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

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

 "So-sorry about that, I was a bit pre-occupied. Can I help you?"

 

"Preoccupied? You look really worrying. Are you really alright?"

 

Something about the girl's aura earlier made Reimu raise her eyebrows but she wasn't really able to understand much of it yet, just that something might be happening with her. Well, it's not like it's good for her if she's being pushy with knowing what was wrong with the girl, but for the time being, it might be best if she stayed near her. Wherever Yukari was now, Reimu was sure she'd be able to handle herself just fine. Isamy's roar that soon followed was quite deafening and delayed Reimu's attempt to talk with the girl again though. Wait, why would she be in pain anyway? Isamy was definitely not making any sense now, so rather than being worried about her, Reimu decided to focus her effort on talking with the girl while Isamy nor her servants were targetting them for now.

 

"Zoning out in a place like this wouldn't be good. I don't know what happened but I guess I'll stick around you for now. Isamy's getting preoccupied with other things and the constructs are pretty mindless, so it's a good time for you to sort out your mind."

 

She really was bad at talking about people and their feelings. Reimu was barely able to hide her disappointment at her own words. Those sure sounded a lot better in her mind.

 

---

 

If it comes down to it, I have options available to restrict his movements, and the fiery girl seems to have a knack for confusing him and making him think at least. For now though, I'll see what I can do to convince him.

 

Even if we're unable to reach out to him, perhaps it was nice that we're holding him here rather than letting him rampage across the battlefield.

It would be best if I leave this entirely to you and Chandra. I'll continue monitoring the situation in the meantime.

 

In a way, Satori was quite amused as she watched the exchange between the corrupted mind mage and Darcy and Chandra. In a way she was starting to understand the mindset of the people that chose to follow Isamy. Personally, she didn't care much about rejecting or accepting Isamy, being simply a construct made of memory. Although, without contact with Koishi for long, she started to consider her own stance on the issue. So far she didn't really like what she's seeing on Isamy's side, though.

 

The poor creature was in pain, wasn't it? How pitiful, being reduced to a state even lower than Satori's own state. It was awfully docile against anyone not directly attacking it though. Perhaps something was going on with it? Satori had no way to check as it would require her to lay her mind bare for Isamy to violate relentlessly, but she couldn't help but wonder.

 

Let's not forget about Isamy herself. She's awfully docile so far for someone that hates our guts, primarily only reacting. I couldn't shake off the feeling that things would go worse sooner or later if we lower our guard.

 

---

 

The desolate ruins of the former battlefield, rupturing itself with the distortions going on with it amplified the hopeless feeling growing in her heart. She could see the members of the Counter Corps and Divines doing their own thing and slowly moving out from the wasteland to their own bases. Yet, her friend, the only one precious to her, she was still nowhere to be seen.

 

The sight of the empty world started to make her feel sick. It reminded her too much of herself. A no one, someone that didn't even exist until she was given the barest of identity just a few hours ago. Outside of that, Tenco was the only thing anchoring her so she could have this identity as "Amato". She had barely anything about herself, to the point of she didn't experience anything in the Infinite Tsukuyomi aside from the wishes of her friend.

 

She was still barely able to wrap her mind about it. Marriage didn't seem to be what someone like Tenco would wish for. And who was that person, anyway? All she could remember was the black suit as that husband figure was walking on her side, with her feeling as ecstatic as Tenco would be in that situation. Why would she even feel like that? That wasn't her wish. She had nothing she would wish for right now, and even if she did have one, it wouldn't be a marriage of all things.

 

A flash of white and crimson in the distance.

 

Was it what she's looking for? It was out of the ordinary compared to the endless emptiness that she had been stumbling around for in a while, so even if it was just a minute change from what was usual, it sparked a hope within her. Dragging herself forward, it was clearly that of two figures. Their image became clearer and clearer as she approached the two. One was an angelic looking demon, and the other was of a demonic looking angel.

 

Gengetsu and Tenshi, weren't they? She wondered for a bit why she didn't feel any particularly strong feelings about Tenshi despite that she was her source to some degrees, unlike Tenco who was passionate about her, whether about hating her or liking her. Perhaps she was just not that important to her in the end. Gengetsu was even less so. She knew she was kind despite being a demon with a knack of destruction, but even as she watched the demon bleeding on the ground as she faced the ashen-colored Tenshi, the nameless girl didn't feel anything.

 

Their conversation was unclear. Was Tenshi saying that she was a visionary? Creating a new world? That didn't make any sense to the nameless girl, and she really couldn't care less about it. She'd rather just move on and continue the search for her friend, but she had nowhere else to go but forward. Every steps that she took, Tenshi became more and more deranged. Perhaps it was wrong for Tenco to trust her, or perhaps something bad happened to Tenshi just now. The girl was glad that Tenco wasn't here to watch it though.

 

And thus, it was the end for the demon named Gengetsu, drained into a husk before disappearing into the void, and the nameless girl kept on moving forward regardless. Tenshi needed fragments, for what? She became more and more of a lunatic now. Whether she would do anything to her or not now was irrelevant. The nameless girl knew she would be able to ignore anything Tenshi would throw out at her. Even as the Celestial that was burnt to cinders noticed her, the nameless girl remains emotionless.

 

And so, she decided to greet her.

 

“So, there you are. One last fragment of me that I needed to end.

Let us end this, Tenco.”

 

---

 

"The hell's even going on inside...?"

The short-haired Tenshi stared at the lightless sword on her hand. It was nothing more than a slab of decorated metal now as the system empowering it seemed to have shut itself down for the time being. Not having any weapons to rely on now was quite a pain. She wished that at least she could still get the Rainbow Sword or Guuungnir, but like hell she's able to materialize weapons out of thin air.

 

In the meantime though, it seemed that Rhadamantys did have some ideas on how to bait and trap the lightning apostle. Using what looked like a bat to bait the opponent, then using the smokes from the clashing attacks' explosion to create an opportunity to...trap everyone currently in combat inside of a cage of blacky blackness? Err...that might not be what Tenshi was thinking about, but maybe that's not that bad of an idea. Of course, this made her unable to use PK Ground or World Creation Press, but she's sure that she'd be fine. Perhaps.

 

"So uh, these herald thingies and whatnot, they're supposed to be on your side or something before accepting the offer of that...something in the middle of the lake and got turned into its servant or something, right? Couldn't really understand the context on how this mess happened or something.

 

Meh, but who needs a reason or context to smack someone in the face? Not me, of course!" With little fanfare, Tenshi summoned a series of keystone bullets surrounding the herald of Isamy, and brought them towards her at once. Of course, despite her simple mind, she understood that that herald was too fast for it to even work, but she knew enough about combat that it would be vital for her to make her opponent's movement predictable.

 

Or well, Rhadamantys probably would just one-shot her. It looked quite likely, much to the short-haired Tenshi's own chagrin. In the meantime she simply casted Defense Up and Attack Up on herself on the off chance the situation would require her to do anything.

 

---

 

[spoiler=tldr]

-Reimu is still with Lydia.

-Satori is still talking and observing Darcy and Chandra's attempt in E5.

-Short-haired Tenshi laments her own powerlessness while trying to goad Apep to start attacking in C4.

-Nanashi is still lost in thought, all alone. you are the ocean's gray waves~

 

 

[Tesability Black]

~???'s POV~

 

Rage, it was felt being increased though such was more aimed towards Isamy in this occasion.

"Open your eyes J̴̵̴͘͘à̷͜c҉́͘͢҉e̵̷͢͠, this isn't working. Isamy's plan will fail, and if she's not stopped, the whole of existence will be brought to ruin. You say that you'll crush the minds of any who harm Ravnica, but are you not the one harming them the most currently. Look at yourself and see what you're doing, your actions and words contradict themselves."

Looking down with glowing blue eyes underneath the invisibility towards the ice's edge near the blue boots worn, another voice soon made itself heard.

 

She's right you know, the fire girl, you're the one hurting Ravnica the most right now. You realize as long as you continue to fight for her, Ravnica will be forced to suffer in order to use that power you're channeling from Isamy. You should break the connection now, before you lose what remains of your sanity and drown in her power and madness like has happened to the other two heralds.

 

...what connections exist cannot be cut without consequence, was the statement projected to both. And no pleasure is taken for what has been done, but it is an unfortunate required evil as long as the opposed refuse to yield. If the opposition wins, something else will emerge to undo all that has been achieved.

 

Blinking, the figure rose towards the sky to gain height before projecting the next message toward all in opposition of Isamy, the first word giving the feeling of a command that all would be compelled to follow.

 

Yield, allow Isamy and the Heralds to do what is needed to save this Multiverse from itself. All here believe that she is an evil being for what she has done, but what has been destroyed can easily be done by those whom are truly evil. She at least plans to undo the damage, the truly evil likely would not.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

~Neos' POV~

~B4~

"Distortion is right, that looks like an Eldrazi. If it is, it'll be just as dangerous to the melee fighters as the memory golems are."

 

"...would you like a boost to your flames," Neos randomly asked before allowing his body to become entirely-surrounded in a light-blue light. The shape of the light changed twice, first into a small, amorphous shape before reforming into a quadrupedal form with many tails. The light faded, an a grey-colored kitsune formed near Chandra, one that opened its solid-colored neon-green eyes and howled towards the sky as a bright sun began to form in the sky.

 

Those who wielded fire would feel the power of said flames increasing, while those whom wielded water would find its power weakening under the light and heat of the Drought-causing sun.

[The Warden]

"Preoccupied? You look really worrying. Are you really alright?"

 

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just kind of, zoning out a little."

 

"Zoning out in a place like this wouldn't be good. I don't know what happened but I guess I'll stick around you for now. Isamy's getting preoccupied with other things and the constructs are pretty mindless, so it's a good time for you to sort out your mind."

 

"Yeah, I guess."

 

Truth be told, Lydia's reply sounded more weary than wary. Seeing everyone again, but like this... it really was too much. She should know better, she should be stronger, but it's impossible to face them and not feel crushed. Even now the memories rise back up, reforming back into her lost friends and family. "I just... this is too much for me to handle. I can't bear to see them again, not like this. Everyone I care about is on her side, and she's the one who caused them to die in the first place. It's like she's rubbing my face in my failure to save them, and I can't help but feel like Isamy is right" the sorceress said in a crushed voice as she fell to her gilded knees. "They just keep coming back, again and again like a nightmare! Their face, twisted and out for my blood. I... I just can't!"

 

Yield, allow Isamy and the Heralds to do what is needed to save this Multiverse from itself. All here believe that she is an evil being for what she has done, but what has been destroyed can easily be done by those whom are truly evil. She at least plans to undo the damage, the truly evil likely would not.

 

Lydia grunted in pain, a hand to her head as Metarch's decree pierced her mind like a ballista bolt. Avalon cried out, but was silenced as her mind darkened, and the soul gem engraving once more appeared on Hopeless Black, and began filling with darkness again, almost all the way to the very top of the gem. The eyes of the hydra engravings hid a soft red glow, as if desperate to awaken once more. Lydia gasped as she held a hand to her chest from a stabbing pain in her heart. 

 

If you can't, then do girl. Find that despair. Let it fuel your rage. Despair and Rage. Destroy all and smother it in despair!

 

"LER... LERNA...."

 

---

 

Hapshiel's aura calmed the souls of the constructs surrounding him, and their bodies collapsed into peace and rest, as errant souls should do. His light fading, the angel regarded the battlefield before him, and couldn't hide his distaste for what Isamy had become. The silly girl had lost her heart, and was well on her way to losing her soul as well. It is so foolish that she'd go so far, much like the alchemists who tried to defy god and create the Philosopher's Stone so many years ago.

 

Yield, allow Isamy and the Heralds to do what is needed to save this Multiverse from itself. All here believe that she is an evil being for what she has done, but what has been destroyed can easily be done by those whom are truly evil. She at least plans to undo the damage, the truly evil likely would not.

 

Hapshiel frowned, and his wings extended to take him into the air, gaining height until he was equal to Metarch. "You have lost the virgin luster you once bore. That is very much a shame. Purity is a dreadful thing to waste, after all" he spoke calmly to the fallen mindmage, his angelic aura spreading from him like a calming wave.

[Dad]

Blood

 

Kratos' arrows had been completely nullified by Byakuya's defense.  This annoyed him greatly.  Even still, now Kratos knew what to expect of his enemy.  Revy's heavy sniper rifle did nothing to Byakuya's defense, falling flat against Senbonzakura.  "Well that sucks," she scoffed, standing up as her rifle vanished.

 

"What now?  Cause I'm not gettin' anywhere near that thing.  I did that with Arthuria, and I ended up being eaten alive.  I'm not taking any--"

 

There was a loud bellowing from Byakuya as Isamy roared much more loudly than she had before.  It was deafening to Kratos and Revy, even from the distance of the shore.  Revy fell to a knee, gripping the sides of her head.  Kratos too shielded himself, but Isamy had yet to stop screeching.

 

"ARE YOU IN PAIN?" asked Byakuya.

 

Then, Kratos snatched Revy's wrist.  Revy raised her head to look at Kratos, and she was dumbfounded at the look on his face.  Never before had she seen something strike fear into this man's eyes.  "We must flee!" Kratos said right away.

 

"What!?  Why!?  She's not even looking at us!" Revy screamed over Isamy's wails.

 

"Something is coming!  I know it!  Something wicked is coming!" Kratos said with urgency.

 

Revy shook her head, not quite understanding what Kratos was afraid of.  "Kratos, what are you--!?"

 

"Trust me!" he pleaded with Revy.  She simply nodded and began sprinting behind him.

 

Kratos twisted through the trees, winding and dodging every log that came into his vision.  After mere seconds, he laid eyes on a tall, stone black tower.  He had to reach it.  He had to.  "Where are you going!?" Revy called from behind him, just barely catching up to Kratos.  

 

"The tower!  Go!  Quickly!" Kratos said, looking back towards Isamy.  Then Kratos felt something in the bottom of his stomach.  He was sure he was about to vomit, but he could see the rest of the combatants just standing out there.  He couldn't help them.  He had to follow his gut.  He had to.  

 

Revy had sprinted past Kratos and reached the black tower, hanging onto its edge where she urged Kratos to come and follow her.  "Come on!" she screamed.

 

Kratos turned around and prepared to sprint, but before he could act, a large shadow emerged before him.  A figure came crashing out of the sky with a gigantic impact.  It plumed snow into the sky and covered Kratos.  When the snow settled, Kratos realized it was Kenpachi and Yachiru.  

 

"You felt it too, huh?" Kenpachi said, sweat beading on his face.  

 

Kratos nodded.  "Something is coming."

 

"Soul-sucking magic.  That's what's coming.  Even I ain't impervious to the likes of that.  I dunno what it is, but something about these big ass towers feels right," Kenpachi said, taking Yachiru down from his shoulder.  "Get inside.  We can't help them."

 

Kratos nodded.  "This does not bode well," he said as he jogged toward the tower and slipped inside.

 

Kenpachi looked over his shoulder feeling butterflies in his stomach.  "No.  It doesn't."  He ushered Yachiru forward and they both ducked inside the stone black tower and huddled close to the inner walls.  

 

"Kenny.  Something bad is gonna happen," Yachiru said with a furrowed brow.

[Tesability Black]

~At F6~

At first, the Soul that looked like Yukari continued its act of crying, allowing the foolish psychic to approach, to hug her while careful not to allow direct contact between its skin and hers.
 
As the Soul cried, a smile slowly grew and grew on its face as the facade continued, the madness of battle continuing without them for a while. Once the telepathic command from one of the Heralds became heard, however, the Soul suddenly stretched out its arms to return the hug in a tight grip.
 
"So glad you care," the Soul said in a flat, twisted voice before bringing its hands up to the back of Koishi's neck...
 

...before lengthening its fingertips into claws and pressing the sharp points into the girl's neck.

 
"But this is goodbye," the Soul whispered as Koishi screamed from the pain.
 
Almost immediately after even the slightest touch, her body felt like it was on fire, unsure of what was happening or why. After a moment, she recognized the sensation as her feet soon started pulling itself into her body and felt the shift of bones moving up against her will into the rest of herself.
 
She wasn't sure why or how, but her body was purposely inverting itself, forcing the inside to emerge in whatever painful method was possible. Mouth forced open wide, the Soul let the girl go as the body pulled itself out of her mouth, the feet first in a muscular mess before her legs and the rest of her.
 
By the time she was fully inside out, the blood of her body was spilled everywhere around her from the veins and arteries bursting from being able to keep connected with one another. And in the cold of the snow, the once-beating heart froze almost instantly...

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"So it was blocked."

 

The blue-haired boy continued to watch the battle from above - not having done anything after the chained swordsman translated Isamy's growls. He was unsure yet about the nature of the attack that blocked Ishtar's arrows, but truly it was a pain to deal with. He considered what was the best moves available to him at the time being, though the situation didn't seem to leave much for him. Looking at Garuda, the boy sighed. The demon was bought straight from the compendium and thus didn't have much in term of skills. Though, the birdman's speed...

 

With one order, the demon fluttered around, zipping through the sky. while the boy dropped himself to the ground, summoning a Behemoth to stop him from hitting the ground directly. Garuda would fly around and launch the familiar golden sphere of Megidolaon right at the monstrosity while the boy cautiously watched. He would need to learn more about this monstrosity's behaviors before he use another of his trump cards. A mental message was sent into his mind at the time, asking him to yield. That seemed to be from one of Isamy's followers. It was tempting, sure.

But he couldn't find in himself to agree with that message.

 

I never opposed Isamy because she's evil. I just can't bring myself to agree with someone that has no ideas about what she's doing.

 

If your master has more than just sweet words and good intentions, then I'd actually consider it.

 

---

 

"I just... this is too much for me to handle. I can't bear to see them again, not like this. Everyone I care about is on her side, and she's the one who caused them to die in the first place. It's like she's rubbing my face in my failure to save them, and I can't help but feel like Isamy is right"

 

So the constructs really were the real deal for others. I see.

 

"You see, this-"

 

"They just keep coming back, again and again like a nightmare! Their face, twisted and out for my blood. I... I just can't!"

 

That went a lot worse than expected. Even before Reimu could talk her out of it, the girl had fallen to her knees, grunting in pain. It was at that time that Reimu felt a mental message being broadcast into her mind. Something seemed to compel her to obey the command, but at the last moment, Reimu refused its pull. The remaining memories of her utter distaste of Isamy's way of thinking pulled herself back, but the girl she was talking to seemed to become worse and worse. Something foul was happening with her now, and Reimu had no ideas what it was about. Did she end up accepting the mental offer?

 

"LER... LERNA...."

 

"Hey...hey, hang in there!"

 

Reimu had little ideas on what was happening, and the words LERNA meant nothing to her as she had little ideas about what the girl was talking about. Was it something from before Reimu joining this mess? Nevertheless, even without any knowledges, she had to act fast. Something about her aura was growing all messed up. Maybe a possession? In that case, Reimu decided on the course of action she would take.

 

A magic circle was formed around the girl as Reimu started chanting. A purification ritual meant to suppress or remove the influence of the supernatural on a body. The procedure she was using was quite basic, and the only difference was that she used the black orb as her power source now. The circle began to shine not long afterwards, and at that time Reimu also erected a barrier around the two to protect them during the entire procedure.

 

"Hey...hey, wake up! Everything will be fine. We will defeat Isamy, everything would return to normal, and you will meet with the people you once failed to save again. But we need you to return to your senses. Can you hear my voice, Lydia?"

 

As Reimu tried to reach out to Lydia, the girl was bathed with light from the magic circle as the exorcism process continued. Whether it would work or not was not on Reimu's mind at the time. Her instinct didn't seem to be able to guide her here. All she could do was to continue and hope for the best.

 

---

[Reinforce]

Apep

Location: C4, Inside the Birdcage

 

Glaring at the two who'd trapped her, the black fire dragon split itself off from her hand once more, soaring instead to start freezing the black cage around them even as the shadow dragon started to probe at what could get through the bars of the cage.

 

Do I know you?

 

Before she could respond to the dark figure in front of her, the other enemy summoned a bunch of rocks and shot them at her. With barely any effort, the demon girl floated through the maze of bullets, drifting side to side just enough to miss several of the rocks in the barrage. Under her breath, she started chanting words as her skin turned silver-grey and the lightning sparking off her body started to intensify.

Underneath her words, an altered echo was spoken in a higher, more melodic voice.

"I am the demon of chaos. My nerves are lightning and my skin is steel."

"I, who am both demon and human. My core is lightning and my body is steel."

Abruptly flying forward fast, one claw struck out towards the heart of the one in purple armor, now made of steel and still wreathed in lightning. The other claw, darted up towards his head, targeting the eyes in the same fashion.

 

---

 

Chandra

Location: F3

 

...what connections exist cannot be cut without consequence, and no pleasure is taken for what has been done, but it is an unfortunate required evil as long as the opposed refuse to yield. If the opposition wins, something else will emerge to undo all that has been achieved.

 

By that logic, even if you win the same thing will occur. Something emerging to undo everything that has been achieved could happen regardless of which side wins.

 

Yield, allow Isamy and the Heralds to do what is needed to save this Multiverse from itself. All here believe that she is an evil being for what she has done, but what has been destroyed can easily be done by those whom are truly evil. She at least plans to undo the damage, the truly evil likely would not.

 

Even as she went to shut down the connection and focus on other tasks, his next words slammed into her mind like a hammer, hurting as the command tried to settle in place. Even as they did though, the suddenly bright sun in the sky boosted her own power, enabling her mind and stubborn will to break the command's attempt at stopping her. With the beginnings of a headache starting to settle into her mind, Chandra chose to use the boosted power and block this eldrazi from reaching it's intended target. Raising the palm of one hand, and with a surprisingly lower mana cost than usual, the ground between the Heralded Eldrazi and the tower erupted into fire as an Inferno Titan rose out of the newly created crevice in the ground, fire flinging from it's flail directly into the eldrazi as it did so. Settling into place between the eldrazi and the tower as the crevice sealed back over, the titan roaring across at it's presumed opponent.

 

"I daresay the boost to my flames will come in use, thanks Neos."

 

---

 

Darcy

Location: E5

 

Even if we're unable to reach out to him, perhaps it was nice that we're holding him here rather than letting him rampage across the battlefield.

It would be best if I leave this entirely to you and Chandra. I'll continue monitoring the situation in the meantime.

 

That's acceptable, I'll let you know if I think we need to resort to the recollection. Keep me informed if you spot anything in particular.

 

Let's not forget about Isamy herself. She's awfully docile so far for someone that hates our guts, primarily only reacting. I couldn't shake off the feeling that things would go worse sooner or later if we lower our guard.

 

I haven't forgotten the being at the centre of this, though I trust my abilities and instincts to get me out of danger should it do something.

 

As the words from Jace came in, she switched back to projecting her words across the tentative connection the telepathy between her and the other mental mage.

 

...what connections exist cannot be cut without consequence, and no pleasure is taken for what has been done, but it is an unfortunate required evil as long as the opposed refuse to yield. If the opposition wins, something else will emerge to undo all that has been achieved.

 

A connection may not be able to be cut without consequence, but the consequences will only get worse for as long as you remain a puppet dancing to her strings.

 

Yield, allow Isamy and the Heralds to do what is needed to save this Multiverse from itself. All here believe that she is an evil being for what she has done, but what has been destroyed can easily be done by those whom are truly evil. She at least plans to undo the damage, the truly evil likely would not.

 

The mental command slammed in like a sledgehammer, and for the first time in this damned war, a mental attack slammed to a halt against her barriers rather than successfully smashing through them. Above her, a bright sun seemed to take prominence, and she could feel the power boost radiating from it as the dragon's flame inside her seemed to rise into a burning inferno of power. Channeling that power through her own mind, her voice rang out to every member targeted by Jace's effect, carrying power in it's words as she rebuked his attempt.

 

Do Not Yield to these foes.

 

---

 

[spoiler=tldr]~Ayame has started to properly invoke her reality marble and has chosen to attack Rhadamanthys with her claws, striking for his heart and his eyes.

~Chandra fought off Jace's mental commands, and has summoned an Inferno Titan between E3 and E2 to take on the Heralded Eldrazi.

~Darcy exchanged messages with Satori and Jace, fought off Jace's command and used her own power to bolster her allies willpower against Jace's command.

 

[Dad]

Refuge

 

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance. . . "

 

But that was all they had, wasn't it?

 

Though Byakuya's voice had loomed and boomed over the battlefield, only four heeded his warning.  The question which he gave, so bold and bright, they sought not to flee but to fight.  An undeterred Isamy let out a satisfied whine as her chest glowed with a brilliant rose-colored light.  From Hollow Isamy's center of mass, a grand explosion of energy erupted outward at three hundred and sixty degrees all around her.  Every attack formed against Isamy was nullified as Hollow Isamy discharged an unavoidable, bright pink laser all around her.  The only objects touched by the great beam that did not falter were the bizarre black towers laid scattered throughout the area.  Those tall black towers deflected Isamy's attack into nothingness.

 

However, the souls of those caught in Isamy's attack were not so lucky.

 

Butlerok.

 

Mighty as he may be, even the Ruhka could not prevent him from being consumed by Isamy.  As the laser touched his body he was physically projected against his will into Isamy's chest cavity, where he was bound and his soul was taken, hostage.  Forced now to serve Isamy, Butlerok was but a puppet.  Only another could free him if they dared to get so close.

 

Lydia.

 

The slayer of the Witch, LERNA.  She had been so blinded by her own rage that she too was whisked away at Isamy's soul-sucking magic.  Bound to the Hollow, Lydia was now at the mercy of her enemy, unable to fight back.

 

Chandra.

 

Though a mighty flame burned within her, it was doused was Isamy overwhelmed Chandra, pulling the woman away against her will.  Now a mindless slave to Hollow Isamy, she could do nothing but wait.

 

With many of their powerful allies taken from their sides, the Counter Corps and Divine alike had to make a drastic decision.  Do they attempt to free their allies?  Do they fight on and hope to win with one less sword?  Hollow Isamy would not wait to find out.

 

Her bound Shinigami continued to do her bidding, a flurry of dead cherry blossoms blooming forth all around her.  Hollow Isamy's newly captured foes were to be protected by a stalwart defense in Byakuya, while she pressed on with an unrelenting force.

 

"Peace!  They sleep!  Join them in eternal slumber!" moaned Byakuya.  He was whisked around Hollow Isamy's head, settling near her rightmost breast and shoulder.  The trapped Shinigami pointed his weapon, which landed on a lone Reimu.  "Suffering is magic!" he announced proudly.  At his words, Hollow Isamy raised both of her hands and cupped them.  Inside, a glowing red sphere began to materialize as Hollow Isamy took aim.  As the hum's pitch grew higher, it fired directly down upon Reimu.

[Love of Ghibli]

Team Dorian: Final Round

"I am the demon of chaos. My nerves are lightning and my skin is steel."

 

Rhadamanthys snickered as the beast came directly at him with claws ready clad in lightning. A novel concept but it seemed as if there would be other problems to deal with. Rhadamanthys matched her claws with his and simply exuded dense enough cosmos to avoid being hit by her lightning. While he was smiling he noticed the massive dome that was hollow Isamy's counterattack. It was then his eyes widened as he noticed Butlerok's soul seem to vanish into the nothingness. For a split second Rhadamanthys showed concern and he looked up at the cage that was Ragnarok being slightly frozen over by a Shadow Dragon creature. 

This might not be good. He thought until....

 

Quickly the bars of the cage exploded in tentacles constantly tried to attack the dragon as a form of self defense. 

Parasight! Rhadamanthys shouted. Explain what is happening! 

She used soul soul sucking magic! Ragnarok echoed from around the cage. Yeah technically she just ate all of the other people close to her up. Even with all of our tricks we were kind of blind sighted and got played. I think he's being consumed by the chick now. 

Ugh so one of these beast may actually be a threat. Rhadamanthys shouted in annoyance. A herald Buterlok was not something he was trying to deal with. Why are you not dissolved if that's the case.

