girl started to move forward. The spectacle of attacks had slowly dissipated as Excalibur disappeared inside of the green goop. The wall of light Reimu erected disappeared alongside the butterfly-like light on top of it. There was little trace of the combined attack of Dorian's friends left. The heroic spirit the blue-haired boy had dissipated too after fulfilling her job. And, in the midst of all this, the nameless girl continued to walk, with only one direction being on her mind.

 

"Arturia. Are you still there? Can you hear my words?"

 

Without slowing her steps, the nameless girl absorbed her sword into herself as she approached the former leader of the Counter Corps. She was as bare as she possibly could, and even with the person before her still in every way being completely hostile to everyone here, what she was doing would be completely suicidal.

 

Yet, she couldn't care less about it. For her, the battle was already over. Her smile never disappeared from her face as she continued on her way.  Even if she would die by doing this, she would not be killed. Not even Arturia had any way to do it, as of now. Arturia would continue to fight. Everyone else would not stop until she was killed. Doing this would invite the King of Knights to mutilate her. Yet even if the nameless girl would be reduced to torn apart ragdoll, nothing would stop her from letting out the words from her heart.

 

"It is over now, Lady Arturia. So, just this once...may I have a word with you? Just this once, may I have my heart reach out to yours?"

 

---

[The Warden]

The end was almost here, wasn’t it? Those who failed to be consumed by Tsukuyomi were winning out against Excalibur, the blade of holy light, in a clash of almighty energy. Amongst its opposers were X, Y, and Z. This culminated in the appearance of a strange, green essence, consuming at the very radiance of her weapon. The power of Ravnica itself, manifest on a level that could even overcome a Counter Guardian’s attack. A world against a guardian of worlds.

 

"Arturia. Are you still there? Can you hear my words?" The sword girl spoke out, stepping forth as the light of destruction dwindled into nothingness. For some strange reason, she was wide open, with a smile on her face. "It is over now, Lady Arturia. So, just this once...may I have a word with you? Just this once, may I have my heart reach out to yours?"

 

Yet there was certainly a point to the girl’s words. At this rate, it was going to end. Her mana supply had been entirely depleted, and Excalibur was practically running on fumes at this point. If she pushed it any further, the Madara’s consciousness would be eradicated entirely, preventing it from shapeshifting any further. Such an event would surely spell out her death.

 

“...” Arturia only glared at her. The slightest consideration that she ought to respond, to give this girl a chance, was drowned out by the frustration of loss and the desire to attain victory no matter what. She felt the slightest hint of nostalgia, of her former knights who’d displayed similar concerns...and whom she’d simply given a cold shoulder. “What a stubborn little girl… I see not why you care. And I suppose it does it matter.”

 

Even if she were to lose here, Arturia Pendragon was not known as the goddess of war for nothing. With renewed determination, she slammed her boot onto the fallen Avalon, and proceeded to link Excalibur’s presence to the paradise contained within. If she had to sacrifice her own ultimate defense in order to fuel her ultimate offense, then she would gladly do just that! Tapping into the immense magical energies that composed the golden sheath, the blade broke them down bit by bit into usable mana. The tiny holy light flared straight back up into a blast that blew everyone back, and forced its way onwards.

 

“I have nothing to say to the dead!”

 

Making the decision to turn a blind eye to one concerned with her. Putting everything she had into her strike, Arturia could almost feel herself winning out despite her mana having almost burned away. But, something seemed strange. All of her mana, all of the Madara’s life force, and all of the Avalon’s essence was in the attack, and yet… it didn’t feel like all of it was actually there.

 

Tracing her attack, Arturia found the answer immediately: The holy light was being siphoned away gradually. Following the path, the Counter Guardian found it heading towards the same nuisance. A sphere of light hovered above Lydia’s hand as she walked around the Tsukuyomi barrier, her helmeted head focused on the knight. “You DARE oppose me, little mage?” Moving her legs to brace herself, Arturia put every ounce of her weight and strength into destroying Darcy and the Key of Origin. But their insipid barriers and defences were pushing her back, Excalibur losing its luster with every second. 

 

“My victory cannot be stopped! I WILL DESTROY THAT DAMN KEY-”

 

And then Excalibur shattered at last, having been forced beyond its limits, leaving the ex-king unarmed, exhausted, and surrounded. 

 

“What…?!” Realizing the danger she was in, Arturia kicked up Avalon from the ground and, in a last-ditch effort to retreat, attempted to activate it. Only...for it to remain silent. As if refusing to acknowledge a king that would threaten heaven itself for what she believed was ‘best’. The metallic sheath, useless to her, fell to the ground. There was nothing left.

 

“It sucks, doesn’t it?”

 

Turning her head, Arturia locked eyes with Lydia, and the sphere that was once Excalibur’s light. “I said it sucks, doesn’t it?” Lydia repeated in a bitter tone. “It sucks having your nice things taken away, doesn’t it?”

 

Pressing her foot onto the ground, an intense wall of wind whipped itself up, forcing everyone at least twenty feet away from Arturia; enough distance for them to not try anything funny without getting a stone column to their nuts or tits. “It really doesn’t seem fair having something of yours taken away, does it?” the sorceress pontificated as she literally flicked the ball of light upwards.

 

Arturia watched its ascent, her last resort literally flying upwards and exploding brightly. “We’ve all lost something, Arturia. Every one of us here has lost something. Is it so wrong to want to get what you’ve lost back? I guess it is, since it’s apparently selfish to want to bring your only home back from oblivion. I guess that makes you right about us Counter Corps as well then. We are as bad as the Divine; which makes sense, since each side’s leader is just as bad as the other, you jabroni!”

 

That obscenity hung in the air loud and clear. Composing herself, Lydia put a cautious hand to Impure Future’s grip. “But, I guess I shouldn’t be praising Protheus too much. I think he’d be flattered to believe that he’s as awful as you are. It’s funny really. I looked up to you as a figure of power and righteousness. Someone who does something for the good of reality. Aren’t I just that funking stupid? Can I ask you something Arturia? Well, it’s a few things, but feel free to only answer one question. I just want to know why you said you saw potential in me as a Counter Guardian. Did you actually believe that I could be a figure that could uphold the stability of the multiverse? Were you just humouring me? Or…” Lydia paused as she gripped at her helmet.

 

The faceplate unfastening, the sorceress removed her helmet, revealing the tears running down her face. “Or did you just think that I had the potential to be as big a monster as you? You called us out on being selfish, but what about you? Your kind dragged us into this fight in the hopes of saving our damaged worlds. You and that sword guy used us as cannon-fodder against the Divine, when EITHER of you could have easily accomplished what we struggled to do. The battle with LERNA. The battle with that big centaur guy and the robot lady. Protheus himself even as well. And then, to drive a stake further into our hearts, you tell us on the eve of the fight that our worlds were gone. Completely snuffed out. You goaded us to fight harder than ever before, because we knew that if we failed, we would never see our homes again. We would never see our friends and family again! WE’D LOSE EVERYTHING IF WE FAILED! And then, you did the cruelest thing possible: You went out of your way to crush our hope utterly. You pulled the carpet out right from under us. You never intended to repair the damage done to the universe. You LIED to us Arturia. You manipulated our emotions and forced us to fight your battle. And when it was all said and done, you toss us away like trash? Everything we went through, was that all meaningless?! Our collective sheet was kicked out of us in these few days, and we had to face things we didn’t like. We were forced to grow, change, and adapt to everything in order to survive. We HAD TO survive, so we could see the people we love and cherish above all else. How? How can you call us selfish when you don’t even care about how we feel? How can you even pretend to stand above us when you are the most self-centered person here? You’re even more self-centered than those idiots over there!” Lydia screamed, pointing a finger at Dorian and co sans Dorian.

 

The King of Britain only looked onwards at the young sorceress, amidst a daze. She was breathing harshly from the sheer strain that multiple uses of Excalibur had placed on her. Her hands twitched, confused at how there was no sword within them. As a matter of fact, when was the last time her hands did not wield some sort of weapon? Left vulnerable and powerless, she simply had no choice but to listen to Lydia’s emotional outburst. Her expression cold, and silent… For there was nothing to say.

 

Lydia stared back into that cold glare, and she shook her head in dismay, wiping away her tears. “It’s almost pathetic. It’s pathetic that you feel like you can justify turning on us by saying we betrayed you. Well, I don’t know how betrayal works in ye olde England, but in reality, you can’t be betrayed by people you NEVER trusted to begin with. Because that’s all we were to you; a bunch of pawns to be moved and sacrificed as needed. Just pawns, not equals. And now that the king’s in sight, nothing matters beyond taking it, right? Well, what now Arturia? What happens now that you’ve made stupid sacrifice after stupid sacrifice, and now your king is exposed and there are no more pieces left to sacrifice. You… are alone Arturia. You have no allies left to lie to and manipulate. You have no energy left to fight with. Arturia... you are going to die here.”

 

A swish sound filtered through the air, followed shortly by Impure Future being drawn, its tip inches from Arturia’s face. “Guess I’m not some little mage anymore huh?”

[Love of Ghibli]

Team Dorian: Hallway of Origin

 

It seems the group efforts were coming together nicely they had made it past the Excalibur and it seemed as if they were about to finish the job. Or that is what the group had thought. It seemed as if the final clash between the opposite forces was to come down to a one-on-one between the one who took out Lerna and Arthuria. Dorian took this time to limp over to Butlerok and Rhadamanthys.

What's happening now? Dorian asked slightly confused.

It appears this sorceress is having a final duel with Arthuria. Butlerok responded.

And we're just letting this happen? Dorian asked even more confused. 

Yes, it is a very unorthodox occurrence, but it works out either way. Butlerok noted. Look at the blade. It is Protheus' sword. Dorian tilted his head. So somehow this maiden must have encountered Protheus and taken it. So that means either he is dead or she stole it. Either way it is no small feat so she must have skill. If she kills Arthuria then so be it. If she doesn't and ends up dead, Arthuria will be too weak to put up more of a fight and I'll eat her, which would be great actually. 

Dorian rolled his eyes as the universe clearly wanted this to happen. 
 

[Merci]

~ Arturia Pendragon ~
Hallway of Origin

"Well, what now Arturia? What happens now that you’ve made stupid sacrifice after stupid sacrifice, and now your king is exposed and there are no more pieces left to sacrifice. You… are alone Arturia. You have no allies left to lie to and manipulate. You have no energy left to fight with. Arturia... you are going to die here." A swish sound filtered through the air, followed shortly by Impure Future being drawn, its tip inches from Arturia’s face. Arturia could only stare down at the ground, bearing with the pain as hard as she possibly could, having had no choice but to listen to the words of Lydia. The young sorceress stood triumphantly before her former leader, the blade too close to the fallen knight's body. A single movement may spell out her end.  “Guess I’m not some little mage anymore huh?”

A short, yet audible gasp escaped the king’s mouth as the blade threatened to cut her down, yet she maintained her robotic demeanor nonetheless. There was a certain look in her eyes, the slightest of struggles in keeping herself emotionless, but she somehow managed to do so. To look past Protheus’s stolen sword, and into the very eyes of the ‘little mage’ she tried to kill.

“...you’re correct, Lydia Armstrong. You have certainly grown since the Desert Seth.” Arturia spoke, after some hesitance. “If Emiya saw you now, I doubt that he would recognize you. You had potential for sure, but you exceeded even my expectations… Now, you are a mighty warrior. If nothing else, I am impressed of that.”

“I don’t WANT you to be impressed, I want you to answer for what you’ve done Arturia. Don’t think that just because you’re acting less threatening doesn’t mean that everyone here isn’t pissed off at you. Everyone heard what you said, even in the Pathways. That’s how I heard what you said before I fought Protheus…. So, I guess I should thank you on some level, since you gave me the resolve to fight him and win. And that’s only because after I killed him, or at least really really pissed him off, I was going to kill you next” Lydia hissed.

“Congratulations on your victory. If you succeeded in ending him, I admit I can’t be surprised, after what you’ve shown me. Hearing me from the Pathways shouldn’t be possible. I wonder whether another force was at work to undermine me... Well, it doesn’t matter.”

Arturia fixated a look on the girl before her. On her enemy. On her death. “Are you so selfish as to think killing me would accomplish anything?” And raised her arms, around the black Impure Future. “As someone who saved the multiverse with your ingenuity and bravery, you are a Counter Guardian candidate, one recognized by greater powers. Do you not see the danger like I do? Do you not see how people like them” a quick glance at Darcy “may threaten all of reality? The Maximi caused much destruction to your homes, but their actions are not the end of all things.The same cannot be said for the Key. Sometimes, defending the multiverse involves committing terrible acts, and sometimes, we have no choice but to accept that!”

Then, she grabbed hold of its blade with both hands, grasping with as much tightness and strength as she had left, until blood leaked down from her charred palms. Despite its ability, it was useless if it couldn’t actually move. She gritted her teeth from the pain, eyes turning bloodshot, sweat all over her body. “Stand down, Lydia Armstrong. Otherwise, I will gladly go down fighting for what I believe in!”

Lydia sighed loudly and closed her eyes, her grip tightening on the blade. Reopening them, her pupils changed to a beautiful gold, and pressure suddenly built on Arturia’s fingers. “So be it” Avalon answered. In a small spray of blood the Counter Guardian’s fingers flew off, and Impure Future swung where they once stood. Another, much louder gasp escaped from the knight’s mouth, a feminine, suppressed shriek that expressed both pain and fear.

Blood rocketed off Impure Future, and then the blade was tapped against the Sorceress/Dragon hybrid’s leg. “However, I will demand that a lesser dragon like yourself DO NOT tell me or the sorceress what to do” Avalon spat at the semi-disarmed Arturia.

Closing their eyes, control shifted back to Lydia. “And you’re stupid if you think I don’t already have a plan in mind Arturia. You think I was just going to come and kill you and then think up from there? NO! Don’t be ridiculous. I already know what I’m going to do next” she explained in disbelief. “And compromise, really Arturia? If you sincerely believed in compromise you would have told us that we’d be going into a suicide mission to begin with. If you tried to get people to see your point of view from the start instead of forcing it on them, maybe you’d have some support instead of now being only able to count up to five on both hands.”

Arturia let out a deep, shaky breath before the girl. 

"Admittedly... I have never heard a more terrible speech, Lydia Armstrong. Whatever plan you have, it can't possibly negate the dangers of the Door. As someone who got this far with both faction leaders, it surprises me that you fail to see the efficiency of my plan." Neither happy nor sad, Arturia bit her tongue to keep her focused. Enduring the sheer amount of pain, familiar though it was. It was far from the first time she’d experienced such an injury, yet this was the first that she was unable to actually regenerate from it.  "To begin with, the reminders that I shall die here are redundant... That much I knew already."

Even in the face of death, Arturia showed no fear. Rather, with her remaining hand, she defiantly clutched onto her chest, her gaze not on the sorceress but on the individuals beyond, the ones she was currently protecting.

"Destroying the Key would mean that I won't be able to leave, exactly like the rest. Given time, I would perish like any other mortal. Dying, for a greater cause, one that too few seem to understand. That is a fate I accepted long ago. That all Counter Guardians accepted long ago."

From her chest, a red aura began to radiate. However, there was no trace of the Madara's energy inside, the creature having been completely depleted. In other words, this power that was emanating, that was growing, that was threatening to EXPLODE could only be hers!

"However, we do fear failure. After all, losing even a single mission could mean the end of all reality. You see, the Throne is filled with simply far too many softhearted fools, who hold grandiose ideals and resolve conflicts too inefficiently... When it came to a threat as great as the Door, I promised them efficiency. Emiya promised to follow up on that plan. When he failed, I was the only natural choice to take over. After all, it was I whom convinced the Throne of Heroes to destroy the Key. I presented the logic that even if we fixed reality with the Key, there were others whom could easily follow in the footsteps of the Maximi and find a new Key. Victoria, Davros, Megiddo, even Delta herself... The possible threats are endless."

If it wasn't the Madara's power, what was it? What was this burning fire within her body, fuelling her with an insurmountable energy? Her copies and uses of Excalibur had placed an undeniable toll on her, draining her to the very last reservoir of mana for the purpose of defying her enemies, so where could this strength be coming from?

"Therefore, if you think this is enough to make me give up, then think again! I have never heard a more terrible speech. I may the worst of the worst, but I cannot be wrong. If I'm going to die anyway, I may as well die completing my mission!"

It quickly became obvious. This newfound energy wasn't mana. Her Magic Core had been depleted, so it naturally followed that the only possible thing it could run on was her own lifeforce. A generator had activated deep within her soul, feeding on it in order to produce power, to expand outwards, to grant her strength any way it could, and she let it run completely wild.

"Lydia, pay close attention. This is the will of a true Counter Guardian! A TRUE DRAGON!"

The Magic Core, ultimately unable to handle the sudden, unnatural influx of life, at last shattered. A fiery inferno erupted from Arturia, forcing Lydia to move backwards.

To a human from her world, such an event would result in a breakdown of their every magic circuit. It would ravage their body's very cells until they either turned into permanent cripples or outright exhausted themselves to death. However, Arturia was a Pendragon, literally possessing the blood of the dragon, just as the wise mage Merlin had designed her. This Dragon Factor was what elevated her above normal beings, centering around a Magic Core within her chest that behaved akin to a mystical organ, one that granted her the invulnerability, strength, as well as particularly the ridiculous mana of a dragon. In the process stabilizing her human body. Therefore, were it to unravel...
 

~ We've Got To Believe in Something ~

 

Once Arturia was consumed in flames, they expanded onwards and onwards, until finally releasing... to reveal the giant creature within.
 

 
At the end of the Hallway was a giant red dragon covered in royal red scales, striking unopposed fear into the hearts of her subjects and letting out intensive flames of destruction every time she breathed, those wings stretching out towards both sides of the Hallway, to the plates that were melting simply by being in close proximity to it. What had materialized before the various groups of warriors, amidst a blazing inferno, was the physical reflection of Arturia's inner heart. Her true self, one could say. Or a shadow of it. From the fiery reptillian creature's sheer power alone, random streaks of flames filled the skies around her, turning the white scenery to a deep red. Simply getting close to her seemed to be enough to get burned. The only consolation to such overwhelming power was that her body was actively killing itself with each passing second. She was effectively a glass cannon now, an intense yet temporary firework that would disappear in minutes even if left alone. Of course, victory remained a challenge.

"COUNTER CORPS. DIVINE. CLEARLY, THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE. ALL OF YOU ARE IMBECILES ALIKE WHO SEEK TO OPEN THE DOOR. HENCEFORTH, I SHALL PUT A STOP TO SUCH SHORTSIGHTED FOOLISHNESS. BEHOLD, THE POWER OF A KING!" The Pendragon roared rigorously, her voice crackling with violent intensity. Quite akin to the restless rumbling of a volcano, in fact. "I WILL DESTROY THAT KEY!!!"

With glowing eyes, she fixated her sight on Darcy for a moment. And realized that the Key was no longer with her. Indeed, at the moment everyone had successfully counterattacked her Excalibur, Gemini's roulette spell had activated once more and transported the Key onto another individual. This time, without the Madara, there was little way to tell who had it. Damn that shapeshifter, a pest to the end!

The Pendragon took flight, soaring high into the air above the many combatants until she reached the Hallway's ceiling. She eyed them. From Lydia, Kratos, Ed, and the Umbral Witches of the Counter Corps, whom had ceased to respect her in any way. To Dorian, Rhadamanthys, and Darcy of the Divine, whom had their support despite their blatant villainy and selfish intentions. To that nameless girl, whom attempted to open a conversation with her, too late. All of them having put up especially valiant efforts against her and her copies, yet it was all in vain. At this point she opened her mouth, and torrents of lava erupted downwards.

 

The attack was raw and vicious, nowhere near as great as the brilliant lights of Excalibur, Caliburn, or Rhongomyniad, yet threatening due to the sheer quantity of lava pouring down. It was, quite simply, plenty of superheated molten rock falling down. As she put her life on the line, she generated as much lava as possible, aiming to burn everyone down alongside the Key. From a hundred meters above ground, intended to bathe and melt everyone in what was essentially a volcanic blast. An ultimate test of the warriors' resolve to win!

 

"..."

At the back of her mind, Arturia Pendragon found her thoughts drifting to the many words they'd told her. Still, she was the king. Therefore, this had to be right.

 

[spoiler=~ Status of Arturia Pendragon ~]

Arturia Three (True) - > The Pendragon
Total Health: 152 -> 130 -> 50 (-1 HP every second)
Total Mana: 0
Weapon: N/A
 
>>transformed into large red dragon, currently running on own lifeforce
>>flew to top of Hallway
>>spewing lava onto all combatants

 

[Reinforce]

Chandra

 

"That is no noble, kingly power you wield now, but the desperate act of something artificial, seeking to carry it's programmers last orders at the detriment of even it's own life. Here and now, if a king you still claim to be, all I can see is a puppet king at best, beheld to something else and dancing on it's strings."

 

Yelling up at the dragon spewing lava down on them all, Chandra drew upon what power she could muster, and wove her spells through the falling lava even as she spoke. Twisting it's form and removing large portions of it from the falling spray, four Magma Phoenix arose out of the molten rock and charged the dragon, alongside the four Chandra's Phoenix that were around her. Those were followed by four Magma Jets and a trio of Volcanic Geysers, likewise formed out of the lava above. In the process of such, most of the lava flowing down at them had been removed, only leaving small patches that were left over and not used for her own spells splattering down at them.

 

"Begone, puppet king."

 

---

 

Darcy

 

Grinning as the last vestiges of Excalibur faded away, the dark witch's grin quickly faded as the key she'd been protecting vanished once more. Following on, the Counter Corps former leader started talking with the counter corps member responsible for finishing off LERNA, before Arturia seemingly decided to try one last attempt to destroy the key, turning into some large red dragon and spewing lava down on them. Thankfully, the red mage who'd boosted her defenses before seemed to have the lava well in hand, shaping it into creatures and spells to throw back at the dragon. Disregarding the beast that was on its last legs, she shrouded herself in invisibility once more and walked forwards the end of the hallway, taking the dormant sheath on her way past Lydia, and extending her invisibility to the sheath as she picks it up. Afterall, if they needed the key to escape this place anyway, someone would bring it here eventually, and there she could use it to make sure her own world returned. Flicking her eyes down to Satori for a moment, who was still covered in the same invisibility she was, she sent a quick thought as explanation for her disregard of the dragon.

 

My powers won't do much against something like that, and it's on it's last legs anyway, Besides, with it's lava being redirected back against it basically no-one's under threat from the attack, and it'll be dead within a minute even if no-one attacks it.

 

---

 

Ayame

 

With that final Excalibur finished and Arturia's power draining away, the leftover soul of Jin also vanished, having spent every last bit of power he'd had in helping to block the blast. Naomi was staying around though, keeping her restorative effect going on those opposing the red dragon that the counter guardian had become. Meanwhile, Ayame moved to stand next to her friend, before firing a bolt of lightning directly into the dragon's head.

 

[spoiler=Summary]Chandra denounces and mocks Arturia, and proceeds to summon Magma Phoenixes out of the falling lava, sends every Phoenix she has summoned at the dragon, and follows it up by turning more lava into burn spells to throw at her. Darcy decides to ignore the red dragon, turns herself invisible and grabs Avalon on her way towards the end of the hallway. Jin vanishes, Naomi continues to sing and provide a restoration effect over the party, and Ayame shoots a bolt of lightning at the dragon's head.

 

[Super Chaos Sonic]

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

 

"T S U K U Y O M I."

 

Nero heard these words and felt this wave of familiarity that came from it. The wave wasn't a good one by any means...no...it was one of fear. This was HIS move... And like that...he was trapped in this illusion.

 

T-Tch...again with this? he thought, preparing for what would come from this...

 

 

However, fate would not let this play out for too long. For as quickly as the Tsukuyomi entrapped those around it, it dissipated and Nero was free. He knelt down with a heavy pant, holding his head. Even though he only saw just a barrier, he was trapped in that...and it reminded him of when he faded into darkness after he fought Xander all those years ago.

 

Master? Nero looked up and saw the spirit of his Divine Remnant Keyblade kneeling beside him. Master, are you alright?

 

"J-Just fine actually..." Nero slowly stood up, wiping the cold sweat from his brow. "It looks like the Tsukuyomi thing lifted off us. Meaning..." he mumbled, directing his gaze towards the direction of where the others were. "Let's finish this."

 

With only a nod from Remnant, he saw him fade for a while and with that, the Keyblade Master ran towards the others.

 

 

"COUNTER CORPS. DIVINE. CLEARLY, THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE. ALL OF YOU ARE IMBECILES ALIKE WHO SEEK TO OPEN THE DOOR. HENCEFORTH, I SHALL PUT A STOP TO SUCH SHORTSIGHTED FOOLISHNESS. BEHOLD, THE POWER OF A KING! I WILL DESTROY THAT KEY!!!"

 

By the time that Nero arrived, Arturia had cast aside her human appearance and stood there as a roaring red dragon. It was obvious that this was becoming the final gambit. After all, something of this magnitude must've been draining a great deal of magic...even for someone as strong as Arturia.

 

-BGM-

 

However, Nero stared at the red Pendragon before watching her prepare to generate lava. "Power of a king? After all this...you still see yourself as a king?" he spoke, before calling the X-Blade and the Divine Remnant to his hands. "A king doesn't use their power like this. IF YOU WERE A TRUE KING, YOU'D KNOW THIS!!"

 

As Nero shouted this last bit, he watched the lava beginning to fill the hallway. He tossed Divine Remnant up and jumped into the air, only to land on the hoverboard that the Keyblade became. He then slammed his hand down on his shoulder, before a small light enveloped him. It had been a while since he used this...but this seemed like the best time to do it. The light dissipated from around him and now Nero stood on his hoverboard glider in his armor. It seemed a lot different than when he had used it before, but nevertheless...it was a nostalgic feeling to be wearing the armor once more.

 

"Alright...let's go!" Nero shouted, zooming through the air. It's obvious that she's become a dragon with an affinity for fire...meaning...this is gonna require a hell of a lot of ice magic.

 

With X-Blade in hand, Nero spun it and then had it resting out in front of him with his free hand on the blade itself. Suddenly, about five huge shards of ice appeared around him. "BLIZZAGA 5X!!!" he shouted, casting the huge ice shards at Arturia. Once he did this, he moved quickly to another area and prepared to cast it again.

 

However, before he could cast another Blizzaga like he did earlier, noticed that himself and the X-Blade began to glow with an icy blue aura. Before long, particles of ice began to emanate from his body as well. Then it dawned on him: it was Diamond Dust.

 

Of course! I forgot about this style of Command! And with the Blizzaga 5x...oh this is perfect!! Nero thought before spinning the icy X-Blade around him and soared straight towards the Pendragon. He swung his blade and saw how quickly it struck the dragon, even seeing there was clearly some damage from the icy strike. A faster strike and damage from ice. Sorry Arturia...but you messed up!

 

Nero yelled and continued to swoop and slash at the Pendragon, doing his best to lay an assault on the creature with the Diamond Dust Command apparently doing the job a lot better. Three ice pillars appeared from the next strike, all three of these pillars spinning rapidly around the creature. He had quite a limited time on Diamond Dust, however, but with all the work he was putting into this, he figured the technique's finale would result in quite the heavy hitter. Another ice pillar was summoned and struck out at the Pendragon from the next strike, as Nero could feel the icy aura begin to fade. He was nearing the limit of this Command.

 

"Alright then...time for the finale!!" Nero said, yelling as he dove in once more towards Arturia, striking at her and watching as this strike produced a giant glacier near her. "Take this!! DIAMOND DUST!!" he shouted before turning back and striking at the glacier, watching it burst and explode, striking Arturia with its icy shards.

 

T-That should've done something... Nero thought, feeling the icy aura leave. He knew he dropped out of the style, but he also knew one thing. Diamond Dust was just one Blizzaga 5x away from returning.

