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

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"...Well, this went better than expected."

 

Tenco couldn't really still buy the fact that the two opposing groups had actually chosen to make peace with each other, but decided to go with it anyway. At the very least, an open conflict was able to be avoided from actually happening, which was not something the girl expected when she said what she said earlier. The peace's definitely fleeting, but it's enough for Tenco to start relaxing a bit now. Gyokuen was still really grating, and the thing she said to her didn't really help her image in Tenco's mind, and she was still a bit miffed about what Dorian had said earlier that indirectly insulted her, but other than that she was feeling pretty content as she continued to travel with the group.

 

They were faced with a fork on the bridge not long afterwards, and the young man on Eria's team, which Tenco thought to be named Arthur if what she heard was right, let Dorian and Gyokuen to pick which path to take next, though his expression was pretty much underlining the fact that the "alliance" they have formed right now, if it could even be called one, was pretty superficial and fleeting at best. At that thought Tenco just sighed, before continuing to follow the group, right now deciding to stick closer to Eria since she seemed to be the most reasonable one of the bunch..

 

Tenco was almost starting a conversation with the fellow blue-haired girl before a seemingly countless amount of weird grey creature appeared before the group. They looked like a mess, and it didn't seem that they're going to be there for a peaceful purpose. They didn't seem to be much of a danger while alone, but the amount of them that she could see was ridiculous. She'd probably require some sort of crowd control going right now so the group can continue. With a command from her main sword, the other swords she had summoned earlier started to remotely dive straight into the creatures in front of the group, slashing around while occasionally firing some blasts of scarlet laser from the blades towards the grey creatures. As her swords were doing the combat for her right now, she turned around to face Eria, with a questioning look on her face.

 

"Uh...Eria, do you or your friends have any ideas on what these guys are supposed to be?"

 

---

[Tesability Black]

~The Divine - Path of Truth - Tesability's POV~

"You know my name, but we've never met. Give me one reason I should listen to anything you have to say."

Tesability watched as the woman crossed her arms in front of her for a few tense moments, the agitation on the boy clear to even the NetMonster.

"Well," she started with a hesitant tone to her voice. "I know of you because I am friends with many in my realm that are fans of yours, dear Hunter." And with this did she look towards Tesability, a sad smile on her face. "And unfortunately for you, old friend, I'm afraid our time here will have to be cut short. I sense that you are going to be a needed ally at the end of these Paths."

"Huh?" Tesability tilted her head, raising a silver leaf-ear in confusion as the woman in black fell to her knees in front of her, before holding Tesability's head in her hands and leaning forward and kissing the dragon gently between her solid-black eyes.

"Just know this, my little Tricky Dragon. No matter what, you are not forgotten. Neither you, Kawuros or the NetMonster World as a whole. You may not believe that you have either a present or a future because your past was unfairly robbed from you, but that's not true. From my end, I'm trying to make sure that you are not forgotten, so that you can have a future. But for that to happen," she calmly stated before standing back up onto her feet. "You must make it through the maze that are these Paths."

And with that did she disappear from view, which prompted a whine from Tesability.

"...but wai deed evwywon hash ta gu...?"¹

With that question did the dragon hop into the air and take off in flight. Her speed wasn't the same as when she shattered the light barrier before bouncing right off the mirror earlier, but it was an extremely-quick pace nonetheless.

 

~~

 

¹ "...but why did everyone have to go...?"

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

~Counter Corps - Path of Death (Within Hapshiel's Mind) - Jace's POV~

"Your friend is quite correct. Love comes in every shape and form, and it can be cruel as it is truly wonderful. If love was always good, it would lose what makes itself special: The fact that is unpredictable. Whether you know it, or accept you, are just as capable of love as anyone else. I think it's about time you left now, your lady friend is quite concerned about you."

Because he hadn't been looking towards the angel, the words were the only warning he got to his leaving before feeling himself lifted off the ground by the his cloak, giving a slightly effeminate 'eep!' in surprise before getting literally launched out of a mind in such a way for the first time in his life...

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

~Counter Corps - Path of Death - Jace's POV~

When Jace returned, there was enough of a force to actually launch the body slightly off its feet, causing him to land on his back with closed eyes.

The impact had left him, along with everything else, a pounding headache.

"Ow..." he muttered as he sat up, lifting his left hand to rub the back of his head and neck, revealing more of the clearly-visible white scars on the upper portion of said arm in the process. After a few moments of rubbing, he dared to open his eyes...

"...what the hells happened to my clothes?!" Jace belted out in shock after seeing what he returned to, an outfit that eerily matched the angel's just a little too much over his own body instead of the normal outfit he normally wore. Thankful he both still had his cloak and had regained the use of his illusions, he kept himself covered with both as he stood back up, shielding himself from the cold that his being so exposed was making him be with his cloak as well as to try to regain some form of dignity by recovering himself with a illusionary duplicate of his normal gear.

Though it did not stop his being made more aware of his body than he had been in a long while and he had the sneaking suspicion that a certain 'firecracker' wasn't going to let him live this down for a while...

[Phantom Roxas]

[Death C6] - Arthur, Eria, MirageGaogamon, & Gagagigo

 

Dorian and Gyokuen at least seemed to not be interested in killing everyone right now, which was about as much of a success as they could expect right now. As if to balance out that stroke of luck, the Pathway had summoned new creatures, slender monsters with silver bodies, with tendrils in place of hands and feet, their faces obscured behind a mask bearing a cross, and their mouths lined with zippers.

 

"Uh...Eria, do you or your friends have any ideas on what these guys are supposed to be?" Tenco was staying close to Eria, though the Water Charmer was just as confused as her.

 

”If they do, I wouldn’t know. These things are… bizarre to me.” With the flick of a wrist, a bubble appeared in a center of a mob of the creatures, exploding between them and throwing them off each side of the bridge. As more of them appeared to replace their fallen brethren, Eria summoned a large wave that spread over the bridge, knocking them back. However, the creatures began to slither through the air, contorting their bodies like snakes. As a few of them made their way past Eria’s wave, some were either cut apart, while others were crushed, all at the ends of MirageGaogamon’s flail-scythe.

 

Arthur and Gagagigo dealt with some on their own, but the bridge was beginning to shake as more of the creatures appeared on it. One of them wrapped itself around Arthur, which to shake off, but more of them gravitated towards him, latching themselves onto his body. He began to shine his light, pushing some of the creatures off of himself, but others stayed, dragging him down onto the ground. Some of them wrapped their arms around his face, digging their tendrils into his skin, until Arthur could only hear himself screaming.

 

 

Arthur saw the world burning. Centaurs, silver as the monsters that surrounded him on the Pathway, marched through the flames towards a tower that rose from the earth. A cloaked figure faced them, and some of the centaurs stood frozen in place. As the figure looked up, Arthur could feel it staring at him. And yet, Arthur could not see any eyes. No face, not even a torso or legs. The cloak itself was the figure.

 

The only semblance of a body on the creature were hands, one of which pointed towards Arthur, compelling him to approach. The vision was moving closer towards him, but he could not feel himself move. The flames around them turned to ice, and the centaurs began to chase at the cloaked figure, who wrapped its hand around Arthur’s vision. When the hand pulled back, Arthur was looking down on the centaurs from the air. The ground drew closer to Arthur, as the suddenly were all suddenly cut apart, their upper bodies torn from the lower.

 

”Every light casts a shadow. Here on the Pathway to Death, you cannot hide from your shadow. You must become it.”

 

 

Arthur could only hear himself screaming. He once again stood on the bridge, as columns of light shot towards the creatures. His eyes turned completely gold, the light of the sun flowing out of it, but darkness ran down his face. Hearing some screeches behind him, Arthur watched them chase after Eria and Tenco, the former still fighting back against them with more and more waves of water. ”Don’t you touch her!” The darkness of the Pathway began to gather around the Keyblade as Arthur plunged it into the back of one of the creatures. As it did, threads of light and darkness out of the creature’s body, stabbing piercing more of the creatures. More of the creatures still appeared, but they stopped as they saw Arthur. ”Don’t worry, Eria. I’ll protect you.”

 

As the light and darkness circled Arthur, Eria stepped closer to Arthur, preparing more of her magic as the creatures approached. ”I’m more concerned about who’s going to protect you.”

[Love of Ghibli]

Dorian and Gyokuen: Path of Death

This was definitely interesting. Dorian and Gyokuen watched on as everyone was doing their part in battling against the silver creatures. Not to be out done the two leapt into battle. First, Dorian leapt forward and started snapping his fingers and various enemies started to be engulfed in flames. Dorian landed and smirked. Learned that from an anime! He looked around and noticed as others started to take on the creatures. Oh would you look at that. Dorian said as he gazed over to to Arthur and his opponents and he looked at the display that was going on. Being bathed in both light and darkness was pretty interesting. Gyokuen actually didn't spend a lot of time fighting the silver creatures. Sure she smacked which ever ones got close to her, but she was much more fascinated with Arthur's transformation. 

Well now this is definitely something worth looking into further. Gyokuen noticed as there were more creatures concentrating their attacks on Arthur and Eria. She then looked at Dorian who was coincidentally looking at her. Dorian shrugged as he too was a little surprised. Dorian definitely thought that this was his problem in the back of his mind but after seeing the hooded figure come at Arthur he let out a sigh of relief. Dorian looked as Gyokuen pointed directly ahead and he noticed a second cloaked figure was directly ahead of him. Oh crap! This guy again! The hooded figure didn't say anything as it simply charged at Dorian. Dorian took flight as he didn't want to be on the bridge while the fight was going down. The hooded figure jumped on various dusk and started trading blows with Dorian. Dorian not being a trained martial artist was barely able to keep up with the vast assortment of punches and kicks. Ugh! 

 

Gyokuen couldn't help but notice that both Arthur and Dorian were in similar situations. Maybe that is why they hate each other. Two sides of the same coin. Now that is interesting. I don't know how much more of this I can take thought. These creatures aren't strong as they are numerous. 

Ending Location: C6

[Dad]

Kratos, Kenpachi, & Revy

 

Lightning?  Not a chance in hell.  Though he was caught off guard, Kratos alone was able to simultaneously nullify all three target strikes with his own magic.  Turning around on a dime, Kratos drew forth from the magic of Poseidon, and funneled a typhoon of impossible size into the air, causing the enormous water spout to act as a conductor for the lightning.  It flooded the sky, completely engulfing the lightning at its source, and drawing it into the funnel.  And in that same instance, all three strikes of lightning were drawn back towards Kratos, who was anticipating this as the source of the typhoon.  Raising his wrist, Kratos took the lightning to the Golden Fleece, and deflected all of it into space, until it dissipated.  Kratos waved an arm, telling Kenpachi to stand back.  "We need a better understanding of this creature," he called to Kenpachi.  The Soul Reaper nodded, bouncing back rapidly.  "Stick together," he in turn replied to Kratos.  "We separated and nearly got killed just now.  Nice thinkin', Kratos."

 

He nodded, looking to Revy.  "Are you unharmed?" he asked her.  She nodded.  "I'm fine, but there's not much I can offer to you guys.  I'm only human.  I don't have any magic tricks up my sleeve."  Revy put her guns away, now understanding that they were useless against this thing that stood in their way.  She sighed.  She had a few grenades--flash, lethal, and smoke--wait, smoke?  "Maybe I do have something you can use."  Kenpachi watched patiently, attempting to study the Avatar, occasionally looking over his shoulder to check on Yachiru's safehouse.  She was fine for now.

 

Meanwhile, Kratos caught wind of a neighbor.  In the distance, he spotted Rhadamanthys and Butlerok.  "Kenpachi," he said with a nudge in Butlerok and Rhadamanthys'  direction.  "Tch.  Now we gotta deal with them too?"  Kratos held Kenpachi back a bit.  "I do not believe so.  I believe they wish to be rid of this monstrosity as we do."

 

Kenpachi regrettably agreed.  "Then let's make use of your friends.  Whattaya got in mind?"

 

---

 

Killua

 

"Fans of mine, huh?" he said still unsure about this person.  He zoned off a bit, not paying much attention, until the dragon beside him up and took off.  He didn't give chase this time.  She obviously had her own path to follow, and Killua, his.  A bit of lightning sparked in his hand as he began walking down the now more desolate zone of the Pathway to Truth.  The flowery, buzzing scenery had disappeared and been replaced by someone who obviously had a touch of doom in their hearts.  

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Tenco"

Pathway of Death

”If they do, I wouldn’t know. These things are… bizarre to me.”

 

"Yeah, I guess I'll have to agree with that. At least these things can be defeated with relative ease individually. There's way too many of them, though."

 

Getting Eria's answer, Tenco immediately returned her focus to control the swords that she used to attack the silver creatures. Controlling 6 of them at once was something that was a bit hard for her mind, since having them maneuver around the bunch of enemy while dodging their attacks and attacking in return was quite taxing and it was as if she had to split her thought into six just so she could micro-manage their movement. Meanwhile, Eria was able to use her water manipulation to defeat and push back a lot of the silver creatures back, all the while MirageGaogamon crushed any of those creatures that managed to leave the water blockade. Meanwhile, she tried to help by have her swords continuing to cut up any of those creatures that went near them to pieces, occasionally shifting to have them fire temperament-based lasers to blast a swath of the creatures at once. However, no matter how much of the creatures that were eliminated by the group, they kept on adding more and more to their rank, which was frankly quite annoying.

 

And then, quite unexpectedly, Tenco heard the sound of someone screaming, and looked around in response to see who was the source. It was Arthur, apparently, but before she could approach him to see the reasoning behind that scream, that momentary moment where her focus broke made her unaware that some of the creatures were starting to approach her and Eria during that time. Eria fought back using her water, but Tenco was caught off-guard by the sudden attack, and the creatures started to creep over her.

 

"Ugh, get off from me!"

 

However, as Tenco struggled to remove the creatures that were attempting to attack her from up close, a thread of light and darkness pierced through those creatures. Tenco looked forward to see where did the thread come from, and saw Arthur standing near Eria with his odd shaped keylike weapon ready. He was circled by a form of light and darkness, and the creatures seemed to halt their advances temporarily as they saw him being like that. Of course, he's probably the source of the thread earlier, though Tenco was still curious about what was going on with the scream earlier. Meanwhile, Gyokuen predictably didn't bother herself with fighting the silver creatures, while Dorian was fighting the same cloaked figure that he was fighting early on when she met him. Looking at him at first made Tenco thought about helping him with that fight, but as she returned her gaze to the horde of creatures that blocked their way, she ended up deciding that proceeding through this was more important.

 

She tried to recall her swords, but apparently during the time when she was distracted earlier, the swords had been disabled and crushed by the creatures. Learning that fact, Tenco sighed before walking forward towards Arthur and Eria, readying her proper golden sword on her hand. Standing besides the two, Tenco activated her sword's ability as she pointed it forward. The golden inscription on the sword started glowing as she did so, and thin scarlet threads spread out from the sword towards anywhere she could reach with those threads. Only her could see those threads as far as she was aware, which probably was for the best. The threads was meant to channel the qi from her surrounding towards the sword in preparation for an attack. It drew and drew energy towards the golden sword, and those energy started to spin rapidly around the blade.

 

"Move away, move away!" Tenco yelled towards anyone that might be on the line of fire from her attack so that they could get away before she fire the attack. The creatures kept on coming no matter how much the group attacked them, and Tenco thus surmised that she should try using a bigger blast in hope of eliminating them in one sweep. And with that thought in her mind, five seconds after she warned the others to move away, the energy gathered by the sword reached a critical mass, and Tenco proceeded to fire them all straight towards the creatures as a humongous laser. The beam was around for another second after firing before dissipating, leaving Tenco breathing heavily behind her smoking sword.

 

"So Arthur, that is your name, right? May I ask about what with that scream earlier?" Still a bit drained from the attack, Tenco turned around to ask Arthur the question. She was still unsure whether the creatures had been completely eliminated or not, and since she's still too drained for now, hopefully what's left were not too much if any.

 

"Also...is there anything left?"

 

---

[Love of Ghibli]

Dorian and Gyokuen: Path of Death 

 

As Dorian was busy trading blows with the cloaked figure who was using every Dusk as a stepping stone he heard something in the distance. 

 

"Move away, move away!"

 

HA! He exclaimed as the cloaked figure gave him a right hook across the jaw line. Dorian took the cloaked figure by the arm and tossed him straight in the direction of the warning. Then, like Iron Man he flew as far upward as he could hoping to avoid the blast. Gyokuen simply floated upward and shielded herself with a Borg and watched as Tenco's attack completely obliterated the opposing forces. When the dust cleared it appeared as if there wasn't any enemies to begin with. The victory went to the allied forces! 

 

Wow that was pretty awesome! Dorian said clapping as he landed in front of the group. Gyokuen gently floated down clapping her hands. Very impressive. I must say. I noticed you didn't really help us out there. Dorian said throwing shade at Gyokuen. She simply shrugged as she prepared her defense. I simply wanted to see who's enemies these were. From what I can gather though it doesn't seem to be from anyone's past. Wait are you saying you could tell who they were from just by looking. Gyokuen facepalmed as she was once again going to have to teach these fools about the Rukh. Have you not figured this out yet these paths simply draw images from your Rukh and give them form. For example, Gyokuen snaps her fingers once again and everyone's Rukh's become visible. Let's take Mrs..ummm...Eria...yeah Eria over here. Gyokuen extends her hand and Eria's Rukh begin to simply fly around it. So these little Rukh here represent some portion of your life maybe someone in it. A memory of a loved one perhaps. With a little more effort I can do this. Suddenly everyones Rukh comes together around Eria's and gives shape to someone who looks similar to Eria but with green hair and a little more childish. Dorian looked carefully and tilted his head. Is that Wynn?

Gyokuen shrugged once again. I don't know its just someone in her life or someone or who was in her life. My previous paths lead me to believe this is how they work. However, since this is the future it is possible that we are facing enemies from your respective futures and therefore they would not be in your Rukh. Why are you saying your like these couldn't be from your future? Well I find it odd that out of all of that fighting only you and that other boy over there had to face cloaked men. Would either of you care to explain that? Well my dude had a keyblade before soo I think its obvious I'm going to have to duke it out with Arthur at some point. What's your excuse night light? Dorian said as looked at Arthur. 

