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

[The Warden]

[[Another Time, Another Place: Conflictous]]

 

"Yu now keepsh meh hewe."

 

Was the whelp seriously? Clearly she was, given that she was desperately trying to flee him. But much like the hopeless void, you could go on for miles, and never get anywhere. She was his prisoner, and she was going to be of great use to hi- Oh, really now? The moment it had plunged into his surface, the Avatar immediately had become aware of Gemini's intrusion. This was now beyond tedious, and it was time to deal with it as necessary.

 

Reacting to the thread, the Avatar subtly manoeuvred his essence along it. There wasn't enough to be of worthy note, and that's how his trap would be sprung as it deftly moved up the thread. The black was barely visible, which was the point of this endeavour as it reached Gemini's hand. With a disgusting display the black completely covered Gemini's hands on a black sphere, locking him to the thread he wasn't tethered to, but rather bound to. With intense levels of force it dragged him through the air, and into Avatar Conflictous.

 

Inevitably, the false human would float down, until he joined the Avatar's "conscious" and Tesability. "So good of you to join us" the Avatar declared humourlessly.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

Kazuya Minegishi
Pathway of Death, A8

 

”You might have to start running now. Get Ayame to safety. I’ll hold her off.”

 

“Alright then…see you later at the end.” After getting the OK from Kairi to start moving and drag Ayame to safety, Kazuya took a glance of the young woman on the platform first to see how she’s doing right now. Kairi had seemingly healed her wounds with her key-thing earlier, but she hadn’t woken up just yet. It worried Kazuya, but the boy was aware that there’s really no time to think about it. After all, she’s alive, and that’s what important. The shadow forming from the girl near them had changed into the form of a man – a man who gave the blue-haired boy some bad feeling just by glancing at his form.

 

“Hey, good luck, Kairi. Don’t be the second body I’d need to drag today, alright?” With his final one-liner in an attempt to make the situation somewhat lighter said, Kazuya grabbed the floating platform where the unconscious Ayame was placed, and started to drag it as fast as he could. The darkness coming from the figure obscured the faint blue candles that lit the complete darkness before him, but he kept on going ignoring that. As much as he was secretly frustrated that he couldn’t actually help much with both Ayame’s and Kairi’s struggles, right now he knew that he’s far from the position to do so – he’d be just a burden than a help without his COMP. Silently cursing to himself due to his current predicament, Kazuya kept on running.

 

 

Tired of running as fast as he could while dragging Ayame’s platform, Kazuya rested just outside of the corridors, deciding to watch the streetlights that illuminated the rest of the pathways in the meantime. A sense of the loneliness he felt before crept up to him once more with Ayame still being unconscious. It’s something that he barely noticed until now, but it did really feel sucky for him to be alone like this. Perhaps as much as his friends usually rely on him, he relied on their presence even more. Right here, even with how many times he tried to focus his mind on the goal that he had in this, he often lost his way, again and again. With or without them with him now, he’d still fight for their sake, but…without their presence to encourage him to move forward…he felt somewhat hollow. Perhaps that’s the reason he was really in as much of a loss as he was having on the pathways. He didn’t even really feel like himself now – he’s a complete and utter mess of a character right now.

 

A glance at the still unconscious Ayame shook him out of his thoughts, however. Something about her…maybe it’s also the reason he’s slightly frustrated that he was unable to help her or Kairi earlier. He really did just want to feel useful for once here. But even then, the fact is that right now, he’s continuing for the sake of a lot of people, not only his friends. And hey, Ayame’s his friend too now. The two of them hadn’t been in company of each other for long, but they’re comrades now. That’s enough reason for him to not get lost.

 

“I’m being silly again…”

 

Still staring at the lights before him, Kazuya finally gained the resolve he need to stop thinking about his shortcomings now and just focus on what lie ahead of him. The future for him was still uncertain, as Naoya said earlier – he still couldn’t be sure that by doing this he would be able to save his world and his friends. He’ll just move forward despite of that. That’s what he did during the lockdown, he could and would do it again.

 

But now, too tired to continue walking, Kazuya decided to wait for either Ayame to wake up or for Kairi to catch up with them.

 

---

 

Reimu Hakurei
Prologuous

 

"Reimu! Over here!"

In the middle of the explosion that happened, Reimu could hear Revy’s voice calling out to her after she started to look for her, and she didn’t waste any seconds to go straight towards her and her friends’ position. Seems like Killua had also joined the group, and that bring a smile on Reimu’s face as she prepared her barrier to cover the group before the explosion would mess them up for good. The explosion weren’t as strong as she expected it to be, but it still put a lot of strain to her barrier – forcing her to dispel it as soon as the explosion subsided.

 

“Huff…huff…gee, that’s just tiring.” Reimu quipped as the barrier had been fully dismantled. Her fatigue could be identified from her voice. It’s still nothing like when she faced Yukari, but the battle so far did put some unpleasant toll on her. Putting a smile on her face, she bowed to Revy before turning her attention to Killua, greeting him.

 

“Yo Killua, how are you doing? Been quite a while, eh?” It’s definitely nice to see the boy again, and to see him being mostly fine. It’s funny how much her way had crossed with these bunch of people – again and again, gravity seemed to have them cross their paths with each other. Fate’s really good at doing jokes.

 

“So anyway, the Avatar-thing’s a puddle of black stuff now, as you can see over there. And be careful about pollens he spread around this place – it’s pretty unpleasant. I think I saw some guy and the little dragon entered the puddle just now.

 

This is kind of surreal and I honestly don’t know what to do now. Any ideas?”

 

---

[Tesability Black]

~While Within the Diarc Sea~

 

Were he anyone else, Gemini would have let out a yelp at the instant the string of auric energy that he created suddenly grabbing his hand before he could even think to let go. Instead, he tried to stand his ground and pull back, trying to release the thin rope from the pool or, barring that, even dissipate the string.

Neither happened.

Instead, with strength he wasn’t prepared for, Gemini found himself pulled almost-headfirst into the pool…

Gemini, once under the surface, looked calm and serene, anyone that knew him would know that he was actually seething at this miscalculation. “Arceus-damned puppeteers,” he muttered to himself, though he knew full well that others were listening...well, reading.

He wasn’t even concerned anymore with the damnable dragon that was still trying to fly out of there.

"So good of you to join us," the Avatar declared humorlessly.

“Why don’t you cut the crap, damned Avatar...Broken...whatever the f*ck you want me to call you by? You know pulling me in here risks undoing several futures, so what’s your real game?” Gemini was, needless to say, not being nice with his words nor his acidic tone of voice.

At the bump he felt hit his back and the ‘oof!’ he heard, he turned around and wound up punching what felt like a snout. “I ought to end you here myself, relic. You’re lucky our shared puppeteer won’t allow for that.”

After spinning backwards a few moments, the black dragon that would have blended in with the sea were it not for the gold in her wings and her silver leaf-like ears, flew up in confusion towards the demon, her snout looking slightly-flatter now. “Puppeteew?” (“Puppeteer?”)

Gemini just facepalmed, already expecting something to happen to at least one of them soon...in fact, why hasn't anything happened out of the one line being spoken? “This is going to be a bad day, isn’t it?”

“....”

The silence was actually getting on his nerves. “You slow to think or you just gonna try to get rid of me by driving me insane with this quiet? You’re several years late, if that’s the case.”

“...yu weewd hooman,” (“...you weird human.”) the dragon simply stated, unsure of what this human was doing.

Gemini only looked at Tesability before replying, “I’m not sure I want to be compared to a deplorable race like the humans. I’m no Hunter.” To this, Tesability’s muzzle clamped shut in shock, wings folding in in surprise.

“Den wha’ ish yu? A Maig NetMonshtew?” (“Then what is you? A Mage NetMonster?”)

Gemini was pretty sure he was gonna have an aneurysm after all this. He could feel one coming, anyway. “I’m no NetMonster. That game died when the source was erased. It’s about time you knew that.” The dragon adamantly shook her head to the claim. Damned reptile was stubborn in her beliefs.

“Nu, Ai shaws Shaid weweesh Nemeshish an’ expwod’, takeen down da Eentewnet wiff eet!” (“No, I saw Shade release Nemesis and explode, taking down the Internet with it!”)

“ARGH!!” Pulling out a few hairs in the process when he grabbed his own hair with both hands, Gemini had unleashed a roar of annoyance in the direction he could only assume was towards the sky. Something, anything, would be welcome if it meant that he could be distracted by this annoying relic of the past! “How are you...wait, I know that answer.” With this, Gemini finally let go of his hair before looking back towards the dragon...who creepily enough hadn’t moved much. “Michele absolutely refuses to let you go. I already know that if you were to disappear here, you’d still be sitting in her NetMonster program on her computer. I’m amazed that can even be found after almost two decades…”

Looking around at the void that the pair was in, Gemini’s patience was finding itself already strained, probably from the fact that he was expecting something to happen, and yet… “Alright, really, are you that slow to think, Broken?”

“I was honestly just waiting for you to finish your temper tantrum, to be perfectly honest with you,” the Avatar replied absently.

“Who’sh Bwowkeen?” (“Who’s Broken?”)

Gemini very-slowly looked back down towards the naive little creature, remembering only a moment later the fact that most of these sad characters weren’t aware of those that controlled the strings of their daily actions.

“You met him on the Path of Truth,” he stated flatly, trying to at least appear calm, even if it was only so he could think straight otherwise.

The NetMonster tilted her head slightly at this claim, unsure of his strange claim.  “When?”

“The one you asked for the name of and didn’t give it to you?”

Though it was hard for him to see in the place, he could see Tesability’s pitch-black eyes widen at this claim. “Meestew Cwoak Pewshon?” (“Mr. Cloak Person?”) The demon suddenly found himself with the urge to laugh at the nickname and how it was pronounced, though he managed not to. He’s heard worse nicknames in general, but he wasn’t sure how the ones above would view that one.

“Yes,” Gemini replied, managing to keep a straight face as he continued. “Mr. Cloak Person.” He wanted to laugh at that name. He knew it shouldn’t be, but coming from a being with a kid-like mentality…

“I am not familiar with a “Broken”, considering given the infinite possibility of Origin, there are an infinite “Broken”. But I do not know why I am referred to as such. I am Avatar Conflictous, that was the title bestowed upon me by those that created me. They felt Jim just wasn’t intimidating enough,” the Avatar remarked sarcastically.

“Puh-leese,” Gemini shot back. “I’m referring to the one that’s pulling even your strings right now, the one standing on the other side of the computer screen in Australia working on a joint short-story featuring all of us right now with mine and Tesability’s shared puppeteer. If that’s not specific enough for you, then...”

Then what, actually? That was actually a good question.

At this moment, Tesability flew around in place, pulling a full circle as if looking for something. “Ai nu shees shtweengs.” (“I no see strings.”) And Gemini’s hand met with his face again.

This was going to be a long day, even if he did get out of here, was it? “You wouldn’t, but that’s enough out of you construct. Such medium-awareness is not permitted on the Pathways, you know that,” the Avatar interjected testily.

“Blame Michele on that one,” Gemini grumbled under his breath.

Poor Tesability had white spirals in her eyes from confusion. She had no idea what in the Net was going on…

“Mai hed huwt…” (“My head hurt…”)

“Even so,” Gemini continued, unconcerned about the NetMonster for the moment. “Just what exactly are you going to do about it? Hm?”

“A variety of options persist I’m sure. As you might be aware, you are within me. You are within what is considered a Sea of Dirac, a pocket dimension from which nothing can escape. Well, nothing so long as I should will them here. While you possess your uncanny medium-awareness, I have closed you off from Origin. Your doppelgangers in the other Pathways are no longer connected to you, so long as I keep you here, for however long I choose to keep you alive. You have created a fairly awkward situation for me, one that I need to remedy. Namely, understanding your ties to Origin. It has taken me some time, but, I think I finally understand. You were born before I awoke, so naturally I did not see what had occurred, but I understand now: You were born from the construct on the Pathway of Death, were you not?” the Avatar surmised.

Gemini was keeping his mouth shut on that one. He suspected that answering that either way could possibly get him into massive trouble. Closing his eyes, he tried reaching out towards the others, towards the ones on Death and Remembrance. He doubted the Avatar could disconnect their connection to each other from here, but…

…

…

…

...ooh, boy.

And almost a few seconds later, he felt a poke in his side...from a claw. She really needs to keep her paws to herself. How has she not learned this lesson yet? “Ish yu ashweepsh?” (“Is you asleep?”)

Gemini decided to ignore that idiotic question, instead opening his red eyes once more. In all honesty, it really depended on what the Avatar’s definition of ‘born’ was, he realised. He first gained awareness way before even hearing of these paths, back within the dark realm that was known to most as the WarHammer 40k reality. The demon could still feel the torture endured from that realm that he wound up sparing his ungrateful counterpart from, corrupting him into what he was now. It was on the Paths of Death and Truth in unison, however, that was the first times he stood on his own feet, separate from Neos for once instead of through a forced-takeover.

Was that was the Avatar was talking about?

Looking towards the goofy creature next to him, whom had started entertaining herself at this point by flying off and singing in random notes with random syllables, he wondered why the Avatar hadn’t done anything to her yet…

“Are you concerned for her safety?”

“More curious as to why you haven’t done anything yet. I figured after so long, you’d want to have some ‘entertainment’.” Not like the dragon has really endured torture, not like himself...and…

Remembering what he discovered on the Path of Death, a feeling of sobriety fell over him once again. He hated finding another that could have gone through a variant of what he went through, especially since he often couldn’t make himself do much to the being in question afterwards for a while…

“I would think she has suffered worse than you. All things considered you haven’t gone through several hundred different flavours of death within a split second, have you?”