It's very very complicated. But simple answer what you all don't seem to get is that I'm what you people would call an autonomous machine. I don't have a soul to take and while I am attached to baldy, once he got snatched, all my collective consciousness moved over towards this little collection we gave you. Unfortunately, without baldy and the other souls I don't have access to all my tricks of the trade. I think I'm good to mess with the black blood I have here but that is about it. 

Rhadamanthys looked at his demon of Chaos opponent and smirked. So beast how long did it take you to lose your individuality and become pathetic? 

Hey aren't you worried about the boy? Ragnarok shouted.

Nope, Rhadmanthys said smirking. Soul sucking doesn't work if there is no soul to begin with. It seems as long as I keep my distance from that massive beast then the boy will have free reign. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Dorian looked at the massive glowing orb that was Isamy's attack and looked as it stopped his arrows. This was not good. The dome seemed to constantly expand and as it enveloped him and other competitors fighters nearby. He could feel as if something was trying to draw him in but it wouldn't be to no avail however he looked around and noticed that the black spires scattered around and blocked the ability. This made Dorian intrigued through the pain of this attack. After it subsided his body seemed to float in Midair. He could only watch as Butlerok be consumed by Boss Lady. 

This is not going to work! He thought as he didn't truly understand what was going on in the first place. However it looks like the mouth piece that was speaking on his Boss Lady's behalf was in rare form and similarly unsuspecting. 

 

"Suffering is magic!"

 

The Shinigami roared as Isamy was aiming at another combatant. Dorian seemed to appear right next  to the lodged Byakuya with both hands facing towards him. "Ready for some magic?" He said as he let loose a series of explosions at point blank range hoping to see if this would at the very least startle the shinigami.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Inside the complete void that is Isamy' half of Butlerok was no more and as his body floated for what would be like and endless epoch two of the souls inside him were having a conversation. 

So soul manipulating magic? Did not think she had the capabilities. Gyokuen said trying to keep what the chaotic Rukh engaged. 

Ugh with the old shinigami and the actual host body gone we're just at the majesty of whatever we're up against. How could we not defend against this?

 

Well the same magics that have kept us safe are the same magics can't work on Butler himself. I guess he thought we could anchor his soul in case something like this happened. Pity that we neither resonated and the fact that Ragnarok released the Captain from his protective spell. Right now we have to simply wait and see if there is an opening we can exploit. If I can get the Rukh to calm down maybe we'll have a chance.

[Tesability Black]

~Neos' POV~

Neos felt it beginning to build before Isamy fired off the ray towards the group as a whole, sweeping across the place in a full circle. Letting out a yip, he dug and dug fast into the snow, his little burrowing stunt allowing the beam to move narrowly over his furry head.

Poking snout out of the snow, the greying Ninetales looked about at the aftermath, noticing that only those that seemed to be actively attacking Isamy had been penalized in some way...though that would include...

"Tales," Neos swore the best he could considering his furry form. Shifting back into his human form as he unburied himself of snow, the white ball he had recalled Gemini into popped off his belt without his knowing, causing it to roll away from him as he stood.

And looking up towards the figure he once knew as Jace with glowing eyes from the opposite side of Isamy. "Man, what has she done to you," Neos wondered to himself before raising his arms to either side of himself and began to glow once more, his form changing into the familiar form of a greying Pidgeot before flapping his raised wings to get into the air.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Gemini's POV~

The white ball that had him contained didn't stop rolling away until after Neos flew off into the air, bumping into a tree as the button on the sphere pressed against it for a moment. The purple-haired figure groaned as he ran through one hand through it from the front, grabbing his own hair from the back as his mind took the moment to resettle itself. It was only after a few moments that he realized that damned paper hat that had somehow managed to get itself good and stuck on his head had somehow disappeared.

Thank Arceus.

Normally, he would be throwing one big fit about being randomly recalled into a Pokeball like that, but he decided to let this instance slide, since it did give him the chance to collect his head again.

Pulling himself off the snowy ground, he looked up towards the Pidgeot that was flying up towards the angel on high to get air before flying elsewhere.

We need to talk while I still can, Gemini projected towards his counterpart, no amusement or real emotion in his voice. A confused hoot became heard from the air as the Pidgeot landed in front of him, shifting quickly back into Neos' human form before getting right into Gemini's face.

"The Distortion is going on," the false human snarled at Gemini, who showed no joy or real emotion.

"I don't have time for your sheet, so I'm saying this once.

If you really want to save Jace...you're gonna have to kill Metarchus, then bring the bloody mindmage back with Origin itself. The man you once knew is now gone, only a shell infused with the Guildpact of Ravnica remains."

Glancing towards the general direction of the figure he was talking about, looking towards the westernmost tower, he continued. "The man you knew, for the time being, is gone, forcibly conjoined with Isamy at the soul."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~???'s POV~

I never opposed Isamy because she's evil. I just can't bring myself to agree with someone that has no ideas about what she's doing.

If your master has more than just sweet words and good intentions, then I'd actually consider it.

This is fair, were the words that the blue-haired youth heard in response to his words. However, her words seemed hollow because she was allowing those whom joined her to help her shape that ideal. There have already been suggestions given that she was willing to listen to, which would allow for such to happen while minimizing the changes that would happen to the Omniverse at large.

"You have lost the virgin luster you once bore. That is very much a shame. Purity is a dreadful thing to waste, after all," were the words spoken calmly by the archangel as a strange feeling tried protruding into mentality  from the other side of Isamy. Steeling the mind against this evasive emotion, the figure seemed content with floating above the madness that was the fired ray.

Power over the mind may be possessed, but such luster cannot be seen to begin with without the ability to see into the soul.

A connection may not be able to be cut without consequence, but the consequences will only get worse for as long as you remain a puppet dancing to her strings.

...the ones that 'cut the strings' would instantly be erased. All with Isamy are Isamy at soul level.

"If you really want to save Jace, you're gonna have to kill Metarchus, then bring the bloody mindmage back with Origin itself. The man you once knew is now gone, only a shell infused with the Guildpact of Ravnica remains."

The dark shapeshifter, the words were heard through the light shapeshifter, a figure that needed to be placed under control soon. The name that was heard in the words, however, it brought forth the feeling of confusion and curiosity...and oddly enough familiarity, one imposed upon that wasn't there before.

"Who...is..." A head shooken to clear the feeling of fog from the out-of-place emotion as well as the unusual headache that began to form, the figure floated over towards a nearby tower, feet hitting the top with a slight thud.
~Step, step upon the westernmost tower's top~
And the people with the sharpest hearing within the tower could potentially hear the faint steps from far above.

[The Warden]

Hapshiel observed, his expression betraying nothing in response to Metarchus floating away from him. He seemed focused on something else, which was... a shame. "Very well" the angel calmly said.

 

Spreading his arms, the angel sighed with exuberance as his attire melted away, leaving naught but a heavenly loincloth with a breechcloth to cover his modesty. Spreading his wings out to their full, beautiful length, Hapshiel was a true angel. Beautiful... ish. Well, he was a very naked angel, save for his modesty (however lacking) being preserved, his radiance thankfully made it difficult to look at him, which was good as he immediately soared right at Metarchus, his radiance blinding and his mind burning brightly with Love & Peace. His arms reached out as he was fully prepared to blindside and tackle the Herald.

 

---

 

Blackness. Blackness and nothing. Nothing and blackness. The girl and the dragon were gone, the shell lifeless. This... this was...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UNACCEPTABLE!

 

 

 

 

 

Still held in a firm grasp, Hopeless Black twitched in the soulless sorceress' grasp, finding itself in the Hollow's hollow. There was something familiar, a familiar taste. A lovely, lovely taste.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Souls!

 

 

 

 

Twitching in the grasp, the tip of the blade inched its way out of the soul bubble, out of Lydia's grasp and falling, small bursts of crimson energy bursting it into the bubble binding Butlerok, piercing the bubble but not breaking it. However, breaking it was not the point as something interjected on a rather soulful conversation.

 

 

 

 

 

S... souls! Souls to serve? Can't quite... talk good. Need girl. Need girl for plan. Need to talk right. Serve, yes? Serve, save host, save the girl. Serve? Not serve?

[Dad]

Up on the Rooftops...

 

There was a roar of power outside of the black tower.  A wave of energy washed a rose-colored light over the entirety of the battlefield, and this had cast an egregious shadow over the land.  Within moments, the roar ceased and the light faded away.  

 

Silence.

 

Then, chaos resumed.  But something had changed, unbeknownst to Kenpachi, Yachiru, Revy, and Kratos.  They carefully emerged from the black tower, peering around its broad corners with caution.  A gut-wrenching feeling made Kenpachi's stomach churn as he finally exited the black tower.  A tug on his robe made him turn around.  It was Yachiru.  "Kenny, what happened?" she asked, innocently.  Kenpachi let out a heavy sigh before turning his head toward the lake.  Hollow Isamy was still standing.  But something was different.  There were some unclear differences about the monster's body.  It looked as though someone had been trapped!

 

"Something bad, Yachiru."  Kenpachi balled a fist angrily as he looked over the lake.  "Kratos," he called.

 

Kratos emerged from the tower and stood beside Kenpachi, folding his arms.  "This does not bode well," Kratos commented.  Kratos looked down at Yachiru, then back up at the lake, toward Isamy.  "We should get the girl to safety.  I don't want to see her harmed."

 

Yachiru frowned, but Kenpachi spoke up for her before she could.  "Yachiru doesn't need our help.  She could kick your ass any day.  And Revy's too."

 

Revy scoffed, but Yachiru nodded.  "Don't let my size fool you," she giggled.

 

Kratos grunted, still staring into the distance at Hollow Isamy.  "We need to form a plan of attack.  Simply barraging her with bare arms won't get us very far.  Spartans are superior at combat strat--"

 

"Wait," Kenpachi said holding up a hand.  The large Soul Reaper turned his head skyward before he took a few steps back.  He had heard something on the roof of the black tower.  "Did you hear it?"

 

Revy nodded.  "Yeah.  Something or someone is here."

 

Kratos cautiously drew both weapons from his back.  Kenpachi maintained a tightened grip on his weapon at his side.  Yachiru rested her palm on the hilt of her weapon.  Revy spawned two large handcannons and cocked their hammers back.

 

Kenpachi kept his eyes on the rooftop of the black tower and slowly and gradually let his reaitsu seep from his pores.  It began to creep its way up the black tower.  Kenpachi might not be able to see his foe, but he could probably sense them.  Gnashing his teeth, Kenpachi stated boldly, "Show yourself."

[Phantom Roxas]

Previously, on Yu-Gi-Oh!…

 

[The Pathway to Remembrance]

Twilight of the Gods

[spoiler=Twilight of the Gods - Chapter 1]In Void Eria’s right hand, a scepter of sorts was being wielded. A green orb held between two wings, connected to an ancient-appearing wooden shaft from which untold power was being emanated. Wherever her previous staff had gone, the Elder Artefact known as the Staff of Armadyl served as its more-than-apt replacement, not only channeling her own unstable power to terrifyingly high limits, but also enabling her infested mind to function. In her current state, this other version would have been broken compared to her mirrored self. Yet, with this relic of the gods, she had become so, so much more.

 

The Elder Artefact was stabbed into the black snow, her deadened eyes refusing to leave the mirror of light before her. Void Eria awaited an answer, all too prepared to enter combat.

 

~ tell me, can a heart be turned to stone? ~

On the side of the Counter Corps, Eria froze. Aussa, Hiita, and Wynn were all dead, and twice over at that. No, three times. Her home was gone. The Void creatures in the Shadow Realm were twisted versions of her friends. And now Protheus had recruited them as well. She had never seen a monstrous version of herself back in the Shadow Realm. If she had, would she have been prepared for this? But how could she prepare for this? Why was this something she even had to prepare for?

 

“Eria, come on!” Sora and Kairi, still fused in their Drive, called out to her. Of course Sora was so quick to jump into the fight Sora had promised to find that staff. When Ophelia had summoned Sliske, he had brought it with him. Then Xansvita killed him, and then Itsu killed Xansvita…

 

Oh Gods. Itsu was supposed to have the staff. Where was she? Protheus couldn’t have killed her, could he? Except he very well could have. He could still kill them, too. One by one, he had separated them. “Arthur…” Eria looked behind her. “Gagagigo…” Her oldest friend would still not wake up.

 

“I’m alive!” Eria wrapped her head in her hands as she screamed, icicles sprouting from the ground around her. “But YOU?! You’re just… you’re just…” Fake. That was the word she wanted to say. She wanted to say exactly what the Divine had been saying her.

 

“GO TO HELL!” Icicles fired off in every possible direction, and pulling from the snow and forming even more icicles. Sora/Kairi looked behind them, only for one of the icicles to strike them, throwing them to the side. The Keyblade Warrior quickly regained their footing, watching both of the Erias.

 

“Eria, please, stop!” Sora/Kairi cast a Barrier around themselves, sprinting towards their friend.

 

“I won’t stop!” Eria shouted. “Not until we stop Protheus, and especially not as long as he keeps throwing my friends - as long as he keeps throwing me back in my own face!”

 

Eria thrust her Keyblade forward. She could feel the l’Cie brand on her hand pulsing. A chill ran up her spine. When she blinked, she couldn’t see Protheus or Sora or Kairi. She only saw that other Eria.

 

As the rainfall continued, the wind began to stir and howl. The trees began to flail where they stood, creaking, and some even tumbling. From the depths of the forest, three shapes began to approach. Three gigantic, spiraling shards of ice were hovering through the air, casting a shadow above everyone.

 

Eria’s eyes were staring directly at Void Eria. “Megiddo killed my family. He destroyed my home.”

 

“You need to control yourself!” Was that Sora’s voice? Why wasn’t he running?

 

“Whatever war happened in your world, you have my sympathy.” Eria gripped her Keyblade with both hands. “But if you’re working with Protheus, you’re still my enemy. Even if you wear my face!”

 

“This is exactly what Protheus wants!” Kairi was afraid. It didn’t matter. All Eria wanted was to destroy Protheus and her own reflection.

 

“Blizzajavelin.”

 

One by one, the icicles broke apart, scattering hundreds upon hundreds of spears of ice, raining upon Sora, Kairi, Void Eria, and even Protheus. The dark sorcerer - who was hovering higher and higher from the ground to separate himself away - stared at the oncoming assault, displaying some obvious perplexity on his face at this move. He used his hand to project a barrier of darkness directly above him, serving as an umbrella of sorts as it sustained the constant pelting of shards; his gaze kept downwards. There was no concern shown for his servant, only amusement, and in seconds it became apparent why.

 

“My world, you say?” Void Eria gripped her Staff of Armadyl with both hands, facing the oncoming assault with an absence of fear. “You… really don’t understand. Because you haven’t experienced the War, you still think like a little girl.”

 

At the shadow counterpart’s feet, the very black snow began to part - not just its surface, but its entire depths. The shockwave of snow, thrust in all directions, revealed just how far below Remembrance’s ground actually was, reaching down hundreds of feet---and also revealed three equally gigantic, spiraling chunks of ice, jagged and imposing. There was the sense that this attack was not made to counter Eria’s own assault - it was pure coincidence that it had been prepared. “Blizzard.” With that word alone, Void Eria took a step back from the cold crater, and each one exploded into tinier deadly shards that shot outwards at greater speed. The rain of death, countered by another rain of death. Shards hit one another at random and broke upon impact, filling the air with the sound of their high-pitched, constant shattering.

 

In its aftermath, the two attacks had essentially canceled one another out, leaving only the tiniest, most harmless pieces to fall. Void Eria turned from the sky back towards Eria, having ironically protected Sora and Kairi as well.

 

“But I don’t ‘wear’ your face. We’re the same. Not only in looks… but in fate. My family was killed. My home was destroyed. My fate was yours.”

 

As she spoke, with her distorted voice, a fourth, even more gigantic shard started to emerge, to the point that it was practically an iceberg. Emerging, that is, from the very Lake of Remembrance. Could it be, that she could actually manipulate its waters, and turn it to ice…? She was moving it calmly, with little strain and immense control, the power of the godly staff enabling her to do so. The crystalline construct raised higher and higher into the air, yet it barely cast a shadow at all, clearer than crystal and clearer than glass. Somehow, in the reflections formed by the light bouncing off it, all its observers could see small, vague images from their past.

 

”Isn’t it obvious? Our fates are the same. Our stories. Our doom. Only one has the power to break the chains of fate…” Void Eria glanced up. Beyond her floating iceberg, and towards Protheus Maximus.

 

With a flick of her staff, the supermassive shard of Remembrance was dropped. Falling down directly onto Eria’s position. As well as that of everyone else on the ground. Sora. Kairi. And him. Gagagigo.

 

Eria’s first instinct was to shatter the shard herself. Even as she watched the bottom of the shard descend ever closer to her, she imagined it splitting off in different directions. That from the center and expanding outward, it could still fall, but still miss them, even barely.

 

And yet, as she attempted to extend her control, nothing happened. Just as with the sea of manifested despair in LERNA’s reality bubble, this water was… different, somehow. It was if the ice was actively repelling her attempts to manipulate it. Eria felt as if she was pushing back against a wall that was trying to close in on her.

 

“Tag out!” Sora and Kairi ended their Drive, and the two of them jump so high, so fast, practically launching themselves directly at the ice. Kairi struck her Keyblade against one side of the construct, and dashed mid-air to the another angle.

 

“Come on, don’t leave me like this…” Sora planted his feet against the ice, and started running up the flat surface, completely defying gravity as he tried to reach to the top. He held his hand out, and sparks of light flickered in his hand. Pure Edge had severed his connection, but perhaps without it gone, he may have had a chance. As Sora kept running, Kairi continued to try cutting through the ice.

 

His eyes glancing towards the ice, Sora almost didn’t recognize himself for a moment. In what should have been his own reflection, he instead saw Roxas running up Memory’s Skyscraper. His eyelids began to lower, and Sora’s foot tripped against the ice. As Kairi reached the next side of the ice, she jumped again, hoping to catch Sora as he began to fall.

 

Eria knew that the water her counterpart was manipulating had to be made of something else. It had the power to show memories, somehow. If she could tap into that power, or perhaps reach past it, then perhaps-

 

Before Eria could do anything more, the crystal of ice crashed.

 

To Be Continued…

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"...Something happened."

 

Satori's body turned pale. She could sense that something just happened to her, as if something was forcefully being yanked away from her. As if something had been taken away. Just now, Isamy had seemingly used what seemingly like a soul-sucking mechanism, which had tampered with Chandra among the few others. Was it related to that? Satori struggled to figure out what was actually going on, and at the same time, a feeling of dread gnawed at the insides of her mind.

 

"Koishi..." Something happened to her. Satori knew that much. She had spent too much time idling around, and now she failed to protect the only one that mattered to her. But what exactly happened to her? She was unable to track her from anywhere on this snowy landscape from the start, but if she closed off her mind again, she would've been fine now. Right. She had to finish this as soon as she could. The herald Metarchus was still serving as an obstacle, and none of Darcy nor Chandra's attempts to go through him did anything so far. Just then, the vulgar angel Hapshiel went for a blinding tackle right at the Herald, and Satori used it as the cue for her to start acting.

 

"Darcy, we're not getting through. Words are useless. I shall destroy his mind instead."

 

---

 

However, her words seemed hollow because she was allowing those whom joined her to help her shape that ideal. There have already been suggestions given that she was willing to listen to, which would allow for such to happen while minimizing the changes that would happen to the Omniverse at large.

 

Listening to suggestions to minimize changes? It sure does look like what she's doing now.

 

However, neither she, nor you, know what you're all doing. Giving everyone in this omniverse a happy end? If you want to achieve such a lofty and unclear goal, might as well go all the way.

 

An explosion spanning three hundred and sixty degrees around the monstrosity. Bel observed closely the effect it had on the area as he got out of the way. Something odd happened to those that were caught in the attack, but at the same time the black towers around the area took his interest more. They managed to deflect the attacks for some reasons. He did notice that some of the others were there, but whether they were the one to possess the capability to deflect the attack or whether it's just the natural property of these towers couldn't be determined yet.

 

As Isamy was still unfocused, Bel decided to visit one of those towers. Something about their presence had intrigued him since he noticed their existence.

 

---

 

"Suffering is magic!"

 

Reimu, who was too busy focusing on Lydia's exorcism and how she was being sucked by Isamy's attack, barely managed to realize the attack coming towards herself. She shifted away from reality at the last moment before the red sphere landed on her. She was helped with the fact that by the time that happened, someone had rushed to attack the shinigami strapped on Isamy's breasts, which gave her that small moment she needed to phase herself away.

 

 

But, at the time she reemerged several meters away from the blast radius, something was missing. She was barely able to feel the left side of her body. Unsure of what happened, Reimu attempted to investigate it, only to realize that parts of her had disappeared in her last attempt. Only dry stumps remained of her left arm and left ear, and her left eye left an empty socket behind. It was as if they were never there in the first place.

 

The black sphere still floated on her side. With that on her side, she should still be able to fight, even if it couldn't reverse the disappearing effect. Reimu had tried to prepare herself for this to happen since like, a year ago when she faced the Avatar. As the decree said, thus she would slowly disappear as the boundary between reality and fantasy became more and more obscured. Of course, knowing it would happen and actually having it happen was something that felt completely different.

 

Her expression was sour as Reimu rushed towards where the captured souls were as Dorian took the shinigami's attention seemingly. Many multi-colored orbs floated around her at the time she located the spheres, and thus it was the cue for her to close her eyes and start bombarding the spheres with her holy light.

 

"Fantasy Seal!"

 

---

 

"Soul sucking magic?" Short-hair listened to the conversation between Rhadamantys and the cage. It sure brought back unpleasant memories from the aftermath of...tch, not the time for such recollections. It seemed that they were all in quite a tight situation now however, and Short-hair hadn't even heard anything from the nameless girl either. Whatever trip she was experiencing now, she sure took her time with it.

 

Right. Short-hair needed to deal with the herald first before busying herself with other thoughts. That line she said earlier sure seemed familiar though. Nevermind that. She took a breath before summoning more keystones to fire at the herald. Her movement might be fast, but if her senses weren't fast enough, sooner or later Short-hair could actually start hitting her or something.

 

---

[Phantom Roxas]

Previously…

 

[spoiler=Twilight of the Gods - Chapter 2]In the beginning…

 

…a divine creator made the heavens and the earth.

 

The earth was formless and empty, darkness over the surface of the deep, and the spirit of this creator hovered over the waters. And the divine creator declared, “Let there be light,” and there was light. The creator saw that the light was good, and separated light from darkness. The light was called ‘day’ and the darkness was called ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning. The first day of existence. Over the next six days, such were brought into existence: the sun and the moon, the sky and the ocean, the animals and the plants, and mankind in His own image. The heavens and the earth were complete, in all their vast array.

 

By the seventh day, the divine creator had finished the work, and thus, on the seventh day He rested from all his work. That seventh day was blessed and made holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done. On that seventh day, the earth was entrusted to seven holy servants. Seven Archangels. Seven Mysteries.

 

These Seven Mysteries assisted in the creation of the first man, and when the divine creator breathed life into him, they were instructed to bow before him. Before Adam. All followed the command—except for one.

 

The angel of the first day, and the greatest. The Peacock of Angels.

 

To God did the Peacock answer: How can I submit to another being? I am from your illumination while Adam is made of dust!

 

This demonstration of defiance, this sin of Pride, was a hubris that was met with a holy response. As punishment, the archangel was banished from the Heavens, to burn in pain and suffering, to be trapped in the great and merciless fires of HELL. Across reality, countless lives have come to believe that is the end of the story, that this was where the morning star was consumed by hubris and became God’s antithesis, ‘Shaitan’. However, this divine body could not recall such a fanciful tale of being the absolute evil to an absolute good. To begin with, good and evil were not opposites, and the story of the Peacock certainly did not end in Hell.

 

This was the truth: The Peacock repented. For seven thousand years, the Peacock weeped. And when that intense sorrow stopped, the Peacock looked up...to see that the fires of Hell had been quenched by tears. Hell, the blazing realm of torment and despair that ought to await all evil souls, had been reduced to a brazen land. God descended, and with His warmth looked upon the Peacock. And the divine creator declared, “You are the ruler and lord on the Earth,” granting redemption as a demiurge. The Peacock ascended, rising from the ashes of the land to become a mighty Chief of Angels to be revered only by a select few.

 

And on that barren, ash-filled land once called ‘Hell’…

 

...there was nothing. Nothing but the abandoned body of a peacock.

 

---

The Twilight One, w/ Slifer the Sky Dragon & Winged Dragon of Ra

Hell

 

 

 

~ The Road That Leads to God ~

 

From the massive vortex, Slifer the Sky Dragon and the Winged Dragon of Ra were slammed outwards, into a strange, truly strange land, entirely cut off from Origin. As far the eye could see, all that appeared to exist here was a boundless barrenness of rock; endless jagged pillars and caves, dead volcanoes and charred mountains littering the land every few miles, and a pitch-black surface, littered almost entirely by ash. Such ash drifted down from the clouds, much like a steady rain of darkness, its pieces resting upon everything that lay beneath.

 

Although they lacked a great amount of information, something regarding their very natures connected to it. They knew instinctively what it was. That it was not a land of me, not an illusion or spell, and knew that it was certainly no reality marble. There was no mana source sustaining it, no flawed mental image to bring it to life. This was not an imaginary attempt by a mortal to replicate what could not be replicated.

 

No. This was legitimate. Even if they could not connect fully to it, even if they could not discern the full story, they - as divine beings with dominion over death - knew one thing. That this surprisingly calm “world”, if it could even be called that, was what remained of Hell.

 

A small gap formed in the clouds, and a single ray of twilight shone down; and It materialized. The Twilight One.

 

With an exceptionally deep, booming voice, the Twilight One addressed them: hark, ye lost gods of egypt, and be welcomed. i am born of the light within darkness, i am lord over the barrier between heaven and hell. i am THE TWILIGHT ONE.

 

The black phoenix was perched over two thousand feet above on extinct volcano, serving primarily to emphasize Its sheer, magnificence might. Its size alone was beyond comprehension, dwarfing that of the very volcano upon which he waited; Its outstretched wings would have been incomprehensible to a mortal, with a wingspan of over two miles, and it seemed to vastly dwarf even the Egyptian Gods before it. In all honesty, even if Protheus Maximus considered It the ultimate servant, It was not a servant at all. Who could ever dream to control such grandeur? No, the only reason why it must hang around in his presence at all...is because it didn’t care one way or another.

 

From that volcano, and from this home, the Twilight One gazed downwards with cold, red eyes. Knowing naught but victory against lesser opponents. Again, It found Itself wondering. Would these two gods be worth the challenge? Or would they fall… like all the others?

 

Slifer. Ra. on this fine day, Thou hath been invited into my realm for reasons of aggression. now, let such reasons be heard, for all to hear. speak Thy cause.

 

“We stand against Protheus Maximus! Slifer answered proudly, though His voice barely reached the sheer volume of the Twilight One’s. “The sorcerer, his wretch of a daughter, and their Divine have wrought nothing but oblivion upon countless realms.”

 

Ra flew but a few inches towards their foe. “Protheus Maximus blocks the path. The mortals of the Counter Corps must defeat him, and We must shepherd them to the Door of Origin. If You are to shepherd Protheus just as well…”

 

“…Then Our battle here shall decide who will reach the Door. Eria, the Water Charmer, has shown much strength. Even I owe her much.” Only one other human, Dorian von Schroeder, had dared to wield the power of the Egyptian Gods in this war. Even if Slifer was uncertain of where that boy was, he knew one truth. “I will see to it that Eria can restore order to the chaos that the Maximuses have brought to the multiverse.”

 

“And I will help Sora as well,” Ra added. “His heart has touched so many others. Even when despair consumed him, and enslaved even Myself, in the end, hope prevailed. So many have sacrificed themselves for him to move forward, and it is their hope that he carries with him! He would never allow their sacrifices to be in vain, and neither shall I!”

