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

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"They really are pushing me to get that position, aren't they...? What a pain..."

 

The grueling battle against the former leader of the Counter Corps had been concluded finally. The Dragon had been vanquished, and even what seemingly be the last ditch effort coming from Arturia had been swiftly dealt with...although Kazuya wasn't sure about how, but that was what he observed. It did raise some questions, but for the time being he was content with the fact that she had been dealt with. It seemed that this would be their final respite before what lie at the end of this hallway.

 

Ishtar's words earlier still rang inside of his head though. She was clearly very adamant that he would take the position, no matter what. It...reminded him of the golden king he faced in the Pathway of Truth's final section. Both pretty much said the same message to him, however...to tell the truth, Kazuya couldn't help but feeling that he finally agreed to them now. It had been in his mind for a while, but all this time, the reason he really pushed for Gin and Haru's solution back on the Tokyo Lockdown was simply because he didn't want the responsibility of hosting the pieces of Bel inside of him, not of a fully genuine sympathy to the two's solution. Even the thought of following Amane's and Naoya's solution never came across his mind, and despite fully knowing that it would work, he completely dismissed Atsuro's ingenious solution, despite him being his closest friend. All of that were too much responsibility for him to shoulder.

 

Although, he did admit that even now he would still pick Gin and Haru's solution over anyone's else. It was a solution that benefitted everyone. Even if the foundation of the world did not change...most people simply wished so that they could continue on with their life as it used to be, right? He could say that it's the main reasoning of the majority of the people here to keep on fighting, to triumph over Arturia, their own former leader. In the end, the only thing twisted regarding it was simply his own reasoning of following them.

 

A reasoning that would end up ruining what the two had worked up on.

 

It was unpleasant, but in the end Kazuya admitted that there really was no going back to normal life for him anymore. He never was normal to begin with, being the reincarnation of Abel. And now, with the power of the Bels congregating inside of him, he had no choice but to use it for a purpose he believed in. Not acting in a time of crisis despite having the power to do so would be the biggest sin he could commit.

 

Well, that concluded it. He now had locked himself into his final route for better or worse. He thought of summoning Ishtar again to have a talk with her, but relented in the end, deciding that it would be best to do it after the goal had been reached. Instead, he took a walk around the hallway to relax for a moment, but on his way he noticed a familiar face, and he approached her instead, a relieved smile on his face.

 

"Ah, hello there Ayame, you're doing pretty fine, right? Was wondering where you went after Prologuous, it's nice to see you again here."

 

---

 

Something's off.

 

Before she was able to answer Darcy's offer, Satori noticed something was very off. The key had completely disappeared somehow. Frantically looking through the fleeting thoughts of some of the people there, Satori was led into a realization. She established her link with Darcy as soon as she could afterwards.

 

...Apparently, the "guide" of the Hallway we had earlier, Byakuya Kuchiki, was it? He took the key, not exactly for the sake of our interest. I couldn't read more regarding it, but safe to say that we would end up being in conflict with him sooner or later. It's best to not say this to anyone yet though. We shouldn't act rashly while we're still recovering from that battle earlier.

 

The fact that the key was lost once more clearly agitated Satori, something that Darcy could pick up from her tone despite her best attempt to sound composed. Right now, she was completely unable to fulfill the wish of the person she owed everything to, nor she could even serve her purpose as a sister figure to her own actual sister. Again and again, other people had proven themselves to be better than her when it was about being on Koishi's side when she needed it. She couldn't help her when she had her shutdown earlier - Reimu was the one that snapped her out of it. When she fell unconscious after overexerting herself against Arturia, someone else was the one that caught her from hitting the ground and accompanied her until she's awake. She hated how powerless she had been. That was the only thing on her mind now. She hated being a parasite to others all this time. She wanted to do more, more for the sake of her sister. For the sake of the world that her sister loved.

 

Darcy...pardon if it would be too much, but may you lend me some of your energy? As much as you are willing to lend to me, any amounts would be fine.

 

That would be the only thing I could think of to ask from you right now.

 

---

 

Sitting on the side of the king's corpse, seemingly not really paying attention to anything else that was going on the Hallway as everyone was recovering from the earlier fight, the nameless girl hummed some sort of victory jingle as she observed the all-too-human body of Arturia. The act of absorbing the Arturia clone earlier led to a lot more things than what the nameless girl would normally be comfortable of. All the memories of the king passing through her mind, the nameless girl saw how Arturia was as a human, and how she was as a king. How she believed a king should reign over their people, how she believed that her own only descendant was unfit to succeed her because of how she didn't fit the image Arturia believed to be how a king should be. She saw Arturia's feats and successes as a king, and her failures as a human.

 

Seeing all that, the person before her, whose flesh she was exploring now to make sure of its tangibleness, felt even more alien to the nameless girl than from the first time they met. Despite knowing everything she needed to understand her, in the end, all that knowledge only made Arturia felt more and more distant from her. Any similarities, any connection she had with her felt more and more strenuous. Arturia was a completely different person from the nameless girl. And, with the knowledge she now had of her, the nameless girl knew that trying to follow the king's footsteps she once idealized would lead nowhere.

 

Her opinion of her had changed a few times through the fight. She started off feeling like she had understood the king when the fighting started. but as she heard more and more of the king, she became sure that the king she understood had long since disappeared, eaten by a puppet of the Throne. But now? She couldn't even be sure anymore. Her hand traveled to Arturia's neck, and in frustration, she grasped at the location, strangling the corpse as if it mattered now. It's an impossibility now, but the nameless girl wished that this one last time, she could actually have one last conversation with this corpse.

 

The lifeless muscles gave off no resistances, and the girl could hear a crack coming from where she grasped at the king. It snapped her from her thought, facing the reality that the king was dead - the only person she once thought that she understood. Now, the nameless girl was alone again, back at square one, still having no idea on how to understand other people. Still, she did feel some satisfaction, and deep in her heart, she hoped that despite her undignified end, the king would have some feeling of fulfillment in the end too.

 

"Good night, Lady Arturia. Thank you for everything, and even though your ideals are completely unattainable and unappealing for me, I will take everything I know of you as a lesson, and walk on my own path now."

 

The nameless girl closed the lids of the king's lifeless eyes that had been staring at the ceiling for a while. With her muscles loosening after the soul left her body, the king looked as if she was finally in peace somehow. The nameless girl smiled at the pleasant sight and gave the lifeless body a last kiss to her lips before getting up and turning around, looking more satisfied and content with herself. Noticing Dorian and his friends on the distance, she rushed towards them to greet them.

 

"Nice showing you guys have earlier! Sorry for not helping more at that last part of the fight, but at least it's all over now.

 

..E-eh...?"

 

By the time she approached them, she noticed that they were being tense for a reason she had no idea about yet. They seemingly were in a serious discussion.

 

Well, that was awkward.

 

---

 

"...Did I get dissolved?"

 

"Almost, but I decided to intervene at the last moment. No need to thank me."

 

Reimu opened her eyes only to see an all-too familiar realm of gaps, filled with unblinking eyes that were all focused on her. The culprit was right on her side as she noticed when she hurriedly got up. Yukari Yakumo, the youkai of boundaries and technically her benefactor. More accurately, her Yukari, to differentiate her from the other, more reasonable figure that-

 

"W-what? The hell is she doing here, Yukari?"

 

An accusory stare on the youkai. Reimu pointed at the woman lying not too far away from them. The deceased Yukari, the Yukari of Koishi's world. Dressed in green and yellow, her outfit was pretty much the same as Koishi's, and in that body, she looked like she's years younger than the Yukari that stood on her side.

 

"I'd rather not have her body be damaged by the battle that erupted earlier. Moreover, isn't this convenient for you? With some assistance, you would be able to not be exposed as a complete liar by Koishi. Not even I have the capability of bringing life back to her, but this body would be enough to-"

 

"Do you have no shame, Yukari? What do you think you're asking me to do? Using her body, of all people, just to...gah! Is this is all the reason you brought me here?

 

I'd rather accept the consequences of lying to Koishi than to stoop as low as you. You're completely disgusting."

 

Seeing that display of refusal, Yukari shook her head. Reimu's always been quite stubborn, and it had made working with her quite a pain to do at times. Granted, the shrine maiden's words were pretty warranted on Yukari, and she acknowledged it. To use another her, who had died for the sake of dispelling Arturia's lies earlier, for this purpose was even worse than the usual deal for her to do. However, Yukari knew that it was necessary. Reimu had made this situation more complicated than it should, and it's the best she could do now while keeping her oath of non-interference.

 

Perhaps she should talk to someone else other than Reimu for this.

 

"Alright, alright, I give up. That is a bad idea, and I shouldn't propose it to you in the first place. Still, I will keep her here. For what she did, I think it would be best if her body did not get desecrated, as I said before. And despite of everything, she's still me, after all.

 

Good luck with dealing with Koishi after this then, Reimu."

 

Reimu didn't seem to buy this sudden change of stance at all, and kept her stare on Yukari. This lasted for a while, but Reimu relented in the end, finally accepting Yukari's words.

 

"Don't you dare bringing that topic up ever again, Yukari. But, that aside...what did I miss? Did we manage to defeat Arturia?"

"You all did. The Pendragon had been vanquished, and Arturia now lie dead on the Hallway. Earlier, you were almost dissolved by the force inside of the Pendragon as your barrier failed to burst her open, but I managed to pull you out...although I didn't manage to save your Yin-yang orbs, leaving you with only that black orb." Yukari noticed Reimu was going to say something else, but put her finger on the shrine maiden's lips to stop her. "And I don't know where Revy is, but she should be fine, I think.

 

Maybe you should check on her by yourself?"

 

Reimu's expression made it clear that she really couldn't wait anymore to go see Revy again, and so Yukari opened a gap under her, dropping her into the Hallway once more. Reimu immediately ran around the place, looking left and right for her friend.

 

"Revy, where are you? I swear, if you die, I'll exorcise the goddamn hell out of your ghost before you can haunt me!"

 

In the meantime, the gap was closed, leaving Yukari all alone with the lifeless body on her side. Her other self's appearance reminded her of the appearance of her colleague. Wonder where she went - Yukari knew that if there's anyone that could survive what happened to Gensokyo, it would be that person. However, that shouldn't matter for now. Looking at the satisfied expression on the corpse on her side, Yukari could only sigh.

 

Reimu's right - at the time being Yukari couldn't hope of be even half of a person compared to the corpse on her side. And she was fine with it. She had made her oath, and she would see Gensokyo be saved in her own way. She couldn't be noble even if she wished to, so might as well do what she could do best.

 

---

 

"That was the most insane thing I think I have ever seen so far today. And I saw myself take on Protheus. That says an awful lot about this situation really."

 

"Y-yukari, is that you?"

 

Koishi opened her eyes to see a girl being on her side, kneeling while Koishi herself was lying on the floor. The moment her eyesight had sorted itself out, it became clear that the girl wasn't Yukari. Waking up, she couldn't see Yukari anywhere, and the Pendragon was nowhere to be seen too. Seeing everyone now just talking with each other and resting, it was clear that the battle was over.

 

"W-what happened? What did I miss? And...who are you?"

 

---

[Reinforce]

Chandra

 

"Well, that's not very ladylike."

 

Chandra groaned as Jace showed up on a griffon.

 

"Oh shut up. I was enjoying the moment before you arrived."

 

The jab lacked the usual heat she would put into her insults, and likewise lacked the burst of fire that was her usual response to insults as she just looked relieved to see the telepath still in one piece.

 

"Besides, given I just managed to redirect most of that dragon's lava back at it and away from everyone, I think I deserve a break."

 

---

 

Ayame

 

"Ah, hello there Ayame, you're doing pretty fine, right? Was wondering where you went after Prologuous, it's nice to see you again here."

 

Opening her eyes back up at the familiar voice, Ayame looked up towards Kazuya.

 

"Hey Kazuya, yeah I'm alright. Give me a few minutes to recover and get my strength back and I'll be ready to go again. You seem to be doing well for yourself too, good to see you survived to this point."

 

Next to her, the ghostly figure of Naomi looked up at him as well, but didn't say anything, preferring to simply keep humming a tune and healing Ayame while she was able to stick around.

 

---

 

Darcy

 

Something's off.

 

...Apparently, the "guide" of the Hallway we had earlier, Byakuya Kuchiki, was it? He took the key, not exactly for the sake of our interest. I couldn't read more regarding it, but safe to say that we would end up being in conflict with him sooner or later. It's best to not say this to anyone yet though. We shouldn't act rashly while we're still recovering from that battle earlier.

 

That does not bode well. Seems like we'll likely have another opponent left before we can access the doorway then. Yeah, lets keep this to ourselves for now, let the others rest, relax and recover before we have to go into yet another fight.

 

Darcy...pardon if it would be too much, but may you lend me some of your energy? As much as you are willing to lend to me, any amounts would be fine.

 

That would be the only thing I could think of to ask from you right now.

 

Taking a moment to check her own reserves before responding, Darcy started to channel what power she thought she could spare into Satori, pushing magic from her own reserves across the link that was currently set up.