Gemini’s ability to think momentarily came to a screeching halt before spinning around to look at the dragon again. How in the f*ck was she still acting like a kid after that?!

Then again...even he didn’t know how to compare the energies of the Warp to anything...most things from the material part of the realm would usually become disintegrated, if pulled in there...that’s what he knew from what had been...now his head was spinning quicker than the loops the dragon in the distance was making. “How is she so bloody carefree,” he couldn’t help but ask quietly, the answer he did know not satisfactory.

She wasn’t truly naive. Get into a fight with her and you learn that the hard way. She wasn’t stupid in those fights, either. Only outside of them did she act...well...like she did. “Those that are barely sentient can’t appreciate to the true majesty of death. You should know that, being from the Pathway of Death, construct.”

“So, what are you going to do, hm? I doubt you’re going to keep me here forever,” he asked in an attempt to get at least some information while keeping an eye on the child dragon, knowing that he would not hear the end of it for a while from his controller if he didn’t at least attempt to keep her safe.

“Once I find out what I want to know, then I will terminate you. I promise you that. Until such a time, perhaps you could indulge me first by divulging your secret on how to get mad b!tches,” the Avatar said with no end of amusement.

Just to be an ass, Gemini summoned a sphere of dark-blue aura in his hand before quickly reforging it into a crystalline poolside chair before leaning back into it with a grin on his face, one leg crossed over the other and his hands behind his head. “That, you’re not getting.”

He wasn’t expecting a NetMonster to suddenly plop onto his lap and instantly fall asleep. “...are you for real,” he asked in an aggravated tone before rolling the dragon off him.

“Oh that’s so precious, I wish I had a camera on me,” the Avatar chuckled mockingly.

“Tauros-sh!t,” he immediately shot back before lightly kicking the dragon, who rolled off the chair as a whole before flying off. “That little twit wasn’t asleep!”

Off in the distance, both of them could hear what sounded like a raspberry being blown. “...peachy.”

 

“Why don’t you quit pretending construct? You really aren’t fooling anyone but yourself into believing that you’re the real Gemini,” the Avatar declared bluntly.

“Never said if I was pretending or not, in all honesty,” he shot back in retort, still leaning back in his chair. “And I will kick you a good distance away if you try that stunt again, Tricky Dragon.”

Tesability had frozen mid-flight above the demon, more at the use of her title instead of her name than his predicting her actions done in boredom. “Haow yu naow dat?” (“How you know that?”)

“You’d be amazed at what I do know.” More like am allowed to know, he wound up reminding himself without meaning to, though he wasn’t willing to think further on that train of thought at the moment. “And for all you know, I could and could not be the real one at the same time. Wrap your brain...wait, you, the Avatar, don’t have one.” At this point, Gemini couldn’t help but look up towards what he thought was the direction of the sky and simply asked quietly, “I bet you’re getting bored, ain’t ya?”

“I’ve waited for eons in this place. Compare to yours my patience is infinite,” the Avatar snarked.

“Wasn’t talking to you, Avatar,” he shot back as well, his gaze looking as if he was staring through something instead of at something. “Come on, Brokes, I know you can get creative, what’s the hold-up?”

“How obtuse. But if you want things to proceed, then why not?” the Avatar mused.

Both of its eyes spun in place, the shadows twisting about in the dimension. With a humorous sound of “POP!”, both Gemini and Tes were imprisoned in shadowy spheres, connected together by a black cord.

Connected...this could go bad quickly if this meant what he thought it did. Even so, he had to find out for su---

“WEMMEGO WEMMEGO!!”

In a panic, the NetMonster suddenly surrounded herself with electricity before trying to claw, slash and bite her way out of her sudden imprisonment. She never liked being in a cage, not being allowed to fly when she wanted to. She hated it, hated it, hated it! “Wemme outta hewe, naow!” (“Lemme out of here, now!”)

Gemini suspected that she hadn’t panicked as much earlier because this place gave the illusion of not being truly imprisoned, and now that it was obvious...well, exhibit A…

As for himself, however, Gemini summoned up a thin sphere of the same dark-blue energy used to make his chair all around him before trying to push the sphere outwards, trying to see what would happen after doing so…

“Think it’s a good idea to tamper with the sphere? I don’t honestly. Wanna know a fun fact? The cord that connects the two spheres is a variant of my Vanity’s Emptiness. You know, the thing that caused you UNBELIEVABLE pain. Well, in this case it swaps pain. You won’t feel anything that happens to you, but the other will. Allow me to demonstrate,” the Avatar explained gleefully.

It was exactly as he thought it was...well, not quite. He had thought damage done to the spheres would have been felt by the other, not that.

Slowly, Tesability’s sphere began shrinking, steadily reducing the available space for the dragon to move about in, and causing her to panic even further. Though he had managed to only slightly enlarge the space of his own, he suddenly felt the need to kneel to deal with the squeeze he was feeling. Despite the lack of wings, he felt the once outstretched wings on the dragon next to him starting to crack and break in addition to other things.

With all the concentration he could muster, he dropped the sphere surrounding him and summoned one around Tesability with strain, trying to force the sphere of shadow to expand once more.

Tesability didn’t understand what was happening. She felt her wings and other parts beginning to snap from the squeeze as she tried to fight it off, but she could barely move at this point. Her eyes shut, she gave a fearful whine from the panic from being unable to move from this strange place...though…

...did it suddenly get less tight?

Opening her eyes, she managed to see her form surrounded with a layer of dark-blue, which she didn’t recall having before, that felt like it was pushing against the squeeze. “Huh?” There wasn’t enough room still do use a MegaHeal, but she began to push alongside the glow with strength often surprising of see from such a little form.

The small sliver of hope help to blind Tesability against the huge possibility of this failing to work. The eyes tilted slightly, and a black sliver appeared in the air, and it grinned at them as Gemini’s sphere started shrinking as well.

He knew there was trouble the moment he felt the top of his head against the sphere. He couldn’t keep both of the spheres at a set size, could he?

...actually...a grin fell over Gemini’s face as he remembered something.

“Thank you, Neos,” he muttered before stretching his hands out to either side of him, towards the sphere he was in, gritting his teeth as he focused on the shadows of the spheres themselves.

If his counterpart could do this...why couldn’t he?

His hands began to glow once more as he felt a pain that wouldn’t be able to translate well through the Emptiness ripping through him, straining himself as he began to feel the shadows snapping out of place one area at a time. A high-pitched cry of pain escaped the little dragon as what pain did managed to get through reached her, sobbing in her voice as well.

Almost roaring as he did, Gemini pushed further out his particular sphere, feeling more and more of the shadows loosen their grips before, and not without great tax to himself, the sphere around him snapped, the other sphere disappearing in chain soon afterwards.

Not long afterwards did Gemini appear to pass out, however…

Seeing the sphere suddenly disappear around her and feeling the various sorts of pain throughout her now, she gave a whine as she focused on the use of a MegaHeal to at least mitigate the pain for now. Her wings were still screwed for the time being. Upon seeing Gemini did she try doggie-paddling towards him, her wings way too painful to move for the time being, before trying to poke him in the side with a claw.

He didn’t stir.

Poke.

Poke.

Poke.

“...wai he nu wake?” (“...why he no wake?”)

“He passed out fighting against the sphere. It’s almost kind of sad, really,” Conflictous explained candidly.

“Wai onwy ‘kinda’ shads,” (“Why only ‘kind of’ sad?”) she asked in her typical curiosity, almost always asking a question if she could. Passed out means he would wake up soon...right? Giving the demon another poke, this time in a leg, she whined upon not getting even a instinctive reaction out of him.

“It wasn’t even my best, Tesability. That’s why it’s sad. All that strain, all that effort to stop me, and it was all to stop the equivalent of me yawning,” Conflictous explained.

“Yu mean,” she put simply, never really knowing how to really insult someone properly.

Then her eyes widened as she suddenly felt herself getting smaller, a familiar form of light beginning to envelop… “Nononononono!”

Once she recognized the pale-yellow light, she appeared to suddenly shrink, her shape changing to something vaguely more spherical before it finally faded, revealing a grapefruit-shaped citrine that looked much like a blooming flower with a glowing vivid-yellow core composed of contained electricity. Another familiar glow began to appear around the jewel, this one dark-blue, before the jewel disappeared entirely.

And not long afterwards, so did Gemini…

It took a great amount of effort to pull this off, especially without the Avatar realizing what he was doing, but on top of the tea table, the citrine flower suddenly landed upon it, giving a clang when it did. Soon afterwards did the seemingly-passed out Gemini in an inelegant way, who let out a groan of pain upon his own landing.

“...take that...a$$hole,” he managed to say before passing out properly on the table, his face now against the wood.

The Avatar was alone in his realm, and he only had one thing to say: “THE F*CK?!”

[Love of Ghibli]

Team Dorian: Prologous

 

Things looked like they were getting interesting as the digital monster and the other stranger were being sucked into the Avatar. Dorian looked around and wondered if him and the team should jump into action. Butlerok put his hand on the young man's shoulder and just shook his head. It seems like the going trend of these "boss battles" is that they fixate on the ones who will kill them. That Avatar has been trying to eliminate that little dragon with more effort than it has us. So let us see what happens. Dorian calmed down and shrugged. It wasn't like there was something else better that they could be doing at this moment. It looked as if the two began to become fully assimilated by the Avatar. The team just raised their eyebrows at the event and figured that wouldn't be the end of those two. They couldn't have been true Divine members if that was enough to actually take them down. To be fair though no member of Team Dorian realized that Gemini wasn't actually there since the beginning nor was technically "a part" of the Divine. In hindsight they probably should have taken the chance to bond with some of their teammates.

 

Speaking of bonds the team looked around and noticed that another member from the CC faction had joined prologous. It was the lightning kid from Path of the Past. Dorian was not truly familiar with what was happening, but it was enough that others knew. That and the boy did not seem to be that much of a threat. Well the only thing we can do here is probably do some group strategy. Just for review, aren't the four of you combined the strongest members of both factions not counting the leaders? Well to be fair there still is that one-winged angel man that worked in Isamy's service. Butlerok added with a weird added twitch coming from Ragnarok inside him. Hmph Rhadamanthys said as he didn't remember anyone else being strong when he was in the ship before they jumped through the door to the paths.

 

Dorian motioned as the group flew over to Reimu and the rest of team good guy. Hello all...he said in his most diplomatic voice trying to bring the peace between the two factions. I'm Dorian and I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting some of you.

[Dad]

Black Lagoon Company, Era 2, Prologous

 

“So anyway, the Avatar-thing’s a puddle of black stuff now, as you can see over there. And be careful about pollens he spread around this place – it’s pretty unpleasant. I think I saw some guy and the little dragon entered the puddle just now.

 

 

This is kind of surreal and I honestly don’t know what to do now. Any ideas?”

 

Revy scratched her chin, as Reimu's barrier surrounded them.  Kratos observed the magic carefully, not knowing much about Reimu, prior to their one previous encounter.  Kenpachi was busy explaining the fall out with Yachiru, who was still somewhat groggy after being freed from her "safe haven".  She fell onto her bottom, rubbing her eyes groggily as the world stirred around her.  Kenpachi couldn't help but laugh.  Meanwhile, Killua was busy admiring Reimu from the back of the group, trying to keep out of Yachiru's line of sight for fear she would jump him.  

 

"What to do, huh?" Revy questioned.  Taking a flask from her bosom, Revy flipped off the top and downed a swig of her preferred drink.  "If we got nothin' better to do, then I'm gonna take it easy.  You guys are all nuts, and I'm not used to dealing with super heroes and bad guys with tentacles coming out of their faces.  But you can join me if you wanna," she said plopping down on the ground.  With her arms stretched backwards, Revy breathed deeply, trying to drown out the world.

 

"So is baldy okay?"

 

Kenpachi pointed to Kratos, behind Yachiru.  "He's fine.  I haven't had to kill him yet either," Kenpachi said with a grin.  Yachiru stretched, yawning and standing to her feet.  Behind Kenpachi's tall hair, she spotted a familiar silver lining.  The lining of the boy she admired.  With a gasp, she darted over to him, embracing Killua with a huge smile.  He sighed, smiling back down at her.  "Killua!" she said excitedly.  He patted Yachiru on the head, greeting her.  "It's good to see you again too, little one."

 

 

"You were with Revy, a short time ago, while she was a drunken fool," Kratos said approaching Reimu.  "Hey!  I heard that!"  "Tell me.  What type of magic is this?  I've not seen anything like it."  Just as Kratos asked this, the barrier began to dissipate, falling around Kratos and the others until it vanished.  "Are you like Kenpachi?  Are you a god?"

[Phantom Roxas]

[Death C9] - Arthur vs Apollo

 

Light from the torches was little more than a flicker compared to the rays surrounding Arthur and Apollo. Arthur swung with his left hand. It was not his good hand, but his right hand was still reeling from when Apollo stepped on it. As Arthur slashed downwards, Apollo sidestepped. When Arthur brought the Keyblade back up, Apollo put his hand in the direction of the swing, stopping the Keyblade in its movements. Arthur raised his knee, but Apollo hit it with his own. Crack. Arthur twisted in his footing, before Apollo grabbed him by the shirt, pulling Arthur inwards, and once he was close enough, Apollo head his own against Arthur’s.