Before you answer, I say we should walk and talk. If we dawdle the enemies might return and we should allow Ms. Tenco more time to charge up such a powerful technique. She said with a snicker. Besides I seem to sense more creatures with White Rukh up ahead. 

Ending location C6-C7

[Kōsuke Ueki]

The Pathway To Death, Richard Mason

 

"What are you doing?!" yelled Richard as Sora purposely threw off a few of his lycan-turned allies from his universe. He didn't feel like himself. The fear of failing his own friends put him on the verge of losing his mind. But he couldn't think of that at the moment, he had to survive by any means necessary for the time being. If he didn't get his mind straight, he would end up dead before he could go insane.

 

Dodging another strike from one of the remaining lycans, the rest circled him and Sora's group, stalking their prey. "I would say not to kill them...but..." His eyes then glowed white, indicating that he was about to activate Redemption Mode. "...it's too late, even for them."

 

One of the lycans lunged at Richard, who grabbed the beast by its neck, snapping it right away and throwing it over the edge. His mind was clear again. He knew the lycans weren't his actual allies. They were only meant to look like them to symbolise Richard's failure to save them. But that didn't phase him at all.

 

It was then that the other lycans proceeded to lunge at the group. There weren't a lot of them left. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

 

(Location: C7)

[Gαr]

Ed and Elsa, Pathway of Truth, B8

 

Elsa was getting bad vibes from what was on the other side of the mirror. Everything was so bleak compared to the “cakewalk” they just had. “Don’t worry about it, Elsa.”

 

She looked him straight in the eyes, and in a voice as dry as the wasteland ahead of them. “Thanks for the excellent advice, Ed.”

 

She stepped through the portal, leaving Ed alone. “I need better...people skills.” Upon saying that, several fairies appeared, probably wanting pile onto Ed’s floundering self-confidence. Ed saw the impending interrogation and baled through the mirror portal. Ed was hit with a heavy wind and thick air. The environment was nowhere near Desert Seth level, so Ed didn’t mind, but Elsa wasn’t there for that, so she wrapped her long black coat around herself and pulled up the collar.

 

Ed liked the way Elsa looked with her new coat wrapped around her, slowly associating the coat less with himself and more with herself. If she had some sunglasses, she would have passed for a hacker in the Matrix with the most interesting hairstyle choice of the whole Resistance, but Ed had no idea what any of that was, so that will be the end of that. They walked liked they belong there, even their clothes matched the mood of the Path. They were feeling edgy, but they were walking more and more towards the center of this area.

 

Ed had been looking down most of the time, making it look like he was avoiding getting something in his eye when he was really just thinking about himself. This Path didn’t allow him to lie and it confronted him about himself. He didn’t really like thinking about himself in this fashion. He had enough problems stemming from this whole war and now he also had his life to sort through, and doing that with the person you have conflicting feelings about next to you was something Ed just did not need.

 

Elsa nudged him and chuckled. “Afraid of a little dirt and dust, are you?”

 

Ed looked up from his stupor. “Have you ever gotten something in your eye? It burns, it feels like its digging into you as the feeling spreads across your face until you’re crying, and the tears still don’t get it out. It’s a cycle you just cannot break.”

 

She chuckled again and gently pushed him. “You’re overdramatic.”

 

Ed took the push, but he was starting to get into this. “I’ve nearly bled to death, and I say dirt in your eye is the worst feeling ever.”

 

A dust cloud decided to form around them, cutting them off from the outside world. “I got this.” Elsa waved her hand to her side and a wall of ice blocked the dust. The ice almost immediately began to crack, making it look like delicate crystal glass.

 

“It would be more effective to form a wedge to redirect the force, instead of just out right blocking it.” Ed was about to demonstrate when he sensed a huge power that appear right next to them. He instinctively drew his sword, but before he could fully draw it from its sheath, a hand stopped it. He was drawing with such force and the mysterious power stopped with it with equal force it blew away the dust cloud and Elsa’s barrier.

 

Elsa was shocked by the force of the blow, both mentally and physically. How strong is Ed? More importantly, how much stronger is this person if they can stop him from drawing? Elsa was not able to see under hood, and neither could Ed it was so black. Elsa observed the two in their stalemate, almost like an equilibrium. Each side had equal power focused at one point, but neither exerted any of it.

 

Elsa could see the concentration and calculation on Ed’s face from which she could only deduce was from his experiences as a swordsman. What Elsa couldn’t see was Ed’s terror. Finally, single combat, what Ed excelled at, and he met his literal equal, and for his view, the only way someone can match toe to toe someone else’s strength was to be stronger than them and have impeccable control of that power. And this person was most definitely all of that.

 

Ed made the first move. He balanced on the balls of his feet, locking eyes where eyes would have been in the blackness and pounced backwards. He kept his hand on his sword in case the figure pressed on. It didn’t. He stole a glance at Elsa to make sure there wasn’t another cloaked person set on attacking, and when his vision passed over her eyes, he could have sworn they were purple. Why was he worrying about her at that moment, he had his own fight at the moment? Wait, that was actually kinda rude, don't think like that.

 

The hooded figure withdrew its hand into the billowing cloak, the material flapping in the wind. “Why do you carry your blades and walk the path of swords?” Its voice sounded like wind blowing through a hollow.

 

Ed jaw tightened, but he wasn’t sure why. He really didn’t know why he was drawn to the steel and didn’t think about it much. Goddammit, Ed, for all the hype you give yourself, you’re really not up to par when it comes to explaining your whole shtick. Ed remembered this was the Path about your present self, so this whole thing was one big interview. He looked down at his left side. He still held onto the sword handle. He stared at his faithful sword and switch his gaze to his smaller, newer accompanying blade.

 

“Why I do what I do is an excellent question? I never questioned why I walked the path, I just kept moving forward.” His swords hissed when he drew them. They were oppositely colored, light and dark. A common dichotomy, but an important one. “I think I do it to protect what I never had…and what I will achieve as I walk this very path.” The answer sounded strange to Ed, but it felt right. Very right.

 

The cloak continued to show nothing and give nothing but questions. “The path you walk is oft lonely. Yet, you have someone who feels like a son to you, and in turn views you like a father, though it is doubtful they will admit it. Do you ever think you will have a family of your blood?”

 

His apprentice was dead, Ed knew that. What was his name? Joje-no, not that. Dave. His name is Dave. He really was forgetting things. However, what he did knew was that he was going to get him back. Ed chewed on the question, and finally processed the last bit of the cloak’s question. He grit his teeth. His blood. Every time someone mentioned his mixed race, or even insinuated anything about it, he got angry. He was greater than the sum of his parts, he was a person, and he never understood why others degraded and discriminated him? What did he ever do to them? It is not a crime to exist.

 

“I am not ashamed of my blood, my ancestry, I’m proud of it. My blood is the legacy of my parents, but my blood will not be the only legacy of my family. The knowledge, the magic, and the swordsmanship I pass on mean so much more than just what pumps through my veins. Family doesn’t just stop at blood, not in the slightest. However, I feel that at one point on my path, someone else will have to take over. And I want someone with my blood to continue the crusade to normalize and glorify hybrids like me back home.”

 

“Do you blame yourself for your parents’ death?”

 

That was a sack of bricks to face, and the cloak was a sack of dicks for asking that question. “No, I…don’t blame myself. I can’t blame myself…I just feel sad that it happened…” Ed loosened his grip, finally letting go of his sword and dropped his arm limply. “I never knew them, and yet I miss them. There isn’t a day gone by that I haven’t thought about them. I know nothing about them, but I can’t forget them. I spent all my life wondering about them, and did nothing about it. I did nothing after Pietro died, I did nothing as I trained, I didn’t do anything even after the rebellion ended! There is a hole where a void should be. Was I digging the hole deeper or was I trying to fill it in when I picked up the sword?” Ed dropped his arms that somehow found their way into the air, and was silent after that. Ed ran his hand through his hair, and when he reached the back he grabbed a handful. He didn’t know if he was angry, frustrated, both, or neither. He just didn’t know. “What am I even doing? With my life, with everything.”

 

Ed didn’t know he talked with his hands and excessive arm motions when he was upset. In actuality, this really was the first time he was that upset. The cloak still did nothing, but take it all.

 

Ed felt very tired and drained. He just wanted to take a nap and not think about everything for a while. Ed knew Elsa was next for questioning, so he continued to stand. She stood next to him the whole time, not saying anything. Who knows how awkward that was for her. He forgot that she was even there in the middle of whatever just happened to him, and although he wasn’t aware of her support, the least he could do was do the same. However he didn’t worry too terribly, he knew she could handle herself.

 

[Phantom Roxas]

[Death C7] - Arthur, Eria, MirageGaogamon, & Gagagigo | Sora, Zilyana, Kree’arra

 

Eria ran up to Wynn at the sight of her. Among all of the Charmers, Wynn was the closest one Eria would’ve had to a sister. She opened her arms to embrace her in a hug, but as soon as she did, the Rukh broke apart, Eria walking right past her. ”How dare you.” Water began to bubble around Eria’s feet. ”She was in my life. Until Isamy came to our home. Don’t use her, don’t use any of my friends for a display like that ever again.”

 

”Eria, please,” Gagagigo said. ”Not now.”

 

Arthur held Eria’s shoulder. ”That aside, I have to at least agree with Gyokuen about getting a move on. You can see them again, Eria. I promise. After you and Gagagigo, I want you to go back to them.”

 

Eria remembered the Void Beasts, how Arthur used them. Even if her friends were gone before Arthur met them, part of her still held onto that. She didn’t hate Arthur for it anymore, but she couldn’t forget it. ”Thanks. But, I want to know, too. What happened? Was it just because of those creatures, or…?”

 

Arthur began to pick up his pace, and Eria nearly stumbled on the bridge catching up to him. ”I was shown a vision. I was somewhere else. There was… fire. Centaurs, I think they were related to the monsters we just fought. But there was something else. I’m guessing that’s what I’m going to have to fight. I don’t recognize it, though. So it’s probably like Gyokuen said, and it’s something from my future. So, considering how Dorian saw me, I’m going to guess that I do get away with kicking his ass only to end up fighting something else afterwards.” MirageGaogamon snickered at that, though Gagagigo nudged him to keep him quiet.

 

At the sound of a howl, Eria gathered water. ”I think whatever Gyokuen sensed is up ahead.” A werewolf suddenly landed beside Eria, hitting its head against the bridge before falling below. ”…Yeah, let’s just go after whatever did that.”

 

Eria and Arthur led the charge, chasing after the werewolves. Some began to appear from began, though Gagagigo cleaned them off the bridge with a swipe of his tail. The werewolves appeared to be making a concentrated effort towards somebody, only to be knocked back just as soon as they seemed to close in. Two taller figures stood out among the shadows, and as more of the werewolves were cleared away, two more, smaller figures appeared beneath them.

 

”Arthur!” Sora called out, casually spinning one of his Keyblades around him while the other two cut some of the werewolves in half. ”Glad to see you guys are still doing okay.”

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

...

I don't know.

What am I to you?

What are you to me?

 

She had failed. She kept on trying to deny it, but indeed, she had failed. She was wrong. She had not been able to escape even after she disappeared. She failed to fulfill her own promise to her so far, and she was starting to doubt that she could actually fulfill that promise.

 

It felt like she was unsalvageable.

 

I don't know.

Was I seeking you?

Did I like you?

What was it?

 

She was empty. It was a fact. She was more a person-shaped hole walking around than an actual individual. She was defined by others. Defined by her. Filled with her. Her feelings towards her was maybe simply her attempt to use her to define herself. She said that she should be able to lead her own life if she could just remove her from her thought and stop using her to define herself. But it is impossible. For that without her to define her, she would be empty again. She needed to be defined by others. It was why, in the end she could not strive to live her own life, to live the life she wanted. After all, she had no idea on what she actually wanted.

 

And it scared her to no end.

 

And now what?

I don't know.

But...

I wanted to see you. And to go on a journey together.

 

What journey? She had no idea. She gave her a future, but she had no idea about what was actually waiting for her. It was a question that she kept on asking to herself. And it was a question she thought to be completely unanswerable by her. It's a question impossible to be answered by someone whose entire existence were that of someone else. It's impossible to be answered by a satellite that needs to orbit others to not be lost at the deep dark coldness of outer space.

 

She chuckled a bit. Maybe she was doing it for naught, after all. Even then, she still chose to believe in her. Even if she was no longer there, that belief was probably the only thing that could keep her moving.

 

With that thought, she closed her eyes, and the world around her turned dark.

 

"Which of us before was more truly naive?

Was it you, far off in the distance…?

 

Or was it me?"

 

---

 

"Tenco"

Pathway of Remembrance C6-C7

 

”I was shown a vision. I was somewhere else. There was… fire. Centaurs, I think they were related to the monsters we just fought. But there was something else. I’m guessing that’s what I’m going to have to fight. I don’t recognize it, though. So it’s probably like Gyokuen said, and it’s something from my future. So, considering how Dorian saw me, I’m going to guess that I do get away with kicking his ass only to end up fighting something else afterwards.”

 

"Ah, that explains it." Tenco mumbled to herself. Arthur was not directly answering to her question, and to tell the truth she didn't even understand most of what he's trying to say, but she felt it was an acceptable answer to sate her curiosity. As the group starting to get a move on again after the silver creatures had been eliminated, Tenco was not up to speed for it and ended up lagging behind at the back of the group due to her fatigue, though she was still able to stay with the group for the most part. The attack itself didn't even consume any sort of energy from herself or her sword since it took the energy from her environment, but the heavy recoil from it really did her over. Her arms and legs felt like jelly that time, and while she could utilize her sword to rejuvenate herself, she decided to let herself recover normally just to preserve the sword's remaining temperament, of which she didn't actually have much idea about how much it actually held, but she shouldn't waste it either way.

 

Gyokuen's earlier display, while almost made her yell at her again due to it almost starting another feud with Eria, intrigued Tenco quite a lot. It could be concluded now that the Rukh Gyokuen kept talking about was not exactly the same as the qi or temperament that she knew about so she shouldn't get too concerned about it, but even then, to think that it could take form as an aspect of someone else's life just like that piqued her interest, though the reasoning was a bit vague aside from mere curiosity. Gyokuen's mention of "future enemies" also intrigued her, though the prospect was a bit scary. While Tenco ended up not dwelling on the "future enemy" issue much, she begrudgingly accepted that no matter how untrustworthy and harmful she was, the lady's knowledge on things would be quite useful and she did have some traces of wisdom on her, even if it's covered by mud. Struggling to increase her walking pace, Tenco approached Gyokuen to ask her more.

 

"Lady...Gyokuen, can you tell me more about how did you do that? I mean earlier. You used the Rukh from Eria to materialize a construct that looked like her friend you didn't seem to know about beforehand. How did you do that?"

 

It honestly felt odd that she's asking her like that after most of her previous interaction with her was her being annoyed at the woman's antic. Before she could get her answer, however, she finally understood why Gyokuen mentioned about more existence with White Rukh beyond the path. Before the group, she could see several people were fighting what seemed to be werewolfs. One of them seemingly is using the same kind of odd weapon as Arthur did, so Tenco thought that they should be acquaintances with each other. That was proven when that spiky haired guy called out to Arthur's name as he kept on dealing with the werewolfs. Tenco wanted to go over there and help the others to handle the werewolves, but her body still feel too crappy for her to move much, let alone entering combat.

 

"Also...what kind of enemies from our future were you talking about, Gyokuen?"

 

---

[Love of Ghibli]

Dorian and Gyokuen: Path of Death 

Dorian decided to be the bigger man and let that snide little comment about Arthur beating him slide. It didn't matter, deep down they both must have truly known that come time for proper combat Dorian would mop him up and down the pathway. Nevertheless the two kept proceeding to go down the path and follow the others. Both Gyokuen and Dorian raised an eyebrow as they bore witness to werewolves. Sure I guess I shouldn't be too concerned about werewolves. Gyokuen was busy covering herself and Tenco in a massive spherical Borg. 

Dorian would you mind letting me handle this. I want to show Miss Tenco a little something. Dorian proceeded to retreat behind Gyokuen and as a small number of werewolves proceeded to attack she smiled. Borg Al-Samm! The massive defensive field of hers proceeded to grow 8 Dragon heads and they proceeded to shred the wolves to pieces. As you can see Ms. Tenco you can do anything with proper training. Like I said before the Rukh represent your life. With proper training and a being born a magician you are able to interact with the Rukh. Those same skills allow me to do certain tricks like the ones I did with the vessel. Gyokuen released her Borg and chuckled. Now since Rukh on their own simply flutter around and do nothing its easy for more classically trained magicians to give them commands agin like I did with the water vessel.  Dorian simply chuckled as he listened to Gyokuen give her explanation. Nevertheless it looked like everything was taken care of and now he would have to just worry about Arthur's two new friends. Would it have been just too much ask that they not run into more of the good guys. Dorian proceeded to stroke his chin in slight confusion. Surely he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. 
 

As for my theory of future enemies its like I said the Rukh represent your life. Essentially the past and present. Your Rukh can't represent a part of your life you haven't lived yet. Seeing that none of your Rukh were connected to those silver things I would guess they are visions of your future.

 

Gyokuen looked on as she saw Arthur's faction conversing with the two new people. Now we are really outnumbered aren't we Dorian? Yeah this is not looking good. 

 

Ending Location C7

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Borg Al-Samm!"

 

Tenco was watching with wonder in her eyes as Gyokuen turned the maelstrom of the so-called "Rukh" that protected them into eight dragon heads which she used to tear apart the werewolf constructs. It reminded her of her own usage of her qi-flame dragons, but what Gyokuen just demonstrated to her showed that the woman's skill level in handling something similar was quite a lot higher than her.

 

"As you can see Ms. Tenco, you can do anything with proper training. Like I said before, the Rukh represent your life. With proper training and being born as a magician you are able to interact with the Rukh. Those same skills allow me to do certain tricks like the ones I did with the vessel.

 

Now since Rukh on their own simply flutter around and do nothing, its easy for more classically trained magicians to give them commands like I did with the water vessel."

 

"Like the-oh, I see." Tenco almost asked about what exactly did Gyokuen mean with the "vessel" in her sentence, but she then remembered about the group's earlier feud and immediately frowned a bit. Of course, she was referring to Eria. Thankfully she didn't seem to hear what the woman was saying, or the rift in the group would appear once more, to the detriment of everyone there.