[Love of Ghibli]

Team Dorian: Hallway of Origin

 

With his eyes rolling into the back of his head Dorian was pretty annoyed at the thought of this whole one on one conversation. Nevertheless this was something that happened and the universe was being quite contrite about it. However, something interested started to happen. The team noticed that there was something red glowing in the center of the Coutner Guardians chest. The groups oddly simultaneous held tilts made it so that they were constantly staring at her during the whole last speech and whatnot. 

Awww. We should shoot her in the face with one of your guns...closed casket and whatnot. But nevertheless I feel like that is something is going to happen and I feel like this is not over yet. 

Lydia, pay close attention. This is the will of a true Counter Guardian! A TRUE DRAGON!"

 

Oh. Dorian said slightly amused at that last statement. That's...foreshadowing. Dorian said pretty sarcastically.

Before the teams very eyes. Arthuria had transformed into a giant dragon and took flight to the ceiling of the Hallway of Origin. Interesting as they didn't even know there was a ceiling in this hallway. 

 

Rhadamanthys looked up at the massive red opponent as it continued its climb. I've never had the pleasure to eat a real live dragon before. Do you think it taste good? He posed the question to Butlerok.

Butlerok looked up as well and raised an eyebrow. I thought we had long agreed that I would be the one to eat her. 

I only mean to eat the flesh, all of that magic core or stuff you seem to want to deal with is for you. But is it worth it if she doesn't taste good? Rhadamanthys replied.

All of this is besides the point. I guess this makes everything a little more tolerable than just that random chick getting a solo kill, but to be honest this seems a tad anticlimatic and we do have goals to meet. Dorian stretched and twisted his neck. Butler. The Kishin smirked as he made a small throne out of Black Blood near Dorian and the young spectre took a seat. Can you please deal with this I grow tired of that he/she/it standing/flying/being in our way?

A slight smirk came across Butlerok's face. Certainly. 
 

"COUNTER CORPS. DIVINE. CLEARLY, THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE. ALL OF YOU ARE IMBECILES ALIKE WHO SEEK TO OPEN THE DOOR. HENCEFORTH, I SHALL PUT A STOP TO SUCH SHORTSIGHTED FOOLISHNESS. BEHOLD, THE POWER OF A KING! I WILL DESTROY THAT KEY!!!"

 

Rhadamanthys stepped forward with his right hand glowing and he laughed. 

 

What's a king to a God? He stated as he charged his hand to blast at the down flowing stream of lava. 

Stoooooppp Dorian said with a slight yawn. It's a constant stream of lava so we have to think about everyone else now...remember Rhadamanthys-sama.

"Sama" Did the boy finally re-learn his place and add an honorific. Rhadamanthys thought to himself as this boy dared to make logical sense. 

Butler. With but a word Butlerok had already sprung into action as Mad Blood started to flow out of him like a river and then make its way upward to the flowing stream of hot rocks. Of course it looked like some other participants made their way into the battle and were redirecting the attacks. Not to let something like that go unanswered Butlerok using his Alpha Stigma took note of a particular spell one of the combatants was using. Blizzaga...I like the sound of that. Ragnarok. The Demon Tool revealed himself and let out a mighty laugh. 

BLOOOOODDDYYYY BLIZZARD! The torrents of Black Blood that were flowing towards the dragon were dyed with ice magic and had subzero temperatures freezing all of the hot rocks that weren't being deviated back at the dragon. Yet seeing as it was glorified water the rocks would still flow through the blood and it was going straight for lethal at the dragon. 

 

Huh swords of ice and fire...I feel that's important somehow. I'm going to look into it when we get home. Dorian said very nonchalant.

Pfft petty mortals. Rhadmanthys clapped and made a lance of pure Godly Cosmos. Sometimes you have to sit down and know...your...place! Rhadamanthys tossed his charged lance directly at the dragon and the force it had was enough to destroy any falling rocks that Butlerok did not take care of. 

[Dad]

Kenpachi whistled at the sight of Arthuria's transformation.  An enormous, crimson red dragon had somehow been contained in her body.  It was more than impressive.  It was taunting.  It was damning.  And it excited Kenpachi, since the last great fight he had was against the Avatar.  And while he was eager to face the king, he knew a couple more capable bodies who would have a good time taking down Arthuria.

 

Kratos stirred from his temporary paralysis of Tsukuyomi, as Revy hanged over him, holding his head up.  "Hey handsome.  You alright?" she asked, nonchalant, unaware that Butlerok's magic was still upon her.

 

Kratos rolled away, his weapon at the ready.  But he calmed once he recognized Revy's voice.  "Revy?  What's happened to you?" he asked, cautiously.

 

Revy looked down over herself, and let out a laugh.  "I forgot about this.  Your big friend over there hooked me up with super powers.  Though, for now, I kinda look like I been dipped in oil, but I'll take it if it means I can dance with the rest of you weirdos," she replied.  "Speaking of which, we got a big fuckin' problem."

 

Kratos rubbed his head, still slightly dizzy.  There was a ringing in his ears which droned out everything except Revy for now.  "What is it?" he asked, struggling to his feet.  As Kratos stood up, his attention was directed to a sudden burst of flame and magma, and his eyes landed on what was Arthuria's dragon form.  "Is that--"

 

"Arthuria," Revy replied.  "She ain't too happy with us now that she's been exposed."

 

Kratos sheathed his blades, and took a deep breath.  He frowned, his brow furled, and he clenched his fists as he stared at the great beast from afar.

 

"Feeling nervous?" Revy asked, now standing beside him.

 

"No," Kratos replied.  "I have something different that can be used to slay this beast."

 

Kenpachi, Killua, and Yachiru joined Kratos and Revy at last, bringing their crew back together.  "This right up your alley, Kratos?" Kenpachi asked.

 

"My alley?  I own no alleys, Kenpachi," Kratos replied.

 

Kenpachi rubbed his head out of sheer confusion and slight annoyance, but was interrupted as Revy explained the figure of speech to Kratos.

 

"What he's asking is, have you killed anything like this before?" Revy asked.

 

Kratos shook his head.  "No.  But I do not fear gods.  I do not fear kings.  I do not fear dragons.  I do not fear death."  Kratos could feel a bubble of power welling up inside of him.  "I have killed gods.  Arthuria will be no different."

 

Killua smiled.  "You've got big balls, old timer."

 

Before Kratos replied, the Hallway to Origin responded to Kratos.  He stretched out a palm, as a pale blue light dawned upon him, and a glare fell from the sky.  An enormous sword pierced through the sky, and planted itself at Kratos' feet, with its blade in the ground of the Hallway.  Killua took a few steps back, as Kratos put his hands on the reforged blade.  Imbued with the many magics of his allies, the magic of the gods, and pieces of his own magic, Kratos lifted his weapon from the ground with a single hand.  He held it tightly, to be sure he wouldn't let it go again.  "I have an even bigger sword," Kratos replied at last.

 

Revy patted Kratos on the back.  "We'll do some measuring later."

 

Yachiru's face went red at Revy's response, as she squealed and covered her ears.  "KENNY!"

 

Kenpachi let out a hardy laugh, shaking his head.  "You two--you two are gonna be the reason Yachiru loses her innocence."

 

Yachiru shook her head, still able to hear Kenpachi through her cupped hands.  "No, I want Killua to be the reason I lose my--"

 

"Nope!  Not today!  I am not about to be put in the middle of this!" Killua said, backing away.

 

Kenpachi pounded his fists together, turning to Killua.  "Damn right."

 

All the while, Kratos was confused.  "I don't understand.  What will be measuring?"

 

Revy simply shook her head, as she cracked her knuckles.  "Right now, we're gonna measure how many times I gotta punch this big winged jabroni in the face before she hits the ground."

 

Kenpachi focused back on Arthuria, his blade still in his hand.  "Aye.  Let's go kill us a dragon."

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

Everything was dark.

 

The light from Koishi's eyes flickered out as her butterfly wings dissipated - her body seemingly still unable to properly handle an attack of such magnitude for an extended time without breaking apart. It should be over now anyway, right? The last of Arturia's energy had been used in the Excalibur blast, and she would not have anything left. Her vision darkened, yet her consciousness slowly returning as the realization of the end of her fight had reached her.

 

Lying on the floor of the pathway as she opened her eyes, Koishi barely registered about anything that happened around her at the time. People were still talking. A glance showed that they were still on their guard. Arturia was there, facing a strong individual with a sword. She hadn't died yet? Koishi thought. The King was already completely drained though. She would die anytime soon. This fight had ended.

 

Yet, seeing the person that killed Yukari being seconds away from her death didn't make Koishi feel anything. No elation, relief, or any sort of fulfillment. She was just feelng empty, completely at loss. She thought that seeing the person that she had all the reasons in the world to hate being seconds away from getting decapitated would bring her some sort of fulfillment, yet she couldn't still bring herself to feel anything of the sort. Outside of a shred of pity that reared its head inside of her heart, nothing.

 

Yukari wasn't here anymore. Arturia being dead wouldn't change that. What would she do now then? All that Koishi had done so far in the pathways had simply been just following her direction. She knew Yukari was right, she knew that she had the right idea on the situation that she couldn't comprehend, but without her, what she should do now? Would it be fine if she was the one to decide on things now? Perhaps she should ask Satori about it...she always knew what's best for her. But, where was she now? Koishi's own thought muddled her mind so she couldn't think clearly enough to look for her sister.

 

Koishi, lost in her own thoughts all alone, barely reacted as Arturia turned into a dragon. With the threat of the king being reestablished for this short yet vital moment, Koishi lost the will to continue, no longer having the grief-fueled drive she subjected herself into herself earlier.

 

"What are you even doing there on your own, Koishi?!

 

Barrier Sign: Duplex Barrier!"

 

A barrier formed above Koishi just moments before pieces of rocks from The Pendragon's attack hit her. Reimu came rushing from her behind and shook the young youkai girl repeatedly in an attempt to get her off her daze. Koishi remained unresponsive as the others started to mobilize against Arturia's final gambit. Looking more and more worried at Koishi's state, Reimu continued her attempt to reach out to her before Koishi would get herself killed here.

 

"Hey, Koishi! Are you still there? Can you hear me? We can't just stop now! Look, I understand that you are still feeling grief over Yukari, but...we need you, Koishi. We need you here, we need you to help us finish this fight. So please-"

 

"...Sis...what should I do? I don't know anymore...Where is Yukari? She said she will come back to me earlier. If she's here, I'll know what to do."

Koishi interjected Reimu, yet what came from her mouth felt closer to a delirious rambling rather than a coherent reply to what Reimu had asked her. Her gaze was empty. Reimu continued her attempt, and Koishi only were able to answer her with her rambling. Her mind was still incapable of understanding and accepting loss, and it seemed that Koishi had slowly distanced herself from reality - she chose to live in her illusion that her Yukari was still alive. Reimu let out a sigh of defeat before pushing Koishi back, realizing that her effort was for naught. Reimu herself doubted that she ever felt or shared a bond as close as Koishi had with Yukari, but she understood what Koishi felt about the entire ordeal. Her infantile mind had been shattered with grief.

 

Seeing no other choice, Reimu let out her voice one last time after a few seconds of pausing. She was not one to lie, but...

 

"Koishi, listen to me. Yukari is still busy right now, but she earlier came to me and told me that everything is fine. She is fine, Koishi. She couldn't participate in this battle with us now, but...she told me..." Her voice started to crack. What was she thinking, telling a lie to a mind reader? The fact she even had to resort to this was barely bearable for Reimu. "She told me, she wished that you can continue what she is fighting for. Until the Gensokyo that you and her loved is restored, she wished that you would continue her effort."

 

"...R-really? She said that? B-but where is she, Reimu? I couldn't see her anywhere. Is she really fine?" After a while, Reimu's words elicited a response from Koishi, her eyes lightened up as she spoke. Left with no choice but to continue on with this lie, Reimu replied with a reassuring nod.

"She is recovering inside of one of her gaps now. She really wished to be able to see you after we finish this battle, Koishi.

 

So...shall we? Arturia is on her last breath. Let's finish her once and for all, and you will be able to meet Yukari again."

 

Reimu tried her best to not look as if she was on the edge as she speak, yet the anxiety in her mind on whether she made the situation even worse or not was starting to show. The next few seconds felt like an eternity, but in the end, the young youkai seemed to have lightened up a bit. Reimu put up a smile on her face to mask her anxiety, and while she was glad that Koishi had returned to her senses, she also realized the potential repercussions of her words once this battle was finished. But perhaps, she couldn't afford to think about the aftermath right now. The girl before her still weren't fully herself yet, but at the very least, her words made Reimu felt reassured that she still had some hope now.

 

"I see...that is what Yukari wished, right? Then...I will do it. For Gensokyo, for my sister, and for her. I can trust you, right? If Yukari can trust you, then I will trust you too." Koishi turned her sights above and stared at the Counter Guardian dragon above for a few moments, before continuing her words. "I know what I would do now, Reimu. Arturia has suffered enough.

 

May we be able to allow her to rest now."

 

---

[Tesability Black]

~Jace's POV~

He and Neos had to move out of the way of the dragon that flew up towards them to avoid becoming pancaked between it and the ceiling of this increasingly-enlargening hall. The heat was becoming unbearable, having to force the First-Wing back further and further so that both of them would be more able to breathe. Jace saw Neos doing the same, though he soon conjured around the avian beast a sort of transparent mask that fit over the avian's beak. It did not seem to hamper the griffon's ability to breath, nor did the beast seem to panic, so it must be some form of breathing aid that the shapeshifter came up with on the spot.

Wish he had that trick up his sleeve, so to speak.

His eyes widened as he witnessed the dragon spewing forth as much molten lava as she could after hearing her bellow in violence. "Azor's blood," he breathed to himself in a swear that only he would know the meaning behind.

Then he felt more than heard the 'belief' of being right because of being 'the king', which had the hair on the back of his neck bristling as he instinctively responded to the twisted belief.

Just because you have reign does not mean you are always correct. Thinking in such a way almost guarentees that you are wrong, instead.

And yes, I have seen things through the eyes of someone withpower they did not ask for...because it has happened to me as well. You cannot truly understand until you walk a few miles in the other one's shoes, after all.

His mind felt like he had walked into a furnace, no, into the hottest volcano in existance and took a dive into the lava without a stitch of protection anywhere on him. A moment passed before he corrected himself upon realizing that this dragon's mind was not the most-fatal one he's been in thus far.

No, that 'honor' belonged to the Firemind, Niv-Mizzet...

The thought of the dragon brought him the mental image of the red and blue dragon of grand size fighting against Arturia in her current form. Shaking his head of the image, he looked down towards the fight below, seeing Chandra turning the very lava the dragon threw up into power for her spells...

Jace groaned as he brought the gloved hand to his face before sliding it down enough to see that Neos had hopped off his mount at some point and had shifted into the blue psychic duck he had heard be called a 'Golduck' before, spinning around as torrent upon torrent of water manifested around him then fell below to try and catch the lava that Chandra missed to cool it down quickly. The process created a lot of steam in the area as a lot of the water immediately evaporated instead due to the heat.

"...that idea's not leaving my head until it's followed through with, is it," he wondered to himself before sighing and looking towards the large being in thought. However, after a few moments, he decided that, considering Arturia would find herself gone in less than a minute, could feel her pull on life waning in her thoughts as the dragon's body pushed itself into her thoughts, he ultimately decided not to summon the parun of the Izzet guild.

And while he would have prayed that he'd never have to, what he would have prayed to, even if only in an instinctual level, always did made him feel awkward.

After all, when you have become what many pray to, in his case the Guildpact, is it considered egotistical to pray to one's self?

~Neos' POV~

Arceus-no. This lava will go.

Neos gave a loud growl as he saw Arturia transform, taking a different form than he was used to seeing from her. A slight shake at the out-of-place headache he was starting to get, one that he knew Jace wasn't responsible for...for once, he gave the First-Wing a good rub on the back of its neck before cooing for it to begin picking up at least a couple of the lighter folks stuck on the ground that cannot fight any longer.

After that, he swung one leg over so that both were on the same side of the aerial mount and pushed to slide off, allowing the griffon to fly down and pick others up that had been downed, but not yet fully out. As he felt feet first, he allowed himself to become surrounded with a blue light, one that changed its overall outline rapidly.

Quicker than he should, and he felt is as pain began to flow thorugh him, forcing himself to Transform as fast as he could.

He did not have time to wait.

Not even a whole second past during his fall as the blue light eventually faded to reveal a blue duck-like entity, a red jewel on his forehead. The jewel began to glow as he spun rapidly in the air, water manifesting all around him to both ease the heat he was experiencing and allowing it to fall quickly. While most of the water was evaporating away to create a large amount of steam, he did still manage to summon up torrents of water with his attempt to use Surf en-chain.

He was fairly sure he burned up all but a couple more uses of the move before he hit the ground with a 'splash', hitting a large pocket of water instead of lava, thankfully, though he was unsure of how long the water would stay...

~Gemini's POV~

As they were all once split, they soon rejoined into one as they should be, feeling their collective power return to its whole.

For while split as they were, their overall power was also split...but such was the cost to maintain flexibility and the ability to create an infinite number of tricks and tactics that could prove to be of far more value than sheer power could ever provide.

However, even he did not see a timeline where this dragon that Arturia had become was ever a thing.

"...quit pulling sheet out of your ass, damned puppeteers," he grumbled before retaking the Malamar form one of his split figures had previously taken, returning to the sky to better see what was happening.

With the sight below him, he figured that nothing would stop him if he took a different form. Allowing himself to fall, Gemini surrounded himself in a dark-blue light as the shape he took changed and grew, at first becoming more like a cocoon before the light faded and large black wings stretched out to either side.

Those whom looked up would have thought he looked a bit like a 'Y' as he flew towards Arturia, wings glowing a sickly black as the red dragon began to glow the same light.

"Yve!"

Without ceremony, Artuira was weaking far faster than by her burning through her life force by herself, the black light surrounding her shifted to a dark-red before veins of the light surrounded her then pulled themselves towards Gemini's form.

The large black avian Gemini had become opened his mouth greedily, allowing himself to consume the life force that was being pulled away from the former King, though the use of the Oblivion Wing...

[The Warden]

"She is really starting to get my goat" Lydia uttered under her breath as the lava directed at her hung above her head, the heat not an issue whatsoever.

 

"Tenacity is a trait we dragons are proud of" Avalon informed her matter of factedly as lava going after nearby people joined the ball.

 

"And I guess being a pain in the butt is another trait" the sorceress countered as the lava broke off, and were shaped into sharp points.

 

With a flick of her wrist the lava cooled rapidly, becoming an arsenal of obsidian spears. And with another flick, the barrage was launched at The Pendragon, if just to slow her down a bit, since it's not like simple stone would pierce those scales. "Agreed. But look girl, where the witch once stood."

 

Lydia turned, and she saw something among the scorch marks Arturia had left behind. Kneeling by it, she brushed away the ashes to reveal Exaclibur, now dull and inert. "It's a shame to see the blade so... empty" Lydia remarked as the rest of the blade was cleaned by a gust of air.

 

"Yes. It is a curious design, but I dare say it would not be the same as the original variant, if there was one. This... weapon, if I can call it that, seems to hold similar traces to that beast you and my lesser forms fought. Its life is burnt out, and leaving a husk behind. But, this husk could be renewed with a new power source. A new life to give it life."

 

"You volunteering?" Lydia chuckled as she blocked a new deluge of lava.

 

"I would not be so foolish. But, there is something else we could empower the blade with" the dragon alluded.

 

Following the train of logic, Lydia summoned her staff, and then vanished it again, LERNA's Soul Gem falling into her hand. "Could it... work?"

 

"Indeed it could. Think about it: A world of despair empowering this blade, giving it new life and dreadful powers. The despair to trump Arturia's foolish hope."

 

"But could it still hurt souls like it did with Protheus' monsters?"

 

"Possibly. I could hurt them due to their nature, but Arturia is flesh and blood, it would not affect her the same way if at all. But it matters not! We shall turn her weapon against her. It would be the greatest irony that her last hope became her end."

 

"Alright. So, how do I empower it with this gem?" Lydia questioned, rattling the jewel about.

 

"...."

 

"Avalon?"

 

"Place it against the sword, I suppose? It hungers for life, so I figure it would just absorb it."

 

"You know I'm starting to think you just pull things out of your golden ass" the sorceress half smiled as she flattened Excalibur's blade.

 

Placing the Soul Gem at the hilt, nothing, really... happened. "Well?"

 

"Push it in?"

 

Doing so, that surprisingly worked, the blade accepting its new host willingly. Purple flames burned out from where the gem fused, the blade getting bleached white, while the guard took on a grim blackish colour. Two winding pair of hydra heads stuck out as the guard, their jaws fused together while another pair would their way in an oval arc towards the base of the hilt, which took the form of LERNA's head tail. A larger, more well defined head took the lead as the maw the bone white blade jutted out from, the black etching of the serpent's tongue carved onto the blade. The dull blade now held a frightful visage, a stark cry from its original resplendence. "What a disgusting weapon" Avalon said with a mental grimace.

 

"I feel uncomfortable looking at it" Lydia added as it hung at her side.

 

"So what shall we name it?"

 

"Hmm." Staring into the cruel eye of the main head, two words came to mind. "Hopeless Black. A phrase LERNA would be proud of."

 

"Then intone its name, and let us end this."

 

"Got it."

 

Assuming a fighting stance, Lydia pushed away the lava that had congealed in the interim, hardening it into stone and letting it drop harmlessly away. Breathing calmly, the sorceress mimicked the movements she had saw Arturia perform, Hopeless Black's blade glowing with sickly black and white light. "HOPELESS!" Lydia cried as she pulled the blade back, "BLLLLLLAAAACCCCKKKKKK!"

 

Thrusting the blade with all her might, a pure beam of light did not emanate, but a gust of darkness taking the form of a demonic hydra head, surrounded by a helix of seven smaller heads. They snarled loudly as they soared straight for The Pendragon's heart like an arrow made of despair.

[Dad]

"I gotta be honest," Revy said, through the black blood.  "I'm not confident.  Super powers or not, that's a dragon we're talkin' about."

 

Killua nodded in agreement.  "There's a lot of strong people here.  But I'm not about to get over confident.  There's no telling what she's capable of."

 

"Just don't get it in your head that because you're a super powered weirdo, that suddenly you're the best that ever lived.  Avoid that, and we'll be fine," Revy replied.

 

"I can't say the same for the rest of our friends.  Something tells me that two or three of them are really, truly full of themselves," Killua said, glancing around the Hallway.

 

"Well the rest of us are realistic."  Revy turned to Kratos, then looked back at Arthuria.  "We should probably form some kind of plan, right?  Maybe teams of two?"

 

Killua rubbed his chin.  "I can go with Kenpachi.  I'm assuming Yachiru is gonna sit this one out."

 

Yachiru nodded.  "I'll support you as best I can, Killua," she said, cooing at Killua.  The boy took a step to the side to ensure he was out of Kenpachi's reach.

 

"Fine by me," the gigantic Soul Reaper replied.  "I know you can keep up kid.  But don't be afraid to ask for help."

 

"I'm not one to shy away from help if I need it," Killua said.  "Am I correct in suggesting I'm the fastest of us?"  Kenpachi, Kratos, and Revy did not respond.  "Right.  I'll try to flank her.  Kenpachi, are you gonna--well.  You're gonna get in her face, aren't you?" Killua asked begrudgingly.

 

"Damn right," Kenpachi said with a grin.  "All I gotta do is avoid giant falling rocks, some molten magma, maybe some fire breathing, and some big ass claws.  I think I'll be okay."  It was then that Kenpachi felt a tug on his robe, and he looked down at Yachiru on his left side.  

 

"Kenny."  Yachiru's words were better expressed by the worried look on her face.  She quickly brightened up, not one to concern her best friend too much.  "Kick her butt.  Ooh!  And maybe bring me one of her claws!  I wanna know what they taste like."

 

"Eh?  Why do you wanna taste a dragon claw?" Kenpachi asked, scratching his head.

 

"You never know what delicacies you'll find, Kenny," said an excited Yachiru.

 

"Hmm.  Dragon claw.  Alright, but if it tastes good, you gotta share."  Kenpachi patted Yachiru on her head.

 

"Deal!" Yachiru squeaked, piping up over Kenpachi's enormous hand.

 

Kenpachi leaped forwards, with Nozarashi in his hands.  Behind him, Killua followed closely.  Yachiru waved after them, silently wishing her friends good luck.  "Don't worry, kid," Revy said, taking a few steps forwards.  "We'll take good care of your friend."  Revy and Kratos then sped away, side by side into Arthuria's reach.  Yachiru watched from afar, knowing full well what Kenpachi, Kratos, Killua, and Revy were capable of.  However, she was more concerned with just what she was capable of.  She wondered when she would be able to tell her best friend the whole story.  When she would tell Kenpachi the truth.  About her existence.  Why he found her.  All of it.  But now was not the time.  Even Arthuria didn't pose a great enough threat for her to reveal these things to Kenpachi.  Instead, Yachiru let Kenpachi go forth with his mind free of worry.  And she couldn't help but smile.

 

---

 

Kenpachi bounced from molten rock to molten rock, using the falling stones to propel himself to Arthuria's massive height.  With a crazed smile and a hearty laugh, he leaped over the spilling magma, putting himself in danger.  "Arthuria!" he cried out.  "Thanks for makin' this interestin'!"  Kenpachi's aura exploded as he neared the dragon's maw, and he drew back Nozarashi with both hands.  "Now.  Open wide!"

 

---

 

With his claws bared, Killua raced around Arthuria's back-side.  He blazed past the magma and stones, and reached the tail which protruded from her.  He began to scale the dragon, dragging his lightning covered hands across her scales.  He knew full well about the mythology of dragons.  In lore, they were immune to magic.  But this was no ordinary dragon.  Killua would have to find out for himself if he could penetrate Arthuria's defenses.  He reached Arthuria's wingspan, and thought to keep her permanently grounded.  Killua jumped to Arthuria's left wing, and dug his claws into their soft flesh.  Then, he began to pour out lightning into her wing, in an attempt to fry it, and ruin any chance Arthuria may have had of flight.

 

---

 

Blade in hand, Kratos charged into the danger zone with Revy.  A large boulder threatened Revy overhead, but before Kratos could reach out to save her, Revy had already drawn back her fist.  With a single powerful punch, she blew the boulder into dust, and kept moving forwards.  "I'm fine!  Let's go!" she said, encouraging Kratos.

 

Kratos dived past Arthuria's right side, and Revy went opposite to her left side.  Kratos' blade glowed a feint blue, as the magic within it reverberated, causing the blade to hum.  With a mighty roar, Kratos attempted to drive the blade into Arthuria's front right thigh, and cut it open.

 

On the other side, Revy was starting to get used to her new strength.  That was a bad idea, because there was no telling how long it would last.  And unfortunately, when Revy gained power, she got cocky, just as she said she wouldn't.  Revy charged at Arthuria's left side, and was prepared to wail on the dragon's underbelly.  However, Revy was smashed backwards by a stray boulder.  Revy flew, until she crashed landed at Reimu's feet, rubbing her own head.  Annoyed, Revy stood up, frowning at Arthuria.  "Oh.  Hey Reimu.  You look uh. . .look's like you've been busy," Revy commented.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 
My powers won't do much against something like that, and it's on it's last legs anyway, Besides, with it's lava being redirected back against it basically no-one's under threat from the attack, and it'll be dead within a minute even if no-one attacks it.
 
Understood. I cannot get further reading from her right now after she turned into a dragon anyway, so it would be best if we just be on our guards and wait this out from the sidelines.
 
Satori was somewhat relieved that the battle was close to done now. Yet, she wasn't able to rest yet. Her mind frantically looked around for Koishi, and aside from a few blips for a moment, she couldn't find her anywhere. Right now her position wouldn't allow her to see her physically either, so all that she hoped was for Koishi to just still be in her closed eye state. Trying her best to calm herself down, she asked Darcy a question.
 
After this...what is next for us? The Counter Corps and the Divines practically had dissolved now. That girl earlier wield the sword of your leader, didn't she? It would be easily assumed that he too had perished. With both him and Arturia gone, what's next?
 