 

Arthur didn’t move. Apollo let go of Arthur’s shirt, allowing his son to fall. The light surrounding Arthur changed, sliding off his body before melding with the aura surrounding Apollo. ”I suppose that’s the closest I’ll ever get to grounding you.” He knelt beside Arthur, placing one hand on his knee, and the other to his ear. ”Can you still hear them?” Fire and thunder crackled at the other end of the hallway. Metal clashed against metal. Water swayed, as though the ocean itself beat against a shore. ”They started their fights before you, and they’re still going. I guess I’m just that good.” Arthur began to move his Keyblade, but Apollo pointed his finger against it. ”You really don’t want to do that.”

 

”Heal!” Arthur hissed the word, planting the Keyblade hand on the ground, dragging his right hand across the ground. The broken knee made it hard to move one leg, but the green glow of the Cure spell let Arthur ignore it. Then he let out a scream and fell face first back into the floor, screaming until he choked blood out of his mouth.

 

”How long did you stay at Camp Half-Blood before you ran away? I guess not enough for you to remember what I am. Maybe if you survive this - and I think that’s a pretty big ‘if’ - you’ll get more in touch with your powers. I’m more than the lord of light, boy. I’m also a good of medicine. And poetry, but I don’t suppose you’re in the mood for a haiku.” He poked at Arthur’s head, but he still kept coughing up blood. ”Ah, what the hey. The Pathway of Death. You must choose a future here. But you suck at that.”

 

”Shut up.” Arthur whispered the words, but covered his mouth once after another fit of gagging out blood.

 

”You first.” With a snap of Apollo’s fingers, Arthur’s lips closed shut. ”Like I was saying, you have to choose. You’re determined to kill Protheus. All well in good, but what do you think you’re going to do after that? The way I see it, here are your options. The first is that you go home. Your real home. You suck it up and go back to Camp Half-Blood, where you’ll be a good little demigod and listen to what Chiron tells you. Of course, you’re going to have to talk to me, because once you get home, I either blast you to tiny pieces, or you find out what happens when demigods get grounded. Since I’m the one the Pathway summoned for you, that raises a few questions. Are you prepared to approach that future regardless of the risks confronting me again will mean? Can you atone for abandoning Samuel and Baxter to go back to the Digital World? Will you return victorious, finally restoring Pandora’s Box to its proper place? Or will you neglect all of your responsibilities, and simply return to the Digital World yet again, all because you would rather seek validation from MirageGaogamon and the Royal Knights than face your mistakes head on? I suspect that you won’t do that, though. When you fought Apocrypha, you were so caught up in preventing yourself from making the same mistake again that you swore to close the boundaries between our world and the Digital World once and for all. Even if you don’t, even if you keep the worlds connected, can you resist the temptation to run away again? Are those the only worlds you wish to keep connected. You’ve found love. Or, maybe it’s just your hormones, I don’t know. It runs in the family, after all. So, who will you live for, Arthur? The land of your birth where you have yet to show yourself as a hero, the world where you have already become a hero, or the unknown future standing beside a girl you’ve deluded yourself into believing you love? Or do you believe that becoming a Counter Guardian will you free you from the burden of choice? You triumphed over the Madara when the rest of the Counter Corps, not even Arturia, could do the same. Even the Divine - even Dorian and Butlerok - could not deliver the final blow as you did. You triumphed over the last remnants of the Demon Lord and conquered the Infinite Tsukuyomi… yet you lost the Key. You had a chance, a moment to enjoy the thrill of being a hero once again, but you failed. You had one simple task. You were given the quest for Pandora’s Box out of pity, and you failed. Even now, with Isamy dead, you are no more closer to finishing your quest than you were before the Origin War even began. Now you have two artifacts to retrieve, and now Protheus is the one standing in your way! Do you know why Isamy told you to face this alone? Because Eria and MirageGaogamon hold you back. Would any of your victories have been possible without them? If you come home, you won’t have them to rely on anymore! You may think you’re ready to face me, but you’re not ready to let go of them!”

 

Apollo was lifted up into the air, metal wrapping around his throat. Arthur’s gauntlets were shimmering. The bloodstains on his lips drying before fading away. He stood on both of his feet without faltering. In his right hand he held the Keyblade, and in his left, Apollo. Light manifested around Arthur’s entire body, indistinguishable from the gauntlets. ”You said I’d go first,” Arthur said. ”So now it’s your turn. Like I said, shut up.” Apollo squirmed in Arthur’s hand, but as he moved his mouth to speak, no words came through, not even half-formed ones. ”I know a thing or two about medicine myself. For example, the Golden Fleece? It can do more than defend. It can also heal, even something that came from a god. I am scared, alright? Is that what you want to hear? You think I expect Sam and Baxter to welcome me back, forget about how I left them to die just because how much I hated you? But if you know so much about me, then you should remember what I told Madara. I won’t throw my friends away.” He lowered Apollo down to the ground, and slowly opened his hand, freeing Apollo’s throat. ”But I guess you - this pathway - are about as indecisive as I am. If I go to Camp Half-Blood, and I finish what I started with Sam and Baxter, then I’ll need my friends. Sam, Baxter, MirageGaogamon, Eria, Gagagigo, Sora, Kairi, Richard, Tenco…” The gauntlets on his hands, now drained of their golden color, began to dissolve. Arthur looked at them one last time before they broke down. ”Kratos. Even if we’re from separate universes, he’s still an uncle. He’s the closest thing I’ve got to… no, he is family. That’s more than I can say for you. And even if I don’t trust her as much as I’d like to, I believe that even Arturia means well. My friends aren’t my anchor. The only thing holding me back is myself. I’ll keep depending on friends, but I’ll get stronger on my own so I don’t end up being the one holding them back! So with all of my friends, with all of the Counter Corps fighting with me, we’ll all be able to defeat Protheus!”

 

”And what of that tower? What of the monsters the Pathway showed you? Whether it’s with the Throne of Heroes you will, the future doesn’t intend for you to know a life beyond fighting.”

 

”I’ll defeat them, too. Me and anyone who will work with me.”

 

”Are you certain that people would even want to work with you?”

 

”I’m not. I’ll earn their trust.”

 

”You seem confident that you will. Why don’t you try to be Protheus’ friend while you’re at it?”

 

”You’re joking. He’s the enemy.”

 

”True, but you don’t make friends by having a common enemy. Maybe that’s why you will keep on fighting? You can’t make friends without someone to send others against.”

 

”You’re just stalling.”

 

Apollo pursed his lip. ”And you’re just deflecting the question.”

 

”I’m not, you just didn’t let me finish. I want to be the best I can be. When I leave Eria and MirageGaogamon, I want them to remember me for being their friend. Not just that coward who couldn’t stop running away.”

 

Apollo smiled. For a moment, Arthur saw malice in it, as if Arthur had just sealed his own fate by saying the worst possible thing. But as he looked closer, Apollo seemed genuinely impressed. Happy. ”’When.’ Are you really going to do it, then? Are you ready to leave them behind?”

 

”Not yet. But I plan to be. Protheus has the Key to rewrite the universe however he wants, and I’ll do everything I can to stop him. If I have to leave my friends behind after that, then… I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. But if I can stay with them just a little bit longer, I will, but not before I come back home and talk to you, dad. Everything in my past, I’ll make up for. Every future that waits for me, good or bad, I’ll take them all.”

 

”That’s rather selfish of you,” Apollo laughed. ”You’ll have to fight for them.”

 

Arthur shrugged. ”I know it’s selfish. But I also know that my actions have hurt other people. For their sake, I’ll make that the future I’ll take the right one.”

 

”Even if you fight for any future just to stop the hurt, it’s just folly. You’re throwing yourself at vague nothings, expecting everything to turn in your favor.”

 

”It’s not vague. I know the future that lies ahead of me. Everyone has died so we could make it this far. To die now would be an insult their memory. I will survive all these paths and reach the finish line. Protheus has decided how this will all end, but I will show him he’s wrong. I’ll show him a future that has no place for his darkness. The future I’ll write will be one of light!” His Keyblade risen above him, Arthur fired light all across the corridor, bathing the hallway with light. Apollo doubled back, shielding his eyes with his hand, only to shake the hand to his side to maintain his composure. Arthur gazed at the god with white-hot eyes, his face stern as he stepped towards Apollo. ”I will fix Protheus’s mistakes and my own. I will heal reality itself. I’m going to stop Protheus, take the Key of Origin, open the door, bring Pandora’s Box home with me, and finish my quest once and for all!”

 

The end of Arthur’s Keyblade was against Apollo’s chest. Apollo’s teeth chattered as he spoke. ”A-and… that’s your answer?” His voice was a mix of genuine curiosity and fear of what Arthur was about to do with the Keyblade.

 

”Yes. I’ve made my decision. Now get out of my sight, you fake.”

 

Apollo sighed, standing completely still as if he wasn’t just panicking for his life a few seconds before. ”You called me ‘dad’ earlier. To be honest, that should have been enough for you to pass the test. But I couldn’t stop going. You have guts, Arthur. Maybe the real me will be as proud as I am to be your father.” The Keyblade slowly descended, but it only next to Apollo’s leg. ”I know it doesn’t mean much, since I’m just a part of this pathway, but let me give you some advice. Take Truth next. I can feel it in your heart that you’re confident, but we both know that confidence isn’t enough. Don’t rush to Remembrance trying to prove yourself. The man you are now might be able to do that, but you won’t know who that man is without following the Pathway to Truth.”

 

Arthur withdrew his Keyblade. ”I’ll consider it. Sorry, but I have to help-”

 

”Eria, right. Go, Arthur. She needs you. Oh, and… uh, sorry about almost killing you there. It’s called the ‘Pathway to Death’ for a reason, you know.”

 

Arthur smirked. ”I might accept that. Once I’m home you’ll be sorry. You want a high five?”

 

”Oh my self, did you just make a haiku?” Apollo returned the high five. ”You are totally my son.”

 

Arthur looked back into the corner. The light he cast had begun to fade, but he could more clearly see all the people still fighting inside. But the only person he was thinking of at the moment was Eria. ”What kind of future could I have with Eria?”

 

Apollo simply waved. ”One that you two will have to find out together.” His began to change. There was less substance to it. He was beginning to fade away. He kept on waving, and Arthur waved back, watching his father until he completely vanished, gone as if there was nobody there to begin with.

 

Arthur looked towards Eria. ”Alright. Time to save everything.”

[The Warden]

[[Another Time, Another Place: Conflictous]]
 
How?! Did?! He?! DO?! THAAAAAAATTT?!?!?! That was impossible. How could he have even manipulated the negative energy of the Dirac Sea to even escape... unless. Could he have used his abilities and his ties to Origin? Wasn't he cut off though? It didn't make sense, not one bit. But, hmm, seems he was unconscious now. Without the main core, the secondaries wouldn't have any defence against him. That was useful, very useful, all things considered with the Counter Guardian with one of them. Perhaps it was about time to make claim to his own property....
 

 
[[Pathway of Death]]
 
The Gemini construct in Death stood no chance. Within mere seconds and with minimal resistance, the beast's eyes changed to a dull black, and his stance slacked a fair bit. Paying no mind to Jace, he dumped him to the ground as he took a few steps forward. "Pathway of Death, isn't it? First time I've ever gotten to see it. They were right, it is a fairly depressing place. And where there's a depressing place, there's depressing people. Isn't that right... Chandra?" Avatar Gemini grinned, pivoting on his heel to face the fire mage.
 
"For your benefit, I wasn't referring to you as depressing, more him" the Avatar explained, nodding at the Jace pile. "Really depressing man he is. I really have no idea why you possess any form of sexual tension with him. Ah, how rude of me. Chandra Nalaar, I am Avatar Conflictous of Prologuous. I'm currently borrowing this contruct's form to do some scouting right now. You people have been creating a fair few discrepancies in the Pathways as of recent."

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

Reimu Hakurei

Prologuous

 

 

"You were with Revy, a short time ago, while she was a drunken fool,"

 

"Hey!  I heard that!"

 

"Hm...?"

 

Not long after Reimu quipped about what they should do next, Revy's...boyfriend? was that even correct anyway? But yeah, the bald warrior came towards her, seemingly curious about her. Reimu's two Hakurei Yin yang Orbs still hovered around her, alongside the sphere of Gensokyo. Each revolutions made her somewhat fresher for some reasons, but she wasn't in the position to inquire about it more.

 

"Tell me.  What type of magic is this?  I've not seen anything like it.

 

Are you like Kenpachi?  Are you a god?"

 

"A god....? Nah, that'd be too generous. I'm not a god in human form. I'm just...well, I'm a shrine maiden, the servant of the gods. And I'm not like the old man, most definitely.

 

So...you're...with Revy, eh?" Reimu asked in a somewhat playful tone, but her eyes were still focused on their surrounding, still being wary on the probability that the Avatar would return anytime soon. She considered to handle the goo-like Avatar now, but with how dangerous it could be especially since she knew nothing about it, it's something too risky to do now. Channeling the gods...that could probably help, but she's unsure whether she could even do it right now. For now, she probably should just relax with the baldy, Revy, Killua, and the others here.

 

Though, not long afterwards, some other parties had arrived on the scene. It's the people the other Yukari had invited to her little tea party earlier, and they kind of looked more intimidating than before. Reimu readied her guard in response to their arrival, since they would be aligned to the Divines, but it seemed that they don't really fancy a clash at the moment.

 

"Hello all...I'm Dorian and I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting some of you." One of them opened the talk, from the tone he's aiming for diplomacy right now.

 

"Dorian, huh? Well, I'm Reimu Hakurei. I...am not really keen on working together with people from the other side right now, the woman earlier notwithstanding, but I guess right now there's no other choices. Seems like you three's pretty well acquainted with baldy's group so far, eh?