 

"As for my theory of future enemies its like I said the Rukh represent your life. Essentially the past and present. Your Rukh can't represent a part of your life you haven't lived yet. Seeing that none of your Rukh were connected to those silver things I would guess they are visions of your future."

 

"So it is a conclusion you drew from your observation, I see." Tenco's voice became quite distant as she spoke those words. She was hoping Gyokuen would have more knowledge about what's waiting for them beyond this point. It was still clear that the prospect of future enemies kind of scared her in a way, but once again without any clear information on it Tenco decided just to put aside the topic, getting it out of her mind's focus just so she didn't need to think much about it.

 

"Rukh...so a manifestation of life, huh?" After casting aside the thought about the future enemies, Tenco shifted the topic back to the original one. As she said her sentence, Tenco gathered the temperaments fluttering around near her, and summoned several scarlet jewels that went on to orbit her body. As she took a deep breath, the jewels seemingly broke all of the suddenly, only to reveal that they had been transmuted into the crude scarlet swords that Tenco usually used.

 

"I think...unlike you, this is probably the extent of what I could reliably do for now. Making these crude mockeries of a sword, I mean. Maybe my fire magic also have the same principle to this too, and I think I could gather these fluttering Rukh to make a moving construct clone of myself, but I haven't really tried it.

 

It just...I don't know." Tenco shook her head a bit as she continued to talk to the woman on her side. "Unlike you, I couldn't really properly see the nature of the Rukh as you said, or to bring out said nature from the fluttering around Rukh. Maybe you're right that I'll need to have a proper training as a magician to be able to do that, but...

 

Lady Gyokuen, please, can you lend me some help about that subject right now?"

 

As she said it, the swords she summoned earlier as a demonstration of her control over the subject immediately dissipated into nothingness. The request was one mainly born out of curiosity and a realization that she still had to be stronger. She'd still rather not ask Gyokuen of all people for it, but she realized that she's the only person that she knew who would be capable of actually helping her with it. After all their abilities were pretty similar, and Gyokuen's explanation earlier made Tenco sure that Rukh was really the almost same thing as her temperaments. Not that she knew a lot of people anyway. Her desire to understand exactly the nature of the sword she confiscated from Tenshi and her desire to be stronger due to her getting smacked around times and times again before gave her the push needed to utter her request. And after all, if she was not strong enough, then she wouldn't be able to...

 

"Please, I really need that knowledge."

 

---

[Love of Ghibli]

Dorian and Gyokuen: Path of Death 

Dorian and Gyokuen simply looked at each other as Tenco gave a heartfelt plea for assistance. This was odd. Dorian looked at Gyokuen. Does she not know we're the bad guys in this story of worlds. Well people always needed help. And besides maybe I miss my daughter so this can be quality time by proxy. Gyokuen noticed that the others were having some kind of conversation dealing with straggling werewolves. Well we can at least keep it movin', these pathways are long and I'm sick of fighting for the time being. Agreed. 

It will be fun to actually fix one of Solomon's mistakes with the use of words and not the use of horrible experimentation. Gyokuen paused for a second. Well experimentation does have its upsides. Anywho, let us begin your first lesson. After watching your sword construction I realize that you're trying too hard. If you want to manipulate Rukh you would have to at least crawl before you can walk. So for now you must start like all basic magicians. First, you must know that everything takes energy. Like your technique with whatever your magic is and the same with controlling the Rukh. The difference is efficiency. I don't think you marginalize your energy well. Gyokuen paused for a second. At least when you're thinking anyway. 

When you control the Rukh you give commands. Now depending on what you want to do requires a varying amount of commands. If I do this I can tell the Rukh to fly to the east which is pretty easy that is one command. Doesn't do anything, but its one command. What I did before would constitute thousands of commands working in tandem. So far it looks like you're doing magic off of memory. You've made constructs so many times that it is second nature to you. For now you should try to do something simple and build from there. 

Ending Location C7

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"...Trying...too hard? What do you mean?" Tenco asked, quite confused as of why Gyokuen was saying that. It was something of a second nature to her already when it comes to creating swords like that, even if their forms were quite...rough and unpolished, so to be said. Though, that's probably the reason why Gyokuen said that. As the magician continued to talk, as she mentioned about crawling before walking, her guess had seemingly been confirmed.

 

"The difference is efficiency. I don't think you marginalize your energy well.

 

At least when you're thinking anyway."

 

So she lacked control, Tenco thought to herself. Understandable since she had only gotten ahold of the full extent of the ability just hours ago, though it kind of annoyed her to learn that fact since she was reminded about how much of this ability that she still need to learn about. With a faint scowl on her face, she continued to listen as Gyokuen continued her lecture.

When you control the Rukh you give commands. Now depending on what you want to do requires a varying amount of commands. If I do this I can tell the Rukh to fly to the east which is pretty easy that is one command. Doesn't do anything, but its one command. What I did before would constitute thousands of commands working in tandem. So far it looks like you're doing magic off of memory. You've made constructs so many times that it is second nature to you. For now you should try to do something simple and build from there.

 

"Something simple...?" Once again, Tenco was not quite grasping at what Gyokuen just said to her. What did she mean by something "simple"? Was it something like the maelstrom the woman currently put up around herself and the girl? Or was she referring to something even simpler? Tenco didn't really understand her direction. As she was drowned in her thoughts, for a moment she seemingly had forgotten about all the events happening around her, and even, for a moment, it was as if there was only the woman before her and herself there.

After a while, she was getting a bit annoyed that she couldn't exactly decide about what Gyokuen just said. In a slight fit of frustration, the girl gathered some of the the freely fluttering temperaments towards herself, and with some directioning, she attempted to create small spheres from the gathered  energy. At first, the spheres were slowly stabilizing as Tenco focused more and more effort in shaping them to be spheres, but just as they almost fully stabilized her concentration broke, and the scarlet spheres returned into the maelstrom of gathered energy that were now concentrating around the girl, much to her annoyance.

 

"Ugh...how much practice do I really need, anyway? And why's this harder than just making swords?"

 

---

[Merci]

As our trials advance onwards, approaching the very beginning…

 

 

before we go on, let us resume our reminiscence

 

of̴ ͝a̵n e͢v͘e͡nt ̵th̸a̧t o͡c̢cur̷re̷d in an ex̧͞i͝s̛̛te̴͡n̶c̀͡e ͡f̡͢ar̵̨̀,̡ ̧͏f̵͢a͜r̀̕ ̴̀a͟͢͏̨́w̸̕͟͢͡a̧̡͟͞y̸̕.

 

 

 

The Pathway to Truth

 

Here arise that which you have deeply hidden.

Rife with doubt,

to discover them is to forever keep them.

She took a deep breath as she walked through a long, pitch-black corridor made of wood, each of her footsteps echoing ominously, and all the while she was suffering from a persistent feeling of doubt.

 

Somehow, she had managed to make it through the first Pathway, but the losses she suffered as a consequence of it had been far too much. Her body, which was now that of an ordinary human, was covered in slowly worsening wounds.

 

The once-teal colour of her hair had faded to black, her heterochromatic eyes both blue, and her spatial clothes were no longer made of dark matter, now useless, ripped and stained in her own blood. Her Tabris scythe wasn’t either, and it was hard to carry it around without her enhanced strength, so it was fairly unlikely that she’d be able to effectively use it in any future battles, especially since her other hand was refusing to move properly. And to top it all off, her chest kept hurting as an unfamiliar object embedded within constantly pounded, again and again. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with her body, merely that her heart, having stood still for so long, had reactivated, pumping blood all throughout her to keep her alive.

 

Many decades ago, the Herald of Chaos and Entropy had converted her soul into six of her own most precious memories, each of which took place in a different part of the multiverse, so as to make it far harder to kill her. They weren’t hidden within the heavily-fortified Castle of Necrophades like what her father had done, but within timeframes of her own life, converted into time itself. Thus, when the Grim Reaper stripped her of her immortality, he had in effect also taken away those memories. If her Time Sense hadn’t remained intact, she may very well have transformed into a completely different person.

 

She had to admit that the loss of her powers as an Omni was too massive of a problem to simply brush off, especially when she was wounded as well as exhausted. The more time passed, the more her skin turned pale. It had been a long time since she’d last experienced physical pain, so it wasn’t easy to adjust to even after all she’d been through. She did get the opportunity to rest once she had returned in the White Room, to recuperate her strength and hone what little power she had left, but to think that there were still two more, a whole seventy kilometers yet to be traversed... The very thought of it was disheartening.

 

At the very least, even if she lost her immortal status, she did retain her psychic power, although it had been quite some time since she last had to rely on it since her magic tended to almost always be more practical in situations. Now that it was her only option to proceed, it made her feel a little nostalgic, reminding her of times long since passed. She was certain that they were also the reason she’d been adopted in the first place, something about her powers that made her remarkable, even though the source itself was among the memories stolen.

 

...Just thinking about the past made her feel extremely nauseous, as though her mind was struggling to cope with a massive void within her head. Come to think of it, she’d actually been feeling that way since she entered the first Pathway, though it was much worse now. What did it mean?

 

In any case, it wasn’t important for now. Closing her eyes, she focused on the cuts throughout her body, and went on to block out the pain with her mind, figuring that they would only slow her down. As long as her consciousness functioned and her limbs could move, there was no way in hell that she was going to give up, no matter what awaited her. Nothing would change that. To stop this early on would be an insult to everyone out there who’ve had to suffer through far worse in order to achieve their dreams.

 

“Still a long way to go, huh. I knew this wasn’t going to be easy, but...”

 

~ Believe in myself ~

 

Once she emerged out the end of the wooden corridor, her petite figure was bathed in an intense light, making her wince as she struggled to adapt to the sudden sunlight. At the same time, warm, heavy winds blew against her, and by the time her eyes adjusted, she realized that she was standing in the midst of a bright blue sky, with the sun shining above, the very sight of which was, well, mesmerizing after the gloomy darkness of the previous Pathway, only furthered by the beautiful, floating land of cherry blossoms further on. She stopped, and for a moment she could only stare at the paradise, nearly forgetting what her mission was supposed to be.

 

But after shaking her head, her mind regained its coherency, and she walked onwards, cautiously so as to not be blown off. There was no doubt going to be plenty of twists regarding what lay beyond, so it wouldn’t be a good idea to get too worked up over what awaited her. For all she knew, the trials would end up being even worse than those of Death, and deep down she was already exhausted, having not quite recovered from it.

 

She recalled how each of the three Pathways had been specifically constructed for her, made to target her psychologically through each of their three themes and maximize the overall effect in a way that might not work as effectively for others. Even if she had mentally prepared herself for what she might encounter in each one, the reality was far different, in that it would always find a way to tear through her walls and poke at her weak spots. This one would no doubt be the same.

 

It’d be especially hard now that most of her powers had been stripped away from her, though she couldn’t help but admit how much nicer it would’ve been if they’d also taken away the Time Sense. She had gotten used to the loudness, and in a way it was much like jumble of incoherent auditory hallucination that plagued her for the whole of her life, but it would’ve been much appreciated if that useless ability could offer her some silence to make her focus better. Oh well. It had saved her countless times in situations that involved time manipulation, so she could only be grateful for it.

 

Eventually, she reached the end of the glass bridge, and stepped onto the landmass of cherry blossoms. As soon as she did so, a vague pressure released itself, signifying that she had crossed the checkpoint, and that the challenge had officially begun.

 

She convinced herself that she would complete whatever awaited her with flying colours, and that she wouldn’t make any of the same mistakes she made in the previous Pathway, such as letting her guard down around an opponent, considering that even a single mistake could spell her permanent end this time around. Truth be told, this wasn’t the first time that she was staking everything, so she should be able to quickly get used to her current situation.

 

However, somewhere at the back of her mind, there was an uncertainty that wouldn’t normally be there.

 

“We made it to the second trial, didn’t we? We’re getting closer. Come on, Isamy!”

 

Summoning up her courage, the Herald of Chaos and Entropy proceeded onwards through the cherry blossom forest, making her way through the various pink petals that slowly made their way down, filling the air in a fairytale-like manner. So far, the Pathway to Truth was so incredibly different from the previous one that she couldn’t help but admit that a part of her was speechless about it, but she wouldn’t let it distract her. A part of her was tempted to sprint forth and try to reach the end as fast as possible, but considering her current state, she’d only be exhausting herself far too quickly when she ought to conserve her now-limited stamina for potential future battles.

 

So, about this new realm. The inscription on the stone-grey door had mentioned things like ‘doubt’, ‘that which you have deeply hidden’, and ‘forever keeping them’, and while she wasn’t too certain about their meaning, she figured that it most definitely had to do with truth and lies. Denial, avoiding the reality, traits like those would be torn down here.

 

Even though she had resorted to committed countless foul acts in the past for the sake for justice, she must’ve remained honest to herself, to what she wanted to achieve, so it might not be too much of a problem. However, she couldn’t remain confident about that. Honestly, she was a little, just a little afraid of what she might end up having to face.

 

At the thought, she let out a sigh.

 

“Oooh, look, it’s the hero!” A small, but high-pitched voice suddenly yelled out.

 

“The hero has come?!”

 

“Yaaayyyy, the hero, the hero~”

 

Then, all of a sudden, the sincere tranquility of the forest was ruined as a trio of what seemed to be fairies dropped down from the trees, appearing really excited while they scrambled to gather around her. Each of them were tiny with varying clothes, and they all possessed butterfly-like wings which fluttered calmly behind their backs. It was an odd, if cute thing to witness. Not that she hadn't seen odder.

 

“Uhh… thanks, I suppose.” Isamy answered absentmindedly, feeling more confused than flattered as she continued to walk on. What were these things supposed to be exactly? A part of the Pathway, or something else? They didn’t seem to be the enemies though, since she could feel with her psychic powers that they were feeling genuine excitement.

 

“Wait, don’t gooo, hero, we need to ask you some questions!”

 

“Questions, questions!”

 

“Interview with the hero~”

 

“U…huh. Well, I’m really honoured and all by being regarded so highly, but as you can plainly see, I’m extremely busy right now, so…” For some reason, the words seemed to be flowing right out of her, though she figured it was unimportant for now.

 

She attempted to wave them off, but unfortunately, it was to little avail as they persisted in continually bugging her, following her walking pace. How long would she have to deal with these little creatures? She looked ahead to try and get a clue, but there was no end to the cherry blossoms. Well, if nothing else, at least this was better than being in a life-or-death situation with an entity of pure evil who sought only to painfully torture her in every way imaginable.

 

“W- waaah, the hero is hurt!” One of the fairies shrieked suddenly.

 

“Oh myyy, you’re right, you’re right~!”

 

“This is bad, bad, baaaddd…”

 

At that, the rest of the fairies only just begun to notice the cuts and burn marks all over her, some minor, but some also serious enough, such that thin trails of blood were pouring out from the few deeper cuts and a part of her skin had turned wholly black. Her broken right hand stood out too, hanging by her side while she held Tabris with her other hand. They must’ve been really thickheaded to have not noticed right from the get-go, considering how blatant they were. Even though she blocked out the pain so as to keep on progressing, she wasn’t exactly capable of healing the damage sustained, so it was a bit of a problem.

 

Their expressions had changed to concern as they each darted from place to place across her body, examining each wound with care. After a few minutes, she was forced to stop as they gathered right in front of her, nodding to each other. Then, they held their arms out forth at her and began to mutter words - at first, they sounded incoherent, but Isamy quickly recognized them as a variant of Arabic, the same language she herself used to invoke her spells.

 

In tandem with their words, they began to glow, emitting a teal energy which made contact with her and proceeded to target the wounded areas. Then after a few moments, strength flowed into her, her pain and exhaustion fading away until her body was as good as new.

 

Once she’d twisted her arm around to confirm for herself, she smiled and gratefully nodded towards her benefactors.

 

“Thank you, I sincerely appreciate it. If there’s anything I can-”

 

It was only then that the fairies noticed something else odd about their hero.

 

“Wait a second, she looks different! Kinda!”

 

“Y- you’re right! And how come she was hurt anyway?”

 

“An imposter, ugu?!”

 

“Um, no. It’s just that my powers were stolen away from me in the previous pathway. This thing called the Grim Reaper appeared and, after a battle, caught me off-guard, erasing the Omni Principle ingrained deep within me. If I had to guess, this is all to do with teaching me humility or something…” the Herald explained, the words coming straight out of her all of a sudden. The fact that she was being too open was just a bit weird. “It’s not like I’m completely powerless as I’m still psychic, but with over thirty miles to go, well. You can imagine how difficult this is going to be from now on.”

 

“I see…”

 

“That’s not very good!”

 

“We’re all dooommmeeeedddd!”

 

“Hey, no need to panic! Nobody's doomed! Not necessarily, anyway! I mean, I’m still alive and kicking, and thanks to you three, I have the strength to fight again, right?"

 

Taking a deep breath, Isamy leaned against a nearby tree for a bit.

 

"Though it’s true that like this, I’m not sure if I’ll stand a chance against the upcoming challenges. I could be eradicated in an instant, and just like that, it’ll all be over for me. I didn’t think I had a chance of failure before, but now, well…”

 

The words coming out of her mouth were indeed true. Perhaps she had been a little too overconfident lately, or rather, perhaps she’d been overconfident for the entire past hundred years that she’d been an Omni. Even though there were times when she felt as though she could’ve been killed by a greater power, mostly she had gotten used to her enormous strength and immortality. She had the duty to carry on, but without them, she had become much less optimistic.

 

That aside, it was rather odd. She’d been suppressing her thoughts about the current situation and considered herself to be quite the expert at hiding her own true feelings, but for some reason, they were just pouring out to a bunch of unidentifiable fairies.

 

“So, hero, what are you going to do now?” One of the fairies asked. Now that she was paying close attention, he seemed to look like someone she once knew – by the name of Sven.

 

“Nothing’s changed. I will complete the remaining two Pathways and reach the Door of Origin.” She answered.

 

“And what will you do afterwards?” Another asked. This one was a little familiar as well, sharing traits with a certain Power Ranger.

 

“Open it of course. Duh.”

 

“How will you do that?” The last of the three asked. And without a doubt, she resembled Delta quite a lot with her bluish hair and cloak.

 

“What do you mean ‘how’? I just… open it. That’s all. Right?”