Does the two side even has any reasons to be in conflict with each other without the presence of their leaders as the concern?
 

---

 
Watching the spectacle unfold as both Counter Corps and Divine let out as much as they could against Arturia's last-ditch effort, the nameless girl lie down on the ground, unwilling to participate in it directly. She had made up her mind earlier, and what Arturia and Lydia had said earlier was enough answer to sate her desire for an understanding.
 
This Arturia had now been reduced to nothing more than a puppet to the throne and her own ideal. She had casted off everything noble and admirable about herself, and had to be put down. Understanding that fact was enough for the nameless girl. The Arturia she admired and the Arturia that everyone faced here had no similarity with each other at all outside of name and form.
 
It was a pity. Just hearing all that made her lose any desire of putting Arturia down with her own two hands. Her desire to do so was to honor the person she respected so much, but this Arturia was nothing more than a hollow imitation.

From the Arturia clone she absorbed earlier, the memories and experience of the king passed through her mind as the nameless girl rested. Without anything else to do, she closed her eyes, and indulged herself to the slideshow on her head.
 

---

 
Heroic spirits. Kazuya slowly learned about the identity of these figures that he ended up summoning over the versions that he was more familiar with. Outstanding figures that represented various points of humanity and its development, whose deeds immortalized themselves in the collective consciousness of the entire race, their stories recorded and kept somewhere.
 
In a way, they were similar to demons that he knew. A demon's form is completely affected by how humanity's consciousness chose to represent them as, just like how heroic spirits are affected by the perceptions and reinterpretations from later ages. Human minds were the one in the end that shaped the legends and stories of both these heroes and demons.
 
Such kind of recording of famous figures crystallized into a summonable spirit simply didn't exist in that form from where Kazuya was, but the presence of Arturia and the fact that they were closer and closer to Origin conflated everything. Sparing further thoughts about this would be unnecessary however. Arturia was on her last legs now.
 
“Come forth, Megami Ishtar!”
 
The black-haired goddess rematerialized from the summoning circle before Kazuya, still riding her monstrously-sized bow-like contraption. Ishtar stared at the dragon above wistfully for a moment before turning around to face Kazuya.
 
“Hm hm, I don't think I can believe what I see now. That once noble king being pushed this far, turning into the beast that symbolized everything she once fought against.
 
It's a shame, but not much I can do other than help you slay her. Perhaps this form of mine would be familiar to her if we met in any other circumstances, but she's too far gone to notice this body I'm borrowing now. Oh well, that shouldn't matter now. It's settled then, what I shall do now. A king is simply a plaything for the divine, and I shall demonstrate it to both her and you now, summoner. This Heavenly Boat Maanna is not just for show, you know?

Oh actually, perhaps I should call you the King of Bel. Would that be preferrable?”
 
"Er...I have no intention to inherit that throne. I am here wielding this power simply to ensure the continued existence of my world."
 
"Oh, what a waste is that! But it's not the time for that, nope. There is a dragon that needs to be dealt with first."
 
The goddess' expression changed immediately into a confident smirk, and she aimed Maanna towards the dragon king's wings. She focused her mind for a moment, and manifested a sphere over her right hand. It was the crystallized essence of the planet Venus, compressed into the small sphere. Normally she would need to open a Gate and harvest the energy from the planet directly, but being this close to Origin allowed her to skip that step.
 
“Here we go, Maanna. This dragon king will have the honor of receiving your full might.” The orb she was holding was then turned into tw large arrows which were loaded into the divine bow boat as it turned into a ballista-like form. “Suppression of the heavens, a lullaby for the earth. A divine light to shoot down the king who is so full of herself back to the ground where she belongs!

Kindle of Venus, destroy this obstacle! An Gal Te Kigal She!”
 
As the Noble Phantasm incantation was completed, the two arrows were fired from the ballista towards the dragon's wings, carrying enough destructive power to wipe a mountain off the face of the earth. As it was before, one casting of a Noble Phantasm was enough of a strain for the heroic spirit, and as Ishtar turned to look at Kazuya again, she was already slowly disappearing into light.
 
“Ugh, it's a shame my presence here is so fragile – I would have liked to spare more talk with you, the King of Bel, the one who once lead humanity to build its monument of hubris. Don't act as if that title doesn't belong to you, Kazuya. The pieces of Bel is already inside you and they're not going anyway, so embrace that fact already rather than wasting them.
 
Fufu, see you again later then, Abel. I'd like to see you once I am in my true form once this is all done.”
 
And so, with a triumphant expression, Ishtar disappeared, leaving Kazuya to think about her words before their inevitable reunion.
 

---

 
"Oh. Hey Reimu. You look uh. . .look's like you've been busy,"
 
Reimu noticed Revy landing on her feet, and turned to face her with a weary smile from having to deal with Koishi earlier. Something was very off regarding her aura, and if Arturia wasn't the bigger concern now, Reimu would have performed an exorcism on her friend to attempt to rid her of this strange influence.
 
“And you look quite different than the last time we talked too. It’s pretty worrying, but I guess at least you’re still feeling fine, right?”
 
Looking at the dragon roaring above while the others had mobilized themselves to combat it, Reimu let out a sigh. It sure looked quite impressive for a final gambit, but this battle had left her quite weary. Koishi was once again looked like she was being absorbed by her own thoughts, but from the look of it, it seemed that she was figuring out something to do, so Reimu felt like she didn’t have to talk to her again for now. The thought of having to deal with the aftermath of her lie earlier still made her shudder though.
 
“Say, you have any interesting idea on how should we deal with that dragon?”
 
Revy paused, seeing the look on Reimu’s face. She could tell that Reimu had been through a lot. The look on Reimu’s face was one that Revy wore a long time ago. She used to wear that look a lot. Before answering Reimu’s question, Revy approached. She stepped forth slowly, calmly, and extended both her arms. Then, slowly, tenderly, Revy hugged Reimu. Reimu tensed a bit due to the surprise, but loosened up as she came to accept the gesture and embraced her friend back.
 
“First,” Revy said. “I’m glad you’re okay. Sorry if this is weird,” Revy said as she let go. Revy sighed, hoping she hadn’t crossed any unspoken lines. “Far as taking down our former leader there,” Revy said, turning back to face Arthuria. “I don’t have any real ideas. But thanks to tall, dark, and gruesome over there, I’ve got super powers with . . .whatever it is that’s coverin’ me.”
 
Revy stretched her arms a bit, still getting used to her strength. “What do we know about Arthuria, anyway? Other than that she used to be a king. Maybe that will give us some kind of clue.” Revy rubbed her chin, trying to come up with some iota of a thought as to how to take down this dragon that Arthuria had become. Reimu shrugged over this question. All that she knew about Arturia was that she used to be a noble king, had dragon blood flowing inside of her, and she now wanted them all to die.
 
“I wish guns were of more use here. That’s somethin’ I’m familiar with. Now what did the voices in my head say before about my bullets?” Revy thought aloud. “Picture the most destructive force. . .and compress it?” she recalled. “I think, maybe if I imagine an attack kinda like what the stronger fighters are capable of, I can utilize that somehow. Reimu, what can you do? I know that’s weird to ask but, I honestly have no clue,” Revy said with a forced chuckle.
 
“Well. I can create barriers, and...create more barriers? Create barriers for me to step on, create barriers to crush the enemy, purifying things with barriers, using barriers as a bludgeoning tool, and those kind of stuff.
 
I don’t know the kind of power that guy there gave you, but I’d imagine that iunno, those voices perhaps wants you to conceptualize that destructive force and turn it into a bullet for you to shoot.
 
It’s like the danmaku of our world, a shower of magic bullets manifesting from concepts we compressed into spell cards.
 
You think you can fire it right on Arturia’s face?”

Despite saying all that with quite the ease, Reimu didn’t actually have much idea about what she was talking about right now, but as long as it was still somehow a valid suggestion for Revy, she would just let herself continue following her instinct and say what her heart told her to say as always.
 
Revy followed along with Reimu’s words closely. Barriers of many kinds were interesting to her, considering that magic didn’t exist in Revy’s own universe. “Yeah, I think I can get in her face. But once I’m in her face, I could get eaten alive. Wait a sec,” Revy said, pausing again. “What if. . . what if she did eat me. And then I let that destructive force go through right inside that big head of hers,” Revy said, punching her fists together. Reimu perked up at this mention.
 
“Could you make a barrier around me? Is that possible?” Revy asked.
 
“Hm, that would be quite easy for me to do. Actually, I’ll go accompany you too. You destroy her head, and I’ll destroy her from her belly. I should be able to make something strong enough so you’d survive from stray friendly fires too.

That’s quite a nice idea. Let’s do it.”
 
The thought of it was a little bit unpleasant, but it would help a lot to decisively end the dragon. Reimu pulled several of her talisman from her black orb, and placed them all around Revy before she uttered several lines of prayer until a thin layer of light surrounded her. A small scale barrier like this would be far less taxing than something as big as her Hakurei Danmaku Barrier earlier, and it would allow for more flexibility too without sacrificing mobility that much. Well, at least Revy would still be able to move, albeit not as freely as before.
 
“Try getting used to this first. Once you’re ready, just give me the signal and we’ll go up.”
 
Revy felt like she was in a bubble. As she watched Reimu form the barrier through what she assumed was some kind of prayer or enchantment, Revy was admittedly in awe. “Dude,” she muttered softly, as the layer of light surrounded her. “Alright, that was cool.” As the barrier was completed, Revy gently lay a hand against it.
 
Revy had enough room to stretch, and it seemed that the barrier moved forwards when she did. “I actually feel pretty safe in here. Which is weird, but yeah. Now I have to focus on some kind of big, destructive force. Hmm,” Revy thought aloud again. “Oh. I wonder if. . . “
 
Revy thought back to World War II. One of the greatest fought wars of her time. Nuclear bombs had been dropped on Japan, long before she was born. The destructive force was so great, that it wiped out entire cities and caused great casualties.
 
She remembered seeing the tragic video in which it occurred. She focused her mind on the video, and she could see, and almost feel the shockwaves of the blast. And then, Revy began to feel hot. So hot, in fact, that she was sweating profusely beneath the Black Blood Butlerok had put over her. She was swelling with energy, and now she had to focus it into a single bullet.
 
She drew her weapon slowly, carefully from her side. Revy focused all of her attention on her weapon, trying to maintain that same heat and power that she recalled from the tragedy of World War II. She pushed that feeling forwards, into her hands, and then into her gun. And inside the gun’s chamber, an orange bullet began to form. With the bullet complete, Revy breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright,” she said slowly. “I’m probably only gonna get one shot at this. Here’s hopin’ I don’t come out Arthuria’s other end as just another digested mess.”
 
“Then hold my hand. I’ll get you inside, worry-free. You can kick me later if it went worse than I promised.” Reimu started to float as she said it, and offered her hand to Revy. The others continued to strike at Arturia with the best effort they could manage, and Koishi herself had disappeared while Reimu was talking to Revy. Hopefully she didn’t get herself killed with what she planned to do, whatever it was.
 
Gripping Revy’s hand tightly, Reimu went afloat before tapping into Fantasy Nature again to shift herself and Revy out so they would reappear right before Arturia in almost an instant. The dragon king was still holding on, and perhaps it was preparing for another attack. Just as it bared its fangs and opened its mouth wide, Reimu fired an amulet inside of the beast and set a barrier between herself and Revy. With a smile on her face, Reimu pushed Revy into the barrier as soon as she could, only leaving a short moment for one last parting words.
 
“Good luck inside, Revy. Be careful of the lava she spews.”
 
“See you on the other side,” Revy replied.
 
"Hopefully that doesn't mean the afterlife."
 
Revy then would find herself inside of the dragon’s throat when she was out of the barrier.
 
And inside, Revy was dumbstruck. “So this is what it’s like being inside a dragon, huh?” Revy said, shaking her head. “If only dad could see me now.” Revy’s gun vibrated with force, threatening to fall to pieces if she didn’t act soon.
 
“Christ,” Revy thought. “Better get this over with, before I nuke myself.” Revy aimed her weapon up the throat of Arthuria, and drew back the hammer on the gun. “From my world to yours, Arthuria,” Revy said, pulling the trigger. There was a bright flash from the muzzle of her weapon, and a crack as Revy’s gun fired.
 
Meanwhile, Reimu activated Fantasy Nature again, and phased through Arturia to reach the insides of her belly. Whatever foul substance was there, Reimu was protected by her barriers when she rematerialized. At that moment, she had made up her mind regarding on her plan there. She set out her amulets in 360 degrees all around herself, and uttered several lines of prayer before activating her spell card.
 
“Divine Barrier: Omnidirectional Expanding Barrier!”
 
The barriers, taking a physical form, continued to expand inside of Arturia. The sheer force of it expanding perhaps would be enough to burst a normal dragon's body, but as Reimu couldn't be sure enough, she used her backup from the black orb to add more force to the barriers and also expanded her two Yin Yang Orbs to their maximum size while she was still inside.
 

---

 

 

The demonic dragon's roar struck fear even in the hearts of the mightiest knights. Britain's greatest soldiers had all been evaporated by just one of its mighty breath. Not even the brilliance of two holy swords could pierce the dragon's darkness.
 
Vortigern the Dragon, the brother of Lord Uther. The one who had the blood of a white dragon flowing inside of him. The one who had vowed to destroy the civilization of Britain, and return it to how it was in the Age of Gods. It could be said that he was the embodiment of the will of the land of Britain itself.
 
Despite the light from Excalibur now merely flickering like the flames from a weak bonfire, I still chose to stand my ground and face this monstrosity. The hope for victory was dim, but as King Arthur, Britain's bright future would be my responsibility to establish with my own two hands. Left without the luxury of options, I turned towards Sir Gawain, ever so fiercely loyal at a time like this.
 
“King Arthur, the body of the enemy is Britain itself. Despite having the holy sword, we cannot win. We must retreat for now!”
 
Hearing even him doubting the chance of victory against this foul beast would have been something of a valid concern that a king should at least consider in any other occasion. But right now, there was no time for that. To retreat from this battle would mean to surrender the future of the land. King Arthur would not allow such a thing to happen. I turned away from him, and without showing any emotions in my words, I declared my answer to his demand.
 
“I will require your assistance a little more, Sir Gawain.”

 

Garden of Avalon - Day of Camlann

 
After a long while of disappearance, Koishi appeared some distance away in front of Arturia – her eyes were all locked into the sight of the dragon king. Memories of a certain event from the king's life passed through her eyes like a continously-playing movie. It was the first time she had exerted the effort to find something inside of the heart of someone she read – most of the time she simply would fish anything seemingly notable from the surface. The effort to do this was quite taxing especially since it was her first time, but for Koishi, that shouldn't matter as she was doing this to follow Yukari's wishes.
 
The one who had saved her from herself.

The one who had given her direction.
 
The one who sacrificed everything for her.
 
As the image of a weapon materialized before her, Koishi focused her thought into it, before gripping on its handle as it fully solidified. Echoing the voice coming from the heart of her target, Koishi prepared the newborn weapon.
 
“Holy spear, anchor.”
 

“You and I here are together. What would us, wielders of holy swords be if we cannot silence one or two fits of this great land?”
 
Words spoken with utmost confidence. What remained of my knights and Britain's army had decided to stand their ground. No matter what the sacrifice, this foul beast would meet its end today. As I stood waiting, Sir Gawain rushed towards Vortigern as he followed my orders. It would have been an attack maneuver that had been repeated over and over without any chance of succeeding in this battle, but now Sir Gawain had one mission on his mind. Striking with all of his might, he pinned the demonic dragon's hand to the ground with his blade.
 
“King! I trapped one of the demon dragon hands!“
 
“You did well, Solar Knight Gawain. If I rip the other side, he will be no longer able to escape to the skies.”
 

Copies of the holy blades of Excalibur and Galatine started to manifest on Pendragon's front legs, and perhaps the sheer force of the two great blade's manifestation would allow it to be pinned to where it was.
 
The Holy Spear of Rhongomyniad had fully manifested on Koishi's hands. Normally, such a weapon would be unwieldable by someone like Koishi, but Recollection was the ability to superimpose an event from one's memory into reality, recreating it with the same intensity as the memory had recorded. It was not an ability Koishi had understood well enough, but to do something like this, it would not be necessary to understand more.
 
All that she could see before her was no longer Pendragon, it was no longer the transformed form of Counter Corp's former leader. For Koishi, the dragon before her was Vortigern, the red scales turning black and darkness started to envelop its form as Koishi further and further recreated the event on her mind.
 

“However, because of that, we are unarmed now. Are you sure that this is the right thing to do?”
 
Sir Gawain's voice had revealed his worries once more. The knight whose loyalty was unmatched by others, now had questioned my orders. It was as expected, it was as befitting for a human in such a situation. Both Excalibur and Galatine were out of our reach – and even if it was possible to recall them, doing so would allow the foul beast to soar freely. But, at this moment, I had withdrawn the strongest relic that King Arthur was allowed to wield. There was no more room for doubt. I ignored what Sir Gawain said, and closed my eyes.
 
“To the light that reached the last frontier...”
 
“Is that...? What is that shining lance?!”
 
A holy weapon manifested on my hands. None of the knights under me had any knowledge of such object even existing. The shadow of the tower of light that anchored the planet lest it would unravel. A pillar of light that held the boundary between the outer layer of the world and the reverse side – the boundary between reality and illusion. It was a tool that would truly separate the Age of Man and the Age of Gods.
 
Without any hesitations, I wielded this spear as its seals became undone in the face of the greatest threat to this land. Against this last relic of the Age of Gods, I invoked the true name of the holy spear.

 

Fate/Grand Order ~ Grand Battle

 
“Let light be released from the Ends of Earth.”
 
Rhongomyniad was a weapon which entire concept made it the perfect antithesis to anything having any shred of supernaturalness in its being. Even if it was just born from Arturia's memory, the Holy Spear's mere presence seemed to threaten to dissolve Koishi at any moments in its light.
 
Vortigern...Pendragon, those were merely a relic and the last graps the Age of Gods had on humanity. A dragon or the ideal prophetic king had no place in the current human order. And furthermore, Arturia here had reduced herself into a force that were fully intent of destroying the worlds of everyone here, and having them all stay destroyed. And Koishi, playing the role of the King from her memories, was the one fighting to ensure the bright future. Just like Arturia once fought for the future of Britain.
 
The inhumaneness of the so-called ideal king still made her wince despite them sharing the same goal at this moment. Was it really the true self of the king? That kind of person...Koishi really didn't want to turn out to be like that. She wanted to be someone that could understand the heart of the people, even if it would mean they would hate her for it.
 
“Split the heavens, and connect the land.”
 
The thirteen fangs-like seals on the spear's body dissipated one by one, and as the last one disapeared, the body of the weapon itself became light, and a drill-like light swirls enveloped it. The black dragon was still there. Everyone else had attacked it. Was it still even alive? Koishi had no idea, but right now she simply chose to continue playing her role. A surge of energy pooled into the lance as each moment passed.
 
Koishi readied the weapon.  This was it. She took a deep breath, and with the sight of the black dragon still clear before her, she thrusted it forward, putting all of her into it as she yelled its name.
“Anchor of the Storm!

 

Rhongomyniad!"
 

A brilliant light enveloped the Hallway and consumed the dragon as the Holy Spear's name was declared. The drill-like pillar of light emitted from the weapon would travel and go on its course to pierce through the entirety of the Pendragon before it. Whether it was enough to fell the dark dragon or not, Rhongomyniad would soon disappear from Koishi's hold moments after the tail end of the light had been fired, and almost immediately, the strain of the Recollection had made itself clear. It was too much for Koishi to handle. She lost her consciousness, and lost her footing, falling towards the floor of the hallway. The last thing she could saw before everything went dark for her was the image of a demonic dragon being pierced in its heart by Rhongomyniad's light, turning back into an old man in his last moments.

 

 

The Age of Mystery has long since ended.

 

From now on, is the time of civilization, the Age of Man.
 

The power that is in your essence is at odds with humans.

 

At long as you exist, Britain has no future.

 

Curse your fate - the old Britain has fallen long time ago.

 

---

[Kingdom Xathers]

With everyone who was trapped in the Tsukuyomi finally released, and Arturia defeated and slain, it seemed like the end was just about--ohwaitnevermindArturiaturnedintoadragonandisnowtryingtokilleveryonewithmoltenlavaRUNjabroniESRUUUUUUUUUUN!!!

 

"funk!" Team Lombax and Co. collectively blurted out as they all (minus Red and Alister) proceeded to get to higher ground, so to speak--Crim, despite still being in pain from Arturia's puncturing of his lower jaw, carried Alexander and Umbris in his claws as he took to the air, followed by Giant Clank--with Ratchet on his back--putting more energy into his thrusters to quickly escape the lava's approach. Hapshiel, being a perfect gentleman, carried both Bayonetta and Jeanne, one Witch on each arm, as he ascended upwards to join with Crim and Giant Clank.

 

Meanwhile, Gabriel was a bit frantic, steering Atsuko in her wheelchair as he tried to put as much distance between them and the lava as possible, though the molten liquid was still fast approaching (Gabriel had recalled Nigredo, Albedo and Citrinitas into himself moments before). Their salvation came mercifully in the form of Hermos and Timaeus, the two dragons swooping down and scooping them up into the air. "Hermos!" Gabriel gasped in surprise as he held on tightly to the Legendary Dragon he had bonded with, whilst Timaeus had Atsuko as her passenger alongside Dark Magician. "Wait, if you're all here, then...." He glanced over as Red and Alister came up alongside them, the General having returned to his former state. "Thank you, General," Gabriel sighed with relief.

 

"T'was only right that I returned the power you had lent me," Alister nodded.

 

"I still have need of your Tyrant Burst Dragon, of course," Red chimed in, "but I'm sure you'd have no objections anyway. But really, this is coming off like a whelp in the throes of a tantrum. How utterly undignified," he added as he glanced over at the dragonized Arturia, his voice tinged with his obvious disgust.

 

"Yeah; compared to her, even you were more well-behaved at your worst," Alister nodded again.

 

"HEY."

 

"Just teasing," Alister nonchalantly shrugged.

 

"Everyone alright?" Alexander called out as he and the rest of Team Lombax (+Hapshiel) pulled up beside the dragons.

 

"And before you say it, Crim: yes, we know you're still upset about getting poked in your jaw," Umbris cut in before the Neo-Spacian Signer Dragon could put in his two cents. "Don't worry, we'll get you patched up soon, and quickly."

 

"Please do," Crim replied, with a slightest hint of a pained whimper.

 

“This is just getting ridiculous at this point,” Jeanne scoffed. “The jabroni needs to die already.”

 

“C’mon now, Jeanne, you should know things like this are pretty much tradition,” Ratchet remarked. “Endgame-Type Bosses always have more than one form or phase that the heroes must overcome before being able to reach the end--”

 

“THIS IS NOT A VIDEO GAME, RATCHET!!!” Jeanne hissed irritably.

 

“Oh the irony of that statement,” Gabriel sighed with a knowing glance at the Fourth Wall. The glance didn’t linger on the Fourth Wall for long, however, as something else--or rather, someone else--caught his attention. “Speaking of individuals who seem to NOT wanna die….”

 

The rest of Team Lombax & Co. turned their attentions to what Gabriel was looking at, and what they saw left them with varying reactions, most of them negative:

 

Over towards the opposite wall of the Hallway, standing upon a familiar, glowing green circle, stood a gaunt, disheveled shell of a man, his dull gaze fixed upon Pendragon. He stood perfectly still, unmoving, as if either carefully considering his options… or putting all his energy into keeping something restrained within him.

 

“SAYER?!” Atsuko was the first to (furiously) remark on this sight, her blood boiling at the mere sight of him.

 

“But we banished him into cessation, Atsuko, remember?” Alexander reminded the young lady. “Which would mean that that….”

 

“... would be Kyros,” Gabriel surmised soberly.

 

As if on cue, Kyros’s eyes snapped away from Pendragon to focus directly on Team Lombax, if for no other reason than to simply acknowledge their presence, his dull, stoic expression unchanged in even the slightest. This silent acknowledgement lasted no more than two seconds before his gaze returned to focus on Pendragon, a sickly green aura surrounding him as a small, needle-covered creature emerged before him, its own red iris staring straight at the Pendragon.

 

“That’s… a different sort of R.O.D.,” Bayonetta remarked of Kyros’ monster.

 

“Actually, that’s an “Orichalcos Kyutora”,” Umbris helpfully pointed out, reading off an encyclopedia he had suddenly pulled out of his cape. “It prevents him from receiving any battle damage involving his own monsters, and if it’s destroyed--oh, looks like we’re gonna see what happens now.”

 

The Kyutora suddenly darted forth by Kyros’ unheard command, rocketing itself head-first against Pendragon’s forehead where it detonated, harmlessly, upon impact. The debris left behind from the Kyutora’s destruction was carried off by an unfelt wind, pulling it back towards its master where it began to form a small dust tornado, which slowly began increasing in size and intensity as something within its center was beginning to form.

 

“He’s Summoning Orichalcos Shuronos,” Gabriel explained to the rest of the group as they witnessed the Dogu-esque giant rise from within the vortex, its two detached arms materializing on either side of it as soon as it had fully emerged.

 

“Sounds like you speak from experience,” Red observed.

 

“Trust me, I’ve seen this happen before at least once,” Gabriel replied.

 

“That being said,” Alexander chimed in as he was patching up Crim’s wound with a mixture of Goblin’s Secret Remedy, Soul of the Pure, and Mooyan Curry (don’t ask), “we should probably do the same if we’re to take down Her Irrate Majesty.”

 

“Speak for yourself,” Alister scoffed in a totally-not-jealous manner.

 

“Aww, don’t worry Al,” Gabriel teased somewhat playfully, “Atsuko and I have got you guys covered.”

 

“Yep! Monsters for everyone~!” Atsuko chimed in as she and Gabriel tossed a few Monster Cards into the air:

 

♫ “All-Out Monster Assault!”♫ (Paznos’ Launch/Dark Chronicle)

 

“For Red, I bestow upon you “Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon”!”

 

“For Ratchet and Clank, I give you “Scrap Twin Dragon”!”

 

“For the General, I grant “Destiny HERO - Dogma”! And I’ll even throw in a “Sword of Dragon’s Soul” as a bonus!”

 

“To Hapshiel, I bequeath “Master Hyperion”! (Just don’t go dry-humping him the moment he’s out, okay?)”

 

“For Bayonetta--”

 

“--no thank you, love, we’ve got this covered,” the Umbra Witch politely declined.

 

“Speaking of,” Jeanne added, directed at Hapshiel, “while we appreciate your assistance, we have our own methods of staying afloat.” With that, both she and Bayonetta each weaved a pair of wings with their hair before dismounting Hapshiel’s arms, using their makeshift wings to fly on their own.

 

“PDEE BARMA!” Bayonetta and Jeanne chanted in unison, both summoning their respective Demoness, Madama Butterfly and Madama Styx, to join the ranks of the Duel Monsters.

 

“That just leaves us two, right Gabe?” asked Atsuko.

 

“Yep. Go ahead and borrow Timeaus for this one,” Gabriel nodded as he pulled out another card. “And I’ll go with… “Lightray Garlandolf”!” Once more, the crimson-and-gold adorned King of Destruction made his appearance, begrudgingly giving an acknowledging nod to the Demonesses he had been summoned next to.

 

“Ready, Dark Magician?” Atsuko asked of the sorcerer by her side, who nodded in affirmation. “Then let’s go! I combine you with the power of “The Eye of Timeaus”, to form “Amulet Dragon”!!” Timeaus and Dark Magician were engulf in a radiant teal light as the two united their powers as one, with Dark Magician standing firmly between the Legendary Dragon’s wings, anchored in place by the Enochian runes scrawled all over Timeaus’ body.

 

“Everyone ready, then?” Gabriel declared. “Pendragon appears to be on her last legs, so an all-out attack should help to finish her off!”