 

Hopefully that'll be enough to keep you going. If you don't mind though, I'd hope you could continue to help me out with the next fight. While I can still fight, I'll have to avoid using too many high power moves, so knowing how the next boss fights would be very useful in planning my attacks so I can avoid wasting energy needlessly.

 

Mana given, Darcy continued to stand around the far end of the hallway, letting her own reserves start to slowly build back up ready for the next fight and keeping an eye out for what was happening across the various groups.

[Tesability Black]

~Jace's POV~

 

"Oh shut up. I was enjoying the moment before you arrived."

 

A First-Wing landed next to Chandra as Jace chuckled at the response, one of the ones sent into the multiple Tsukuyomis with gleaming blue and white armor around its chest to protect it. It trilled as it looked over towards Chandra, seemingly unconcerned about the flames she could conjure. "Fairly certain you'd like something other than the hard ground to lay on, though," Jace shot back, a smile on his back before it disappeared as he looked up towards the other First-Wing in the sky.

 

The fact that he had felt Neos disappear from the mental landscape as Arturia took over spooked him, made him worry. He sighed as his shoulders slumped down, casting his across all others in a sweep to take count of the number that could have been lost.

 

That's when he noticed another mind that was missing, the 'guide' that had been present before Arturia lost herself, causing him to physically look over his surroundings to double-check what he felt compared to what he saw. "Wait, where did that guide go?"

[Dad]

Through the Fire

 

There weren't many things that Kenpachi feared.  Only two things in Kenpachi's life time had ever truly frightened him.  The loss of his best friend, Yachiru Kusajishi.  And the flames of his former Captain Commander, Genryuusai Yamamoto.  Those flames--the flames of the legendary Ryuujin Jaka--erased everything they touched.  Kenpachi could only wonder if he could ever reach that level of strength.  These flames before Kenpachi, were not the same.  Though he did not fear Arthuria's flames, Kenpachi was nearly overwhelmed when he was engulfed by them.  This magical fire that sought to eat away at his flesh, was truly a sight to behold.  He pushed back with Nozarashi, and the great, immense reiatsu he had held for a life time.  Still, it was not enough.

 

Kenpachi began to spiral downwards, in a fireball.  And he could hear someone screaming.  It wasn't his own scream.  Kenpachi's lips were too dry to speak.  It was someone else's.  And as he got closer to the ground level of the Hallway, the screams became clear.

 

"KENNY!!"

 

They were Yachiru's.

 

She bolted across the hallway, as fast as her legs would carry her.  She stretched out her arms, and began to cast rapid hadou spells at her falling friend.  The flames were still burning brightly, and Yachiru began to panic.  "KENNY!" she screamed again, still chasing after him.  Kenpachi's body crashed into the Hallway, a crater forming beneath him.  As Yachiru got closer, she could feel the heat emanating from Arthuria's flames; singed hair and burnt flesh caused her to cry out in fear.  Fear of what she might lose.  Fear of whom she might lose.  She finally was able to close the distance between herself and Kenpachi, who appeared to be temporarily unconscious.  But the fires were still burning.  She had to snuff them out.  She had to smother the flames.  She had to do something.

 

Yachiru put up a bright orange triangular barrier around herself and Kenpachi, and then formed a second, deep green triangular barrier around Kenpachi.  An unknown spell to most non-proficient Kido users, but it was simple for her.  Without incantations, she hovered her palms over Kenpachi's body, and began casting a low level Bakudou spell:  Repulse.  She was attempting to nullify the effects of the magic within the fire, and snuff out the flames.  "Seki," she mumbled, feeling her eyes begin to sting.  "Seki!  SEKI!  SEKI!" she began to scream, demanding of the magical fire to release her friend.  

 

After several minutes of pure desperation, the flames subsided, but Kenpachi was still unconscious.  Yachiru lowered the internal barrier, and held her hands over Kenpachi's body.  Her hands glowed with green energy, and they pulsated softly, humming over Kenpachi's body.  There was no telling how long the healing process would take.  "Kenny," she whispered, a tear escaping her eyes.  "There's still so much I have to tell you."

 

---

 

A Familiar Feeling

 

Kratos escaped with only a moderate wound, his arm being scorched by magma and sealed with molten rock.  He survived Arthuria's assault, and he was thankful that he would only have another scar to add to his collection.  But he had lost track of Revy.  Despite being in pain, his first instinct was to search for her.

 

As Arthuria went down, however, Revy was expelled from the dragon's throat, still covered in Black Blood.  She fell towards the ground, and Kratos was just fast enough to reach her before she made impact.  Revy hacked and coughed, but thanks to Butlerok's Black Blood, and Reimu's barrier, she was alive.  "Ugh!  sheet!  I've heard of morning breath but dragon's breath is funking nasty!" Revy said, sitting up, and still coughing her lungs out.  

 

"Was it a foul odor?" Kratos asked, helping Revy to stand.

 

"Let me put it to ya this way.  If you ever sleep in the corpse of your enemies, while doused in pig sheet--"

 

"Yes, I've slept in the corpses of my enemies.  Many times.  I relish in their defeat," Kratos quickly added.

 

"You're fuckin' weird, you know that?" Revy said with a laugh.  "Oh.  Oh sheet, what happened to your arm?"

 

"Magma.  I will recover in time.  A burn from Atlas is much worse," Kratos answered.

 

"For real?  Stop that.  You don't have to be macho all the time.  You're human, damn it.  Show some emotion besides anger.  Kinda like you did when. .  .yeah," Revy said, folding her arms.

 

"I am not macho.  I am Kratos.  Demi-god, and god slayer," Kratos declared, glaring at the fallen dragon.

 

"Yeah, we're gonna get you some English classes when we get home.  I gotta teach you a lot.  Like figures of speech.  Otherwise, we're gonna have problems.  It's like everything I say goes over your head," Revy said with a laugh.

 

"Nothing will go over my head.  My reflexes are superb.  I would catch it," Kratos said boldly.

 

"Alright, that's enough out of you.  Let's go see about getting this black goo off me.  Then we can check on your friends."  Revy began to search for Team Dorian among the chaos.  She still had to properly thank Butlerok.

 

---

 

Faster than a Speeding Lightning Bolt

 

Killua barely escaped Arthuria's clutches.  He wasn't without a few singed hairs and soot covering him, but he was mostly unharmed.  He had seen Gon, Ed, and Elsa's mighty attack as he was falling.  It was one of the coolest things he had seen in some time.

 

When Arthuria went down, Killua dashed towards Gon, Ed, and Elsa, to congratulate them.  As he suddenly appeared at their sides from seemingly nowhere, Killua's first reaction was to inject a slight static shock into Gon.  And by slight, Killua injected a thousand volts into Gon's back by accident when he patted his friend in congratulations.  "You did it--oh er, sorry," Killua said with a shy chuckle.  

 

"And Ed!  That dragon!  With the--it was all black!  And then Elsa!  Oh man, that was really badass," Killua said excitedly.  "Though, now I kinda wish I could've helped with a combination attack."

[Kingdom Xathers]

"Seki!  SEKI!  SEKI!"

 

Alexander's ears picked up on the frantic invocation, his attention directed towards Yachiru, who was furiously and desperately working on snuffing out the magical flames that were threatening to burn Kenpachi to the bone.  The little one succeeded in dispersing the fire, yet her giant of a partner still lay unconscious, unmoving.  The sight tugged at Alex's heartstrings, especially as Yachiru began to tearfully heal Kenpachi.  "Guys, I'll be right back," he said quietly to the rest of Team Lombax, "and make sure Kyros doesn't try anything," he added before hurrying over towards the two Spirit Reapers.

 

As soon as he had reached them, Alexander materialized an ornate, magical staff into his hands.  "Hang on, I'll help," Alexander told Yachiru as he joined her in healing Kenpachi, his staff glowing along with the rest of his body as he silently vocalized a curative hymn, the same glow soon transferring over to Kenpachi as his spell took effect.  After a few moments in which his spell worked to revitalize Kenpachi, Alex took a pause during his incantation to address Yachiru, he eyes slightly misty: "As soon as Mr. Zaraki awakens, I have to inform you two of something...."

[Love of Ghibli]

Team Dorian: Hallway of Origin

 

To be fair everyone was starting to calm down even though it was clear that something was amiss. Hopefully, that would resolve itself later. The group had decided it was best to simply stay put as to not force any interaction with all of the other combatants as to not make any kind of tension that would break this present state of calmness. Dorian was busy sitting on a throne of Black Blood looking at his hands thinking about the life he would live after this journey was over. Could things be more interesting than this? Nevertheless, Dorian looked at all of the conversations going on and then he finally realized that a certain group of people were missing. 

Oh that's right, Arthur, Eria and company aren't here. I wonder did they die on the pathways. What do you think Butler?

Butler was busy gathering all of the Blood he had spilled in this battle and absorbing it into himself. Black Blood was a precious resource and there was no need to have it splattered all over the hallway. If I had to guess I would think that maybe they are stuck on pathway. If they all managed to go as a group then they would have had to clear all of their objectives at one time. There are a lot of people in that group to consider. 

That's true Dorian said looking around. I have to admit I would be disappointed if I didn't get to meet them before this is all over. Butlerok looked around and he realized that there was something that happened to Zaraki Kenpachi. This could be fortuitous Butlerok mumbled under his breath. 

Rhadamanthys heard this and a smirk came across his face. Oh, are we finally going to have proper challenge? There are a few challengers of note here I guess you can handle the rest of these small fry. Rhadamanthys stated as he looked around at everyone thinking who would be the first to die by his claws. 

Can we not gentlemen? Dorian said chuckling slightly at their bloodlust. Remember something is amiss correct? So it is safe to say that we are not out of the woods yet and if that is the case then it is safe to say that we will probably need everyone's assistance. So for now let us just be happy and gather our strength.

The two other members of Team Dorian reluctantly rolled their eyes and accepted that this was probably the best course of action. Butlerok looked on to notice how unconscious Zaraki continued to be with Yachiru by his side. Interesting...he thought to himself. Elsewhere he noticed that Revy his protege and slightly liberal clown was looking for him. The black blood was apart of her. She was apart of him. Of course her thoughts and intentions are known to him. Butlerok simply makes a pulling motion and like the force Revy proceeds to slide near the location of team Dorian.

How can you be helped? He ask Revy. A question he pretty sure he knows the answer to already.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

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

 

I AM A KING!

 

Nero turned slightly to see what the Pendragon was planning to do next...but when he did, he noticed that she drew closer to him. Much closer than he originally thought. And with a flap of her wings, it caused him to be pushed off a bit and he felt himself falling. And below him...a sea of lava. Nero had exhausted himself greatly from the Diamond Dust Command, and he could see his Keyblade Glider just floating off a bit, away from him.

 

Was this it...?

 

A part of him thought this was the end of the road for him right now...did he come all this way just to fall here?

 

C'mon...after all this, you're just going to give up?

 

Nero felt like everything around him was moving slowly as he heard the voice. It was a voice he knew all too well. "Y-Yenna?"

 

-BGM-

 

Yenna could only let out a small giggle as Nero spoke her name. It's good to see you haven't forgotten me. But don't tell me this is where your going to stop and give up. The Nero I knew wouldn't give up. Not while his friends are in need.

 

"Yenna I...." he started, before pausing. Underneath his helmet, he began to smile, letting out a bit of a chuckle after hearing this. She was right. From the day he was chosen by the Keyblade, he did what he could to help his friends and allies, no matter what. "Tch...thank you...Yenna."

 

Heh, always the fighter. Yenna's voice replied, sighing a little. Don't ever forget, Nero...you've always got your friends with you. Even though you can't see all of them...they're with you.

 

Nero nodded, feeling a small tear start to fall down the side of his face before seeing his Keyblade Glider zooming towards him. "Your right. Yenna...thank you." he said, moving slightly, feeling the hoverboard making contact with his feet as he zoomed away from the sea of lava as quickly as he could. Tell Master Hao, Ryuusaki, and Oswald thank you as well, Yenna. he thought, zooming back into the fray.

 

 

When he returned into the fray, Arthuria was done with. The Pendragon was no more, but the others seemed to be quite troubled with something. He quickly made his way down and his armor and Keyblade Glider vanished from him as he approached the party.

 

Needless to say, the bulk of the group seemed to be quite worn out and needed a bit of healing. And while Nero noticed Alexander revitalizing Kenpachi, he knew that the guy probably couldn't just do that to everyone else. Besides, he too looked like he needed revitalizing.

 

"Alright...one round of healing coming right up!" Nero said, calling Divine Remnant and the X-Blade. "CURAGA!!"

[Dad]

Broken Bonds

 

Yachiru was desperate.  She was desperate for Kenpachi to wake up.  She was desperate for Kenpachi to live.  In all the time she had known him, she had never seen him take damage like this.  He had been cut open before, bleeding profusely, but shrugged off the wound without a second thought.  He had been bleeding internally for days, unknowingly, only for Captain Unohana to repair him, and warn him of his reckless behavior.  This brought a smile to Yachiru's face.  But she had never seen Kenpachi pass out from something like this before.  She was just on the verge of giving up, when Alexander approached.