 

Slifer and Ra roared, and the gods flew higher into the sky, each of them standing before the wings of the Twilight One. Yet still, they felt incomplete. In the Pathway to Death, a specter of Isamy Maximus had attacked Eria, and the card housing the spirit of Obelisk the Tormentor fell into the depths of the Pathway.

 

Insects were far beneath humans, and humans were far beneath the gods. And now, Slifer and Ra could see how they themselves were so small and beneath the Twilight One. Even still, Slifer the Sky Dragon and the Winged Dragon of Ra chose to fight.

 

“FOR OBELISK!”

“FOR OBELISK!”

 

As the gods called out for their brother, Slifer fired a Thunderforce Cannon directly at the Twilight One’s right wing, as Ra’s entire body wrapped itself in fire and flame, transforming into a burning, golden phoenix. The drifting ash gathered around Ra’s beak, and every particle began to spark. The ash ignited, and Ra’s wings beating against the air, He focused on the Twilight One’s left wing, declaring, “GOD BLAZE CANNON!”

 

A cinereous inferno blasted forth against the Twilight One’s wing, as the black phoenix was assaulted by twin cannons.

 

shameful… The Twilight One uttered. From both wings, endless streams of feathers detached and blasted outwards at the godly attacks. On the right, the feathers congregated, transforming into steel as they formed a shield matching the Thunderforce Cannon’s size; taking in its utter force in a mighty clash, which ended in being reflected up towards the sky. On the left, the feathers dissipated instead, forming a fog of darkness; the golden god felt unnaturally smothered in energy as He passed through, his enveloping inferno being ripped away, and found upon emerging that all His divine flames had been drowned out. The Twilight One flapped its gigantic left wing forth, appearing much like an unstoppable wall as it slammed directly unto Ra. The outmatched god was sent crashing towards the ground. For all His size, He’d been pushed aside like a child.

 

let it be known that Thy motivations are acknowledged. however, to be influenced by the rabble? to make decisions for their sake? to use Thy own ability without sacrifice from them? indeed, the third component to Thine trio, ‘Obelisk’, appears to have fallen by the effect of mortal hands. this duo brings shame the hierarchy of divinity. in consideration of these facts, i must wonder.

 

Slifer. Ra. are You truly GODS? or are You mere BEASTS with some semblance of what great power feels like?

 

The majestic Twilight One did not move from its position, remaining perched on top of that extinct volcano. Its voice boomed across the entire realm, calmly questioning them, judging them. Its crimson eyes slowly moved from the lightning dragon, whom actually ‘owed’ a girl named Eria, to the falling gold phoenix, whom favoured some boy named Sora. What was this ridiculousness? There was no anger in Its tone, but rather, simply disappointment.

 

Slifer considered the Twilight One’s words. In truth, they had been weakened far too much during this war. That Earthbound Immortal had nearly banished Slifer, forcing Slifer to bond with Eria. Xansvita had managed to hold his own against Ra, and that other sorcerer, Sliske, had only further proved to be a nuisance. Could either of them truly be considered gods anymore?

 

“And what of you?” Slifer asked. “Why align Yourself with Protheus Maximus? What of Your own ambitions? True, We may be allowing mortals to influence Us. But the mortals who are participating in this war each have their own ideals. A world that they wish to live in. I see no purpose in ruling over a world where mortals cannot seek a purpose for themselves. We do not bring shame to Our divinity. We grant it meaning!”

 

Slifer fired several volleys of fireballs and lightning towards the Twilight One. They were only minor attacks, and Slifer expected the Twilight One to defend against them with ease. “What purpose do You have, claiming dominion over so desolate a wasteland as this? Our underworld, Duat, offers a journey for the dead. To prove themselves, and be judged. But I see nothing here. No one seeking a journey, or judgment. So do not think to judge Us, demon. I ask you thus: I would know Your own ambition. Surely even You could see that Protheus Maximus cares for nothing but himself.”

 

Indeed, a certain number of the Twilight One’s feathers detached, equal to the oncoming attacks. Each one transformed into a beam of light that collided with - and negated - the lightning and the flames, without the great god even noticing.

 

is that so. in other words, it is Thy belief that the gods exist to serve the bidding of the mortals, to nurture it, and to assist it, as opposed to the other way around. be that correct, I find that a ridiculous notion. and I, the Twilight One, am no demon, but a true god. an angel from time immemorial. none, even the Divine Creator, rule over me. it is by my own will that I accompany the Herald of Darkness, the man you name ‘Protheus Maximus’, for the opportunity to observe realms differing from my own. there is much to gain and little to lose; I could not care less what he does with those realms.

 

Opting to counterattack in order to prove Its point, the Twilight One turned to face the barren ground. Ashpiles were violently dispersed in places scattered around the area, revealing twelve bubbling vats of dark lava underneath, one being right beside Ra.

 

now, your ‘Duat’ may be a work of excellent design. however, what You see before You is no mere underworld. it is HELL. a Hell that, by My own power, was remodelled into a form I favoured.

 

I saw the work of my creator, Hell, as an unfair eternal damnation for the living. in My rebellion against the creator, I made that Hell a land in which there will always be second chances to enter His paradise, His Heaven. you speak of journeys, but the only journey the living care about is the journey of the living. this land exists to perpetuate the very cycle of life and death. yes, its stems grew to form the Shadow Realm, and yes, and its souls may return as the undead, but its purpose is fulfilled as long as none ever permanently reside here. except I.

 

Reacting to Its command, each and every one proceeded to shoot out jets of intense black lava. Half were aimed at the airborne Slifer, the other half intending to rain back down upon the fallen Ra.

 

From the sky, Slifer breathed flame against the oncoming lava, the force of His flames enough to slow their trajectory. Though they each continued on their path, they fell in their arcs, splashing back onto the earth.

 

Ra flew away from the lava vat beside Him, and looking directly upwards, countered the lava in a similar fashion, pouring so much power into His flame breath, spreading out to catch the lava. Ra kept His own flames burning until the streams of lava began to slow, falling straight down in columns around him. Assuming his Phoenix Mode once more, Ra soared higher into the sky, flames trailing behind him, and intermingling with the smoke in the area.

 

“Atonement is a noble goal,” Ra said to the Twilight One. “And there is some truth in what You say, that it is the mortals who exist to serve Us. If You wish for the mortals of Your realm the opportunity to sit at the side of Your creator, who am I to doubt that? But it is for that very reason that We must watch over them. We must judge them worthy, and test if that atonement is sincere. Mortals seek vindication, just as We seek their worship. Hearing the words of another granting approval… sure even You could understand that?”

 

Slifer turned to the Twilight One. “You say that this place perpetuates the cycle of life and death? If that is the case, then I wonder if the knowledge that You crave from Protheus Maximus is worth damning entire universes to end that cycle? You are nothing but a hypocrite, then. You care so little for what the Herald of Darkness does, for those who suffer in his mad quest, that You would deny them the same second chance You claim to offer. That is an unfair eternal damnation. It appears that You are no better than Your creator.”

 

At the two gods, now level with Its head, the eyes of the Twilight One flashed a menacing, angered crimson at their most preposterous speeches.

 

At first, It stared silently at the duo, taking in their arguments, deliberating their existences.

 

you dare...SPEAK SUCH A BLASPHEMY?

 

Then, as Its mouth opened, the loud, piercing screech of a maddened beast escaped Its lungs and echoed across the realm, whilst Its incomprehensibly large wings stretched out, as though to emphasize just how superior Its majesty was to theirs. you flawed beings DARE bring judgment upon I, the Great Chief of Angels? question My position? insult My divine providence? this is not a forgivable act. It seems to me that You... you are NO GODS. you are but IDOLS. clinging onto pagan beliefs to draw the admiration of your subjects the mortals…

 

The Twilight One flapped its giant wings; once, and twice, and thrice, and once more with each swing, gigantic amounts of wind were funnelled forth like a hurricane, coloured black from the endless ashes mixed in. The two lesser gods were hit by walls of wind with each movement, threatened to be knocked off-balance whilst the Twilight One took flight, appearing to actually retreat... but this was merely the beginning.

 

Slifer the Sky Dragon. Winged Dragon of Ra.

 

on this holy plain, let it be known that I hereby retract thy permission to exist. there shall be no LIGHT and no DARK to meet on the other side. only OBLIVION

 

Then. The end occurred.

 

The sky above the gods was not actually covered in dark clouds, but in an actual, thick array of smoke. Beyond that obscuring barrier of smoke, directly above the gods, a single object started to emerge and make it visible. First it was the summit; a tiny, dully-pointed piece of land. Of insignificant, red rock. But with every inch and every meter, it grew larger and larger and ever larger. It was certainly larger than the gods themselves, and it drew so large that it exceeded the Twilight One’s own ridiculous size, and still it grew, until its body had grown to exceed the very sky over the horizon. With a height from the otherwise-gigantic skies stretching beyond SEVEN THOUSAND FEET, it was practically serving as a meteor capable of wiping out so, SO MUCH in sight. Yet there was nothing special about its composition, no mystical quality to it, only red granites of varying, mundane compositions. What was this? What was this terRiFFYing gigantic oBject of EARTH, familiar yet unfamiliar, gradually emerging from the heavens, casting a shadow upon everything in sight, that should most certainly NEVER BE UPSIDE-DOWN?

 

Well, as a matter of fact, the mortals shared one singular word to describe what this was.

 

‘MOUNTAIN’

 

The humans of Planet Earth had a better name for it.

 

‘MOUNT SINAI’

 

The gods would have an even more appropriate name.

 

‘ D I V I N E J U D G M E N T ’

 

In the domain of this Hell that was entirely at the Twilight One’s command, everything was possible. The true fist of God that could create and destroy the world as He pleased, was a might that this phoenix angel could wield at Its zenith of power. Even the greatest artifact on Earth was not exempt to being moved, and henceforth, nothing within its range could possibly hope to run, hope to survive, or hope ever at all. And needless to say…

 

...it dropped.

 

“NOT YET!” Even as Mount Sinai came falling down, Ra poured more of his energy into another attack. “Slifer… You know We cannot survive this.”

 

Slifer hesitated. As much as He resented to admit it, as He looked above him, even Slifer was finding it impossible to muster the hope that there was a way out of this. “…I know. I have no idea what to make of His power. It is too much, even for Us. But We cannot die in vain. If We die here, then Eria…”

 

“…And Sora, yes. Those two and their allies must be the ones to open the Door. If We cannot win, then at least they must have a hope that they can.” Ra’s wings began to fold. The flames surrounding His body were all drawn to a single point in front of His beak, revealing His grand, mechanical form once more. His feet clutched together, and folded inward.

 

“We will see you soon… Obelisk.”

 

As Ra’s body folded inwards, eventually there was only a giant, golden sphere. White hot flames concentrated in front of the Egyptian God’s shell, and began to expand once more, until even the sphere was obscured by the flames.

 

“CORONA CASCADE!”

 

And then, the Winged Dragon of Ra shot forth like a burning cannonball aimed directly at the Twilight One’s face. Whether it would be to the Twilight One Itself, or Mount Sinai, Ra accepted that He would die.

 

Ventus. Roxas. Xion. Zilyana. Kree’arra. How many had sacrificed themselves for Sora’s sake? How many more would have to? Of this, even the Winged Dragon of Ra was uncertain. All He could wish for is that Sora would forgive Him for being one more sacrifice among many.

 

It was… ironic. In His final moments, Ra cared more for what would happen to Sora. Perhaps the Twilight One was right, that they allowed themselves to be influenced by humans. But did that matter? Whether anyone was humans, gods, or something in between, there was still a war to be won. As long as Ra could do something, anything to bring down the Twilight One, that was still possible. There could still be hope.

 

Pouring every last ounce of His life force into one final attack, the Winged Dragon of Ra shot faster and faster until He struck true. Far too slow, the Twilight One was barely capable of maneuvering before the attack exploded into a series of white flames upon It. Those flames spread until it completely consumed the Twilight One, each and every feather set alight as It suffered an immense punishment of Its own. THOU WOULDST DEFY ME TO THE END?! That black god wringed and raged in midair against the white blaze that was eating at Its body, the sacrifice of the lesser god having fuelled an attack so powerful that even It struggled to shake it off. In that singular moment, enough was incinerated to cover millions of years’ worth of mortal lifespans, a punishment so severe that to the Twilight One, they exceeded even the fires of Hell. Turned into a ball of white fire, it crash-landed into the ground, only a mile within the radius of the falling mountain.

 

Ra’s sacrifice was an act of pure justice that none should experience, let alone survive. And yet, the target of this attack happened to be the greatest of angels. Just as it appeared impossible for the ultimate black phoenix to survive, the dark flames It Itself was emitting eventually overpowered Ra’s judgment. The white was overcome by black. The Twilight One emerged gloriously, feathers regenerating from Its body, and It stretched out Its wings in ultimate victory. A GOD SACRIFICING HIMSELF FOR MORTALS? HOW DISGUSTING, RA.

 

The Twilight One glanced to Its right, and was repulsed to notice a wound. A mark had been left by that lesser, foolish god. When Ra had hastily rotated so that the attack would not hit its head, the centerpoint of Ra’s sacrifice instead hit its right wing. Amongst the endless array of feathers, a fifty-meter radius of mangled, charred purple flesh had been exposed upon it, a scar filled with pain. How many months would it take until such a stain of fire would be eliminated? Above, Mount Sinai was imminently approaching the ground. It would still escape far long before its devastating fall. The Twilight One wordlessly endured the pain and flapped Its wings again, lifting off the ground with great force to head away.

 

However, there was still one more of those lesser gods. Slifer the Sky Dragon was flying towards him. It seemed like Slifer was charging, just as Ra had, but Slifer instead dove towards the side of the Twilight One, whose eyes lit up in shock. Then, Slifer began to circle back around. Soon, Slifer’s entire body was wrapping itself around the Twilight One. Though the Twilight One was significantly bigger than Slifer, the Sky Dragon struggled to pull the Twilight One back. “You are not going anywhere,” he snarled. “If Obelisk and Ra are both dead, then it must fall to Me to fight you. I know I cannot stop You…” Slifer looked back up at the falling Mount Sinai. “But that can.”

 

THOU! Quite immediately, the far larger black god started to push back in anger, thrusting its wings back and forth to continue generating momentum. Its movements were still somewhat clumsier from the prior assault, but this did very little to affect its speed. Even despite the Sky Dragon’s best efforts, He was only slowing the phoenix down. DOST THOU THINK THAT WILL WORK, INFERIOR INSECT?! In an attempt to throw the god off, if not kill Him entirely, the Twilight One’s chest erupted with black flames - the reawoken flames of Hell itself - which immediately took over Slifer’s whole body. It inflicted no physical pAin, yet was mentally inflicting unimaginable magnitudes of spiritual PaiN that would break the mind of any mortal on contact, and surely even a god in due time. PITIFUL!!! The Twilight One struggled and shook, attempting to throw off the dragon all the while. Slifer’s greatest effort thus far was akin to a snake wrapping itself around an elephant, His force more disrupting Its own movements rather than actually possessing enough strength to drag It back.

 

And yet...it was painfully clear that THIS WAS STILL NOT ENOUGH. Slifer’s grip was loosening, fated to fall. The Twilight One’s force was too great to resist, fated to live. The end of the vast shadow cast by the falling Mount Sinai could be seen, itself an incomprehensible wall of earth seconds from impact. At this rate, the phoenix god was going to escape. Their efforts, their sacrifices would all be for naught! In Its current state, how could the others possibly stand against the almighty power it has displayed thus far? How could they possibly do so, particularly when they still had Protheus Maximus to deal with? What could possibly be done?!

 

 

~~ Twilight of the Gods - First Reckoning ~~

 

It was… almost childish, really. There was a certain feeling that humans had. Slifer had seen it all too much as the dead passed on into the afterlife. Even when they had accepted that their time had come, they still felt… alone. As the weight of the mountain began to bear down on Slifer, denying Him the chance of flying further up, He felt hopelessly alone. First Obelisk, and now Ra. There was no doubt in Slifer’s mind that He would be next.

 

Ra had spoken of sacrifice. Of all those who chose to give their lives in this Origin War so Sora and so many others could press onward. And now, Ra could be counted among that number. Sora was still fighting, and so would Eria.

 

Eria… if Slifer could not defeat this Twilight One, then what possible hope could she have? Certainly, Eria and Arthur had managed to defeat the Madara. And yet, Protheus Maximus mocked them still, as if their accomplishment had been no more impressive than a novice adventurer slaying their first goblin. He was something more, as was the Twilight One. Alone, either one of them were far too dangerous to imagine standing a hope against. Together? Eria, her friends, and all the universes they wished to save…

 

Every single one of them were already lost.

 

Although He was doing His very best to hold on, the situation was only worsening further and further. Where He’d constricted the Twilight One, Its feathers turned to steel and abruptly reversed backwards, becoming thorns that stabbed into the dragon god’s body, attempting to weaken His grip even further, attempting to throw him off. The feathers stabbed through His scales everywhere He was making contact, and in every place did streaks of divine blood scatter amongst the winds, staining the phoenix’s body as It wrestled for freedom. The great mountain simply was not falling fast enough.

 

…Even still, Slifer could not let it end here. All the sacrifices, they hadn’t truly been for nothing, had they? Every step, no matter how small, could have everlasting consequences. It was what Slifer had admired most about humans. As fleeting as their lives were, it was their actions that would last forever. No one had to be immortal like Protheus Maximus, let alone the Gods themselves. There were humans who lived on through their descendants. Their students. They lived on in memory. In legacy.

 

The Twilight One screamed,

 

RELEASE ME… AND PERISH!

 

SLIFER THE SKY DRAGON!!!

 

Finally, Slifer let go, unable to hold on to the Twilight One any longer. No longer did he resist Mount Sinai’s descent. In fact, He almost welcomed it. Even as Slifer bled, His eyes barely able to concentrate on the Twilight One… was He smiling?

 

“This place… You said it offered a second chance for those who sought paradise, did You not?” A cold breeze rushed over Him. Even in this desolate place, He could still feel the wind. In a way, it was almost funny. How was it even possible, to find something so amusing, even now?

 

“I could think of so many places to offer someone another chance. But perhaps this is fitting, in its own way.” The stone above Him grew heavier, as if it was trembling under its own weight.

 

“If what You seek is knowledge, then there is something even You must understand. Mortals… humans… it is true that I wish to shepherd them. And I have no shame in that. And yet, even without us, they are still capable in spite of themselves. When We stand in the Heavens, We have no reason to believe We can be any more than We already are. But the humans, they believe that they can be. Perhaps they seek godhood, as Protheus Maximus would. But I have seen a boy who would defy the will of the gods themselves. A boy who fought under the banner of the Divine, and it was that which he held in shame. I see a girl who wished for nothing but the salvation of her familiar - her brother’s soul. It is them who have been chosen by heroes who have proven themselves. A heart of pure light. A guardian of all that is good. And among them stands a warrior, and he alone was able to defeat Pure Edge - a weapon that belonged not to Protheus Maximus, but to one whom I believe even he has seen as an equal.”

 

Fire shot from the depths of ground below them. And yet, the streams of lava seemed to almost roar with applause for Slifer, rather than add to the already surmountable wounds He had sustained.

 

“It is them who I will place all of My faith in. This Hell represents all the battlegrounds they have endured together. I have seen distrust and hate blossom into a love that has survived despair, and defied the slumber that the Madara wished to keep them in. It is their hope and ideals that allowed them to take fate into their own hands, and prove that they could turn the tide even when all has been lost.”

 

The wind grew stronger. Cracks began to form along the base of Mount Sinai. Flames danced around the surface of Hell, as three familiar figures began to crawl up from the earth.

 

“Do what You will, Twilight One. I am certain that those six have the power to change everything.”

 

Gold and blue lights shined beside Slifer the Sky Dragon, and as the Sky Dragon uttered His final defiance of the Twilight One…

 

Mount Sinai…

 

…began to crumble around them.

 

The dark phoenix was in utter shock. That is, at this impossible miracle unfolding before It.

 

“What was it You said?” Slifer asked. “That it was from this place the Shadow Realm stemmed. And I believe there were a few souls lost in that realm whom Eria held very dear…”

 

Standing proud on the Hell below were three young women, their bodies each transformed like monsters. The first was covered in brown fur, with demonic wings and claws, and a horn with which she pointed, and the cracks along Mount Sinai began to follow. The second was red, her once human form now fused with that of a fox. With a wave of her hand, the lava began to stir once more. Any finally, a green girl, with wings and a tail resembling the body of a dragon. At her command, a shield of wind formed around Slifer the Sky Dragon.

 

“Eria had lost them in the Shadow Realm. Arthur had thought to control them. By all rights, Eria should have never forgiven him for that. And yet… I know Arthur regrets it from the bottom of his heart. But it is up to these three to decide if he deserves any forgiveness. For now, though…”

 

Slifer spread His wings. Even as His body was battered, and bleeding for miles of His serpentine form, He still looked proud. “I call upon the aid of these three Charmers! From the depths of oblivion, each of us shall do what we can. Perhaps not to stop You. But all of us fight to grant Eria one last spark of hope. It is here, Twilight One, that we shall finish this. Together.”

 

The Twilight One really was quite speechless, circling around in Its flight to face the dying Slifer and His summoned mortals. Around them, countless chunks of Mount Sinai crashed into Hell, giant boulders raining down on the barren land, their mighty impacts creating plumes of ash and jets of lava. The sky was filled with the sounds of endless, pounding rock - devastating, but not unavoidable. Mere meters out of range, the black god’s crimson eyes moved across each of the three girls - in utter disbelief.

 

to think that you could pull from my realm… to think, of all the souls, you would choose those three weak mortals, embodiments of minor elements? what did you hope to accomplish? Then, Its eyes closed. LOOK AT YOURSELF: YOU ARE BOUND TO PERISH. EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU IS A REPULSIVE ABOMINATION OF THE NATURAL ORDER, AND I SHALL MAKE CERTAIN TO SNUFF OUT THE ANOMALIES YOU BROUGHT BACK.

 

Its gigantic wings flapped, as It edged closer and closer; the great phoenix dwarfed Slifer, let alone the three resurrected Charmers. It was clear that the situation was practically hopeless.

 

And yet, hope was not lost at all. The gold and blue lights beside Slifer began to shimmer. “I never said I was only relying on them.” Slifer closed His eyes, testing His will and praying. Even Slifer could use a miracle right now. Ra had sacrificed Himself only moments ago, so perhaps it wasn’t too late. Obelisk, though… was it even possible?

 

Slifer’s power exploded in a shockwave around His body. For a moment, it seemed that Slifer had went still. He recalled the Pathway to Death. Isamy attacking Eria. Obelisk’s card falling into the abyss. Slifer imagined himself catching it. Catching Obelisk. His brother. Carrying him through the Pathway to Death.

 

What could have happened? Obelisk could have been fighting side by side with them against Protheus Maximus. Fighting those other Charmers. Looking down at the three Void Charmers below, it was hard to think of them and not think about their counterparts who had just died, at Ra and even Eria’s own hands.

 

Obelisk… I need You right now. One… last… time…

 

The land was silent, and the lights began to fade. Wynn, Hiita, and Aussa began to gather their respective elements. The last remnants of Mount Sinai were falling. The wind shield around Slifer was reinforced, and the lava was bubbling. Slifer took a soft breath, quiet even as the Twilight One was the only thing he could see. “Eria… I hope you can forgive Me. I…”

 

Two shapes stood side by side with Slifer. Glowing silhouettes of the Winged Dragon of Ra and Obelisk the Tormentor. Even if their forms were not complete, it was still them. The three Egyptian Gods were together once more.

 

...

 

The Twilight One spread Its massive wings at the sight, casting a shadow upon the newly-wrought trio facing It. Noticeably, Its right wing still had that bald patch left by Ra - in other words, it could as a matter of fact be hurt.

 

thou hast the attention of the glorious TWILIGHT ONE now.

 

The clouds above started to move, to swirl, to be drawn to Its sheer majesty as It released whatever hesitance It had previously for the minor gods. In the face of such stubborn defiance of DEATH, in the face of such ridiculous MIRACLES, there was no choice but to meet it with absolute judgment, with FULL STRENGTH.

 

The ground rumbled. The sky shook. This entire realm, being connected to the Twilight One, was resonating with Its outright fury.

 

OBLIVION IS TOO KIND FOR ONES SUCH AS THYSELVES. EGYPTIAN PANTHEON… THIS ENDS NOW.

 

“I agree!” Slifer declared. Obelisk held both of His hands together, and Ra folded His wings. Slifer reared his head up, his eyes staring back into those of the Twilight One’s. “OBELISK! RA! In Our world, there has only been ever one who truly stands above Us. And it has never been one such as this Twilight One! As We are now, We may not be able to invoke Her full power, but even this must be enough!”

 

The three Void Charmers held their hands together, their elements all converging until above their hands was a single rock, wrapped in flame and trapped in a bubble of air. Each of the creatures began to open their mouths, and spoke a single name.

 

“...Eria…”

 

“For Eria. And Gagagigo. And Arthur, MirageGaogamon, Sora, Kairi… FOR THE COUNTER CORPS!”

 

Obelisk and Ra’s specters exploded into a flurry of lights, wrapping themselves Slifer the Sky Dragon. The three Charmers felt up the burning rock, and their bodies began to change. The air around them began to warp, and they could feel themselves shaking. Something deep within their hearts, there was a sharp pain. And yet… they were all happy.

 

Smoke billowed, and light consumed them all. They roared, howled, and screamed, until their voices lost their fury, the anger at the pain. When the smoke and light cleared, where once there were three malformed creatures, now there were three, young girls. Beside them were a petit dragon, a fox, and winged marmot.

 

“We’re back!” said the green-haired girl. The Wind Charmer. The dragon nestled up beside her, and she pet it on the head. It cooed at her touch, and Wynn forced a smile. “Right. Not yet.” Wynn raised her hand up to the sky. “Great Sky Dragon! We thank You for granting us this reprieve! Even if it is only for this moment, we shall not waste it! All of us shall lend you our strength!”

 

Wynn fought back tears. Even if, for all intents and purposes, she was nothing but a ghost, she could still feel sadness. She wanted to see Eria win. If all this was to reach the Door of Origin, Wynn wished she could be there to help Eria reach the end. But this… this would be enough. It had to be.

 

“Take him down!” Wynn cried, and a pillar of green light surrounded her and her dragon, shooting towards Slifer.

 

“I don’t believe it.” Hiita shook her head. “Wouldn’t have expect it all to come down to Eria. Whatever happened, you’d better have a good explanation for what the Hell all happened here.” Hiita raised her hand, and a red light surrounded her and her fox, following the green light.

 

“Whatever happens here,” said Aussa, “I know Lady Doriado made the right choice accepting us as her students. To have come this far, Eria… you must truly be the best of us.”

 

A final, brown light joined in with the rest, as the spirits of Wynn the Wind Charmer, Hiita the Fire Charmer, Aussa the Earth Charmer, and all their familiars joined with the Winged Dragon of Ra and Obelisk the Tormentor, granting Slifer the Sky Dragon all of their power and life force.

 

Shutting His eyes, pieces of Slifer’s own body began to peel away, as the Egyptian God began to crumble. Eria… I don’t know if you can hear me, but I would tell you this all the same. Thank you, for showing Me the true strength of humanity. I have so much I wish I could say. Of how I proud of you I am. But perhaps we may meet again. I am only sorry that I…… no. Now is not the time for apologies. Go. Defeat Protheus Maximus!”

 

Slifer the Sky Dragon roared one last time at the Twilight One, as streams of light began to shoot out from all across his body. “I SUMMON THEE…”

 

A single, massive column of golden light erupted, completely enveloping Slifer at last. The column reached ever higher, above and beyond even the Twilight One’s vast form. From the light stepped forth a colossal, angelic figure, clad in golden armor. A pair of armored wings spread forth from Her immaculate form.

 

And She stood face to face with the Twilight One.