 

“ADRPAN!” “BAGIE!!” Jeanne and Bayonetta led the charge with their Demonesses, both proceeding to pummel Pendragon from all angles with a barrage of fisticuffs.

 

“RIGHTEOUS BARRAGE OF DESTRUCTION!!!” Garlandolf cried out, foregoing his previous aversion to any mentions of righteousness as he joined the Demonesses, his fists engulfed in holy flames as he, too, pummeled Pendragon viciously.

 

“Destiny HERO - Dogma, attack with Death Chronicle!” Alister commanded as the D-HERO gathered an immense level of dark energy from the surrounding area into his body, before unleashing it from his Sword of Dragon's Soul in a mighty slash.

 

“Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon! Join me!” Red declared as he prepared his Quad Kill attack once again, this time with the Red-Eyes monster joining its Darkness Metal Flare with the 4 elements of Red’s attack, all five energies spiralling and merging as one--oh, sorry, make that three--prismatic meteors streaming across the Hallway toward Pendragon.

 

“Scrap Twin Dragon! Dual Scrap Cannon!” Ratchet called out just as Giant Clank preceded the attack with a salvo of his own, with Scrap Twin Dragon’s two heads following up with a blazing burst from each mouth.

 

“Amulet Dragon! Attack with Magical Distortion!!” Atsuko’s fiercely-delivered order was heeded by a blinding energy blast erupting from Timeaus’ maw, fired directly at Pendragon.

 

Hapshiel, meanwhile, waited as Master Hyperion prepared his own attack, conjuring a miniature representation of the Solar System complete with its own miniature Sun in the center.  "Love... and Peace~~!"  Hijacking Hyperion's attack, Hapshiel blew a kiss at the center of the Mini-Solar System, sending the Mini-Sun rocketing outwards like a comet, the other Mini-Planets and their respective orbital pathways following suit.

 

“BURNING UMBRALIS ATTACK!!!” Umbris joined in as well, drawing power from Neo-Spacian Red Dragon Archfiend before firing a dark burning light from his hands.

 

“Now Crim! Attack with Absolute Neo Force!!” Alexander cried out.  Gathering energy within his hands, Crim unleashed a multicolored blaze with the force of a nova.

 

“... Pho… ton… Ring…!” Not to be left out in this chaos, Kyros croaked out his command in a zombie-like tone, while a destructive green ring appeared surrounding Orichalcos Shuronos’ midsection before rising up to above its head. It hovered there for a few seconds before launching itself straight at Pendragon.

 

With all of these attacks executed (including that of Master Hyperion), it seemed all but certain that Pendragon would be overpowered, and obliterated.

[Reinforce]

Darcy

 

After this...what is next for us? The Counter Corps and the Divines practically had dissolved now. That girl earlier wield the sword of your leader, didn't she? It would be easily assumed that he too had perished. With both him and Arturia gone, what's next?
 
Does the two side even has any reasons to be in conflict with each other without the presence of their leaders as the concern?

 

Without either side's leaders, that probably relies on the individual members of each group. The divine may have formed around the leader, but all of us originally joined because we had desires we wanted granted by the door. I personally have little interest in it beyond restoring my world now, but if the other remaining members still desire it, there may be more conflict between the groups yet. That also doesn't take into account the possibility of members of the corps or those not currently aligned with either side having further desires for the door. In the end, it really depends on who still wants the door for more than just restoring the damage done during this war.

 

As Darcy talked, she started to fiddle with the sheath she was holding, and noticing what LERNA's killer had just done, decided to start pushing a portion of her Dragon's Flame into Avalon, in hopes of restoring it from it's inert state. Her flames may not have the spark of life like the gem did, but they held the highest concept of creation in her home, and as she watched, the sheath seemed to spark with life once more. The golden yellow of the sheath shifted to bright red, the blue decals shifted to the golden colour that the sheath had once had, with the sheath seeming to burn with energy before settling down. Seeing it alive and glowing with power once more, Darcy brought it to her body, trying to do the reverse of what Arturia had once done to bring it out, and watched it dissolve into flames that then were absorbed into her body. Smirking from the cover of her invisibility, Darcy stood around at the end of the hallway and waited.

 

[spoiler=tldr]Darcy talks to Satori, while following Lydia's example and trying to get Avalon working once more. She succeeds, and the sheath's colour scheme changes from gold and blue to red and gold. This is unlikely to be seen by anyone however, as Darcy is still hidden by her invisibility.

 

[Gαr]

Team Ed - Hallway of Origin

 

Ed failed in his attempt to defeat Arturia in one shot and rightfully so. The Arturia he fought was the real Arturia. He had not intend on doing that, but that's just how things turned out. Ed stayed down on the ground where landed. He turned his head and found Arturia had kicked him next to Gon. Their impromptu ice armor had been a good idea, letting them survive the dragonfire.

 

A shadow passed over the two of them. Elsa had retreated with the icy siege weapon from Arturia. She extended her hand and Ed accepted it. He grunted as she hoisted him up. She did the same thing with Gon.

 

"Well, that went about as it should have been," said Ed as bullshit happened around them.

 

"Ex...CALIBUR!!!"

 

"Goddammit."

 

It wasn't that much of a big deal for the three of them. It was...dealt with to say the least. The dragon Arturia had transformed into had become the newest obstacle to respond.

 

"COUNTER CORPS. DIVINE. CLEARLY, THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE. ALL OF YOU ARE IMBECILES ALIKE WHO SEEK TO OPEN THE DOOR. HENCEFORTH, I SHALL PUT A STOP TO SUCH SHORTSIGHTED FOOLISHNESS. BEHOLD, THE POWER OF A KING! I WILL DESTROY THAT KEY!!!"

 

Every started their final attacks. Ed raked his mind for he could do. Ed had already wasted his final attack...wait. Yes, he already used a final attack. His final attack, but not the rest of Team Ed's. He told Elsa and Gon what he had in mind.

 

All three of them faced towards Arturia. Gon stood in front of the two of them. Ed and Elsa moved closer to each other, holding each other like they were going to dance with their held hands thrust forward. Black flames spawned around Gon's feet. He lowered himself into position for his Hatsu. The flames erupted skyward, carrying Ed and Elsa with it. The dragon Ed summoned appeared different from the ones he normally summoned. This one had clawed hands and fins and spikes along the back of its flaming body.

 

They stood atop the dragon's head as amour made from Elsa's magic formed around the dragon. Black flames flared out from between the segments of armor. The dragon wore a helmet that exposed its face and snout. It looked like it was holding something in its mouth. Something black leaked out of the corners of its mouth, but it wasn't flames. The dragon opened its mouth and Gon's Hatsu expanded with it.

 

"First comes rock! Paper!" The ball of Nen was propelled out of the dragon's mouth with swirling column of ice and black fire.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

Without either side's leaders, that probably relies on the individual members of each group. The divine may have formed around the leader, but all of us originally joined because we had desires we wanted granted by the door. I personally have little interest in it beyond restoring my world now, but if the other remaining members still desire it, there may be more conflict between the groups yet. That also doesn't take into account the possibility of members of the corps or those not currently aligned with either side having further desires for the door. In the end, it really depends on who still wants the door for more than just restoring the damage done during this war.

 

Now that you say that, I am starting to understand Arturia's motives. It would take a lot more than that to make me sympathize with her, but her concerns were real. Well, I am simply here after my sister revived me. Nothing more than her memories of me, given physical form. Since she wished to restore our world, I chose to just follow her.

 

But honestly...the thought of someone still potentially selfishly impede the group effort to reach the end of this place, out of some warped desire to utilize the key for their own purpose despite what we all have gone through made me sick. Such petty squabble are disgusting just to think about. I don't care if they start killing each other after we reach the goal, but any time before...

 

And at that point, Satori went quiet.

 

She needed something that she could use as a threat to keep everything in line until the end. For this purpose, she explored all the memories that she had access to right now, and before long she managed to find something quite intriguing. It was a battle against a centaur-like being. The Madara, the exact same one that had bonded with Arturia earlier and had changed into her weapon. Near the end of the battle. A certain event happened. Infinite Tsukuyomi, was it? That was a display of power far beyond what Satori could really comprehend, but reading through the memories, she slowly pieced about its nature. An illusion that encompassed even an entire world, something beyond what a nine-tailed kitsune would be capable of doing. Actually...this was far too similar to the Moonlight Descent Plan. The act of opening the eye of the moon that would affect the consciousness of all living beings on earth and awakened them as a satori...which actually, would make Infinite Tsukuyomi the reverse of it. It was an act that figuratively closed the eye of the world, imprisoning them in a place where they could ignore reality and live in bliss. It drew her interest more, and she chose to study about it further. After a bit, she came into the conclusion that she still needed more information before the effects of Infinite Tsukuyomi could be replicated for when it's necessary. She needed someone that managed to observe some if not most it without being affected in the illusion itself. The memories that she had access to were too flawed because of their perspective.

 

But for now, it was enough for her. She was sure that she would be able to learn more about it as time went on, and she would be already allowed to consider it as an asset now.

 

Pardon me for spacing out. As I said, should there be any meaningless squabble that would divide us before the goal is attained, I would break the conflict apart myself. If they couldn't handle the thought of working with their enemies for just this moment, then they'd serve us better if they run away into the deepest corner of their mind instead to live their brutish and selfish fantasies.

 

That aside, do you have any personal guesses about what would wait for us beyond this place?

 

[Merci]

~ The Pendragon ~

Hallway of Origin

 

 

 

Let there be no mistake.

 

King Arthur, whom betrayed her own people for the sake of her own people, whom clawed past death many times in the name of justice, will at last be proclaimed dead.

 

At the end of this passage, all her titles will be struck down. Left to fade into dust.

 

The Ｃｏｕｎｔｅｒ　Ｇｕａｒｄｉａｎ．

 

The Ｇｏｄｄｅｓｓ　ｏｆ　Ｗａｒ．

 

The Ｋｉｎｇ　ｏｆ　Ｋｎｉｇｈｔｓ．

 

The Ｓａｖｉｏｕｒ　ｏｆ　Ｂｒｉｔａｉｎ．

 

The Ｐｅｎｄｒａｇｏｎ.

 

The giant red dragon called the Pendragon took flight, having soared into the air high above the many combatants, until she reached the Hallway's ceiling. Eyeing her many opponents, prepared to burn their every efforts into ashes. From a hundred meters above ground, an attack akin to a volcanic eruption ensued. Torrents of lava bursting downwards from her mouth, superheated molten rock threatening to melt everyone down...and the Key with it, whomever may be holding it.

 

However, her enemies were not willing to give in just yet. And she had only thirteen minutes’ worth of life force to end them.

 

"That is no noble, kingly power you wield now, but the desperate act of something artificial, seeking to carry it's programmers last orders at the detriment of even it's own life. Here and now, if a king you still claim to be, all I can see is a puppet king at best, beheld to something else and dancing on it's strings..." Denouncing her, the fire mage Chandra proceeded to mold some of the falling lava to her will, converting some into Magma Phoenixes and others into burn spells. "Begone, puppet king.

 

A MERE MAGE DARES TO MOCK ME? The phoenixes and spells hurtled past the falling lava; the Pendragon’s mighty tail swung and smashed her summons in an instant, showing off her newfound strength. The flames hit her red-scaled body, scorching some of the scales off yet otherwise having little effect. Her ridiculous offense and defense, exemplified in a physical form. ”HMPH!” What did have effect was a sudden lightning bolt from Ayame, that thundered directly onto the Pendragon’s head. She gasped as the electricity pierced through her thick scales and coursed into her body; as weak as it was, it was still exceedingly painful. Despite this, she maintained the lava falling from her mouth, being sure to bury Chandra in hot boulders.

 

"Power of a king? After all this...you still see yourself as a king?" The boy Nero spoke next, summoning forth his two Keyblades as he bravely faced the dragon, even as the magma stream made its way towards him. "A king doesn't use their power like this. IF YOU WERE A TRUE KING, YOU'D KNOW THIS!!" Yelling out loud as much as he could, he turned one of his Keyblades into a hoverboard glider, assuming armor as he did so. As if such a thing would save him!

 

HMPH! YOU KNOW NOTHING OF TRUE KINGS!!! The Pendragon telepathically roared back, being sure to broadcast to everyone as opposed to focusing on one alone. Her voice was a mental dragonic scream, akin to a crackling earthquake overlaid with differing feminine voices.

 

"Alright...let's go!" Nero shouted, zooming through the air as he seemed to be analyzing her stature. All the while, she kept her eyes trained on him. With the X-Blade in his hand, Nero brought forth five huge shards of ice, before casting them at her with a "BLIZZAGA 5X!!!" So he had gone the standard route of using ice spells - however, his mediocre magic wouldn’t be nearly enough to harm her.

 

The great red dragon swung her head, momentarily whipping back the stream of lava, causing piles of seething hot rocks to slam through the icicles whilst causing more lava to scatter all over the Hallway. However, her hulking form made it hard to aim properly. Two of the Blizzaga shards made it past and scratched into her right shoulder - her elemental weakness hit, she winced slightly. Nero quickly changed positions before the flung lava could hit him. He flew across the air, then doubled back towards her.

 

With the utmost bravery, the Keyblade Warrior drew closer to her, swooping in and swinging his X-Blade in an attempt to land more attacks on her. His weapon was glowing with an icy aura that negated the ridiculous heat her body was putting out, having imbued himself with Diamond Dust. Even as her giant claws swung to eviscerate him, Nero continued to slash at the Pendragon, doing his best to lay an assault on the creature without being burnt to a crisp. Three ice pillars appeared from the next strike, all three of these pillars spinning rapidly around the creature. She flapped her wings harshly, causing strong wind currents to push the pillars away, yet a fourth broke off a scale on her upper body.

 

"Alright then...time for the finale!!" Nero yelled he dove in once more towards the Pendragon, his strike producing a large glacier "Take this!! DIAMOND DUST!!" The glacier burst and explode, striking the dragon king with its icy shards.

 

Unprepared, the Pendragon let out dragonic cries of pain as they pierced through the scales at point-blank range, stabbing into her body all over. They covered her entire right side in tiny wounds, from which blood leaked out, washed by the melting of the icicles themselves. The greatest disadvantage of having this massive body was the inability to dodge well. I AM A KING! Regardless, this was her chance. As soon as the Keyblade Warrior had exhausted himself with that attack, the Pendragon directly swooped towards his hoverboard. Then, flapping her wings once more, a dense hurricane slammed onto Nero, thrusting him down towards an awaiting sea of lava.

 

”BLOOOOODDDYYYY BLIZZARD!” It turned out that Nero wasn’t the only one to opt to target her elemental weakness. Butler-Ragnarok’s Black Blood shot upwards through the stream of lava, with a subzero temperature that was essentially freezing all the falling entire magma as if they were mere water. The Pendragon hastily stopped, shutting her mouth, separating herself, and flying back before it could reach her. She watched as a pillar of frozen rocks solidified by her very eyes, right in the middle of the Hallway. Ragnarok and the Alpha Stigma were truly formidable. And they were far from the only ones.

 

”Pfft petty mortals.” Rhadamanthys created a lance of pure Godly Cosmos. ”Sometimes you have to sit down and know...your...place!” The Divine’s God of Death tossed his charged lance directly at the dragon, tearing the frozen pillar down alongside much of the nearby boulders.

 

Lance hurtled towards her at with unsurprisingly incredible strength. His target would’ve been doomed were it anyone else, but she was not the King of Britain for nothing. Charging up all her energy together, she unleashed a beam of red energy with equally incredible force. The lance and beam collided, violently, with a merciless fury that shook the reddened skies. Divine or not, it was undeniable that the god would’ve been a worthy adversary to face on his own.

 

YOU DIVINE NEVER LEARN, DO YOU? The Pendragon cried physically at Rhadamanthys, she pressed onwards. Pouring more energy into her own attack, the firebeam advanced onwards to Rhadamanthys himself.

 

As she fired the beam, her attention quickly scanned the rest of the battlefield, anticipating further enemies.

 

She noticed that Kratos had somehow obtained a new, enormous sword from a light that had come out of nowhere. What on earth? She had no time to question it, yet could only wonder where it came from, and how much of a threat it would be. Also, the mind mage Jace was staring, as though reading her mind, perhaps about to cast of a great spell befitting his role as Guildpact - yet in the end, he did not act in any regard.

 

Neos had drawn awfully close whilst riding a griffon, before sliding off. He allowed himself to become surrounded with a blue light, transforming more rapidly than she knew was possible. Knowing too well that to leave himself vulnerable so high in the sky, for a mere second alone, may spell his death. Not even a second passed when the light faded to reveal a Golduck. Honestly, she’d had no idea he was capable of such quick Transform bursts… Hm. Water manifested all around the duck-shaped Pokemon as he fell, both to regulate his own temperature and to take on the surrounding magma. He spun around, firing countless torrents, neutralizing much of the stray lava that Chandra and Butler-Ragnarok had missed to save more of the warriors, before hitting the steam-covered ground.

 

For a moment, the king observed Neos, who as of yet hadn’t engaged her in direct combat at any point. So far, she hadn’t made any attempt to engage him in direct combat either. He was quite versatile with his abilities, was he not?

 

Hm. Perhaps, he was worth knighting. Perhaps, he would do as a retainer after all.

 

That thought was interrupted when the other transformer, Gemini charged at her amongst the skies, having assumed a sort of ‘Y’ shape with two conjoined black wings. What a strange form- "Yve!"

 

A black light surrounded the red dragon, engraining itself into her heart. Despite her immense Magic Resistance, the power of the Oblivion Wing bypassed her defenses as it consumed her life force, the avian Gemini absorbing it. No! Her consciousness faltered, threatening to give way as her death was accelerated. In desperation, she fired a volley of dozens of massive fireballs at Gemini, each one homing in on his position - surrounded in the air, escape was just about impossible. The assault was sufficient to cease his efforts, sparing her a little longer, but the effect was deniable. Her lifespan had been cut in half, from twelve to six minutes.

 

She would have to act quickly if she wanted to eliminate the Key! She opened her wide reptillian jaws and started spewing more lava onto everyone on the ground - yet, as soon as she did so, Lydia cooled them rapidly and broke off to become an arsenal of obsidian spears. After Nero’s attack, the Pendragon had made sure to concentrate life energy into her scales, hardening them further. The obsidian barrage was launched forth, slamming against various of her scales so hard they were dented, but failed to penetrate her defenses.

 

As it happened, four more combatants were fast incoming.

 

The first, Kenpachi, bounced from molten rock to molten rock, using the falling stones to propel himself to Arturia's massive height. With a crazed smile and a hearty laugh, he leaped over the spilling magma, putting himself in danger. Be it brave or reckless, the man didn’t know the definition of fear, did he? Even though he was the enemy, the Pendragon found herself in much awe of him.

 

Kenpachi cried out "Arturia! Thanks for makin' this interestin'!" as his aura exploded, nearing the dragon's maw. He drew back Nozarashi with both hands. "Now. Open wide!"

 

GLADLY. Directly in front of her jaws, the Shinigami had to know what he was dealing with. His plan was most probably to draw her fire away from the others, and of course, he was the only one with a chance of surviving such a foolish thing. Whether he actually would, that was another matter. A jet of blazing silver flames rushed out of her mouth, right before Nozarashi could pierce her scales, bathing Kenpachi in deathly temperatures at point-blank range. But even then, the ridiculous man held on, buying the others some time.

 

The second, Killua, raced across the Pendragon’s backside, dodging lava whilst scaling her form; his lightning-covered hands electrified every nearby scale in the process. She endured the constant stream of electrical shocks. Although, this was only an annoyance that distracted her, as opposed to anything significantly damaging.

The boy continued until he reached her wingspan, at which point he dug his claws into her left wing’s soft flesh and poured lightning within, in an attempt to fry it. Pain flowed through the Pendragon’s whole body, and her flight haltered.

 

GROUNDING ME, I SEE, BOY?! Defying his attempts, the Pendragon flapped her wings harder than ever, letting out violent bursts of life energy to throw him off. She ultimately succeeded, throwing Killua towards the ground, but the electrified wound left in her left wing was impossible to heal. Her flight wouldn’t be quite so efficient. Therefore, she would have to compensate with a mind of steel.

 

While occupied with Kenpachi and Killua, the third and fourth warriors attacked unstopped. Kratos dived past the Pendragon's right side, and Revy went opposite to her left side. Kratos' strange new blade reverberated with magic. Letting out a mighty roar, Kratos drove the blade into the Pendragon's front right thigh, lodging itself between scales and successfully cutting it open. Alas, he may not have expected the torrent of boiling hot blood, jettisoning from the opened wound right onto his body, thrusting him off.

 

The dragon roared, ”THIS IS RIDICULOUS!”

 

Kenpachi soon gave in to the laser and was also launched away. Then, the giant red reptile closed off Kratos’s wound with magma, hardening in a painful process to become a thick, rock band-aid. That stab had dealt a tremendous amount of damage, her right claws struggling to move, but it wasn’t enough to cripple her. On the other side, Revy’s movements weren’t quite so coordinated as she made her way towards her enemy’s underbelly. The Pendragon redirected some of her lava to prevent any further interference, smashing the enhanced girl with a cooled boulder back towards the ground.

 

”SHEEP OF THE MULTIVERSE...”

 

Thus far, the Counter Guardian dragon had successfully fended off everyone’s attacks, succeeding in keeping everyone at a distance without sustaining too terrible damage. Much of her lava had been cooled, doused, and destroyed at this point by Chandra, Neos, Lydia, and Ragnarok, the remainder being sufficient for the others to handle. Her life energy had been shortened even further by the incredible exertion just to keep back Rhadamanthys and Kenpachi; the inflicted wounds by Nero, Kratos, and Killua were taking their toll, and Gemini’s draining had halved the amount of time she had left.

 

”WHY ARE YOU ALL FIGHTING SO HARD...”

 

She had five minutes left to destroy the Key of Origin. Therefore, she would have to change tactics if she was to attain the promised victory.

 

”FOR THE WRONG CAUSE?!”

 

Opening her jaws once more, the Pendragon started to gather incredible amounts of her remaining life force into a singular, condensed ball of energy. She was sacrificing an entire minute for this, but it would be worth it. Divided, all over the ground and sky, they couldn’t possibly put up an efficient defense in time. Enough energy had been poured into the now-massive red orb before her that it could match a single Excalibur blast. All of her enemies would be ERADICATED!

 

However, the one who possessed the power to oppose it stepped forth. Lydia Armstrong, with a frightful, twisted visage of a sword in her hands; a bleached white blade with a grim-black hilt, a hydra-esque design adorned to it. Its appearance was vaguely reminiscent of her Excalibur, and its energy greatly resembled that of the Witch of Infinite Possibilities. What a monstrous weapon - a fusion of two great threats, the Madara and LERNA. To dare to create such an object…the Pendragon couldn’t help but admit, at least in her mind, that she was genuinely impressed. The girl had come very far.

 

Assuming a fighting stance, Lydia pushed away the lava that had congealed in the interim, hardening it into stone and letting it drop harmlessly away. Breathing calmly, the sorceress let her twisted sword glow with sickly black and white light. However, would it be enough to stop her?!

 

"HOPELESS!" Lydia cried as she pulled the blade back, apparently mimicking the movements she had previously seen Arturia perform.

 

”DEAR LYDIA...” The Pendragon roared, pointed the heavily-pressurized orb of life force forward, fully charged and more than capable of vaporizing anything in its path.

 

"BLLLLLLAAAACCCCKKKKKK!"

 

Lydia was the first to launch her assault. Thrusting the blade with all her might, a pure beam of light did not emanate, but a gust of darkness taking the form of a demonic hydra head, surrounded by a helix of seven smaller heads. An anti-Excalibur fuelled with the power of despair, each head snarling loudly as they soared straight for her former leader’s heart like a malicious arrow. There was no question that it contained a ridiculous amount of power. However, would it be enough to stop her?!

 

”DIE FOR YOUR KING!!!”

 

The Pendragon responded in kind, unleashing a Life-Force Burst without a trace of mercy. A blinding red light possessing a concentrated, unstable core of flames that blazed at eight thousand kelvins, surpassing the heat of the sun. It collided against the demonic blast with a raging determination, scattering fire and darkness across the Hallway as the two furiously battled to overcome the other. The air shook, space distorted, the plates lining the walls were pushed back. Essentially, this was the futility of despair versus the last throes of life - the hydra versus the dragon.

 

The two blasts dug into one another, and in seconds the outcome was clear. With most but not all its firepower negated, the crimson beam victoriously blazed past the core of the attack, making its way towards Lydia. But in turn, the helix of surrounding dark blasts fired advanced onto the Pendragon unopposed. They viciously snapped at her on all fronts - her dragonic head, her front claws, and her underbelly - she slammed against the Hallway’s ceiling of light, causing the whole area to tremble.

 

The Pendragon had successfully fended off Lydia’s ultimate attack, but as it happened, far more were incoming.

 

“Here we go, Maanna. This dragon king will have the honor of receiving your full might.” Kazuya appeared to have summoned a black-haired goddess, riding a monstrously-sized bow-like contraption. With a confident smirk, Megami Ishtar aimed Maanna towards the dragon king's wings. She focused her mind for a moment, and manifested a sphere over her right hand, small, yet with crystallized planetary energy from an unknown source. As unusual as it was, hadn’t Kratos done exactly the same not long ago? The sphere transformed into two large arrows which were loaded into the divine bow-boat as it turned into a ballista-like form. . “Suppression of the heavens, a lullaby for the earth. A divine light to shoot down the king who is so full of herself back to the ground where she belongs!

 

Kindle of Venus, destroy this obstacle! An Gal Te Kigal She!”

 

As the Noble Phantasm-esque incantation was completed, the two arrows were fired from the ballista towards the dragon's wings, carrying enough destructive power to wipe a mountain off the face of the earth. It was thankfully too much to handle, as the summon gradually faded away into light. Even so, the arrows hurtled towards their target with ridiculous force. Time and time again, Kazuya proved to be underestimated.

 

“WHAT DOES A GOD KNOW OF KINGSHIP?” The Pendragon retorted. Understanding that she didn’t have enough time or energy to deal with more ultimate attacks head-on, she hastily let out a strong, short-ranged burst of mana from her mouth. The recoil from it quickly blew her whole body back, breaking some of her internal bones in the process, but it had enabled her to dodge the twin destructive forces in time. Ishtar’s divine arrows struck the ceiling, the powerful shockwaves forcing the dragon to fly over to avoid them.

 

Three minutes and fifty seconds of life remaining. The Pendragon started changing up another Life-Force Burst to eradicate everyone, decreasing that to two minutes and fifty seconds.

 

That very instant, a talisman-covered Revy returned, rematerializing alongside Reimu via her Fantasy Nature. Right in front of the dragon’s face. What on earth could that misshapen duo be planning? Due to their proximity, she bared her jaws to crunch them whole, at which point she felt something fire into her throat. A last futile attack on their part? Her sheer size made it difficult to judge what had occurred, but whether she consumed them or not, they had disappeared. She continued charging her ultimate attack-

 

-but was interrupted, feeling a presence within her belly. Reimu must have phased within… What a foolish move. Her interior was even more dangerous than her exterior, literal magma production burning in conjunction with acidic liquids and raw mana to sustain her body. Where she came from, dragons feasted on the normally-indigestible phantasmal beasts, dampening their magical abilities for better digestion.

 

Even so, she could sense the girl setting amulets all around her guts, activating the spellcard with a (“Divine Barrier: Omnidirectional Expanding Barrier!”) Barriers expanded everywhere, but Reimu would immediately find great difficulty in maintaining them. The volcanic heat that would kill a human in seconds aside, liquid seeped from everywhere, breaking down the very mana that composed those barriers. The same kind that caused fantastic beasts to dissolve and kill consumed undead for good. Relying on apparent external forces, Reimu added much more force to her barriers, pressing onwards in an effort that was slowly beginning to succeed - but the Pendragon wasn’t worried about her. After all, the second she launched an attack, that woman would be flooded with magma and die. Just like Yukari.