 

 "Hang on, I'll help," Alexander told Yachiru as he joined her in healing Kenpachi.  Alexander's staff glowed along with the rest of his body as he silently vocalized a curative hymn, the same glow now transferring over to Kenpachi as his spell took effect.

 

"Thank you," Yachiru mumbled, almost inaudibly.  "I--" 

 

But before Yachiru could utter another word, Alexander had a request.

 

"As soon as Mr. Zaraki awakens, I have to inform you two of something...."

 

Yachiru smiled again.  "When he wakes up, don't call him mister," she said, trying to make herself laugh.

 

A third party joined, and it was Nero this time.  A third healing spell was sure to get Kenpachi on his feet soon enough.  "CURAGA!!"

 

"Thank you, Key Wielder," Yachiru added once more.  It wouldn't be long now until Kenpachi was back to his old self.  Or, so Yachiru hoped.  She kept her focus on her healing spell, silently wishing for Kenpachi to awaken.  She would have to tell him soon.  About their friendship.  About his Zanpaktou.  About his Zanpaktou spirit.

 

---

 

Bonded by Blood

 

How can you be helped? 

 

It seemed Butlerok had found Revy before she could find him.  "Oh.  Hey big guy," she said with a nonchalant greeting.  "I just wanted to talk about this whole. . .bloody situation," she said, holding out her arms and pointing to the Black Blood.

 

"Demon.  You did this?" Kratos asked, his eyes darting back and forth from Butlerok to Revy.  "You aided her.  Thank you."

 

Revy shoved an elbow into Kratos' side.  "He has a name.  Though, I don't remember what it is," Revy said, scratching her head.  "Anywho, why'd you do all this anyway?  Help me, for one.  Seems like this stuff is pretty powerful.  Why not use it on Kratos or the other big guy?  And when do you want me to return the suit?  I'm assuming I ain't gotta get it dry cleaned," she joked.  "But yeah, I wanted to say thanks too.  This really helped.  Also makes me realize just how fuckin' scary you guys are.  I dunno what the hell you are, but still, I'm grateful for the assist."

 

---

 

No Further Pleasantries

 

A stirring groan from Kenpachi made Yachiru gasp.  As Kenpachi blinked, Yachiru threw her arms around his neck, and collapsed atop his chest, finally weeping.  "Kenny," she breathed.

 

Kenpachi was slightly startled, but after realizing it was Yachiru's hair in his face, he came to his senses.  "Ugh.  What the hell happened?" he groaned.  "Where's--Arthuria!  We have to kill--!  Oh," Kenpachi said, sitting up right.  Across the hall, he spotted the dragon's corpse.  Arthuria had been slain.  "What a waste," Kenpachi said.  He would have time to mourn for Arthuria later.  "Now what's all this cryin' about?" Kenpachi asked, holding Yachiru in a hug.  "You didn't think I'd die to a measly fire, did ya?  She wasn't no Yamamato," Kenpachi bragged.  

 

Yachiru wiped her tears on Kenpachi's kimono, then punched him in the chest.  He let out an audible "oof!" as she hit him.  "Aw, c'mon, I was just havin' a little nap.  Ain't slept much since we got here," Kenpachi joked.

 

"Kenny," Yachiru said, grabbing him by his hair.  "You almost died.  Again," Yachiru said, angrily.

 

"Well I didn't.  Besides.  I ain't leavin' you here by yourself.  Though, I do feel like I could take another nap," Kenpachi said, falling back onto his back again.

 

Yachiru pulled Kenpachi up by his kimono.  "Kenny, no!  You have to thank these guys.  The furry magic healing kitty, and the one holding the Key to every city hall ever.  Say thank you!" Yachiru demanded.  She stood up, and got behind Kenpachi.  With a single hand, Yachiru lifted Kenpachi from the ground, and stood him on his feet.  "Say it!" she demanded once more.

 

Kenpachi sighed.  He was never good at these sorts of things.  "I remember you," Kenpachi said, approaching Nero.  "You're uh. . .one of Sora's . . .friends?  I know ya both got the key n' stuff.  Aaaaanyway, thanks uh. . . what was your name?  Ned?  Neo?  Fabio?  I remember 'e-o' but that's about it."  Kenpachi shoved a large hand over Nero's and shook him vigorously, almost like a rag doll.  It was less of a handshake and more of accidental violent assault because of how big Kenpachi was.  "Thanks for the help, kid.  Helping Yachiru means a lot to me."

 

Kenpachi turned to Alexander, who he admittedly did not recognize.  "Hey, you're kinda like the other one.  The cat one who can talk.  Can you talk?  All these talking animals--"

 

"Kenny!" Yachiru snapped.

 

"Right, sorry.  Anyway, Yachiru says ya saved my life.  I got no way to repay ya.  But I can say thanks."  Once more Kenpachi forced a handshake onto his ally, this time being Alexander.  Alexander's palm was gripped by the giant of a man, and he too was shaken up and down as though he were an exhibit in a pop-up children's book that was being occupied by a four year old who liked to see the figures move up and down a lot.

 

"Kenny!  You're gonna break him!  And he has stuff to tell us!  Also, I wanna pet his fur, he looks warm," Yachiru admitted.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Revy! I'm glad you're save!"

 

After a while of searching, Reimu finally found Revy, right now being on the care of the tea party guests from earlier and Kratos. Not wanting to disturb them too much, she suppressed her intent of crushing Revy with a huge and simply stood on the side as everyone was reunited with each other. Looking at the God of Hell and his pals awkwardly after a while, Reimu decided to address them.

 

"...I don't like whatever this method you did to Revy at all, but right now I can only express my gratitude to you guys for this. However...what did you even do to her? The hell is this magic actually?"

 

---

 

"Ah, they really are quite busy right now.Well, I guess I can talk to them more later. I need to know more about Dorian's other friends after all. There's still so much that I don't know about others..."

 

Noticing that Dorian and the others were quite busy, the nameless girl decided that it would be best for her to go somewhere else for now. For the time being, everything was more serene than she thought. There were still somewhere else they needed to go after this, but everyone just wanted to have some rest after all that happened it seemed. Though, walking around the place made her notice that something was quite amiss. She could feel a faint trace of Arturia was still floating somewhere on the Hallway. It wasn't like Arturia was still around and still exerting effort into the place, but it was more as if someone had been dipped into a bucket of Arturia and still carrying some trace of it even after it had been flushed out. Whatever happened while she wasn't really paying attention, it definitely seemed interesting. She looked up into the sky and noiced a few griffin-like creatures floating around. The trace was coming from one of them, and so, the nameless girl used her wings of light spell to take off into the sky, and towards an unconscious man in a yellow suit.

 

Placing her hand onto him as if she was trying to shake him to get up, the nameless girl decided to start a conversation, ignoring his current state.

 

"Hey...hey...can you listen to my voice? What happened earlier?

What did you do to Arturia earlier, Neos?"

 

---

 

Hopefully that'll be enough to keep you going. If you don't mind though, I'd hope you could continue to help me out with the next fight. While I can still fight, I'll have to avoid using too many high power moves, so knowing how the next boss fights would be very useful in planning my attacks so I can avoid wasting energy needlessly.

 

I will try my best in that regard. I also need to keep as much energy as I could so I can contribute more. Not having a nearly-infinite pool of energy is a pain, isn't it? At least you have that relic with you now.

 

---

 

[Love of Ghibli]

Team Dorian: Hallway of Origin

 

"Demon.  You did this?" Kratos asked, his eyes darting back and forth from Butlerok to Revy.  "You aided her.  Thank you."

 

Rhamadanthys looked at this display of gratitude and scoffed. Such weakness, but this was not the time to dwell on such. 

Butlerok smirked as this may have been one of the first times that someone he wasn't overly familiar with thanked him. Is this what good guys feel like all the time he thought to himself. 

 

"Anywho, why'd you do all this anyway?  Help me, for one.  Seems like this stuff is pretty powerful.  Why not use it on Kratos or the other big guy?  And when do you want me to return the suit?  I'm assuming I ain't gotta get it dry cleaned," she joked.  "But yeah, I wanted to say thanks too.  This really helped.  Also makes me realize just how fuckin' scary you guys are.  I dunno what the hell you are, but still, I'm grateful for the assist."

 

Butler could hear the smirk coming from Dorian as she asked this question. The young ward for some reason always seemed to relish in moments for Butler to talk about emotions. This came as no surprise when Dorian felt the need to add on...

Go on Butler...Tell her why you did it with a grin akin to the Cheshire Cat.

Butlerok did his best not to roll his eyes in annoyance at his young lord and answer the question at the same time. I did not select Kratos over there because he did not require it. If by "big guy" you mean Zaraki Kenpachi, then I am pretty sure he would not survive receiving the Black Blood. Therefore he was not a suitable candidate either. 

As he was speaking Chibi Ragnarok came out of his spine and started to examine Revy. Ah don't beat around the bush baldy. Be honest! He said with a big smile on his face. You chose her because she's just like you! Butler's eye started to twitch as the truth did hurt. 

He's right though Dorian added as he felt the need to answer Revy's question for Butler. You see...

 

Before Dorian could continue a loud shot was heard as a bullet went through his head. Same with Ragnarok. Butler had drawn one of his Desert Eagles and delivered a quick hush shot to the two gossips.

I can speak for myself thank you. He said rather coldly. He then looked back at Revy. In the beginning of this journey I was a lot like you. I did not have a unique set of abilities other than a superior knowledge of firearms. After the very first mission I saw how powerless I was in the grand scheme of things. It was very clear I would not be able to fulfill my duties as a bodyguard, butler or guardian to Master Dorian. This upset me, but fate would have it that I managed to meet this parasyte right here. Ragnarok stuck up two thumbs as his face slowly reformed. I felt power, I had the power to effectively impact the situation around me. It felt good to matter. 

You seemed to be the same way. In this battle with Pendragon had you had stayed the way you were you would not have mattered. In fact, towards the end there I don't think a regular human body could survive the drastic temperature changes, but now you can. You can objectively fight on par with some of warriors here. You, for a while, have the ability to make a difference. Butler looked at her arm and remembered that she referred to it as a suit. A suit you say, the Kishin spoke rather hesitantly.

HA Dorian laughed. We should've done a suit actually. That could've worked. But no that's not a suit love...it's your blood. Like literally, it is called Black Blood for a reason.

Butlerok poked simply touched her arm and all of her veins started to glow. See. You are now what I call a "clown," technically a subservient progeny of mine who is a construct of madness and insanity. But thanks to Gyokuen and her knowledge of the Rukh she was able to take what is normally a very painful process and keep you functioning as your body still goes through a metamorphosis. It is not something I can really take back so readily. But you are more than welcome to stay that way for a little while longer. We sense trouble is brewing we may need more strength yet.

[Merci]

Hallway of Origin

 

Yes, the Hallway of Origin.

 

Once the glorious connection between the Pathways and the Door; designed as a place to reminisce on how far one had come, as well as subtly hint at what lay beyond. Now in ruins; solidified magma, puddles of water, scattered flames and Mad Blood covering the ground, whilst the air was filled with dense smoke, ash, asphalt, and in certain very specific areas, deadly radiation. The once-unscathed plates lining the walls had been wrecked beyond belief from all the stray impacts, although they were gradually repairing themselves in the same manner as the Pathways.

 

Arturia Pendragon’s corpse still lay untouched, right next to the exit of the Hallway. To the majority of warriors, she had died in a whimper, after a long and intense battle in which they defended the Key against her.

 

A few strange events followed; Arturia's soul escaping her body. Neos suddenly starting to run towards Alexander before disappearing. Alexander falling unconscious for some inexplicable reason. The latter two returning, with little explanation as to what transpired. While Team Lombax had been in constant communication, and there were others whom had noticed or identified the source of the tense atmosphere, most of the other warriors wouldn’t have known of the events that transpired within.

 

How could they know that the 'Hallway's guide' had invaded Alexander's reality marble, killed the last remnant of Arturia, and stole the Key of Origin right out of the blue? Out of everything they could have expected, this was not it.

 

Kuchiki Byakuya rematerialized, standing directly behind Arturia’s corpse.

 

His eyes focused on Alexander for a brief moment, before moving across the rest of the combatants. Oh, there were there many of them as well. Chandra, Ayame. Rhadamanthys, Dorian, Butler, Ragnarok, alongside accompanying souls. Ed, Elsa, Gon. Killua, Kratos, Revy, eyes momentarily lingering on Kenpachi and Yachiru. Jace, Ravnica, the remaining summoned souls, the Purple Defect and Neos whom had resisted him. Kazuya, Reimu, Koishi, 'Tenco'. Lydia, Hapshiel, Red. Bayonetta, Jeanne, Atsuko, Umbris, the many other allied spirits, Alister, the device containing his previous selves, and finally back to Alexander. A small group was missing, and some others had disappeared here and there, but the majority of them had arrived. As far as he was concerned, that was sufficient. His lord would be content with this number.