 

But on a more important note, any suggestions on how to clean up the black smears on the ground? I happen to like this place's floor, so seeing those smudges ruining the view is a bit annoying."

 

---

[Merci]

~ Protheus Maximus ~

The Pathway to Death - E8 (rooftop)

 

“Oh? Are you reaching your limits already, little girl?”

 

The immortal lord crossed his arms amidst the darkness, with a frown on his face that made it quite apparent how he felt about this current situation – a waste of time. Not too far away, just barely visible by the flames scattered all around, was a teenage girl in rags, covered in blood and wounds. Even though she had the capacity to heal herself, she had only just been able to keep up with his relentless attacks, and her metallic blackdragon had suffered worse still, having had its wings brutally blown off multiple times, its body cracked and limbs shattered, and every time it seemed like it was capable of moving again, another rain of beams would simply smash it back down into the ground. Its once-imposing form had since been reduced to a mere joke.

 

“Out of all the entities I could’ve fought, it had to be this, this thing?” Protheus muttered to himself, annoyed as ever.

 

“Damn, not bad at all… This is a little harder than I thought it would be.” Pener responded.

 

She was trying to hide it, but she was very clearly in pain, and the bravado she put up was becoming more and more transparent. Honestly, it hadn’t even a fight, but a demolition. His so-called ‘Ultimate Enemy’ had attempted to get the tiniest advantage by breaking out the corridor’s roof, using the open space in pitch-black darkness to her advantage, but all she ended up achieving was giving the sorcerer more angles to blast her from. By some miracle, she’d managed to maintain her distance, since she understood all too well that getting within range of his blade would’ve spelled out instant death for her. However, that didn’t make it any easier to beat him at long range – she hadn’t succeeded in landing even a single hit so far.

 

“I suppose I should commend you for lasting ten minutes, but see, you have failed to entertain me. Every one of your tactics has been uncreative, and my dark magic far surpasses yours in every category. Take a good look.” Protheus gestured towards the spatial box clutched within his left hand, the Key of Origin that would theoretically open the way at Prologuous. Lit by nothing but the blazing inferno around them, it appeared more ominous than ever. “I expect that there will be quite the crowd at the end… I would hate to make them wait for too long. Then again, they may have all killed each other off by now. Or perhaps some guardian at the end will have eliminated them for me instead. Who knows, if not the writers of this whole mess?”

 

“Heh, don’t write me off just yet... I’m still alive and kicking, aren’t I?” She coughed blood as she said this. It seemed that she could collapse at any given moment, but she was forcing herself to stay on her feet, as if driven by something that her opponent could not possibly understand. Next to her, the metal dragon was growling, gathering all its pieces together as quickly as possible, desperately making itself ready for the next wave.

 

“You’re dead, as far as I’m concerned. It’s actually somewhat a shame too, as I expected more from the Pathways… Hmph.” With a shrug, Protheus started to take a few steps back whilst raising his other arm, his expression changing from an annoyed look to a serene one.

 

“What’s wrong? You surrenderin’ or something?!” Pener spat at him, noticing this strange action. But of course, it had to mean something.

 

“No. It is simply that since this is such a boring fight, I may as well go ahead and entertain myself.” He replied cryptically. “I’m not about to waste the Twilight One’s time on a cockroach such as you, and you must be joking if you think that I’ll take you even half serious. However, I will permit you to bear witness to something…else.”

 

Energy was gathering within his body, so he must’ve been preparing to cast some sort of magic, and whatever it was, it had to be powerful. The flames scattered about the battlefield were burning brighter and brighter in response to his power, turning into a deep vermillion as they lit up the rooftop, filling the air so much that Pener had to cover her nose and mouth to prevent inhaling in any of the smoke. Meanwhile, the dragon beside her, as though having caught onto what he was doing, glared intently at the sorcerer.

 

“Let me guess. That thing next to you is your Ka, the crystallized shadow of your soul. It’s a rather awe-inspiring creature, isn’t it? You must be oh so proud of your dragon, and honestly, for good reason too. After all, they represent potential. Throughout history, those who have been in possession of Red-Eyes have gone on to become the strongest of warriors and greatest of leaders. Even if they may start off as inferior to others, see, the thing with potential is that just about anything in the future is made possible. Overcoming impossible odds, achieving outlandish dreams. All of it.”

 

With a distant smile, he floated into the pitch-black sky, now surrounded by a vermillion glow.

 

“And the best part of all is that this isn’t made so by warping reality. No no no, it comes from one thing, and one thing only. Pure, unyielding passion. Did you know, the colour of their most infamous trait actually come from the blood flowing within their veins? The Red-Eyes sees reality through the image it has ingrained in its body, and if it doesn’t abide by that image, corrections must be made, even forcefully if necessary. The colour of blood never changes until death, and so too will its worldview maintain itself. That is why it is considered as a symbol of destruction as well as potential. How many lives has it taken for the more worthy to take their place? How many empires has it burned down in a blazing inferno for the sake of revolution? In order to build better worlds, old ones must be torn down. Therefore, to have one of these as your Ka is the one thing I cannot insult about you... However.”

 

The metallic dragon down below, still recovering, let out a glass-shattering roar at him, daring him to continue.

 

“As lovely as your Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon is, Pener, I too happen to have a Ka of my own. Consider this a privilege, as I have not felt the need to do this for a great many centuries now. Feast your eyes!”

 

The air around Protheus suddenly ignited, creating a series of fireballs that were aligned together, before they shot forth towards a spatial vortex that had materialized high above, striking its core with enough sheer force that the entire corridor structure beneath their feet rumbled. The collision caused a violent burst of energy to erupt outwards, blinding the teenage girl temporarily due to its brightness, and the shockwave was alone was strong enough to send her flying, making her slam straight into her Ka’s large body.

 

 

 

“Oh my blood, I feel the earth is barren.

 

Oh my vision, I see the stars are dead.

 

Oh my comrade, the time hast cometh for thou to transcend these past ten thousand years, emerge from the netherland, and annihilate all undesirable futures! I connect to the Overlay Network and Chaos Xyz Summon! Descend now—

Red-Eyes Omega Void Dragon!”

 

Then, when Pener opened her eyes again, she found that the scenery around them had changed utterly. The ground had turned uneven, with unpleasant puddles of some kind of poisonous liquid everywhere, as well as dead trees scattered about. The smell was terrible. The sky was now visible, if covered with endless clouds, with a vague hint of purple. But most of all, the trait that exposed it for what it truly was, was the unnatural pressure that she could feel weighing down on her. “H- how is this…” However, all thoughts of that were lost to the wind, as her eyes noticed something strange, out of place in a land so desolate and empty, yet at the same time, far too fitting.

 

It was positioned at the center of a particularly large body of water, resting atop a large floating skull. For a moment, she thought that she could only be imagining the nightmarish creature. It was in the shape of an ancient obsidian dragon, its hulking form distorted with barely any trace of what its former self may have looked like, now appearing so ferocious that there was no possible way anyone could hope to face it without feeling some level of fear. The amount of power it emitted only reinforced how much of a destructive force it was, which came from ten thousand years of being continually exposed to the darkness, of adapting to a terrible corruption. Nothing should be capable of lasting that long, and yet, that thing had. In her mind, she searched for an excuse. Any excuse to not believe in its existence. All of her senses were screaming out danger, but there was one reason she had, insignificant though it may be, to think that this wasn’t real, which was the fact that it was just sitting there, still and unmoving in any way, so perhaps it was nothing but an elaborately-made statue to decorate this realm.

 

However, such conveniences do not exist. A split second later, in order to shatter what little illusions she had about the situation, the body of the dragonic demon rumbled with visible red energy as its muscles uncoiled under its scales, its deep crimson eyes opened up, and it viciously arched its head in her location.

 

 

“Protheus Maximus, you…” Barely getting herself back onto her feet, Pener tried to speak, but she was at a loss for words at the sight before her eyes, staring at the other dragon in disbelief. “I knew you had fallen, but not this much. What on earth have you done to your Ka to make it so…”

 

The dark sorcerer chuckled, stepping out from behind the twisted monstrousity as he crossed his arms, now pleased at where things were heading.

 

“I do so enjoy that look on your face.” He stated smugly. “Are you confused? Disgusted? TERRIFIED? Well, you certainly should be. Behold, for you are bearing witness to a magnificent dragon! The most powerful void dragon! A true Red-Eyes! You are not even worthy to gaze upon it, but I have allowed you to do so anyway. Consider it a great honour that you are to die this way.”

 

Then, his Ka released a thunderous, ear-piercing shriek that made the world around them shake, resonating with its pure killing intent. She realized that it wasn’t directed at her, but at the metallic dragon beside her, which happened to be back on its feet and ready for a challenge.

 

Pener was struggling to stay together, forcing herself to stay on her feet. It wasn’t merely the sight of the creature, or the bad situation, or even her own exhaustion that was making it hard to stand up, but rather, there was something about the atmosphere itself that was attempting to get into her head, to drive her insane. “This is, the Shadow Realm, isn’t it? We couldn’t have left the Pathway to Origin, so how is this possible?”

 

“Ah, I almost forgot. Welcome to my soul room, or as those Counter Guardians would put it, my ‘Reality Marble’.” Elegantly stepping onto the surface of poison via mana, Protheus performed a mocking bow at the girl. “It isn’t the Shadow Realm per se, but more of a smaller replica, an imparted image from the many millennia it spent being protected there. Of course, it belongs more to my Red-Eyes that it does to me. It was exposed to the corruption of darkness for many millennia, so isn’t it only natural for them to bond? While I am capable of bringing forth my Ka without it, the dragon and the realm normally come as a package, you see.”

 

The dragons had begun growling at each other, but neither were making a move just yet.

 

“…” After having listened to all he had to say, the Egyptian girl, with silver hair mirroring Protheus’s own, hung her head low in silence. Her mouth opened, but then closed again, not being sure about what to say.

 

“Heh. Are you truly so horrified at the turn of events that you cannot come up with anything to say?”

 

“No, not really. It’s more like, uh, sad, I guess?” She admitted, whilst resisting the world’s corruption through nothing but sheer will.

 

At that, the sorcerer raised an eyebrow, finding her response a little odd. It hadn’t been quite what he expected.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

He must have been so caught up in his annoyance of her that her actual nature must have slipped his mind, Pener thought. In the previous pathway, she had stood in for his true self. And in this one, here she was, acting as his Ultimate Enemy. It was true that her power didn’t even come close to his, but still. The very fact that she existed, here and now, when she should have long ago been erased from history, demonstrated that she had a role to play for him.

 

“First of all… you talk way too much.” She sighed dramatically to emphasize this. “I must have gotten awfully bored of immortality if I’m filling up my free time by rambling on and on and on like some self-absorbed scholar.”

 

Protheus’s eyes narrowed. “This nonsense again?”

 

“Secondly, you’re trying too hard to be the villain. I understand why you would have chosen this persona after all you went through, but still, it’s a little much, don’t you think? There’s no one else around apart from us, so you can at least drop it here. But then again, I suppose that the more you act one way, the more it becomes a part of you, especially after so many years… Okay, I don’t really know how these things work.”

 

“The hell you talking about?”

 

“And third, I’m disappointed that I turned her parting gift into, well, a mindless animal. It was the only thing she left me, so I thought I would at least be able to keep it in condition even after some time…”

 

‘Her’. His mind flashed back to the awoken memory from before, about two slave girls, one seeking satisfaction in life, and the other seeking meaning in life. Just over an hour had passed since then, but still it didn’t make any sense to him. Or rather, he refused to make sense of it. “What is this? Did you just insult my Red-Eyes? What are you even talking about? Is the heat getting to your head, little girl?”

 

She returned his words with a strained, sympathetic glance. “It doesn’t matter. You seem intent on believing that we are two wholly different entities, so there isn’t much I can do for you. Until you reach Remembrance, none of my actions will truly sink in.”

 

“You ruined my mood.” Protheus remarked. “Just when I thought I managed to shut you up, you have become annoying again.”

 

“Hey, works both way. I don’t like dealing with you either, but since you’re my future self, it can’t be helped.”

 

"..."

 

"..."

 

"That is it, you're dead."

 

Then the sorcerer clicked his fingers and the Red-Eyes Omega Void Dragon boomed forth like lightning with its jaws open wide, screeching madly as it went straight for Pener. Mere feet away from her, it was intercepted by its far younger Darkness Metal counterpart, who tackled it from the side before letting out a powerful inferno fire blast onto it from point blank range. However, when the flames cleared, the void dragon appeared to have not suffered any scratches at all, let alone actual damage. It opened its jaws wide and bit mercilessly into its opponent's neck. The fight between dragons had begun.

 

 

[spoiler=Red-Eyes Omega Void Dragon]

Rank 7/DARK/Dragon-Type/Xyz/Effect

ATK 3600/DEF 3000

4 Level 7 "Red-Eyes" Monsters

You can also Xyz Summon this card by using a "Red-Eyes Omega Dragon" you control as the Xyz Material. (Xyz Materials attached to that monster also become Xyz Materials on this card.) Your opponent cannot select a monster other than this card as an attack target. Increase the ATK of this card by the total ATK of all other "Red-Eyes" monsters you control. Once per turn, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; Special Summon 1 Level 7 or higher DARK monster from your hand.

 

 

[Tesability Black]

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

The sudden thud of landing upon the ground had jolted a string of pain through the arm he landed on, forcing him to stir awake, though not as fast as he would like if something was happening.
 

"...were right, it is a fairly depressing place. And where there's a depressing place, there's depressing people. Isn't that right... Chandra?"