 

However, as insignificant as it was, it had proven to be an effective distraction. The Pendragon realized that a second living being was within her. Revy had also entered? Oh, she was in her throat? At first, the dragonoid didn’t think much of it, considering her plan to shoot up her dragonic body from the inside futile; not only were her insides resistant to simple mortal contraptions, but as with Reimu, she would die the second an attack was unleashed.

 

(“So this is what it’s like being inside a dragon, huh?”) Revy said, shaking her head. (“If only dad could see me now.”)

 

However, when the king actually paid attention to the gun… She realized that this was a fatal, fatal mistake. That amount of energy contained. How was it possible? Revy clearly did not possess that much, so why were the atoms within so erratic, why were they releasing their energy? No, this power! It was equivalent to that of a nuclear bomb?!

 

A explosion on that level unleashed within the Pendragon’s own neck? No matter how it was spun, that was absolutely certain death. What naturally-occurring biological entity in the entire multiversal animal kingdom could possibly withstand that? Yes, there was indeed Godzilla, but she was a magical fire dragon, not a dinosaur kaiju that actually feeds on nuclear radiation. Revy’s gun vibrated with much force, threatening to fall to pieces if not used soon. That girl wasn’t a scientist, nor a magician,so how the bloody hell did she manage to obtain or create such a thing - but there was no time to wonder. Stranger things had happened in this Origin War.

 

YOU LITTLE... The Pendragon telepathically voiced out. At that very same instant, she opted to unleash her Life-Force Burst before its completion - there was no other option! Boiling, green liquids rushed in through her guts, drowning Reimu in a near-inescapable flesh pit of hot acid. The girl’s expanding barrier field momentarily delayed the activation of the dragonfire, but the liquids ultimately seeped past her, flowing further on before igniting into violent dragonfire.

 

At the same time. Revy aimed her weapon up at the throat of the Counter Guardian dragonoid and drew back the hammer on the nuke-loaded gun. (“From my world to yours, Arturia,”) Revy said from within, pulling the trigger. There was a bright flash from the muzzle of her weapon, and a crack as Revy’s gun fired. As soon as it did so, silver flames shot from behind, flooding the entire organ she resided within in an instant and blazing out beyond the gaping jaws. The woman would have been incinerated to dust in an instant were it not for the barrier, and even then, there was no guarantee she could survive it for long.

 

The king’s plan was simple - to incinerate that goddamned nuclear bullet and funnel whatever remained out of her dragonic body. The bullet was successfully caught in that exhaust of flames, having barely entered her flesh before being rendered into ash. However, that came with its own consequences; even if the detonation had been intercepted, there was no solution for the sheer level of radioactivity. Her flames mixed in with that radiation as it thrust outwards, severely poisoning her own throat and mouth in the process; she could feel her interior flesh decaying rapidly. How many more minutes did she have now? She had lost count.

 

I’LL KILL YOU ALL.

 

The Pendragon unleashed her Life-Force Burst in a gigantic wave of silver dragonfire. Powered by life force...and unintentionally, actually conveniently, emitting extreme amounts of radiation in the process. Even if it was killing her quicker, this would vastly increase her chances of killing the others!

 

Above the entrance of the Hallway, she started to charge onwards, much like a bomber jet, her destructive, contaminative flames making their way towards the warriors. With a range that spanned both sides of the walls. Lava was one thing, but radioactive fire was another entirely. With Lydia temporarily taken care of, they would all be bombarded with fire in one fell swoop!

 

...?!

 

Yet those dreams were promptly crushed. And her eyes widened when physical dreams materialized in the form of twin holy blades, Excalibur and Galatine - both of which were all too familiar to her. Her own ultimate sword, alongside the sword of a loyal Knight of the Round Table. These apparent copies not only stabbed into her front legs out of nowhere, but also halted her great charge before she could begin gaining any momentum. She’d been effectively locked into place, and by her own past too. Who could-

 

Suddenly, the woman responsible appeared some distance away, directly above the line of silver fire, her eyes all locked onto the sight of the dragon king. Koishi. The one who hated her for Yukari’s death. The one who had maintained a constant telepathic assault against her. The one who had strained to Recollect the ultimate attack of a few other Counter Corps to use on her.

 

OF COURSE IT’S YOU… YOU TROUBLESOME LITTLE BRAT!

 

Come to think of it, the Pendragon had felt her mind being tapped into during the entire fight. At first, she dismissed it as Jace alone, the passive mage doing naught but wander. However, as she sensed a singular memory being homed in on, she realized that this couldn’t be the case. Who would take such interest in her battle with Vortigern, if not that girl? Still, even those two blades would not be enough to hold her - strong as they were, they were not close to the originals in quality.

 

STILL DEFYING ME?! This was followed up by Sayer himself entering the fray (Arturia having no idea who Kyros would be). The Kyutora suddenly darted forth by his unheard command, rocketing itself head-first past the Life-Force Burst and onto her forehead. It detonated harmlessly, yet from the debris emerged Orichalcos Shunoros, a Dogu-esque giant rising from within the vortex, its two detached arms materializing on either side of it as soon as it had fully emerged. It was troublesome, but not worth her attention. The Pendragon maintained her gigantic waves of flames, moving her head upwards so that it would blaze a path of death across the Hallway; only to realize that Sayer was far from the only one intercepting her position.

 

Aside from Sayer and his Orichalcos Shunoros, there were others. Atsuko and Gabriel assisted, summoning forth monsters; a Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, a Scrap Twin Dragon, a Destiny HERO, and a Master Hyperion, alongside Lightray Garlandolf and a Dark Magician-Timeaus fusion, each acting as rides for members of the Counter Corps. Bayonetta and Jeanne chanted in unison, both summoning their respective Demoness, Madama Butterfly and Madama Styx, to join the ranks. Gon, Ed and Elsa had combined their powers as well, forming an ice-armoured dragon of black flames with Gon at its core.

 

The Pendragon telepathically broadcast, YOU LOT NEVER GIVE UP, DO YOU? SAYER ASIDE, YOU ARE INDEED TRUE COUNTER CORPS… IT IS ALMOST A SHAME TO END YOU ALL! Understanding that she was surrounded and vulnerable, she hastily excreted magma throughout all the scales on her body, creating a hardened layer of rock all over her dragonic body as defense.

 

Together, they acted as a single unit, charging forth at the Pendragon with their rides and all their might.

 

“ADRPAN!”“BAGIE!!”

“RIGHTEOUS BARRAGE OF DESTRUCTION!!!”

“Destiny HERO - Dogma, attack with Death Chronicle!”

“Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon! Join me!”

“Scrap Twin Dragon! Dual Scrap Cannon!”

“Amulet Dragon! Attack with Magical Distortion!!”

"Love... and Peace~~!"

“BURNING UMBRALIS ATTACK!!!”

“Now Crim! Attack with Absolute Neo Force!!”

“... Pho… ton… Ring…!”

"First comes rock! Paper!"

 

From all angles they pummelled her composite rock shell with attacks of all variations. Chipping away at her defense, inflicting constant pain onto her from all areas of her body, ultimately forcing the cessation of the wave of silver irradiated flames before they could hit even a single person.

 

Fisticuffs of great strength and holy flames wrecking her. A mighty slash charged with dark energy chipping into her. Three multi-elemental meteors slamming into her. An exploding salvo, alongside dual blazing bursts, setting her alight. An exceedingly bright light, alongside a dark burning light, burning into her. A meteor storm formed from a miniature Solar System assailing her. A rainbow nova, alongside a destructive green energy ring causing her armour to crack. Swirling columns of ice and black fire, not merely smashing onto her but cooling down her very ability to counter with adequate dragonfire. Twin blades pulled from her very own memory, Caliburn and Excalibur Galatine, holding her in place. Combined, they were whittling down what little remained of her defense in an assault she could hardly withstand, let alone maintain her ultimate attack within… Yet they were still endurable. They were still within her scope of ability to resist.

 

At the exact right moment, the Pendragon sacrificed everything that remained of her rock defense to mount a counterattack; it melted back into lava and exploded outwards in all directions, an omnidirectional volcanic blast. The suddenly-unleashed lava slammed into every one of those barrages, canceling them out, forcing the retreat of both their assaulters and their rides. Particularly splattering the two demonesses and Gabriel who had dared to engage her in close quarters, as well as pushing out the lodged holy blades. Yes, she told herself. Even if a single warrior hadn’t fallen to her efforts thus far, she still had the power and the time to seize victory!

 

YOU ALL TRIED VALIANTLY, BUT-

 

Until she heard those fatal words.

 

“Holy spear, anchor.”

 

Oh...s***.

 

The former King of Britain had been so distracted that she hadn’t paid attention to the most troublesome enemy of all, even as the girl floated directly before her empty eyes. The volcanic blast disintegrated before coming close, overcome by mere proximity to the all-too-familiar light in her hand, somehow fully manifested in Koishi's hands.

 

How was that possible? That was undeniably the light obtained from the ends of the Earth, used to kill the works of the supernatural. Excalibur and Excalibur Galatine had still been within reason, but to think that Recollection ability of hers could replicate even the greatest of miracles, the Holy Spear of Rhongomyniad! It wasn’t possible! It simply wasn’t possible! She refused to believe that a grand weapon like that could be wielded by an alien, one who surely knew nothing of human will!

 

And yet, it was in fact possible. One glance at the girl, one proper glance, was the only answer she needed to answer this impossible dilemma.

 

Koishi Komeiji. That troublesome being must have superimposed her own memory of using it onto reality. Recreating it with the same intensity as the memory had recorded. That girl had not only assimilated the memory, but became the memory.

 

And now, when Arturia looked at her… All she could see was a blonde woman garbed in kingly blue attire. Herself, or at least, the old her. Her own determination to slay the dragon, reflected in front of her. Whether it was Vortigern or the Pendragon made no difference, for it was the enemy.

 

Was that look not her own?

 

Why...did that cold expression strike such terror into her own heart?

 

If that was what King Arthur looked like in battle, no wonder the people obeyed her, and no wonder the people betrayed her. That level of glory and fear, condensed into a single image, was as beautiful as it was utterly terrifying. All this time she’d wondered, all this time she hadn’t been able to understand their feelings, and to think the answer to that had been a mirror all along-

 

 

And so a thought came to mind. Could it be, that this was the exact feeling Mordred felt upon being struck down, speared by that exact weapon?

 

Mordred. The illegitimate child of King Arthur’s blood, who joined the Round Table with hopes of being accepted by a father. Only to be denied without a second thought, her only recognizable worth to the throne being that of a capable knight. Treated as a bastard. Never acknowledged as a Pendragon. King Arthur followed his duty to the very end, and in turn, Mordred was also denied the throne to the very end.

 

History vilified Mordred, admittedly undeservingly. The young woman had been hotheaded, but she was neither cruel nor cowardly, not at first. Even with her Morgana-associated origins, she did not have the making of a villain. Yet to acknowledge the birthright, even once, would have granted the bastard an unearned path to power. It wasn’t that the young warrior hadn’t shown promise, but simply that she was not the perfect king that King Arthur himself was, that her emotions had the probability of leading Britain into ruin. To him, everyone else’s ideologies for Britain were simply wrong.

 

Now, watching Rhongomyniad before her eyes...she realized that there was a second reason. The real reason why King Arthur denied Mordred, for all those years, to the point of driving the girl into the madness of rebellion? It was simply because Mordred reminded the king too much of the younger her. Of the young girl ‘Arturia’, before she drew Caliburn and abandoned her emotions to become the perfect king.

 

The Pendragon returned back to reality, facing Koishi’s spiral spear with a renewed determination.

 

“Let light be released from the Ends of Earth.”

 

Rhongomyniad was a weapon which entire concept made it the perfect antithesis to anything having any shred of supernaturalness in its being. Even if it was only born from Arturia's memory, the Holy Spear's mere presence seemed to threaten to dissolve its wielder at any moments in its light. The fact that she could wield it at all was a miracle nonetheless. Or perhaps it was fate?

 

Koishi, playing the role of the King from her memories, was the one fighting to ensure the bright future. Just as Arturia once fought for the future of Britain.

 

The Pendragon’s ever-reliable Instinct was screaming at her that there were many alternatives to take that did not involve direct confrontation. That she ought to fight smarter, to either evade the blast or eliminate Koishi before full activation - but her sense of duty told her something else. Something irrational.

 

’Face it head on… Or you will not be a true king. Or her death will be in vain.’

 

Her abandonment of her young self, and her abandonment of Mordred. To do anything other face it head-on would be to insult them both. This was the path she had chosen, and by OVERCOMING THIS TRIAL, she would prove that King Arthur was right.

 

“Split the heavens, and connect the land.”

 

The thirteen fangs-like seals on the spear's body dissipated one by one, and as the last one disappeared, the body of the weapon itself became light, and a drill-like light swirls enveloped it. A surge of energy pooled into the lance as each moment passed.

 

In turn, the mighty Pendragon had poured more of her energy into yet another Life-Force Burst. A gigantic orb of crimson and verimillion materialized in front of her gaping jaws, shortening her lifespan evermore. Containing a considerable amount of power that was on par with Excalibur.

 

Even if Rhongomyniad was the spear that took down miracles, this attack was no miracle, but merely life itself ignited into physical form. If she could take down the assault before it reached the miracle that was the dragon itself, then victory was still possible. It was STILL within the horizon.

 

”I AM THE UNDEFEATED KING.

 

NOW DIE!!!”

 

Koishi readied her weapon. This was it. She took a deep breath, and with the sight of the black dragon still clear before her, she thrusted it forward, putting all of her into it as she yelled its name.

 

“Anchor of the Storm!

 

Rhongomyniad!"

 

A brilliant light enveloped the Hallway and collided with the Life-Force Burst as the Holy Spear's name was declared.

 

Although a significant amount of its light ended up being deflected away by the intense flames of the dragon’s attack. Although the spear itself disappeared, the fake unable to withstand the energies of armageddon. Although Koishi herself had lost consciousness from the strain of activation, falling towards the floor of the Hallway. Neither of these were enough to save the Pendragon, and somehow, it was something she already expected. She’d seen what this weapon had done too many times to underestimate it. Facing it directly had been a mistake from the start, the last remnants of her chivalry having clouded her judgment.

 

The drill-like pillar of light emitted from the weapon travelled onwards and inevitably went on its course to pierce through the entirety of the Pendragon, thrusting her all the way from the entrance back to the exit of the Hallway in the process. The light vaporized her entire dragonic body in a massive frenzy of energy, erupting outwards at the speed of sound, a sonic boom spreading across the whole Hallway. It performed so simply, so perfectly, and so gorgeously that one could practically believe this was the true purpose of Rhongomyniad all along.

 

Amongst its destruction, the light of Rhongomyniad conveyed a single message; ‘Curse your fate - the old Britain has fallen long time ago.’

 

When the light faded, the dragon existed no more.

 

Only Arturia Pendragon, standing upright with determination as she stood at the exit of the Hallway. The impossibility that was the ‘dragon’ had been killed. Therefore, it would inevitably revert back to its prior form, just as Vortigern once did. None of the sustained wounds, radiation, or exhaustion seemed to apply to her human body now, standing triumphant in her white battle atire.

 

Naturally she emerged victorious against her former weapon. It was a confirmation of all her beliefs, that justice would win in the end. As the one who kept the balance in Britain, it was her right to survive, and to carry on the intense battle. That is, until the Key was destroyed at long last, and peace in the multiverse was maintained.

 

“This battle is not over! The Key MUST be destroyed!” The woman declared, to the fifty-odd warriors from across the multiverse facing her.

 

She took a step forward, determined to continue the duel,

 

but to everyone else, it had been pretty obvious that would not be the case.

 

Her eyes widened in a split second of surprise as her body simply tumbled to the ground of the Hallway of Origin, powerlessly smacking onto some cooled lava face-first. It was even weaker than when Lydia was about to finish her off. Having exhausted all her options and without Avalon’s immortality, Arturia Pendragon had almost no options left. In fact, she had seconds.

 

Rhongomyniad may have failed to finish her off in its entirety, but her attempt to resist it had drained what little she had left. So consumed in battle, she had lost count of just how long she’d had left, and recklessly charged into something she was honestly powerless against.

 

It was strange, actually. The last time she had to experience her own demise, it had been cruel, slow, and gruelling, being worn down in the midst of Camlann, stabbed and attacked and cursed over and over by brave knights, until she finally succumbed to all the inflicted wounds after the war. And for certain, Death was an old friend whom she would rejoice in meeting again. The peace of everlasting oblivion after such an accursed life chained to the fate of a hero, to her, would be as beautiful as heaven itself… However. There was simply one problem with regards to welcoming death.

 

After all, this? Even though the sensation was so similar, this was the complete opposite. Even though it was just as slow, there was no honour, or pride, or even hope through this death. Everything that she had achieved would vanish and be tarnished without acknowledgment.

 

This...this was pathetic. Uninterrupted, the physical form of Arturia convulsed whilst she struggled to breathe, to take in oxygen, to survive just a little longer, to complete her mission. It was painful, but it was neither glorious nor meaningful.

 

Then, her movements stopped.

 

The body ceased its squirming.

 

Giving up, the flesh that was left behind lay on the floor, its eyes staring lifelessly at the the ceiling.

 

With the Dragon Factor eliminated from it by Rhongomyniad, it wasn’t even a special or a fit corpse, but that of an average, slender, human woman. It would be the last remaining physical remnant of Counter Guardian Arturia.

 

However. Being a Counter Guardian, it just so happened that she was a tad too tenacious.

 

As Arturia’s soul departed from her destroyed body, fading away, the sheer force of her will clung onto reality. Telling her that she couldn’t possibly hope to give up, after coming this far. Informing her that the mission of breaking the Key had yet to be completed. Showing her that there was a way she could still fight.

 

After all.

 

There was still one last backup plan to use.

 

The Ditto she knighted.

 

Neos Rivetter.

 

 

---

 

 

All the way on the other side of the battlefield, the soul homed onto his location and practically thrust itself through the Golduck-generated body of water and into Neos’s body, latching onto his very existence, like a parasite more than unwilling to die.

 

Having successfully doused much of the lava and assumed the battle was over after that climactic sequence of events, Neos couldn’t have possibly expected what happened next. All of a sudden, he felt a convulsion deep within his body, finding himself thankful he was in the form of a Water Pokemon while under the water, preventing him from accidentally hitting anything in the process - and in the next moment, his control over his own body and everything that came with it was ruthlessly torn apart by a powerful - and all too familiar - kingly force. It was obvious what had happened; Arturia had possessed him.

 

The Distortion are you doing?!

 

Words unheard but felt by the supposed King became known after the momentary struggle to keep control. And how?!

 

The false human was clearly upset and shocked. Even for the moment of lost control, Neos was still trying to reclaim his body, but every effort was counteracted by a violent light from within. On the outside, it would have simply appeared to the others that he had paused in place, trembling for no particular reason. Beneath the surface of his skin, the substance making up his body was attempting to forcefully change its current form, make it into something newer, stronger, and superior.

 

Simple. The Knighting. It is true that you do hold genuine promise, Sir Neos...but more than that, I selected you over anyone else due to your transformation ability.

 

No other could do the same things you could. One could say, you are now my RETAINER!

 

There was something unaccounted for in all this. Not long after this was felt, the feeling of fear began building rapidly in the soul she was in.

 

Neos was insanely afraid of imprisonment, of being unable to move on his own power. Arturia, even with nothing but self-believed good intent, just performed the ultimate imprisonment.

 

LET ME GO!!! LET ME GO!!

 

It may be a good thing that the words weren’t voiced, because the high pitch they would have taken would have shattered eardrums and glass alike, especially with the feeling of delirium that it was causing. Arturia was so taken aback that she very nearly lost control. But, as soon as this happened, she solidified her grasp over Neos’s existence, entrapping his mind.

 

f***ing Rockets, LEAVE ME ALONE!

 

Even when not in full control, Neos was still shedding a couple of tears as he found himself slipping into hysteria as he mistook Arturia for the humans that had destroyed whatever naive belief that humanity was inherently good. As Arturia adjusted to the biology of his body, his hands becoming hers, moving according to her will rather than his - she touched her face in a pause of annoyance, regarding those tears. And then clenched her fists.

 

When I knighted you, your innermost fears were exposed, for you alone to accept… You must be braver than this. Submit to me, and let me take over! Although it was kind of hard to have someone admit defeat when the being in question had reverted back to the animal they technically are…

 

...what are you going to do to me? ...how do I know you’re not like the others that have used my abilities for their own selfish, f***ed-up gains? A few moments passed before the shaking feeling continued. This...a good person wouldn’t have done this, not without conscious permission first at the least…

 

To be fair, I did just die. I was hoping things wouldn’t have had to come to such drastic measures, she dryly responded. Yet, the questions went unanswered. Not because she couldn’t answer, but because he already knew what they were.

 

During the Knighting, Arturia had seen the being that Neos made himself out to be. The instinct-driven beast he really was never showed itself…

 

...not until now.

 

You surprise me again... and again… and again… Sir Neos.

 

Alas, in the end, you are only a glorified Ditto I will bring no harm to this body of yours, so do not fear. Until I am done, it is time that I put you to rest.

 

Then, the remnants of Neos within his body found themselves suppressed by intense energy, their consciousness being stripped away by light. Neos, in front of everyone after breaching the surface of the water and stepped onto solid ground formed by the rapid cooling of the lava, started to morph, to change, to transform. Light blue becoming white, the aquatic form becoming distinctively human, rubbery skin forming armour around it, long and blonde hair growing more prominent. But even she could not stop the yellow tint to her skin, due to the yellow blood that flowed underneath. No matter - it did not matter what she ended up looking as, so long as it was a body shape she could fight in.

 

Perhaps you were a sad waste of my time after all.

 

Any last words?

 

Within the mental world containing both their existences, a strange gray landscape that Neos would recognize from the Path of Truth, a cage of light manifested around Neos’s soul, which still had a human form instead of normal, entrapping him from any further resistance. The more he resisted, the smaller the cage would become, pushing inwards; Arturia did note the curiosity that he saw himself as human rather than a Ditto, but paid it little need as she listened to his barely-formed response.

 

...if I’m a sad waste of time, then why did you try to waste the energy to make it seem like you hated me? For a moment, Neos had regained some degree of self-collection, muttering about words that he should have no knowledge of. Unless it’s the fact that you hated what you were about to do.

 

Strangely, voices from recent memory floated through the weave of awareness that still held the two.

 

"To think, in a different timeline and reality, we could have been great allies...or even friends."

 

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

Why do you insist on letting the Omniverse destroy itself, when the Key could be used to undo the damage causing its self-destruction before destroying it? I thought those linked to the Throne were actual heroes, not...people pretending to be so.

 

"You know, in regards to the Key, you and I actually see eye-to-eye on the fact that the Key should be destroyed, even if it is for different reasons... Kind of says something when a supposed 'villain' is kinder than the one that's supposed to be the hero..."

 

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!

Betrayal and hurt echoed in the words felt. Why are you banishing the entire Omniverse into non-existence? Why?!

 

...there may be a few that deserve such a fate, but what have we all done to deserve that kind of Judgement?

 

...banishing the entire Omniverse?

 

Stop exaggerating. We’re SAVING it! If no one opens the Door of Origin, reality itself will not be at risk!

 

By leaving alone the shards of emptiness that are forcing the omniverse to collapse onto itself?!

 

Incorrect. A few multiverses may collapse, yes, perhaps dozens, perhaps even thousands... But despite all of Isamy’s troubles, reality is infinite. Even she couldn’t hope to take down all of the omniverse!

 

I’m afraid you are mistaken, dear Queen. Several Multiverses have self-destructed already because of unconnected ones to them already...due to the unseen connections formed by puppeteers…

 

Even Neos tensed at the extra words, those not his own. Arturia remained unsurprised.

 

Several... Hmph, that is a risk we are willing to take. The Throne of Heroes may indeed be heroic… But we also understand when sacrifices must be made for the sake of the ‘greater good’.

 

If the danger of leaving the distortions turns out to be a threat to reality as well, it will most likely send more Counter Guardians to contain those distortions. Your homes may never return, and neither may you, but I assure the Throne will never let the greater multiverse fall. Trust in us for that, if nothing else!

 

In any case. Gemini, I see you have access to his mind too. What a fortunate discovery.

 

Within Neos’s existence, mental rays of light burst out from where his heart ought to have been positioned, zooming across his mind and memories until they solidified. Forming a wall that worked on violently pushing out Gemini’s presence.

 

From there, Arturia turned her attention away from the now-contained Neos - and towards reality.

 

Truly, Sir Neos, there is no apology sufficient for this… Farewell.

 

---

 

Outside of the body, Jace Beleren, whom had caught sight of the Golduck sudden stop in movement from the back of the Azorius First-Wing he rode, found himself urging the aerial beast down towards his friend as he saw Neos beginning to act strangely, eyeing him cautiously as he felt Neos fade away from the mindscape for the time being as he flew down. “Neos...what in Azor’s name happened to you?” The telepath was more muttering to himself, but he knew the being’s hearing was sharp enough to catch it, no matter the form taken. Neos’s head turned up in his direction, locking onto the telepath with an unusually cold...and judging look.

 

“So... you are Jace Beleren.” Neos? spoke. He actually spoke instead of using the form’s telepathic abilities, quickly glancing around to see if anyone else had noticed yet, before looking back up to meet the man’s eyes - his eyes were shifting to a deep, royal green, a trait that almost made him think this wasn’t actually Neos to being with before continuing with telepathy due to the range. It is pleasing to see that Sir Neos was able to have his reunion.

 

Then he rose back up - once the resisting entity within had fully succumbed to being entrapped, Arturia assumed full command as the host. At last, every atom of his body belonged under her control.

 

The transformation sequence was still very gradual, as she was merely prepping for a quick Transform burst, while appearing to debate either landing the griffon or just jumping down from the air. The various Tsukuyomis had worn away and the others remained under the impression that they had defeated Arturia, so the moment she did so, they would catch on and target her.

 

Alas, your friend is asleep. For now, there is only I.

 

Attacking me mentally would be a futile effort. If you do… I shall dispose of Neos’s mind for good. He will NEVER return.

 

Even with Neos’s transforming properties, she was vulnerable now that both Avalon and the Madara’s support were gone for good, so she would have to act quickly. Jace visibly narrowed his blue eyes at the figure Neos had been forced to become, not daring to test that particular theory yet.

 

Especially considering that he knew first hand what someone would have to do to destroy a mind like that. ...I wish to at least see that he is indeed still alive for myself, and not just in the physical sense.

 

It didn’t sound like he would try anything, not yet at least. The Arturnio entity nodded, hoping to avoid trouble as well. Look. Reaching deep within herself, she momentarily created a gap within the cage of light entrapping Neos’s soul - and formed the tiniest of entrances from her shut-off mind to his position. This provided the very momentary opportunity for them to converse a single sentence to each other.

 

Neos jumped forward upon seeing the gap, catching sight of the telepath.

“Jace, get me out of here and now!” The false human couldn’t help the urge to shake the bars of the cage once more, shrinking it a little bit more. Now, it had gotten to the point that Neos could no longer stand up straight in it while still in his current form.

 

Jace looked down at this after seeing the cage shrink. “I don’t know how to get you out yet, but you need to hang on...at least try to resist breaking out on your own for the moment, but don’t let yourself become completely lost.”

 

Before either could continue, the connection was severed, her mind shutting itself from the outside world as though titanium walls had been dropped. I trust that you are satisfied?

 

Now…

 

...let’s end this.

 

Then, Arturia turned her attention elsewhere, taking advantage of being in the air. Even if every nearly last remnant of the Madara was now gone, Tsukuyomi had scattered its particles across everywhere. She accessed those particles, requesting for them to find her ultimate target one last time; the air around her glistened crimson as those particles strained to find their former creator, and then, just as they found it, she ultimately jumped down from the beast, the landing resulting in no self-injury, and started running. To her pleasant surprise, she found herself to be far faster than she had ever been before. Her own speed, combined with that of Neos’s ingrained Agility, had melded together in a manner that made her zoom across the entire battlefield faster than the others could react. Towards her target.