 

”Congratulations.” He spoke coldly, once his eyes had personally met with each of them.

 

”Because of all your efforts, the Pendragon has found peace. With the death of the Pendragon, you of the Counter Corps are no longer shackled to a false truth.”

 

No one dared to approach him. The overwhelming power he emitted was one thing, matching if not surpassing Arturia… But the fact that he had a certain something in his right hand was another entirely. A Duel Monsters card, glowing with a bright light that concealed whatever contents it may have.

 

In his hand, was indeed the Key of Origin.

 

There was nothing to stop him from destroying it, and nothing to stop him to rushing directly to the Door of Origin. While he spoke, it became an unspoken fact that the slightest action taken against him would be too dangerous to undergo.

 

”She was traveling on a pathway to self-destruction. But in the end, she realized the error of her ways. In the name of our lord, I ensured that her mind would never change again… And now.”

 

The supposed guide of the Hallway, in total control of the situation, raised the glowing card high into the air. As if reacting to this action, the many surrounding tablets vibrated and rumbled, threatening to explode.

 

”And now.”

 

Yet instead, they simply settled.

 

”Now the Key is exactly where it should be.”

 

He proceeded to walk, onwards, to the end of the Hallway. As he did, sparks circled the tip of his index finger, and just as it was with Gemini before, sudden lightning immobilized the witch Darcy, who’d been lying in wait at the exit. It was only a temporary measure, to ensure that the craftiest of members wouldn’t attempt to resist. She was forced to watch as he drew closer, and then stepped past her unopposed. He reached out his hand to the wall, and one of the tablets promptly flew into it. A familiar tablet.

 

Byakuya read words from it, words that would mean nothing to anyone but Darcy alone; ”Personality. Like her two sisters, Darcy demonstrates a sadistic personality… She does miss her sisters, but is determined to make the most of what's happening and wants to see if she can find a way to reunite with them when…” He paused, and then nodded as he dropped the stone tablet onto the floor. Yes - he could read their private tablets. He gave the witch one last silent glance before moving on. 

 

At the very end, the man paused.

 

He allowed himself a moment of remembrance.

 

 

The Origin War.

 

It began with the invasion of the Shadow Realm.

 

The Counter Corps had originally attacked with a single goal: To destroy the soul of their enemy, the lich of chaos, and stop the cause of all the distortions at its root.

 

But the mission had gone south. The Corps were intercepted by a mysterious force much like their own, recruited specifically to oppose them, impeding them at every turn. Then, at the core of the Shadow Realm, rather than finding the lich’s soul, a past version of her materialized instead. This past version beat back the Corps’s leader and chose to take down the world with her, unwilling to submit to his strength.

 

In the aftermath of that grand battle between Counter Guardian and Omni, the Shadow Realm had been doomed. Left with no other option, leader Emiya invoked his inner world - Unlimited Blade Works. All allies were dragged into his reality marble, effectively forcing the retreat of the Counter Corps.

 

However, this retreat was not thorough. A handful ended up being left behind, fated to perish into oblivion.

 

And yet, in that imminent oblivion…

 

 

The Shadow Realm

Castle of Necrophades 2F

Three Days Ago

"It seems like I'm going to be making enemies soon enough…

 

...hm?"

 

Just as the Omni was about to generate a portal to leave, she stopped as she noticed something.Something that was familiar in a way, but unfamiliar at the same time. It was possible that she'd met another one of the same species or race before, or something along those lines. Following this sense, she wondered about the collapsing realm.

 

It was a miracle that there was still space to walk around, since it was compressing itself. Soon, it would soon become a two-dimensional realm, then one-dimensional, and finally it would expand began into a three-dimensional realm, replacing the former core with a new one. Everything currently existing would be purged in the process.

 

But, there were still some minutes until then. Enough minutes to spare.

 

Focusing power into her feet, she burst off returning towards the Castle of Necrophades, leapt high up into the air, and then outright smashed through the wall of second floor using only her body. Immediately, she identified that the entire structure was beginning to break apart, as the very world it was contained it became more and more unstable. The figure projected an energy shield above her via shadow magic, protecting herself from the falling rubble as she advanced. Then, she arrived at the source.

 

 

The man appeared to be dying as he lay on the ground. She quickly realized that he was a shinigami. A Soul Reaper. Whilst there were still many questions going on in her mind, such as where he came from, why he was here, was he aligned with that man from earlier, now was certainly not the time.

 

Holding the shield up in the air, she knelt down to him and asked-

 

“I don’t suppose you need my assistance?”

 

His head hanging low, he paused, spitting blood. He chuckled weakly to himself, as the question seemed to ring in his head. “Even as I lay dying, my pride makes me question your offer,” he wheezed.

 

“Oh, that’s understandable…” The girl smiled, just a little, watching him with heterochromatic eyes. “You’re not the first.”

 

“Who are you?”

 

“My name is I̴ ̸͠ ̡͟͟ ̶m̷͞ ͏ỳ͟ ̛̛ ̀͢M̧ ̡̛x҉̴ ͜i̶̛͘ ͡m̴̨̨s͜͡, and I’m just a travelling magician. I want to ask the same for you, but that can wait.” Her eyes were fixated on the gaping wound on his chest, apparently caused by some sort of giant blade. “I’m afraid I know little about your kind, but I know enough that you’re in critical condition.”

 

Then, putting away her scythe, she held out a hand to the man, as if wanting to help him back onto his feet.

 

“Please - let me help.”

 

He hesitated, looking her in the face. “Forgive me. A dying fool has no right to make a request of one who would spare his life.” Then he took her hand, slowly, but surely. “Prideful man that I am, I know that a life’s debt can never be repaid.”

 

...

 

“I̴ ̸͠ ̡͟͟ ̶m̷͞ ͏ỳ͟ ̛̛ ̀͢M̧ ̡̛x҉̴ ͜i̶̛͘ ͡m̴̨̨s͜͡,” he said slowly. ”I do not know your purpose, your goals, or why our fates have aligned.

 

But, will you allow me to serve you?

 

Until my dying breath comes once again.”

 

At that, her own breathing halted, just for a moment.

 

Flustered and surprised, she tried to respond “W- well...”

 

Pressing for time as their surroundings shook, she regained her composure and spoke in a more formal manner, matching that of the shinigami. “I must apologize as well, as I’m not entirely sure what to say! Believe me, there would be no greater privilege than to be aided by a man with such resolute belief-”

 

Her voice hesitated. Around them, rubble continued to fall from the ceiling, deflected by her shield, and cracks were spreading on the floor that they were on. “My purpose, my goal… I believe it is good, but not all would agree. I am attempting to achieve something, grand, you could say. I’m sure if you only listened, you would agree, but...”

 

As the woman pulled him upwards, holding him so that he wouldn’t succumb further to his injuries. “Fine noble, you must know. I am not someone deserving of a life’s debt. Are you certain?”

 

He nodded once, slowly, acknowledging her concerns. “There is uncertainty in all things. But I cannot--I will not--allow my debt to go unpaid. My lady,” he said, weakly stretching out his hand and resting it on his sheath. “You have my sword.”

 

“Ah…”

 

With that, the various emotions that she had been feeling about this dwindled, turning into a certain calmness.

 

A faint smile formed on her face, and she gripped him just a little tighter, to prevent him from falling away. Although it was almost ridiculous, it was as if that phrase alone had been enough to clear her of all doubt regarding this man.

 

“Very well.”

 

Had she ever met a being so certain? So noble? So utterly resolute?

 

”That… sounds divine.”

And somehow, she felt as though she was no longer alone in this vast, vast multiverse.

 

“Please, do come. Don’t worry. With me, there’s no way you won’t make it!”

 

From there, a solemn silence ensued, filled only by the rumbling of the Shadow Realm, she led the dying man through the collapsing building, up two flights of stairs, and towards the end of a certain corridor. Every time the floors or the walls seemed like they might collapse, she fired a burst of black magic at them to keep them still a little longer.

 

The truth of the matter was that she was not inherently a healer; her medical doctorate wouldn’t be very useful with someone like him. She was substituting his draining spiritual energy with her own to keep him alive, though due to their incompatibility, it would only last for so long. And would he last long enough for her to find a sufficiently equipped facility someplace else in the multiverse? It was clear that she had only one surefire option to save him. It was risky, something she had never attempted before in fact, but she couldn't simply let this stranger die right in front of her eyes! Not now that she'd resolved to use Origin and change the fate of the multiverse!

 

They reached the end of the corridor. There, a broken wall awaited, leading to a hidden room covered in runes; at the end was a two-headed statue of a child that vaguely resembled her, kneeling in front of a larger cloaked statue. She gave her patient one last glance. “Aha… Whoops, was so elated that I forgot the most important question of all.”

 

Then, leading him inwards...

 

“You know my name, but...if I may be so bold, what is yours?”

 

He responded, now devoid of any hesitance.

 

“Kuchiki. Kuchiki Byakuya, my lady.”

 

Such was the beginning of the end.

 

 

The Soul Reaper, Kuchiki Byakuya, stood firm at the end of the Hallway of Origin. Devoid of fear. In fact, he appeared devoid of any signs of life at all. His form was empty and pure, radiating an aura that was not only incredibly powerful but also uncorrupted. He wasn’t a physical manifestation of Origin by any means, but rather, seemed to be a perversion of it.

 

”My lord has been trapped, observing, waiting. As she has done for a long, long time now.”

 

But he was not the anomaly. He was not the source of that strange nursery rhyme, he did not consume the Pathways, and he did not seek a greater purpose with regards to the Door. He was only a byproduct of the true anomaly.

 

”Patience, young sheep. Your salvation comes soon.”

 

In accordance with his words, the bright light at the end of the Hallway was slowly being overwritten by a sheet of darkness.

 

”At the Door of Origin, my lord shall welcome you with open arms. There, you will receive all the answers that you have longed for.”

 

And on that sheet, a painting was etched with teal energy.

 

”We shall await you with open arms.”

 

Before he stepped through, Byakuya took out something bizarre with his free hand. This bizarre object that didn’t remotely match his image was a cassette player of sorts, a Sony Walkman with a tape inside that had ‘Awesome Mix Vol. 1’ written via marker. A mechanical device designed on Earth in the late 1970s. Although it looked to be innocuous at first, judging by its anachronistic and inexplicable presence, a hypothesis may have become clear to a keen observer…

 

Had it come from the vault?

Then Kuchiki Byakuya entered the painting, itself a portal, and disappeared from view.

 

From there, the image fully formed for all to see; enigmatic and eerie, yet also strangely comforting, as though the end was drawing near.

 

---

 

 

T̸ic͡ḱ,

 

T̸o̴çk,

 

T͡͞ic̷̡k҉,

 

T҉̴o҉̛͢ç͟͡k͢͢,

 

T̡͡͡i̵̛ç̸k҉,

 

T͔̻̬̬̼͇͚̣͈̬͎͖͖̤͉͞͞ͅo͏̸̟̲̫͙̦͉̭̠̙̤̤̩͢͞c҉̷҉̴̼̰̼̯ķ̶͘͘͏̱͓͍̭͈.

 

The unnatural, out-of-place, yet now familiar sound of a broken clock restarted. Barely audible, such that it could barely be made out, to the extent that it could be mistaken for one’s own imagination. Yet, the fact that everyone could make out the exact same tune had to mean that it was real.

 

It was soon joined by a song. Light at first, but growing in intensity so that all could hear it with clarity. Perhaps originating from the device that Byakuya had held. Despite its lighthearted tone, it came with it a certain tension that made the air heavier than ever. Disrupting the warriors’ feelings, disrupting the coarse atmosphere, and disrupting the grandness of the Origin War, this unwelcome song seemed to dare the many characters to advance.

 

 

---

 

 

The ticking, and the song, echoes from beyond the end of the Hallway of Origin.

 

From the cause of all this madness, the Door of Origin.

 

It is time for the Reunion.

[Dad]

Betrayal

 

Kenpachi was grateful.  More so than he could put into words, as he already explained.  "So.  What's next on our agenda?  We gonna go find this last bad guy and kick his ass or--hmm?"

 

Before Kenpachi could complete his sentence, there came a swirling in the Hallway.  It caught his eye, and Kenpachi turned around.  From the light emerged his ally, Kuchiki Byakuya.  But as Kenpachi analyzed Byakuya, he knew something was very, very wrong.  "Kuchiki?"  In Byakuya's hand was something Kenpachi was sure he recognized:  the Key.  But why did Byakuya have it?

 

"Kuchiki!" Byakuya belted out, taking a step forwards.  Yachiru pulled Kenpachi's arm back, as her eyes too rested upon Byakuya.  "What are you doin' with--"

 

”Congratulations.” He spoke coldly.  ”Because of all your efforts, the Pendragon has found peace. With the death of the Pendragon, you of the Counter Corps are no longer shackled to a false truth.”