 

 

 

“I am Horakhty, the Creator God of Light. Thou speaks of the repentance of others, but I see none in Thine own heart. My champions have offered all they had left to call upon Me for but a moment, and it shall not be for naught.”

 

The celestial goddess crossed Her hands over Her heart. She looked to the sky above. An image was reflected within the clouds, of a lake within a Pathway filled with snow. Horakhty saw MirageGaogamon carrying Arthur across the lake. Beyond them - or perhaps, behind them - was a young girl, standing against someone who resembled that same girl all too well. Her twin, in a sense. Commanding the twin was a dark sorcerer, while a knight aided the young girl against her twin and the sorcerer.

 

“Thou art but a witness to the Herald of Darkness, sharing in the guilt of his mad quest. The burden now falls upon the Water Charmer and her companions to bring about the End of Darkness. Such has been decided by My champions, and so shall it be. This war to wield the power of the Door of Origin exists within the shadow of the One Master’s legacy, and tis that legacy which shall end this day. But Thou must fall before the End of Darkness can be fulfilled. And so, Fell Beast of the Twilight… I sentence Thee to the one, true Divine Judgment.”

 

The Twilight One instinctively moved back at this grand, holy MAJESTY of the god-entity that had materialized before It, Her size encompassing the hell, Her Light touching every abandoned corner of it, purifying the ash by Her presence alone. This was an unexpected move! A defiance that surpassed all belief and reason, a miracle beyond miracles, a blasphemy of the highest order. Now this, was the true potential of the combined Slifer, Obelisk, and Ra, the true potential and the embodiment of the will of the Ancient Egyptians - not mere oversized beasts, but a PROPER ruler of the world, a PROPER GOD. The phoenix of phoenixes did not experience fear, but rather, was simply impressed - there was no point in hiding or denying that It was satisfied with this truly divine display

 

Greetings, Horakhty, Creator God of Light. Thy will has succeeded in showing Thine ultimate corporeal form, blessing the final hours of the Origin War with a divinity that must be acknowledged. However, I… We, the Twilight One, shall not stand for this unwelcome insolence in Our realm!

 

this Hell is home only to the Shadow of Melek Taus, a refuge that not even that childfool Herald of Darkness may access - yet Thou hast drawn upon Our realm to complete Thyself, arm Thyself with prior-departed lives, and participate in the battle of mortals. God or not, how dare Thou sentence Us to Thy flawed, selfish ‘Judgment’ whilst interfering with the natural order Thyself? what right dost Thou, a symbol of the masses, possess to speak against Our existence?

 

Thy champions shalt fall… and so shalt holy Horakhty, the Blinding Light of Ignorance, fall. if Divine Judgment is so desired, then THE GREAT TWILIGHT ONE SENTENCES YOU TO OBLIVION.

 

Horakhty was taken aback - but only for a moment. She stood firm, Her eyes silently dissecting each and every word that the Twilight One had uttered.

 

“Such arrogance. And yet… I concede I may know little of Thee. Of Melek Taus. Of thy Shadow Realm, unique though it may be. What I do know is that there is some truth in Thy words, but Thou cannot see beyond Thyself. But I do not betray the natural order. Thou speaks as if I am of like Thee and the Herald of Darkness. Art Thou only here at his bidding? Through a card, he summoned Thee. Through cards, the mortals play their game. Therefore, Thou hath subject Thyself to a mortal’s game. And yet… Eria the Water Charmer completely defies this game. Thou art but a piece on a chessboard, and the Herald Thy player. The Water Charmer would soon abandon the board entirely, for she sees what lies beyond the game, while the Herald can see naught but himself, as Thou cannot see any but Thyself. Thy purpose is to seek knowledge, but does that knowledge bear purpose of its own? The Herald and Thee nothing but perpetuity. Thou exists only for the sake of existing. Thou never stops to ask but a single question: Why?”

 

Behind Horakhty, a sunrise began along the horizon. The God of Light clenched Her fists, and Her gaze turned more stern

 

“Slifer the Sky Dragon sought the aid of the Water Charmer’s companions. I have witnessed but the briefest of glimpses, but their passing forged the rift between the Water Charmer and the half-blood. And yet, they did not give up on hope. They did not resign themselves to oblivion. This Shadow Realm is a place for repentance. A second chance, as Thou desires the blessing of His Father. A prodigal Son, longing to return home. For Slifer to call up the other Charmers, for them to lend their power to Me… that is not a defiance of the natural order.”

 

Horakhty betrayed but the smallest hint of emotion, and smiled.

 

“They have simply proven themselves far more worthy of a second chance than Thou ever will.”

 

…Listening to each and every word, the body of the Twilight One stared onwards as it continued to flap Its giant wings midair, with an expression that could not be discerned from its phoenix form alone. Over the millennia throughout Its time with the one known as Protheus Maximus, It had encountered many enemies, mortals and immortals alike, angels and demons alike, and although all had fallen, none had ever dared to look down upon It so. Was the black god feeling insulted at being simplified and ridiculed in such a manner, feeling exasperated at the strange attachments She expressed towards the mortals? The answer to that was neither, for to It, emotion was not worth the time. It was simply deciding on Its next move against this foe like no other.

 

This, as ridiculous as it was to state, was a worthy opponent.

 

so be it, horakhty, creator god of light.

 

The grounds, with its crevices and cracks and scattered volcanoes, shook heavily, and the lava flowing underneath stirred and jetted out in segments throughout the charred land. Ashes were swept about as the winds intensified, an imagery very similar to black rain. The clouds thundered above, again, and again, and again, and the constant cries of lightning could be heard, drawing ever closer. The Twilight One’s form had positioned itself so that it was at eye level with the larger god-entity. That divine existence may be larger, but that divine existence was not SUPERIOR. In any other land, perhaps She would be, and in any other circumstance, She would have infinite power. She would be undefeatable, a dream that cannot be touched, let alone obliterated.

 

Alas, the god of light had been brought back as a flawed representation of Her true self, and the god of light had been brought back on Its land. Hence, victory would not be found. Not here, not now. Not in Hell, not at this very moment. This reality ‘belonged’, if those words did it any justice, to the Twilight One.

 

bear witness to the miracle of this holy plain.

 

The cackling of electricity, of almighty thunder and lightning, was increasing in intensity as well as numbers, as though they were drawing closer, and multiplying. There was no apparent mountain bursting through the clouds, as before - indeed, one would think that such a move would be the Twilight One’s ‘ultimate attack’, especially a mortal who was unused to the scale of a god’s sheer strength. Yet, for some reason, the very idea was coming next gave the impression that this was on a wholly different level. Dropping an oversized stone was one way to deliver divine judgment… But an enemy such as this required something else entirely. What was about to materialize was a divine concept of sorts. Something that words could not give justice to, that was beyond mortal comprehension, beyond a singular definition.

 

let it be known that Us﹣all of Us

 

Now, open thy mind. Let go of the idea that dropping an oversized stone was ‘divine judgment’, for it was not.

 

hereby retract Our permission

 

And then, the unthinkable happened.

 

FO̧R ҉T̸HOU͞ ̧T̶O̧ ͘E͝X̴IS̸T

 

 

 

 

 

~~ f n l r k n g ~~

 

From the skies,

from the sounds of lightnings,

forms were given

 

Endless cards of black,

drifting downwards

 

Endless cards of black,

all with the same name,

all the exact same,

EACH AND EVERY ONE EXACTLY THE SAME GOD-

 

During the hour of twilight, is there ever only one ray of twilight? During the arrival of the messenger, is there not an army to follow behind their words? Look above, gods and mortals, with thy flawed minds, and bear witness to the ultimate miracle. HARK to the hundreds of almighty, great Angels that descend from the skies, each and every one an impossibly-untouchable GOD, each and every one a Shadow of Melek Taus, the legion of existences that, when together, form a singular legion of divinity. The original black phoenix was joined by many others, none of them lesser replicas or younger creations, but rather, just as powerful. Their auras of greatness, each one possessing enough power to topple kingdoms, blended together to create a nexus. Mortals who attempted to comprehend this nexus in its entirety would only break their minds trying.

 

Even though Horakthy’s height towered up to the clouds, it now seemed insignificant. As more and more bodies of the Twilight One descended, the very skies began to be taken up by this godswarm. This realm called Hell, strictly speaking, ‘belonged’ to the Twilight One. However, ‘belonged’ was a flawed word. It would be more accurate to say… The phoenix was merely an instrument of Its will. This realm, Itself, was the Twilight One.

 

Long ago, the Peacock God Melek Taus, was cast down by God into the fires of Hell for His sins. He cried for many millennia, until eternal flames were doused and cursed sins had at last been cleansed, allowing for His redemption. Yet, the tears themselves were divine aspects of Him. Each and every tear was an embodiment of His will, dousing blazes and sinking into the earth, until at last Hell itself became the embodiment of His will. Until at last, Hell became the Twilight One.

 

When one wonders why no one has ever defeated Protheus Maximus, despite all his feats and all his enemies across the multiverse… Look no further than this. This impossible, unfair, cruel weapon, whose shadows encompassed everything in sight.

 

..

 

The endless phoenix-soldiers of the Twilight One all, simultaneously, locked Their crimson eyes onto Horakhty. Even though there were many bodies, there was only one controlling will - it was a hive mind of the worst order.

 

NOW WE END YOU

 

And just like that, they, every one of them, began to close in on the so-called ‘Creator God of Light’. In such great amounts, they were effectively creating chaotic vacuums around them, tearing apart the very air through their paths. Her divine power truly was something extraordinary, being that She stood out even amongst Their swarms, being that She still vastly dwarfed their individuals components. However, Her individual aspects hadn’t stood a chance against the mountain - let Her be overcome from all directions.

 

As the sun behind Horakhty reached its zenith, Horakhty closed Her eyes, and began to draw power from the sun that She had summoned. For this was the last vestige of light that dared to exist in Hell.

 

To think, that this was how it would end. It had all began with a boy, named Dorian von Schroeder. With the aid of his Butler, he obtained the cards of Slifer the Sky Dragon, Obelisk the Tormentor, and the Winged Dragon of Ra. Whether it was fate, or perhaps nothing more than chance, he had left the cards in the hands of Eria the Water Charmer. Throughout the Origin War, each of the Egyptian Gods were only barely able to cling to life. Bested by Xansvita, threatened by Solasiro, petrified by the Madara, and at long last defeated by the Pathway to Origin.

 

That they had last so long was perhaps a miracle unto itself, especially in the hands of the young Water Charmer. For each of them to sacrifice themselves, all for this very moment… none of it could be for nothing, could it? Horakhty, the Creator God of Light, stood within Hell itself, swarmed by a legion of phoenixes, shadows of a fallen angel.

 

And still yet, above, within the Pathway to Remembrance, stood a young girl.

 

“So many have sacrificed themselves for mankind to move forward. It is the hope offered by those sacrifices that the mortals carry with them. Come what may, I am certain that the Herald of Darkness has finally met his match. Against him stand heroes who would never allow any sacrifice to be in vain.”

 

Horakhty opened Her arms, as the light of the sun began to radiate through Her entire body.

 

“And neither shall I.”

 

And with that, the most wondrous light in all creation shone upon every last phoenix within Hell, consuming the Twilight Ones in their entirety. Gathering every last ounce of what power She could possibly muster, even as but a manifestation of a greater whole, Horakhty, the Creator God of Light, uttered one final word in defiance of the Shadow, the collective tears of Melek Taus. She declared the one, true, Divine Judgment.

 

“BEGONE.”

 

To Be Continued…

[Reinforce]

Chandra

Location: D4 (Trapped by Isamy)

 

Even as she started to prepare her next attack, the bone monstrosity threw out a counterattack. As the laser struck, she was dragged into the central hole in her chest, and her soul and spark drawn out of her body and into somewhere else. She couldn't tell where she was anymore, some sort of void where she could do nothing, not even access her body, though a tenuous link to it remained. In the land outside, all four of her currently active Phoenixes vanished, along with the only just summoned Inferno Titan, leaving nothing to block the Heralded Eldrazi's path to the tower, and only the initial damage it had inflicted upon the Eldrazi to show for the titan's attempt at stopping it.

 

---

 

Apep

Location: C4

 

Her charge had been countered, her opponent managing to produce some sort of field to protect their hands and stop the lightning from getting further, even as he caught her claws with his own. Even as that happened, the pink laser burst in all directions, before retracting and leaving the cage seemingly more vulnerable even as it tried to attack her black fire dragon. Even as the tentacles burst through it's body, it just reformed in instants, freezing the attacking tentacles as they struck it's flames, before continuing it's work on freezing over the cage. At the same time, the shadow dragon was slipping through the waving tentacles seamlessly, not damaging them as it passed through, but reforming even quicker than the fire dragon.

 

So beast how long did it take you to lose your individuality and become pathetic? 

 

"If being a beast is what it take to fulfill my goal, so be it."

"I never wanted you to go this far for me."

Before she could respond, her other foe started to throw keystones at her again, forcing her to disengage from her current foe, weaving seamlessly through the keystones before charging their summoner, claws repeating the same attack as before against this foe, one claw aimed at the heart and the other at the eyes.

"Please, just stop"

"If that attack didn't work the first time, why did you think it would succeed this time."

 

---

 

Darcy

Location: E5

 

Noticing the wave of pink light coming, Darcy pushed power into the sheath resting inside her, desperately trying to accomplish what it's previous wielder could. With a brief flash of fire, overshadowed by the wave of light, she vanished briefly with Satori into what was once an entire plane of green grass, but now had a fifty-metre radius of thrown about dirt and burnt grass where they landed. Moments later, she vanished back from there, reappearing just after the wave of light passed, and breathing a lot more heavily than she had been a moment ago. As she returned, she noticed the light seemingly being reflected off the towers, and vanished from her current location, turning invisible before teleporting to the nearest tower. It would serve well to block the monster's attacks should it try something like that again. 

 

"Darcy, we're not getting through. Words are useless. I shall destroy his mind instead."

 

Listening to Satori's words, she nodded, responding as she started to recover from the risky move she'd just pulled. 

 

Go ahead, I can't get through to him and I'm not going to risk trying again for a little bit, I'll need time to recover after pulling that stunt anyway. 

 

Ending Location: E6

 

---

 

[spoiler=tldr]Chandra was captured by Isamy, and her summons gone.

Apep disengaged from Rhadamanthys, dodged Tenshi's assault and attacked her.

Darcy avoided Isamy's attack by using Avalon and hid invisible on top of the tower at E6 to recover from the effort involved.

 

[Tesability Black]

~???/Metarchus' POV~

"Show yourself."

Turning towards the source of the voice to look upon the visitor in silence, the sound of rapidly-flapping wings became heard and the angel's closing distance witnessed as the figure nodded. Arcane gestures made under the guise of invisibility, a distant cry was heard erupting from the figure that the plane of Ravnica before enacting a twisted form of martial law, forcing both the possessed sword-wielder and the scantily-clad angel into their own circle of imprisonment. "The Guildpact decrees that you surrender," were the words spoken with calm authority, as if the words spoken were Law, Law that will soon be follow despite what the opposition may wish. "Know, however, that no joy is taken in dealing with the opposition."

Order must be imposed for there to be peace, and the current opposition...they seemed opposed to this perceived order, so they must be removed from the equation.

For the moment, the illusion flickered, revealing the figure's blue appearance, cloak fluttering in a non-existent breeze, and eyes that glowed bright with power. Eyes that...were strangely-void of emotion.

Listening to suggestions to minimize changes? It sure does look like what she's doing now.

However, neither she, nor you, know what you're all doing. Giving everyone in this Omniverse a happy end? If you want to achieve such a lofty and unclear goal, might as well go all the way.

No blame is inflicted towards her snapping as she has. Rejection, after so long, will break even the most-sturdy after enough time passes.

Without missing a beat, the figure vanished and the footprints left behind indicated that he had flown off the tower.
(But he only floats just above it.)

(TLDR: Hapshiel and Kenpachi are temporarily in a circle of detainment. Neither are able to use their abilities or move from their current location for the time being, though that doesn't stop them from moving around within the detainment sphere. Only one other being can be detained in this way before Metarchus has to shift his targets, possibly releasing former targets in the process. The Eldrazi Law spell cannot permanently detain someone.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Neos's POV~

As he flew back up into the air as the form of the greying Pidgeot, he could see that there were at least two towards the mindmage's direction. Taking advantage of height for a moment, the bird closed its eyes before reopening them, a blue light glowing through them from the back of his eyes.

To his vision, the place was surrounded not by its actual form, but the glow within. He could see the various colors that shown from within the many present in this fight, but there was something that he found himself focusing on fast.

To his knowledge, Isamy was not a Planeswalker, but now he was looking from within her pure-white Aura at a Spark that seemed to shift between all the colors of magic within that Multiverse.

How is that possible, he thought to himself before looking at the rest of the field. He had expected to see only two Sparks, one belonging to Chandra and the other belonging to the person that had been his friend...but now, he was seeing five total Sparks, three of the other four mirroring the one he saw in Isamy. The brightest of these Chromatic Sparks, however, was not from Isamy, but from another. Dropping the Aura Sight, Neos allowed himself to see whom seemed to be the one with the bright Spark...

...the Herald that had once been Jace.

He's sharing his Spark with all of them, he realized with a start upon remembering that the Souls of the Eldrazi had been infected with such an aura type. How in the Distortion is he not dead yet?!

The thought of a shared Spark, however, gave him an idea, and he dared to take a dive, a dive towards Isamy and shifting into human form. "Sorry, but the Planeswaker Spark is too dangerous for even you to handle. No wonder you're all twisted up," he remarked more to himself before raising his hands towards Isamy from over the ice, focused on the multicolored aura that tried to interweave itself with the pure-white like a storm of lightning bolts, and pulled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Gemini's POV~

Disappearing from his former location, he reappeared under the cloak of invisibility nearby Darcy and Satori, the Malamar form watching Isamy more carefully than the witch.

"If you do attempt your shattering, you may find the result to be different than you expect," he cryptically remarked. "You knows, you might free him from his prison."

[Dad]

Nap Time

 

Though Hollow Isamy continued to come under fire from all directions, its focus lies on only one thing: maintaining absolute control.  The assault by both the Divine and the Counter Corps had made its mark.  Hollow Isamy cried out with a violent wail, its body trembling from head to toe.  It brought its arms to its chest and cupped its hands around its current prisoners.  Then Hollow Isamy lowered its head as if it were about to speak to the ones whose souls had just been trapped.  But instead, Hollow Isamy fell silent.  Only Byakuya maintained aggression against the enemy.

 

As Dorian appeared beside the Shinigami, the man unleashed a series of volatile explosions directly in Byakuya's face.  Too slow to react, Senbonzakura only protected Byakuya from half of the damage he would have taken.  A heavily scarred face emerged from the smoke as a hand rested on Dorian's garments.  The blackened face of Byakuya spat at Dorian as its cold dead eyes peered back the enemy.  "We would give you... freedom," it snarled.  Byakuya's grip suddenly tightened on Dorian's shoulder and the empty hilt of Senbonzakura rested on Dorian's ribs.  Then, Senbonzakura began to retract in an attempt to form inside of Dorian's abdomen.

 

Meanwhile, Hollow Isamy had not moved for several moments.  It had stopped screeching, it made no attempt to attack on its own, and it continued to curl itself into a ball, almost as if it were sleeping.

[Love of Ghibli]

Team Dorian: Final Round! 

"If being a beast is what it take to fulfill my goal, so be it."

 

Rhadmanthys laughed as this creature was simply fighting back against her superior. As his comrade was trying to help he looked up to see the dragon and the parasite go at it. Of course something else took precedent. It seemed that his opponent was going to attack the other person instead of focus of the superior enemy in this fight for its life. Rhadamanthys was immediately triggered. As the herald went to attack someone else she would feel what would be overwhelming and imposing pressure that the new Hades was exuding. 

Well beast! Let us see if your goal is going to be fulfilled. 

Rhadamanthys pointed both his hands at the general area of the Herald and his cosmos manifested and swirled in the center. He fired a massive cityscaping blast in the general vicinity of the Herald. But while he was doing that he took one of his hands and pointed a finger at her pet dragon. You...die! He fired a barrage of finger lasers directly at the familiar of the Herald. 
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Dorian smirked as his attack seemed to have landed on the shinigami. Of course that was until what looked like cherry blossom petals started floating in front of his face. Oh...this isn't good. He thought to himself. As the hand reached out to Dorian's shoulder he looked on hoping it was the shinigami's last breathe. He would not be that lucky. Dorian immediately felt Senbonzakura form completely through his abdomen and he made eye contact with a look in his face that just said "why." 

"We would give you... freedom," it snarled. 

 

Dorian looked longingly at Byakuya and grabbed Byakuya's wrist with one hand and put his other hand on Byakuya's face. "Freedom? Freedom from a slaver's point of view is not freedom." Once again Dorian tried to deliver more point blank blast at the Shinigami's face. While he was was trying to take down his opponent he did take notice of what was happening with Isamy curling up into a ball. He had to act fast and hopefully save Butler from whatever may be happening to him inside boss lady.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

Go ahead, I can't get through to him and I'm not going to risk trying again for a little bit, I'll need time to recover after pulling that stunt anyway.

 

Then I will lead the offense. Please assist me in restraining him. Once I focus into his mind, this will be over.

 

Satori primed the memory of 40 years ago at the back of her mind. The memory of the day when she dealt a deal with the devil of the moon, and the day she lost her sister. Even if he had been twisted into another form by Isamy, Satori knew Jace's heart was as pure and sensitive as Koishi's. While his mind was not that of a child too, the Recollection should still work as intended. Even if it wouldn't break his mind completely like it did to Koishi, it would be a strong enough battering ram to break his mental defense, allowing Satori to search his heart and integrate his own traumas and memories into it. This place would also amplify the effect due to its nature.

 

But all that would only happen once Satori could focus her assault. Metarchus needed to be restrained first. But where was he? Satori performed a widespread scan, and saw him going towards one of the towers. Satori wouldn't be able to reach him, and using a Recollected attack from this range would waste too much energy. Instead, she fed the information of Metarchus' probable location towards Darcy instead. Yet at the same time, a passing thought took her attention. Yellow man, wasn't he the one to pacify Koishi back then? He seemed to have something important to tell, and so Satori risked opening up herself a bit for exposure to establish a mental contact with him.

 

"Sorry, but the Planeswaker Spark is too dangerous for even you to handle. No wonder you're all twisted up,"

 

You seem to know something important regarding that Herald. I had something in mind for how I would deal with him, but I would first like to know what is this Spark you're talking about, and what danger would it possess.

 

---

 

"Tch, it's operating independently from that shinigami, huh?"

 

Reimu's Fantasy Seal was blocked by Isamy herself as the hulking giant moved to protect its prison, reducing the barrage into nothing more than a footnote. The beast curled into an approximation of a sphere, covering the prisoners with its arms. Reimu fired another Fantasy Seal again, but the multicolored orbs didn't seem to do much. It not attacking again was really suspect, and Reimu wondered whether it's a trap; a preparation for something catastrophic.

 

Scrolling through the page to see what she did last time was getting more and more tiring for Reimu. It was exactly one month ago that she last moved. Curse her indecision and her lack of firepower. Reimu struggled to figure out what to do in this situation. She could focus her effort somewhere else, but constant barrage of 1 HP damage wouldn't do much in the long run. She had to find a way to bypass Isamy's protection.

 

The only decision she ended up with was to stop thinking. Closing her eyes, clearing herself of confusion.

 

Don't think, feel.

 

"Fantasy Seal!"

 

The seven multicolored orbs manifested again around her. The seven of them started to rotate around her as she charged them with as much power as she could, before being fired forward. Yet, this time, all seven of them disappeared even before hitting Isamy. All of them had shifted out of reality at that very moment, only to manifest later on the prisons themselves, bombarding them with purifying magic.

 

"Fantasy Seal!"

 

Another barrage, and another. Reimu was attempting to brute force the opening of the prisons itself. While her barrier dissolving cheat technique perhaps would be even more effective, Reimu right now decided to try proving a point to herself regarding the raw power she possessed. She's more of a technique and skill person compared to Marisa, but if she had the black orb with her, why would she let herself get shown up in firepower?

 

---

 

"If that attack didn't work the first time, why did you think it would succeed this time."

 

"It's worth a try."

 

A keystone blocked the claw aiming to Shorthair's eyes, while she let Apep to strike at her heart. Apep would then find that despite the extreme force exerted with her strike, she was barely able to pierce through Shorthair's chest, and the short-haired Tenshi didn't even flinch a bit as that happened. She used that moment to grab ahold of Apep and restrain her using several keystones to pin her mid air, before pushing herself backwards as Rhadamantys fired his blast at the Herald.

 

"Almost blasted me off there, Gimme a better warning next time, can't you?"

 

Her annoyed complaint was accompanied with a satisfied smile as she grabbed one of the peaches on her hat and gobbled on it, restoring the chest wound she suffered from Apep's attack. She then turned towards where Apep were last time, and let out a sigh.

 

"Can't you just, iunno, take it easy? Sacrificing everything for the sake of a silly goal is just soooooooooooooo not worth it. Live life, or whatevs.

 

Would this even give happiness to you or those you care about?"

 

---

---

 

"Let us end this, Tenco.”

 

"Wait wait wait, I'm not Tenco, you're mistaken! What even is happening here? What do you want to do to her?"

 

As she replied, the voice that came out was not her flat, emotionless tone, yet it was more befitting to a normal human teenage girl. Amato was confused, yet she still prepared herself into a stance. Despite the power that Tenshi radiated, Amato was fully sure that she was still capable of dealing with her just fine. She would only need one well-placed strike, and Tenco wouldn't need to see Tenshi like this.

 

“...Tenshi! What the hell is wrong with you?”

“There is nothing wrong with me, really. But please. I need your energy to fulfill my vision.

 

So, let me kill you.”

 

Whose voice was that? Amato swore that she could hear someone else addressed Tenshi, and it seemed that it was the only thing that Tenshi ended up responding to. Tenshi continued her walk, slowly approaching Amato. Amato closely watched the other girl's movement, still not budging an inch from her position. Once Tenshi showed an opening, the battle should be over in a flash.

 

“…You’re a monster…”

“How rude of you to say that.
I am a visionary. I fight for a great future for all of us."

 

"...Tenco?"

 

The mysterious voice spoke up again, and now Amato could recognize it as the voice of her friend. She looked around on where she might be, but she couldn't see anyone else on the desolate landscape except for Tenshi. The voice continued its conversation with Tenshi in the meantime. If it was Tenco, then she took this a lot better than what Amato thought she would.

 

“But enough talk, have at you!”

 

"You're the one that keeps on talking!"

 

Full with frustration, Tenshi lunged at Amato. Her movement was faster than the last time Amato saw it, but it was still quite readable. Amato had prepared her own attack in the meantime, and as Tenshi came into range, she let out a punch directly aimed to her heart. It would instantly petrify her internal organs once hit, which should be fatal.

 

Yet, nothing happened. The fist landed squarely on Tenshi, yet nothing happened. Tenshi proceeded to kick Amato, which she responded with turning her body into stone, yet for some reasons she couldn't. The attack pushed her far back, almost dropping her into a crack on the ground. Before Tenshi could approach her, Amato attempted to summon her pillars to crush her and slow down her advance, but once again nothing happened. Even her Array did not result in anything meaningful. Rather than panicking, Amato still fully resolved herself, and went into a stance in the hope of dealing with Tenshi with pure close quarter combat. Tenshi lunged at her once more...

 

Amato managed to grab her wrist, and attempted to drive her to the ground. However, she was unable to exert the strength to do so. Rather than the trained body that she was used to, this was nothing more than the body of a normal girl that barely ever see combat. A normal, human body.

Before Amato could fully think about the implication, she was driven to the ground by Tenshi. Her foot slammed into her chest. Amato started to cough, having difficulty in breathing as she felt some of her ribs broke from the force of the stomp. Her hands grabbed to her enemy's legs in a defiant attempt to get Tenshi off her, but it was nothing more than a meaningless gesture now.