 

Isamy gave the fairy an odd look. At her answer, the fairies looked as if they had just realized something, shooting each other glances. It seemed like that they wanted to say something, but in the end, didn’t. With a shrug, she got off from the tree and resumed walking onwards, to the end of the cherry blossom path. “Well then, if none of you mind, I’ve gotta be going. There are more trials waiting for me up ahead, and the sooner I can finish them, the better—”

 

Whilst she was on her way, the first fairy caught up with her, hoping to ask something. Noticeably, she had ceased to sense any emotion from him, like he’d just become a robot, which made her slightly uncomfortable.

 

“Hero, why do you want to open the Door?”

 

“Because I want to make everyone happy.” The words came out of her mouth without hesitation, with such conviction that it surprised even her to an extent. “Everyone who’s ever lived, in every time and place – even if the laws of multiverse itself are skewed in such a way that erasing their suffering is impossible, if I can at least give them a reason to smile before the end, that would be…more than enough for an silly ol’ dreamer like myself.”

 

How old was she now? Over a century? It was funny in a way, since it felt like it was only yesterday that she was a young girl, learning to use her powers in order to help all those around her, trying her hardest to make them even a little bit happier. Looking back it it all was bizarre.

 

The second fairy followed close behind, apparently with another question. Like the first, emotion appeared to have vanished from him.

 

“Hero, why do you want everyone to be happy?”

 

“Well…”

 

At that, Isamy fell silent for a bit, as if unsure what to say. It was noticeable in how her response seemed stuck in her throat this time, unlike all the past times since arriving here when her words just flowed outwards.

 

“I suppose it’s because… I just don’t think it’s right for people to suffer. At least, not without some sort of compensation.” Isamy managed to explain. “Suffering is the one thing nobody wants, an obstacle with no direct benefit, and yet, people are always creating more for themselves one way or another. It’s true that there are people who take it as a strength, rising from the ashes, but the majority just stumble and die. Left to be forgotten. If it's within my power, I would want to change that.”

 

Afterwards, letting her feet continue onwards on their own, it wasn’t too much later that the third fairy showed herself. She could sense a trace of sadness coming from this one, but otherwise, her thoughts were just as cold as the rest. “Hero…”

 

“Another question, I’m guessing?”

 

“That is correct. Hero, what made you the person you are now?”

 

“Well… There’s loads of different reasons, but if I had to pick out the foremost one, then I guess it was how I grow up.”

 

She closed her eyes, gathering her thoughts for a bit, before continuing.

 

“When I was just a kid, I grew up in an orphanage, one that wasn’t exactly, eh, ‘up-to-standard’. There, I was surrounded by all sorts of unfortunate children, and they each had their own troubles. For some reason, even if I didn’t know what it was like to be in their situation, I was able to understand their emotions. For years, the suffering of other people was all I knew. I I tried to shut myself away from it all... Eventually though, I realized that we didn’t have to suffer all the time.”

 

For some reason, as she was talking, she felt uncomfortable. Not because of recounting a less-than-pleasant past, but because a part of her seemed to be telling that there was something wrong. Something missing. Something completely different from the story she was telling...but she ignored it as she turned her gaze directly to the Delta lookalike.

 

“Somewhere along the lines, I resolved myself to help everyone in existence. ‘Course, I was pretty naïve back then, and as time went on, I began to realize just how many people ‘everyone’ really is. I became a lot more aware of reality. It dawned upon me that a goal like that was, well, utterly impossible. But even after knowing all that, could you imagine it had me fighting for a whole century?”

 

She let out a sigh. Even though her body condition had just been restored back to normal, she still felt tired. Perhaps out of emotional fatigue, something that couldn’t possibly be cured with a single spell.

 

“You know, fictional stories tend to focus on developing the main characters, and at the end, they’ll have some epic finale and live happily forever. Even when it comes to the ones who don’t make it, who’re fated to die halfway through, then they’ll die by a heroic sacrifice against the enemy, or by imparting some final information to solving the mystery, or by whatever else – the point is that they find their purpose at the end." Her fists clenched. "But that’s not the case in reality. The facts are that most of the time, peoples’ lives will end unhappily, having never realized anything. Never achieved anything to give them meaning. And when they do, all I can think of is…what was the point of them living in the first place?”

 

For a time, silence ensued, as the Delta-lookalike fairy absorbed the meaning of her words.

 

There was no answer to it – because it was obvious. There wasn’t any point.

 

Reality wasn’t composed of stories, so it never stopped to compensate for such silly things. People had the freedom to follow their dreams, but there was no guarantee that they would ever work out. That was the cruel way in which life worked for everyone.

 

“Hero, hero, you’ve made me curious about something~” The first fairy, the redheaded one that looked like Sven, suddenly popped up by her shoulder.

 

“Okaaay… What is it this time?” At this point, she was beginning to get annoyed by all the questions, but purely because they still hadn’t presented themselves to be any kind of threat, she’d been indulging in their requests with unusual honesty. If nothing else, it was better than fighting off powerful enemies in her state.

 

“Well then! You were talking about the meaning of life, soooo,” The fairy paused for a bit. “How many people have you killed~?”

 

At that, Isamy nearly lost her breath.

 

“…I don’t know.” She answered after some hesitation.

 

“Why not?”

 

“I do try my hardest to use my powers and quell all misgivings in my sight, but…indirectly, my actions must’ve affected an insurmountable amount of innocents, endangering them when they would’ve otherwise been out of harm. Villages, cities, nations, heck, even worlds were dragged into my ignorant quest for peace."

 

It was funny when she looked back to how it all started. Back then, she was but a little girl with an innocent mind, thinking that if she was able to save one person, then it might just be possible for her to save everyone in the world.

 

"For many, many decades I tried to save people, but in the end, I don’t know whether or not I managed to save more people than I killed. And even then, it won’t change the fact that I, at times, was forced into positions where I had to let the minority die for the sake of the majority.”

 

Becoming an Omni and gaining incredible powers only furthered her beliefs, broadening her field of vision to include entire universes, and making her set out to become a superhero like the ones in movies and comics. Unaware of just how much she would have to endure by arrogantly putting the fates of billions and billions of people in her hands, with the sole excuse of ‘ultimate power’.

 

“I don’t believe that the loss of even a single life can justify the survival of the rest, but at times, reality is only ever so cruel. Some hero I am, huh...”

 

The Sven-fairy blinked. “Have you ever murdered anyone with your own two hands then, ugu?”

 

A sensation, like a sharp needle digging into her brain, seemed to form in her head after hearing that question. She planned on remaining silent at it, but contrary to her wishes, her mouth moved on its own.

 

“Only... one...”

 

“Only one? Huh? After all those years, how’s that possible?”

 

“Don’t underestimate me.” Isamy snapped coldly, annoyed that she'd even said it at all. “I may have made the wrong choice from time to time, but when it came to things happening right around me, things I had a direct influence over, I made damn well sure to save as many people as possible. Always finding another way, solving dilemmas without the need for killing, be it with talking, with the resources I possessed, or with sheer strength. Even when they were killing machines, stripped of their minds, I did my hardest to end the fight without killing them! Only once did I…fail.”

 

A memory, one that she'd been trying not to recall, flashed past her. Of a time some years ago, in a crystal control room, wherein an epic duel had taken place between her and her partner against an out-of-control Avatar of the Astral World.

 

He wished to project a Tesseract Field onto the universe and Rank-Up the Astral World, elevating them to a higher plane of existence while eradicating all other life in the process. Knowing this, they had infiltrated his Different Dimension Destroyer to stop him before he could do so, and while things were going well at first, things took a drastic turn at the end—

 

“A former comrade of mine. Called himself Spectral.”

 

The one she ended up killing wasn’t the Avatar Eliphas, however, but her very own partner, the one who helped her succeed. She normally prepared for every possible outcome, but because she trusted him, she never took into the account the possibility of him betraying her and hijacking the Tesseract Generator. Every now and then when she closed her eyes, she could still see him fading away, imparting her with his last words – ‘Good luck.’

 

“He was an Astral Emperor with Barian powers. We worked together for a few years, helping each other out, but then after an epic duel against a shared enemy, he attempted to destroy the Astral World, believing from the bottom of his heart that it was for the greater good. Since he’d connected himself to the Numeron Network, to stop the process would be to end his life. He knew me and my policies more than anyone, so he didn’t think I would dare get in the way...”

 

It was a strange feeling, just saying it as though it was a mere trivial thing.

 

"...and he was wrong."

 

Each word felt painful, like a dagger tearing into her heart, and yet once she’d started, she hadn’t been able to stop recalling that unpleasant memory.

 

"Hah. Haha."

 

Although she hadn’t fought anything or used up any of her energy, her mind seemed exhausted, perhaps even drained. Without a doubt, there had to be another force at work here, forcing her to open up when she otherwise wouldn’t have been so honest, and if she let it continue to do as it liked, then there was a fair chance that she might not come out of it alive. Ignoring the matter any further wouldn’t help her move faster, but hinder her.

 

In other words, it was starting to become a bother.

 

“There’s a truth field all throughout the area, isn’t there?” Isamy asked the three fairies, deciding to address the issue at lost. None of the three answered, instead just nodding to confirm her suspicions. “I mean, it’s called the Pathway to Truth, so it’s pretty obvious. A part of me suspected it since the start, but I thought it was a good opportunity to know my own thoughts on things. And I think I’ve learned enough. Now then, with that done, if you’ll excuse me...”

 

Now that she knew about the truth field for sure, she begun to move quicker in order to reach end as soon as possible. The scythe she carried was slowing her down, and even if her stamina had been restored, she was still a human, with the strength of a human. If she had her old powers, she would’ve been able to cross past this entire land in seconds without the slightest trace of fatigue, but in her current state, she had to save as much energy as she could.

 

To her distaste, none of the fairies stayed back, instead following after her against her will.

 

“Hero, who do you love?”

 

“No one. I suppose I’ve had crushes from time to time, but really, I don’t plan on dating anyone, let alone marrying. It’ll only be a weakness.” An answer came out before she could stop herself.

 

“Hero, why do you wear clothes like that?”

 

“I used to wear a more practical suit, but then changed to this outfit because it helped me blend in better. Also, I found it cute at the time.” Another answer, against her will.

 

“Hero, have you ever tried becoming a masked superhero like the ones in comics?”

 

“Well, I teamed up with the Justice League once, so I would say that... Could you lot please stop following me?!” As she was quickly discovering, each of the three fairies were faster than she was, and gradually becoming more and more persistent with their questions.

 

Then, as her gaze moved up, she saw that things were only about to get even worse. There were dozens more of the same kinds of fairies with similar energy signatures emerging from the cherry blossoms, relentlessly descending like a swarm, each and every one of them resembling someone she had once worked with in the past. Judging by their curious emotions, and by what little she could make of the thoughts in their heads, they were no doubt hoping to extract even more answers out of her, whether or not she wanted to answer them.

 

Who are you? What is your purpose here? Where do you come from? When will you be done? Why do you want to reach the Door? How did you find the Pathways?

 

Who was your father? What do you plan on doing now? Where are you going? When did you decide to become a hero? Why do you want to save others? How do you save someone?

 

Who would you not save? What is the difference between helping someone and saving them? Where do you go to save people? When was the last time you really saved someone? Why do you bother to save those who don’t deserve it? How can you strive to keep everyone alive?

 

Who is stupid enough to follow through on this path? What is the point of giving deaths meaning? Where will your name be praised? When will you realize this is futile? Why don’t you just give up? How do you have the strength to continue onwards when you know that every step is pointless?

 

It was quite clear by then that the longer she stayed here, the worse things were going to get. At this rate, they might just drain away all her energy by forcing her to answer them, wringing out every truth. Though she thought it might’ve been harmless at first, if it was going to be this violent, then it would only be counterproductive to stay here.

 

Figuring that there was no other choice but to use her own energy to escape this situation, she reluctantly took out a card from her pocket. It was from a card game called Duel Monsters, part of an archetype that was made specifically for her. Even if she was human again, she remained in control of her psychic powers, the ones that originally set her apart from the rest and got the attention of a certain interdimensional warlord.

 

Temporarily, she let her mental barriers fall in order to direct all her energy through her hands. As she did so, a whole stream of unintelligent, scrambled words crashed into her mind, the Time Sense taking the form of audio hallucinations spiralling out of control, threatening to destroy her mind. It was close to impossible to hold it back whenever she opened her own mind in such a way, but she remained strong nevertheless.

 

The truth was not important.

 

The roleplay was not important.

 

Making sense of her Time Sense was not important.

 

In this instant, the only thing that mattered to her was reaching the end of the Pathway, and so she focused on visualizing the monster in the card, determining its size, density, prowess, and every other small detail for the sake of bringing it forth.

 

Then she held the card forth, and a bright light exploded out from it, engulfing her vision as well as that of all the fairies swarming around, forcing them back.

 

“I summon you... TEMPERANTIA DRACOLICH!”

 

Once the light had faded away, Isamy found herself sitting on top of the spine of a large creature, the mere sight of which was enough to make the fairies shriek and run.

 

It had the terrifying form of a skeletal dragon, somehow alive despite being composed solely of bones, with blue lights glowing deeply within the eyesockets of its skull. However, despite this unsightly appearance, it also somehow managed to look regal, elegant, and beautiful, like an angel rather than a demon. Of course, the creature wasn’t actually conscious, being merely a product of her mind that used the card’s image as a medium.

 

With the path cleared, the dracolich flapped its wings, sending a burst of energy throughout the forest of cherry blossoms that thrust them upwards – and just like that, they rocketed into the open blue sky, scattering pink leaves all around them. Even though she was the one who’d summoned it, she had to grasp tightly onto its cervical vertebrae in order to avoid being thrown off, but that was perfectly fine since this was far from the first time she’d flied like this.

 

Flying through the clouds with wind currents blowing softly against her, and her black hair flowing behind her, she was able to observe the whole cherry blossom forest. There didn’t seem to be anything beyond it at first, but after spotting a large, unusual mirror floating in place at the very end, they darted straight towards it. Chances were that it would lead to the next section of the Pathway. Behind it, it appeared that a whole swarm of fairies, more like a swarm of bees from really far away, were trying to pursue her, but their tiny wings weren’t strong enough to keep up with the dracolich’s speed.

 

With one arm she was hanging tightly onto her ride, her scythe awkwardly held in place, and with her other, she was clutching her head as it continued to throb. Even after putting up a mental barrier up again to hold back the Time Sense, she still needed to concentrate until they reached the end. While she was confident that she could probably maintain the monster’s form for several minutes, prolonged use of psychic materialization tended to make her bleed from her eyes, and possibly faint not too long afterwards. Not to mention she wasn’t even that remarkable.

 

Hence, using magic had always been more practical back when she was an Omni, since near-unlimited mana and control over every element, along with a wide arsenal of spells left behind by her father to choose from, really came in handy. She’d taken a lot of time to master it all too, to best improve her chances. The fact that she’d lost access to it all stung hard, but dwelling on the fact would only slow her down.

 

Besides, there was something special about her psychic powers, an unusual talent that somehow stood out from everyone else’s. It was this which got her father’s attention in the first place and made him adopt her, on a cold, dark night so long ago. Alas, within the past few hours, she hadn’t been able to proper recall that moment after what her ultimate enemy had done to her Omni status. It had been one of the six selected ‘precious memories’, so it was amongst those that were stolen away.

 

Still, if she concentrated extremely hard, she could remember the feeling and the words from those times, engraved deep within her heart. They were the aspects that defined her, and the fact that she was still herself, Isamy Maximus, meant they were down there. Somewhere. Guiding her.

 

Looking deep into herself, a very faint memory struggled to emerge, of a time when she found a mysterious, homeless stranger on the streets—

 

“Who the hell are you?”

 

...

 

“Isn't it a little late for a girl your age to be out?”

 

...

 

"What the... Bread? For me? Uh... what the hell? Do you have any idea who you're even talking to?"

 

...

 

"Homeless?! You dare call me, the Lord of Seven Times, Commander of the Reaper Fleet, and Herald of Darkness, a homeless man...?"

 

...

"Hmph. Know what, fine. Whatever. I don't even care anymore! I'll eat it if it makes you shut up!"

he was sad

...

he was always lying

......

i didnt understand but

.........

i knew i wanted to save him

“This is ridiculous. To think I ended up meeting something like this here...”

 

...

 

“Little girl, do you know what a ‘psychic’ is?”

 

...

 

“Yes, those are some of the more general abilities they’re capable of. To put it simply, they visualize changes onto the world, functioning quite similar to magic in ways. The only truly definable difference is that they are fuelled by the mind, rather than the body. Effective in some ways, ineffective in others. Apparently, you too are capable of this.”

 

...

 

“Of course, you’re no mere psychic. While you have average capacity in other areas, you specialize in an ability that is not only uncommon, but considered useless due to its lack of physical application. Nonetheless, it's how you were led to me. Ugh. Just my luck."

 

...

 

"I suppose that even though it's stupid, there are certainly ways to put it to good use.”

 

...c̸̷̼̪͖͕̲̥͟a̕̕҉̮͇̹̟̣̞̘̙̭̣͉̣͇̬̗͉ͅǹ̢͉̯͚̹̖͕̬̣̻ ̡̡̼̞̫̖̖̰͙̟̺̞̮͠ͅI̛͏̶̬̮̠̩̬̻̭͎̫̥̯̜̰̝͚̼̪͍ ̢͠͡͡҉̬̹̫̘̣̭̗̰̮ͅs̴̛̥̼̠͍̝̯̭͉̩̀̕ą҉̳̣͉͉̱͉̤v̧̝͇̰͈̘e̶̵̸̛̲̠̮͉͚̤ ̻̗̖͈͉̱͓̀͟y̤͚̼̦̮͢͞o͏̸̵̷͚̬̝̗̯̯͙̟͞u̶̟͖͖͇̼͔͇̟̰̱̙̲͈͉̭͓̥͍̯͘͘͞ ̶̡̢͈̰̝̦̣̱̻̺̳̠͕̝̲a̵̸̶̤̗͇͖͠n̷̤̱̝͉̻͈͘d̵͞͡͏̪͖̪͚͇ ҉̢͖̺͈̮̥̯̭͕̲̦̰͍̰͖͡͡o̶̧̱̬̼͍̥͎̜͔̗͎̪̭͈̖̤ͅt͘͟͢͠҉̜̺̯͉͔͚̩̫͍͖͔͕̰h̛͕͔̙͞e̠͚͎̬͘̕͘͡͞ŕ̷̡͎̺̺͕̹̫̦̖̟̙̳͇ͅͅ ̸̶͔̞̲͉̕͢p̵̲̲̮͕̤̪̟͔͔̻̜̺̰̕e͠҉͏̡̬͇͉͎̱̹͇́ò͚̣̹͇̮̫̳̗͡ͅp̷̸̷̡̯͉̠̟̖̝̹̝͖̺͖̰̭͖͈̞l̛̼̦̞̬̜̜̪͕̬̤̦̥͙͖̩̕͟e̴̡̛̞̺̟̩̪̭̱̠̱͙͢͢ ̮̻͔̲̱͢͝ẃ̴̢͇͔̠̼̰͕͍̺͎͇̗͢͞i͟͝͏̴̜̤̞̼̳̯ͅt͜҉̸͔̪̭̹̝̤̦̫̬̼́h͏̴̹̬̜̤̠̹͇̱̭̤̮͕́͜ ̷̶̡̜̺͍̩͇͖͉̺͍̯͖̩͉͇̤̰̜͇i̢̳̳͙̥̟̼̫̩͕͚̬͎̜̬t̯̦̰̩̝̜͈̞̟͖̹̥̝̪͓͇͖̀͞?̵̛̛͎̱͔̱͙͍̳̻͈̫̦̀͢ͅ

 

“Hah...”