 

Kenpachi stopped where he was.  He could feel the raw power being emitted from Byakuya.  He had never felt this before.  This was a man Kenpachi had done battle with; both by his side and against him.  This strength that Byakuya had was unnatural.  It wasn't his own and Kenpachi was sure Byakuya had just become more dangerous.  But worst of all, Byakuya had lied to him.  Kenpachi tied his eye-patch back onto his face, purposefully restraining himself so that he could recover more quickly.  Nonetheless, he was angry and confused, more so than normal.

 

”My lord has been trapped, observing, waiting. As she has done for a long, long time now.”  Byakuya held his usual, powerful convictions.  Something he would not give up.

 

"Your lord, huh?" Kenpachi growled.  "What the hell have you gotten into?"

 

Byakuya then summoned and created a portal through which he disappeared with the Key, inviting those within the Hallway to join him as he passed through the darkness.  As Byakuya disappeared, Kenpachi stopped clenching his fists and let out a heavy sigh.  "I shoulda known somethin' was wrong when I saw he was alive."  Kenpachi turned to Yachiru, who was frowning as her heart grew heavy.  "Yachiru," Kenpachi said, kneeling down beside her.  "I'm goin' after him."

 

"What?  Kenny, no!  You're strong but you're not stupid!  That's not Byakuya!  And you need to recover.  Kenny, please," Yachiru pleaded.

 

Kenpachi sighed, looking towards the portal and then back down to Yachiru.  "Maybe you're right.  Whatever it was that was comin' off of him, it was nasty," Kenpachi said.  A strange music began to fill the Hallway.  It was something Kenpachi had never heard before.  He stared up into the emptiness of the Hallway wondering why this music was playing.  It gave him a bad feeling in his stomach.  He looked back down to Yachiru and shook his head.  "Guess I can't go in blind and weak, huh?" Kenpachi admitted.  Kenpachi sat down where he was and then went to lie on his back.  "I'm gonna beat him until he tells me the truth," Kenpachi said.  "If it means I gotta shove this sword up his ass, so be it.  He wouldn't be the first.  But I ain't lettin' this go."

 

Yachiru laid herself beside Kenpachi and stared up at the empty space above them.  "I'll be right there with you, Kenny."

 

Kenpachi smiled.  "I wouldn't have it any other way, little lady."

 

---

 

No Laughing Matter

 

"A clown, huh?" Revy said, nodding along with Butlerok's every word.  With his permission, Revy would remain covered in the Black Blood for just a little while longer yet.  And with Butlerok's help and the combination of strengths among all of the forces here, perhaps saving the multiverse was still possible.  At least, that was what Revy had hoped for.  "I like it.  Thanks again.  I'll make good use of--"

 

"Revy! I'm glad you're safe!"

 

Revy turned around to be greeted by Reimu.  She took the girl by her arms and gave her a big hug.  "I'm glad you're okay, too."

 

"...I don't like whatever this method you did to Revy at all, but right now I can only express my gratitude to you guys for this. However...what did you even do to her? The hell is this magic actually?"

 

Revy chuckled.  "It's complicated.  Complicated enough that I could use a drink.  But I should be in my best faculties if I'm gonna save the ol' multiverse n' all that jazz," Revy joked.  "Kratos, you okay?"

 

Kratos, however, was fixated on the returning 'petal warrior' Kuchiki Byakuya.  In his hand was the Key that the Counter Corps had long sought after.  And now, he was making his way through a portal, with Kenpachi barking at him.  "We must act soon," Kratos said, looking to Revy and then to team Dorian.  "Something foul has become of that man," Kratos said of Byakuya.  Revy didn't notice it until Kratos said something.  But when she did look up at Byakuya, Revy suddenly felt sick.  Something about that man dressed in white made her stomach churn angrily.  

 

"Yeah.  We should regroup.  We need to start preparing for the next fight," Revy said.  

 

"I must speak with Kenpachi," Kratos said, marching away.  

 

Revy followed.  She waved to Butlerok and team Dorian as she walked away.  "Coming Reimu?" she offered.

[Tesability Black]

~Neos's POV~

"Hey...hey...can...listen to...ice? ...at happ...lier?

...you do...uria ear...Neos?"

Neos's awareness had been fading in and out as he felt someone trying to shake him awake, a muted groan leaving his throat, before beginning to talk with a slurred voice. "Ai though I tol' you...you're not Jace."

His eyes had opened in the middle of his words enough to see whom was shaking him awake, causing him to straighten up on the griffon's back. "...you're not exactly a face I know, who are you?" He certainly did not feel combat-ready after what happened, but his brain did managed to alert him to the fact that the figure in front of him...that was flying with wings that looked like they were made of pure light...was trying to talk to him while he was out cold. "...and what were you saying?"

He slightly blushed as he raised a hand to rub the back of his neck, an embarrassed minor laugh emerging from him.

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

~Gemini's POV~

Gemini found himself tapping his fingers against his pant leg, annoyed to the Distortion Realm, Hell, Warp and whatever other infernal planes of existances there were in this Omniverse and back at what was stuck on his head.

"This is not household glue," he growled to himself, breathing in and out about how to deal with this damned thing on his head. He was thankful no one had made notice of it so far, but he wasn't sure how long that would last.

Then a realization came to his head. Whatever this thing was really made of, it seemed foldable, so maybe...

Snapping his fingers, he rose his hands to either side of his head before allowing his hands to glow with the familiar bladckish-red aura. As they glowed, a shape began to mold itself around his head, taking the form of a fedora that completely covered the 'asshat' stuck on his head.

It would have to do for now.

Turning around, Gemini frowned at the figure that had opened the portal to another area, a snarl coming to him once he realized who he was.

"Why that insidious...?!"

And he rushed towards the portal with all due haste, not thinking to transform into something faster.

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

~Jace's POV~

”Congratulations.”

The out of place voice captured his attention, causing him to look up towards the figure speaking, the one he had just been wondering about the location of. ”Because of all your efforts, the Pendragon has found peace. With the death of the Pendragon, you of the Counter Corps are no longer shackled to a false truth.”

Jace couldn't help but look at the others around him, namely towards the ones that felt the sting of betrayal from the former king at this statement. ”She was traveling on a pathway to self-destruction. But in the end, she realized the error of her ways. In the name of our lord, I ensured that her mind would never change again… And now.”

Jace braced the griffon as vibrations began to fill the entirety of the hallway, unsure of what to expect...though for them to suddenly stop without provocation wasn't something he had expected.

”Now the Key is exactly where it should be.”

At seeing the so-called 'guide' freezing another in her place, Jace held back, even with Ravnica, while waiting for a moment to jump into the stranger's mind. At a singular moment, when the man allowed himself to reflect, Jace psychically jumped in, intending to take control, but the memory on the forefront admittedly caught his curiosity. As he watched it play forward in his own mind as well, Jace could not help but allow his jaw to drop.

"...Isamy," he faintly whispered with a questioning tone in his voice before he pulled out of the man's mind, his own going a million miles an hour. "Did she...did she save him, too," he questioned with a voice closer to his normal volume.

Looking up towards the figure as he continued talking, the mention of his lord being trapped for some time caught his attention. "...this...would explain why she wasn't around when I woke up."

Jace spurred the griffon into action, who gave a loud caw before swiftly flying into the portal before everyone else could, the embodiment of the plane of Ravnica flying close behind.

He had to know for certain that she, Isamy, was alright.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"It's probably a bad time to ask, but Neos, what exactl did you do to Lady Arturia?"

 

The nameless girl waited for him to be seemingly return to consciousness proper and ask her about what she asked to him earlier before the girl repeated her question. However, before Neos was able to answer her, someone had appeared on the hallway. That was the guide, wasn't it? He disappeared during the battle and everyone forgot, yet now he's here, and the key was with him. Well, this was an interesting development. He then went on and talked about how he was the one to give Arturia her peace, then he moved on to other things. He was seemingly serving someone, waiting for them beyond the end of this hallway. That made sense. Now he walked through the painting at the end of the hallway, and invited everyone to follow him to the Door.

 

And as he said that, a dissonant but quite catchy song started to play in the background. The nameless girl found herself humming the tune to herself after a while. With a few people already going through the painting, the girl felt that it was time for her to do so too. Turning again to Neos, she decided to say some more things to him first.

 

"I'd still like to hear more about what happened earlier. It's clear now that Arturia didn't die when her body was killed, so I'd like to see how she met her end, just out of curiosity.

 

See you on the other side. And I guess, pardon me for interrupting your rest."

 

With that said, the girl separated herself from the griffin that Neos were on and glided towards the painting, determined to see the ending of this conflict.

 

---

 

"So this is the actual final stage. Or would this be the extra stage? Either way, whoever beyond this place should be the true culprit of this incident. I wonder what would she have in store...?"

 

The key falling into the hand of another suspect individual made Reimu groan, but it was somewhat to be expected, especially as said suspect individual did skip some of her questions when he was still pretending to be a guide. From the healing magic that bathed the entirety of the hallway, everyone should be ready to continue anyway. It perhaps would be best if they proceed as soon as possible. Reimu looked around for Revy, only to see her already being ready to go.

 

"Coming Reimu?"

 

"Of course. I can't just stop here anyway. Whoever is beyond this place, if they're trying to stop us, then let's beat them up so bad until Origin can't even record them anymore."

Reimu would soon catch up to Revy and her friends, her black orb orbitting her like a satellite. To tell the truth, from the earlier battle Reimu hadn't really been able to feel herself and her own body. But even then, even if she understood the reason, she willinly chose to move forward anyway.

 

---

 

"I'm glad you survived and doing well too. Is that your friend?"

 

Kazuya waved at the unfamiliar figure near Ayame, but then before he could converse more with Ayame his attention was taken by the supposed guide to the pathways, now holding the key and revealing his true allegiance with someone waiting at the Door of Origin. He invited the remaining people on the hallway to follow him through the painting at the end of the place, and some had decided to take up on his invitation.

 

"Something definitely seems off about him. I'm not exactly sure about what exactly that is, but he is definitely bad news.

 

Let's get going, Ayame. It's perhaps is best to leave as soon as we can."

 

---

[The Warden]

Lydia sighed with relief as Koishi opened her eyes. "W-what happened? What did I miss? And...who are you?"

 

"My name is Lydia, and as for what happened, well...."

 

Looking up, the Sorceress Supreme regarded the carnage wrought on the Hallway of Origin. Hardened lava, ash, and one very deceased dragon. "Uhh, long story short, Arturia is dead, and I'm pretty sure you did it with that lance thing you hit her with. It's hard to explain what happened next but one of our guys went crazy, and then passed out, I think" she explained while looking over at Neos, who seemed to be coming too.

 

”Congratulations.”

 

The two looked at where Byakuya had materialized, an unnatural pressure following him that chilled Lydia somewhat. And at her core, she could feel Avalon bundling up, like an aggravated cat almost. ”Because of all your efforts, the Pendragon has found peace. With the death of the Pendragon, you of the Counter Corps are no longer shackled to a false truth. She was traveling on a pathway to self-destruction. But in the end, she realized the error of her ways. In the name of our lord, I ensured that her mind would never change again… And now. And now. Now the Key is exactly where it should be.”

 

He was way too unnatural in his actions and his knowledge. Was this guy someone from the Divine? Or one of the CC? Lydia hadn't seen him before now that she thought about it. ”My lord has been trapped, observing, waiting. As she has done for a long, long time now."

 

Lydia's eyes widened as she grasped that statement. "It couldn't possibly be...."

 

"Isamy Maximus...."

 

”Patience, young sheep. Your salvation comes soon.”

 

What was happening? The Hallway was twisting about, contorting to his will. ”At the Door of Origin, my lord shall welcome you with open arms. There, you will receive all the answers that you have longed for.”

 

The painting. It was... beautiful, really. ”We shall await you with open arms.”

 

And he was gone, like Alice through the looking glass. Breathing heavily, a chill ran up the sorceress' spine. "Hey," she began regarding Koishi, "I got two questions for you. First is what's your name? And the other is "can you walk?" Cause, it seems like it's really, really important for us to follow that guy."

[Merci]

In the Hallway of Origin, the many warriors of the multiverse advanced.

To whatever lay beyond the painting of the strange woman, which Kuchiki Byakuya had disappeared into.

It was impossible to say what awaited these characters who were oh so far from home, and yet, they had long since foregone the opportunity to turn back. When they entered the White Room for the first time. When they completed all three of their Pathways. When they turned their blades against Arturia. When they first resolved themselves to battle in this conflict. Both leaders - Arturia Pendragon and Protheus Maximus - were completely absent as the scores of empowered individuals made their way to the end, to the beginning.

Whether they’d been brought into the Origin War by a Counter Guardian, by an Omni, by Ophelia or any other phenomena, it was by their own will that they fought now. There was only them, and the long-awaited end of this hellhole.

They could sense their Remembrance, their Truth, and their Death on their backs as they pass through the portal to the finale. Their movements were to the tune of a peculiar song, echoing in the distance - a grim reminder that one obstacle remained between the characters and their precious epilogue. The sound of a singing woman could just barely be made out beneath it. Beckoning everyone to follow.
 