 

"What even...is happening...?"

 

"It's over. Accept that you'll die for a good cause, Tenco."

 

Once again, Amato was ignored. Once again, Tenshi referred to her as Tenco, despite nobody else was being around. As she lie bloodied on the ground, Amato froze at the conclusion that she reached. She then went to grasp her hair, her body, everything about herself. She clawed her own flesh, drawing blood as her nails tore through her mortal skin. She embraced the sensation of possessing a normal human body. She accepted it as a fact, as her reality now. She understood what happened to her.

 

"I...am..."

 

Tenshi pulled out her sword from nearby, and decided that it was a good time to behead her. Amato was unable to think about anything else at this point, yet she let her body move on her own. A short incantation left her lips, and a scarlet blade formed on her right hand. Before Tenshi was able to drive her sword into her, Amato had already pierced her heart using the sword she had just conjured.

 

Tenco was dead. Amato never existed in the first place. Yet, here she was. Neither, but both. A nameless entity. As the final obscured part of her story had been illuminated, the nameless entity had gained the necessary awareness to escape the trap of suffering that she was in.

 

"The girl named Amato no longer existed. She never existed in the first place, but she was still me.

 

In the end, I am who I am."

 

Tenshi did not say anything as she breathed her last, but the smile on her face answered the nameless girl's question. As a resolution had been achieved, the world around the two dissipated into nothingness. The nameless girl, Nanashi, closed her eyes, and embraced the darkness before light.

 

When she opened her eyes, she was greeted with the sight of a forest. It was snowing heavily there. It was not the final battlefield that Isamy had conjured. Nanashi was confused, but decided to not question anything for now and just walk around the area. The snowing stopped after a while, and the forest soon shifted into a warmer color. It was unlike anything that Nanashi had ever seen in her short life so far, but she kept on walking. Images of a familiar figure passed through her mind as she walked. Some were warm to her heart, some were grotesque and cruel. For each happy moments that Nanashi saw, she saw the same figure suffering from various horrible tortures at the same time. She didn't feel anything, and still continued her way forward until she arrived near a small river.

 

"Oi!" A voice called to her from behind. Nanashi turned around, and saw the familiar figure already standing right behind her.

 

"It really has been a while, isn't it?"

"You sure changed a lot, heh. You don't call yourself with the same name as you used to."

 

"There is a lot that I wanted to say to you. So much things had happened, and now I have fully set on my path. Doubt is not in my heart anymore, but I still wish that you would listen to me one last time."

 

"Now that I'm here, might as well, right?" Tenshi smiled as she invited the nameless girl for a walk. "I'm really curious on how the girl I sacrificed my life for is doing anyway."

 

 

 

 

---

 

[spoiler=OOC]

Satori: Mentally talking with Neos after sensing that he had something to say about  Metarchus. Also preparing to mindrape the Herald once given the opportunity.

Reimu: Continued her assault on the prisons. Now using her ability to bypass Isamy's physical protection of the prisons.

Kazuya: Idling around, he will move later once I decide which tower he's going to.

Short-hair: Trapped Apep so she could get blasted by Rhada's attack before she could leave, not sure if she succeeded.

Nanashi: Still stuck in her own mind after Isamy's attack, but taking it easy now.

 

 

 

---

[Dad]

Prison

 

As walls formed around Kenpachi, he scratched his head.  He said nothing but instead sat on the ground and crossed his legs.  He placed his Zanpaktou in the snow and folded his arms as he sat with his head down.  A puzzled Yachiru was reminded of the light prisons that some of the old Captains could cast, but this wasn't a magic she was familiar with.  Instead, she flopped down beside Kenpachi and made snow angels while she waited for him to be released.

 

"Well.  Doesn't look like there's anything we can do for him," Revy commented.

 

"I agree.  We should turn our attention elsewhere.  Kenpachi will be fine.  Nothing here is frightening enough to make me concerned for his safety," Kratos added.  "Remain vigilant, Yachiru," Kratos huffed before he and Revy leaped away.

 

Yachiru sat up with a start.  "Hmm?  Oh.  Bye, baldy!"  She returned to her free frolicking in the snow and completed her angel.  She stood up and waved at Kenpachi who had only just raised his head.  Her hand caught his eye, and she directed him to the snow angel on the ground.  Kenpachi gave a big smile.  She always knew how to keep him occupied and happy.

 

With a single giant hand, Kenpachi made his own snow angel on the ground behind the barrier, closest to Yachiru's.  It wasn't as neat or elegant, but it was enough to make Yachiru giggle.  And that was all he needed.

 

---

 

Much to Kratos' surprise, Hollow Isamy had gone on the defensive, shielding itself while only Byakuya reacted.  Revy loaded a new rifle on the ground to try and find a clear opening at Isamy, but she couldn't get a clean shot.  With Isamy practically sleeping, Kratos saw no reason to engage her at this time.  Whatever magic she had fired not long ago appeared to have ceased and was no longer a threat to their being at this present moment.  Kratos folded his arms and leaned against a dead tree.  

 

"Swatting flies is quite the chore," he mumbled to himself.

 

"You mean Isamy, or us?" Revy asked, looking up from her rifle.

 

"Perspective determines that," Kratos grinned.

 

"Wise ass," Revy said, shaking her head.

[Love of Ghibli]

Team Dorian: Final Round
 

Walling in the infinite void that is Butlerok's Mad Blood space Gyokuen and Hades were busy combing through the giant magical index to see if there was some kind of off shoot magic that would help them in this instance. Of course that was proving to be very hard seeing as the Rukh were acting in some kind of unholy concert and screeching around. Luckily the Soul Protect that was cast on them earlier allowed them to remain stable after their capture. 

While searching though both of them looked up and heard what was akin to a piercing of the flesh. Which was odd because...how could that be happening. They both looked up to see a massive blade lodged into Butlerok. 

Nani the f... Gyokuen started say but the sword started.

 

S... souls! Souls to serve? Can't quite... talk good. Need girl. Need girl for plan. Need to talk right. Serve, yes? Serve, save host, save the girl. Serve? Not serve?

 

Girl...who is this girl it speaks of? Gyokuen asked.

A lightbulb went off in Hades head as he looked on and realized what was happening. Oh I know it was a magical girl from the Counter Corps. Butler said she defeated a massive witch like entity earlier and got some super power boost. Also I know that blade...I think it is Protheus'. She must've met him in the passageways and stole it. 

Well that makes her strong. Gyokuen smirked. But just like us, she got caught in the soul sucking magic. 

And just like the parasite that thing has a mind of its own. Hades said rubbing his chin. 

Well at any rate it did pierce the bubble keeping us in here. So let's see what it has to say. 

Both of them looked at each other then looked at the sword. Serve.

[Kingdom Xathers]

Team Lombax’s “Tower Hideout” - E2

“... I have absolutely no idea what these creatures even are,” Umbris noted to Gabriel as the two of them continued their guard of the tower, with Umbris surveying the surrounding area through the windows.

“They aren’t Duel Monsters, I would imagine,” Gabriel mused, manning the table upon which the cards used to fortify the tower lay. “They still have that “feel”, though, like they’re a part of a card game that’s similar to Duel Monsters.” ”Yoo-Hoo…!”

“Another card game…?” Umbris repeated as a thought occurred to him. “... heh, right, of course. Sometimes I seem to forget that other card games would exist outside of our shared universe.” He returned his attention to his surveying, yet still continued the conversation: “I wonder how these things would translate to the Duel Monsters card game.” ”YOO-HOO…!!”

“I’m sure it wouldn’t take too much effort,” Gabriel replied, “at least as far as Type and Attributes are concerned. Effects might not be as straightforward, though. As far as the two games actually interacting as they each are, though… well, I suppose we may see soon enough--”

“YOO-funking-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

“WHAT, ZURKON!?” Umbris and Gabriel yelled in irritated unison.

“Oh, nothing important,” Mr. Zurkon sassed back, “Mr. Zurkon just thought you nerds would like to do something about thIS STUPID ALIEN THAT’S ATTACKING MR. ZURKON!!”

“Wut?” Gabriel and Umbris rushed toward the nearest window through which Mr. Zurkon was last heard, and yelped in shock upon seeing the gigantic eldritch creature--taller than the tower they were currently sheltered in--currently ambushing Mr. Zurkon. “THE HELL IS THAT THING SUPPOSED TO BE?!?!”

“Mr. Zurkon knows what it is supposed to be: DEAD!!” the Synthenoid declared as he began to open fire on the creature approaching him.

---

Girls’ Night Out Bayonetta, Jeanne and Atsuko - Heading through F2

“Seriously, girlfriend, you really need to get some better transportation,” Jeanne blurted out to Atsuko as they and Bayonetta made their way through F2, with Atsuko being carried around in the palm of Madama Butterfly’s hand. “That wheelchair of yours was never gonna cut it in this setting.”

“Just so long as I’m not riding on your motorcycle again, I’m good,” Atsuko shrugged.

At this Jeanne couldn’t stop herself from exasperatedly scoffing while rolling her eyes. “Oh, please, just because you couldn’t handle just one ride with me--”

“--AND! And you had me drive the damn thing, too, just so you could do your own thing--”

“And THAT is your issue?!”

“My issue was that you expected me to operate the damned thing when I don’t even have FEET!”

“Ladies, calm thy tits,” Bayonetta sassily interrupted the bickering. “I’m sure we can come to a sensible decision without resorting to spanking each other over past details.”

“Oh, c’mon, just a little spanking,” Jeanne half-jokingly begged.

“I don’t think we have much time to continue debating anyways,” Atsuko interjected worriedly, pointing her normal hand in the direction of the giant eldritch being that was threatening Team Lombax’s tower.

“Oh, for funk’s sake,” Jeanne groaned, as if the appearance of this creature wasn’t anything more serious than a minor nuisance. “Looks like one of us will have to go back and help the boys with that thing, Cereza.”

“And the other will need to take care of Atsuko, lest the Leviathan tries anything funny,” Bayonetta concluded with a weary sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“... hey, actually,” Atsuko chimed in after a brief thought as she addressed Bayonetta, “you still have that motorcycle that Foster lent to you? The transforming one?”

“As a matter of fact...,” Bayonetta uttered as she snapped her fingers, summoning a portal out of which the Duel Runner/Fire Elemental/Knight Caledfwlch rolled out with a rumble of his engine.

“Yes, that’s perfect!” Atsuko beamed happily. “Caledwlch can drive himself around with me in one of his sidecars, and he can transform into a mecha if he needs to do any fighting--”

“--oh, I see how it is, little MISS,” Jeanne snapped, now (acting) incensed. “You’d rather not deal with me and my “crazy driving”, yet you’d take Mr. Fire Crotch over there for a spin in a heartbeat, is that it?! Well, funk you, you hurtful jabroni, I never…!” Jeanne retorted “furiously” before turning away from the others, crocodile tears shimmering from her eyes.

“... Jeanne, I can sorta see through that act of yours,” Atsuko flatly pointed out, though she was somewhat amused. “Still, aside from the points I already mentioned… Caledwlch was my mother’s Duel Runner, as well as one of her most trusted allies….”

“Worry not, fair maidens, for I shall defend young Atsuko with all my being,” Caledwlch assured the Umbra Witches. “She shall be safe in my capable hands… metaphorically or otherwise.”

Jeanne couldn’t help but to roll her eyes with a scoff, though she wasn’t offended at all at this point. “Fine, I know when I’m defeated,” she relented with a dramatic shrug.

“You had best do all you can to protect Atsuko then, Calewlch,” Bayonetta chimed in as she adjusted her glasses. “If not, you’ll catch Hell for it, from the two of us AND the ghost of Atsuko’s mummy, I’m sure.”

“Don’t worry, girls, Caledwlch has this covered,” Atsuko reassured the Umbra Witches as Madama Butterfly placed her gently into one of Caledwlch’s sidecars. “Both of you go ahead and help the boys--”

“No-no, can’t do that,” Bayonetta wagged her finger at that, “you still need some supervision, my dear, so I’ll be sticking with you. Jeanne--”

“--got it, Cereza,” Jeanne replied as she mounted Angel Slayer, revving up its engine. “Do be careful in case the Leviathan pulls any tricks on you.” With that, she drove off back towards the tower.

---

Back at Team Lombax’s “Tower Hideout”

“... welp, so much for “holding his fire”," Gabriel sighed as he and Umbris watched Mr. Zurkon begin taking on the eldritch creature on his own, firing off some rounds from his blaster while weaving in and out of the monster’s swipes, though they seem to be just piercing the creature’s skin without any regard or acknowledgement to the rounds hitting. As it moved closer and closer, the ground it walked over shifted rapidly between a dulled rainbow and grey, like the life was being sucked right out of the land itself. Those more intuned with magical energy would find that such energy was fluctuating, weakening, then changing to something...unfamiliar.

“Doesn’t look like he’s having much effect against it, though,” Umbris noted, trying to analyze the fight as best he could to discern the creature’s strengths and weaknesses (if it had any other the latter at all, that is). “Not to mention the commotion seems to be attracting those other monsters to our location,” he added as he noticed the smaller beings beginning to draw closer to the fight, and by extension, the tower as well.

“Something needs to be done about this, though, and fast,” Gabriel uttered with worry, now noticing the rippling effect being made by the larger creature’s advance. He wasn’t entirely sure why, but he knew that the advance had to cease before it could reach the tower. But first… “Umbris, quickly,” Gabriel ordered, “can you gleam into what each of the smaller creatures are named?”

“Huh? Why’re you interested in their names?” Umbris asked in confusion.

“I have an idea of how to deal with them all at once, but I have to know that they all have the same name for it to work,” Gabriel explained.

“”Same name”... … oh, now I get it,” Umbris nodded, quickly understanding the intention. “Alright, lemme just focus on them real quick, then….” The Neo-Spacian began to focus directly on one of the smaller creatures, attempting to peer into its very being in order to gain knowledge of its name. As Umbris tried to focus, he would find his attention splitting, as if seeing through all of the smaller beings’ points of view at once, confirming their interconnectivity. He could also feel the presence of...something corrosive being part of these beings that wasn’t supposed to be there. He had to move fast before being affected by whatever that was. Either way...these connected creatures gave off a strange emotion, as if they were Souls that were Faultless in this endeavour. “S… Souls… Faultless… Eldrazi… … “Souls of the Faultless”...! That’s their name!” Umbris yelped as he pulled himself out of his focus. “I mean, it’s either that or “Souls of the Eldrazi”, but they all have that as their base title!”

“Then this should work!” Gabriel exclaimed excitedly as he flipped to a page in Alexander’s card binder, and quickly pulled out one of its cards. “I Summon in Defense Position: “Kotodama”!” Outside the tower, a humanoid being was called forth, its pitch black skin covered from head-to-toe in bronze-colored runes. Its long, scarlet ponytail blew in the wind as its crimson eyes flashed, before letting out a long, piercing shriek that echoed through the area. “Kotodama’s ability prevents more than one card with the same name from being on the field at the same time,” Gabriel spoke up above the monster’s screaming, “which means that all of these Souls of the Faultless will vanish from the area!”

… … …

… … …

… … …

“... … uhm… am I… missing something…?” Gabriel spoke up after roughly a minute passed by without any changes to the area.

“... oh, funk me sideways with Terris’ drill,” Umbris uttered with shame, realization hitting him like a punch from Obelisk the Tormentor. “When I was observing them, I could sense that they were all interconnected somehow… and now I know why that is: they’re all the same monster!”

“What?!” Gabriel gasped in shock.

“Yeah, they’re like Exiled Forces and whatnot,” Umbris, currently making an indent in his face with his palm. “They’re a large group of individuals that make up a single card--of course they wouldn’t be affected by Kotodama.”

“So all you did was succeed in making the ears of anyone in the vicinity bleed from your monster’s screaming,” Mr. Zurkon sassed. “Congratulations, stupid luchador and panther.”

“HEY--!!”

A loud shrilling cry echoed from the largest of the distorted creatures summoned during this fight, the Heralded Eldrazi raising a large hand before balling up into a fist and slamming it into the tower, the vibrations causing Gabriel and Umbris to stumble and fall, with the luchador landing right on top of the Neo-Spacian (“OW, THE funk!!” yelped Umbris). Those taking part in Alexander’s “seance”, however, merely swayed a bit before returning to their original positions, their trance completely unbroken by the disturbance.

“... soooo,” Gabriel groaned as he and Umbris pulled themselves back to their feet, “got any other ideas?”

“Just one: keep reinforcing the tower,” Umbris declared as he quickly prepared his own Deck of cards. “I’m gonna head out and help Mr. Zurk--AACK!!”

And right on cue, the tower shook once again as another impact was made. This time, there was the faint sound of a crack as well. “That doesn’t sound good,” Gabriel quietly uttered as he quickly rummaged through the binder for a way to make any repairs to the tower. “We better act quickly, otherwise--”

The thunderous sound of another heavy impact rang through the air, but this time the tower did not shake. Peering out the window, Umbris and Gabriel saw the reason: Madama Styx, fully summoned, was now clashing against the Heralded Eldrazi with a punch of her own. “Cheers, loves, the cavalry's here!” Jeanne called out from atop Madama Styx’s left shoulder.

“Jeanne, aren’t you French, though?” Umbris sassed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Jeanne hissed back.

The Heralded Eldrazi, focused on the being now in its eyeless face, focused itself upon the demoness before attempting to grab her with a single large clawed hand. “Excuse you, no-one said you could TOUCH!” Jeanne declared as Madama Styx knocked the Heralded Eldrazi’s hand away with a strong backhanded fist. The moment she connected with the Eldrazi, however, she felt a little of her magical energy leave her, through the hand in question and into the monster. It only happened during the impact, but it was just enough to notice. “What in-- what just happened?” Jeanne blurted in confusion, sensing the slight loss of energy.

“Life...magic...it is food for us…” the Souls around them would say, almost in response. “We consume and reform, the colors of magic returned to their natural shifting state.”

“... sheet, so we can’t make direct contact with any of them…!” Umbris cursed.

“... so, wait, if they can drain what they make contact with…,” Gabriel mused as he remembered the rippling effect he saw from earlier, “... does that mean the very land, too…?!”

“Then obviously,” Mr Zurkon rudely interrupted, “the best option to dealing with these stupid aliens is to attack from afar!”

“Then from afar it is!” Jeanne replied as she threw one of her handgun up through a portal above her; seconds later, a larger portal appeared above Madama Styx, from which fell a much larger version of the same handgun into the Demoness’ hand. “Now, eat this, you JABRONI!” Quickly stepping back, Madama Styx fired her handgun straight at the Heralded Eldrazi’s face.

Well, a hole was left behind going clear through its head...but the scary part was the fact that it kept going, moving as if no such action had happened, making another attempt to grab the demoness with its elongated limbs.

“DRAINING SHIELD!” Umbris called out as he threw a Trap Card towards Madama Styx, conjuring a bizarre shield that equipped itself to the Demoness’ free arm; taking the hint, Madama Styx quickly moved her shield arm to block the Eldrazi’s hand, the energy from that strike being absorbed by the shield and transferred to Madama Styx, greatly invigorating the Demoness. “Wait… holy sheet, that’s a lot!!” Umbris blurted out upon sensing just how much energy Styx had absorbed. “That creature, it’s really that strong…??!!”

“Then we’ll need to try and remove as much of its strength as possible,” Gabriel decided after using a few “Castle Walls” to reinforce the tower’s structure. “It may take me a while, though, so keep that thing busy until then!”

Right on cue, yet another strike on the tower, this time towards the base, with both of its large claws held together into a single balled-up fist before connecting. A slight slant could be felt in the tower now as well, which is likely a cause for alarm. The Heralded Eldrazi seemed unfocused on what it was supposed to do, since it only interacted with Madama Styx when she started to face it. Gabriel took note of this, and decided to take advantage of this fact. “If it wants something to focus on, I’ll just give it something to focus on!” Pages in the card binder fluttering wildly in his search, the luchador pulled out the two cards needed for his plan: a “Marshmallon” which he quickly Summoned in Defense Position, and a “Ring of Magnetism” that was likewise equipped immediately to the squishy pink blob. “Marshmallon can’t be destroyed by battle, and the Ring of Magnetism equipped to it will ensure that the giant can assault only Marshmallon! Meaning that while it’s focused on attack something that it can’t kill by battle, Madama Styx and Zurkon can assault it without confrontation.”

“... no offense, Gabriel, but that’s just boring as all funk,” Jeanne grumbled with dissatisfaction.

“Mr. Zurkon agrees,” agreed Mr. Zurkon.

---

… … …


… … …


… … …





... Ratchet…


... hey, Ratch….


... oh, for Tyndarion’s sake, boy, wake up!

“Hrk…!” Ratchet snorted with a start as he finally came to, his eyes fluttering as they adjusted to the dimly lit area he now found himself to be in, no longer within the tower they had been in before and a slightly sharp pain on his cheek. “... how long was I out…?” Ratchet asked groggily to Alexander, Clank and Red, all of whom were gathered around him.

“Literally just a minute. Sheesh, you’re a rather heavy sleeper, huh, kiddo?” Alexander mused as he shook his head.

“You have no idea, Alexander,” Clank replied shaking his own head as he shot a knowing, squinty look at the young lombax.

“Well, he’s up now, at least,” Red chimed in, “so now we can all begin our “Grand Tour” of Alister’s Soul Room… … which, I might caution, is… how do you say, a tad untidy.”

“... uhh, Red,” Ratchet replied as he got a better look at their surroundings, “I’m pretty sure that this is much more than just “a tad”.” (“I’m aware boy, I was merely being facetious.”)

Within Alister’s Soul Room, the Rescue Team were surrounded by the horde of Altisters, all frozen in place, each stuck in a pose expressing anguish, confusion, resignation, sadness, (self-)anger… occasionally, an Altister would appear to briefly glitch, flinching for a fraction of a second as a fragment of a scream, yell or sob escaped their gaping mouth before returning to their original pose. “... what are these things?” Ratchet asked apprehensively, quite put-off by the sight. “These guys… they can’t all be Alister… can they?”

“From my understanding, no, not really,” Red explained. “They’re more like constructs, recorded and created whenever Alister died in another timeline. Time has repeated again and again, and each failure became a new “Altister” while Alister began again at the beginning of this entire farce. Different possibilities have taken place, and thus different Alisters were born. That is the gist of it, is it not Alex?”

“Pretty close, yeah,” Alexander confirmed. “They’re like programs, but each with their own personality and sentience. Really, REALLY sophisticated A.I., you could say. But now…,” Alex added with concern and uncertainty in his tone, “... now, something’s not only happened to Al, but the Altisters as well. What… what did Isamy do to Alister… to have caused this?”

“She revealed to him an inconvenient truth.” The group flinched at the sound of a deep voice that had addressed them. The owner of that voice approached them, the ornate, royal armor adorning his large frame giving off a faint golden gleam while his violet cape ruffled slightly behind him. “... sorry for disturbing you all,” the figure, Aligore Azimurr, uttered sheepishly with a faint, sad smile, his weary eyes filled with apology.

“... woof,” Red quietly blurted out before clearing his throat immediately after to cover the fact. “Ahem, apology accepted.”

“It’s fine, Your… Majesty?” Alexander replied in a forgiving gesture slightly muddled by his confusion. “You… don’t seem like the other Altisters here, assuming you even are one. I mean, you are related to Alister in some way, right?”

“That is correct, Alex,” Aligore answered, the smile he gave this time being much more easygoing. “I am, by virtue of being a SOUL--and a fusion of two SOULs, at that--not an Altister at all, though half of me is still Alister; the other half is that of the Monster King, Asgore Dreemurr.”

“... so, that would make you… “Aligore Azimurr”?” Ratchet slowly guessed--this was, of course, the first time Ratchet, Clank, Alex and Red have met the SOUL Fusion personally.

“Yes! Yes, my dear boy, you got it!” Aligore beamed joyously. “Oh, but enough about me--”

“--INDEED, CEASE WITH THIS NEEDLESS SEGUE,” I.T. angrily(?) snapped at Aligore as he suddenly appeared behind him, causing the General King to yelp in shock. “WE HAVE FAR MORE PRESSING MATTERS TO DEAL WITH.”

“Nice to see you again too, I.T.,” Alexander half-snarked.

I.T. Azimuth sighed wearily in response, removing his thick-framed glasses. “I do apologize, but we haven’t much time for pleasantries and introductions” he noted, his tone becoming noticeably more organic. “Time is of the essence, and unless we all hurry, Alister’s will soon run out.”

“Wouldn’t know what that is like” Red uttered under his breath. “I take it the girl’s little proclamation was a bit more damaging to Alister’s psyche than we expected?” the dragon elder figured.

“Very much so, yes,” I.T. nodded. “You see, this “inconvenient truth” that Aligore mentioned is not so much “inconvenient” as it is “near-mind-shattering”--”

“Well then what is it?!” Ratchet blurted impatiently.

“... I was getting to that,” I.T. calmly retorted, stowing his glasses away inside his parka. “Alister is here today due to a number of factors, the most damning of all so far being… that he was turned into a Distortion by Isamy herself, as a means of prolonging his life beyond the Great Clock Incident.”

“... an-and what’s that supposed to mean, exactly?” Ratchet implored, very much confused.

“As you know, the Distortions created by Isamy Maximus are the reason that the Multiverse has been collapsing. And if Alister was indeed made into a Distortion himself, then… … … ….” I.T. trailed off, his uncharacteristically prolonged silence made all the more unsettling by the pained look in his glowing yellow eyes. “Then… it means… … that the Time Loops that Alister has been stuck in... have been disrupting not only the dimensions… but Time itself…!”

Team Lombax stood in utter dismay, jaws dropped, eyes widened, at this revelation. “... as the number of Time Loops increased,” I.T. continued, his voice now hollow with despair, “each subsequent iteration of the Origin War became more… varied. And not just the conditions and properties of the Origin War itself, but all who became involved as well, within each iteration--be it the variety of the participants or the participants themselves, oftentimes both.”

“... so, the Time Loops end up randomizing a lot of factors, is what you’re saying. Aside from Isamy, the factions, and Alister being involved, that is,” Alexander calmly surmised.

“Exactly,” I.T. nodded. “But more than that, it was finding out the truth itself that brought such a crushing despair upon Alister… as well as most of the Altisters. We… we tried so hard to fix time, to keep it from becoming worse… to think that our collective actions have caused what we had hoped to prevent….”

“... a moment for an inquiry, Mr. I.T.,” Clank asked politely. “You say that “most of the Altisters” fell into despair--I would assume that is the reason why they all seem to be frozen in place. But, what of you? How have you retained your autonomy despite clearly being gripped by despair yourself?”

I.T. took a brief pause to let out a short breath, almost a small chuckle, as a faint, genuine smile crossed his lips. “As keenly observant as ever, Clank. I had always admired that about you….

“As Alexander had hypothesized, we Altisters are highly sophisticated, sentient A.I.. Due to the nature of how the Alister that gave rise to me had died in that timeline, I myself am far more self-aware of my being an A.I., and as such have made various… adjustments to myself to safeguard myself as much as possible from various threats, both external and... internal.”

“So you backed yourself up so you could reboot after the crash?” Red guessed. “Frequently, I would imagine.”

“That is correct. Though I was not entirely immune to falling to despair, I was still acutely aware of what was happening to all of us as I worked to put myself back together….” I.T. paused once more as he glanced down at his trembling palms. “... but, just barely.

“... still, having recovered myself,” I.T. continued, hiding his still-shaking hands in his pockets, “I began the procedure of rebooting other Altisters whom I hoped could help in bringing Alister back to his senses….”

I.T. turned his head to his right, with Team Lombax following his gaze to a pair of active Altisters a few yards away from them, both of whom Alexander managed to recognize: the leather-adorned Zayon, who held a thick, heavy-looking scrapbook in his arms; and another Altister wearing a pink argyle sweater vest, who went by the moniker of--

“MOONY?!” Alexander exclaimed in shock, causing the aforementioned Altisters to give a startled flinch at his loud declaration. “You restarted him, out of all the Altisters you could have picked?!” he questioned of I.T..