 

Before Gemini could hope to act again with his roulette trick, before anyone else could stop her, and before she could lose any control over this body, she would act. Hence, she was currently heading for the current wielder of the Key of Origin, whom Gemini had entrusted at random.

 

Alexander Zenith.

 

~ ~ ~

 

How much of a bizarre sight must it have been for his comrade to randomly start charging towards him?

 

The legs of ‘Neos’ leaping across the ground like a crazed machine, it all became clear when ‘his’ body transformed in a burst of light. He transformed a blonde beauty garbed in white battle attire. Now wholly resembling Arturia Pendragon, the only difference being Neos’s unusual eye colors, neon-green irises and dark-green pupils, along with some unusual masculine features here and there, particularly regarding the crotch- Basically, she must have possessed Neos!

 

“Hello.” Arturia stopped directly before the lombax, Invisible Air canceling out her momentum.

 

A strong gust of wind blew across Alexander, as she - mere feet from his face - fixated a...rather twisted, scary expression on him filled with anticipation. Her arms shot out and grabbed his with vast strength, keeping him from counterattacking.

 

“Forgive me for my manners, dear Alexander... But you have the Key.”

 

“Hooker say what--?” Alexander blurted out, cutting himself off with a gasp as he glanced down at one of his restrained hands. It was exactly as she said. Somehow, a glowing white object had ended up in his hand - no, it wasn’t any simple object. In fact, it seemed to be a blank trading card, from a game he was all too familiar with…. “Wait, when and how…?!”

 

Arturia’s eyes rapidly surveyed her surroundings; his friends and allies were everywhere. If she took it from him right here, right now, they would undoubtedly take her down in an instant. Without a weapon, and without her source of immortality, there was no way she could hold them all back.

 

She focused her attention on Alexander again, noting that the Neo-Spacian, Umbris, had tethered himself to the lombax with his cape, the Umbra Panther trying to anticipate what the possessed shapeshifter had planned for him. No matter - even in this state, she could handle the two of them alone! “Let’s take this somewhere more, ah, private.”

 

“And how do you propose we do that--?” Alexander inquired as calmly as possible, again stopping short as a bizarre, unsettling sensation came over him.

 

While the former Counter Guardian rooted him to the ground, reality started to firmly wrap around them. It was just like the times when Emiya had used Unlimited Blade Works and Arturia herself had used Camelot… Only this time, space was very clearly distorting around Alexander, as he felt his heart and soul tugged by an outside force, as if attempting to turn them inside-out....as though the process had been reversed, being forcefully centered on Alexander himself.

 

And,

 

Just like that,

 

Both Alexander and his former leader were dragged into his very own mental landscape…

 

---

 

It was a location that the lombax recognized right away as the open courtyard of his Soul Room. The once clear skies above were currently obscured by thick, dark clouds, a faint rumbling of thunder echoing through them.

 

“... I don’t suppose you brought me here just to talk… did you, Your Majesty…?” Alexander asked rhetorically, seating himself on the edge of the water fountain as his eyes continuing to survey his Soul Room. The air around him felt stagnant and unsettling, as if the once peaceful scenery became unknowingly distorted somehow while upholding a serene facade.

 

Arturia Pendragon maintained her gaze on the lombax, appearing patient. Internally, forcing herself to be apathetic to him, keeping her expression cold and controlled. It had been rather easy to shut off her emotions when facing a wide amount of different warriors all attacking her at the same time - however, now that she was actually alone with a genuinely innocent member of the Counter Corps, it wasn’t quite so easy to maintain that aloofness. As though reflecting it, her outfit had changed to that of a blue armoured dress. Her original kingly attire.

 

She observed his world for a moment, a reflection of his heart; it would’ve been tranquil were it not for the malicious aura emanating from her own heart, leaking into the surrounding world. And hence, she told herself: No matter. This will be far from the first time I have killed a good man.

 

“That may be so, depending on your actions.” The Counter Guardian answered him nonetheless, choosing her words carefully. “If you are confused… The enemy Gemini created a trick that would bounce the Key of Origin from owner to owner, keeping it out of my reach. As a happenstance of fortune, it fell under your possession - at which point I targeted you to stop it from moving further. Here, there is nowhere to run.”

 

She held out both her arms towards the water fountain, while a passing cloud cast a dark shadow upon her figure.

 

“Hand over the Key of Origin...and you will be spared. Need I say more?”

 

Of course, both of them knew the answer to that, but still, it simply would have been improper to not ask her former ally first. It was only natural that Alexander Zenith, who had fought with the Counter Corps from the very beginning, would be offered one last chance to help her.

 

For now, the air remained still and unmoving. The calm before the storm. Every second precious. The moment he gave his answer, it was all too obvious that she would lash out with all her might.

 

Alexander quietly sighed, switching the crossing of his legs as he tapped the Key Card against the side of his jaw, as if either mulling over Arturia’s request, or--much more likely--mentally preparing himself for what was to come next. Of course he knew what would come next, as did Arturia; he knew what giving Arturia the Key would lead to, and he knew what lengths Arturia would go to obtain it. He knew, much more than Arturia realized he knew… much more. “... well, I do appreciate you “politely” making your request, even if it is nothing more than a cordial,” Alexander replied after fifteen seconds of tense silence. “After all, we are fastly reaching the denouement of this war, and time is of the essence; the Multiverse is gradually collapsing, and its fate--and the fates of all who live--rests with whomever retains possession of the Key. That being said… I suppose I should at least respond to your request with an equally polite answer…

 

 

 

 

“... I REFUSE.”

 

The water flowing through the fountain suddenly paused in place, suspended in the tense air, as if stunned and taken aback by Alexander’s rare show of defiance. “Simply put, I will put an end to any delusions you may have about this meeting of ours, or of what you believe will lead to the Multiverse’s “salvation”, Alexander declared vehemently. “And even if I cannot, well, let’s just say this good man will not be so easily killed, Your Highness. I may not wish to fight you, but for the sake of the Multiverse, that is what I shall do….”

 

In the face of such passionate defiance, Arturia Pendragon stood silently. Was she shocked at how strongly he’d opposed her, or was she simply sad that things had reached such an extreme point? After staying still for the faintest of movements, she ultimately nodded, acknowledging his refusal the way any leader should after negotiations fail - by assuming a fighting stance. Even without her blade, her power would surely be more than sufficient to deal with this mid-tier pawn.

 

“I see… How unfortunate.” She said, addressed more to herself than anything. “Very well. Just as you fight for the sake of the Multiverse, so shall I.”

 

The King of Knights took a deep breath. It was to be her final calm breath.

 

“Alexander Zenith. In light of your betrayal of the Counter Corps… I will--”

 

“”--kill you here, in your own heart, and erase that Key of Origin for good.”” Alexander calmly completed Arturia’s unfinished declaration, causing her determined look to drop into a frown. “... right, just as I knew you’d say. But again, I will not be making this easy for you, Your Majesty, even if I am simply a “mid-tier pawn” to you.”

 

Despite the apparently massive gap between their power levels, the lombax seemed quite confident, even when directly in front of a Counter Guardian’s fury. Arturia spent a few seconds analyzing her stature, pondering his actual fighting abilities. She noted to herself his use of the terms ‘mid-tier pawn’ and ‘good man’ - although it may still be a coincidence, could it be that he in fact possessed some form of telepathy?

 

♫”Cosmos”♫

 

Well, whatever the case was, whatever equipment or magic this man had under his possession, there was no way it would be any match for her. The former king took another deep breath. “Is that so? We’ll see about that…!”

 

Then, just like that, she unleashed a jet of white flames out from her mouth - unloading a stream of blazing hot dragonfire directly towards the direction of the fountain, capable of incinerating its target to ashes in mere moments. As if in reaction to this, the water streaming from the fountain arose and rushed between Alexander and the white flames, shielding him from the blaze and coating the entire courtyard in a thick mist formed from the evaporated water.

 

Is that his own magic? Or does he already know how to control his own world? Not knowing which, Arturia took a step back in caution, her first assault having failed. Her vision had been temporarily obscured by the mist, which now enshrouded all her surroundings. In any case, it was clear that Alexander wouldn’t be quite the pushover she was originally expecting. She reached out to her own Invisible Air, and quickly unleashed it around her; magic wind burst outwards from her body, scattering all mist within a five-meter radius. This way, she wouldn’t be caught off-guard by any offhanded tricks.

 

… or so she thought. As the nearest portions of the mist dissipated from around her, Arturia found herself surrounded by three different individuals: the heroic and musclebound Elemental HERO Wildheart, the pretty and energetic Dark Magician Girl, and the beastly and almost-saintly Farkas, Lightsworn Spiritualist. Alexander himself was nowhere amongst their numbers, instead having apparently moved to higher ground atop one of the courtyard’s surrounding buildings. Somehow. “I suppose you thought I’d be without much backup too, didn’t you?” Alexander called down from the rooftops. “Shame you forgot that by bringing me inside my own Soul Room, you also allowed me access to all the cards I have on hand. And that allows me to have any reinforcements from within those cards,” he added, holding up the respective cards of his three Summoned allies.

 

“Well, this is a surprise. Of course, it does make perfect sense…” Arturia nodded in understanding, watching the building which Alexander was upon, before darting her eyes from one opponent to the other. The first was surely a short-ranged strength-based fighter, the second had to be a magic-based sorceress, and although the purpose of the third wasn’t immediately obvious, it was most likely a support fighter of sorts. One way or another, they couldn’t be very difficult to take on.

 

“Very well. Let’s see how your petty children’s card game fares against the Goddess of War!”

 

Focusing all of her mana into her right boot, she slammed it downwards with ridiculous levels of power. Even in Neos’s body, her Mana Burst ability enabled her to keep her brutal physical strength. The courtyard ground gave way, breaking apart all around her - as though it were a carpet being tugged at, an intense earthly shockwave rushed outwards at her three opponents, intending to overcome them. Although Wildheart and Farkas were caught off-guard and made to stumble from the tremors, Dark Magician Girl evaded this tactic by levitating into the air, charging up and then firing her Dark Burning Attack at Arturia, hoping at least that her attack would give Wildheart and Farkas a chance to gather themselves and strike.

 

In response, Arturia proceeded to charge - breathing out a stream of blazing silver dragonfire that collided against the blast. The flames ultimately overwhelmed it after some difficulty, continuing on towards the cutesy sorceress herself. Invisible Air gathered around her hands, equipping herself with a blade of solidified wind (the same one used on Crim). Invisible Air - specially-enchanted wind that Merlin Arturia possessed absolute control over. While keeping her face pointed towards Dark Magician Girl, she lashed out with this invisible sword at the more obvious powerhouse, Wildheart. Even if it wasn’t a proper sword, she believed it more than sufficient to dispose of mere Duel Monsters.

 

The stream of sharp wind rapidly approached Wildheart, who knew that even if he were to try and block this attack with his sword, it would still damage him. He had no need to worry any further, however, as Farkas had quickly gotten between the HERO and the attack, the razor winds harmlessly crashing against the shimmering Lightsworn Barrier he was encased in. Meanwhile, Dark Magician Girl barely managed to avoid certain doom by hopping into a Magical Hat; although the Hat itself was reduced to ashes almost instantly, a second one would appear seconds later right by Alexander, depositing the apprentice Magician right next to the lombax.

“Sheesh, that was close,” DMG huffed her relief.

 

These creatures are wasting my time… I must focus on the target alone! Deciding thus, Arturia Mana Bursted her foot into Farkas’s barrier, shattering it and throwing the Lightsworn back into the HERO, knocking both of them down to the ground (and rendering Wildheart’s involvement thus far to be moot). Opting not to finish them off for now, she released her Invisible Air blade into a powerful gust of wind, which carried her off the ground, hurtling towards Alexander’s exact position with a quiet fury. She was accelerating, faster and faster as more and more Invisible Air built up around her, until it was apparent that her battle plan was quite straightforward - to crash straight into him.

 

“Oooh, she mad now,” Alexander bluntly blurted, motioning to DMG to take cover lest she, too, get caught in the fast-approaching clash. At the speed Arturia was going, Alexander doubted whether even a Mirror Wall would be enough to halt the King in her tracks. Still, he either had to meet her head-on or make a run for it off the building, and he had only seconds--three, at best--to decide how--

 

And before either party knew it, Alexander had vanished instantly from his perch, just as Arturia crashed head-first into the building he had been standing on, causing huge amounts of debris and a flailing, wailing Dark Magician Girl to scatter everywhere from her point of impact. Dense cracks spread all throughout building, spreading quickly, until at last it crumbled. As Arturia stood upon the collapsing rooftop, protected from her own impact by the Invisible Air, she rose into the air. The edifice toppled over from the sheer force of her crash, various parts of it crashing into a nearby building; her gaze swept across the rest of his world, searching for any signs of his aura.

 

“Are you going to hide, coward?!” Arturia screamed out amongst the sky, letting her voice echo throughout the reality marble.

 

Were that so, she wasn’t about to waste even a second playing hide-and-seek, maliciously turning her attention towards the flying Dark Magician Girl. The knight proceeded to dart towards her across the air, more than willing to take hostages if she must. “You! Tell me where your master is, or die!”

 

 

“‘Fraid even I have no idea,” Dark Magician Girl shrugged with a nervous chuckle, despite seeing her potential destruction fast approaching. She had no further need to fear, however, as she felt herself being un-Summoned, vanishing from the playing field.

 

 

“If you’re looking for me, Arturia, I’m right here,” Alexander’s voice called out. Arturia turned toward the source, finding the lombax standing by one of the courtyard’s gates. “I must make something perfectly clear, however--I had no intention of teleporting away from your attack. The fact that I teleported at all surprised even me, however helpful it was at the time….”

 

“... you sure you didn’t mean to do that?” Umbris asked as he summoned himself from Alexander’s shadow.

 

“Of course--I stopped trying to use my dimensional abilities when I realized doing so would be risky given the state of the Multiverse. So however I was able to teleport, it was not by my own power,” Alex explained, never taking his eyes off of Arturia even as she loomed overhead.

 

“Oh, my mistake. No matter.” Completely losing interest in the Dark Magician Girl as soon as they’d called out to her, Arturia - with a hint of awkwardness - locked her gaze upon where Alexander and Umbris were. Without wasting a moment’s breath, she calmly floated down somewhat to get closer to the collapsed building, opting to use it to her advantage. If she didn’t have her blade with her, then very well, she would have to play it smart instead.

 

“Well, if you were confident enough to take my last attack directly, dear Alexander… Then face me in battle! INVISIBLE AIR!” Various sections of the rubble - concrete walls, support beams, floorboards and more - started to float up, being carried by Invisible Air. Then, thrusting her arms forth, the air responded, hurtling the chunks of debris towards the duo’s exact position.

 

“... this should count, right?” Alexander asked cryptically to Umbris.

 

“Still part of your Soul Room, dude. Go for it,” Umbris nodded as both he and Alexander each held a hand up towards the oncoming rubble; the debris halted mere feet away from the two, as if they were beasts suddenly made to recognize their master, before the ruined mass began to gather where they were stopped, quickly coming together and forming a large wall that stood between Arturia and the Duo. They heard an audible “What?!” echo through the sky, before being shut off from her. “This won’t make her happy at all, I’d wager,” Umbris spoke as soon as the barricade solidified into a much sturdier structure.

 

“Not like we haven’t pissed her off already… wait, you hear that sound…?” Alexander off-handedly asked.

 

“... … who the hell is munching…?” Umbris blurted out, his ears picking up on the faint sounds of someone having a snack. “I swear if Wildheart and/or Farkas decided to take a snack break now--”

 

“Impossible--I recalled them along with Dark Magician Girl,” Alex pointed out.

 

“Who the hell, then?”

 

Crunch, crunch.

 

Sluuurp.

 

Crunch.

 

If anyone looked around, they would see as the source of the odd sounds a man wearing a purple suit, short wild purple hair crowning his head and red eyes watching the pair. In his hands, a paper bowl of popcorn, the smell indicating kettle corn popcorn, that the man was grabbing popped kernels from and downing them with minimal chewing. To one side, a tall thin cup of a dark liquid that seemed to bubble on its own power. He was sitting inside one of the nearby buildings, watching through a large window towards the fight out and about within the area.

 

He simply waved at Arturia and Alexander, a cheshire's grin on his face that had him showing his fangs."Having fun, you two?"

 

Arturia glanced at him for just a moment. Of course he would be here. Regardless, she kept her attention focused on the wall that had formed. Channeling mana into her fists, she slammed her left fist onto it, causing it to tremble greatly.

 

“Seems Arturia wasn’t the only rat that let herself in,” Umbris scoffed, in spite of Arturia’s assault against their barricade.

 

“Yeah, but he’s been keeping himself out of this, so I’m letting him be for now,” Alexander replied with a hint of admittance.

 

“Wait, you knew--? Oh, what am I saying, of course you knew,” said the facepalming Neo-Spacian.

 

Once again the wall trembled, various chunks of rubble falling outwards as Arturia punched it once more.

 

Yet again, the wall trembled, its structure having been greatly compromised from the sheer physical forces being constantly hit against it.

 

At last, with one final Mana Burst, the Counter Guardian blew a hole in the wall of concrete and proceeded to emerge on the other side, visibly fuming with tightly-clenched fists.

 

“One way or another, I will HAVE THAT KEY, ALEXANDER!”

 

Floating high above them, Arturia gathered together all of her Invisible Air again. If he had this much control over this world, then she would simply have to use her own abilities. Concentrating with precision, she proceeded to to form hundreds of sharp wind blades in front of her - a sight that would have undoubtedly been threatening were they not invisible. Then, with a flick of her hand, the wind blades shot forth at Alexander and Umbris like overpowered airsoft bullets, threatening to decimate anything in their path.

 

“This is getting ridiculous,” Alexander sighed under his breath as he sprung a Trap Card he had lying in wait: “Windstorm of Etaqua”. A mighty maelstrom erupted from the Trap Card, dispelling the numerous wind blades that Alexander knew were there yet could not see, before the winds slammed right into Arturia, knocking her off-balance.

 

“You…!”

 

With widened eyes, gritted teeth, and very clear frustration throughout, she certainly wasn’t the most kingly of figures. Recovering from the wind blast, she quickly regained her balance by taking back control of the Invisible Air and facing her opponent once more.

 

Then the last straw came along.

 

“You realize you’re acting more like a savage beast than a king right now, do you not?” Alexander insisted of her, in a sharp, stern tone.

 

“You… You... insignificant, defiant, stupid lombax, you dare speak to me like that…?!”

 

However, at this point, it had become clear that victory would not be easy to accomplish. Unlike her normal body or copies, Neos’s body did not come with the massive amount of mana or physical stamina she was used to, meaning that she’d already exhausted herself in this short exchange. There was only so much further she could push the form and capacity of a Ditto to match her own abilities. And, due to Alexander’s apparent control over his world, running out of energy seemed inevitable.

 

Or rather, failure… seemed inevitable.

 

In a bout of frustration, Arturia Pendragon snapped at last.

 

 

 

“SHUT UP!”

 

Despite having started the battle against the Counter Corps and Divine in a calm state, the duel had gradually escalated further and further, every move she took being countered by several more from any direction, and every step she’d made had taken the Key further still from her reach. Her Excalibur had been repelled not once but twice, all her copies had been disposed of, she’d released all the fragments the Madara had granted her, and her real body had ultimately ended up vaporized in an unexpected act.

 

“JUST... SHUT UP! What do you know about being a king, whelp?! What do you know about the hardships I’ve had to go through?!”

 

At this moment in time, having possessed her very own ally to carry on, she was at very much at her most desperate. Outside of Alexander’s world awaited dozens of experienced warriors, very well looking forward to taking her down for good, and there would simply be no chance to destroy the Key. It pissed her off. Everything about this pissed her off. She had one simple mission to accomplish, and she was this close, but to think that, even after bringing the holder of the Key into his own world, even such a weak lombax would be capable of resisting her.

 

“I have come so far… SO FAR TO GET HERE! You can’t possibly understand the sacrifices I made for my country, or the sacrifices I intend on making now. The Divine fighting me I understand, but the Counter Corps! You!”

 

Losing herself, she pointed at Alexander directly with a raging fury unlike any other. Her aura melding with Neos’s, it manifested as a very much visible electric, thunderous golden, blazing and wildly dancing around her, out of her own control. If she could not win, then she would make him UNDERSTAND.

 

“What gives you, and all those others, the right to decide that I am wrong?! How could you trust anyone with that Key, even yourself?! If someone used the powers of the Door, there’s no guarantee they won’t be consumed by its potential! That they won’t DESTROY and RECREATE worlds as they please, toying with endless lives! Even if they entered with the idea that ‘oh, I’ll repair the omniverse and restore everything back to normal’, who is to say they won’t LOSE INTEREST in that as soon as they’re exposed to the secrets of reality?! Isamy caused us all to lose so many lives with her distortions, and I know, I KNOW that so many of you have been hurt by the losses of your worlds… When Emiya and I recruited each of you, we saw that destruction firsthand. We saw the collapsing, and we heard the screams, bound to oblivion. My whole life has been consumed by those screams, and every act to make things better only results in more tears and more deaths. I just… I just don’t want it to become worse! I just... DON’T UNDERSTAND!”

 

The cold demeanor that she had put up against the others, the persona of the ‘king’ that must never be dropped, had finally been torn down. Having been pushed beyond her limits of tolerance, she put a voice to her voice and her feelings, to her frustration and her hatred, to her everlasting determination to set things right the way she believed to be best.

 

“Once… once I was like you. I was like all of you! A warrior, displaced from my homeland and made to fight in a foreign time. I fought for an artifact called the Holy Grail, which promised that whomever emerged the victor shall have their wish granted. In that Holy Grail War, I finally obtained the greatness of its power, and with it tried to change my world. I thought I could save Britain, my land, my people from destruction. But no. I...by my own actions, made everything worse. This Origin War is no different.”

 

She withstood it when she fought against Protheus Maximus in Camelot, withstood it when she had to endure the Madara’s Infinite Tsukuyomi for thirty-two years, withstood it when her access to the Throne was cut off, and withstood it when each of the Pathways threatened to tear her ideals down in a different manner. Kiritsugu and her younger self both despised her for wanting to destroy the Key, and while Shirou had not accepted it, he had to forgive her for it. She endured all of it, and still held onto her mission, knowing that it was correct even if it wasn’t right.

 

Each word, as loud as they could be, resonated against the dark clouds that had started to form in the skies. With each sentence, she started to float towards the ground, approaching the wielder of the Key. “As a Counter Guardian, I have spent an eternity saving worlds, defeating incomprehensible threats and leading people to defy corrupt nations, saving reality each and every time. And this is no different. This is the will of the Throne of Heroes, to prioritize the survival of the many over the losses of the few. This is my MISSION. So, ALEXANDER ZENITH, tell me… WHAT REASON HAVE YOU TO OPPOSE ME?!”

 

Her very own aura leaking into Alexander’s world, droplets of water started to fall here and there, as though her unstable emotions alone were willing it to rain. As the rain started to pour on her face, they masked the tears that were falling from her bloodshot emerald eyes. And at the same time, her feet touched the surface of the rooftop, her legs immediately giving way to the pressure. On her knees, she glared at the wielder of the Key from a short distance away. Her former ally, and her last enemy.

 

♫ ”A Bad Feeling That Won’t Go Away” ♫

 

“... … you speak to me… as if this were the first interdimensional conflict that I’ve been involved in,” Alexander slowly replied to Arturia, his eyes narrowed sharply as he glared in return at the once-proud king, now reduced to a snivelling child in the throes of a tantrum. “You speak to me as if I’ve never known the struggles other worlds have gone through, that other people have endured. You think that I haven’t formed BONDS with any of those individuals, people that I have come to care for, to cherish, to LOVE, despite being from a different world, a different time, from my own? People that I would give my LIFE to protect without HESITATION?? To face YOU without ANY expectation of survival if it means SAVING THEM?!?!” His tone continued to grow in volume as he bombarded Arturia with his own tirade, the cascading rain also hiding the tears welling in his own furious green eyes. “You ACT as if I don’t underSTAND where you’re coming from, like this is YOUR burden and YOURS alone!! But when YOU, and EMIYA, brought us into this MESS OF A WAR, it became the burden of us ALL!! And now, you choose NOW of all times to decide that this should NOT be the case, that this burden is too much for ANY of us “lowly pawns” to bear, to take seriously, to NOT. f***. IT. UP! like YOU did with your Holy Grail!! No… that decision is not the will of the Throne of Heroes: it’s YOURS!! And you still think THIS decision of yours--to destroy the Key and leave the Multiverse to its fate--will be ANY DIFFERENT from then?!! WAKE! UP!! ARTURIA!!! Wake up from this delusion you’ve placed upon yourself, NOW, or have it SHATTERED before you along with the Multiverse the moment you condemn it to ABSOLUTE CESSATION!! And if you still choose to stay deluded, then Gods help me, I WILL lift the veil from your eyes before it is too late! I care not how I do it anymore--one way or another, I will ensure that you will NOT DESTROY THIS KEY!!!”

 

...Arturia stared back at the lombax yelling in her face, amidst the rain that had quickly grown worse. She stared at him, and his eyes, and his very being.

 

Somehow, although she could not quite find the words to explain it in a rational manner, she was feeling as though she’d met this man for the first time.

 

The rain wasn’t stopping anytime soon, drenching the ground heavily as each drop of water increased in frequency. Like millions of tiny liquid blades intent on stabbing her until she finally dropped dead. Arturia’s blonde hair and blue armour were thoroughly soaked that made the sight of her seem pathetic. Her very skin had turned yellowish, her Ditto body finding it hard to maintain its current form under the downpour.

 

“What nonsense! You are simply wrong... No. No no no no NO, you…” The knight opened her mouth to speak. However, for some reason, the words were trapped in her throat. Speech was naturally a part of her job, choosing her words optimally were what she was best at as a king, and yet, here she was, finding it difficult to understand why she was struggling to find the right words. “Delusion? Don’t make me laugh… You don’t… YOU DON’T-”

 

“YOU DON’T, Arturia!!” Alexander interrupted fiercely, the tears having long since begun streaming from his own eyes. “YOU don’t know any of us, what we’ve gone through, what each of us were willing to do, MADE to do, just to have the chance at even one more day in the world we each live in, to be with the ones we cherish, to strive for the dreams we hold in our hearts! You made that clear to us all the moment you chose to take all of our futures away, to take away the futures of our friends, family, loved ones, all our hopes and dreams, all for what you believed to be your mission! All because you’ve forgotten, isn’t it? Because you’ve forgotten what it means to live, to have life. Even if just for one more day, to live your life to the fullest you ever could, no matter how short it may be. To be with those you cherish regardless of how long either you or they remain in this life. To see your dreams come to fruition, to know the joys and wonders that life has to offer… don’t you understand that those are things that are worth fighting for? That I and everyone else in this Hallway have been fighting for??”

 

Forgotten...what it means to live? For longer than a passing moment, Arturia found herself incapable of breath. But still, listening to him speak, to him ramble, her hands balled up into fists... and yet, there was hardly any energy behind that action. The anger she’d previously had, had all been used up in that speech of hers, and now her mind had simply chosen to stop. She could not find the motivation to stand up, or to attack him. At least not this very instant. Perhaps it was the combination of rain and being in Neos’s body, perhaps it was her own battle fatigue finally taking its toll on her...or perhaps it was because there was some merit to this one being’s words.

 

“Don’t be ridiculous… Life? I know life, better than anyone! I was a king! What I chose to do, I did for the sake of your futures! Sacrifice is the ONLY way others can live in peace and harmony! Childish things like love, friendship, hopes and dreams, they’re nothing but temporary pleasures for the innocent, maintained only by the SACRIFICE of other innocents… That’s how all worlds are… That’s surely how.... That’s... You… You, and your words, and your nonsense… Shut up! Just… ” Still, as much as the fallen knight was trying to muster up an argument, she found that the words simply would not come to her.

 

Rather, sensing a rather displeasing presence nearby, her head turned to the left with a blank expression. “...what the hell are you looking at?”