"Hee~eeey, what's the matter with your head, head?

 

Hee~eeey, what's the matter with your mind, and your sign, and a, ohohoh~?

Hee~eeey, nothin' the matter with your head, baby find it, come on and find it~

He~eee~eey, with it baby cause you're fine and you're mine and you look so divine~

COME and GET YOUR LOVE~

Come and get your loooo~ooovveeee~

Come and get your love~~!

Come and get your looooove."

 
Upon entering the painting, one would feel enveloped in an grand darkness depriving them of all of their senses; touch, taste, scent, sight, and hearing. Just like that, all their talents and all their experiences seemed utterly worthless. There was only the barest sensation that they were being transported to their destination. In the midst of transit, the countless characters were essentially being propelled by a greater force across an ocean of pure black. The primal darkness, the void that existed before the beginning, an infinite nothingness in which time and space did not exist. They were not moving through space, but rather, through the fabric of existence itself. The pathway to Origin, one could say－－－within that blank eternity, Origin reached out to everyone. A grand providence that had decided to prepare everyone for what could come last, whispering naught but a single name most would know all too well:
 

I
S
A
M
Y

Why would they hear that name, they might wonder? Or perhaps it would as obvious as daylight to them?

Isamy Maximus. To participate in the Origin War meant that, even if one never met her personally, they would have certainly heard her name at some point. The founder of the Divine. The daughter and successor to Protheus Maximus. The one responsible for all the distortions, for all the disaster, and for all the chaos and entropy that had been inflicted upon the omniverse. It was because of her ideal to 'make everyone happy' that the Origin War started to begin with. That the one who first sought the power of the Door, may be waiting at the Door...it really wasn't much stretch of the imagination.

However... There was too much they did not know about her. And they were not prepared.
 

---

As we, who have completed all our trials, approach the final battle...


 

let us dare to pause, just once more

 

͏̤̱̙̩̼to a m̦̲̗̘̳͝e͖̱̼͞ͅm̥̝or̟͕y͏̝̺̯̰̘̹ that the̛y҉ w̵ill ṇ̡͉͍̯̲̭͇e̷̠̳̗͈̖̩͎v̵̼̜͖̹̝͡è̮͖͈̲̙̟ͅr͙͎̠̼̖̣̭̠̞̀̕ ̛̛͕̼̬̙͇̱̭̝͎w̯͍͇̖͙̜̦͙̼͍͘͘͜͝͡ͅḭ̷̷̸͈͙̣̜͔̦͎͕̕̕ṭ̟̪͍̮̻̠̳̳̜̞͇͎̙̣̕͟ǹ̩͈͓͓͓͈̦̙͇͔͙̖͖̥̤͉̕e͏̝̺͎̩̥͓̫̫̺͘͢s҉̜̜̗̞͉̰̞̹̺̝̣̳̥͈̬̭̘̬̞͢s̡̛̘̬̼̘̣̼

 
Prologuous
 
~ Sweet Reckoning ~

“So, you’ve come this far huh? What a pity that your path ends here.”

Standing in the center of Prologuous, before the great tree was a revenant of seven feet, their featureless black face somehow managing to glare at the interloper of its domain. A scythe made from blackened metal was loosely held in its right hand, and its impossibly sharp blade reflected Isamy’s face in the black ichor that coated it. The ghastly phantom tilted its head arrogantly, as if it were looking down on the fallen Omni.

“Isamy Maximus, heh, you look pretty damn pathetic, if I am to be perfectly honest with you,” the revenant sneered while idly tapping the back of their weapon against the floor with a rhythmic ting, ting, ting presiding as it waited for a response.

Walking down a small bridge that led towards the giant, vast arena, a woman’s eyes looked around, taking note of each and every detail. The rainbow sea surrounding it, which emanated a strange energy. The three pillars, each with a different colour scheme. A tree in the center, with a clock adorned in it. And of course, what appeared to be an enemy, whose purpose and powers remained yet unknown.

“I’ve been getting that a lot lately, yeah. Not that it stopped me.” Isamy brushed it off with a shrug, brandishing her own scythe - though since Tabris no longer possessed its dark matter properties, it was nothing more than a simple, sharp scythe.

“So… What exactly are you? A guardian of the Door of Origin? The final boss?”

“For someone who comes here believing they know what’s best for the entire omniverse, one would think you’d be a lot more well read about the place you’ve dared to trespass in. I, am Avatar Conflictous, Guardian of Prologuous, and the one who bars all from the Hallway of Origin” the spectre explained with an emphatic level of grandeur.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Conflictous.” She gave the being a short bow. “Well, what can I say. Maybe my father just didn’t do his research properly. As for me, there’s only so much I can guess on my own. It doesn’t surprise me that something like you is in the way. I mean, such awful cliches tend to pop up in places like this. Every MacGuffin needs a protector, or else it’ll fall into the wrong hands, right?”

Then she took a few more steps forward, approaching closer to the Avatar, but seemed to have no hostile intentions towards him. But then again, it wasn’t as if there was any point in it, as her diminished state couldn’t put nearly as much of a fight as it might’ve in the past. Closing her eyes for a moment, she reached out with her psychic senses. With her empathy.

“You’re alive. Maybe not alive in the strictest sense, but more alive than anything else I’ve encountered in the Pathways. Actually pretty refreshing, believe me.” Isamy remarked. “It’s hard to interpret what you’re feeling for sure, but… I can feel a numbness. It’s not unlike his in more than a few ways….”

The Avatar said nothing; that is, it said nothing until after it raised its arm to be level with Isamy’s chest, one finger pointed at where her heart would be. “Vanity’s Emptiness” it calmly declared.

A thread of pure pain lanced out of the pointed finger and lodged itself straight through the fallen Omni’s chest.

“...” For a time, Isamy just stood there, staring at him with the same kind expression, as though there were a delayed reaction from her chest to her mind.

“Guh…!” Then, just like that everything began processing at maximum, “GAH-” and an impossibly sharp pain descended upon her, feeling like fiery thorns expanding from her ribs and spreading outwards through the rest of her body, “GAH! GAH! GAAAHHHHH!!!”, ripping through every bone, tissue, and nerve it could find, puncturing out from her skin. It was certainly being destroyed, every inch of her, without any remorse whatsoever, and each instant felt like an eternity in which her very senses were overwhelmed by the utmost pain.

For an ordinary human being, such an experience would already be unimaginable. But for her, who had lived most of her life as an Omni with dulled senses, it was beyond that, introducing a dimension of physical pain which she had never experienced before.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

After one second, she was on her knees. Her scythe had been released, clattering against the floor.

After two seconds, she was writhing, screaming in an unsightly manner.

After three seconds, she was clawing at her chest very unheroically, as though trying to tear away the infection trapped away.

After four seconds, her movements were slowing, her ver consciousness drifting away.

After five seconds, her body stopped moving - judging by how intensely it was affecting her, both physically and mentally, it wouldn’t be surprising if she’d slipped into a comatose state, never to recover.

When ten seconds had passed, a young girl with dark hair was on the surface of the floor, staring up at the ceiling with a vacant expression, occasionally twitching. Perhaps it was already over. All that, finished by a sudden, anticlimactic death. No mere human could have possibly come out conscious, and even if they did, there was no way their sanity would remain intact.

And yet…

“I...knew this girl once. Anatasia.” Her right hand tightened, slowly but surely, into a fist. Her left hand reached out towards the dropped scythe. “She said something about her first sexual experience. That it was electrifying. That you feel it stimulating every nerve in your body in ways you never thought impossible. I wonder if that’s what she was referring to! Ha! Haha! Guess this is a little more sado-maso, but give it a year or two, and maybe I could get used to it...?!”

A smile formed on her face, clearly pained yet otherwise optimistic. As she grappled to regain control of her senses, having to force her body to move forward, she took a second to analyze what had just happened. Her body had just been destroyed over and over in what had felt like forever, and yet, she was still in one piece, lacking any visible external damage. It must have been purely within, leaving nothing but mental scars - what a scary thought. Though she was trying to put on a brave facade on the outside, the truth was that she would much rather not experience it again. For all the fortitude she’d built up in her many years of experience with telepathic opponents, two or more uses of that attack could easily break her mind. It was worrying, if not terrifying.

“I wonder if watching me suffer interests you, Mr. Conflictous? Although I guess, as the ultimate guardian, you would have to be asexual. But then again, if you haven’t had such intimate experiences yourself, how would you know?” She prattled on, attempting to do multiple things at once - to distract her opponent for time, to maintain her own consciousness, and to potentially learn more about him from this roundabout flirting. As Isamy spoke, she tried to utilize her psychic abilities to do something, anything, to help her in this current situation, but her mind was still too scrambled to focus on anything, let alone materialize objects into the outside world. “Come now, humour me. Are you a fellow virgin?”

Alas, no attention was paid to her efforts. The Avatar sighed loudly, in a sort of “I’m disappointed in you” way. “Guidance to Nullity” it answered, a bolt of lightning flying free of his hand, aiming to strike Isamy clear in the head.

“I’ll take that as a yes!” Recognizing that it was about to attack once more, Isamy desperately put together what little of her mental power she had in order to retaliate. Not to blast the enemy before her, because she had no idea just how strong it was. Nor to block the attack, because who knew just what kind of scary contents it had. Instead, she blasted the ground right below her, which catapulted her own body away from the attack, barely avoiding the lightning strike. Even though she didn’t even touch it, its very appearance invoked an unnaturally primal fear in her head. She was sent flying into the air before slamming into the ground thirty meters away.

She’d escaped the attack, but at a cost of severely burning her right arm and sustaining blunt injuries to the rest of her body. More pain shot through her body, but the thing about Vanity’s Emptiness was that any subsequent sort of pain felt insignificant in comparison. While it wasn’t that efficient, it was the only way she could avoid it in her current state. Damn it. I made it this far, but it doesn’t seem likely I’ll be able to talk my way out… If only I had my powers back.

“You don’t seem very… interested… in conversation!” Summoning what little of her strength she had, she stood back up, but honestly, she didn’t think she’d be able to avoid another attack. If it kept on blasting her like that, there was no doubt she’d die. Which would be counterintuitive.

“I imagine it’s because you aren’t worth the effort” the Avatar curtly if wearily replied from behind her as he grabbed the weakened Omni by the head.

“Rude...much?!”

Flinging her effortlessly into the air, Isamy was greeted with the sight of the supposedly errant Guidance to Nullity she thought she had avoided whizzing straight for her. Once again, an unnatural fear coursed through her whole body, as though telling her that she absolutely should not make contact with it. She forcefully pulled her crippled mind back together, just long enough to materialize a dracolich around her, resting in its ribs. The monster promptly darted away, narrowly avoiding the lightning once more, and reached the edge of Prologuous by the rainbow sea before fading away.

The girl hit the ground with a dull thud, but at this point, not only was she in immense pain, but a piercing headache was stabbing into her brain as well from the psychic usage. That was absolutely it. Any other energy that could’ve been spare against the Avatar, had already been used up in the Pathways of Death, Truth, and Remembrance.

“It’s not over. It can’t be over.” Isamy whispered to herself. “I’ve gone through so much. I’ve come so far. I’ve learned more than I could have ever imagined. Like hell I’m letting some generic no-personality guardian off me here, before I even get to see the Door...”

She tried to stand up, gritting her teeth. And the worst part of all that she wasn’t even getting anywhere, having inflicted not a single hint of damage on the Avatar, nor even reach out to it empathically. It regarded her the same as ever. At the back of her mind, she could feel her Time Sense tingle, a singular voice taunting her as though her loss were inevitable. “I’m so close… I’m so close… I’m SO CLOSE!”

“So close, yet so far” the Avatar taunted.

Grabbing her by the collar of her outfit, the ghastly revenant hurled her over the edge of Prologuous, and towards the shimmering rainbow sea. Powerless to do anything, the last thing she saw was a flash of colours washing over her vision.

Before she was overcome by nothing.

An everlasting nothing.
 

~ ~ ~

“Sorry for the wait.”

Walking down a small bridge that led towards the giant, vast arena, Isamy’s eyes looked around, once again taking note of each and every detail. The rainbow sea surrounding it, which emanated a strange energy - when she was engulfed by it by the last time, she’d found herself back in the White Room. The three pillars, each with a different colour scheme - who knew what they did. A tree in the center - an unbroken clock adorned it.

And of course, Avatar Conflictous standing at the center, who must have been awaiting her return.

“So, you’ve come this far huh? What a pity that your path ends here” it remarked as she approached. “Isamy Maximus, heh, you look pretty damn pathetic, if I am to be perfectly honest with you,” the revenant sneered while idly tapping the back of their weapon against the floor with a rhythmic ting, ting, ting presiding as it waited for a response.

“Yes, yes, I know, you don’t have to keep rubbing it in my face.” She replied with a frown. Although, at the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but notice. It’s saying the exact same words? I wonder…

“So… Remind me again what you are, I’m afraid I have terrible memory. I get that you’re Avatar Conflictous, some sort of guardian for this place, but like… Have you always been guarding Prologuous?”