“It’s fine,” I.T. insisted calmly. “Moony’s prior behaviour is no longer present since the purging of Adrastos’ influence from Alister’s soul--Kaden made sure of that himself.”

(Red coughed awkwardly and turned his attention away from the conversation momentarily to hide his look of shame.)

“So, he’s no longer nucking futs?”

“That’s right.”

“... even so, then, for what purpose have you restored him?” Alexander pressed. “I mean, surely, you would’ve know of any other options.”

“He’s… necessary,” I.T. hastily replied, yet seemed to stumble halfway through his answer. The instant he did, he quickly averted his eyes from the sharp glare of suspicion Alexander shot his way.

“Whatever, can we just get to wherever Alister is now?” Ratchet interrupted impatiently. “The sooner we get him out of this mess--”

“--that won’t be easy, Ratchet,” Red interjected, “as we have no idea what sort of mental defenses that he would have put up, especially in his current mental state,” he mused while catching Zayon’s eye. “We don’t even know what else could be active within his psyche, what horrible thing could have awoken after breaking down, much like how Adrastos became active in my own mind when the Dark Gems and the Orichalcos took me over. Alister has seen a lot of terrors in his lifetime I am certain, so who knows which of his inner demons and how many of them have begun to roam free.”

“Reid’s right--w-wait, I meant “Red’s right”,” I.T. stammered, looking immediately flustered over his slip-up. “Guh, what’s happening to me....?”

“Well, I mean, it’s not like you’re wrong, “sweetheart”,” Red smirked a smirk shared by Zayon, who had stepped closer to overhear the conversation. “But I would imagine backing yourself up wouldn’t be a conventional process when there is so much, ahem, junk data that might have been backed up as well,” the dragon remarked while scowling at Moony.

“Either way,” Zayon spoke up as he positioned the thick book underneath his left arm, “we really do need to be careful around here, but also work with a mixture of caution and haste, if we’re to have any hope of getting Alister out of this mess--”

“--so, no one’s going to answer my question, then? Is that it?” Alexander insisted, a stern expression on his face that was both calm and (increasingly) furious at the same time.

“A-Alex…?” stammered Zayon.

♫”Alexander’s Suspicions”♫ (“Almost Hell Heaven”/New Danganronpa V3 OST)

Alexander’s glare was focused squarely on the three Altisters before him, scrutinizing them all down to their very being. “I would very much appreciate that the three of you quit jerking us around,” he requested as calmly as possible. “Alister’s life is at stake here, and it’s true that the sooner we take care of what’s going on here the sooner we can get him his help… but we need to know what’s going on with everything here--that our rescue mission hasn’t been compromised even before we got here, and that we can give ALL of you our trust,” he explained with emphasis on each point, his gaze settling firmly on Moony as he expressed the last point. “So, I will ask again, and I expect one of you to tell me the damned truth or so help m--!”

“--that’s why I’m here,” Moony calmly interjected, Alexander blinking with surprise and confusion at the Altister’s earnest response. “To reveal the truth behind my involvement in his whole ordeal… that is why I’ve been restored,” he explained, a pained, remorseful expression on his face.

“Wh…?” Alexander uttered, taken aback as he had anticipated at least a delayed answer to his inquiry. “W-Wait, what do you mean--?"

Alexander cut himself off as he and the others noticed a sound coming from nearby, as if someone were… crying? “What’s that?” Ratchet cautiously whispered.

“Sounds like a sad child,” Red surmised, curiously stroking at his chin. “... don’t tell me there was a timeloop in which Alister--if not everyone else--was regressed to--?”

“--no, there was no timeline that would be described as “Origin War Babies”, please perish that thought,” I.T. bluntly rebuked.

“Then what’s with that sound? Who’s making it?” Ratchet wondered.

“I can think of only one…,” Alexander uttered slowly as he and the others began looking about for the source of the sound. They didn’t spend much time searching, as Alexander quickly caught sight of the source: the scribble-like form of Too-Dee, sobbing in a fetal position a few yards away from the group. “... Too-Dee--?”

“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, ALEX,” Ratchet, Clank, Red, Aligore and the active Altisters called out in unison before the concerned Alexander could take more than two steps towards the crying Altister.

“W-Wha--?!” Alex stuttered, almost losing his balance from his sudden halt.

“Didn’t you just get done voicing your concern about this rescue mission being compromised?” Red explained.

“And yet you seem to have already forgotten that discussion as your caring nature quickly clouded your better judgment,” Clank surmised as he shook his head.

“Besides,” Ratchet joined in, “I.T. never said anything about rebooting that Altister, did he?”

“You’re… you’re right,” Alexander uttered, hastily backstepping to his original position.

“But then… what--or who--caused Too-Dee to awaken…?” Moony mused slowly, glancing over at I.T. in hopes of an answer.

“... … despair…,” Aligore quietly uttered in calm, ominous realization. “Recall Too-Dee’s origins; before his death, Too-Dee’s Alister was turned into one of LERNA’s familiars by her Sea of Despair…,” the General King explained, taking a pause to shiver slightly from the memory of his own experience with the Sea of Despair. “... Alister’s own despair may be awakening Too-Dee’s latent nature as a Witch’s Familiar… … but there’s… something else I am sensing… from the outside….” Aligore paused again, this time to look up towards the “sky”. “Something… stirring… also waiting to reawaken….”

“The Great Leviathan?!” Ratchet blurted out in horror, with Red also now on edge.

“No…,” Aligore answered as he lowered his head again, a look of clear dread in his eyes. “... LERNA.”

“Bu-But HOW?!” Ratchet exclaimed in horror. “I thought she was destroyed back in the Desert Seth!!”

“And yet her Grief Seed still remains?” Aligore questioned. “I would assume that the girl named “Lydia” was the one who ultimately defeated her, and acquired the Grief Seed afterwards… … that poor girl…,” he slowly segued, a horrible memory playing through his mind, “... t’would seem that her conflict with the Witch continues even in this timeline… … you see, in my timeline, shortly after I became who I am now, Lydia… sacrificed herself by fusing with LERNA directly, creating a Witch/Magical Girl Hybrid that called itself Ultimatum, the Witch of Endings. She wasn’t exactly in her right mind, and the conflict between the two resulted in them self-terminating out of sheer self-hatred during the Sphere Forest debacle, taking a good deal of the planet with it. Though it terrifies me to say it, it could be possible that this might be happening in this timeline as well! Although, I genuinely wonder what despair could be causing LERNA to reawaken. I do not believe Lydia to be close enough to Alister for LERNA to feed off his despair, so, logically, that would only mean….”

“... that LERNA... is feeding off Lydia’s own despair…!” Alexander realized. “But what could cause that much despair to awaken such an evil Witch?”

The group suddenly tensed up upon hearing a new sound coming from Too-Dee’s general area: a soft, somewhat disturbed giggling, intermixed with the sobbing from before. The giggling was slowly becoming more prominent, much to the group’s increasing anxiety. “Tee-hee-hee… so much… dees-peaw…,” Too-Dee twittered almost gleefully in his child-like voice. “The gurw, the gurw! So sad! So sad at aww her bye bye fwiends and bye bye famiwy. So sad, bye bye. So sad, mistwess feeds. Mistwess awaken soon, and Too Dee can come home! Dees-peaw takes gurw, dees-peaw takes you aww! Too-Dee take you too! Too-Dee… is… dees-peaw!”

“Too-Dee,” I.T. uttered, no longer bothering to uphold his stoic veneer, his voice showing a clear tone of fear, “you can’t succumb to your original urges, you have to--!”

“--have to what, exactly… I.T.?” Too-Dee interjected, his voice suddenly switching to a more familiar, yet icy tone… that of Alister’s. “What does the former Agent of the Mother Reaper hope to convey to “Poow Widdle Too-Dee”? To deny my very nature? Or did you honestly think that your little “reprogramming” would keep me from becoming what I was meant to be? What I truly AM?!” Too-Dee cut himself off to childishly giggle at I.T.’s mortified look. “Aww, boo-hoo, guess that faiwed, huh?!” he taunted in his childlike voice again. “But weawwy, what did you expect when Awistuh is feewing so much dewectable dees-PYA-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-AHH--!!”

The errant Too-Dee’s papery fur frizzled slightly, before he keeled over into a paper roll, either KOed, or possibly deactivated. The group looked at Red, the dragon’s hand still outstretched from carving a vicious Shock symbol in the air. “Oh, don’t look at me like that,” he said grumpily. “I’m a former villain here, and he was talking a little too much for my liking. It’s not noble, but get the psycho when they monologue, and you won’t have to deal with what comes next; usually two to four different forms and no breaks in between. I speak from experience here after all, as I believe a few others,” he added with a seering eye at I.T..

I.T. heaved a sigh, though not one of relief. “Well, we should thank our lucky stars that one of us didn’t leave their Genre Savviness at the door… or forget it momentarily, ALEXANDER.”

“Oh, c’mon, what’d’ya want from me?” Alexander huffed. “I can’t exactly “deny my own nature” of being a “bleeding heart”, right?” he questioned, glancing between I.T. and Ratchet.

“In any event, Red did succeed in shortening this hassle… somewhat,” I.T. declared.

“What do you mean, “somewhat”?” Red huffily question.

“What I mean,” I.T. explained, “is that all you did was cut Too-Dee’s “psycho monologue” short and dispatched of just one of his multiple forms. The good news, if you could call it that, is that he only has one other form left… his true form.”

“Which is…?” Red, Ratchet and Alexander questioned in unison.

“The form he had... at the time of his original self’s destruction,” I.T. confessed, casting a cautious glance at the singed and ruffled paper form on the floor. “His… Witch Form--”

I.T. stumbled out of the way as Alexander and Red launched a barrage of various elemental spells at Too-Dee’s crumpled form, desperate to eliminate any trace of the Troy from being able to arise as its true self. They did not cease until a full minute had passed, slightly winded from their vigorous endeavor as they looked upon their handiwork: a pile of ash where Too-Dee once lay. “I… really didn’t like having to do that,” Alexander confessed between pants, “but… at least… Too-Dee won’t have to--”

“You make it sound like it’s over,” Red sighed.

Alexander sighed in response. “Knowing my luck… yeah, I think you have a point.”

What occurred next played out almost like a scene from a Slasher flick: the group recoiled and shrieked in terror as they witnessed a single, stick figure-like arm suddenly burst out from within the ash pile, its clawed fingers curled around what looked like a sketchy, cut-out version of Alister’s pocket watch. A deranged, high-pitched cackling echoed from the pile as the pocket watch began to transform (or rather, crumple itself up) into a form reminiscent of a Grief Seed, before a darkly technicolored mass erupted from the ash pile, knocking the group backwards and off their feet. Out of this dark mass a figure arose, adorned in heavy, ornate armor that was jagged at the shoulders and sides of the helmet, and gripped in its hand was a two-ended trident, with two prongs on each end. The aforementioned helmet hid the figure’s face (unless, of course, it was its face), but the group could tell that it was now staring them down with contempt and malice.



“I commend your effort to be rid of me before my proper reawakening,” the Witch addressed the group before him, his Alister-like voice echoing from within his helmet, “however much for naught it may have been. Now, though, you shall all face the might of Gaius, High Knight of LERNA and Witch of Second Chances.”

“It was worth a try,” Red sighed wearily.

“So much for sequence breaking,” Alexander joined in sighing.

“... mine’s better,” Aligore scoffed at Gaius’ weapon.

“Of all things, that’s what you choose to address, dude?” Ratchet retorted.

“Why not?” Aligore shrugged.

Gaius condescendingly laughed at Aligore. “Now now, Your Highness, don’t you recall? It’s not the weapon that matters, but how you use it! And you shall all soon see how I use all at my disposal to dispose of you--!”

“Oh, zip it,” I.T. snapped, completely done with this whole debacle. “Aligore, you assist the others in fighting the Witch while I provide support from the sidelines. I’m sure I need not remind you all to be quick about this, either,” he added as he placed his glasses back on. “TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE, AFTER ALL.”

(♫ “Fight Against Gaius” ♫ / “NEW T.A.”, New Danganronpa V3)

“Come to me!” Gaius called out as he snapped his fingers, conjuring a trio of faceless, Too-Dee-like Troys to his side, each armed with a spear in hand.

“Not sure what you hope to accomplish with those things, but suit yourself!” Ratchet taunted as he lobbed an Incendiary Grenade at Gaius. To the young lombax’s surprise and irritation, one of Gaius’ Troys jumped in the way of the Grenade’s trajectory, getting itself blown up and reduced to ashes, the Familiar having served its purpose of aiding its master. “Oh great, lemme guess--”

“--the Troys will be taking hits for Gaius while there is even one still active,” I.T. chimed in. “To have a chance at getting to him, you must first either destroy them, or knock them down with a critical hit or by exploiting their weakness.”

“And you didn’t bother telling us this beforehand WHY?!” Ratchet demanded.

“You need to press “L1” for my analysis,” I.T. answered flatly.

“HOW IN THE HELL--?!”

“Nevermind that, Ratchet,” Alexander interjected. “I.T., would you analyze one of the Troy for us?”

“Certainly,” I.T. complied, his eyes flashing green as he focused his gaze on one of the Troy. “... weak against Electric attacks. Remember to make use of that… oh, and you’ll be able to chain a second attack if you Down an enemy or hit an enemy’s weakness.”

“Again, something that would’ve been nice to know AHEAD OF TIME!” Ratchet chided.

“Still, it helps,” Alexander nodded as he gestured the shape of a lightning bolt with a rapier in his hand. “Thundaga!”

Several bolts of lightning fell from above, striking not just one Troy, but every (remaining) Troy at the same time. Annoyingly, the two Troys still managed to block the attack from hitting Gaius, but nonetheless, they were Downed for the turn, much to Gaius’ own displeasure. “Okay, the pawns are gone, now we move in for the king, right?” Red (one of nature’s natural sandbox and free-roaming players) figured.

“The pawns won’t be able to protect him for the moment, so yes, Red,” I.T. confirmed, “the King is now yours to “crown”.”

“Splendid~” Red purred with mirthful glee. “Now, anything we should know about before proceeding? I’m “pressing L1”, by the way, if that needed clarifying.”

“Gaius has no weaknesses, if that’s what you were hoping to know,” I.T. replied. “Although he does has a resistance against Gun attacks. Yes, that is despite having no armor around his chest. Ironic, is it not?”

“Well, that resistance has no effect on me, then,” Red shrugged.

“Actually, Red, I do believe it’s still my turn,” Alexander interjected matter-of-fact, “but don’t worry, I’m not about to steal your thunder. In fact, I’m about to boost all our thunder!” Waving and flicking his rapier through the air like a baton, Alexander conducted an unseen orchestra to perform the “Army’s March”, boosting the entire team’s attack power for the next three turns.

“Well, you certainly don’t skip a BEAT, do you Alex?” Red quipped as he cast a multi-hit Shock Spell, striking Gaius and his Downed Troys simultaneously, the Familiars disintegrating with a collective gargled shriek. “And now you’ve lost your meatshields, Gaius,” the Dragon Elder taunted, much to the Witch’s irritance.

“My turn, now,” Aligore declared as he accessed his Menu:

[ FIGHT] [ ACT] [ ITEM] [ MERCY]
 

* CHECK * BURN
* TEA TIME * RALLY
* FUSION SPECIAL

A fire ignited within the palm of Aligore’s right hand, which the General King raised high above his head. “Embers waltz like windswept blossoms…!” he recited as he snapped the fingers of his raised hand. A second later, Gaius was assaulted by a fiery energy that erupted before him like a flower in bloom, leaving a cascade of petal-like embers surrounding his area that would inflict damage to Gaius (and any Troys he may summon again) after every action they take for the next three turns.

With the Rescue Team’s turns done, it was now Gaius’ time for payback; he began by summoning forth four new Troys to fight by his side and/or be his meatshields. He then took a second turn immediately afterwards (“Hey…!” Ratchet protested) to boost his group’s Defense with Grief Seed Shell (Marakukaja). And then proceeded to take a third turn (“EXCUSE YOU!!!” Ratchet protested harder) in order to throw his trident, Comet Strike-style, at Ratchet. The trident’s shaft bounced off the top of the lombax’s head, disorienting him and dealing a decent amount of damage, but otherwise Ratchet was relatively fine. Due to having taken 3 turns, however, Gaius had taken some additional burn damage from Aligore’s “Waltzing Windswept Ember Blossoms”. (“... seriously? That’s the name you come up with?” Red cheekily scoffed at Aligore, making the General King blush with embarrassment.)

The four Troys, collectively, made their own attacks at once (mostly to save time writing the damned sequence): two of them threw their spears at the Group, damaging Red and Ratchet (the former having the spear bounce of his scales, the latter getting grazed), one dealing a Bufula attack against Alexander (yet not having much effect on him), and the last one… just lollygagging.

“... okay, show of hands,” Ratchet chimed in as he raised his own hand. “Who else here thinks that we can do this fight with the turn-based nonsense?”

“I agree,” Clank replied, raising his arm. “This is already proving to be a waste of time.”

“Same here, admittedly,” Alexander responded likewise.

“Aye,” Red sighed.

“... the Alister in me agrees,” Aligore said almost relentingly.

“I also concur,” I.T. replied.

“We’re not even part of this fight, and we agree,” Zayon chimed in as he and Moony both raised their hands.

“... … … …” Though Gaius was eerily silent at first, the group could help but find it amusing when even he and his Troys raised their hands.

“Then it’s unanimous,” I.T. declared as he tapped a few symbols on his control panel, “we will disengage the Turn-Based Combat aspect of this fight. Proceed as normal.”

No longer restricted to turns, the combatants got to work immediately, with Aligore deflecting the barrage of spears thrown by the Troys with his Trident Wrench, Ratchet having his own WrenchGun blasts deflected by Gaius’s own trident, and Alex and Red hanging back and preparing Spells to support the Team and deal with the Troys, respectively.

[The Warden]

Serve.

 

It could be said that Hades' memory wasn't the best, though that is understandable when you're naught but a soul trapped within a collective. If he wasn't, he might have understood the difference between Protheus' weapons, and Arturia's. Hopeless Black twitched as it dug deeper into Butlerok's body, and within the realm of souls, many glowing eyes presided in the darkness. And water, though it wasn't quite water, more like some foul liquid that pretended to be water seeped in, washing at the duo's ankles and rising to their knees,keeping them from running, as you cannot run from despair. And forming this dark ocean of despair was the ghostly memory of the Witch of Infinite Possibility.
 
 


 

Flickering between semi-solid to nearly gone, the former Witch regarded her two new subjects that her Water of Despair had entangled.

 

D-Do! You shall do! Save host! Save girl! Souls! Maybe just souls now! But more than souls! More than just powers to abuse! Arise again! Arise as living. Arise as... Familiars!

 

 

The dark ocean twisted and writhed around Gyokuen and Hades, their souls fading away into the spheres of despair surrounding them, so they could be reforged real and anew as powerful Familiars. Ones with their own wills, their own minds yes, but Familiars nonetheless.

 

GO! Save your master! Save the girl!

 

Sending the spheres up and out of Butlerok, they became the closest hope LERNA had now to freeing Lydia, so her fall into despair could become complete.

 

 

---

 

Hapshiel hmmed to himself in thought as he regarded the prison he was in. "So... it's a solo play, is it?" he mused with deadly serious. Tilting his head to the side, the angel couldn't help but simper as his body seized up, his back tightening and his hips swishing. "OOOOOOOHHHHHHH that wicked boy knows just what I like. Mmmmmm~ I don't even know how long I could even contain being forced into this tight little bubble. I think I might just come prematurely if this keeps up" he seethed in unrelenting ecstasy.

[Phantom Roxas]

Previously, on Yu-Gi-Oh!…

 

[The Pathway to Remembrance]

Twilight of the Gods

 

[spoiler=Twilight of the Gods - Chapter 3]Eria could feel herself floating. She was still, her vision nothing but a blur. She couldn’t move, even if she wanted to. Not that she did. Protheus had summoned a clone of Eria, and it was that clone which dropped a colossal icicle crashing down on her and the others. For a moment, Eria wondered if that had killed her, but as water gently passed over her body, it proved that she wasn’t finished yet. Not by a long shot. This girl simply refused to die.

 

…up, Eria. Get. Up.

 

Sounds echoed around her. Voices. Voices, and a single, monstrous roar.

 

Eria turned within the pool of water. At her command, the water lifted her up to the surface, and she planted her feet on the water. There was no sky above her. All around her, she saw scales on a canvas, a tent raised around her. It didn’t take her long to recognize this tent. The Leviathan had transformed into its Gestalt Mode. She couldn’t see Gagagigo, Sora, Kairi, or even Protheus. Aside from Eria, there was only one other person within this tent. Herself.

 

“...”

 

Eria’s dark counterpart cautiously moved her gaze across this new environment of scales, glancing at the water below her feet, gripping her divine Staff of Armadyl. She rose her staff up to the Gestalt Leviathan, and the crystal upon it glowed - only to falter. Whatever this was, it was beyond even her ability to charm. Although she did not quite understand what this place was, she did know it provided the perfect environment for ‘Eria’ to battle in.

 

~ Mirror, Mirror Part II ~

 

“Neat,” Void Eria muttered, a trace of disgust in her distorted voice. From the corner of her eye, she watched her counterpart. Bubbles of water rose around her, turning black as they surrounded her body in anticipation of a battle. “Is this your doing? Do you think to fight me here, separate from the Lake? It changes nothing.”

 

Eria hadn’t done any of this. She was just as surprised as her doppelganger. She hadn’t commanded the Leviathan to assume its Gestalt Mode. How could…?

 

…Megiddo had done this, hadn’t he?

 

“Oh, but it changes everything, doesn’t it?”

 

Eria shivered. Resting a clawed hand upon her shoulder was Megiddo himself. “You?! How did you-”?

 

Megiddo pressed a finger to her lips. Eria could feel nothing, but his command was clear. Even if he was not physically here, she could still feel the sensations as if he was truly touching her. “Do not fret. I am not there. Not really. But I can still see you, from far, far away. This is nothing but a projection, designed to observe what is about to happen. Truly, I had not expected Omega to have another you under his service!”

 

“Omega…?”

 

Megiddo crossed his arms. “The one you call… Protheus Maximus, was it? But do not let me distract you too much. I assume you know why I am here?”

 

"Each action you make, even the most insignificant step you take, causes a new reality to form. The paths you forge grow more and more distant. I would see them cross back together. No alternates. No worlds that are decided by questions like 'What if?' Just a single world. Where all of creation is gathered together. I wish for you to fuse with your counterpart so that neither of you are redundant. By becoming one, only then will you be a unique being. One cannot truly be called 'unique' if they can be so easily defined as a counterpart to another."

 

Eria turned to the other Eria. To think that there could even be “another” Eria was exactly what Megiddo had told her about. That neither of them were unique. Both of them had made their own choices. One fought for the Counter Corps, to save the multiverse, while the other followed Protheus. How could they be such drastically different people, yet still be the same? Megiddo had told Eria her Focus. And now, standing before her, was the opportunity to fulfill it, exactly as Megiddo had asked.

 

“I won’t do it!” Eria screamed. Patches of ice began to form along the pool, and icicles were sprouting. Eria held her Keyblade close, and the icicles began to twist in place, each one forming into the fine shape of a rapier, not unlike Eria’s Keyblade.

 

As the ice-rapiers launched forward, Eria ran. Her feet danced along the water, splashing as she kept her attention on her… she shouldn’t call her a reflection. This was her enemy, she reminded herself. “Thunder!” Using any element other than water or ice felt alien to her, but that was the power the Keyblade allowed her. She couldn’t just fight herself with the same elements that she could manipulate. She had to be creative, and that meant relying on new power. Power that would scare even herself.

 

Although the other Eria was more confused with her strange proclamation, this alien use of magic was certainly unexpected. The pre-prepared bubbles raced to her rescue, expanding into giant orbs of water that together withstood the full brunt of the Thunder. As the lightning coursed through them, the orbs shook and exploded into vapor; just barely negating that attack. She would make sure to be much more prepared for the next assault. Raising the Staff of Armadyl, Void Eria raised her eyes in mild surprise. “So, you also strayed from the path of a Water Charmer. Wielding a strange weapon, using strange magic… and accompanied by strange allies.”

 

And just like that, Void Eria broke off into a sudden sprint, moving in a circle around her counterpart. More and more bubbles were generated around her, turning black. It appeared that she was imbuing each and every one with the element of Darkness, the two elements melded in an almost-impossible harmony, raising their resistance against more lightning attacks - and once they were ready, she flicked them forth like bullets. Firing at the other Eria’s body.

 

“I seriously wonder, what is the difference between us?!”

 

Eria raised water around her as the bubbles collided together and exploded. However, Eria appeared unscathed, and a ring of ice now surrounded her where the bubbles all were. “I haven’t strayed from my path. Kairi trusted me with the power of the Keyblade, and I am still the same Water Charmer that Lady Doriado taught. When all this is done, I will return home, and bring all my friends back. There is still much for me to learn, and I will continue to be a Water Charmer!”

 

Eria aimed with her Keyblade again, and this time, a sphere of black and purple energy appeared around Void Eria. As the other Charmer felt weight pressure intensifying against her, she found her body actually sinking into the water. Once she’d been submerged up to her neck, she came to a halt as the Staff of Armadyl gave resistance. Watching her opponent carefully, Eria continued. “Wynn… your Wynn. She told me something. There was a war. Lady Doriado traveled to the Magical City of Endymion to seek help, but everyone was worried that she would never return. Everyone, except you. You… we still believed in her. Until you joined the Gishki, and brought Lady Doriado down. Wynn told me that my faith in Lady Doriado is misplaced, but I don’t believe that.”

 

Eria looked towards Megiddo. He had crossed his legs over each other, sitting in midair. He was simply watching, and doing nothing. Not even uttering the slightest piece of temptation. Eria worried about asking too much, anything that give him the slightest bit of satisfaction, but she needed to know. “I think that we’re so different because of what happened back then. Please… tell me everything. About the war. Why you joined the Gishki. What could have pushed Lady Doriado to become a Shadowpriestess of Ohm. And more than any of that... why you believe in Protheus Maximus.”

 

Void Eria watched her counterpart with equal carefulness; their eyes were exactly the same, yet one had light in it whereas the other was only hollow. There was a sense that she had the ability to shatter the gravity spell upon her and strike back with overwhelming force, to take advantage of this moment of weakness. And yet, when faced with a different path of herself, a herself who was as ignorant as she was idealistic, Void Eria chose to put her master’s wishes aside for now. And respond to this farce of a conversation.

 

“You wish to know about the War of Darkness. It won’t change this battle’s RESULT, and it won’t achieve ANYTHING, you do know that? Unless you were actually there, it won’t sink in... But I can tell you... if you want to know that much. On one condition.” The corrupted blue-haired girl moved her gaze elsewhere. To the sides of the Gestalt tent, to what lay outside it. To a certain blaring fact she’d noticed, yet had chosen to put aside to concentrate on the battle. To an impossibility she tried to ignore the existence of. “An equivalent exchange… I guess you could say… I ask to know just one thing.”

 

“Name it,” Eria answered, without a hint of hesitation. Even Megiddo sat forward, steepling his fingers in anticipation.

 

Water around the Void Eria gathered together, solidifying into a strange adorned mirror. The Mirror of the Gishki. It floated above her, its image slowly changing from a reflection to a projection of another place. To, judging by the abundance of snow, somewhere close by in the Pathway to Remembrance?

 

“W… Why…” Void Eria paused, and took a short, quick breath. Her eyes gazed unblinkingly at it, as if in a trace. A vision, a dream, a dark memory passing through her. “It doesn’t make sense. Everything else, I understand. But… Why? Why? WHY? WHY?!”

 

The image in the mirror finally solidified---

 

---it showed a certain green lizard, lying unconscious in the snow...