 

...

 

“Hahaha... AhahahahahahahaAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH! That’s the first thing that comes to mind? You truly are a strange one!”

 

...

 

“But then again, I would expect nothing less from a Level Thirteen Empath.”

 

Her feet touched the ground once the throbbing had gotten to hurt a bit too much, and just like that, the Temperantia Dracolich vanished.

 

The pain was a lot worse than it normally was since her time as an Omni had dulled her senses, so this would take some getting used to, especially if she was to rely on it from now. At the very least, the next section was only a few miles away and the fairies were hopefully far behind. As for the Pathway itself though, there remained more than halfway to go.

 

Isamy scanned her surroundings as she started walking, noting that the cherry blossom forest was the same as ever, with the same soothing atmosphere. The grass was also noticeably covered with white lilies, apparently forming a straight path that led towards the far-off mirror.

 

After a little while, she saw something that she hadn’t been able to see from the air. A stone fountain of water, looking rather ancient. She approached it, slowly, highly alert, expecting an enemy to possibly pop up. Since it stood out from everything else thus far, it must serve some sort of function, perhaps along the lines of transforming into a giant guardian fairy that she would have to fight, or something like that. Was it possible to simply walk around it, or would it activate as soon as she attempted to pass by? Would it activate at all? It was impossible to tell until it was checked out.

 

Then, with great caution, she tapped it gently with edge of her scythe, and promptly jumped back as far as she could. Just in case it exploded or anything. One never knew.

 

...aaannnnddddd nothing happened.

 

Now I just feel dumb.

 

With a sigh, having confirmed that it wasn’t really a threat, her body relaxed. If it didn’t have the function of obstructing her, then that meant that it must’ve had some other purpose, some other meaning to be provided. It might still be dangerous, but at the same time, it wasn’t the smartest idea to ignore something as odd as this when it might prove useful to her mission later. She approached it one more time, before peering over it to look into the dark water.

 

In her reflection, a little girl peered back out, with light skin, teal hair, and frog-patterned pajamas, probably around six or seven years old.

 

“Hello? Who are you?” Isamy asked.

 

“Hello? Who are you?” The girl asked back a second later, with the exact same tone.

 

“I mean you.” Isamy clarified.

 

“I mean you.” The girl clarified back.

 

“Are you going to repeat everything I say?”

 

“Are you going to repeat everything I say?”

 

“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”

 

“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”

 

“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious supercalifragilisticexpialidocious supercalifragilisticexpialidocious supercalifragilisticexpialidocious supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Take that!”

 

“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious supercalifragilisticexpialidocious supercalifragilisticexpialidocious supercalifragilisticexpialidocious supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Take that!”

 

“I guess that confirms things then. This is just echoing everything.”

 

“I guess that confirms things then. This is just echoing everything.”

 

“In that case," she paused, "how about ‘I’m an idiot’.”

 

“In that case, how about, ‘you’re an idiot’.”

 

A faint smile appeared on the little girl’s face.

 

“Guh—!” She took a step back in surprise. A part of her knew that would happen, but still.

 

Since there was no way the fountain functioned solely by repeating whatever it heard in a younger voice, she’d suspected that something like that would’ve happened from the start. Because this was the Pathway to Truth, there was bound to be deeper, hidden meanings contained within pretty much everything. But naturally, she couldn’t stick around too long lest the fairies catch up with her.

 

One last time, she approached the artefact, and looked into the water.

 

“Are you me?” The Herald asked.

 

“Am I you?” came a cheeky, cryptic response.

 

If things continued on inconclusively like this, she would be forced to leave without any answers. Right now, time was of the utmost importance. “Uhhh, is there anything in particular you want to say?”

 

“Uhhhh, there is something in particular I want to say.”

 

“And what’s that?”

 

In her reflection, the little girl tilted her head ever so slightly.

 

Only a moment later, 

 

“Tell me who you are.” Her reflection spoke.

 

Then, as though a spell had been cast, she found herself feeling nauseous again, with her throbbing headache increasing, as if the fairies' healing spells had already worn off. Part of her was healed, but the other part was entirely absent - though she couldn't tell what it was exactly, something like a lost limb. Most notably, she could feel a sensation of dread creeping out of nowhere from the corners of her mind.

 

"I'm... Isamy." The girl in question stammered, confused by such a question. "Isamy Maximus, of course! Otherwise known as the Herald of Chaos and Entropy, the Judgement of Omega, the Constellation Hero, the Angel of the Thirteenth Realm, etcetera, etcetera..."

 

"No, you are not. And none of those feats were in your name."

 

"I beg your pardon?"

 

"You see, the being called Isamy broke apart long before you reached this point. So you can't possibly be her."

 

Her eyebrow twitched at that. "Are you referring to what the Grim Reaper did? Sure, he took away my powers, and a few of my memories with it, but even if I appear a little different now, that doesn't mean I'm not still Isamy! Even if someone dyes their hair or breaks an arm, that doesn't mean they become someone else completely, does it?!"

 

"All your Ultimate Enemy did was remove the veil called the 'Omni Principle'. Apart from that, nothing. From when you entered the Pathway to Origin to when you reached me, you have not changed on the inside."

 

"Look, if you want, I'm even able to prove it. I can recount my every last exploit throughout the past century, right from the very beginning-"

 

"From the very beginning... As in, that you grew up in an orphanage, inspired by the sight of children all around you?"

 

Throb.

 

"Well. Yes."

 

Throb throb.

 

"If you say something like 'oh, that's a fake memory', then I'll know you're just full of bullshit. Don't you dare say that, or I'm going to get seriously pissed."

 

Throb throb throb.

 

"No, that indeed happened. There was a girl who grew up in an orphanage, decided that she wanted to be a hero, and by some freak chance came across a powerful dark magician who adopted her. But...that girl was not the hero who set out to save the multiverse, Isamy Maximus."

 

Throb throb throb throb throb. Her headache was getting worse and worse, such that it was getting hard to talk with this ridiculous fountain. None of her reflection's words made any sense, and even though only a few moments had passed, they were already annoying her more than the fairies' questions. Seriously, what was the deal with all this? She was certain that these lines of dialogue may have had some sort of meaning, and maybe it was expected of her to do something to prove herself as the real Isamy, but with the swarm of fairies coming ever closer, there was really no time for her to play riddle-based minigames.

 

"Look, I don't have time for this. I need to get going. Just get to the damned point!"

 

"My point is..."

 

...

 

"Think, girl. Who exactly are you?"

[Tesability Black]

~The Divine - Path of Truth - Tesability's POV~

Her speed allowed her to move around the deadened trees as easily as she flew around the trees among the Path of Remembrance, a sad frown on her muzzle as her middle tightened up into a knot from guilt and loneliness.

She never found out why she still remained as she was. Even the other Champions were forcibly reverted to their crystalline forms against their wills, so she couldn't bank on her being a Champion for the reason she was still here.

"Evewywon dishapeawed," she muttered sadly as she flew through another mirror...

Ending Point: E10

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

~Counter Corps - Path of Remembrance - Neos' POV~

"You seem to be alone," the false human's ears picked up as he looked to his left, surprised to see a young girl, barely in her early teens, walking around the cold snowy path. She wore a simple dark-grey, almost black dress with short sleeves that ended at the elbows with a ring of yellow on each. The same color of ring showed up at the collar, waist and bottom edge of the dress. The girl's hair was fairly long and of a brownish coloration and her skin was extremely pale. "Do you mind if I sit beside you?"

The strange thing about her was actually her eyes. They were actually a reddish-violet in color and held an incredible amount of native sadness in them, more than he was used to seeing within the striking-blue eyes of another.

Neos simply scooted over and padded the area of the statue beside him, to which the girl hopped up onto in order to sit as he continued to watch and wait.

"...do you remember anything between leaving Hydaelyn and arriving in Ravnica?"

That immediately turned his head away from the path entrances and towards the little girl now beside him, a calm and collected expression on her face that he recognized, since he's seen it before on Jace's face when he already knew what was going to be said or done next.

"You're psychic, aren't you," Neos pointedly ask of her.

"Clairvoyant, to be precise," the girl corrected. "I am not a telepath like your current boss, nor am I telekinetic like my adoptive brother." She looked over towards the trees nearby, blocking most of the snow from hitting the ground below the leaves as he studied her...and the fact that her dress was too thin for this weather, yet she wasn't cold.

"Just who are you?"

At this question did the girl's face fall as she looked up towards him.

"Do you not remember me or Jace Cort at all?"

Ending Point: The statue between A1 and A2

[Kōsuke Ueki]

The Pathway To Death, Richard Mason

 

As the lycans proceeded to lunge at the group, Richard immediately aimed his hand at one of them, sending a powerful shock that turned it into ash within a few seconds. Using his superhuman speed and reflexes, he proceeded to do the same towards the others that lunged at them. However, another one lunged at him from behind. But before it could get close enough, it was cut in half by his sword.

 

There were only three of them left. At this point, though, they decide to flee into the darkness ahead. But not before one of them said something that put Richard on edge for what could happen later down the line.

 

If we can't put an end to you, then I'm sure HE will!

 

"He"? What could they mean by that? Either way, the battle was over, and he can adventure on. However, he thought about it for a moment. It would only make sense to join someone in a Pathway at least once to avoid being driven insane from being alone most of the time. Surprisingly enough, a large group appeared before him along with Sora and company. He recognized one of the people that showed up as he returned to normal.

 

"I'd say fate has shined upon us, but that's just ridiculous and ironic, considering where we are. Glad to see another familiar face, Arthur."

 

(Location: C7)

[Love of Ghibli]

Dorian and Gyokuen: Pathway of Death

Gyokuen was annoyed watching this reunion between these fractals of Solomon's work. It was simply a waist of time. Nevertheless she looked at Tenco struggle to master taking things slowly. The urgency of Tenco's words was also odd. What do you mean how long does learning something take. I've been doing this for hundreds of years. All skills take some time to master. Did you just wake-up and master that crude sword making technique? Gyokuen rolled her eyes as this youngster wasn't quite grasping all of this wisdom. 

Alright, we'll do it this way. In school they strengthen young magicians bodies and align them with an element. So with you being a warrior and knowing fire magic we can skip those steps. Let's do a simple concentration exercise. One of Tenco's cute little Rukh flutters around her face. Catch that Rukh, put in one of those orbs you can make, then keep it there for the duration of this Pathway. If you can actually do that then you will have made significant progress. As for your use of fire magic Dorian is actually well versed in the ways of fire. Wait, what? Well your abilities are fire based are they not? ...Yes...Yes they are. Though the medium I use for my powers is known as Cosmos. So Ms. Tenco why don't you actually tell us how your powers work and we'll start from there. 

It was honestly weird helping someone while they were the bad guys in this story. But apparently they were waiting on the majority to make moves. Helping Ms. Tenco seemed to be a good way to kill time. 

Ending Location C7

[Reinforce]

Chandra

Pathway of Death: A1

 

With their discussion finished, Hapshiel finally removed Jace out of his mind, allowing the mage full control over his own body once more. His clothes hadn't changed back though, leaving him dressed in the very revealing outfit that he'd somehow gained. A set of his usual garb flickered into being over his body as he got up, hiding the full extent of his body once more. With a smirk, Chandra couldn't resist needling him a little for that.

 

"Illusory clothing, illusions that looks well enough crafted to be just about undetectable too. Do you walk around nude often then, or is that only for special occasions?"

 

Though the first sentence was spoken seriously, the second one carried lighter tones to it, giving away the humour underneath her words.

 

---

 

Ayame

Pathway of Death: A7

 

Looking across at her own enemy, Ayame could hear Kazuya speaking behind her.

 

"Ayame, should I help you with this one or would you be able to handle this on your own?"

 

Before she could give an answer though, he spoke again, this time making his own mind up on the matter.

 

"Nevermind, I think I'd be occupied with my own enemy somewhere soon, and my COMP had seemingly malfunctioned for no reasons.
I'll help you when I can, though."

 

Without looking back, Ayame spoke her reply, even as the summoner approached her from behind.

 

"Fine by me. This opponent is one I need to conquer anyway, one that I am fully capable of killing. Same goes to you though, I'll help out if I get a chance too."

 

Without any further words, Ayame dashed forwards, her opponent doing likewise. With a flick, Ayame caught the demon's blow on her staff, deflecting it towards the side to give her room for an attack. Unfortunately, the gap didn't last long, and lead to a series of fast flicks and spins of her staff as she fought off her opponent's renewed offence. Every clash of their blades led to electricity sparking around both, bright yellow clashing against black as Ayame's lightning fought off the corruption that was trying to take hold. Spotting another gap in her doppelgangers offence, she took the chance, knocking the sword to the side as she retook the initiative. Switching her movements as she started to attack, flicks and spins gave way to jabs and thrusts as she started to beat on her opponent's guard in an effort to break through.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

“Tenco”

Pathway of Death

 

“Well...”

 

Gyokuen’s jab at her was right on the point. Of course something like this would take that much time to master. It’s something that should already been obvious from the start. Even then, if she could get some more of the basics...then she might be able to go on her own after that.

 

“Let's do a simple concentration exercise.”

 

“Huh?” Tenco wondered what exactly Gyokuen meant by that. Just as she said that however, a small white orb passed between the two.

 

Catch that Rukh, put in one of those orbs you can make, then keep it there for the duration of this Pathway. If you can actually do that then you will have made significant progress.

 

“Alright then, Lady Gyokuen. I’ll try doing that.”

 

Tenco took a deep breath, before focusing her mind to gather the scarlet temperaments around the white orb in front of her, and forming a small sphere to contain it. Her attempt to do it was successful, and seeing that she managed to form a stable orb that could contain the so-called rukh in her first try made her become overjoyed. However, her euphoria broke her concentration when the orb itself was still a bit unstable, and the sphere immediately broke afterwards, to the girl’s chagrin.

 

“A-ah...

Sorry, I’ll try again.” The girl weakly said, not really looking at Gyokuen’s direction at that moment due to being ashamed. She then tried to focus her mind again and trap the white orb into another sphere, and this time, once it seemed that she had been successful, she waited a bit before shifting her mind to another thing. And well, it managed to properly be successful this time.

 

“So...what’s left is to keep this afloat for the rest of the pathway, right?” It was a rhetoric, but Tenco asked it anyway to calm herself and curb her worries.

 

“As for your use of fire magic Dorian is actually well versed in the ways of fire.”

 

“Wait, what?”

 

“Well your abilities are fire based are they not?”

 

“...Yes...Yes they are. Though the medium I use for my powers is known as Cosmos.

 

So Ms. Tenco, why don't you actually tell us how your powers work and we'll start from there. “

 

“How my powers...work? Well...how should I say it...” Scratching her hair as she thought, Tenco realized that for the most part she still had barely much idea about how exactly her (sword’s) abilities worked. She thought about it for a while before deciding on an answer that might be close enough to the truth.

 

“It...it’s basically manipulation of life’s energy, in a way. It’s probably the basis of all of my abilities. From my fire-based abilities, the attacks I did earlier, my sword creation, and even my clones, they’re pretty much all based on the manipulation of this life energy, Qi. Yeah, I think that’s how they work.”

 

Her words were filled with uncertainty, but at the very least, she didn’t hide much from that description to the two. She didn’t mention anything about the Scarlet Sword, and that’s pretty much it. As she waited for their reply, Tenco returned her attention to the sphere she just created, trying her best to keep it afloat and intact.

 

“This is harder than I thought...”

 

---

 

Yukari Yakumo

Pathway of Truth, A14

 

Yukari silently watched as Neos went through the mirror and left her behind. For once, she was finally completely alone in the physical realm, and the change was slightly making her feel odd. However, it was admittedly quite nice. It gave her some room for retrospection of what had happened so far, and to think of what she would do next. Even if she had no idea whether Koishi would get to the end or not, she was pretty optimistic that the girl would be able to. Yukari just had to wait patiently for it. And she felt like she had all the time in the world to spare. This was her last pathway, after all, and it didn’t seem that Arturia was anywhere near clearing this one.

 

Speaking of her meeting with Arturia felt like it had happened ages ago by the time Yukari was there before the jewel, yet she still felt the cluster of different emotions she experienced when the leader of the Counter Corps pretty much blew her cover on what she would probably do in the end. The fact that both Arturia and Protheus were the biggest threat to everyone else’s survival, and the restoration of the worlds laid waste during this war still felt a bit bitter for Yukari. As much as she hated to admit it, she’s really fighting against a tall odd this time if she wanted to save her world. She had to first convince the Counter Corps somehow about the true nature behind Arturia’s involvement here before it was too late, but Yukari doubted the Corps would believe a random someone like her just like that, especially regarding the nature of their beloved leader. She couldn’t even really challenge Arturia alone at this point to skip all that hassle. Ridiculously weakened as she was right now, Yukari knew that she would just end up as a dead body hitting the floor if she did that.