Gripping hold of her scythe, she channeled psychic energy into it, keeping her guard up. She had a suspicion about the current situation, but would rather not risk it one way or the other. If it attacked, she would be ready. “Huh, I’m surprised that you know my name. Perhaps you aren’t as dense as your predecessor” the Avatar sneered. “I am Avatar Conflictous, Guardian of Prologuous, and the one who bars all from the Hallway of Origin. I have been here since the time when I was first needed, and will remain here until my time has ended. That is the law of my existence” it stated plainly.

It was acting as though it had never met her. While there was no full confirmation of it, the situation was clear enough for Isamy to discern. Somehow, the battle had reset.

Perhaps the Avatar functioned similarly to the Pathways, resetting each time a new challenger came along. She still had some questions about this system. For example, did this only happen when she entered the rainbow sea, or whenever she died? Had the same loop applied for previous challengers, which apparently there must have been? There were too many holes in this.

“Predecessor… Huh, so were there people who came before me?” She muttered, mostly to herself. “My father’s research is the only thing that leads to this location, and he wasn’t the type of man to risk coming here. How did they find this place? Who would’ve...”

“I am, of course, referring to the three hundred and forty-nine thousand, five-hundred and forty-three attempts you have made thus far. Although, after so many beatings, it would appear that you’ve forgotten most of those encounters” the Avatar replied. “But you remember my name this time round; that’s almost impressive.”

At that, Isamy blinked. To say that she was ‘surprised’ wouldn’t be enough to describe it.

“I, uh… Wow.”

She repeated that line in her head a couple of times until it had sunk in.

“I’m sorry, that’s not an easy number to process.”

She repeated it again. The figure was over three hundred and forty-nine thousand. What a scary number.

“I mean, I’m not saying you’re lying, but are you sure? I think I’d know if I was stuck in some deathly Groundhog Day loop thing… See, I have this thing called Time Sense? It kinda helps to negate that sort of thing...”

Taking a moment to check the back of her head, yep, the far-away voices were still there, sputtering nonsense. So it wasn’t that Time Sense wasn’t functioning. But then again, she didn’t fully understand its mechanics, and the Grim Reaper from Death did have the power to steal away some of her memories, so perhaps it wasn’t a totally outlandish suggestion.

Looking deeper, she could feel a tense throbbing at the back of her mind - just trying to remember even a little bit caused immense pain to course through her, as though pieces of Vanity’s Emptiness had been ingrained deep into her body. She struggled for breath, her mind panicking as she recalled at that very attack title. The pain. The pain the pain the pain the unimaginable incomprehensible pain; she could only remember it once, and that was maddening enough! Had she really lost so many times? She, the hero of the multiverse? It was an inconceivable thought.

“I’ve told you this on about, let’s see… five-thousand and seventy-nine different occasions. It’s really not my fault if you don’t remember each sound thrashing you have received” the Avatar responded while pretending to inspect its non-existent fingernails. “Although,” it began smugly, “I suppose it is, but, semantics.”

Isamy paused to ponder about this for a few seconds. If what this entity was saying was true, then she must have tried over and over again to defeat it, each and every time a failure. And, if her remembering its name was considered ‘impressive’, then perhaps this was one of the few, if not one of the only times she had become aware of the loop. In her mind, she took a step back from current proceedings and approached this information logically and rationally. When neither of them had anything to lose, what reason was there for the monster before her to lie? What did he gain by deceiving her? Nothing. All indications pointed to him telling the truth. What an absolutely terrifying idea.

“Do you feel it?” the Avatar inquired curiously. “That pain on your shoulders? The aches in your limbs. The haze spreading in your mind? Those are the results of your repeated failures to defeat me. You never once came close, and when I was bored of you, I hurled you into the ocean. So why do you keep coming back again and again, even though the result has evidently been the same? Surely by now, with your apparent awareness of this cycle, that you are trapped. Wouldn’t willingly dying be much better than this facade of defeat and reawakening?”

“I…” Opening her mouth, she tried to find the words to say, but then stopped, unable to find any proper way of expressing what she was feeling at that moment. Her hands were beginning to shake. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. Deep within, she could feel her soul trembling, and certainly, her body weighed down in exactly the way he was describing. The pain, the aches, the haze, all contributing to her realization that this battle could very well be impossible.

Don’t let it stop you, she told herself.

Don’t let it stop you, she told herself again.

Don’t let it stop you, she had to tell herself yet again, even as she felt an imaginary pressure from countless other versions of her.

However, no matter what, to concede to this despair was to admit defeat, and when she was so close to the Door, that was something she couldn’t possibly do.

“Don’t be silly…!” Then, she forced herself to stand her ground. “Even if what you’re saying is true and I’m trapped, there’s no way I’m going to give up! You have no idea how hard I’ve fought to get here! All the people I left behind, and all the people I lost… To stop here would be to say they all died in vain! The hell with that! I completed Death, Truth, and Remembrance, passing all your trials with a newly-forged self of sense! I deserve SOMETHING, don’t I?!”

Brandishing her scythe, she assumed a stance, focusing her mind to concentrate on maximizing its psychic efficiency. Yes, the pressure was on her. Yes, an unusual pain was coursing through her body, and she couldn’t tell for sure whether she was imagining it or whether it was for real. Nevertheless… “If it takes me only five thousand tries to get a decent conversation with you, then I’d like to think there’s a possibility where I pass you, one way or another, right?! Besides, I have no proof what you’re saying is true anyway... I’ll keep on fighting! I’ll end you! Each time I die, I get closer to figuring out a way to defeat you! Just you wait!”

“Whatever” sighed the Avatar as it turned its back on her and idly walked towards the tree.

The girl was a little off-put by the response, but when she thought about it, if it had had this conversation over five thousand times, it must have also heard that speech about not giving up over five thousand times. Using her psychic empathy, she reached out towards the entity again. While it had feelings completely unlike those of a normal living being, there were some vaguely familiar fragments she could discern from it.

And out of those tidbits, she identified a central emotion; dominating his actions, his behaviour, his existence.

“You…”

Boredom. Simply boredom.

“You don’t expect me to win, do you?” Isamy asked.

“After six digits of defeat, no. But then, I don’t expect anyone to win, period” it responded lazily, its right fist idly tapping at empty air.

“Huh.” Resting on her scythe for a bit, she gazed at the giant revenant. “That’s just sad. Honestly, in that case… Why bother fighting at all? Have you considered letting someone pass to see what could happen?”

“That sort of defies the point” the Avatar replied. “I mean really, if you were put in charge of defending the catalyst for all of existence and given a pragmatic outlook on things, would you just, “let someone through” to see what would happen?”

“I suppose not.” She nodded, seeing its point. No matter how bored it was, its sole mission was to protect the Door. Still, just like her, it was a living being open to reason. There had to be a solution to this. “Hmm, maybe I could take over your job for a bit? You can go ahead to the Hallway and do whatever you like, relieve your boredom. I’ll regain my Omni powers in due time, and could function as a guard myself for eternity, until someone else comes along to replace me.” But after a while, “...that’s kind of a terrible suggestion. A convenient scenario like that just wouldn’t work out. Forgive me, I didn’t think that one through.”

“No, you really didn’t. For a moment there, I thought you were about to insult my intelligence by being completely serious” the Avatar replied.

“This is a tough situation. It’s like you’re cursed to meaninglessness no matter what happens. You’re so strong that no one can get through, and yet at the same time, you can’t afford to abandon your given duty.” Then Isamy asked, “Is anyone worthy of the Door of Origin?”

“You tell me if any one person is worthy enough to decide the course of the lives of an infinite number of beings” the Avatar retorted.

“I had the feeling you’d say something like that.”

She thought to herself for some time, as if pondering a certain matter.

Avatar Conflictous, Guardian of Prologuous. The last remaining obstacle in her way. After finishing with this final boss, it ought to be a straightforward road all the way to the end. It only made sense for such an entity to be so ridiculously powerful, since with all of reality at stake, there had to be something to keep the Door of Origin in check. Even so, it was incredibly unfair. If a challenger was going to end up facing this ridiculously strong opponent, it would make better sense to guard the Pathways pre-entry as opposed to post-completion. She felt as though her personal epiphanies were being insulted by the existence of the enemy before her.

Whether or not her fate was truly set in stone, whether or not she was truly trapped in a constant loop of battle and death, she had to advance. The facts were that she had certainly lost to it once, and that it held an overwhelming amount of power she couldn’t hope to ever match conventionally. At her full strength, she would have experienced trouble. In her current, far weaker state, was there any way to defeat it? She was not anywhere near her full potential - a match of strength was impossible. The Avatar was hardly interested in conversation - learning vital information was impossible. The surrounding environment was barren - being resourceful was impossible.

Despite searching around the battlefield for anything that could help her, there was almost nothing. Hopelessly, she rested her eyes on the three pillars around the tree, wondering if they could do anything. Each one seemed to be representing three Pathways, but for all she knew, they were nothing but monuments to her previous experience. Or gravestones to the life that she had lived.

In Death, she experienced what it meant to fear, to be as weak as any other. She faced manifestations of her inner terrors, sights that she dreaded to see and dreaded sights that she’d witnessed before, culminating in her ultimate enemy, the Grim Reaper, stripping her powers away, forcing her to think to prevail against this vastly inconvenient circumstance.

In Truth, she experienced what it meant to doubt, calling into question her supposedly crystal beliefs. Having fought with her inner self and grappled with the idea of who Isamy truly was, what her ideals actually meant, she ultimately emerged victorious. Proving to herself that, even if she was fundamentally Amy, even without her Isabella side, she was still Isamy.

In Remembrance, she experienced what it meant to regret, putting everything she’d done since into perspective. She struggled with her countless failed endeavours, coming to a head with his appearance, and the overreaching influence he’d had, even the secret to their Omni powers, but she overcame them. She resolved to reach the end, in order to realize the dream that she’d been chasing her whole life. And yet, now that dream seemed so much farther away. Was there no way to win after all? To beat the injustice of this reality?

Wait.

There was something.

Something she had completely forgotten about... until just now.

Her mind flashed back to an event many, many years ago, before she had become an Omni. A training session gone wrong, ending in tragedy-

Yes, there was that. One thing that could even the odds, even if it was only by a little. However, even assuming she still remembered how to do it properly, that technique had a disastrous effect on her mind the last time around.

Under her father’s tutelage, she had dedicated much of her free time to honing her psychic proficiency, teaching her to become the very best there was. The range and uses for her empathic abilities proved to be far greater than he had anticipated; rather than learning to simply determine the emotions of others, she could draw them to sleep or drive them to madness at close proximity. Then, one day, she attempted to take it further on her own. She targeted her empathy on herself. She forcefully modified her own mind.

“Come to think of it, if I’ve tried so many times to beat you, then I must have used my trump card at least once, right?” Isamy asked, gripping her scythe tightly. “Now then… If you don’t mind me asking, did it do anything?”

Her trump card. Something she ought to never use under any circumstance but the most desperate. Practically speaking, it was akin to a suicide bomb. Not knowing how the repeats functioned, whether they would end if she died proper or not, she had no idea if she actually had used it in the past… And it wasn’t something she would prefer to use alone. If she were the only one here, who would continue the mission even if she succeeded in taking the Avatar down with her?

But at the same time, what choice did she have? With so many potential repeats and the possibility that this could last for an eternity, this was the only technique in her possession that may be able to...make a difference.

“Give it a try” the Avatar suggested.

In response to that, Isamy took a deep breath,

“With pleasure.”

and proceeded to close her eyes.
 
Isamy focused on the inner workings of her mind. Sparks of emerald and sapphire lightning started to spiral around her, with psychic energy being concentrated to the core within her body. She touched upon each of the five emotions that made up her being.

Joy. And sadness. And disgust. And anger. And fear.

Long ago, there had been the adopted daughter of a wise sorcerer. However, as much as the sorcerer appreciated her presence in his life, there was little doubt that his main goal was solely to use her. To him, she was a conduit through which he could test the loyalty of his subjects via her remarkable empathy - not the normal kind, but the psychic kind that tuned into the wavelengths of everyone’s emotions around her - a skill that he was keen to hone. And as ignorant and young as she was, she went along with his training happily. Wanting to exceed the man’s expectations, she started trying out the limits of her mental power, and eventually stumbled onto something unprecedented. Not knowing what could potentially happen, during her next training session, she proceeded to demonstrate it in front of him…

Yet, despite obtaining power beyond her imagination, she ended up slipping into a temporary coma. Had it not been for his interference, she may never have woken up. Without one of the greatest experts in the omniverse, on the scene…who knew what could’ve happened. “Never again, do you hear me!” That was the first, and only time she had ever seen him - the overpowered, overconfident, overbearing overlord - actually scared. The prospect was dark. If she were to fail, she would turn into a vegetable for all eternity. And not the healthy sort of vegetable at that. In order to perform this act, she would have to be ready to kill herself.