That was not a voice he recognized, though the presence of two psychic voids, one of them so close to him, had finally been what jolted him fully awake, getting up onto his feet with a bit of a stumble.

Godsdamn, Jace had thought to himself. Ravnica really took me for a joyride, he mentally grumbled as he made use of one of the Ditto's lines...

"For your benefit, I wasn't referring to you as depressing, more him," he heard before seeing Gemini nodding towards hi...

Wait a second, Gemini's eyes aren't black. And while Gemini once felt like a wall he couldn't get past, he had to focus on not being mentally pulled into him now, prompting Jace to stand back a few steps, though it did not truly help.

"Really depressing man he is. I really have no idea why you possess any form of sexual tension with him."

That..wasn't something that crossed his mind. Either whomever this is has their story wrong or Chandra's actually good at hiding something from him...an admittedly-impressive trick for someone that seems to wear their heart on her sleeve.

 

"Ah, how rude of me. Chandra Nalaar, I am Avatar Conflictous of Prologuous. I'm currently borrowing this contruct's form to do some scouting right now. You people have been creating a fair few discrepancies in the Pathways as of recent."

"Such as," Jace dared to ask of whomever was really in control, this Avatar Conflictous. "If Gemini's anything like Neos, he's not going to appreciate you taking control like tha---"

Within a snap, the lights flickered around the three before turning pitch-black for the moment, inducing a moment of silent panic in him. While the illusion that surrounded them lasted a few seconds at most, time felt like it had slowed around them. He recalled Gemini's faint warning when he was still out, aware but unable to move his own body for a moment, about how the Path made possible visions of the future for a few moments...

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

(This is modified from part of Offers to the Fire to fit Jace's POV.)

"What is—what is this?"

"It's good to see you, Chandra. We need your help."

"It's about Zendikar."

The mountainous view of Mount Keralia near Keral Keep began to enter view as a trio of people slowly faded into view at the same time near them as the voices became heard, an illusion cast by the Path of Death itself. Two of them could be recognized as the telepath and the pyromancer, though the last wasn't recognizable to Jace.

Though, from the look on Chandra's face from within in the shared vision, she did recognize him.

"So," she said. "Gideon. Coming by to enforce some laws? Who are you after now?"

"The Eldrazi," spoke the near-titan in armor compared to himself, prompting Jace to feel the need to hate ever having to look up to the stranger, to Gideon as the path-forged Chandra called him, in real life. Having to crane his neck at times to look Neos in the face was bad enough. The realization that this large man mentioned the Eldrazi had his heart in his throat however, making it difficult to breath for a second.

"And you," the duplicate Jace added, this time with his actual voice instead of with his mental one like earlier. "We've got a mission. We could use a pyromancer."

"Well, your timing is appallingly bad."

"I'm sorry if this is a difficult time," said Gideon, apologetic, yet firm and focused with his voice. "And if you need to be here, you need to be here. But we need you, Chandra. Zendikar needs you."

Whoo, he did not need his telepathic abilities to know that hit a nerve as the temperature began to rise around them. "Zendikar said that? Is that a direct quote?" At this point did he see her pace back and forth on the steps of the keep, as if unsure of something, while his own double was uneasy, arms crossed under his cloak and keeping a counterspell in one hand and an aquatic spell in the other. "How sweet of you both to think of me. How in hell do you two even. . . ?"

The real Jace found himself wondering the same question.

Gideon tipped his head at his double. "Met recently, on Ravnica."

"So you're bouncing around from world to world, looking for people to uproot? Is that it?"

 

Ouch.

 

Gideon opened his mouth and closed it, which actually surprised both Jaces present, suddenly feeling the clash of empathy and stubbornness towards the armored soldier. "Gideon, you know my history here. You of all people should know that I've made sacrifices for this world."

"It's not the only world that needs a sacrifice."

The real Jace was suddenly reminded of the one time that Neos had asked him what would win between an unstoppable force and an unmovable wall, with Chandra being the force and Gideon being the wall and himself being thankful that his double was not between them in the vision. He saw Chandra rubbing her temples from under the goggles...

"Remember," Jace added. "You have a hand in Zendikar's current state. We have a debt to pay, you and I. Like it or not, we have a responsibility."

Was he really guaranteed to p!ss off the fire mage in this scene, because he saw her eyes blaze in a literal fashion after this statement. "Can everyone. Please. Stop talking to me. About responsibility."

Oh, the number of times he wanted to belt out similar lines while dealing with the daily nonsense that had filled his time as the Guildpact. Will the guilds ever get their heads out of their own asses...?

Gideon clenched his hands together. "Chandra," he said, and his hands touched his chest, an action that that confused Jace for a moment before recalling Neos pulling a similar action when practically begging him to help the shapeshifter with something.

Was Gideon doing the same here?

"Go," she said.

Gideon looked at the false Jace, and back to her. He tried to step toward her, to reach out and touch her arm. But the Chandra of the vision glared at him and a ring of fire grew up around her, encircling her with a personal wall of flame.

"This is where I'm needed most," she said, folding her arms in front of herself. "I belong here. I've made a promise."

At this point, the illusionary Jace placed a hand on Gideon's shoulder, a look of understanding on his face. "Gideon," he said. "I think we're done here."

Gideon looked in Chandra's eyes for a long time. Then he nodded and said, "If you change your mind, find us at Sea Gate." He barely glanced at Jace's boots. "Let's go..."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Jace shut his eyes tight and shook his head from the drain he was feeling from trying not to allow himself to be pulled into the void nearby, apparently sourced from the controlled Gemini. Only a moment later did he feel something envelop his mind, something gentle in touch that he was slowly becoming familiar with.

Ravnica was somehow suppressing his telepathic ability to try and aid him. While the headache from fighting being pulled in was gone, being suddenly cut off was disarming to him, allowing a fleeting look of panic to flash onto his face. "...was it just me," Jace started to say, rubbing a temple with the ungloved hand. "...or did that feel like it was going to happen, as is, no matter what I did...?"

Ending Point: B10 (Had to estimate location)

[Reinforce]

Chandra

Pathway of Death: B10

 

Chandra didn't say anything, thinking over the dragon's last words during the fight. His final part was ominous, as though the dragon was plotting to return the power the planeswalkers had lost over time. Over the side, Jace was woken up as Gemini was taken over by something else. As the avatar spoke, Chandra was getting confused by its suggestion of sexual tension between her and the other planeswalker. While she may not understand just what he was to her, she didn't think it was that sort of feelings. Her thoughts were cut off though, as the lights flickered and briefly turned off, leaving her with a startling image of one of the Eldrazi titans, right in the middle of the oceans around Sea Gate, and another titan, rising up out of the ground at the peninsula. The flash of the future was cut short however, interrupted by what was, to her, a memory. Jace and Gideon walking up to Keral Keep, and talking with her, trying to convince her to help out on Zendikar against the same titans her own vision had just revealed. As the pathway returned to view, Jace's uncontrolled telepathy shut off, finally leaving her head free of his thoughts. Somewhat confused now, but figuring the second vision had been coming from Jace, she spoke again at last.

 

"Did you just see a vision of my recent past? How is that even possible?"

 

---

 

Ayame

Pathway of Death: A9.5

 

Groaning, Ayame slowly sat up as consciousness returned. Looking around, she could see a platform that she'd obviously been resting on, along with the lampposts around the area. Nearby, Kazuya seemed to be resting a bit, recovering from what she could assume to have been dragging the platform around. Stumbling up to her feet, Ayame groaned again and clutched her head as it throbbed in pain. 

 

"Hey Kazuya, what did I miss."

[The Warden]

[[Pathway of Death: B10]]

 

"Such as? If Gemini's anything like Neos, he's not going to appreciate you taking control like tha---"

 

Hmm? Oh, it appears that Jace was awake. In fact, he had been awake ever since he had been dumped on the ground. After some quiet contemplation, the Avatar concluded that he hadn't noticed due to how insignificant the Mind Mage had been. Of course, with his awakening came the pallor of darkness. A fun little part of the Pathways, it had such pretentious vibes to it. What was the point of showing potential futures when the travellers were going to die in Prologuous anyways? Well, regardless, the Avatar Gemini waited patiently for nap time to end in darkness. "Maybe it's a cruelty, to show them what will never be..." the Avatar mused as the darkness lifted.

 

"...was it just me," Jace started to say, rubbing a temple with the ungloved hand. "...or did that feel like it was going to happen, as is, no matter what I did...?"

 

"Did you just see a vision of my recent past? How is that even possible?"

 

"Past, present, and future are merely exchangeable words to describe what has been, what is, and what will be. What you can call your past may very well become your future, which is quite true for those who do not stay within their own time zones. The Pathway of Death represents the future, and the inevitability of your own demises. This area, the Court of Echoes shows you potential futures. What might have been your past Chandra, may very well be Jace's future. Of course, that implies you are going to survive to see that future" the Avatar chuckled as he took several steps away from the pair. ​"But while we're all being contemplative here, maybe it's time to explain something to me. I am very much aware of all beings who are present in the Pathways, including the two greatest threats: Arturia Pendragon and Protheus Maximus. I see that Protheus has something highly valuable with him too, something troubling, very troubling. Hmm, it appears I have answered my own question in hindsight. If they Key is here, then he desires to go beyond Prologuous, but I will not allow him. Like his petulant adopted daughter he doesn't deserve to go forward, which is why I will attempt to stop him when he nears. As for something else you said, about Gemini? Do not fool yourself. The real Gemini is still within Neos, haunting him as always. The Gemini you see before you, and the two in the other Pathways and the one unconscious in Prologuous are nothing more than constructs gone rogue. They believe they are the real Gemini, which is clearly not the case. After all, if it was the real Gemini, I couldn't have asserted my dominion over them. So, weep no tears, as there was nothing living to cry over in the first place."

[Love of Ghibli]

Team Dorian: Prologous
 

"Dorian, huh? Well, I'm Reimu Hakurei. I...am not really keen on working together with people from the other side right now, the woman earlier notwithstanding, but I guess right now there's no other choices. Seems like you three's pretty well acquainted with baldy's group so far, eh?

 

But on a more important note, any suggestions on how to clean up the black smears on the ground? I happen to like this place's floor, so seeing those smudges ruining the view is a bit annoying."

 

Dorian looked on at the blob of a mess that still lingered after all of those explosions. Well we could try fire. Maybe burn the remaining puddles of...whatever that is until there is nothing left. 

Are you suggesting that because fire is your only ability? Rhadmanthys added with a scoff. 

Dorian scratched his head slightly embarrassed as that was a very accurate interpretation of his suggestion. Hey that's all I got for ya. Its not like any of us have one of those concept based powers where we can change despair into hope or hope into water or however it works. Dorian looked at Reimu and then realized that she looks like what the manga he used to read would call a shrine maiden. This gave the young specter an idea. Hmmm wait a minute, not to be racist here, but you look like you could have so business with the shrines. Have you actually tried purifying the puddles some how.

I would like to simply interject though that ever since those other two being were sucked into the Avatar's void it has not spoken to us or seemed to have interacted with us. Could this be a sign that maybe those other two somehow defeated the monster and we are just here waiting until the rest of our respective members finish their paths. It seems like we may not be able to proceed unless those paths have been closed or at the very least the one who holds the key arrives and we deal with that person. Though to be honest, I think Protheus still has the key and I am not sure why we should try to engage one so strong just yet. Butlerok spoke trying to offer a contrary opinion.   

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

Kazuya Minegishi

Pathway of Death, A10

 

Quite a while had passed without anything eventful for Kazuya as he rested. Kairi hadn't finished her battle yet, and Ayame hadn't woke up just yet. He had spent his time on the place thinking about the events that had transpired on the pathways to him - something that wouldn't be constructive beyond what he already did, but it's nice as a way to pass some time. And he still didn't understand the events enough anyway, as a lot of it still felt nonsensical to him. Though, even with his COMP still being jammed, he already felt quite better than before after his short rest. Perhaps he soon could continue and get himself and Ayame to the end of this pathway.

 

However, he soon hear the sound of someone groaning, and promptly turned around to see Ayame finally her consciousness. The darkness made it a bit hard to see her expression right now, but she's probably confused on what had just happened and why she was there.

 

"Hey Kazuya, what did I miss." And she did ask about it to Kazuya soon afterwards.

 

"So there's this Kairi girl from the Counter Corps after you passed out, she healed your wounds and made the platform for you, but soon faced against something, but she asked me to get you here beforehand. And thus I did.

 

You ready to continue, Ayame?"

 

Even saying that however, a sign of uncertainty was in Kazuya’s voice. Without his COMP actually being active, he wouldn’t be doing much in the future. If he continued now, he’d just be deadweight instead of someone having any ounce of relevance. He took a moment to check his device again to see what exactly went wrong with it, and realized that its battery had somehow been busted, probably due to a machination by Naoya. Yeah, that’s pretty much it. However…using it as an excuse to not do anything would be equally undesirable too. And, as much as he disliked to refer to himself as it, he’s also technically the King of Bel, with the powers of the Bels somewhere inside of him. And even if he couldn’t access that, it’s not the time to chicken out. Ayame seemed to be eager to go, anyway. Can’t let her go alone.

 

“Alright then, let’s finish this.”

 

---

 

Reimu Hakurei

Prologuous

 

"...So you're the one that exploded the place earlier. Gee, way to almost kill everyone here."

 

Reimu was less than amused when Dorian mentioned that the best way to cleanse the area from the Avatar would be to purge it with fire - especially since it's confirmed now that it's him that exploded the pollen earlier. His friend mentioned it to him that it;s a bad Idea, but Reimu felt like she also need to join in out of annoyance. "And seriously, with how the explosion earlier didn't work, why would it work now?"