 

---it changed to show that certain lizard, fighting side by side with Eria...

 

---it changed again to show that certain lizard, journeying alongside Eria and the others right as they arrived at the Lake of Remembrance...

 

---it changed yet again, closing in on the face of that lizard, on the damned face of that green, scaled mechanical lizard that calmly hulked over the others. An anomaly like no other. Brave, content, happy with his purpose, normal, trusted, at the ready, a comrade like any other, a FRIEND even…The very idea of this fuelled her with an emotion that nothing else could. Hatred - hatred for Gogiga Gagagigo.

 

“This is what I want to know.

W h y i s t h a t f u c k e r w i t h y o u , E r i a ?”

 

Eria narrowed her eyes. For a moment, it was almost funny. She should have felt threatened. She should have felt afraid for Gagagigo. Instead, she smiled. She forced a soft, quiet chuckle. “So, that’s what sets us apart.” Outside of the Leviathan, the others were still fighting. Gagagigo was barely hanging on, but she could still feel his presence. And Arthur… he had to be safe. “He’s with me because he’s protected me. I was afraid I’d lose him forever, especially when he was fighting for the Divine. But most importantly… he came back to me. And as soon as I found him again, I saw all the guilt in his heart. It’s… what I love about Arthur, too. No matter what either of them have done, I know that they both want to make things right. I can hate them for what happened in the Shadow Realm, but I see the good in their hearts.”

 

Void Eria stared at her with hidden emotions; thoughts were coursing violently through her mind, thoughts she was trying her best not to display. Yet one thing she couldn’t help but keep focusing on slipped out. “came...back…?”

 

Eria approached her counterpart. Slowly, and looking back at Megiddo every few steps. “And weren’t you the same way? Because that’s what Hiita and Wynn told me. You were the last hope out of all of them. Executing Lady Doriado? Maybe you’re right, I wouldn’t understand unless I was there. I can’t imagine what you’ve been through, and I wouldn’t say this to anyone else. But… I think I know myself well enough that I can say this. You… you gave up, didn’t you? If this was about Gagagigo, I could understand anything else. If you hadn’t found him, and you were jealous that I had, you could hate me for that. But you gave up on him, just like you gave up on Lady Doriado. There are some people I don’t think I can forgive. But for you to cut yourself off so completely from forgiving anyone, not even Gagagigo… I don’t think I could live with myself, being like that. Being like you.”

 

Void Eria remained silent. It was impossible to tell what was going on in her head, what she was actually thinking.

 

Yet...with each passing moment, that expression on her face only darkened and darkened, a bottle of unstable emotions that was getting harder to keep contained. Her teeth clattered. Her fists tensed. She rose back up from the water, unflinchingly GLARING at her own counterpart. Hatred, and anger, of an intensity her counterpart was unfamiliar with, was seeping out towards her.

 

“You… You really don’t understand. You weren’t there, and you can’t say for sure what you would’ve done in my situation. I don’t… You… HE!” Her eyes panicked for a second, moving to the mirror which remained on Gagagigo. “WHAT HE…!” Struggling to find the words, she turned back to Eria. “Giving up… is NOT what I did.” And paused, recollecting her thoughts. “I know nothing of this Arthur, and I know nothing of your Gagagigo. To me, our past with Gigobyte was a pipe dream. Really, it’s clear to me that I do not know love like you do. But you… You don’t know hate like I do.” Void Eria sighed. “Still, you are me. We’re the same existence, branched into two different experiences, two different futures. I know myself better than anyone, and I know I would understand. You will understand.”

 

“I like her,” Megiddo added. “She understands how this works far more easily than you seem to.”

 

“Shut up!” Eria sent a splash of water against Megiddo. The water passed over him, though his projection seemed to flicker for a moment.

 

A violet card appeared in Megiddo’s hand, and he held it intently. “‘The Paths of Destiny,’” he read. “A warrior stands at a crossroads. One path leads to power, but his heart succumbs to the darkness. But should he take the path to light, he gives up that power, and discovers salvation. So I offer you a question, Eria. Could her war have been the crossroads for you, where the dark path leads to this ‘other’ Eria, and you believe yourself to walking the path to light? Or perhaps, for you to meet here and now, that is your crossroads? Do you seek the power to defeat her, or even Omega, or do you believe that there is still hope for this one? Can you save her, Eria? Can you save yourself?”

 

Eria looked at her counterpart. Maybe she was right. Even with Megiddo watching, could Eria really say she hated him, even as much as the other Eria hated so much else in her life? She wanted to forgive. She wanted to believe that redemption was possible. She wanted to understand this girl, this other version of herself. What she could have been.

 

“When you look at me,” Eria began, “What do you see? Do you hate me? Have you ever thought for a second, what if things had turned out differently?”

 

“I look at you, and I see a fantasy,” Void Eria responded. “With a grownup Gigobyte and a dream boy at your side, plus actual control over our very Lords? You’re such an unrealistic fantasy that it hurts me to even look at you. I don’t hate you… Merely everything I see around you.” She stopped, at that last question. “Right now, I just wonder. Do you exist because I fantasized of you?”

 

Eria stood still. “I know you’re here to fight me… kill me, if you have to. Because that’s what Protheus wants. But we’re talking now, so if you want, let’s keep it that way.” With a flick of her wrist, she dismissed her Keyblade. “If you think of me as some kind of fantasy, who am I…” I’m not just some card, Eria reminded herself. Not a piece in some game. But what she was talking about, with her other self, this was about something else. This was real. “I guess there might be some truth to that. And maybe you… represent something similar, for me. Of what I’m afraid of becoming. But control of the Gods isn’t something I want. That’s something that was forced on me. And I-”

 

Eria’s head throbbed, as if she was suddenly staring into a blinding light. She held her head, as another voice called out to her.

 

“What are you doing?” Megiddo asked.

 

Eria… I don’t know if you can hear me, but I would tell you this all the same.

 

That voice… it was Lord Slifer’s. He sounded so… so sad. Weak. Was He still fighting that monster that Protheus had summoned?

 

Thank you, for showing Me the true strength of humanity. I have so much I wish I could say. Of how I proud of you I am. But perhaps we may meet again. I am only sorry that I…… no. Now is not the time for apologies. Go. Defeat Protheus Maximus!

 

What was He talking about? Why did He sound like He was saying goodbye? Unless… no. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t have possibly been true. It shouldn’t be.

 

Eria fell into the water as she began to realize what had just happened. Slifer the Sky Dragon and the Winged Dragon of Ra were dead. And yet, Slifer was proud of her. In His final moments, all he could think was that He was proud of her? He believed she could defeat Protheus, but how could she? It wasn’t that Eria controlled the Gods. She relied on them.

 

…Had she truly abandoned the path of a Water Charmer? Or did that feel like nothing now? To become Butler’s clown, to receive the gods out of Dorian’s desperation, to survive LERNA, Solasiro, Xansvita, Ophelia, the Madara, the Pathways… even her friends. The last thing Ra had done was kill Hiita, right in front of her. Because it had to be done. But now, there was no one here to tell her what had to be done. All she had was Megiddo’s taunting, and her reflection’s pure spite.

 

Eria turned her body, and manipulated the water to push her back up. She was lying on her back, looking up at her counterpart. She coughed up water, and after a moment of silence, spoke once again to her counterpart, all the while lying on the pool. “You said that no matter what I learned about your war, it wouldn’t change anything. I don’t believe that. Killing Hiita and Wyn… it didn’t make me happy. If there was any other way I could win this, I would. I feel like I’m losing everything. Even with Gagagigo back, it just feels like I have someone who knows what I’ve lost, than to really enjoy what it means to see him again. To have a chance to start over. And the Door of Origin is so close. I still have a chance to save everyone.” Eria turned again, forcing her body up until she was kneeling along the surface. “But you… you never had that chance. I… I’m sorry about what I said. That you gave up. I’ve only had these last few days to process everything. No matter how much we talk, you’ve had to carry all that pain for longer than I have, and here I am thinking I can just wipe it all away, as if that never happened.”

 

Eria slowly raised herself, and stood up once more. “But the Gods believed in me. I’m giving Gagagigo a second chance. I have friends just outside this Leviathan, who are waiting for me. They’re fighting Protheus, and I have to help them. For everything we have in common, and even what makes us so different, I need you understand that I have to stop Protheus, one way or another. Even if that means I have to go through you.”

 

“You have the opportunity, Eria,” Megiddo said coldly. “If Omega is your enemy, then I urge you to not waste any more time. If you choose to fulfill your Focus, I can take you both, and merge you into one. Together, you may just be powerful enough to defeat him.”

 

Eria didn’t look at him. “You could do that already if you wanted to, couldn’t you?”

 

“I could. But I would rather know what your decision would be.”

 

The other Eria had no idea who she was talking to, but gazed up towards the scaled ceiling, where the sky ought to be. For some time, it had been rumbling, shaking, as though a large object had been constantly clashing with it for the past few minutes. “…hm.”

 

Then, at last, a crystalline icicle penetrated through the tiniest of gaps before it sealed back up; the icicle was quick to shoot all the way down by Void Eria’s side, stopping directly next to her. It appeared to be a tiny fragment from the Lake of Remembrance attack, a shard no larger than a pencil, gradually pointing towards Eria.

 

“Let yourself be struck, and see what I have seen. If you can say after that, with confidence, that your path is still right... Only then might I actually pay attention to that nonsense idealism of yours.”

 

Eria watched the shard, and with a deep breath, she nodded. And with that, the shard fired.

 

It tore straight into her skin, and immediately, Eria felt all of her senses being submerged in water. Not calming, but raging around with immense, cruel pressure, mercilessly sucking out the oxygen in her lungs. She was powerless, her strength sapped away, and somehow had no control over this overwhelming surge of liquid coming from within - it took seconds until her consciousness drifted away…

 

---

The War of Darkness had changed everything.

 

A tragedy that had ravaged the world so, consuming it in chaos and destruction. The almighty Dark, eager to turn all the lands to its own attribute and create eternal night. The Light called to rally the other elements under a single cause. But the four elements; Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water were so caught up in their own struggles that they refused to cooperate, and hence each fought against the darkness alone. Everyone was caught up in it, whether they liked it or not. When forces advanced upon the Charmers’ secret training ground, they had believed in Doriado above all to rescue them. And yet, the fabled Elemental Mistress never showed up when she was needed most, forcing them to scatter just to survive.

 

Rather than return to her village, Eria the Water Charmer chose to consign herself into the Gishki Army to aid in the war effort, and temporarily changed her name to Ariel so the others wouldn’t try to find her. She abandoned her old life, in the hopes that the darkness may be beaten, that a peaceful future may be secured.

 

The battles blurred by in a mess of death as her mind shut itself to the cruelty of it all. Honing her skills over water, her training and her desperation to survive pushed to their very limits. The darkness advanced, only growing stronger each time it was pushed back. It seemed that the war would never end…

 

But still, Eria the Water Charmer kept up hope. Hope that, the more she struck down, the closer she got towards the end. The memories from that point blurred and blended together. Many hopes were crushed. Many horrors were witnessed. Many lives were lost.

 

Nine months after being consigned, memories of one particular time stood out.

 

She remembered the platoon that raided the Magical City of Endymion to free it from enslavement by the darkness. She remembered specifically requesting to be on the main assault team, hoping to potentially get answers into ‘that’ event in her past. And she remembered confronting that domain’s assigned leader, allied wholly to the darkness. The witch who possessed the forbidden Spellbook of the Master. The Shadowpriestess of Ohm, enshrouded in a giant cloak of shadows, sacrificing her servants without hesitation just to use them as cannon fodder. A true monster.

 

It was immediately clear that the Shadowpriestess was merely toying with them. The Water Charmer’s allies were obliterated, one by one, and for some reason the sorceress had chosen to toy with her in particular. Still, because of that, she wasn’t going to let their deaths go to waste. When yet another barrage had ended, she charged forth, combined with her Reliever to become Evigishki Mind Augus, and was about to end her life when-

 

“Eria, my dear… Don’t you recognize me?”

 

How did the Shadowpriestess know that name? The transformed Eria tore her mask off, to reveal the truth.

 

“It can’t… It can’t be… IT CAN’T!”

 

As soon as it was revealed, the woman had proceeded to use their former memories together against her. Bringing up how they used to train, the strong bond they’d shared, even that secret she had to keep - and all the while insisting that she was indeed Lady Doriado. That she’d simply come to realize the truth, and the beauty, of darkness. She asked Eria to surrender to the darkness, to join her and rule over Endymion.

 

Pretending to accept gave Eria the golden opportunity to take her down at long last. The monster was separated from her Spellbook and detained, and Endymion fell under the control of the Gishki.

 

A part of the Water Charmer admittedly hoped her former master would’ve gone back to normal afterwards. That it was only a spell, or brainwashing, or even possession if she was so lucky. Eria visited her cage constantly over the next few weeks, trying to talk to her, trying to get some information or some answers out, anything. However, it was clear that the Elemental Mistress was truly gone.

 

It was only on the night of Shadowpriestess’s execution where she finally received an answer.

 

“Please. Tell me, what happened to you, master…?”

 

“I suppose… There is no point in silence.” The dark sorceress was unusually melancholic. “Long ago, I journeyed to the Magical Citadel, for the sole purpose of saving you children from the oncoming darkness… I was so certain that the Master Magician would help, but to my surprise he refused. He was afraid of the Invader of Darkness. All he wanted was to prepare his own people for the war. I knew there was only one option left...and stole the forbidden Spellbook. I understood very well that it was a grimoire of immense black magic. But in my foolishness, I believed I could wield its power to save everyone.”

 

“It held such knowledge, such ability beyond my imagination. Suddenly, everything else seemed insignificant. My mind was wiped by this parasite that drove me mad with power. The darkness it contained was so beautiful… It tears me apart to be away from it. Even now, the Spellbook is all I can think about… I cannot cast without it. I cannot feel without it. I must have it back, Eria, my dear. Please, won’t you get it back?”

 

The Water Charmer’s expression had slowly started to change during her story. From concern and pity, and a tinge of hope...to simple disgust. To hatred.

 

“Lady Doriado… That night, I was waiting for you, you know?” She muttered. “At the very last hour, when the forces of darkness were pouring into the forest, I was waiting for you. When everyone else gave up hope, I was waiting for you. I believed in you until the very end, you know?” Her fists clenched. “And you tell me… you were busy… being DRUNK WITH POWER?!”

 

It felt as though a pedestal had dropped and shattered at last, after having held out hope that there was some reasonable explanation for this turn of events.

 

After that outburst, the girl left. A part of her understood why it happened. However, it didn’t mean she could condone it. If the Mistress had only just gone back and explained the situation, they could’ve escaped elsewhere, together - it was because of her master’s weakness that everyone had to go through such suffering.

 

On the day of the execution, Eria was absent while the Shadowpriestess was executed by drowning. All in front of a crowd of strangers who’d never heard the name ‘Doriado’ before. If she was there, she might’ve felt regret - and she couldn’t possibly bear to continue if she did.

 

That was why she marched onwards. As a soldier, battling for the future...whatever that was.

Her foundation was truly shook, yet she remained steady, forcing herself to carry on fighting. During this time Eria sent letters to the other Charmers; feeling the duty to inform them of the what of what occurred. For a long time, that was the only correspondence she ever afforded to her old friends. The only time she acknowledged a link to her past.

 

Although that was about to change. While the War of Darkness raged on, one force of destruction couldn't care less about factions as it aimlessly paved its way across the land.

 

Warriors, villages, and even whole towns in the path of that force would abruptly go missing, leaving only rubble and death. Armed forces were sent out to confront the cause. Never to come back. The elemental kingdoms, not wanting to divert their resources from what they saw was a minor issue, a mere rampant monster, never bothered to give it their full attention. As a result, it simply raged on and on with little in the way of stopping it.

 

Although having heard of the unknown terror, she hadn't thought it to be any of her business...until it became clear, upon hearing report after report, that it was heading for a certain destination.

 

Without thinking twice, she left her post.

 

Perhaps there was still a chance-

 

 

 

...the vague memories drifted away, solidifying into something very concrete. She glimpsed into her world. Another version of her world. A setting, oh so vaguely familiar. A village, left in the aftermath of catastrophic destruction.

 

The buildings were beyond ruin; chunks smashed across the land, as though a hurricane of unnatural proportions had tore through. Little bits of rubble were washed away by small trails of water, leading downhill - to the lake. If it weren’t for that lake, she couldn’t have possibly identified this place. This wasn’t just any village. This was Dynaklos.

 

Unable to control her own body, Eria proceeded to walk through the destruction in her old clothes, her hands trembling as they held onto a staff, the attached Aquamirror rattling. Her gaze was fixated onwards as she moved across her former homeland... out of the corner of her eye she spotted patches of crimson. Blood, engraved so far into stone that even the rain couldn't wash it away. An intense, foul stench filled up the air, so strong that it made her want to vomit, and multiple times she had to stop just to suppress it. Foreign memories started to wash over her own, leaving her only able to observe as this other her continued to advanced, in this branch of time she had no control over.

 

During the seven-day journey it had taken to arrive here, the Water Charmer had still maintained hope, hope that it may not have arrived yet, that it may even pass this place entirely. But of course it hadn’t. Why had she ever believed she might’ve made it in time? She was a fool for ever leaving them in the first place. To fight in the war. No, to ever join Doriado at all! Slowly, but surely, every inch of her own blood was being filled with a new emotion.

 

P u r e h a t r e d,

 

The clouded sky was beginning to darken. There were no words she could possibly speak, and there was no one she could speak to. Having fought to this point, everyone she’d been close to had already left her - having been reduced to another soldier in another army, there was no longer anyone she could call a ‘true companion’. She couldn’t have recruited help for this even if she wanted to.

 

Mangled bodies, composed of rotting flesh, had been grinded against the walls of a house...the ruins of her own house. Was this a dream? Everything she’d fought for, everything she’d sought to protect, surely- Among, the crimson pillar of meat almost like a finger, was a metal ring, almost reminiscent of the one her father Rahz had presented to Aqueria long ago… Were these her parents? ...No. They could be anyone. Even if the ring was unique, they could be anyone. These people, this nightmare didn’t have to be the villagers. If she couldn't recognize them, they could be anyone. The same applied to all the corpses scattered across this ruined village - apart from the torn clothes, those blotches of deep red and murky green could belong to anyone. Not her parents. Not the people she grew up with, and made friends with, and loved. They could be anyone!

 

The truth was obvious, but she held onto that thought with desperate hope. Tears swelled up, as they always did. However, as worthless as a Water Charmer was, it had one minor merit; the salty droplets of water that gathered in her eyes were forced back down, erasing any redness, as well as any potential to cry.

 

The blue-haired girl didn't respond, her head lost in a rising flurry of emotions. She didn't speak. She couldn't speak. Her every cell was ready to burst, consumed in hatred. Why. How. Why couldn't she arrive in time? Even after everything she'd been through, even after the raging of the war… Everything that had motivated her get through the hell of the battlefield, everything she had fought to protect… ANNIHILATED. BECAUSE OF HERSELF. HERSELF. HERSELF HERSELF HERSELF-

 

She had to concentrate. If it wasn’t for the fact that she’d already been exposed to death countless times by now, she would’ve broken down on the spot. Although she’d originally come here for a desperate rescue attempt, now she had a different reason.

 

…don't you want vengeance?

 

...! That thought snapped Eria out of her trance. She rose her head, and mechanically walked forth through the destruction, one step at a time, staff at the ready.

 

~ The Path to Isolation ~

 

At the other end of the village stood a creature of utter darkness. With glowing red eyes, it complacemently stared out at the wide expanse of water beyond - the resting lake, disturbed only by the continued pouring of the rain. The creature itself could have been mistaken for a statue of metal, were there not stains of blood all over it. Were it not constantly rocking back and forth, as though agitated to kill more as soon as it possibly could.

 

“…" Somehow, Eria the Water Charmer remained unsurprised at the sight before her. Her heart had already shut down.

 

In response to her approach, he turned around.

 

Gogiga Gagagigo.

 

 

He locked his eyes onto her with a red glow - there wasn't even the faintest glimpse of emotion as he let out an inhuman scream that echoed into the air, signaling that he was prepared for battle. Even though he recognized her, what did he see? Why was he was consumed in such hatred for her…? Her thoughts went back to Doriado, and she immediately understood what was going on.

 

His soul long since collapsed, his body recklessly continued onward, driven by a lust of more power. He no longer resembled his former self.

 

Truly, his reptilian form was covered in golden armor, hulking in such a manner that it made its green scales reflect a shade of red. Perhaps that made it easier to ignore their long, shared history and perceive him as the uncontrollable rampaging monster that he was. A device was attached to his head, broken, as though to signify that whomever controlled him had since lost control. However that creature had ended up in this state that was as pitiful as it was horrifying, she had a job to do. If he wasn't stopped here, he would only continue to destroy for the rest of eternity. And, he wasn’t the only one consumed in hatred.

 

The sound of thunder echoed across the lake, accompanied by droplets of water falling from the sky. It was beginning to rain at last.

 

Eria didn’t hesitate as she jumped into action. Concentrating on the rain, freezing many of the falling droplet into concentrated icicles that pelted her former life partner. Akin to cold blades, they plunged into his various body parts. Regardless, his speed was such that he was able to dodge most of the icicles, and each stabbing appeared only to enrage him even more. The enemy let out a horrendous roar that caught her off-guard, and he slammed his foot into the ground, causing a tremor that knocked her off her feet. Eria quickly whipped together all the surrounding droplets to forge a chain of ice that pulled the lizard monster by his neck, attempting to rip it off. However, he broke free in mere moments - and the wounds she’d left were regenerating too quickly.

 

As the epic battle raged on, it became obvious that his machinery, whatever it was, was advanced enough to rapidly repair any damage she inflicted. At such strength, could even the legendary Blue-Eyes stand a chance? How long had he been in this state? Had it been months, years? Somehow, he must have found ways to self-improve, self-upgrade. With each battle, each attack, he only seemed to grow stronger. But it didn’t matter, and she wasn’t hesitating for a second. Each one of her own attacks were aimed to kill, aware that he was doing the same.

 

When the Water Charmer saw an opportunity, she jetted across the plains towards the lake,the only place where she might actually stand a chance against this monstrosity. One wrong move and she would be smashed to pieces, just like everyone before her. She made her way towards the shoreline and dived into the deep waters. And then, the ground shook as a. Massive. Liquid. Tentacle. emerged, before shooting across to wrap itself around the mechanical creature. And promptly pull inwards. Controlling this amount of water at such high pressure would've been highly draining for the Water Charmer under normal circumstances. Hence, after being as exhausted as they were, one could only imagine the strain, especially as the reptillian machine resisted with great strength, unconsciously understanding the danger, attempting to bury itself into the ground. Pushing her mental capacity and mana to the very limits was something she could only do after over a year of constantly do so. Gogiga Gagagigo was torn off the ground, and cannoned straight into the lake.

 

Just before the machine could crash into the wide body of water however, rockets fired from its metal feet. Flight. Of course it was capable of flight. Standing on top of the lake, Eria had both arms thrust at her former friend, desperately maintaining control of the water as she used all of her willpower to counter his strength and drag him in. The other three had thoroughly exhausted themselves by now, so it was up to her alone to end this. But despite trying her hardest, inch, by inch, by inch, he drew further from the waters in his attempt to escape-

 

In this moment that was quiet, yet furious, Eria had a chance, however faint it was. Against her better judgment, she opted to seize it.

 

She held her staff close to herself, and divined the creature's soul. To see if there was still, anything.

 

But she felt nothing.

 

“Your soul..." Eria whispered, her voice weak and strained as she continued to pull the creature down. “You..." Her feelings about this, about all of this, were rising up and she couldn't suppress them. “You can't be Gagagigo! YOU CAN'T!"

 

For the briefest of moments, it responded; turning to face her. Was it her imagination, or was there the faintest glimmer coming from within its soul-

 

There was no time. That slight pause was her last window of opportunity. To fix this. To end this. To take vengeance. Expanding the water tentacle to cover Gogiga Gagagigio's feet, she froze it in an instant, trapping the creature and effectively disabling its rockets.

 

Finally,

 

“Spiritual Water Art… AOI!”

 

A ritual circle surrounded her, exploding into a surge of water that latched itself to the giant reptile’s very soul. "RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH-" It screamed, and roared, in a sound that was as much mechanical as it was biological, before its voice was drowned out by water, being submerged deep underneath the lake.

 

Naturally, that alone would not be enough. He was resisting the Spiritual Art, quickly swimming back towards the surface. Taking control over as much water as she could, she exerted as much downwards pressure as she could, dragging him deeper into its depths...but no. No. No. Nonononono, he was too strong! Eria dived into the waters herself, to feel them at maximum capacity. Everything else, her feelings, her desire to survive, her, was thrown away to concentrate on only that one matter. She pushed her control over the water further, and further, and further, until her mind broke, until she was stretching the last bits of her mana supply, focusing solely on one task; keeping Gogiga Gagagigo submerged. At last, darkness started to creep up over her vision, engulfing her senses, her consciousness, and her existence.

 

A lifetime passed.

 

Another lifetime passed.

 

Yet another lifetime passed.

 

Eria's eyes snapped open. The rain had come to a halt.

 

Her body was floating on the water, aching all over and appearing to be on her last threads of life, but she was alive. Wondering what had just happened, where their enemy had gone, and whether she had succeeded or not, she used the last of her energy to flip herself over. To glimpse into the dark abyss of the expansive lake.

 

She flashed back to a distant memory.

 

Once upon a time, a little girl met a cute young lizard named Gigobyte, aspiring to become a powerful warrior...

 

...and now, lying at the bottom of the lake was the drowned Gogiga Gagagigo. Having exceeded the greatest of warriors, at the cost of becoming a horrible monster.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

The rain had stopped. A man, cloaked in a dark robe, casually walked along the water and looked down at her floating, pathetic form. His hair glistened under the moonlight.

 

“My, my, my. Just like your friends, you appear to have gone through quite the ordeal, little girl.

 

But it’s perfectly okay.

 

What if I told you… that this nightmare doesn’t have to be real?”

 

 

---

Eria ran a hand across her face. She could feel tears streaming down, and as she tried to speak, her lips quivered. She could still breathe, but she was overcome not by the mere facts of the memories themselves, but by the emotions her counterpart had felt. Eria felt those same emotions as if they were her own. Eria didn’t see the war, the girl who had joined the Gishki, the apprentice who had been betrayed by her teacher, as the experience of some “other” self. It was a possibility that she could have gone through. And more than that, it was all real. This other Eria who was standing before her had lived through it all. Compounding the memory of those years of anguish and betrayal into shard of water, how could Eria possibly deny anything that she had just seen?

 

“I… I’m sorry,” was all she could manage.

 

“I wonder what she must have shown you,” Megiddo mused. “Do you understand each other now? Can you reconcile your experience with her own? I will give you some time to think about it. Just long enough for you to decide your future.”

 

Megiddo faded from view, leaving the twin Erias alone. The water level rose a few inches before seeming to stop. Around them, Eria heard the Leviathan’s roar. Eria’s hand stung, but it was cold. She looked at the brand on her hand.

 

 

The brand now wore a full crown, and the horns - no, now she could see that they were wings, draped around the demonic figure depicted. A frost-white light emanated from the brand. Somehow, she could feel that the brand was at last complete. Her time was up.

 

Eria would have to fuse with her other self.

 

~ Test of the l’Cie ~

 

Damn you, Megiddo. What would happen, if she agreed to this? She couldn’t let Megiddo win. Even if it meant defeating Protheus, would it be worth doing exactly what Megiddo wants? Maybe she didn’t have to fight this Void Eria. If she fused with her, this battle would end. But then what? Would she be taking away another of Protheus’s puppets? Or would she be the one who would have to serve Protheus?