 

And after that there’s still Protheus to think about, who had gotten several degrees harder to kill if she removed Arturia from the equation. To top it off, if what she felt during the very last stretch of Remembrance was right…then there’s another problematic figure that might put a wrench on everything. Was it…the other Yukari, the one from Reimu’s version of Gensokyo? That was possible, but the possibility for that made her a bit uncomfortable. Either way, it was close to some sort of certain lose-lose situation for now unless a miracle happened. Yukari was definitely not used to having the situation be this much out of control for her, but she lately had been out of her game, and it’s not like she’s in any position to manipulate events to go the way she wanted right now. Disappointing as it was, Yukari decided to just bank on that one miracle to happen. Not like she had any other choices now.

 

“Miracles, huh?”

 

No matter how times had passed, Yukari never was a fan of the concept. The word in itself pretty much only meant convenient coincidences that were attributed to divine intervention. Yukari saw that the ones performed by priestesses and prophets were merely just another branch of magic, which was indeed the case for the most part. True miracles, or as writers would say it, a deus ex machina, was really not something Yukari felt as realistic. Things wouldn’t just suddenly go conveniently as someone wished it to be unless that someone directly manipulated things to be in their favor.

 

But even with her being as skeptical as she was to the concept of true miracles, right now it’s pretty much her only hope. So many things would need to align in the right way for her to even have the chance to return to her Gensokyo just as it was before the Lunarians ruined it.

 

“Where are you…?”

 

Yukari sighed. Looking at the sea of clouds behind her, she wondered...was she right to bank her hope on that girl this time?

 

---

 

[spoiler=Koishi]

 

Komeiji Koishi

Pathway of Truth A9 ->Mirror World

 

From a distance, Koishi quietly observed as Yukari and Neos were talking with a pink creature for a while before continuing to move through the glass bridge before them. She had shown some desires to go straight to them and apologize for the mess she had caused, but she couldn’t bring herself to actually do it, and as the two of them disappeared from her sight, all she could do was standing still from her position, being completely unnoticeable, alone. At first was not sure about whether she should bother tailing them, but at the last moment she decided that she’d go through the nearest crystal bridge to her, and hope that she would cross path with them sooner or later.

 

Being alone was not something she really liked. That much was clear. She had enough of it. Even with what she did earlier, even if she’s scared to meet them again, even if she believed that they wouldn’t really forgive her for what had happened, Koishi ran and ran as fast as she could through the bridge, and into the corridors that followed it until she reached a dead end with a mirror placed at the end of the way. The mirror was completely pitch-black, but for an unknown reasons Koishi could see her own reflection on the mirror, as if it was simply a normal mirror.

 

Remembering that she entered the second part of the pathway by passing through a mirror, Koishi was sure that this mirror was also a passageway for her to reach the last part of the pathway. She stopped for a while however, unsure about what actually be behind the mirror this time, but after a while, even if she was still slightly afraid about the uncertainty, she stepped forward. Taking a deep breath to prepare herself for whatever waited her in the world inside of the mirror, Koishi then walked towards the black mirror, going through it as if the mirror’s surface was made out of liquid.

 

 

“Why do you keep doubting yourself, Koishi~?”

 

A voice, her own voice, woke Koishi up. Opening her eyes, she looked around and was surprised to see that she was inside her own personal locked up room inside of her heart, though she knew that the circumstances this time are different than from the last time she locked herself inside of this room. Taking a moment to look around to see whether anyone else was there, Koishi didn’t seem to be able to notice anyone else’s presence there. Whoever said those words to her weren’t around anymore, it seemed. She’s completely alone right there in that place. Without seemingly much else to do for now, she decided to lean on a nearby pillar to rest and look around, maybe utilizing her forcefully opened-

 

It was gone. Her third eye, her actual self, the entirety of what Koishi was, had disappeared. The satori panicked as she knew that she hadn’t withdrawn the third eye inside of her body before entering this realm. She became more and more frantic because the third eye was really the true part of her, the one controlling the humanlike body she was using. Having it disappear from her just like that…it was as if she was not being herself at that moment. It was a strangeand a completely scary prospect for Koishi. Though, after calming herself down a little bit several minutes later, she realized that with her still being able to think or act, it was a sign that the third eye were not in harm yet and that the organ still managed to put some sense of control to her puppeteered body.Hopefully.

 

“How does it feel, seeing yourself reflected in a mirror, with a smile you aren’t used to have~?”

 

Another voice of hers could be heard, but the tone was slightly different than what she normally would expect herself to say. Two words that could describe that tone were…unnatural and detached, to put it simply. But, as unfamiliar as she was with hearing that tone, there was still somehow a disturbing sense of familiarity coming from that tone, which felt pretty jarring for Koishi. Whoever that voice belonged to, however, it did make Koishi bemore alerted than before regarding the nature of the place. Unless it was due to some other stuff, it meant that she’s not alone there.

 

But, so far all of her caution didn’t lead her to do anything yet about the current predicament regarding her current situation. She simply stood there, looking a bit lost for what to do next. Not long after that however, shadows of someone moving around rapidly might or might not be too far away from her. Noticing that, Koishi decided to stand up and look around her to see whether she could actually get to whoever it was, but she managed to find no one. Sighing, she then chalked that sighting to merely being her mind playing tricks on her due to her being as worried as she were that time. Just moments afterward though, she felt a light tap on her shoulders, and when she turned around, she could see herself behind her, which was very surprising for her, to put it lightly.

 

“However,in the end, you realized you fell in love with that reflection.

 

Isn’t that true, me?”

 

Koishi could clearly see that her other self’s third eye was completely open, and it stared directly at the silver haired girl, who jolted back in surprise immediately when she noticed about that fact. She stepped backwards cautiously to keep her distance from the other self, who was seemingly looking at her with an odd stare, both of amusement and accusation, if that would make sense.

 

“Ah, if you’ll ever accept this closed third eye just once again.”

 

Another voice came from behind her, and Koishi turned around to see who the source was. It was yet another “her” from how she looked like, but this one had her third eye closed sewn shut, and the eyes in her humanlike body could be described as rabid and monstrous, but it was definitely not outright malicious. A familiar sense of dread was felt by Koishi as she immediately kept herself away from that other her as fast as she could, backing down as she struggled to figure out what was going on in the place.

 

“Hey, hey, let’s try reading what’s inside your barricaded heart~!” The Koishi with the opened eye started to speak, and just moments after, Koishi could feel that her mind, once an impregnable fortress, was effortlessly broken through by her other self’s third eye as the satori wandered around her heart, touching every hidden corners of who she was, uncovering everything that she has been keeping to herself. Even if this was done by herself, Koishi still felt really uncomfortable about it. It was as if she had been violated without her being able to resist, which, to her horror, made her truly realize about how others feel when she nonchalantly do this to them. Or more accurately, when she did this to them unwittingly due to her ability being unable to be turned off.

 

“Ah, I see, I see. What in here…so this is the true form of your heart, huh?” The open-eye shook her head, with an unsettling smirk on her face as her presence disappeared from Koishi’s mind.

 

“How…sad.”

 

Not giving any warnings after that, the open-eye rushed towards her, and promptly fired walls after walls of bullets at her, which Koishi ended up having to dash backwards as fast as she could to avoid it. The girl had barely any ideas on why her doppelganger attacked her, let alone why the two of them were there in the first place, but the situation at hand really didn’t give her room to think more about it.

“Ring, ring~

 

Hello…? Hello? This is Koishi, and I’m right behind you! Gotcha~!”

 

Pain crept all over Koishi’s body as she realized several sharp objects pierced her abdomen from behind. Turning around to see her attacker, she saw the closed-eye self of her standing there, her manic eyes staring at her as she smiled with a certain disturbing childish glee, all the while her tentacles were piercing Koishi’s body. Panicking, Koishi kicked the closed-eye in her attempt to get away from her, and ran away to the other corner of the room, away from the two.

 

“…What are you two?”

 

There was no real need for her to ask that question. Koishi was actually already aware about who were the two of her other selves were, or at least what they were supposed to represent there. She had realized a bit a while ago the fact that the two of her other selves here were simply a representation of who she was and the things she did. How the open-eye self of her probe through her mind and heart without her being able to stop it, and the sheer disturbing state of her closed eye self was, it was a reminder of her mistakes, which probably included the fact that she’s born as a satori.

 

“Now you’re regretting that you’ve been born as who you are, huh? You know, isn’t that a bit too...silly? And most of the bad things happening to you was only made worse by your own doing anyway, me~”

The open-eye doppelganger smiled as she continued her attempt to corner and attack Koishi, along with the closed eye one.

 

“It-it’s not true!” Koishi vehemently denied the statement. She dodged several more bullet walls, and when the closed-eye Koishi started to have their tentacles attack her to rip her apart, she summoned several of her giant roses, which exploded on contact with the tentacles. Koishi immediately ran away as far as possible with the explosion smoke as her cover, though she felt that it wouldn’t be enough to slow her pursuers down.

“Silly me, of course it’s the truth~! I’ve read your heart after all~!”

 

“Shut up! Just…shut up and get away from me…!

 

L-leave me alone!”

 

As Koishi became more and more frantic with the two doppelgangers’ relentless pursuit on her, the girl proceeded to launch her roses towards the approaching other selves of hers.Unfazed, the two simply dodged the attack before they could be hit by the projectiles or the explosion caused by them. Seeing that, Koishipanicked more and more and followed that by conjuring a wall of thorny roses between her and her attackers, to slow the two down as she continued her escape from them. The wall was easily broken, however, and from the remains of the wall, the two of Koishi’s other selves emerged before they continued their chase for Koishi. The situation made her more and more scared as she ran and ran, but it wasn’t long until she then realized that she had been backed into a corner by her two attackers. As a last resort, Koishi, who was on the verge of breaking down, conjured walls after walls of roses around her, completely surrounding her like what could be described as several layers of barriers.

 

She knew it would only slow them down temporarily. She knew it wouldn’t really help her at all, merely delaying the inevitable. As her two doppelgangers slowly broke through the walls she placed between them, Koishi started to sob, at first still trying to hold herself back, but as time passed she became more and more frantic, her crying become more and more uncontrollable as her doom was closing in.

 

“Well…Koishi, this is it, huh? I really don’t want to hurt you, but…I can’t stand seeing you hurting yourself more and more. And besides…you do want this after all, no?”

 

“You won’t need to be scared ever again after this, me~!”

 

“W-what are you saying? I-I don’t want this! I…I don’t want to die yet!”

 

“Then…why does your heart tell me otherwise? Here, here, I can see it clearly. I can hear your anguish clearly.

 

In the end…you can only just run away from it, can’t you? From your problems, from everything. Even from your own life itself, when you can’t see anything good in it anymore. To run away is what you always resort to do, as a way for you to blame everything that happened to you to something else. If it’s not your fault then you don’t have to face it. Isn’t that what you thought to be right, me?

 

Then in that case, I’ll go ask you a question. Hey, what if your problems are really just your fault?”

 

“…No. No. No…you don’t understand…I just…I just…”

 

“Well, alright, it’s never entirely your fault, but in most case, you’re really just making things worse, me~

 

No matter what kind of resolve do you have, in the end you’ll just run away once things go badly for you. You ran again and again, from your sister, from the humans, from the other youkai, from the mistakes you’ve made, and then, you ran away from yourself.

 

It’s quite sad, if I may say, me~”

 

“Stop this…! Just leave me alone!”

 

“Nope, I can’t~! Your dreams are fragile, me~

 

I’ll do you a favor and release you from yourself. After all, you’re the one wanting this, right? You want it so you don’t have to face anything ever again?

 

In that case…I’ll fulfill your wishes~!”

 

Koishi had become completely hysterical when the two doppelgangers were now really close with her, with only one or two layers of wall separating them. The one that had read her heart was right, and Koishi couldn’t do anything but to admit it. She couldn’t do anything else at that moment anyway. What was left for her to do in the end was to wait. Waiting until she could get the chance to escape herself one last time.

 

And it was not even a long wait. It didn’t take long until the last layer of the rose wall was torn down to pieces by the closed-eye, and Koishi backed down to the wall in response to that, not having anywhere left to go anymore. She was still not ready to die yet, and frankly, she was completely afraid about being killed there, but…since the one that read her heart was really right, then maybe dying there wouldn’t be too bad for her, Koishi thought. It still couldn’t change the fact that she was still completely afraid, however. Getting closer and closer to death, the entire notion still terrified the girl. What kind of fate would follow her after this? Would she even go anywhere aside from oblivion after this? In the end, Koishi was more or less just a scared little girl that was trapped in horrors outside of what she could control. Still sobbing, Koishi closed her eyes so she wouldn’t see what would happen to her next as her two other selves approached her, ready to end her.

 

Maybe, this was really the best outcome for-

 

“For no-one. I will not let my little sister die here, thank you very much.”

 

It was then, just as the two of Koishi’s other selves started to make a move to finish her off, Satori suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and stood between them and Koishi. It was something completely unexpected for the three other people present there, and the sight of her sister made Koishi stop sobbing, only sitting on her corner motionlessly, stunned in silence. Her sister’s third eye peculiarly look completely shriveled and dead when she arrived, but it didn’t take it long before it regained its colors, becoming the red one that was normal for her.

 

“S-sis? How could you-“

 

“Koishi…don’t listen to them. Times after times, you stood up for my sake when I am not able to. Times after times, you’re the one taking the brunt of problems over me, all the while I could only support you from the distance, and comfort you when you’re too shaken to move forward.

 

That is not what someone that could only run away would do. You’ve been in my position now for far too many times already, Koishi. This time, as your older sister, let me do what I’m supposed to do, and protect you from them.”

 

Koishi looked at her sister’s face in silence, still completely overwhelmed by emotions after her appearance. The closed eye self of hers tried to attack her with the tentacles, but Satori summoned her own tentacles to block the strikes from touching Koishi even one bit, all without looking.

 

“Listen, Koishi. If there’s one person you should listen to right now, listen to me. Don’t give up now. You’ve come far too far to stop at this point,and…really, would you let yourself down like that? You have something to fight for this time, Koishi. You also have a promise to me and to everyone else that you wished to fulfill. To discard them all away even if you’re scared to move forward to fulfill them…it would be quite a pity.

 

This time, can you give me another promise? Promise me, Koishi, promise me that you will not run away until you reach the very end of this journey, and return to the world that you wished to love. I know you’re scared to move to that point right now, Koishi. Seeing people like Gemini…it’s pretty understandable that you’d be like this. But…even then…this is the time for you to try triumphing over those fears.

 

For me. For Gensokyo. For yourself.

 

I’m sorry if this is too much for you, but…please, can you stand up for yourself too this one time?”

 

Koishi was still unsure about whether what she should do, but looking at her sister’s eyes, she decided that it probably wouldn’t hurt to try this one time. Wiping off the tears from her face, Koishi stood up, and walked towards where her sister stood, before turning around to face her other selves. Maybe they were right. She was too scared to face her problems all this time to notice that she only made her problems worse by doing what she did. They were right that she’s just blaming others for everything that befell her. And they’re right that if she could, she would’ve ran away as far as she could from the two, due to being scared of what the two of them represented.However…

 

“However, from now on, I will not run away ever again. Even if I’m scared…I don’t want to give up anymore! My sis…Yukari…everyone…they need me to be strong! And…this…this is why I’ll continue.

 

I…I know the two of you are a part of me that I never really wished to be. You, the one with the open eye, was the “me” I first tried to run away from.I always wished that my sis and I weren’t a satori, I’m tired of us getting so hated by everyone due to it. That’s why I ran away from you.And this…ended up with you, the “me” that completely scares me due to what you are. I…hate having myself being like that. I…don’t want to be hated but I still wanted to be loved too…

 

But…even then, you two are still me. No matter how I didn’t want to be either of you, I can’t simply deny that both of you are a part of me. Isn’t this what you two wanted? To be accepted by me as a part of myself?”

 

At the prompt of those words from Koishi, the open-eye self of hers started to smile. It was a genuine smile for once, something that both Koishi and Satori hadn’t seen for ages coming from Koishi.

 

“Pfft, so this is it, huh? You nailed this faster than I thought, me~” After saying that, the open-eye turned around to face Satori. “Ah…big sis, thanks for not letting me to kill myself. I can see it now…it’s thanks to you that I end up losing that desire to run away from this one last time. Isn’t it right, me?” The open-eye spoke to Koishi and Satori, this time with a genuinely friendly tone, instead of the malicious teasing one she had before. Even then, the sisters still stood on their ground, still not sure whether Koishi’s other selves really would cease their attack or not.

 

“There’s no more reason for this tension, me~!

 

There’s no reason for me to fight you if you have decided to not run away anymore. And the other me would pretty much be the same case. So yeah, it’s over now~

 

Isn’t it a bit anticlimatic~?” The closed-eye asked Koishi cheerfully, poking fun at the situation at hand.

 

“The fact that it resolves is all that matters right now.” Satori replied with an unamused tone, while Koishi herself was still unsure about the true nature of the situation at hand.

 

“Well, alright then. The time for us two here is over, me. You can exit from over there through that door, and in the meantime the two of us will disappear and return to you, as we should be.

But yeah, thanks for accepting us again, me~!” The last sentence was said by the two of Koishi’s other selves in unison just before they disappears into the air. It was not really a goodbye, but Koishi waved her hand at their direction as she saw her other selves disappear.As the tension weighing her down disappeared, Koishi took a breath of relief as she leaned happily on her sister’s shoulders.

 

Not long after, after a weird tingly feeling on her body, Koishi witnessed her third eye rematerializing on her body, this time being completely open. Normally, she would’ve freaked out with that fact, and honestly Koishi did feel quite scared about the prospect of reading the hearts of others once more. However, she had promised her sister that she’d not run away anymore, so she should accept whatever was fated for her with her third eye being open like this again.

 

“Sis…thanks. I don’t know what should I-”

 

“Shhh, it’s alright. It’s what sisters do for each other, Koishi. If you need me to do that again, then I’ll do it. After all, you’ve done the same to me a lot of times before.”

 

“Aah…if you say so, sis.” Still leaning on her sister, Koishi’s attention was then shifted into the door that had appeared before the two. “So…do you think I should go now? And will you come with me, sis?”

 

“Koishi, let’s talk for a bit before you continue.”

 

“What is it, sis?”

“It’s really just…I’m not sure whether I can be around any longer, and due to that, let’s spend some time here as sisters.”