 

"Hmmm wait a minute, not to be racist here, but you look like you could have so business with the shrines. Have you actually tried purifying the puddles some how." However, Dorian soon gave an actual suggestion. Perhaps it's something that she could do, but she's somewhat unsure if she was actually capable of exorcising such entity as the Avatar. Wouldn't hurt to try, at least. But before she did that, one of Dorian's friend decided to speak out what he had in mind.

 

"I would like to simply interject though that ever since those other two being were sucked into the Avatar's void it has not spoken to us or seemed to have interacted with us. Could this be a sign that maybe those other two somehow defeated the monster and we are just here waiting until the rest of our respective members finish their paths. It seems like we may not be able to proceed unless those paths have been closed or at the very least the one who holds the key arrives and we deal with that person.

 

Though to be honest, I think Protheus still has the key and I am not sure why we should try to engage one so strong just yet."

 

"Well...if it's already been defeated, I doubt the stains would stay like that. Protheus'll be an issue, and while I like the idea of letting the Avatar blast him to oblivion, I'd like to have an idea that don't involve being a sitting duck while a creature out to kill us all is still lurking around.

 

Alright then, I'll go try doing a purification ritual now. Please don't disturb me." Finished saying that to Dorian's friend, Reimu wasted no time and floated past those three, her expression fully filled with determination. She soon arrived several tens of meters above the biggest puddle left by the Avatar, where the little dragon and the fake human earlier had disappeared. Reimu took a deep breath. She had been long detached from the gods, even the one residing at her shrine, and her heart was filled with doubt on whether she would even be able to do it - or whether the gods would be able to reach her in this isolated place in the first place. She's barely a traditional Shinto shrine maiden anyway - most of what she learned come from her own judgment and what little her mother had taught her. At least, Yukari did teach her some things related to her role as a shrine maiden, as irrelevant as those for the most part for her main job to maintain the barrier bearing her family's name.

 

With the barrier gone now though, she had to take the role of a proper shrine maiden.

 

"Spirits  of purification
created for order of  and the mother
that they inhabit the Sky,
exactly as when
The God Izanagi no Mikoto
bathed in the narrow estuary
of a covered river with trees
permanently leafy, in the South region."

 

Finishing the first verses of the prayer, she didn't feel anything at all. No feeling of the divine spirits coming towards her, or her spirit opening up to them. Perhaps she was doing it incorrectly, but it's not like she know about what's the right way right now. With it done, Reimu set the boundaries around the puddles of unknown matter using purified salt. Even with the salts soon disappearing, what she needed was just the concept of boundary defined by it. She took another deep breath, and continued to the next verses.

 

"With all the respect from the depth of our hearts
We ask that they hear us, such as the spirit that hears our
intent, with sharpened ears, together with
Spirits of the Sky and the Land,
Take the badnesses, disasters and sins and purify all. "

 

Still nothing. It was getting more and more annoying, but Reimu was also greatly concerned by how nothing actually happened. Despite being a shrine maiden, she's far from pious or religious. She encountered gods and divine spirits on a daily basis, but she didn't even care about them enough to try appeasing them. Now far away from the divine spirits' influence, Reimu felt like it was her bad karma that allowed her to be in this position of powerlessness. She silently cursed at herself for abandoning all those training and ignoring her duty to maintain her shrine;s prosperity. It's useless, of course, but she felt that it's still her fault. And it's not like she would be 100% confirmed to successfully purify the place from the Avatar even if she's successful. Sighing, she then set up ritual circles all across the field.

 

"Amaterasu Oomikami
You bless us and protect us

 

O-wadatsumi no kami
You bless us and protect us"

 

Reimu didn't care at this point that her prayer didn't work. Doing it for formality's purpose now, she was intent on trying to wipe out the Avatar using brute force instead. At this point where everything had its root on, it seemed that she had to do it on her own, just as always. Even if she and the others would face Protheus even after the battle against the Avatar is over, using as much firepower to cleanse the enigma should still be fine.

 

"For expansion of our soul
And the fullfillment of your will

 

Divine Arts: Omni-"

 

She stopped before she declared her Spell Card as something caught her attention. The three orbs orbiting her started to spin in an erratic way as they glowed. At first, it was the black orb that she got from Yukari, but soon its light made her two orbs followed it. A certain undescribable yet nostalgic feeling flooded Reimu's heart in the meantime, before she entered into a state of trance. Not fully aware of her own movements now, she continued the declaration of her spell card.

 

"Divine Arts: Omnidirectional True Purification Circle!"

 

The power of the divine spirits carrying her actions, as Reimu declared her spell card the circles around the Avatar puddles were flooded with holy light. As the power of the maiden of the moon, the lights were meant to purify anything completely, removing impurities completely even to the atomic level. As she finished with the declaration, Reimu didn't even get to see whether her ritual even worked, passing out immediately. She fell from her position, and a gap in space swallowed her whole before she hit the ground.

 

---

 

Koishi Komeiji

Prologuous

 

After hiding for a while, Koishi decided to resurface from her unconsciousness, and with it, her body became visible once more. She noticed that she had burn marks all over her body, but didn’t exactly aware on the actual cause of it. Perhaps it’s just her messing around when unconscious and got burned by a stray attack. The Avatar was nowhere to be seen, and some black puddles were around in its place. They look suspicious, but since she saw Reimu coming at the puddles’ direction, she decided to go to a nearby crowd of people instead – the people Reimu talked with earlier.

 

“Hey, hey, hey mister!” Koishi called out to the person Reimu was talking with before. She felt she had seen him before, but decided to ignore that feeling. “So…where is the avatar-thing now? Is it gone already?
 

Ah..also I need to introduce myself! I’m Koishi, it’s nice to meet you and your friends!”

 

---

 

"Tenco"

Pathway of Death, C10-B10

 

"Silly me...did I really just talk with no one for this long?"

 

The blue-haired girl shook her head. It's been a while since she waited there, which would mean Eria and her friends would've left a long time ago. The talk she had with Tenco was interesting, for her, but she did realize that she wasn't even talking to anyone, and she was just acting weirdly all the time. A better use of her time would just be continuing and finishing this pathway, or try utilizing some of the power of the Scarlet Sword that she had earlier absorbed. Summoning a ball of qi as Gyokuen earlier ordered her to, she then try focusing her mind to see how much she could reach around the pathway by tracing the qi of its inhabitants.

 

First of all, she noticed that in the corridor behind her there was still several people - which would mean that Arthur and his friends would still be struggling there. Going a bit distant to the direction of the corridor where she used to be, she could sense an unclear amount of ridiculous qi, probably belonging to the evil-looking person that she stumbled upon when she got blasted there by Arthuria's specter. On the opposite direction however...she could notice two people and something weird. It would be in the direction of Dorian and Gyokuen's corridor, and since Arthur and co, were still struggling, it'd mean that it must be the two. Ecstatic, the blue-haired girl stood up, and ran towards the direction. She was still pretty much intent on ranting on Gyokuen for the stint she did during the corridor, and to both at the same time for blowing her through two corridors.

 

"So, weep no tears, as there was nothing living to cry over in the first place."

 

"...Wait. You're not Dorian...and you're not Gyokuen. And...what are you?"

 

What she found was unexpected, however. Instead of the oriental magi and the man she's familiar with, the blue-haired girl met a woman, a man, and...something that looked like a man but most certainly wasn't. Whoever were they, she didn't know whether they're an enemy or not, but the third person was most certainly seem problematic. Summoning her swords around her, the blue-haired girl decided to ask things first before moving further.

 

"So...pardon me for interjecting your conversation. I thought that you two were someone else. Any of you seen a fiery tanned man with a weird key-like weapon and a female oriental magi?

 

And, once again..." The blue-haired girl pointed her swords at the definitely not a human figure. "What are you?"

 

---

[Tesability Black]

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

 

Jace simply narrowed his blue eyes at the possessed being in front of him, trying to process what he had heard from this...thing currently within Gemini now, still trying to process the meaning of Chandra's question even as the so-called 'Avatar' continued on with its words.

How could he and Chandra be from two different points in the same timeline? Could that be the real reason why he seemed to be not as involved within the vision, or memory in Chandra's case, as he should have been? Because he already knew how the exchange would turn out and that he had to let this probably-stubborn Gideon see her reaction for himself?

And regards to Gemini's appearance being due to mere constructs going rogue, that would actually explain his little quip about Dark-type Pokemon like himself supposedly being immune to Psychic abilities like his own. Golems wouldn't have the needed facilities to try and work his mental magics upon them.

Though the fact that they had gone rogue is actually an unnerving thought in its own right.

 

"...Wait. You're not Dorian...and you're not Gyokuen. And...what are you?"

His thoughts had been jolted by someone appearing from behind him, a woman that he couldn't help but feel like he's seen her before and recently. He would have tried to capture any floating surface thoughts to see if he had seen her before, but Ravnica wasn't having any of that.

For once, he could not use his mind to aid him, not in the normal way, at least.
 

"So...pardon me for interjecting your conversation. I thought that you two were someone else. Any of you seen a fiery tanned man with a weird key-like weapon and a female oriental magi?

 

And, once again..." This time, the mind mage noticed the swords floating nearby that were now aimed at the Avatar in another's skin. "What are you?"

"Something that's not supposed to be here, I'm guessing," Jace quipped before closing his eyes for a second, reflecting on words said.

Arturia Pendragon and Protheus Maximus. I see that Protheus has something highly valuable with him too, something troubling, very troubling.

He couldn't help but recall back to the Hollow Asteroid, recalling one of the people in the group he had found himself among holding a strange cube in his hand. After remembering the feeling of being near a void that thankfully wasn't strong enough to threaten to pull him in, he recalled experiencing a similar sensation nearby.

Protheus is nearby.

Follow my lead and try not to get too mad at me for this, Jace projected to Chandra with purpose after Ravnica seemed to sense his intent and allowed a brief moment to use his telepathy. "If you so wish for the Key, Protheus is nearby." Upon stating this did he point in the same direction as the second mental void he felt. "Why waste your energy on us when you could so easily take your time with that later?"

 

Ending Point: B10

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Tenco"

Pathway of Death B10

 

None of the two seemed to have any idea of who Dorian and Gyokuen was, and the humanlike abomination still hadn't said anything further. Now looking at the two better, the blue-haired girl could feel like she had seen the woman at least. Was it in the battle against the centaur-thing...? Right, she was the fiery one. She couldn't recognize the other one though, but with how he looked at her earlier, she guessed that he might see her as someone familiar...perhaps he's from the Divine and thought she's Tenshi? That's a possibility.

 

"If you so wish for the Key, Protheus is nearby."

 

Hearing that, the blue-haired's attention returned towards the man that said it. It finally made sense, and the feeling she had inside her, the trace she felt earlier, it finally clicked on her. The spiky haired guy earlier that was obviously rotten to the core, who was facing the girl with the dragon...he must be Protheus. The blue-haired girl sighed in relief - she had avoided getting utterly murdered. Had she stayed one second later between the two, she would totally be dead. But that's not important now. The fact that Protheus was just several hundred meters from their position was unnerving. And...the thing that looked like a human seemed to be aiming to face Protheus too, probably. It's still confusing.

 

"Why waste your energy on us when you could so easily take your time with that later?"

 

"Not really sure on what's going on here, but yeah. I can confirm that Protheus now is at the furthest corridor from here, last time I saw him.

 

Still...whatever the hell are you," the blue-haired girl shifted her attention to the humanlike abomination once more, "from what I heard you definitely weren't a part of either side of the conflict, so uh...are you from the pathway or something?

 

And what kind of business do you have here?"

 

Tenco took a deep breath. Perhaps it'd be a stupid move, but she'd take the risk. Whatever it was, it didn't look friendly at all. Probably she'd get screwed over by it sooner or later anyway.

 

"Depending on your answer, I might need to kick your ass."

 

---

[The Warden]

[[Pathway of Death: B10]]

 

Oh goodie, someone else was coming along to waste time. This time that alternate version of Tenshi, the originally named Tenco. The Avatar was happy that he now had a face so he could rub his temples in frustration. "Clearly they aren't who you say they are. Do they LOOK like who you say they are? No, they don't" he grumbled snippily, taking a few casual steps away from the mortals. "Also, put those silly things away. Actually, nevermind, I'll put them away for you," he added, snapping his fingers, "Desperate Space!"

 

Small black voids appeared at the tips of each of Tenco's swords, and they were immediately sucked into them, each void disappearing with a loud "POP!" The Avatar sighed as he tossed his head over his shoulder, looking back to the others. "Now then, if we're done acting childishly, how about we- ?!?!?!"

 

The Avatar was cut off as he became consciously aware of what was happening in Prologuous. "A chance?"

 

 

[[Another Time, Another Place: Prologuous]]

 

The heavenly light issuing forth from Reimu's purification ritual was tearing the Avatar's puddle apart. His darkness evaporated before the heavenly light, vaporizing into utter nothingness before her power. The Avatar's viscous form was resembling flat swiss-cheese with all the holes it had, until it was just to much and he was utterly annihilated, or, was he? From where the dark pallor had stood, there was now a sphere of heavenly white light. In quiet chorus it rose from the ground, high into the air. It's transcendent form pulsated, growing larger and larger with every pulse, until... it morphed into a heavenly body. An angelic form beyond compare, made purely from the heavenly light. It took the form of a humanoid draped in sweeping robes, and ten wings protruding from its back. It's completely featureless face looked to the heavens, before addressing those of Prologuous. "After so long in darkness, I am truly free. You have my thanks mortals, the thanks of Archon the Resolute, Guardian of Prologuous and Keeper of the Gateway to Origin" Archon announced grandly.