 

Eria closed her hand into a fist, and faced the Void Eria. “…I still believe that I’m following the right path. But that doesn’t mean yours has to be wrong. Everything you showed me… I understand why you did what you have to do. I could blame whoever or whatever I want, the Spellbook for corrupting Doriado, Kozaky to changing Gagagigo into a mindless monster… but it doesn’t matter. The people you lost wanted nothing but power, even if it meant forgetting everyone they cared about.” Eria stumbled, but caught her footing, making sure that she would not sink again. The water was shaking, gentle waves brushing against her ankles, and the water level rose another few inches. “But then Protheus found you. You, Wynn, Hiita, and Aussa. He offered you salvation, yes? A chance to use the Door of Origin to fix what went wrong?”

 

“…”

 

The lack of response to that was all the answer she needed. Eria opened her hand, showing her l’Cie brand to Eria. “I just lost my home. Mama and papa are dead. Lady Doriado tried to save them, but she couldn’t stop them. They were killed by two men, powerful than even the Invader of Darkness. One of them, Solasiro, captured the Invader, and turned him into a card. But Solasiro serves someone else. His name is Megiddo. He gave me this brand. It’s a reminder of a task that I’m supposed to complete.”

 

“I see… As it is, tragedy will find Eria wherever she goes.” The other Eria was content to stand back and listen to her counterpart’s response, uncertain of whatever she was planning, cautious of whatever her words meant. Although, there was one thing she couldn’t help but notice, “To you, is this but a passing dream, unreal and distant? Is that how it is?”

 

“No… even if I didn’t feel it myself, I realize now the pain you must have gone through. And that’s why… I want to help you. If I can… when I defeat Protheus, I’m going to use the Door of Origin to set everything right. Save all the worlds that Isamy and Protheus… and even the Counter Guardians let fall into oblivion. And I can save your world, too.”

 

Eria eyed the Staff of Armadyl. The weapon that Sliske had brought, as another one of Ophelia’s assassins. Kree’arra and Zilyana had sacrificed themselves for it, and Sora had to bring it back, for their sakes. There is one more world out there that still needed to be saved, and Eria had the chance to help Sora do exactly that. In a way, Eria was almost tempted to grab the staff, but she continued approaching Void Eria. “Megiddo told me that I need to find someone else out there in the multiverse. Another version of myself, to merge with. But I don’t want that. I feel like I’d just be stealing someone else’s life. I might not even be myself anymore. No matter what he tries, I will stop Megiddo. Even if the Origin War ends here, I have to keep fighting.”

 

Hearing her speak, Void Eria noted a few things in particular. Firstly, the phrase ‘to merge with’, and secondly, the mentions of the being Megiddo. In a way, his description was almost reminiscent of the Herald of Darkness. So this counterpart was, as well, tied to the strings of a dark puppeteer? Yet nonetheless, she was actively resisting against such a chained fate. “…”

 

“You told me that I don’t know hate like I do. The truth is… I’m afraid. I’m afraid of losing my friends. I’m afraid that I’m not good enough to help everyone. I’m afraid that, no matter how much I tell myself that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, there’s always someone waiting for me to take that all away.”

 

Eria looked down into the water, and saw the reflections of herself and Void Eria. The ripples of the water blurred their images together. There had be something more she could say. Something to prove that there would still be that light at the end of the tunnel. Something to prove that her idealism was anything but “nonsense”. Then, she remembered what Arthur had told the Madara.

 

“The thing about ideals is, we’re the ones who get to decide them. There’s nothing wrong with a perfect world, but entrusting them to a single person? No one should get to decide that.” The ice was continuing to expand, while Arthur took his new Keyblade, the Solar Eclipse, and slashed the Madara’s left arm from behind, then the right arm from the front. “Wanting to control that much power just ended with me realizing how stupid I was.” Pointing his Keyblades to his left and his right, Arthur created light panels that expanded just as the ice did. “You might want to thank Ophelia for that, I guess. I made some great friends here in the Counter Corps. I don’t know if I’ll see all of them again, or even any of them once all this is over, but I don’t care. I told you, I’m not throwing away anything. Even if it will only be for this short time, I’m glad that I at least met them. I’ll keep those memories.” With each sentence he spoke, Arthur dashed all around the Madara. From in front of him to behind him, from left to right, the Madara was struck by Arthur’s Keyblades. “I’ll never be this fast again if I have to say goodbye to MirageGaogamon.” Arthur summoned water to push him away from the Madara. “And I’d give anything to be with Eria, but I’ll be damned if I let anyone like you or Megiddo be the ones to let me have that. All that our lives are to you are problems you just decided that you get to be the one to fix."

 

The Madara had shown her a perfect world, where she and Arthur could be happy together, and forget their troubles. And yet, they had managed to break free from the Infinite Tsukuyomi. It was all just a dream. Even if she did fulfill her Focus, could she still fight against Megiddo? He had given her the power, but she would be the one to make the decision. Even Megiddo understood that much.

 

“I won’t ask you anything that you wouldn’t want. Even when I’m afraid, I still believe in hope. It’s not too late for you to believe in hope again. So I’m taking a risk here. Doing the last thing I want, not to give Megiddo what he wants, but because I believe I can still decide my future. You can’t expect Protheus to hold his end of the bargain, but I can’t expect you to abandon them so easily.”

 

Eria could only pray that everyone could forgive her. If this wouldn’t work… she knew this was stupid. Why was she even doing this? She was desperate, yes, but she had to believe there was a way to make this work. “I’m going to make a gamble and offer you something. You and I will fuse together. What happens after that… that’s up to you to decide. Either we see this war through to the end together, or one of us has to fight for control. It probably wouldn’t be much different from how we’ve been fighting so far.”

 

She was outclassed. That staff had granted Void Eria so much power, even her Keyblade couldn’t stand up to it. If it did come down to a fight, there was no way she could hope to win. “From where I’m standing, the odds are in your favor no matter what happens. Your choice.”

 

“…”

 

Void Eria stared at Eria, all the while gripping the divine Staff of Armadyl with both hands.

 

Her physical form wavered for a little while, the skin on her body turning dark before reverting back to their ‘normal’ paleness - the corruption of the Shadow Realm that Protheus instilled into her had completely transformed her body, and the staff’s power was the only thing keeping her together. Ultimately, at her core, she was just another void creature, pretending to something she wasn’t to fulfill a long-lost purpose.

 

“That’s quite the risk… you’re taking.” Quite honestly, the fact that she could keep up a sane conversation was an utter miracle, one that wouldn’t have been possible were she talking to anyone but herself. If this dark counterpart were to be frank, a part of her was convinced that the other ‘Eria’ existed only in her mind. A conjured fantasy whose strange words did nothing but hurt. However, it was precisely because she was talking to herself that this was worth considering. If it were anyone else, it would’ve been a bizarre, alien proposal, yet somehow, looking at that girl made it possible to envision the sort of adventures she might’ve undergone before reaching this point.

 

The tiniest of crystal fragments broke off the Remembrance shard that, as of right now, was literally sticking out of Eria’s body - it attached itself to Void Eria’s staff, providing a glimpse of her own into that girl’s mind. “Huh. This boy has a nice voice. Though, I question my own taste if his words are that sappy all the time...”

 

As she caught herself thinking something like that, saying something like that, her expression suddenly darkened. Were the positive memories of her counterpart a sign of strength, or simply ignorance? She shot a glare towards the girl. “Your offer is intriguing. I tell you this, I’m willing to take on your existence. However, are you willing to take on mine? At the end of the day, I am a void creature. It’s in my nature to consume and destroy. I understand your point of view, but that doesn’t mean I’ll just put aside every decision I’ve ever made just for what YOU believe in. You have seen for yourself what the Herald of Darkness can do. I serve him because he is undefeated, on a clear path to the Door of Origin, and nothing in the battle thus far has proven me otherwise. I don’t hate you... but right now, I can’t help but be disgusted with you. When you and I become one, the boundaries between us will probably blur. If I find out you’re just a child telling yourself that ‘everything’s going to be okay’, then I’m going to reject you to the bitter end.

 

“I don’t doubt your decision, but you might very well sacrifice your individuality to me. Are you really willing to risk losing everything you have right now, just to ‘fuse’ with yourself, just for a chance at victory?

 

I…”

 

This blue-haired woman understood little else but utter hatred, and the only hope she held was the hope for a swift, calm end. Still, it was exactly because of that, that she let herself have a fantasy. The tiniest part of her hoped that, if she were to undergo this fusion, she may emerge understanding love. The same way her fantasy did, if not stronger.

 

“I accept your offer, and leave the result to fate... I, myself, want to see what lies on the other side of the fence. I only hope ‘Eria’ doesn’t regret it.”

 

Void Eria rested the Staff of Armadyl, locking eyes with Eria. As if to say, ‘do what you must’.

 

Eria considered her answer. Admittedly, she was surprised that Void Eria had accepted. But that in and of itself presented another challenge. If she was wrong, if she was weak, if she failed, she would be worse than dead. She would completely cease to exist.

 

“What Arthur told the Madara was about more than just what it means to have ideals. He believes in the power to take fate into your hands, and make what you want come true. If I was just a child telling myself that everything would be okay, I would just be lying to myself. If fusing together means that the differences between us break down, then I’m going to show you what it means to believe that you still can decide your future. More than grasping for a chance at victory, I’m going to carve a path to it.”

 

Eria held up her hand at eye level with Void Eria. Steeling herself for what was about to home, Eria spoke what could have very well been her final words. “I’m ready.”

 

Void Eria only nodded.

 

The water level suddenly began to rise much more quickly now. The tent shook, and the scales almost seemed to be moving. Growing closer. As if the Gestalt Mode was ending, and the Leviathan was about to return to its normal form. With both Erias trapped inside.

 

The Leviathan was roaring as the surface of the water began to tilt, the entire pool twisting within the Leviathan’s body. Soon, both of the Water Charmers were completely submerged. Keyblade and staff both washed away from their hands, the latter removed with some hesitance. Their bodies began to feel very light. Eria forced as much strength as he would to see where they were being led. At the end of the where the roof of the Gestalt Mode had once been, and where the Leviathan’s mouth should now be, she could only see a wall of pure crystal.

 

Eria tried to command the water to halt its progress, but it only began to slow down. It was still pushing against her, pushing her towards the crystal. And yet, although Eria could feel herself moving forward, the crystal always seemed to be the same distance away. The crystals began to spread over the scales of the Leviathan, crunching and grinding in their advance.

 

“So, you finally decided to fuse together.” They could both hear him now. Even if they could not see him, Megiddo’s voice was still loud and clear.

 

The Void Eria narrowed her eyes, speaking momentarily before being swept back underwater. “So… This is ‘Megiddo’?“

 

“I must admit, I was not sure if you had it in you. If you survive this, Eria… I wish you luck in the battle against Omega. I am so proud of you.”

 

Eria swam through the water, parting the water just long enough to let her speak. “I’m not doing this for you.”

 

“Of course not,” Megiddo sighed. “But if I may, allow me to tell you a story. Long before I was created, much of mankind lived in a paradise known as Cocoon. The fal’Cie who served Lady Lindzei were given a Focus of their own: To maintain the stability of Cocoon. Yet these fal’Cie resented this task. They sought to sacrifice the people they were entrusted to protect, and through that sacrifice, call their Maker back to the world. They goaded the fal’Cie who served Pulse, Lady Lindzei’s rival and brother. The fal’Cie of Cocoon plundered Pulse’s land, and spirited away his people with the promise of paradise. In this War of Transgression, Pulse’s fal’Cie sent l’Cie of their own in retaliation, and it was these l’Cie who weould merge with their Eidolons and become the beast that would bring down Cocoon. A beast whose name means ‘Twilight of the Gods.’”

 

Eria watched the crystals continue to grow. She had thought it was just going to be a fusion between herself and her counterpart. Now, she realized it wouldn’t end there. This Leviathan had only been at her side specifically for this very moment. They were both about to be merged with this monster.

 

Megiddo continued more sternly, “Knowing this, I ask you: Are you willing to risk everything?”

 

Eria had fallen into his trap. Of course she had. Stupid. Stupid, stupid stupid. But there had to be a way out of this. Or was that just that same childish delusion the Void Eria had warned her about? Indeed, out of the corner of her eye, she saw her counterpart staring at her blankly - neither knowing just where her conviction might take them. Those dark eyes eyes seemed to say ‘Prove yourself.’

 

No matter what Megiddo could say, Eria had to believe there was still a way to win. Even if she had to throw herself into danger, she needed to believe that this could lead her to victory. It was not the the best choice. It was definitely one of her worst. But she took the risk, and now she had to see it through. “Do your worst.”

 

Megiddo’s held his hands open in ceremony. “Eria the Water Charmer. You are a spirit whose existence has been split in twain by the ever diverging paths of destiny. It falls upon me to weave that destiny back together. Today, you shall become a beast, but you shall not be used as a tool of war. This shall be your cocoon, from which you shall emerge a new woman, greater than the sum of her parts.”

 

At last, Eria let go, no longer resisting the pull of the water. As she began to sink towards the crystal, she could only hope that this stupid, impossible gamble was going to work. Finally, Megiddo’s voice echoed between the two Erias.

 

“Arise, Ragnarok!”

 

---

[Remembrance C8] - Arthur & MachGaogamon

 

MachGaogamon carried Arthur back to the shores of the lake. A crystal dome had appeared, stretching as far back as the forest. Sora and Kairi were fighting Protheus, and protecting Gagagigo, who was lying in the snow.

 

“Eria…”

 

As he began to wonder if Eria was inside the dome, the crystal began to crack. The top began to open, like a flower in bloom. Then, the crystal dome exploded, shattering all across the lake.

 

Rising from the crystal were two gigantic, cobalt serpentine heads. Looming forward, their forms began to arch around the edges of the lake. As the serpents continued to emerge, they converged on a single body with four arms. The beast seemed familiar somehow to Arthur. He had seen a beast just like this in his dreams, when he spent the night together with Eria before they entered the Pathways.

 

Earlier: Onboard And With Strange Aeons

 

Arthur

 

For the first time he could remember, Arthur had a dream. Not an illusion like what the Madara had shown him, but a real, genuine dream. He had heard that demigods would have dreams like this, but he didn’t believe it. Now, he couldn’t help but see what stood before him.

 

Three black voids swirled below him, like black holes all trying to eat one another. His body was like a ghost, floating above all of them, but he was being pulled towards each of them, like they were all fighting over which one would get to consume him. He tried to turn around, but his body wouldn’t respond to him. Instead, the moment he tried to take a step, he could feel himself falling.

 

Somehow, he was underwater now. He tried to hold his breath, but his lungs still began to fill with water. He tried to swim up to the surface, but he couldn’t tell how close to it he was. That was when he heard it. When he heard them. He looked below him, and saw two gaping maws reaching toward him. They moved through the water quickly, and in seconds, rows of teeth began to close in above him.

 

Seeing this creature now, it looked so much like the Leviathan. Like two of them. This is what the dream had warned him about. He had told Eria about it, that something was coming, and now it was here. Looking between Arthur, MirageGaogamon, Gagagigo, Sora, Kairi, and Protheus, the twin serpents seemed to think nothing of the people gathered before them. And so, the beasts roared.

 

 

From high in the air, Protheus stared downwards at the monster with a quiet, even confused expression… as though unsure what to make of this unprecedented turn of events. “What… Wait, what? What the hell has just happened? Where did this creature come from?” His attention turned to the various Counter Corps, wondering just what had transpired.

 

Not too long ago, the team of Counter Corps that had been opposing the Herald of Darkness were effectively torn apart. Sora and Kairi were all that had been left for some time, and he amused himself ‘playing’ with them. Of course he expected them to come up with a major offensive sooner or later, but without the aid of their friends, they couldn’t take any great risks. Wise, yet pointless all the same. He honestly couldn’t remember much of it; perhaps it was never written at all. But now, with everyone’s reunion, things ought to take a more interesting turn… and so they have.

 

Apollo and his Digimon ally had been violently blown away into the waters of the Lake of Remembrance. Were the duo to have fallen underneath, there was no doubt that they’d end up victim to its mind-breaking properties, for even a divine god couldn’t withstand the power of memory. He’d sent his two remaining Dark Ones off to confirm their deaths, but their absence, and the return of the duo in turn, already spoke volumes of what occurred. To lose Dark Ones Alpha and Omega was a minor loss - they couldn’t have been that valuable as pawns.

 

Now. The twin Leviathans. Eria had earlier shelled herself in with her dark counterpart, Void Eria, having transformed her Leviathan into this strange shape to do so. If Protheus were to be perfectly honest, he was a bit dismayed that he couldn’t personally watch the conclusion of the Eria v. Eria battle. Although he was normally able to see through the eyes of his familiars, there was some anomaly about that Leviathan blocking out his vision - he’d been blind to whatever was going on inside. He’d only let it be since Void Eria with the Staff of Armadyl couldn’t possibly be outmatched by some second-rate Charmer… but just what happened?

 

No matter. Protheus Maximus, with his arms crossed, stared up at the heavens. A power that was superior still to these majestic monstrosities had yet to emerge. His ‘trump card’ must be finished disposing of those Egyptian Gods now. Regardless of how powerful those two divine creatures were, they had absolutely no idea what they were in for. Nothing had ever emerged victorious against the greatest of gods, and he expected it would stay that way. Now, it was time to finish the job. With a flick of his hand, Protheus summoned his pet forth-

 

~ The Wrath of God in All Its Fury ~

High up in the sky, a portal tore through the fabric of Remembrance, connecting it to another land, another reality. Another life. Heavy torrents of wind, much like a hurricane, were immediately thrust outwards from it, smashing into the land of snow below while threatening to send flying all these insignificant mortals. However, as this was not the first time the Counter Corps were met with such force, they were more prepared. They rooted themselves to the ground and watched as the familiar dark phoenix, the god of light and darkness, THE TWILIGHT ONE, emerged from its home with a crackling cry like thunder. It was as massive as it ever was, its wingspan alone reaching from one end of the Pathway to the other, its shadow casting the entire shoreline of the Lake into near-darkness…

 

...however, something was wrong. Protheus sensed it immediately, and precisely due to how massive Its body was, it didn’t take long for the other s to notice either. The great form of Melek Taus was wounded, not just with minor injuries, but with serious burns all over Its body; rather than be covered in black feathers, there were patches of charred flesh everywhere. Almost as if some sort of ultimate power had attempted to roast It alive. The crimson eyes of the Twilight One seethed with an ‘emotion’. More specifically, hate.

 

“...” The Herald of Darkness found himself truly speechless. Although he was quite comfortable with being arrogant in most circumstances, he didn’t dare do anything that may enrage the shadow god. No one, nothing, nothing had ever pushed It this far. It was all too clear to everyone alive that this entity of life and death was emanating vast, divine HATRED. Whatever had transpired in Its disappearance, that regal aura that had previously made It out to be indestructible and limitless had been shattered - replaced by the contained frustration of a volcano.

 

judgment.

 

The Twilight One addressed him, Its eyes moving downwards to its own master. When they met Protheus’s own insignificant eyes, akin to crimson planets turned towards a speck of dust, he could feel a chill run down his spine. Nonetheless, he quickly regained his composure. The man’s fists clenched. “Twilight One. What is the meaning of this?!”

 

He’d always assumed he was in control of this particular relationship… but in those few seconds, he experienced fear. He was reminded of his mortality. Simply put, he was simply too far outclassed against this perfect entity that never was and never would be his pet. Even now, when It was so heavily wounded, It was still projecting a level of power far beyond anyone’s imagination.

 

Its holy voice - projected for all to hear - sounded bitter, if resigned to the result.

 

the gods you once worshipped were defiant to the very end. the faith your old self had was not misplaced, I see.

 

Protheus found himself frowning as he wondered, how did those two measly gods accomplish this? How could they have possibly inflicted such damage?! The Twilight One was meant to be an unstoppable force. This- this was simply- “I see. And their status is…?”

 

For a moment, he was met with silence.

 

e r a s e d.

 

For a further moment, he let himself analyze the current situation.

 

Then, Protheus smiled. Of course, despite how unexpected this was, the result was the same. Nothing had changed - and in the end, the weakest of wounds couldn’t hope to do anything to an infinite Chief of Angels.

 

“Good, good. It doesn’t really matter, I suppose… We’ve succeeded in taking care of the gods. All that’s left are the rabble.”

 

Putting his arms behind his back, he looked down at the remainder of the Counter Corps, as well as the twin Leviathans. Were these more summons by Eria, or were they something else? To him they appeared menacing and formidable, yet they couldn’t possibly stand against a god. What was more worrying was that, even though he could clearly sense that Void Eria was alive, her presence had disappeared wholly. And with it, the Staff of Armadyl.

 

This whole battle had truly gone beyond his original expectations, with anomaly after anomaly happening one after another. However, Protheus still understood - too well - that even if this mismatched cast could hit back decently, their luck could only take them so far. In fact, considering who was on their team, it made perfect sense how they made it this far at all! He eyed the Leviathans, wary, yet before he started dealing with any of these other anomalies… he had a greater priority to cross off his list.

 

“Do as you will, my lord Twilight One. I have but one request－kill Apollo first.” If he was going to assure his own victory, the best thing to do would be to get rid of the final pillar of divine support they had. Satisfied, Protheus flew even higher into the sky, putting as much distance between himself and the ensuing conflict as possible.

 

the boy.

 

The Twilight One did not need any clarification on the identity of this ‘Apollo’, as it could clearly identify the divine blood running through the veins of that young boy. For a god, he felt extremely weak, laughably so even, but the Twilight One truly didn’t care enough to question about it. After having faced the Creator God of Light, all It desired was to render this whole reality into dust and get this farce of a mission over and done with. The only thing between them were those two serpents; for some reason, It could sense some divine energy coming from them as well. All the better then.

 

At last, the Twilight One flapped its wings a couple of times - its supermassive form moving across the lake, creating giant tidal waves due to its proximity and heavy bursts of wind everywhere due to its overwhelming strength. It was approaching them, patiently, yet with an intent that was as sharp as it was unwavering, fixated upon them much akin to a predator and its prey.

 

hark, ye unfortunate souls, and rejoice.

 

I only declare, be prepared to enter the afterlife with open arms.

 

this ‘NIGHTMARE’ shall SOON REACH ITS END!

 

The Leviathans, the boy god, and the accomplice warriors shall all be taken down in one swoop. Just like that, flocks of feathers detached from Its gargantuan body - each one transformed into an arrow of steel that promptly shot forth, raining down upon the whole shoreline of the Lake of Remembrance, intending to decimate everything in sight.

 

In the field of snow, it was difficult to imagine that it could possibly be colder than this. And yet, as the serpents hissed, they began to spray streams of frost, and the surrounding air began to grow so much colder. Arthur could barely feel himself move, but Sora and Kairi both grabbed him, running as fast as they could as dozens upon dozens of steel arrows began to land just inches behind them. MachGaogamon followed close behind, picking the three of them up, his jetpack propelling him further away from the last of the arrows. The majority of the arrows had struck the Leviathans, and the beast began to turn, yet not in pain. One head turned towards Arthur, Sora, Kairi, and MachGaogamon, and as it howled once again, snow spun around the them, until they covered in dome formed from several thick layers of ice.

 

“Damn it!” Arthur struck the ice with his Keyblade, but he could feel the attack bouncing off the ice. “That thing’s trapped us in here.”

 

Kairi watched the serpent turn both its heads back towards the Twilight One. “I don’t think so,” she answered. “I think it’s actually protecting us!”

 

“How do you figure that?” Sora asked.

 

“Eria was fighting her counterpart, right?” Kairi raised her hand to the barrier, but she could feel the cold before she could even touch it.

 

“She was…,” Arthur stammered. “What the hell happened?!”

 

Kairi shook her head. “I don’t know. But I think that… whatever it is, Eria became that thing.”

 

Arthur held his Keyblade against the ice, and began to cast Fire magic. “I’m going out there.”

 

As the biggest occupant of this dome, it was bizarre how MachGaogamon did not seem to be struggling to find space. He knelt down, resting a hand beside Arthur. “Hold on, Arthur! We still don’t know what that thing is yet!”

 

Arthur ignored him continuing to try and melt through the ice. “If Kairi’s right, and that ‘thing’ is Eria, then I have to help her!”

 

Sora looked through the ice, to the Leviathans, the Twilight One, and then to Protheus. “You heard what happened. Slifer and Ra are both gone. We don’t know what either of those monsters are going to do next.”

 

“You heard what the Twilight One said.” Arthur turned his back away from everyone, as his Keyblade began to start piercing through the shell. “Slifer and Ra are gone. We’ve lost too many people on these Pathways. Eria alone has lost too many in the past hour, all because of Protheus.”

 

“I know,” Sora said. The snow around them began to shake, as the Leviathans and the Twilight One kept fighting. Sorar took his own Keyblade, and his entire Keyblade began to ignite. As he struck at the shell, his side of the ice began to melt faster than Arthur was going. “So it’s down to us, then. It’s on us to defeat Protheus.”

 

“I’m not going to lose Eria.” Arthur kept swiping at the shell more frantically, while Sora was stepping forward, moving further and further out of the shell.

 

“We’re all here now, but we need to split into two teams.” Arthur pointed to MachGaogamon. “I’ll need your help to keep holding back Protheus. Can you still Digivolve?”

 

MachGaogamon nodded. “Barely. I’m not sure how long I can keep it up, however. Do you have a plan?”

 

Sora frowned. “I’m not sure yet.” He counted with his fingers, once, and then twice. “Is that even possible…? Sorry, never mind. Arthur’s right. We’ve lost too many people already. If that is Eria, then maybe we can trust her to fight the Twilight One, but looking at her like that… I’m afraid of what might happen if she turns on us. That leaves it to you two. Arthur, Kairi. I know this is asking a lot, but you need to help Eria. If you guys can take down the Twilight One, and knock some sense into Eria, we may have a chance.”

 

Kairi considered the plan. “Fight the Twilight One and save Eria. It’s… a long shot. A serious long shot. But maybe it’ll work.”

 

“If you can manage that,” MachGaogamon added, “And depending on what becomes of that other Eria…”

 

“...then that just leaves Protheus,” Arthur finished. “You said you were a Captain of the Guard, right, Sora? I think I can see why. If anyone’s going to take charge of our little group, I’m glad it’s you.”

 

Sora smiled, only to clear his throat. With one last strike of his Keyblade, he broke through the shell, shielding his face with his hand against the cold wind. “Don’t thank me just yet. We still have to finish this.”

 

“Of course.” Arthur raised his Keyblade, and MachGaogamon Digivolved into MirageGaogamon. As Sora and Kairi took off, Arthur looked up to his partner. “I guess the prophecy will have to wait. I’m not sure if Protheus will exactly let us take a five minute break, but we need to tell the others.”

 

MirageGaogamon dug his feet into the snow and leaned forward. “Despite my misgivings about her, Chardonnay gave us our best chance in this fight. We won’t let it go to waste.”

 

“I hope you’re right.” Arthur watched MirageGaogamon sprint forth to help Sora against Protheus. As Arthur took off after Kairi, he muttered under his breath. “For all our sakes.”

 

---

Protheus Maximus, the Herald of Darkness, blankly stared onwards as two challengers raced to keep him distracted. Orbs of magic danced about him, each one potentially spelling out murder for them. Needless to say, he seemed more than confident with taking on Sora and that annoying blue Digimon simultaneously while the Twilight One took care of the others… In fact, his attention wasn’t exactly focused on them at all.

 

Rather, he kept glancing towards the Forest of Remembrance. Wordlessly, with traces of wonder and confusion in his expression.

 

“Hmph. I thought it had stopped, but it’s moving again.” Protheus muttered to himself. Just as he was in thought, the man hastily dodged a strike from a Keyblade, sidestepping a blast just afterwards and used a few of his orbs to absorb further assaults. Weak though these two were, they weren’t exactly letting up on giving him room to consider his options.

 

One more time, he looked at the forest. Everyone else was so consumed in battle that they couldn’t even sense the approaching veil of oblivion - how pathetic. “At this rate… That thing’ll interfere with my fun.”