 

“A-ahh…that would definitely be very nice, sis. Though…what are we going to do?”

 

Satori shrugged at that question.

 

“Maybe…just some small talks would be enough, probably? There are some things that I’d like to tell you, I think.”

 

“Hmm? What kind of things, sis?” Koishi asked, quite curious.

 

“Well…first of all, I think I want to say something regarding your closed-eye state, for lack of a better way to denote it. Do you know about what it actually is?” Satori asked, which responded by Koishi with a frown. The silver-haired girl didn’t seem to be looking forward to talk about it.

 

“I guess you don’t. So, the thing is with that…as you’ve said towards your other selves earlier, its actions are merely the reflection of others’ hearts. However, the exact thing about how it works…its action was really what you would’ve done yourself in response to others’ hearts, assuming that you don’t have such things as restraints. It’s fully acting on your primordial urges, but twisted further and further the darker the hearts around it were.

 

But, it never does anything it did out of malice, as you should’ve known. In the end, you’re still you. You still loved everyone no matter what, but without you to guide it, its attempt to love others were quite misguided, in a way.

 

...I’m rambling again, am I?”

 

“Indeed you did, sis.” Koishi was still clearly not very comfortable with the issue that her sister rambled about, though the self-awareness her sister has when it came to her realizing she had rambled for too long did make Koishi smile a bit despite of the topic of the rambling.

 

“Well I guess sorry for that. I’m not even sure what the point I was trying to make there.”

 

Her sister smiled, but it then soon disappeared completely for some reasons. Koishi was of course really concerned about the fact.

 

“…Sis, anything wrong?”

“…Nothing, I think I’m fine.

 

You know…with you having opened your third eye willingly this time, I have one more thing to tell you.

 

It’s…not really something big, I think. It’s just that I…I’m envious at you. All this time, no matter how dark the heart of others that you’ve seen, somehow you still can’t bring yourself to resent them. Even if you ended up taking it all inside as your own burden…”

“Ah…” Hearing that, Koishi only shook her head in response before turning her head upwards, looking vacantly at the distant above. “Sis…it’s silly, isn’t it? To be envious about this…

 

It’s really just I don’t have any reasons to hate them even after I see the darkness lurking inside of their hearts. It pained me to see those darkness, like a torture, but everyone has their own share, and I don’t think I can afford hating everyone. And, being hated feels painful, sis. I don’t want to be hated or feel what it’s like to be hated, and well, I think others would feel like that too. That’s why I don’t want to hate them too.

 

And since I wished to be able to be loved by others…I think people want to be loved too. And so, I want to love everyone, despite their bad side!

 

You can say I’m just being childish or maybe nuts, but even with Gemini earlier, I can’t bring myself to hate him despite of all the horrible, horrible things I saw on his head. Hate won’t really fix anything after all, right sis?”

 

Her sister only smiled at those words. Silence followed as the two of them looked at each other, and it went on for another three minutes before Satori went ahead and hugged her little sister.

 

“Heh, perhaps you’re right. Perhaps…I’m just too jaded. I don’t know, perhaps you have a point there. It’s really…not something you should let yourself lose it. Maybe this way we would be able to be accepted by others despite who we are, no?

 

Well then…” Realizing that she had been keeping Koishi there for a long time already, Satori released her hug while she continued to look at Koishi, her warm smile was still there etched on her face. “Time for you to get going, Koishi. Yukari must’ve been waiting for you right now.”

 

“She is…? I don’t think she’d-“

 

“Of course she will. Now go, don’t let her wait for too long!”

 

“Oh sis, one last thing! How did you exactly-“

 

“Get going first, ask question later, Koishi. See you later!”

 

“…Alright then. See you later, big sis~!” Smiling widely as she waved at Satori, Koishi then ran straight towards the door at the end of the room, eager to meet up with Yukari once more and apologize for making such a big mess earlier. What she didn't notice was, as she passed through the door and Satori slowly disappeared from behind the mirror, a red-colored eyestalk etched itself on her back.

 

 

 

 

---

 

She had no idea about how long she had been waiting there. Had it been hours? Days? Weeks? Minutes? The passage of time barely had any meaning to her right now, and the completely, utterly messy flow of time inside of the pathways would probably mean that the flow of time was relative to each individual inside of the pathway.

 

Was it the reason why she kept on waiting for Koishi, even if she couldn’t seem to be sure that the girl would even reach her? Looking at the crystal before her, the last obstacle she needed to face before leaving the pathway, Yukari remembered about how long since Neos left her to move forward on his own after she urged him to. One side of her felt that it had only been half an hour since then, but it felt so distant, as if it had happened several weeks ago. She had been standing still on her position right there in silence. No one else had reached the crystal during the time she stood there.

 

What if the conflict had ended without her interference? That was indeed, a possibility. A worrying one, perhaps. Yukari shook her head. It had been way too long. She had waited for her, but…she couldn’t afford to spend more time there anymore. It felt completely wrong to leave her just like that, but Yukari was left with no other choices. With a heavy heart, she stepped forward, approaching her crystal.

 

And then, just before the crystal would ask her its question, she could feel a warm embrace as she was wrapped into a sudden hug.

 

“Yukari, you really waited for me!” It was a surprise, a pleasant surprise to hear the voice that she had been waiting for. Turning around to face the silver-haired girl that had appeared behind her, Yukari then returned her hug, smiling happily as she lifted the girl from the ground, twirling her as the two embraced each other. Just moments before she would break her promise, Koishi had appeared before her.

“I’m not that heartless, Koishi. Of course I waited for you. After all, we’re going to go through this together, remember? A promise is a promise, and since I’ve promised to bring to the very end, I’ll of course do it.” Yukari’s words had Koishi tightening her hug around her as tears started forming on her eyes. Seeing her as genuinely full of emotions like this was something that made Yukari felt a special form of happiness inside of her. It was something that she never really expected to see before going into the pathways, but seeing it from her two eyes really warmed her heart.

 

“Yukari…I-“ But then, smile disappeared from Koishi’s face, and it was replaced with anxiety. Concerned about it, Yukari dropped her down.

 

“What is it, Koishi? Is there anything troubling you?” Yukari attempted her best motherly impression as she asked that question. It had been ages since the last time she did that, and that was towards her familiar Chen, who she viewed as her granddaughter. At this moment, Koishi was the only person she had, and even if there were a lot of things that strained the relation between the two of them, Yukari still ended up really caring towards the little girl. It was maybe just due to the fact that she was the only other person remaining from their Gensokyo, but even then Yukari felt that the bond between the two of them was a lot stronger than just that.

 

And Koishi seemed to feel that way too.

 

“Yukari…I’m sorry. I’m sorry for running away like I did all the time, and I’m sorry for screwing things up earlier in the pathway. I promise, it will not happen again, Yukari.”

 

“Hey hey, it’s not really your fault Koishi.

 

It’s really just due to me pushing to get the answer I want too much that you ended up being like that. I should’ve listened to you when you asked me to stop. Yes, I still want to stop the people I wanted to stop, but I really think I couldn’t do that without as much help as I can get, and what I needed is especially your help now, Koishi.”

 

Patting Koishi on her shoulders, Yukari then stood up once more to face the jewel that laid waiting not far from the two of them. She really did want to spend more time together with Koishi right there, but she knew that they didn’t have much time on their hands. There’s not much time to be all mushy with each other now, not with the threats to their world’s restoration still looming around unchecked.

 

“So Koishi, you still want to follow me, right?” She asked the silver-haired girl, who nodded excitedly in response to that.

 

“Of course! That is my resolve and why I’m here in the first place after all! From now on until the end of this journey, I’ll try my best to stick with you no matter what!” Koishi said with high spirit. Seeing Koishi being that excited to continue, Yukari could only shook her head a bit.

 

“So…that is youth, huh? Well then, with this settled, it’s time for us to end this chapter and proceed with the next one. I’m expecting that you’re already prepared yourself for this.”

 

“Gee Yukari, you don’t have to be that skeptical! Of course I’m ready!”

 

“Alright, alright. I guess we’ve spent way too much time here already, so let’s step forward.”

 

With the signal from Yukari, the two of them closed in towards the jewel together, and the jewel immediately repeated its question once more. Before she answered it, Yukari shifted her gaze towards Koishi for a moment, before returning it to the pathway’s jewel, finally finding the answer that she wanted to say.

 

‘Are you content with your present self’?

 

“There is zero reason for me to not be content with who I am. Throughout the three pathways, I’ve learned more and more about myself in its entirety. Figuring out the things that I actually wanted and wished to fight for, discovering things long forgotten and hidden, realizing some sides of me that I’m not exactly too aware of before, and in the end, regaining all of those elements constituting who I am.

 

I am Yukari Yakumo, and I am not anyone else. I am the youkai of boundaries, the sage of Gensokyo, the guardian of illusion, the demon lord of the boundaries, and right now, the protector of the girl beside me, Koishi. It honestly still surprises me to find out about the soft side of myself hidden behind all the jadedness and toughness I’ve put up as the foundation I stood for all this time. Though…being all mushy and caring might not really be a bad thing, after all.

 

That’s pretty much it. I’m pretty satisfied with who I am right now, and I’m not in a mental state to attempt to change it in any way.”

 

“As for me…” Hearing Yukari answering the pathway’s question with that kind of confidence in her voice, the once-timid Koishi raised her voice as she started to follow up Yukari’s answer with her own. “It’s kind of funny, really. I used to dislike myself for being who I was born as a lot, and I ended up trying to run away from that fact. But I later regretted that and started to dislike who I was after I ran away too.

 

But right now…they’re not really much of a problem for me to accept as a part of myself. Denying them or hating them would just create more and more mess, and right now, I’ve figured out some sort of way to make them not bothering me or others much anyway.

 

And then again, if I’m not born as a satori as I am, I probably wouldn’t end up being able to love anyone and everyone. Maybe that makes the entire thing worth it, huh?

 

Yeah, I think I like who I am now~!”

 

After Koishi finished her own answer with a cheerful note, the barrier preventing the two of them to advance disappeared. Koishi decided to step forward to the vanishing point first, which Yukari allowed. Seeing the girl walking forward, step by step, until she disappeared from her sight, Yukari sighed in relief as she put up her most sincerely joyful smile as of yet, before following suit.

 

Maybe true miracles do exist, after all.

 

---

 

Yukari and Koishi

White Room ->Prologuous

 

Emerging at the White Room, Yukari saw that the three doors that used to be on the room had disappeared, replaced with a seemingly long corridor leading towards an unknown place. Near the entrance was Koishi, who was still staring at what lies beyond her, not moving an inch from her position.

 

“Anything’s wrong, Koishi?” Yukari approached her as her suspicion regarding what lies at the end of the corridor was aroused.

 

“I…I don’t know. I tried to take a quick peek there when I’m waiting for you, but…there was something there.

 

I don’t know what it is. It didn’t have a heart, nor an actual mind. It’s…I don’t really like it.”

 

“Was there any other people there too?”

 

“Yeah, I think so. I picked up a glimpse of them, but couldn’t really delve further before I decided to not go forward any further just yet.

 

Yukari…it’s scary.”

 

“Well, we don’t have any other choice but to move forward now, no? Then we’ll do just that.” Yukari replied, trying to instill some confidence to Koishi. “As I’ve said, I’ll protect you as much as I can, Koishi. So don’t you worry too much about things like this.”

 

“Well…alright then if you say so.” Koishi relented. She was still clearly not fully one hundred percent mentally ready to face whatever was making her scared just now, but Yukari was sure that she’d be able to handle herself fine.

 

“Don’t worry too much about such uncertainties, Koishi. And now, off we go to conquer whatever this thing is.” This time, Yukari didn’t wait for Koishi to reply to her as she had one of her gaps swallow the two, and then spat them just inside the giant room where the corridor was leading to. Yukari could see a lot of people were already around, including the Reimu she had met during the Pathway of Death earlier. Though they’re seemingly fighting something right now, and when Yukari turned around to face the middle of the room, she was greeted by the sight of an abomination looming there. It was…indescribably ugly, to put it politely. Kind of hard to define what the hell it’s supposed to be, but the sight was enough for Yukari to draw the conclusion that this was the thing that Koishi was afraid of earlier. Koishi’s current expression firmly cemented that conclusion.

 

“We’re supposed to defeat it, huh?”

 

“Yukari…what IS it?” Koishi asked, trying her best to look unfazed even if it’s clear that the fact that she couldn’t even connect to the creature scared her to no end. Yukari just shrugged when she faced with that question.

 

“Who knows? Too early for me to start drawing conclusions, and I don’t think it’d be easy for me to do so. We’ll have to learn more about it along the way, it seems.”

 

“I-I guess.”

 

“Koishi, please stand back for now and prepare to support me whenever necessary. I’ll go handle it for now, just watch and pick up any hints regarding its actual nature on the way. Understood?”

 

“Y-yes, Yukari."

 

“Perfect.”

 

After seeing Koishi withdrawing herself to make a distance from the monster in the middle of the stage, Yukari then spent a part of her mana to conjure three large gaps around twenty meters from the monster’s standing point. She then followed it by channeling her magic to pull out something out of her Boundary World to attack the monstrous entity.

 

“Spell Card...

 

Old Line [A Trip to the Abandoned Station]!”

 

As she declared the name of her Spell Card, Yukari pulled out three complete set of diesel trains from each gap she summoned, and without waiting for anything else, she had the trains ram the monstrous entity directly, creating a big explosion on hit once the fuel tank of the train was combusted. Of course it wouldn’t be enough, but for now Yukari had put some sort of analysis towards the entity as one of her primary objectives, and thus what she did was simply a way to gauge its durability or other natures as a starter.

 

---

 

[The Warden]

[[Another Time, Another Place: Prologuous]]

 

An audible sigh echoed through everyone's mines, issuing forth from Avatar Conflictous. It was growing beyond the joke how the intruders were constantly defying his directive of keeping everyone out. There were just so many gnats now trying to scratch all of them was proving an exercise in futility. If anything, Kratos' use of water only proved moderately irritating in halting his attack, but what was truly frustration was his selfish desire to continue living.

 

That wretched girl.

 

Who the girl was, only he knew, for only he could hear that subtle thought echoing through everyone's minds. She was the source of all of this mess, because she was the one who lured them all here in the first place. And now... now, they were his problem to deal with. It was just needless busywork that he didn't need, especially in the form of so many pests. Don't they even understand what they were toying with? Don't they even understand the significance of where they WERE?! No... they wouldn't, would they? They would be just as blind as the girl, and just as stubborn no doubt. Only foolish mortals and immortals like them would fail to grasp the significance of toying with Origin.

 

They are growing too many, and that wretched Ragnarok is proving stubborn. Breaking through is proving more difficult than I had previously considered, what is he up too? ... ... And more come. Koishi and Yukari, relatively the same as Reimu it would appear in origin, and no doubt just as irritating. Just how many were called here, and why? None of them possess the Key, and it makes no sense to think that they would share anything when they're on opposing sides. It doesn't add up at all.

 

The Avatar was so lost in his own thoughts that he failed to even realizing that the two were even doing anything. The train collided with his body in a violent explosion. Smoke hung around his form as all that attack did was draw him back into the battle. They were thwarting him at every step, and while their damage was minimal, the more that came the less he could focus on his task.

 

It would appear that I am failing to reach you all, my apologies. Hmm, in retrospect, I have nothing to apologize for. You have all intruded on this domain, where none are meant to tread. That alone is enough to warrant death. If any of you even had the ability to turn back and leave, I would allow that. But, I'm afraid the only way you're getting past here is through the Door of Origin, pre- or post-mortem!

 

A terrifying howl echoed through everyone's minds as the Avatar's roots burrowed their way through Prologuous. The Avatar roared loudly as his roots broke through the ground, tearing up the landmass of all of the south-western portion of Prologuous. The shattering ground sent tremors through the rest of the landmass as the exposed roots started to whip at whoever they could reach.

[Phantom Roxas]

[Death C7] - Arthur, Eria, MirageGaogamon, Gagagigo, Sora, Zilyana, & Kree’arra

Arthur bumped his fist against Richard. Even though they had each been on the Divine’s side in the beginning, Arthur knew he could at least trust Richard. Certainly far more than Dorian or Gyokuen, although he couldn’t help but try to listen in on their conversation with Tenco. For her powers, as well as Dorian’s, the manipulation of fire made Arthur sound almost jealous. Between using that Drive with Lydia’s friend Fire and standing off against the Madara, he wanted to ask if he learn from Dorian and Gyokuen, but doing even that would just admitting what they already believed: He was weak.

”Hey, you didn’t happen to see Kairi on your way here?” Arthur couldn’t tell if Sora was worried or just curious. That cloaked monster from his vision, those silver monsters, they had to be proof that Arthur would at least survive the war.

”I’m sorry, Sora,” MirageGaogamon answered. ”All we saw was a simulation of Isamy.”

”Isamy? Well, at least you all made it out okay.”

”Not all of us.” Eria took Arthur further along the bridge. ”I’m not exactly being the best vessel right, apparently.”

”Vessel?” Zilyana turned towards Gagagigo. ”Dare I ask what the girl means?”

Gagagigo nodded at Eria. ”You guys hurry on ahead.” He stepped closer to Zilyana and Kree’arra. ”The two of you came here to fight for your gods, right? Imagine if you failed. Not that you couldn’t go back to your masters, but that there were no masters waiting for you back home.”

Zilyana raised her sword. ”You insolent-”

”So the girl lost her god,” Kree’arra said plainly.

”One of them. But, you don’t exactly sound surprised.”

”The two of us are survivors of the God Wars. Kree’arra and I each serve those who have survived for millennia, while other gods have fallen. To us, for any other god to die is no different than the death of a very powerful king.”

”Eria is fighting for the same reasons as the both of you. Don’t you dare try to belittle that.”

”Please stop, Gagagigo.” Eria and Arthur stood at the furthest end of the bridge, as a wall began to form within the darkness. ”I still have Slifer’s power, and Sora has the power of Ra. Together, we can avenge Obelisk. Now let’s keep going.”

As the group continued along the bridge, Sora walked beside MirageGaogamon. ”Are they all okay?

”Arthur and Gagagigo were told by Isamy that they could only survive this Pathway alone. But neither Eria nor I will let them try that. I trust Arthur, but I’ll be damned if I let him fight this on his own.”

”Agreed. That’s why I’m going to find Kairi.”