 

 

[[Pathway of Death: B10]]

 

Back on the Pathway of Death, the Avatar possessed Gemini was fitfully spasming. It howled loudly as light burst out from its eyes and mouth, blinding everyone with the burst of light. And, once the light had passed (and everyone's vision had cleared), they found Gemini's body standing upright, with its back to them. Slowly, it turned around, revealing its irises had now become a light grey, rather than the original black. It was smiling fondly at the trio. "That was interesting" it remarked.

[Tesability Black]

~??? - Prloguous - Gemini's POV~

The body Gemini had been using before collapsing upon the tea table finally began to show signs of movement once more when the light began to shine, his hands twitching slightly as his arms moved closer to him. "Ow, my everything," he groaned before peeling himself off the table, a thin brown liquid dripping from the side of his face as the scent of cinnamon punched him in the nose.

He knocked over some tea when he collapsed, apparently.

"What...did I miss," he gripped before getting up and into a cross-legged sitting position, rubbing his eyes with one of his hands before looking towards the source...

...which almost burned his eyes in the process. "Oh, holy Arceus, you're bright..." Shielding his eyes, Gemini tried to look towards the brilliantly-shimmering newcomer to the group...well, to him he was a newcomer. "Who are you and where did you come from?"

[Reinforce]

Chandra

Pathway of Death: B10

 

Scowling across at Jace for what he'd been insinuating with that last comment of his, Chandra sighed. This Avatar thing seemingly hadn't agreed to the suggestion for it to go after the key, and was instead standing around looking at them. Or was anyway, as the entity abruptly collapsed into some sort of spasms before light burst out of it's body, blindingly bright. Sighing as the thing got up and spoke, she turned to speak to the other two humans.

 

"We should probably get moving, this Avatar probably isn't going to tell us much more, and we do still need to get through these pathways."

 

---

 

Ayame

Pathway of Death: A10

 

"So there's this Kairi girl from the Counter Corps after you passed out, she healed your wounds and made the platform for you, but soon faced against something, but she asked me to get you here beforehand. And thus I did. You ready to continue, Ayame?"

 

Taking note of the mention of someone healing her, Ayame smiled, realising that would be why she wasn't in nearly as much pain right now as she properly should be after that battle. 

 

"Yeah, let's go. No point waiting around when we've still got to finish this path."

 

“Alright then, let’s finish this.”

 

With that, she started to walk down the path, noticing the flickering of the lamps as she did. 

 

"This place really is creepy, I'll be glad once we get out of here."

 

Ending Location: A11

 

---

 

Darcy
Pathway of Truth: E11

 

Appearing on one of the platforms, having finally beaten that inverse version of her, Darcy looked out over the terrain in front of her. Platforms and clouds, an area seemingly empty of anything resembling a ground. Ignoring the moving platforms, Darcy just levitated up into the air, flying smoothly towards the stable platform she could see off in the distance. Though, glancing below she found a sight that rather shocked her, every realm that she was familiar with and some she didn't know, all collapsing and breaking apart. 

 

"Is this, a vision of what might come. No, that shouldn't be right, this is the pathway of Truth, not Death. In that case, that should be what is currently happening where I came from then. Isamy didn't mention anything like that when she found me, just what she was doing and what she was offering to those who would help her. Thanks to Protheus, the offer still stands, and the Door should have the capability to fix this. No point trying to rule over something that's been entirely destroyed. Besides, my original goal for using the door has already been fulfilled, I have the full might of the Dragon's Flame, I may as well fix the realms I want to conquer before trying to take them over."

 

Mind made up, Darcy continued to fly towards the platform she'd seen, weaving around to keep her distance from the clouds she was getting a bad feeling from. Flying straight up the staircase as she reached it, Darcy stopped on the platform, looking towards the crystal that seemed to be the end of this path.

 

‘Are you content with your present self’?

 

Without even having to think through the answer, her aims and determination clear to her, there was only one thing she could possibly respond with.

 

"Yes"

 

With that single word, the barrier blocking the end of the pathway vanished and she stepped forward to touch the crystal, finding herself in the white room for the final time, though where the doors once were was a corridor leading straight to some new area that she currently couldn't see over the blinding light coming out from it.

 

Ending Location: Another Time, Another Place; Prologuous: Outside the map on the path leading to G6.

[Tesability Black]

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

Jace had to quickly cover his eyes to keep from losing his sight to the sudden burst of light that emerged from the construct, only daring to uncover them once he noticed the light had faded to something more manageable.

At some point, the borrowed body had turned around, so that its back was facing them. He watched as it slowly turned around, eyes a light-grey instead of the black they once were and a smile on its face that was vastly-different than the sinister-looking ones that Gemini would perform.

"That was interesting," it remarked. Jace had opened his mouth to ask what was so 'interesting' when Chandra beat him to the punch with something else.

"We should probably get moving, this Avatar probably isn't going to tell us much more, and we do still need to get through these pathways."

"We don't know until we ask," Jace returned before turning towards the Avatar Gemini. "What...had just happened?"

[The Warden]

[[Pathway of Death: B10]]

 

"What...had just happened?"

 

The construct tilted its head contemplatively, a thoughtful look on its face. "Well, that's fairly simple, to be honest. An event just occurred in Prologuous, one I couldn't prevent thanks to be distracted here. One I was facing purified my remains, and the evil contained in my body was completely purged. Thus I have returned to my true form: I am Archon the Resolute, and I am the true Guardian of Prologuous, and the Keeper of the Gateway of Origin" Archon explained.

 

He chuckled lightly after his introduction. It was a sweet, joyful laugh. "Oh ho ho, it has certainly been so long since I have been in my original form."

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Nero ~ The Pathway to Remembrance -> The Pathway to Truth

 

Once more, Nero stood in the room of the three doors, however when he looked at the Door to Remembrance, to him...it seemed blocked by something. His eyes drifted from the door as he smiled a bit, looking at his hands.

 

My memory is....restored...I finally have...what I once lost... he thought, before glancing at the door beside Remembrance: Truth. Slowly, he approached the door, and opened it...walking through...

 

Dearly Beloved [358/2 Days Ver.]

 

He emerged once more on the other side, as the sun hit his skin, seeing the beautiful glass bridge before him and the cherry blossoms floating about him. Something about this...caused, within Nero, to smile. A beautiful sight before him...he had forgotten such beauty existed within the worlds.

 

However, he found within time...as he took his first few steps, he was unable to lie. He figured that would be the reason it was known as the Pathway to Truth...

 

"Pardon me! Pardon me, sir!"

 

Nero heard this small voice, as he turned, seeing what looked like a small winged fairy behind him. It seemed this one was a bit shy, either that or very scared.

 

"What is wrong, little one?"

 

"S-S-Sorry...a bit nervous about doing this..I-I'm here to ask you some questions while you walk..."

 

"Questions? Hmm...well...I suppose I could use a bit of company. By all means, ask away."

 

"W-Why are you here...?"

 

Nero crossed his arms as he walked with the small fairy. "I was here...to recover something I had lost...however...now I am here to help those who I hold dearest to...my friends..."

 

"I see... What of those who you couldn't help...? T-Those who you lost t-t-that day?"

 

The Keyblade War Hero stopped on the bridge, as the fairy asked this. It was strange that it was brought up to him...but...his fists only clenched tighter as he looked away, fighting the tears. "I regret...that day I wasn't fast enough...that I lost both my master and my best friend. If there was ever a way to see them again...I would fight against the odds...just to help them."

 

This must've been something the fairy was looking to hear, because once Nero spoke this...the fairy was already gone. He found it strange that the fairy would even come to him as it did...but...

 

He continued to press onward, until his gaze was met with a mirror...a strange mirror that showed a wasteland of destruction and chaos than the beautiful scenery he was surrounded by.

 

Is this a trick mirror? No...no its something else...another world almost... Nero thought, as his slowly put his hand onto the mirror's glass, only to walk through it on accident.

 

The Keyblade's chosen found himself within a twisted and bleak realm, even noticing the bodies of countless fairies...it was too much for him to see...he closed his eyes and pressed on forward. He soon found it hard to breathe and see through the dust clouds, as he forced himself to continue, trying his best to stay on the path.

 

Dark Impetus

 

However, Nero was quickly stopped by a figure that stood before him, cloaked in a hood and black trench-coat. The two opposing figures just stood there, looking at one another, as the dust clouds raged on around them.

 

Soon the hooded figure held his hands to his sides and summoned forth a pair of ethereal blades in the color of blue. Without so much as any talk, he struck at Nero. In an instant, Nero's X-Blade was in his hands as he blocked the initial assault from this mysterious figure.

 

"Nghh...not bad! Let's see what else you can do." Nero said, as he pushed back the mysterious figure, as he began to cast Thundaga at him, only seeing him dodge the magic strikes with ease.

 

This did not deter Nero as he rushed in and began his own assault against this mystery person, as they were locked in a strong and swift sword fight that lasted quite a bit of time. Finally, each one struck at the other for the last time, as they pushed each other back. Nero slowly stood back up, seeing the figure's ethereal blades leaving.

 

You...how dense it is to see one who is no more continue like you have.

 

"What are you even talking about?!"

 

Keyblade Master of the past...you still do not comprehend...with your struggles to make a difference...you shall find that within time, it shall be all for naught. The times that lie ahead for the Keyblade shall in turn bring darkness to the worlds...

 

Nero looked at the mysterious figure, before sighing as he held up the X-Blade. "No matter the cost...I may die when this is all through...but my heart has reached those around me...through that...and their memories...I'll make all the more difference!"

 

He has rubbed off on you...damn him...nevertheless, it was foreseen. Continue to wander through this life you hold...a life where you do not belong...wander forever...

 

As the figure said these words, he vanished within a dark corridor, now leaving Nero alone...

 

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

 

At long last, the path became like it once was again, however now Nero stood before another mirror. However, once he gazed inside of it, he saw only a version of himself...a darker version. No it was not Ivero...he would've been aware of that...no...this was solely himself.

 

The Dark Nero taunted the Keyblade Master and goaded him into following him...thus, Nero did. Though the world he ended up in, was one he knew...or...rather...once knew. The world he stepped foot in from this mirror...was Hollow Bastion...the corrupt and lost version of Radiant Gardens.

 

"So...you understand where we are, am I correct?"

 

Nero quickly turned around, seeing Dark Nero standing before him, laughing as they stood on the ground entrance towards the castle.

 

"You see...this is what happened to your precious world after so long. Master Hao's world...it lost its way in time...and its all because you were not there to protect it! Because of that Keyblade War...you pointed it in the way of destruction!"

 

Nero spoke not a word, but finally called forth his X-Blade, his eyes narrowing at the dark doppelganger. "It is true...that I wasn't here. That I couldn't save both Ryuusaki and Master Hao. But, this is my path to redemption!"

 

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh this is rich!" Dark Nero laughed as he began to circle around the warrior. "You still don't get it! You failed the worlds! The Keyblade's will moved on and left you behind! AND THE CURSED THING FORSOOK US!!" It was obvious that the time for talk was over, as he summoned up an X-Blade...but in an unfinished form. With a yell, he collided with Nero, beginning their intense battle.

 

Rage Awakened

 

Nero pushed back his darker self and immediately called forth the power of Firaga as he shot one fireball right after the other straight at him, as he only countered it with his Blizzaga, laughing like an insane maniac. Though it was evident to Nero on who this was supposed to be of him: the version of him that thought he failed the worlds...the him he became the moment of his death.

 

"Listen to me! We haven't failed...you haven't failed." Nero quickly said, as their blades clashed once more, spark emitting from the impact.

 

"I stopped caring...I've stopped listening to that accursed heart of mine!" Dark Nero growled as they clashed again. "NEVER AGAIN!!"

 

Nero quickly sidestepped to his side, as Dark Nero lunged forward, only to have him miss. A small sigh escaped his lips as Nero took the X-Blade and struck at Dark Nero once more, delivering the final blow. He watched how Dark Nero fell to his knees, his incomplete X-Blade dropping to the ground and fading into nonexistence.

 

"W-Why...why have you...not forsaken...that heart of yours...?" Dark Nero asked, his very being beginning to dissipate.

 

Nero knelt down as he looked his counterpart in the eye, before smiling. "Because...this heart...it inspired a new generation of souls for the Keyblade. New possibilities...and one of which...saved me once." He stood up, before beginning to walk away, leaving his counterpart to dissipate into nonexistence. "Its because of HIM...that I push on."

 

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

 

Hollow Bastion began to fade slowly away, as Nero at the top of a staircase, before seeing a lone crystal before him. Then, he heard another voice begin to speak with him:

 

‘Are you content with your present self’?

 

Nero didn't need much time to think about the answer to this one. "I am. My past self...I thought I had failed everyone within the worlds I was supposed to protect. But...Sora showed me that I didn't. That my sacrifice wasn't for nothing." With this answer voiced, he placed his hand on the crystal, being absorbed into it, before being whisked back to the room at the beginning...with one last door to enter...

 

---

 

Nero ~ The Pathway to Remembrance -> The Pathway to Truth -> The Pathway to Death

 

The door to the Pathway to Death, the final door that he needed to go through. Strong and determined to finish out this quest he set upon through these doors, something stopped the young Keyblade Master. Nero died once before during his clash with him and he fell into the embrace of death...but...something in his heart kept him from moving forward.

 

I've come this far...I have to continue... Nero thought, exhaling slowly before he opened the door and walked through...