 

“You’re more up your own ass than you would believe, your majesty...technically everyone is, even myself, if they really believe what happens on these Paths will have any effect outside of this Omniverse...” A knowing grin was on his face as the stranger in purple said this. “From what I recall from your supposed ‘Ultimate Enemy’ from Death, the aforementioned Emiya..” He tilted his head so that one eye was more focused on Arturia than the other. “You were warned that this was going to happen, that you would get backlash for recruiting people for a suicide mission that was pointless.” At this point, the man actually frowned before looking up towards the raining sky with his red eyes, the sign of amusement gone for the moment. “I think he may have realized that, without the damage being undone, this Omniverse is doom to self-extinction.”

 

Then, Gemini shrugged before putting the - strangely completely dry - popcorn down and crosses his hands behind his head, reclining back slightly. “Then again, what happens to this Omniverse doesn’t matter ultimately. In the ones that actually matter, Neos and I don’t even exist, you two…wait…” At this point, he points towards Alexander, the frown still on his face. “You don’t actually exist outside of this Omniverse, either. Very few of the people in the Pathways currently do not truly exist anywhere else to being ‘fan creations’.” The last two words he had moved his hands in front of himself as he separated them, making air quotes with them before motioning towards Arturia. “Arturia here and a few others do, but that might be why she wishes to erase this one Omniverse that is the sole possessor of the Pathways of Origin…” At this point, he turns towards Arturia with a fanged grin, though the smile did not reach his eyes. “How on-point am I, dear Queen?”

 

“...does it matter? As long as the majority survives, then…”

 

“That’s the problem. It won’t.” Gemini had no humor in his voice, his eyes looking towards Arturia’s direction, but not actually looking at her. “You are dooming this Omniverse with your actions.” Shaking his head after speaking, his eyes reverted back to normal, properly looking at Arturia now. “Even your precious Throne of Heroes in this Omniverse is not safe from this.”

 

“Is the Door any better?! It’s...”

 

Artura fixated her gaze on Gemini for a passing moment, before silently turning it back to Alexander, the lombax being comforted by his Neo-Spacian companion. Although it could not be explained, the sight of it caused what remained of her will to fight, to crumble away. Bonds - something she had completely forgone throughout the course of this Origin War, as well as throughout her life as a whole. Even now, she had taken advantage of the only man who’d forged a bond with her, unwillingly using his body for her own ulterior motives. Underneath the pouring rain, she opened her mouth in uncertainty and asked,

 

“Tell me... Alexander Zenith.

 

In this hell of an Origin War, why do you fight?

 

Living… Dreams, cherishing others, finding joy… How… How can this life of yours possibly motivate you to move onwards with such conviction? To make you believe that it’s worth risking all of reality for?”

 

The knight slammed her right fist into the ground, cracks forming from where she hit.

 

“I just… don’t understand…!”

 

Before he gave his answer, Alexander had to calm himself with a bit of deep breathing, drawing in as much air into his lungs and holding it for a couple of seconds before slowly letting it out, repeating the process at least two more times.

 

“Alex… you okay now?” Umbris asked gently.

 

“Yeah, I’m okay… … … Arturia,” Alexander spoke up, now calm enough to speak clearly and address the King directly, “... I’ve experienced many things in my life that have taught me so much, about my world, of many worlds, and about myself and others. Many different people and places with stories to tell, of joy, pain, love, sacrifice, triumph, loss. Such stories deserve to be told, to be experienced, because despite its many hardships and trials, the tragedies and the heartache that they may bring… there are many more tales of hopes and dreams that the Multiverse has to offer, to share. But many of these stories still need to be written, have yet to be written, are still in the process of being written, and will continue to be written until they no longer can be. My story, your story, the stories of all the Counter Corps, and even the Divine--”

 

“--not you, though,” Umbris hissed and pointed at a shoddily-made effigy of Sayer he had just constructed, complete with a crooked, fanged mouth.

 

“... well, I suppose Sayer is now more of a footnote for some people,” Alexander shrugged with a slight, hollow chuckle.

 

At this point, Gemini refocused his gaze on Arturia. “Allow me to tell you something you can understand, ‘hero’. This war has caused something else to emerge that will destroy this Omniverse, will actually succeed in destroying it, if this Omniverse is left as it is.”Gemini looks away long enough to gain an aggravated look on his face, a look that Arturia would feel from Neos that did not seem to happen often for him. “This is sadly the one time I can’t get a read on what exactly it is, but I see it doing all sorts of heinous s***, including mixing multiverses together into one....just because it can. No rhyme or reason, just because it can. At least I have reason for my actions, even with my inherent madness, your highness.”

 

Alexander returned his attention to Arturia and concluded, “The point I’m getting at here, is that these stories deserve a chance to be shared, to be experienced, and certainly not to be taken for granted. That… is why I fight in this war, Arturia. It may not mean that I should be the one deserving of using the Door’s power, but it is a reason that I will live by regardless.”

 

The woman looked between the two figures addressing her. Listening to the dreams of the lombax as he attempted his best to answer her unfair, abstract question, wanting nothing more than to move on with the Origin War. Hearing out the fears of the shapeshifter, who simply didn’t want everyone to face an ending of oblivion.

 

 

 

~ Ever-Present Feeling ~

 

 

 

Thinking, she stared down at the ground. Immersed in a complete silence.

 

“...”

 

For the next few minutes, all that could be heard was the constant, almost rhythmic pouring of the rain.

 

“... … ...”

 

Arturia’s eyes looked across the surrounding world. The reality marble that belonged to Alexander, its atmosphere reflecting the emotional states of its own inhabitants. Even with such dreary weather, it reminded her of the Garden of Avalon. Such a huge contrast to her own inner world, a desolate Camelot that had been left to rot for thousands of years.

 

“... … … ... … … ... … … ... … …”

 

How long had it been, since she last knew how to live? Was it when she ascended to the status of Counter Guardian? Was it when she betrayed her master? No… It had to be the very moment that little girl pulled the sword from the stone, abandoning her humanity in order to become the ideal legend ‘King Arthur’. Since then, she had known nothing but the way of the sword, but bloodshed and strife. Having not let herself stop being a ‘king’, even for a moment. What did she know about the lives she’d ended throughout her long existence? About the lives she intended on ending here?

 

“... … … ... … … ... … … ... … … ... … … ... … … ... … … I .. …”

 

In a manner, it was unfair. This was exactly the sort of place she’d been seeking to reach all her life, yet every hard-fought battle and every painstaking sacrifice had brought her soul further and further away from it, and closer and closer towards a living hell. A suffering that would not end, unknowingly blinding her from the feelings of the people in pursuit of a false ideal. She had claimed to fight ‘for her people’, but in reality, was there anyone who enjoyed her coldhearted, logical rule? There had been others who’d tried to help her realize this before - Bedivere, Lancelot, Shirou - and even now, there had been those who strived for her sake. Nero, that nameless girl… They deserved so much more. Regardless of who it was, she had refused to listen each and every time…

 

It was time for that to end.

 

For the only time in her life, she opened up her true feelings to herself, that even the Pathways had failed to unlock

 

Being a knight... A king... A protector of the multiverse…

 

Locking my heart away to avoid the pain, fighting a never-ending battle for some greater purpose…

 

I…

 

I’m…!

 

 

 

Well, I’m SICK OF IT.

.

 

.

 

.

 

Her tears stopped. Her fists relaxed. Her breathing slowed. Slowly but surely, Arturia Pendragon regained her composure, the rain gradually relaxing in its intensity. Neos’s body wasn’t as durable as she’d thought, so it was already beginning to lose form, but she kept hold of it for as long as she could. Even so, there was a certain sincerity about her appearance. A single cloud parted from the rest, allowing a single, most unlikely ray of sunlight to shine directly upon her.

 

 

 

 

Arturia looked towards her enemy. The wielder of the Key, and the final obstacle to completing the mission.

 

Then, she spoke two words she never once believed she would.

 

“...I concede.”

 

For some reason, she felt released.

 

As if from a burden that she had placed upon herself for eternity.

 

It was, beyond liberating.

 

Was this happiness?

 

Was this freedom? Perhaps it was cliche to go that far, but nonetheless, a subtle joy undercut the smile on her feminine face.

 

Her arms dropped to her sides as she stood up, completely drenched in water from top to bottom in a sorry sight that was practically laughable at this point. Such so that she would've burst out laughing herself if it wasn't for the fact that she didn't desire to make herself appear like more of a villain. Heavy feelings weighed down upon her every action, but from here on forth, she would deal with them one step at a time, and move on, just like all the heroes she once opposed on the battlefield.

 

“As much as I hate to say it, it is the duty of a king to recognize when they are beaten. And that is what you have done… Even if it is only a little, you conveyed to me what should have been obvious from the beginning. I am...truly ashamed.” Arturia spoke, glancing up at the sky. There was no point in fighting any further.

 

“There is no apology sufficient for my actions, and it is too late to seek atonement. As the victor, the Key of Origin is yours… Alexander Zenith.”

 

“Heh,” was the only word that left Gemini’s mouth at first as he gave a sideways grin that didn’t have much malice in his eyes. “I’m pretty sure my counterpart would try to do about anything to prove you wrong on the latter.”

 

Turning his back towards the pair, he looked over towards his shoulder towards Arturia. “Also, if you instead asked him to share that body, I’m fairly certain he wouldn’t mind having another passenger for a while that isn’t me.” Hand in the air as if giving a peace sign, Gemini began to walk away.

 

“...that may be nice.” The knight all but nodded, resigned to her eventual fate. However the others would take this turn of events, it would be up to them.

 

As soon as Gemini had vanished from view, Alexander breathed a moderately-sized sigh of relief. “Well then,” he chimed in with a goofy grin, “guess all that’s left is for Her Majesty to return Neos’ body to its owner and begin heading out of here! Now, you said this was a “Reality Bubble”, right? I wonder if I’ll be able to utilize this ability in the future….”

 

“... wow. Way to bounce back, Alex,” Umbris sigh-chuckled.

 

“I shall do just that in a moment.” Arturia chuckled a bit, somewhat flabbergasted at his change of attitude, yet overall, actually quite relieved at it. “Also, if you refer to this Reality Marble, quite possibly... Everyone has one after all. With enough clear-minded determination and possibly some convenient circumstances, anyone could certainly gain access to it. Not merely a Counter Guardian.”

 

Her green eyes looked at the sky, clouded, yet with hopeful rays of light shining through.

 

"It will be a bit embarrassing to face the others, I'm sure. Still, I will be judged as they see fit."

 

Wondering if she would ever see a clear sky again.

 

“Now… let’s head ba-”

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

 

 

 

 

| TREACHERY |

.

 

.

 

.

 

 

“Arturia Pendragon,” he muttered solemnly.

 

 

 

 

And with but a single swift strike, her back was punctured, feeling the blade thankfully miss a strangely-hardened object in the shapeshifter’s chest, the creature’s fake heart. Holy blood stained his sword, as the impact of his assault filled the air with tension.

 

The knight stared down at her chest, confused at first… but her eyes were quick to widen into horror, as were Alexander’s, the lombax horrified by the suddenness of the sight before him.

 

“...w- wh-” Arturia tried to speak, but only blood swelled up from her mouth. Thoughts rushed through her mind, but more importantly than that, she recognized that voice too clearly. It was the voice of that man they’d met moments ago-

 

Despite the sudden arduous atmosphere, his face remained unsullied. “Your time is up.”

 

The Soul Reaper, Byakuya Kuchiki, appeared from nothingness, using the power of the Hallway to his advantage. Her vessel collapsed to the ground, falling to its knees.

 

“Such simple, close minded creatures cannot hope to wield a power this great,” he said as he twisted his blade inside of Neos’ body.

 

“AAAaaaaaaaaGGGggghhHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhH!!!” Arturia screamed in extreme agony as unnaturally-amplified pain shot through her whole body. Blood would have been spurting out were it not for her host attempting to activate an ability, suppressed though it may be.

 

“Wh-What are you doing?!” Alexander sputtered out, recovering from his shock. “She was about to let him go! Why would you do this?!! Please, stop!!!”

 

“I would not be so hasty in killing my counterpart,” spoke a familiar form, manifested in behind the Reaper, while just to the side so that he could easily be seen. “He should be regaining himself momentarily, now that Her Highness has finally realized what she’s doing.” At this point, Gemini gained an uneasy look on his face as he looked up towards the ceiling, even rubbing the back of his neck with a long-fingered hand. “Took revealing future events to do so, but it’s a tiny price to pay in this specific case.”

 

Using Gemini’s appearance as a distraction, Arturia used her remaining strength to push herself off from the sudden intruder’s blade. No longer suppressed, a glow emerged from the hole, hastily repairing what it could of the wound. Neos’s Recover kicking in to keep both her and her host alive...but it wouldn’t be for long.

 

“How could a ‘guide’ do something like this…?! Y- you… you c- can’t possibly be a part of Origin.”

 

Even while concentrating on keeping herself - and Neos - alive, Arturia forced herself to speak, hoping to gain as much information as possible. There were too many questions in her mind, and too few answers. Who was he? Why would he pick now of all times to attack? What was his ulterior motive?!

 

“Kuchiki Byakuya… what are you?”

 

Her body hit the ground, but it wasn’t about to give up anytime soon. Using up the last of her Invisible Air, she formed countless razor-sharp blades of wind around the Reaper and lashed out, in an attempted to cut him apart from all directions. With a bit of luck, this abrupt threat may just be able to be dispatched before the situation escalates…!

 

“What am I?” Byakuya replied, as Senbonzakura’s many petals formed an elegant barrier all around him.

 

Arturia’s Invisible Air would find that Byakuya’s defense was nearly impenetrable. Senbonzakura bloomed outwards, in an explosion of vivid color and thousands of unseen blades. The attack had been nullified, but still a slender cut appeared on Byakuya’s right cheek. Byakuya mused over his answer, and gave Arturia what he deemed most pertinent.

 

“I am the product of my lord,” he said, his face unchanging. “I am an acting force in which justice will be done.”

 

“...’my lord’...? Justice? W- what… are...”

 

Losing much of her consciousness, the Counter Guardian realized there wasn’t much left she could do. Reaching deep into her consciousness, where Neos was entrapped, she opened his cage of light, which caused him to look up with frightened green eyes. Quickly!She opened her memories, so that he would be immediately brought up to date with what had just happened - in the process showing him glimpses of the very life she’d told him apart, her tragedy as a king. Then, she let the Ditto’s soul resurface, to regain control of his body. He knew it better than anyone. If she couldn’t think of a solution, surely he could!

 

However, at that very moment… Using his speed and knowledge of souls to his advantage, Byakuya blinked in an instance and emerged beside the vessel which held the King. He touched the false human’s shoulder, which both caused Neos to tense up and look back towards him, sensing Arturia’s soul inside. In that vulnerable moment of switching, Byakuya had chosen to take advantage and strike.

 

With one hand, he pinched at the feminine soul, grasping onto the thread which sewed it into Neos’ body. Just as her soul had reached Neos’s own internal world, a mental representation of the crystalline Tree of Beginning, she found her essence punctured by that thread.

 

Ah… The knight should have known no one could ever hope to be safe from a Shinigami, even inside there. But it was too late.

 

It appears this is goodbye, Sir Neos.

 

For what it’s worth, I truly considered you a friend.

 

 

 

Why did͞n͡'̶t ̴I̢ ͘li͏st̕eǹ ͟s͘o͘o͏ńer... S̥͉ͮ̄ḧ̜̥̙̦̪̈́̐̔̑͛iŕ̹̈ͤo̙̦̮̜̞̽͆͒̾u͔̦̻̪̱̟͋ͫ̃̽ͦ?

 

At last, Byakuya pulled at it, and began to unravel Arturia’s bond to the vessel. The separation was not painless, but to Neos’s credit, he didn’t scream or buckle from it. With her soul in hand, Byakuya snatched her from Neos’ vessel, allowing it to fall helplessly to his side in the form of a glowing will-o-wisp. With no body to return to, the soul would wander aimlessly until it potentially became a Hollow. Another enemy. Byakuya would not allow that. He raised his weapon to the length of the wisp, and silently issued her last rites.

 

“Sleep,” he commanded of her.

 

With a swift swipe, he severed Arturia Pendragon’s soul’s connection to the world, and so watched what remained of her existence drift into eternal slumber.

 

---

 

 

 

For the king,

who let go of her madness at last,

was this not the perfect HAPPY ENDING?

[Dad]

 

Byakuya

Alexander’s Soul Room

 

The Soul Reaper stood where Arturia’s soul once, and now no longer was.

 

Normally, Neos would be saying something to this, however, his voice had become locked up, due to the intimate level of pain he had been feeling from the separation. He wasn’t exactly hurt, but…

 

There are ways to inflict pain without actual damage coming from it, and that turned out to be one of those means. When his voice finally came back to him, it was in a form of a snarl while still in the unfamiliar form.

 

Even so, she’d been right. He did know this body better than her, since it was his, after all. However, he was unfamiliar with the form currently worn. So, as Neos tried to stand and turn around to face the new figure, his body began to glow, shifting from the short feminine shape to a taller masculine shape. It didn’t take long for him to regain his own human shape, though he winced as he felt something… sharp...in his chest. Bringing a hand over his chest, he used Recover to not only heal what remained of his wounds, but also find out what was creating that cutting feeling.

 

To his shock, he felt a sliver of something transparent that shimmered with many colors in the light fall into his hand.

 

HIs diamond heart had been chipped.

 

Neos looked up towards the one that had their weapon in his chest not that long ago before stating simply, “That blade of yours must be something if it can cut diamond.”

 

“Neos!” Alexander called out.  “Are you alright?!”

 

“Huh, I keep thinking you’re referring to our Neos…,” Umbris quietly remarked off-handedly.

 

Neos shook his head before bringing his other hand to his forehead.  “Been better,” he admitted with a gruff tone.  “..and what do you mean by ‘our Neos’?” For the moment, he was confused before shaking his head and looking towards the jerk that stabbed him.  “I really hope you aren’t gonna do that again,” he groaned as he shifted into a defensive stance, unsure of what would end up happening next, if this guy would not be convinced that he was himself again or what. He did see Gemini behind the figure, eyes narrowed at him while seeing him mutter to himself something even his ears couldn’t catch...but he knew Gemini well enough to lip-read him.

 

A puppet that serves his puppeteer knowingly.

 

“Who is the ‘puppeteer’ you serve, then,” Neos shakily questioned, not wholly sure if the right term was used...

 

Byakuya flicked the blood from his weapon, addressing Neos at last.  

 

“It is good that you would wonder such a thing.  After being manipulated for so long, it is natural to question who you serve,” he said, looking to where Arturia had been slain. “However, I am no puppet.  I serve of my own will for a greater cause.  One that will unite these multiverses.  That which my lord seeks.”

 

He turned his attention past the wounded Neos, and towards the lombax who still commanded the Key, Alexander. “Release the Key,” he demanded.  

“If you still value your life.”

 

In the face of Byakuya’s threat, Alexander merely furrowed his brow. “I’m afraid you’ll have to do more than make a threat on my life,” he explained to the Shinigami, arming himself with a pair of Energy Swords in the process, “for me to give up this Key, Kuchiki-san.  As I’ve already told Arturia, I will do whatever it takes to ensure this Key does not fall into the wrong hands--I’ll even give my life if I must….”  “I just wish it didn’t have to be this way…,” he thought to himself, deeply saddened that Arturia had to pay the ultimate price, enemy or not.

 

“.....” Once he was able to, Neos was soon staring into the eyes of the one that made the demand, trying to get as much of a read on his potential foe as possible before finally opening his mouth as he moved to better shield the lombax from a possible strike. 

 

“Somehow, I don’t believe Lambda would appreciate the world he created by this place to remain destroyed by upstarts.” Gemini raised an eyebrow at these words and if it wasn’t for the fact that he had to maintain his cool, he’d be wondering where those words came from himself. “Shoot, pretty sure he would send me himself to make sure what happened to the Omniverse was undone at this rate.”

 

However, he wasn’t stupid. As soon as he started saying those words, expecting a strike, he shifted into a defensive pose, watching the sword-wielder carefully.

 

Byakuya straightened his sword, its broad, flat end facing Neos. “That was not a request.”

 

“Didn’t think it was,” was the response given, the shapeshifter unflinching in his words.

 

With Arturia slain, he had but one more goal to fulfill.  His weapon shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces as he commanded it.  The pieces became flower petals, loftly floating in the air.  They were cast forwards, dancing across the air and blowing right into Neos’ path of vision.

 

All Neos had to do was raise his crossed arms in front of his face as a rounded shield of energy emerged around him, his eyes glowing blue as his vision altered to track aura instead of normal. He had already braced for the mass of colors that would result from the chaos around him, but was unsure what would happen with the figure in front of him. 

 

If Gemini was any indicator, since he could see the dark double’s blackish-red aura, this figure would likely have something to him, even as a construct of Origin. When he attempted to look at the Reaper’s aura, however, all he saw was a...disconcerting void that he’d never before witnessed. There was a visible aura, surely, but it was a pure white. Untainted, featureless, and pure, quite akin to an unborn baby in fact.

 

In any case, with Neos distracted by the attack, Byakuya took this opportunity to rush straight for Alexander. His hands wielding the very Zanpakutou that slayed Arturia, his eyes trained on the Key in the lombax’s hand.

 

A snap became heard from elsewhere and the Key began to glow for a moment before the light faded once more, the object-in-question appearing unchanged. Neos, however, visibly reacted from the momentary glow.

 

To him, it looked as if it changed from what it was supposed to be...to the familiar blackish-red in the same shape. He looked around, soon seeing a familiar shape with the odd sliver in its hands from within what he guessed to be the inside of a building, waving to him with the odd object in hand.  “Oh, that little…”

 

“... sonuvajabroni,” Alexander cursed under his own breath as if to finish Neos’ sentence, flabbergasted that the Key had somehow left his possession, yet admittedly finding the circumstances somewhat amusing.

 

Visibly annoyed, Byakuya’s lips curled into a frown.  “I cannot keep my lord waiting.”

 

“Which lord, I wonder? Origin or another by a different name? Ada, maybe? ...or maybe even Dorian, as he wishes to be called?” Gemini asked from his place inside of the many buildings, a sheet-eating grin on his face that kept his four fangs in view. “Refreshing to see someone known for keeping his cool actually show emotion for once, a flaw instilled by your puppeteer, perhaps?

 

C’mon, Kuchiki-kun,” he remarked with a cute tone to his voice. 

“Let’s see what you can do...”

 

Neos cracked knuckles at seeing how Gemini was acting, debating on what to do. He knew full well that as long as no one moved towards the dark duplicate, he could take all the time in the world to think if he so chose, since he knew his mirror was that kind of jabroni. Glancing towards the swordsman, however, the false human half-wondered if he should say anything, considering the man did give off the whole ‘nothing you do will matter to me’ vibe.

 

Byakuya breathed, the taste of the air being ripe with the smell of fruit. “This place,” he said, looking around aimlessly. “It is truly beautiful.” Byakuya’s mind almost seemed to wander, before he turned back to the one which taunted him.

 

“This place.  Alexander’s soul,” Byakuya annunciated. “I will make use of it.  As I do all souls.”  Byakuya turned his sword upside down, so that its blade was pointed at the hollow space between his own feet.  Silently, he dropped it, and the sword appeared to ripple into a pool of water. Everything within Alexander slowly became consumed in blackness.

 

The only light which emerged from the blackness, was that of Byakuya. He raised his hand, as an endless volume of infinitely stretching replicas of Senbonzakura’s blade amassed inside of Alexander’s soul room. The depth of the soul was so great, that even Byakuya was not sure how much of his strength was being pushed over the edge.  He had never felt power like this before.

 

Even Kenpachi Zaraki paled in comparison. The swords stretched, and stretched, until everything in Alexander’s soul room was blanketed by a reflection of steel.  And then, the blades shattered.

 

An impossible number of petals bloomed, consuming even Byakuya.  A sea of cherry blossoms that threatened to drown Alexander’s soul from the inside out.  The petals twisted and twirled into a raging storm of blades, filling every imagined structure, feature, and ground that made up Alexander’s soul.  Byakuya raised a hand, and the petals stopped in place, surrounding everything, completely and utterly.

 

“You will release the Key,” he said, taking a step forwards, his footsteps silent on the petals which now made up the ground at his feet. “Or you will drown in your blood.  And I will take the key.”

 

The very air was filled with the sweet aroma of the cherry blossoms, almost sickeningly so.  Alexander’s entire body trembled, both from the sheer spectacle of Byakuya’s ability and from the immense Spirit Pressure resonating throughout his Soul Room--his very soul.  His soul, his mind, his senses, all were overwhelmed, preventing him from using any of his abilities, or even move for that matter.  An inevitable attack was coming, and he was powerless to avoid it on his own.

 

“Choose,” Byakuya said, flatly.

 

“Alex…! Alex, you gotta snap out of it!” Umbris begged as he tried to shake Alexander back to his senses. “Alex, you gotta do something, or your Soul Room will--!”

 

“You and your puppeteer are really stupid, you know?”

 

Upon a nearby rock that looked large enough to be used for a sitting place, Gemini manifested resting upon it, hands clasped back into each other as his elbows rested upon his knees. The Key was nowhere visible on him, but that’s not to say that it could have been slipped into any of the pockets on his being. “You make demands of someone whom doesn’t have what you see at the threat of death if they don’t. Do you enjoy killing those that don’t deserve---wait, that’s not a concept you likely understand if you’re doing this stupid thing.”

 

“How about you stop antagonizing him, Gemini? You’re only making sheet worse!”

 

“You’re a real piece of work. Instead of going after the one with the Key, you’re going after those who dare to speak reason to you for letting us pass with the Arceus-damned thing like the brainless soldier you are behaving as.”

 

Gemini leaned back slightly as another voice similar...no, identical to Neos’ entered his head, the dark counterpart finding himself staring at Byakuya with a single realization.

 

This bastard doesn’t care whom he ends in the process. Each being dead is one less obstacle that could have the Key for him to take. funked if he left, funked if he stayed.

 

“Your puppeteer’s insane,” the demon muttered before standing up, slipping a hand into the inside of his purple suit jacket, keeping it there as he moved his fingers over the edges of the seemingly-inconspicuous card. He kept seeing two results and he wasn’t sure if the one he wanted, the one where this bastard simply left after getting the Key would happen instead of just killing everyone anyway after getting the Key.

 

Gemini did, however, see that if he had left when he wanted to, Neos was almost guaranteed to die by this bastard’s hands due to the metaphorical cage that was this Soul Room, which would leave himself trapped or gone from existence as well.

 

Surrendering the Key and making sure that everyone got out alive and in one piece would have to be a calculated risk. Shame he couldn’t make heads-or-tails of those odds, for once…

 

“I carry no interest in your words, creature.  Release the Key.” Byakuya pointed a finger at the one called Gemini.  His petals sprang forth in the form of a splitting wave, threatening to crush his enemy alive.

 

“Ngh--NEGATE ATTACK!!” Alexander cried out as best he could through the spirit pressure that was practically smothering him, as another Trap Card surfaced, its effect making itself known in the simplest way possible--Senbonzakura’s attack not only being cancelled out before even a single petal could touch Gemini, but also forcing the Zanpakuto to revert back to its sealed state.  Finally able to breathe properly, Alexander took a moment to catch his breath before berating Byakuya with a sharp glare: “For Heaven’s sakes, Kuchiki, you’re going to end up destroying the Key if you attack like that!  Have some damned foresight, man!”

 

“And you!” Alexander then turned his attention to Gemini. “You’re getting to be a nuisance, too, what with that stunt you pulled!”

 

“Yeah, dude,” Umbris added his own two cents, “you really weren’t thinking ahead there.  Shouldn’t that “Future Sight” of yours have told you that?”