”I think it might be a little different for the two of you, though. When you were Xansvita, it was she who saved you. Perhaps you need her help more than she needs yours. Besides, if the Pathway wants Arthur and Gagagigo to succeed on their own, perhaps the same can be said of Kairi.”

”I… yeah. You’re right.” Sora laughed. ”Thank you. It’s like Zilyana and Kree’arra said. I can trust her to handle this on her own.”

---

Arthur, Eria, Gagagigo, MirageGaogamon, Sora, Zilyana, and Kree’arra all faced a tall opening in the wall. Inside look darker than even the darkness of the Pathway to Death itself, darker than the abyss beneath the bridge.

”Guess there’s no other way to go but here.”

The moment Arthur set fought into the corridor, blue candles on each side of him lit up. As everyone else followed him in, one candle after another lit itself up until the entire room began to glow blue from the candles. However, another shone out within them.

”Damn it, kid, can you even do one thing right?”

”It’s more fun this way. Especially considering who he brought along.”

”Keep in mind who you’re here for.”

”Settle your squabbles however you like. These insects are of little consequence to me. I won’t even need to worry about you all getting in my way.”

”All I require is my revenge. They all should have perished at the Sphere Forest. I should have been the chasing the Key at this moment.”

”Then who would have killed the Madara? Oh, right. I probably would’ve done it. But we can agree to disagree on that.” At the first sign of movement, Sora charged, all of his Keyblades striking against two others, each of them held by someone Sora wasn’t hoping to see. At least, not yet. Ventus held the χ-blade in his hand, dressed in Vanitas’ suit. "Though if we're talking about revenge, I'm sure you're going to want plenty of that from me, Sora."

Kree'arra bared his talons. "After you stole Lord Armadyl's staff, I'll do whatever it takes to bring that back."

"You put on a good show, but we're in this together." Zilyana thrusted her blade towards Ventus-Vanitas, though he backflipped away from the attack. "Just as long as Armadyl doesn't use his staff to stab Saradomin. We don't want a repeat-"

”…of what I did to Zaros?" Scarlet wings spread out towards the walls of the corridor, their owner crossing his arms as he looked down upon Kree'arra and Zilyana, who were but only half as tall as he was.

Kree'arra's knees began to shake, his arms holding still in the air. "Zamorak… how? Why are you here?"

”This is the Pathway to Death. It is only fitting that I am here. After all, you must still despise me for slaughtering your people. Bandos is still, but I still live. I still wait for you on Gielinor."

”I guess I can leave these two to you," Ventus-Vanitas said before Sora cut through him. However, his body faded away, leaving only an afterimage. ”Now where do you think you're looking?" He hit his knee against the back of Sora's neck, but Sora knocked back, hurling Ventus-Vanitas into the air, with Sora following after him.

”Hardly,” Zamorak said. ”Kemtros can deal with them.”

”What did you say?”

With the snap of a finger, a man in black armor walked out from behind Zamorak, wielding a black and red longsword with both hands, and charged at Kree’arra. Kree’arra and Zilyana used their wings to avoid the sword’s reach, but the armored figure held out a hand, and ice began to forge around their wings, bring them both down to the ground.

”Ah, yes. Kemtros declared his allegiance to Armadyl when Sliske announced his little battle royale. Alas, that too is another consequence of the Pathway. The ‘World Guardian’, the ‘hero’ you thought would help defeat me once and for all, the one who tipped the Battle of Lumbridge in Saradomin’s favor against me… is now against you. He will be the one to fight you. Not me.”

"If that’s supposed to make scare me, it’s not working,” Zilyana laughed. "I’ll just kill you, and there will be no Zamorak for Kemtros to serve. You’re still weak from the Battle of Lumbridge, so you’re not as a powerful as you once were.”

Zamorak surrounded his hands with flames, smiling as Zilyana steadied herself. ”Still powerful enough to kill you.”

”Zilyana, don’t toy with him.”

Zamorak pointed towards Kree’arra. ”You’re right. I’ll start with you.” The flames in his right hand concentrated, growing in size before he through a large ball of fire right towards Kree’arra. Even as the aviansie tried to move out of the way, the flames grew closer and closer until they finally burst. Turning around, he saw Zilyana holding up her shield. Her wings were charred and frozen, but she could still stand. ”Didn’t think he’d be strong enough to survive that, did you?”

"No. Kree’arra is strong. I thought he was weak for losing to Kemtros when we sought out Guthix’s chamber. When I tried to kill Guthix to bring Saradomin back. But even then… he still held Kemtros back. Even if he’s the World Guardian now, I’m sure that Kree’arra is strong enough to help me defeat him. And then, we’re coming after you.”

Zamorak began to shrink until he was only slightly taller than the average human. Conjuring up a chair, he sat down in it, waving his hand towards Kemtros. ”You’re welcome to try.”

---

While Sora, Kree’arra, and Zilyana had their own fights, Arthur, Eria, MirageGaogamon, and Gagagigo began to run deeper into the corridor.

”The others have to be for us,” Arthur said. ”This is what Isamy meant. We have to fight them on our own.”

”Stop that, Arthur,” Eria answered. ”We’re going to help you on this.”

”I’m sorry, but you can’t. Even if it wasn’t because of the Pathway, this is something I have to do on my own. If you want to help, just trust me on this.”

A red substance shot past MirageGaogamon, melting part of the floor. ”I get it, Arthur. The rest of you go on ahead. My guy is coming up.” Throwing the flail end towards where the shot came from, it was caught in a large, clawed hand. He almost thought he might have been looking at himself, but he knew better. The monster he was looking at was evil itself. It was his own darker self, the last remnant of the Seven Demon Lords. ”Arthur took care of you before. Now it’s my turn, Apocrypha.”

---

”Truth be told, I’m jealous of you. Though Gagagigo has always been one of my favorites to toy with, Eria’s desperation to save him… it has always been so delightful. I want to see that again.”

”You will have your satisfaction. Keep the beast under your heel, and she’ll grow more desperate. It will benefit us both.”

”Ha! Do you really think I’d be willing to share my own excitement with you?

”Of course not. Although, that is because I wouldn’t expect anyone to think the same of me.”

Erebos raised a golden hand as the Counter Corps drew closer. ”Then let’s make the most of this.” The light from the candles bounced off Erebos, as shadows flowed from his cloak. ”I see you’ve changed, Gagagigo!” He threw a punch, but Gagagigo got it the fist in his hand.

”And I should probably thank you for that. If I hadn’t lost myself in my quest for power, in my attempts to grow even stronger than you, I wouldn’t have been certain what the right path was.”

”Staying as a child’s pet? How honorable.”

Gagagigo wrapped his tail around Erebos, grabbed him by throat with one hand, and began to punch him in the chest with the other. ”I’ve awakened as a hero. I’m not ashamed to have needed Eria for that. We’re all here for one another. The Counter Corps is working together for a common goal.”

As he tightened his tail, Erebos seemed to explode in a puff of smoke. Gagagigo ran to find him, but his foot was caught in something, and he fell down, hitting his head against the floor. He turned to see his foot in Erebos’ hand, sticking from a pool of darkness. ”Then I’ll take you away from the Counter Corps.” The darkness spread around Gagagigo, but Eria reached out to grab his hand.

”Stay with me, Gagagigo!” Eria cried. ”You’re not fighting on your own.”

”You should worry about your own fight first.”

Eria’s hand felt like it was burning, and she let go of Gagagigo. Before she could find the words to call out to him again, the darkness consume Gagagigo, dragging him into the pool. ”Why? Why do I always have to keep losing him?”

”Step away from her!” She could hear Arthur, but as soon as he spoke up, she could hear the sound of him being hit by something.

”I believe you have your own affairs to attend to.” Eria didn’t turn around. She knew who it was. She could feel herself pulled, the burning in her hand growing hotter until it began to reach through her arm. ”How is my adorable little l’Cie doing?” A torrent of water shot up, pushing Eria away so that she could stand on her own, but as soon as she did, her brand began to glow. The blue serpent from the Rejected World slowly began to materialize, its body coiling around and pressing against the sides of the wall. ”I see you’ve managed to summon Leviathan. I’m impressed.”

The aura of Slifer manifested around Eria, her eyes returning to their draconic form. ”I’ll be sure to be more impressive once I kill you, Megiddo.”

---

Arthur was thrown back by Megiddo. Looking up, he watched all the battles unfolding before him. He had to find him. He had to start his own battle. Light began to cover his entire body, much like his own, but he couldn’t feel himself empowered. The light wasn’t his. It was coming from the man standing on Arthur’s hand, pressing his sneakers deeper until he could really feel the bone.

He wore a sleeveless, plain white shirt. A wifebeater, which Arthur found appropriate, ironic, and insulting. He had short, blonde hair, and sunglasses that would otherwise be absolutely pointless in a place designed to be devoid of light. Stepping off of Arthur, the man, if he could be called one, lifted up his glasses. There were no eyes, just pure balls of sunlight, bright enough to make even Arthur shield his eyes, looking down and away from him. After a few seconds, the light began to subside, and the man took a sigh that Arthur could have sworn was a laugh.

”Glad you could make it, kid. How’s it going?”

”Well, it’s been five years since I last saw you, but I can still remember how much your voice pisses me off. So you can say I’m in the mood for some quality father-son bonding time.” He took his Keyblade and began to call on all of the light he could manage, aiming for it to surround the both of them. ”I’m ready for you, Apollo. Now give me your best shot.”




Ending Location: Death C9

[Love of Ghibli]

Butlerok and Rhadmanthys: Prologous

It seemed the creature was not giving up in his pursuit of detonating Ragnarok. Pity, this meant that they would have to keep going with their last ditch efforts. Buterok noticed that more people had come to aid in this boss battle, hopefully they would provide some assistance. Butlerok noticed as someone threw a train at the creature. Well that was interesting. 

 

It would appear that I am failing to reach you all, my apologies. Hmm, in retrospect, I have nothing to apologize for. You have all intruded on this domain, where none are meant to tread. That alone is enough to warrant death. If any of you even had the ability to turn back and leave, I would allow that. But, I'm afraid the only way you're getting past here is through the Door of Origin, pre- or post-mortem!

 

Well it looks like the massive creature is actually feeling frustration. Didn't think it was capable of that! Ragnarok added. Stay focused, how are the preparations coming. Don't doubt me baldly I was made by the best witch in my universe! Now I covered both baldy and the fat man only thing left is the kill switch on everyone else. What about the saint? Oh come on! Ragnarok pleaded to Butler. Its ready. So now we just hold out until it breaks through the last line of defense. Well at the very least we can do some minor damage while we are ourselves. How dare you think you can simply exclude us from this battle as some cheap tactic. Well as a large portion of fighting capacity we need to at the very least guarantee your survival. Do not be so arrogant child, you are here because mostly because of our strength. Hmph, that is an accurate observation.

Butlerok and Rhadamanthys felt the ground shake and noticed as the ground erupted into a series of attacking roots. Rhadamanthys looked at Butlerok and they nodded at each other. Butlerok flooded the area with Mad Blood and shaped them to whips of his own. RYUUJIN JAKKA! The multitude of tentacles ignited and Butlerok manipulated them to the point that they could intercept the roots from the avatar. While he was busy on the defense Rhadamanthys concentrated his cosmos and flew up closer to the blob and took a deep inhale ROAR OF THE WYVERN!! Rhadamanthys unleashed a might roar on the creature wondering how effect it would actually be. 

 

Ending Location: Prologous 

[Tesability Black]

~Counter Corps - Path of Death - Jace's POV~

"Illusory clothing, illusions that looks well enough crafted to be just about undetectable too. Do you walk around nude often then, or is that only for special occasions?"

Jace was pretty sure he could feel his ears turning red at all the embarrassment he was experiencing about now, using his cloak to make sure he was completely covered as a faint yet short stretch of 'colorful' words managed to escape his thoughts towards the pyromancer in response to the tease. While such was not clear enough to tell what the words actually were, it made one thing clear.

Despite the calm exterior he normally displayed, there was quite a jumbled mess of buried emotions under his skin...even the feeling of a bottled scorching rage that would have better suited a red mage than a blue one...and that this particular writer needs to read over her past posts more often to avoid repeating already-said lines.

"Can we leave now," he managed to say through clenched teeth, trying to keep himself calm as he began to run forward over the grey stone path under his feet. Oh, he knew that Chandra could catch up to him easily, but he wanted to get away from that angel as soon as possible. Homosexuality may indeed exist on Ravnica, but that doesn't mean that he himself partook of such a thing.

As soon as his feet stopped running over grey stone and instead moved over brownish terrain, the scene around him changed, though he could almost see through the changes to the blackness still around him.

He was now within a side street near a Boros garrison, facing a main thoroughfare lit by lamps in the evening gloom. He caught sight of two figures keeping hidden within a sunken doorway of the garrison building, watching as Boros Legion soldiers of all ages march past in a training exercise, the sounds of the many boots splashing in the shallow puddles that dotted the streets. One of the figures, whom he recognized as Guildmage Ral Zarek from the Izzet League, glanced up at the drizzle field overhead and verified the time from a nearby clock tower.

"Watch that spot," the illusionary Ral said, nodding towards the alleyway directly across the thoroughfare. "It's just about time."

Jace watched as the two illusionary men waited, listening to the Boros drillmasters leading chants and finding himself shaking his head at some of the chants he was sure had a hidden double meaning lost to the soldiers. A shimmer of rain fell softly from the persistant clouds overhead as Ral checked the clock again.

"I don't remember home," Jace heard quietly before he hitched his breath at the voice, finally recognizing the other person now that he looked closely at him.

It was himself, though he appeared without his signature cloak and his hair being back to the normal shade of brown it always was. Did he really look that different without it?

"What?" The Izzet mage looked towards his illusionary double with a questioning look, a thick eyebrow raised at him.

"You talked about growing up in Ravnica," his double started to say. "A lot of my memories of my childhood are gone. Chopped up in my head into a few impressions. Most of what I remember begins here, on Ravnica. I'll never have roots here the way you do, and I admit I'm off to other planes a lot. But I think of myself as Ravnican to the core, too."

The faintly see-through Ral just stared at the blue mage for a few seconds before shaking his head. "Damn it, Jace, it's not the same." Though Ral turned his head back towards where he was watching to resume his vigil of the opposite alleyway, he place a hand over his double's wrist and squeezed, which slightly confused the real Beleren as well as probably the illusionary one as well.

"Ral?"

"Yes?"

"That's the first time you've called me anything other than 'Beleren'."

"...hm."

With that, everything around him faded from view, returning the sight of the dark pathway to his eyes. Thankfully, Jace had seen it wise to not move from where he was when the illusion started, so he had wound up in no danger of falling over any edges. Even so, he still gripped tight his hands at the words his double said compared to what the Soul of Ravnica had said earlier. He knew about one of the mental breaks he had, which was a result of trying to make sure that the people of Ravnica didn't make themselves explode all the way into the Blind Eternities. If it wasn't for the aid he had gotten, Jace didn't believe he would be here right now.

 

But the other must have been just before when he first arrived in Ravnica...from whatever plane he was from.

Ending Point: The statue at A2

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

~Counter Corps - Path of Remembrance - Neos' POV~

"Do you not remember me or Jace Cort at all?"

Neos couldn't help but give the girl next to him a blank stare at the question she posed, feeling as if that was a question he should know the answer to but didn't. Not to mention the only 'Jace' he knew off the bat was Jace Beleren. Slowly shaking his head while never once taking his eyes off the girl, she sighed sadly before turning towards the forest.

"I shall wait for the one that does remember us, then," she said before walking back into the snowy forest and disappearing.

"...what in the Distortion was that all about?" Shaking his own head, Neos turned his attention back towards the entrances, keeping an eye open for any that came through them.

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

~The Divine - Path of Truth (The Mirror World) - Tesability's POV~

The dragon knew the building she appeared in front of after crossing through the mirror, corroded and fallen apart due to age, neglegence and an initial boom that forced half of it to fall over and pancake underneath it an untold number of her kind. She knew the set of tracks that were once connected to literally everywhere near the building that once towered over everything else in the green-colored world.

Soon after coming into close range of it, Tesability landed near the pitiful building, now standing only five stories when it used to stand over five-hundred. She looked up for a moment before looking around the rubble for something familiar...which she soon found scattered around in a small area.

G o o g l e

The six letters that once sat over the entrance of the place, the Google Tower and Train Station, were sitting amongst a bunch of rubble, their colors wanting to fade, but not being allowed to.

There was no weather in her world, after all.

"...whash dat awl a dweem,"¹ she asked herself as she blinked in confusion, flapping back up into the air before slowly flying over the ground.

She honestly didn't know why she kept trying to find anyone at this point, it was clear there was no one left anywhere.

Not in the Yahoo! Clubs.

Not in the Angelfire Gardens, though there may be something beyond the Void it contained. She was never brave enough to try to go into it.

Not in the Tripod Labratories or in the GeoCities Townhouses.

Nowhere.

A muted whine escaped her muzzle as she flew, the familiar landscape untouch---

"OOF!"

...okay, maybe not untouched.

The dragon, whom had landed on her back with her tail over her face for the third time since Protheus woke her up from her slumber, flipped back onto her rump and shook her head to clear the spirals in her eyes. Once done, she looked up to see a strange black unmarked tower. It looked no taller than five stories and there seemed to be nothing on it, even windows or doors. She tilted her head, prompting her to lift a leafy ear in the process.

"Wat da'...?"² This structure, Tesability never once saw anything like it when she was back home. Hopping up into the air, she slowly flew around it, seeing nothing worth noting except maybe the fact that the four edges at the top met in a pyramid-like point. It was like looking into the blackness of a---

Tesability hit the metaphorical airbrakes before staring at the strange location from a single viewpoint.

Why did it have the same color as a Void?

Looking down towards the ground below, she noticed that the color surrounding it was not the familiar dark-green with neon-green lines going across, but more various shades of blue and gold that managed to avoid any shade of green. It was...strange.

"Ish...shom'deen twyeen tu cowm backsh?"³ The ground and the strange tower began to glow with their respective colors before unleashing a bright flash. When the light faded, Tesability Black was gone from view.

 

Ending Point: Good question, actually. She just disappeared from the Mirror World...

 

~~~~~~

 

¹ "Was that all a dream,"

 

² "What the..."

 

³ "Is...something trying to come back?"