 

End of the World

 

Through this infernal final door, Nero was met with an unwelcoming sight: a stone platform and a deep dense shroud of darkness around him. He could feel the coldness that the darkness emitted with the steps he took. This chilling sensation, he knew all too well: the cold chill of death...

 

With each step he took, he heard faint echoes of soft whispers, surrounding him as he trekked forward.

 

Nero watched as the ground began to shift and become solid ground as he watched himself being surrounded by shrouded statues, feeling an ominous presence being dispersed as he walked past them. This feeling...I-I can't shake it off... he thought.

 

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

 

The young Keyblade Master continued walking for what seemed to him like an eternity. He had forgotten what staying in a dark realm such as this does to someone, time seems to be lost in the shadows. However, it finally seemed like the shadows and darkness shifted, only to reveal something he hoped not to see.

 

Musique pour la Tristesse de Xion

 

"N-No..."

 

Before him shifted a place similar to the Keyblade Graveyard and Radiant Gardens, a place where it looked like these two worlds merged and mashed together...nevertheless it was a sight he couldn't stand. Keyblades without their wielders laying stabbed into the earth as memorials, the chosen wielders of both light and darkness sprawled all over the path. He could feel his heart aching even more now that it had within the last two paths...it was almost too much to bare...

 

He closed his eyes and ran, he ran from this scene, he couldn't bare this hurtful scene any longer. Oh but the torment of this path continued to haunt him. Soon before him, he saw those he didn't want to. First it was Ryuusaki; his friend...his brother, then Master Hao; his mentor, his father, Princess Yenna; the princess of Radiant Gardens he fell for...the one who became it's queen, and lastly, his ally: a small rabbit who aided him on the day of the Keyblade War, Oswald.

 

Nero fell to his knees at the sight of these four and began to punch the ground. Damnit....damnit...DAMNIT!!! his voice shouted over and over in his mind, as he began to hurt. These four meant the world to him and yet...

 

You couldn't save us...

 

Left us to die...

 

Chose to let me fall into darkness...

 

The whispers he heard before began to take the form of those he saw before him. He held his head and yelled out for them to stop. He kept playing over and over in his mind the events that occurred that day. Could he have saved Oswald from falling into that dark realm? Would he have been faster to save Hao? To save Ryuusaki? To save Yenna...?

 

The outcome came still to the same conclusion: he couldn't. And as the conclusion came, the whispers began to die down. Nero rose from his knelt position and rushed away from this horrid sight, tears continuing to fall from his face.

 

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

 

Nero kept running, doing his best to ignore the damned echoing whispers that were directed towards him. They did a number on him, before the source of these whispers were seen. These entities struck out at the Keyblade Master, who had only a second to dodge. However, confronted with these creatures...Nero's eyes narrowed.

 

"You...you're the ones whose been telling me these lies!" Nero shouted, summoning the X-Blade to his hand. "COME ON!" he shouted as he rushed towards the entities.

 

Night of Fate

 

The entities hissed at the Keyblade Master and struck back at him, only getting knocked back away by the war hero. These creatures were indeed tougher than the Heartless, but he still knew that he could defeat these monstrosities.

 

One by one he struck at them, keeping up his assault as he backed away and threw his X-Blade at the entities, casting a Firaga spell as the Keyblade began to burst into flames as it ripped through the entities without a problem. The blade returned to Nero's hand as he gripped the hilt tighter, before rushing off down the path.

 

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

 

Sacred Moon

 

Nero kept up his running stride as he saw the building shrouded in darkness, to which the size was unknown due to the shrouding darkness that emanated from it. Nevertheless, determined to be out of this path, he walked into the building.

 

As he walked into the building's dark interior, candles seemed to flicker on with an eerie blue flame as he walked down one of the five doors he was presented with. However, as he walked through the path and the door he entered, he watched as not only the entities surrounded him...but one person he hoped to never see again.

 

"Well well well..." a chilling voice spake through the darkness, only to show a man in a dark cloak, removing his hood as he gave forth a dark smile. "The young master returns to face me yet again..."

 

Nero's eyes widened as he clenched his fists, his grip on the X-Blade getting even tighter. "Xander...."

 

"Oho...you do remember me, I am flattered." he laughed before his gaze narrowed at the Keyblade Master. "And what is this...you are actually taking use of the X-Blade this time? Things do change...but can you use it?" Xander held out his hand and a dark light was shone, before his own Keyblade was summoned to his hand. "Shall we find out?"

 

Nero spoke not a word, but only rushed towards Xander, as the entities swarmed towards him. However, to his surprise, the entities were blasted back by a dark energy. Xander, lowered his empty hand and huffed in a scoffing manner.

 

"Damned pests...this is not their fight." Xander said, as he walked towards Nero, the once candle lit hallway shifted into a stone pillar with a night sky overhead, with a peculiar heart shaped moon overhead. "An arena fit for us...wouldn't you agree?"

 

Nero looked at Xander and his gaze narrowed as well, the two masters having their eyes locked as neither one took the first strike, only waiting for the right moment.

 

A Fight to the Death

 

Finally both masters rushed towards one another, slamming their blades together as heavy sparks of lightning flew from them as they struggled against one another.

 

"No witty banter? No sarcastic remarks?" Xander goaded Nero, giving a sly grin. "Perhaps your death as changed you."

 

"No...just seeing your damned face causes me to want to end you!" Nero shouted, pushing back as he backed away and shook his head. "That last time...I underestimated you..."

 

"Yes you did...and after the so called "Lucky Rabbit" warned you..." Xander laughed. "You still acted rashly."

 

"I did...and I've suffered for that." Nero said, looking at the X-Blade. "But...I'm trying to change it all. And it's starts by beating you!"

 

"Then come and try it!"

 

The masters struck at one another yet again, the sparks flying from their blades as they kept clashing against one another. Neither one of them gave in even for an instant, each one trying their hardest to turn the tide against the other. Xander jumped back and shot an energy blast of dark energy, as Nero reflected it as he shot from his hand, some form of light energy at Xander, who canceled it out with his dark energy yet again, smoke just pouring from the collision.

 

"A new trick...impressive, Master Nero." Xander praised Nero.

 

But when the smoke cleared, Nero was no where to be found. That was impossible. The boy couldn't have been able to move that fast! Xander was puzzled as he looked around the platform, not seeing his opponent whatsoever. But, something compelled him to look skyward, towards the heart shaped moon. There...there he saw Nero, making a fast descent towards him.

 

"Xander...this is for Oswald...for Hao and Ryuusaki...and for your Foreteller brethren!!" Nero yelled, striking down Xander as he landed before him, making a nice slash from his shoulder to his right side.

 

Xander stood there, before kneeling down in defeat, the darkness slowly taking him as he looked over at Nero. "You think...that my legacy will end? I told you before...there is darkness in every heart! I've sown my teachings into others...the realm of light will have no future!! KINGDOM HEARTS SHALL BE MINE!"

 

"No..." Nero said, turning towards Xander once more, his X-Blade leaving his hand. "The realm of light has a future...it's entrusted to the ones whom I've given my own will to...not as you did, but as the events have occurred...." he said, turning to walk away, as the world shifted and returned to that candle lit hallway.

 

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

 

Treasured Memories

 

Nero continued walking as he was struck with visions, at first they were visions of his past, the moments where he died and locked away the X-Blade and Kingdom Hearts when he ended Xander. But from there he watched as these visions began to show off a future, but in short...it was past events to others.

 

He watched as Yenna, still beautiful as she was, became queen of Radiant Gardens and led her people. From there, he watched how the worlds shut themselves apart from one another...how years passed and new Keyblade wielders emerged...one who would retire and become a great sorcerer, one who would fight for the light, and another who would, in turn, recreate the events that Xander once did.

 

Nero understood now that Xander's teachings did indeed reach another generation and he watched how things began to unfold. He watched more generations of Keyblade wielders emerge...but the visions stopped at one, one he knew very well: Sora. The visions of the future of the worlds ended, but a question remained still...what of him? What future awaited him? Or....would he even have a future now?

 

Nevertheless, these thoughts didn't deter him from continuing...but what did, was a familiar voice. It was his master's, Hao.

 

"Nero, my son..."

 

"Hao!? Hao where are you?"

 

"Nero...you've done well..." the voice began. "You've grown up into quite the master. Never forget what you've been through, Nero. You, you haven't failed the worlds, nor us. Quite the contrary...you gave it hope again. I suppose that old vision I had of you...came true..."

 

Nero heard these words and fought back the tears, wiping away his eyes some with a faint chuckle. "Jeez old man...t-trying to make me cry..." he said, feeling the voice fading. "Thank you Hao...for everything."

 

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

 

‘Are you willing to embrace your fate’?

 

With a faint sigh, he nodded. "I've been ready since I started training, I suppose. Hao told me that my purpose was to bring hope to the worlds...and when I fell that day...I thought I failed the worlds, myself, and my friends..." Nero looked at his hand, before clenching it into a fist. "But...now I see it different. I don't know the outcome of myself when we finally finish this fight...but, wherever there's light to be needed..." he said, before smiling upward. "I'll be there."

 

The stone tablet that Nero stood before felt his hand touch it, as the young master was enveloped in a swirling crimson energy, before bringing him back into the room where he started, only this time, to see that all the doors where no longer able to be entered by him.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Tenco"

Pathway of Death B10

 

"So uh..."

 

Well, that was weird as hell. At one moment, the blue-haired girl was trying to make the figure-thing to go after Protheus instead, but then it made her summoned swords disappear, but then something else happened, and now she's confused as of what even was going on. And the two other people there probably had the same amount of knowledge on what's going on there as her. The figure burst into light, and the girl had to shield her eyes from the blinding flash. The moment it died down, the same figure was there, but something felt different with it.

 

"That was interesting," it remarked. His voice felt different. Still feeling not really comfortable with the being in front of her, the blue-haired girl silently summoned her swords back as she watched what was going on before her - trying to wrap up her mind on the hell was going on.

"We should probably get moving, this Avatar probably isn't going to tell us much more, and we do still need to get through these pathways." Fair point from the fiery woman. But her partner seemed like he had something else in mind.

 

"We don't know until we ask.

 

What...had just happened?" The man asked the figure that had been referred to as the Avatar. The thing tilted its head a bit, contemplatively, before it answered his question.

 

"Well, that's fairly simple, to be honest. An event just occurred in Prologuous, one I couldn't prevent thanks to be distracted here. One I was facing purified my remains, and the evil contained in my body was completely purged. Thus I have returned to my true form: I am Archon the Resolute, and I am the true Guardian of Prologuous, and the Keeper of the Gateway of Origin"

 

"Pro...loguous? It's what lies after the three pathways, right?" The blue-haired girl decided to ask. Though surprising her, the Avatar instead laughed heartily.

 

"Oh ho ho, it has certainly been so long since I have been in my original form."

 

"So...Lord Archon...uh, if that's the correct way to refer to you...uh...um...so...what exactly does your position as the Guardian and Keeper entails? I don't know, it's still very weird, this entire thing. And what happened that makes you covered in this uh...darkness you're speaking of?

 

Also...are you still interested about the key that's currently being in this pathway, somewhere?"

 

One stupid thing after another. Maybe she's trying to break a record.

 

---

[Love of Ghibli]

Team Dorian: Prologous

 

When the purifying light proceeded to vaporize the puddles of darkness the team simply looked on in shock. Dorian could only tilt his head as he could not understand that it looked like it was actually working. Butlerok let loose a slight villainous smirk as that much pure energy was slowly gnawing at him. It was a holy light something that needed to be tainted and filled with malice. Unfortunately, now was not the time for that. Ragnarok slowly poked his head out of Butler's main body and whispered something in the large servants ears. Dorian and Rhadamanthys both looked back and gave the pair a stern look. 

Don't go ruinin' this for us! Dorian said with deep murderous tone. 

We would hate for this long exhaustive battle to continue just because you two cannot keep your malice to yourself. Rhadamanthys added.

Butler and Ragnarok both nodded and they did not want to cause a fuss. Dorian and the others looked on as something they did not expect to happen actually took place. From the puddles appeared a brilliant white light and emerged a ten winged angel. 

"After so long in darkness, I am truly free. You have my thanks mortals, the thanks of Archon the Resolute, Guardian of Prologuous and Keeper of the Gateway to Origin"
 

Wait, that actually worked! Dorian exclaimed. Rhadamanthys, Butler and Ragnarok just had their eyes twitching. I want this on the record. This was my idea in the first place.

[The Warden]

[[Pathway of Death: B10]]

 

"So...Lord Archon...uh, if that's the correct way to refer to you...uh...um...so...what exactly does your position as the Guardian and Keeper entails? I don't know, it's still very weird, this entire thing. And what happened that makes you covered in this uh...darkness you're speaking of? Also...are you still interested about the key that's currently being in this pathway, somewhere?"

 

"The role of Guardian is simple. Once a traveller has bested the three Pathways, they will return to the White Room, which will then allow you to move on to Prologuous, the prelude before the Pathway to Origin, and then Origin itself. It is the role of Guardian to challenge any travellers who come to Prologuous, to prove they are worthy of Origin's power. Many, do not survive. As Gatekeeper, I allow those who triumph over me to pass on to the Pathway to Origin. As for the Key, it is of special interest, as this is the first time the Key was ever returned to the Pathways. It is troubling as the one holding it is one who should never be allowed to possess Origin's power. Protheus Maximus is a danger to all of existence, and any attempts he made to use Origin will bring immense harm to the entire omniverse" Archon explained with utmost seriousness. ​"As for what happened to me? That is an unfortunate tale indeed."