 

“...I will not say that I did not deserve that,” Gemini coolly stated in response. In his coat pocket, he lightly coated the Key with a faint, untraceable residue before pulling it out into view between his fingers. “I will hand this to you, but note this: if you make even a single move to end any of the lives present before we can leave this room, this Key will leave your grasp instantly...and even I will have no guarantee of finding it again.” There was absolutely no indicator of deception or betrayal, his voice flat and even with no amusement. “Are we clear?”

 

“Gem, what in the Distortion are you---” Neos instantly shut up upon seeing the look on Gemini’s face, a face he recognized. A look of stern honesty, when he knew he didn’t have many good cards in his hands. “...I’d suggest you brace yourselves, to leave or fight, there’s no telling anymore, even by him.” He pulled Alexander close enough to whisper into his ear, “If he’s actually about to surrender the Key, he may not be able to see a future that we leave alive and with the Key in our hands.”

 

“... I get the feeling you’re right,” Alexander replied to Neos mentally.  

“As much as I’d hate to admit it… I, too, see no way out of this with the Key in our possession… … … but even so, as long as the Key still exists, there’s still a chance, however slim it may be, that we’ll be able to get it back before it’s too late.  It’s a huge risk, but an even bigger one to continue this altercation we’re in… … what other choice do we have…?” the lombax concluded, a single frustrated tear sliding down his cheek.  He simply hated that it was coming to this….

 

“Nothing has ever been more clear.  Nothing as clear as my lord’s will.  Begone,” Byakuya replied, pointing a finger at Gemini again. Sparks circled the tip of his index finger, before a wide beam of lightning engulfed everything in front of him.

 

Red eyes widened as the bolt came for him. Gemini had expected the Key in his fingers to disappear right then and there, but instead, it stayed and Gemini found himself unable to move beyond blinking. “The funking hell,” he shouted with his Telepathy in broadcast, before shifting to a simmering tone. A flash step took Byakuya mere inches from the enemy’s face, as he stood before them.  

 

He took the key gently into his fingertips, no longer met with resistance. And there was nothing they could do about it.

 

With no tasks left to complete, Byakuya turned his back, and opened a gateway to the Hall of Origin with a snap of his wrist.  

 

“...”

 

He left with no words, vanishing in an instant. 

 

Just like him, they would be saved-

 

 

The Shadow Realm

Three Days Ago

 

In a realm enshrouded by shadows and infested by void creatures, various warriors had been brought forth. All of them retrieved from collapsing worlds, led by a Counter Guardian called Emiya to save the multiverse from a greater force. They’d been informed to charge forth, make their way to the Castle of Necrophades, and find the ‘Horcrux’ of this entity before destroying it, effectively ending things. However, in that realm, they encountered mysterious enemies, apparently consigned by this same entity.

 

https://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/304659-the-grand-crossover-rp-pathway-to-origin-pg-13startedapps-closed-for-arc-iv-final/page-13?do=findComment&comment=6256744

 

On the second floor of the Castle, Jecht sighed as he felt a new presence appear behind him. It was much larger the majority of Counter Corps, and he could already tell that it was here for him. Glancing over his shoulder, Jecht met the gaze of the middle-aged soul reaper; only offering the man a cocky smirk, before shooting forward at extreme speeds. “You chose the wrong opponent pall!”

 

Byakuya reacted quickly to Jecht’s sudden assault, raising his sword just before a clawed hand collided with his face. Sensing the power resonating from the punch, Byakuya decided to let himself to be pushed through one of the castle’s walls, only bringing himself to a halt once he and his opponent were a good distance away. 

 

Separated from the castle, they were now amidst the purple sky of the Shadow Realm. Various void creatures - dragons, vultures, and other winged monstrosities - circled their position from high above, attracted to the sheer power possessed by the duo. However, they never came in for the swoop, Jecht willing them not to interfere with his Divine-granted abilities. This battle was his alone.

 

“You’re much stronger than the others I've encountered.” The soul reaper’s voice was emotionless, as he began analyzing his opponent.“But you are mistaken, it is you who is facing an opponent that they have no hope of defeating.”

 

Jecht let out an amused grunt. “I’ll give you points for confidence, but let’s see how long it lasts…”

 

“Very well.”

 

~ Stand up be strong ~

 

Ending their stare down, Byakuya extending his hand towards his opponent, before dropping his blade into what appeared to be an infinite pool of water. Almost immediately, thousands of blades appeared behind him, visible for only a moment, before exploding into a seemingly infinite amount of cherry blossoms. “Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.”

 

Jecht watched the display with a bored expression, before summoning his own sword. “Real pretty, but are we gonna fight any time soon?!” Having no intention of waiting for a response, Jecht leaped into the air, intent on crushing the smaller man under his feet. 

 

Watching as his opponent began rapidly descending; Byakuya swung his left hand upward. “You fool, you’ve already sealed your fate.” Following their master’s command, a large mass of cherry blossoms rose to meet Jecht, forming a razor sharp wall. 

 

“BRING IT!” Waiting to the last possible moment, Jecht evoked his flaming aura, using the added power to smash into his opponents’ defense. The sound of thousands of blades grinding against each other resonated through the air, as the cherry blossoms began to waver under the massive amount of force. The soul reaper had no doubts that his opponent would break through,forcing him to order the blades to shoot forward, sending Jecht skidding backwards. 

 

Glancing down at his now shredded leg, Jecht could only laugh. “Those things’re pretty sharp aren't they? That’s a nasty weapon…” The massive amount of blood that had been leaking from Jecht’s leg began to evaporate, as he wounds started to regenerate. “But you’re gonna need a lot more than that party trick, I’m-“ The Champion's words were cut short, as Byakuya sent out another wave of cherry blossoms, this one much denser than the first. 

 

“Won’t work… JECHT BEAM!” Not bothering to dodge, Jecht unleashed two massive beams from his eyes, which then exploded upon making contact with the cherry blossoms. 

 

‘There.’ Using the smoke that was generated from the two attacks as cover, Byakuya used Shunpo to appear behind his opponent, forming a blade from his bunkai, and then performing Senka on the unsuspecting fool. Everything seemed to go silent.

 

As the smoke cleared; Jecht was left standing with a blade protruding from his chest, and Byakuya at his back, confidently holding said blade. 

 

“You were a fool to underestimate me, now die quietly.” After receiving no response, Byakuya relinquished his grip on the blade, before turning towards the direction of the castle. 

 

However,

 

“I thought I told you, party tricks won’t work on me?”

 

‘What?!’ Before Byakuya could react, Jecht’s massive blade slammed into his chest, sending him soaring backwards. The Shinigami zoomed across the dark realm, over the hordes of warriors and creatures still fighting on the ground, before crashing violently into a mountain. Quick to recover, he instantly got to his feet, stumbling out of the crater that he formed, with a massive gash across his chest. 

 

“How? You should no longer be able to fight…”

 

Not one to let his opponent rest, Jecht appeared in front of Byakuya, slamming his knee into the man’s stomach, before wrapping his hand around his tiny throat. Jecht’s eyes no longer had any sense of warmth, as he began gathering energy.

 

" … I’m Sin, ya know.” The palm of Jecht’s hand began glow a brilliant blue, and the entire mountain seemed to tremble from the vast amount of powered that was being charged. 

 

"TRIUMPHANT GRASP!"

 

The two were suddenly enveloped in a large blast, that seemed to eat way at the mountain, leaving complete nothingness in its wake.

 

 

Castle of Necrophades

 

"I-Impossible, so much raw power..." Byakuya mumbled in disbelief, as he looked down at the bloody stump that used to be his right arm. He had managed to escape the majority of the blast using his speed, smashing back to the castle to gain some terrain advantage, but he was in fact still heavily damaged; his hair was now bloody, and matted, and his wounds seemed to be releasing an unnatural amount of blood. The soul reaper began healing his injuries, but assumed a fighting stance once Jecht appeared a few meters in front  of him. 

 

"You look like a wreck, but good job surviving that though." Jecht seemed to have returned to his normal state, as he began slowly walking towards his opponent. "I had a momentary lapse... But, now I'll give you a man's death."

 

"My life won’t end here…!" Bursting into a flurry of movement, Byakuya sent forth an uncountable amount of cherry blossoms, all of which surrounding Jecht. In only moments the Champion was enveloped in what seemed to be an ocean of brilliant pink, that  seemed to flow forever. A wave of relief  washed over Byakuya, as he was sure nothing could survive an attack on this scale. He had vanquished his foe.

 

The soul reaper was about to reseal his sword, when he felt a sudden resistance from within his ocean. 

 

'Impossible.'

 

Something within his attack was moving, and heading right towards him. Byakuya attempted to form Shūkei Hakuteiken to defend himself  only to realize that he was out of energy. 

 

'Is this how I'm meant to die?'

 

Time seemed to slow down, as Jecht's upper body shot out from the the sea of blades, fully transformed into his final Aeon form. 

 

'What will become of my world?'

 

Jecht said nothing has he thrusted his blade forward, running Byakuya through, and sending an enormous shock wave throughout the realm. The wound inflicted upon his body was one which was impossible to recover from. All the cherry blossoms vanished in an instant, leaving Jecht standing over his defeated opponent. 

 

"I'm sorry, but I'll do anything for my dream..." With that, Jecht vanished, accepting the call back to base. The great battle between Death and Sin had ended at last, and the victor was clear.

 

Left to die, the god of death could only stare upwards. Not at a beautiful sight, but at the cracked ceiling of an ill-made castle hallway.

 

The realm gradually collapsed around him.

 

The moments ticked on by.

 

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

 

Tick.

 

The longest seconds Byakuya had ever experienced in his lifetime. 

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

And then. Amidst the collapsing rubble, a voice in the distance.

 

”It seems like I’m going to be making enemies soon enough…

 

...hm?”

 

[Kingdom Xathers]

Alexander and Umbris, feat. Neos and Gemini

Alexander's Soul Room/Reality Marble

 

“... we need to get back, now,” Alexander declared urgently to Neos and Umbris. “I’ll get us out of here. Gemini, you… do whatever, just don’t funk with anything else in here,” he added to the demon in a irritated tone, clearly upset at this point. With that, Alexander conjured a portal leading out of his Soul Room/Reality Marble.

“Are you really gonna leave him here?” Neos inquired, eyebrow raised with a tone that suggested that he wasn’t sure how wise such an act would be. “You’re gonna leave someone who can manipulate souls, like I can, in a Soul Room. That’s asking for problems once he ca---”

“I’m going to murder that bastard for doing that,” Gemini suddenly roared as he regained movement, eyes literally burning with how the light flickered in them.
“That puppet and its controller are both going to find themselves dead at some point.”

Without ceremony, Neos rushed behind the fuming counterpart and shoved him out of the Soul Room and through the portal. “...yep, he’s pissed.”

“He’s not the only one,” Alexander replied calmly, despite his body vibrating slightly from his own frustrations. “But that’s a bridge we’ll cross once we get to it. So, let’s get to it.”

With a nod, Neos stretched out his arms to either side before beginning to glow a bluish-white light, the light reshaping itself into more and more of a large avian form. Once the blue glow was gone, only a greying Pidgeot with the same eyes as Neos was left behind. A kick into the air later, the bird flew off through the portal to take to the air immediately outside.

“... you okay, Alex?” Umbris asked as he and the lombax were prepared to leave the Reality Marble.

“... … … I feel like this is my fault,” Alexander admitted with tightly clenched fists, his trembling slowly, steadily intensifying.

“You did what you could, Alex. No one can fault you for that,” Umbris attempted to reassure the lombax. “You stood your ground against a Counter Guardian, and managed to keep the Key safe. The Key--and our hopes of winning this war--still exist because of you. Right, Alister?”

Alexander jumped slightly at the sight of the General standing just within the portal out of the Reality Marble. Alister nodded, his eyes filled with understanding as he held out a hand towards the pair. “C’mon you two,” Alister spoke clearly, “we’ve still got a job to do.”

“... yeah…,” Alexander nodded, some of the weight on his shoulders feeling a bit lighter now as he and Umbris followed the General out of his Soul Room. They had a Key to take back, after all.

 

 

Back in the Hallway of Origin

 

 

As soon as Alexander exited his Soul Room along with Umbris and Alister, he was greeted by the rest of the concerned Team Lombax.  "Easy, everyone, one at a time," Alister urged the group, hoping to not have Alexander overwhelmed.

 

"We heard what was going on from Alister," Jeanne explained.  "He mentioned something about a "telepathic link" between you and he."

 

"And you'd be right, Jeanne," Umbris confirmed, both his hands rested comfortingly upon Alexander's shoulders.  "To anyone who has ever entered Alexander's Soul Room, he can peer into their thoughts.  If he so chooses, he can also communicate with them telepathically, both in and outside of his Soul Room.  That's how Alister was able to know what was going on, apparently."

 

"Alexander," Red spoke up in a reassuring tone, "we value your efforts in keeping the Key to Origin safe, regardless of it being in your possession still or not.  You needn't be hard on yourself for losing it.  What matters now is that it still exists; we still have a chance to reclaim it, and our worlds."

 

"And, heck, you had the bolts to stand your ground against two powerful adversaries," Ratchet added encouragingly.  "That itself deserves some props, Alex."

 

"... heh... well, it's not like I was alone," a teary-eyed Alex admitted with an appreciative side glance towards Umbris.

 

"And you won't be alone now," Bayonetta nodded.  "It's our turn to make sure your efforts will not be in vain.  We'll get that Key back, and make sure it stays out of the wrong hands."

 

"... especially his," Gabriel added, pointing up towards Kyros, who was still hovering atop his Orichalcos Sigil, close to the Hallway's ceiling.  "I'd say it's pretty clear that the Leviathan is more in control now, so we need to deal with the both of them, along with Byakuya and whomever he's serving."

"... ... right," Alexander nodded, his depression giving way to urgency and vigor.  "Then we know what we must do."

[The Warden]

”DIE FOR YOUR KING!!!”
 
"YOU'RE NOT MY SUPERVISOR!"
 
Lydia's heels dug into the floor of the Hallway, and they were slowly being forced back by the absurdly strong attack. Whatever that beam was, it clearly outclassed the newly reborn Hopeless Black by a long shot, and the intensity of the beam was getting a little to toasty. "That beam is of no element! DODGE GIRL!"
 
Breaking her assault at the last second, Lydia dove away, aided by a burst of wind. But it wasn't quite enough. "AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!' Lydia screamed as the tips of her wings were incinerated by the attack, rendering at least half of them black and useless. But at least she had avoided outright disintegration at least.
 
"Calm yourself girl, it was just the wings."
 
"Easy for you to say," Lydia seethed as she tried to hold back her tears, "you're not the one feeling it."
 
"I feel it, same as you. But it would seem the witch suffers worse. Look."
 
Following the metaphorical hand, the Sorceress Supreme watched as Koishi bravely took on the Pendragon, a rather ugly looking lance in her hand. “Anchor of the Storm! Rhongomyniad!"
 
And it all went white as the lance that would pierce the dragon engulfed the Hallway, and with light comes darkness, the darkness of death. But Lydia wasn't quite as focused on Arturia somehow surviving as her concern for the girl who tried to kill the dragon. "Crap!"
 
From sitting to running in a flash, Lydia's boots clobbered the Hallway, the wind aiding her as she slid across it, just in time to catch Koishi from falling to hard. "Arturia! I won't let you... oh."
 
It would appear that Arturia had actually died. Well bugger, she actually had something heroic to say, but it seems it wouldn't matter all that much did it? Ah well. Placing the brave and/or incredibly stupid girl on the floor, Lydia knelt down besides her. "That was the most insane thing I think I have ever seen so far today" she told the unconscious Koishi. "And I saw myself take on Protheus. That says an awful lot about this situation really."

 

---

 

"Tch. This is getting beyond the joke now."

 

Watching far away from the groups was that strange robed figure who had stuck everyone's fingers up their noses... because he could. He was also observing everyone through a pair of opera glasses, likewise because he could. "One boss falls, another potentially appears? Christ this is taking forever. I swear if I could I'd kill him and get this show rolling already" he complained.

 

Scanning the crowds, the being's interest was soon caught by spotting Gemini in a crowd, followed shortly by an annoyed growl. "Time to deal with that pest like he so thoroughly deserves."

 

Time halting again, the robed drifted towards the fake Ditto, with the full knowledge that despite the time freeze, he was still aware of what was going on. Good. He should be conscious for finally getting what's coming to him. "I didn't take kindly to you going into jabroni foreshadowing mode. That's MY thing. So, I'm going to do to you what's been a very long time coming Gemini" they told the fake while being close enough that Gemini could smell the figure's cinnamon flavoured breath.

 

Drawing into a sleeve, the robed being pulled free a... folded paper hat? A folded paper hat which he placed on Gemini's head. There was writing on it as well, which read: I am a spoiling jabroni. I also want to kiss all the boys.

 

"You're stuck with that hat Gemini, because it has bonded to your skull thanks to the most unbreakable substance in the omniverse: Ordinary household glue. I trust this will be a firm reminder not to be a spoiling asshat from now on."

 

Nodding firmly at the just and righteous punishment, the figure noted something else. "That's interesting" it said as it walked towards Team Lombax.

 

---

 

Though thankful for their words of encouragement, there had been one person who had yet to weigh in on Alexanders ordeal. "Oh my sweet little saint~!"

 

Without warning, the fuzzy little Lombax was put into a death hug by Hapshiel, his face getting to first base with those manly, oily, sweaty pectorals. "You have suffered so much at the hand of that evil woman" the angel crooned, Alexander's face basically wedged in his chest while the Lombax struggled. "But worry not~! Leave the rest of the fighting to us now while you rest against my bosom for what lies ahead!"

 

By some miracle, Alex did managed to get his head out of Hapshiel's chest, and breathed deeply as if he had never breathed before. "Hapshiel" he panted. "Hapshiel, while I appreciate the sentiment I... I...."

 

Looking into the ground surrounding the two (who were naturally either trying not to laugh their asses off or were laughing their asses off), the Lombax saw something beyond the rip in Red's wing. A sinister robed figure stood there watching him, and as their eyes met, a glowing crescent smiled appeared in the darkness of its hood before it chuckled ominously. And then, it was gone in a blink, as if, maybe, it had never been there to begin with.

[Reinforce]

Chandra

 

Breathing a sigh of relief as the dragon finally vanished, and with the last of the summons she was sustaining gone, Chandra slid down onto the ground until she was lying on her back, watching as the auras she'd been relying on went out. She could feel the blissful sensation her bonded lands diverting more mana into her system, restoring some of her fatigue as she lay there, finally able to take a breather and subsequently missing everything that happened with the possessed Neos.

 

---

 

Ayame

 

As the dragon fell, Ayame walked the short distance to make it back to the wall, where she could sit and rest for a moment, her demonic visage fading back to her normal appearance. As she did, Naomi's soul followed her across, finally dropping the song she'd had going and sitting down next to her friend. Without either saying a word, Ayame put an arm around Naomi's shoulder, closing her eyes for a few minutes as Naomi started to quietly hum another song. This time, it wasn't a vague, wide area effect, but a more focused version of the healing and restoration she'd been singing before, choosing this time to just heal her friend while she was still around.

 

---

 

Darcy

 

As Satori went quiet to think about something she'd found out, Darcy was doing the same, keeping a general awareness of the battle in case something came her way, she decided to divert more power into the sheath now resting inside her body, dropping her current transformation for her normal look as she did. While slow to build, she could finally see a change happening with the power she'd been pouring in beyond simply becoming active again, the flames she was using to power it slowly filtering through her body, healing her of the damage she'd taken from the direct contact with Arturia and draining away the fatigue that had been building up in her body. As Satori spoke once more, she cut off the flow of power, letting the sheath return to a dormant state until she might have need of it once more.

 

That aside, do you have any personal guesses about what would wait for us beyond this place?

 

I have no real idea what could wait us beyond, this is something I have no experience with, but probably something that could be considered a door and would need the key to open.

 

Watching on, Darcy saw the dragon fall at last, and noticed the unusual happenings with the stranger she'd met on the Pathway of Death. Watching as he turned into a copy of Arturia made her cautious, but seeing him vanish with another of the Counter Corps, and then reappear a bit afterwards as himself again with the same person reassured her that Arturia really had vanished this time, even if she couldn't tell what was going on within.

 

For now at least, it seems we are being given a brief respite before we move on, so if there's anything you want to do before what will probably be the final push to the door, just let me know and I'll do what I can to help out. Dark witch I may be, but I have my pride, and you did help me out a lot during that battle.

[Tesability Black]

~Gemini's POV - Within Origin~

After he was pushed out of Alexander's Soul Room, he reappeared not within the Hallway of Origin, but in a different location entirely, an inversion of a room many of the others would find familiar.

While the others had a White Room that seemed altered to fit them, Gemini had a Black Room with its own form of modifications.

He groaned as he opened his eyes to see the blank ceiling, raising his hand to his forehead to try and rub away the headache he got from entering this place.  Seeing a band of hardened white light around his wrist once more, his eyes narrowed into slight depression at his situation.

A reminder of his imprisonment here.

To the others within Origin currently, it seemed like he had unlimited power due to his forced connection with Origin, but that wasn't the case. They were actually more free than he was, Gemini was forced to follow certain rules as a temporary servant of the place.

One of them he had been breaking a lot, the disallowance of physically handling the Key of Origin.

A sigh left him as he sat up, seeing the thin mattress under him slightly give to adjust to his positioning. As he sat up, his suit had long been replaced, instead wearing an orange jumpsuit fitting of most American prisoners in one reality.

You should not have done that.

He felt more than heard...correction, he only felt the voice in his head, belonging to the remnant of a familiar being once left behind on these Paths to make sure this functioned smoothly and as it should have.

"I also shouldn't even exist, but I don't hear you bit--!" Pain surged into his nerves from several points in his body, from his wrists, his ankles and even around his neck, forcing him to fall back onto the prison bed he had been laying on, trying to bite back the yell of pain that wanted to escape.

You have altered the future irrevokably.

"I did the only thing I saw would get Arturia to stop what she was doing," he shouted back through the pain. The hard-light bands around his wrists, ankles and neck began to brighten and he could no longer hold back the scream his lungs were containing.

The damage would have been undone in due time.

"That's bullshit and you know it!" Eyes shut tight after he managed to say those words, another yell of pain left his as his nerves were forced to flare up in changing ways, preventing him from getting used to any form of pain he was experiencing, nor could he discern any form of pattern to them. "In...in none of the times that Arturia succeeded was the damage undone! The Omniverse would have been guarenteed its total destruction!"

...did you ever dare to look past this point of destruction in any of these visions?

...?

If anything...you have made the destruction of the Omniverse even more likely, because of whom will be busier than usual.

"...you're...you're shi---shitting me..."

And even if you have someone enter to not only undo the current set of damage, but to also erase the memories of all that was involved, there's no guarentee that this place will affect the Throne of Heroes, since such a reversal would also return the Counter Guardian to such.

Gemini had stopped screaming, his lungs burned too much to continue. Instead, he just looked up towards the ceiling.

In this altered room, with walls that comprised of cell openings that allowed no entrances but one to be visible that could only be opened by a hand other than his own, he had no power at all.

He was just as human as anyone born as such...

To him, the random flooding and changing of pain would last for hours, but when he finally returned, no time had seemed to pass and his outfit had returned to normal and he landed upon the rapidly-cooled lava.

He could still feel the hard-light bands around him, despite them being gone for the time being, especially the one that had been around his neck. He took advantage of the fact that everyone around him was more busy with each other than him to just relax in his little spot, trying ot shake off the torture scene he just endured. Then time suddenly stopped around him, with no one else showing signs of awareness. Gemini's body also seemed to have halted from moving as well, but his awareness was kept active despite this.

Damn, not this again, he thought as the figure from before that had everyone's fingers in their own noses re-entered his view.

"I didn't take kindly to you going into jabroni foreshadowing mode. That's MY thing. So, I'm going to do to you what's been a very long time coming Gemini."

Wait, what? How did this guy know that? He watched the strange robed figure pull something out of his sleeve, the odd feeling that either he or Neos had seen this guy before from somewhere flickering in the back of his head as he did, something that looked like a folded hat of all things. It seemed to be prepared with some form of gooey substance and had writing on it which read: "I am a spoiling jabroni. I also want to kiss all the boys."

What's sad is that he couldn't exactly deny either, though the former claim was only the one time so far. And it was fun to fluster the straight males with a random kiss on the lips, especially if they never see it coming.

To his surprise, however, it was placed rather-firmly on his head, the figure taking odd care to make sure it was aligned right before putting it on him. "You're stuck with that hat Gemini, because it has bonded to your skull thanks to the most unbreakable substance in the Omniverse: Ordinary household glue."

...I have broken that substance before and easily.

"I trust this will be a firm reminder not to be a spoiling asshat from now on."

Once time began to start once more finally, Gemini lifted his hands to try to remove the hat, bracing to lose some hair, and maybe skin, in the process...

...but for some reason, the damned thing wasn't coming off...

"...the hell did that bastard due to this hat?!"

Gemini's voice, as hoarse as it now was, could barely be heard.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Neos's POV~

The full effect of what Arturia had tried to do with his body he did not feel the full effects of until after he left the Soul Room...

...when he uncerimoniously faceplanted into the ground in tiredness.

"And you tell me I hit the bed hard," he barely heard as he felt something sharp hook under the back of his shirt and jacket, picking him up by the collar of his clothes and forcing him to stand back up. Weary green eyes forced themselves to look ahead, and he barely managed to give a sideways grin upon seeing his friend.

"Dude, if I hadn't moved you so many of those nights, many of your books would have been damaged by your drool."

"And my books do thank you for that," Jace returned with a quip, a smile on his own face, before it fell as a look of curiosity emerged in its place. "So...what ha---"

"Right now, I'm way too drained to block you out. You want answers to your questions, you're gonna have to get them yourself." After said that, Neos fully passed out, not noticing how the Azorius First-Wing that held him up picked him up fully in the air to put him onto the back of the other First-Wing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Jace's POV~

Upon seeing Neos pass out in front of him, Jace sighed as he recalled the false human's round-about way of granting permission to poke around in his head, watching as the griffon that picked him up flapped into the air before positioning the being to be straddling the other one. Jace moved to secure Neos into place so that if the First-Wing took flight, he would not end up falling off, before moving to the other one and remounting it.

Once done, he gave both of the beasts a psychic command to return to the air, both griffons taking to the sky so that Jace could have full view of the scene below as well not risk interruption during his dive.

However, instead of immediately joining the other griffon in the air, Jace flew over towards another spot, catching a familiar sight of red unceriomoniously sprawled out on the floor, which netted a low chuckle out of him. "Well, that's not very ladylike."

He was already ready to have the griffon move out of the way of whatever flames may fly his way.

[Love of Ghibli]

Team Dorian: Hallway of Origin

The team could only watch in amazement as Drathuria was still fighting on through the litany of attacks. For a brief second the Dorian almost respected the woman man dragon thing for sticking to its guns this entire time. Of course like all good things, the suffering of this boss battle was coming to an end. It seemed that one of the shrine maidens had somehow manifested a copy of one of Arthruia's great weapons. Dorian nodded as he laughed at the irony of all that work to be slain by her own weapon. This was rich. If he could manifest food right now then he could easily go for some popcorn.
 

As the mighty spear wiped Arthuria off the map and into the history books Dorian could not help but let out a slow clap. Unfortunately this was not the time to celebrate. Ragnarok's chibi self shot out of Butlerok and started to look around frantically.

Why do I not like the looks of this? Dorian said with a hint of worry. 

Something is wrong! Ragnarok shout quickly. Her soul wavelength is gone. The tone of the Demon Weapon was a lot more frightened than usual. Rhadamanthys and Butler began to look at the Hallway, but nothing was noticeably different except one of the Counter Corps members was being oddly bear hugged by another one. As they searched around Ragnarok's eyes finally laid eyes on that seen. There he could see it! Arthuria's SoulWavelength in another body.

She's done possessed somebody! Ragnarok shouted. But it was too late. By the time they had entered a ready stance Arthuria and this comrade of the Counter Corp had left the building so to speak. They couldn't truly intervene with the events that went inside that marble, but hopefully that group would share once everything was said and done.