However. The final boss was right there in front of her, an undefeatable monster in which every attempt would be met with failure. If she was going to have even the slightest chance of victory, her mind, her soul, her body…all had to be wagered without hesitation. This wasn’t for her sake, she reminded herself. This was for theirs. This was for the sake of EVERYONE who suffered. Whether they were renowned or anonymous, INNOCENT or GUILTY, who cared?! If there was a solution to satisfy everyone, if there was a way to ensure that no one in all of existence experienced meaningless pain﹣－－Isamy would gladly commit suicide a million times over.

Five pillars of energy materialized around the Herald of Chaos and Entropy. The structure composing her consciousness and her feelings were analyzed, broken down, targeted by the very psychic power it was generating.

Her eyes opened, her irises now a shimmering rainbow.

“I’m ready…” She whispered softly. “One last question. Are you afraid of death?”

“Aren’t you?”

One of the pillars flashed at that, assuming a purple colour. Then she smiled a little, and two more pillars took on the colours of yellow and blue. Upon fixating a hard glare on the Avatar, she menacingly pointed her scythe towards it, at which point the remaining pillars flashed with an intense purple and green. Each one contained a ridiculous amount of energy, more so than the girl herself, and were brimming so powerfully that the very ground shook.

“........................NOT A̷̡N҉̷Y̸̡MÒ͝R͝͡E̴.”

Finally, she swung the scythe using her entire body weight. In a single, sweeping movement, the five pillars composing her central emotions were cut down. Joy, and sadness, and anger, and disgust, and fear, were eliminated from her mind. The shackles that restrained her psychic mind would be removed, granting her endless dominion over her own existence.

To the tune of shattering emotions, all of Prologuous was bathed in a sudden, intense flash of light of varying colours. Unstable energy uncontrollably firing in all directions, bursting outwards until finally reaching the point of exhaustion.


 

 

~ G i Y g A S ~

 
 
Slowly,

but surely,

the light

faded

a
w
a
y
.

On the outside, it was hard to tell what had changed. The girl remained standing where she was, wielding her metal scythe. The only apparent difference was that thȩre ̢w͢e҉re҉ ̢now̡ ̴t̵i̷n̢y̵ ͏sha͟r̶ds͘ ̸o̡f ̨gla͜s̵ş ̨on th͠e fļoór͠ ͝whȩr͏e͏ t́he p̧illars̨ o̶nc͟é we̵r̨e̷, brea͟k̕i̧ng ̶i͢n͟to̧ d͜u͟s͝t̡. Well, there was in fact one other change. T͝h̀e ̷fa̧c͡t ̴t͟hat̢ ̸I͘s͏a̡m͝y ͘ha͜d ͟aņ om̡ino̕us͏l҉y̢ b͞l͡a͠n͏k e͟xpres̸si͟on,͟ ͘and ͝n̡o̕ ͘l͞o̸n͘g̵e̡r w͡a̴s̡ ̕the͢re a̧n͜y͞ ́trac̷e͟ ͞o͏f͡ ҉ţhe̛ fee͜l͟i̕n̶g͏s s̷h͏e’d͏ ̛h̛ad̕ ̕ea҉r͡ĺiér.͟ Th̀e ̸ho͞pe ̕óf r҉ea̧c̴h͝ing ̀t͢he̛ ̨e͠ńd͘,͢ the̶ d̵e͞spe̵ra̡t̕ion̨ to gęt̸ ̀throug͢h͘, ̡th̸e͜ ̷f̸r͠us̸tra͞ti͡ón̸ to͠w҉ard͝s ̵t̸he̷ ̸o͟ńe̡ ̧i͠n̷ t̵h͡e̶ ͠w̸a̛y͝,͢ t̵he u͏n͘wi͠ll͟i̛ng̢n͢es̶s ͝t̨o açce͠p̛t͏ ͏de̴f͘e͠a̧t…͢ ͟In͠ ̶t͝h͠eir p͝la̶ce͟ ͝wąs͞ a͜ no̴t̨hin͢g͞n͟es͝s̕.͡ A ҉void̢ ̀whi҉c̶h m̵ay t͝ak̨e͞ ̧a͟g̶e͢s to͡ ͏f̨i̶l̸l͡ òńc̸e mo̢r̡e͏, if ever.

And yet she clearly wasn’t dead. Her mind remained running, functioning as it always had. The eyes on her face remained on Avatar Conflictous, still recognizing it as an enemy. Even though she had torn down critical aspects of her own humanity, her will to persevere stayed. Her existence remained, as an almighty psychic without limits. 

“Fascinating.”

The Avatar, for what it was worth, seemed completely unharmed by the attack. Slowly pivoting about, it stared at what remained of Isamy. “You willingly obliterated quite a few emotions” it remarked with something resembling amazement and amusement.

She stared up at it with a vacant look, but no response came. Naturally not. The only reason she had interacted with it with words was to possibly become its friend, or to learn more about its abilities, or even to gain its mercy. T͝hos̕e w͝er̶e̴ me͝a͜n̕i̷n͢gl͞e͠s͞ś ҉n̵ơw̷.

However, even in the absence of emotion, a drį̸͝v҉e̶ existed. Her hands gripped tightly onto her scythe, so much that they begun to bleed a little, and ͘a n̕ew e͠n̷e̢r͢gy͝ ̵po͝u͘re͝d ́int̛o̕ ͝it̢.. Psychic energy, but of a different, purer kind, powered by purpose as opposed to fleeting desire. The scythe exploded outwards, becoming so massive that it was almost the size of the Avatar’s own, but it seemed to weigh just the same in her hands. The very same energy f͟il̢led̕ ͜u̸p ̴her̵ ͜bod͢y̵,҉, tearing her restrictive clothes apart in the absence of shame, and turning her skin a pale white. Her very EXISTENCE underwent a process of optimization, pushing this frail human body so that it could outmatch her former Omni self, so that it could outmatch the grand enemy in front of her.

“Would you stop being so melodramatic?” the Avatar wearily requested.

“AH” Obliging instantly, Isamy - i̴̶f̨ ́sh̸̢e ̴̡͏c͢͠o̕͏u̵ld͢ ̷͡s͢͢ti̵͟͝l҉l͏̨̢ ̨b͜é ̴c̵ą̕ĺ̵l̨͝e͢d͞ ̧t̨h̵͏a̢̢t̢̀͜ ̧̢a͟n̶̛͏y͞wa̴y̷ - used telekinesis to burst off into the air, and with her enlarged scythe in hand, closed the distance between them in half a second. With an unnatural ferocity, she swung right where its head ought to be, attempting to decapitate it. SHING! The top half of “Isamy’s” scythe flew through the air, the Avatar having decapitated the weapon with his own scythe. It impaled the ground twenty feet away. “You really are much too reckless this way… it’s actually pretty funny” the Avatar chuckled as it faded away.

It reappeared at the base of the true, its cowl pointed at the pedestal. “You know, this is really damn funny, if I’m to be honest with ya. You literally just blew up your emotions. The bits and pieces that make you, you… and you threw them away. All that’s left, well, even if you were human, you sure as s*** ain’t one now. Hell, even talking to you is absolutely pointless, since you’re barely registering what I’m even saying. That, by the way, is likewise hilarious. You’re pretty much just an empty shell” the phantom chuckled giddily. “Really, there’s no point fighting you like this. You aren’t a threat anymore, since you’re just fighting by instinct, like some wild animal. Well, I was told to stop people, but some dog? No, not really. So, let’s amuse ourselves, shall we?” he suggested.

Holding his hand up to the tree, the ancient thing morphed, growing in size and twisting about until the reflection of a hallway became visible on the clock’s surface. As though it was now, or perhaps had always been a portal. “Go on, get moving to claim your prize. Although, I hardly think you’re in the right state of mind to even want it anymore” the Avatar laughed.

Isamy landed back onto the ground. After some silence, with little if any of the Avatar’s words making it through to her, she robotically looked towards the newly-created entrance.

“...”

Some vague pounding, deep within her, was informing her that she should proceed. That this was what she had fought for. Her hand let go of the pole, and what was left of her scythe hit the ground.

She took a footstep forward, and then another, and then another, and then another, and then another, and then another, and then another, and then another, and then another, and then another, and then another, and then another, and then another, and then another, and then another, and then another, and then another, and then another, and then another, and then another, and then another, and then another, and then another. Even though the idea that she should ‘give everyone a happy ending’ was still somewhere in her head, the motivation behind it, the emotions that had empowered her to decide thus, those were absent.

“... … …”

Ah, but there was more than a pounding. There was an unnatural aching pain that, even though she didn’t respond to it, was undoubtedly there.

“... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ahhh.”

Once she had reached the base of the tree, by then it must have dawned upon Avatar Conflictous that there was something a little wrong. The whole time, her body was twitching, with tiny bubbles forming from underneath her skin, growing stronger and stronger as if threatening to explode on the spot. Shaking her head, again, again, and again, for no real reason apart from the immense throbbing.

If it had to be described, it was like there was a torrent of alien information flooding inwards, and there was nothing she could do about it. Devoid of any meaningful substance, she was free to be filled with just about anything else. Her mind was gone, but other qualities were there; her empathic ability and her Time Sense, for instance. Her mouth moved, and soon, she started to mutter. Insignificant, scrambled up words that appeared to make no sense whatsoever from the perspective of any outsider. “...Start… This… Ah… G҉r̢a͟A̕͟A͝A͟N͟͠͠N͏͟N̛D̸̀D̨D̷́̕͠͡D̸̴…!” Then, just like that, all of it stopped. As if having reverted back to a state of emptiness, she climbed the tree with an animalistic proficiency, not saying a single word apart from the occasional pant. Isamy reached the pinnacle, at which point she phased straight through the clock, stepping into the Hallway to Origin.

Upon doing so, the giant tree proceeded to distort itself, closing in on the connection between them. It seemed that that was the end of that.

Suddenly, the empty girl turned around. Her hand gestured towards Avatar Conflictous on the other side.

“GUIDANCE TO NULLITY”

An emerald bolt of lightning shot outwards from the clock, aimed straight at him - its force was such that it tore off an entire chunk of that very clock, sending the piece flying into the abyss, leaving a wreckage of its former greatness. The entrance to the Hallway of Origin, ruined by an attack that shouldn't have been capable of damaging it at all. Under normal circumstances, the clock would repair itself just as every component of the Pathway to Origin did - but it wasn't. It stayed as it was, a broken clock.
 

 
Regardless of this, the attack continued to home into its target with unprecedented energggggggggggg “Desperate Space” the Avatar sighed, a black portal forming in front of him, absorbing the attack into the dark void.

As the connection finally closed, the last thing he saw of Isamy was of her reflection turning to walk through the Hallway of Origin, having left that broken clock to tick as she did so; no longer herself, and yet unaware of her lack of the Key of Origin. “Well, that’s something you don’t see everyday” the Avatar laughed as he faded away.

[Love of Ghibli]

Team Dorian: Hallway of Origin

 

 

The team looked on and watched Revy try to explain her situation to her friend. The team only smiled and chuckled as Revy went and waved away. 

Poor girl. Are you going to make her kill her friends? Dorian asked jokingly. Butler replied with a slight snicker and nonchalantly replied. Probably. 

It was a nice way to cut the tension that was the ominous return of that other soul reaper. The team looked at each and realized something was wrong here. There was no way he had gotten that powerful since they last saw him. 
 

Something is certainly off about that person I would say. But at the very least it looks like we are coming to the end of our journey. Dorian said quite confidently.

Butlerok and Rhadamanthys were busy staring at Kratos and Kenpachi and from a distance one could tell they were in deep thought. After a second they looked at each other then back at Dorian.

Hey boy...Rhadamanthys said quite sternly. Dorian simply raised an eyebrow in hesitation. Remember that whole end game thing you had planned? Dorian nodded. We're making some changes.

Dorian looked over to the injured Kenpachi and then at the concerned Kratos. He also noticed other people helping everyone out. His eyes widened in some kind of shock. Noooo does that mean I have to...the two powerhouses nodded. Dorian's face went cartoonishly pouty for a second. I...I...Fine. I mean it is the least I could do. But we still get to do my thing right? They both nodded as Dorian rose up from his throne and the team started to make their way into this weird painting. 

While walking Ragnarok stretched over to Dorian. Hey you should go out with that Arthuria fan girl some time. She seems nice and she tried to talk to you earlier. Dorian smirked. She is a nice person and I probably seem like a nice person in the "bubble" of time that is our interactions, but I am quite sure she would not like me once she sees me outside of this instance. I wonder what her world is like though? 

The team all had a nice smirk on their collective faces. One more fight then they could get on to their end goals. Only more fight...they each wondered who this was all leading up to.

[Dad]

Troubled Waters

 

"Kenpachi," Kratos said as he approached.

 

Kenpachi sighed, sitting up.  "What is it?" he asked grumpily.

 

"Did you know about this?" Kratos asked boldly.

 

Kenpachi stood up slowly, clenching his fists.  "Why would you ask me something so damn stupid ?" Kenpachi replied.  Before Kratos realized it, Kenpachi was right up in his face.  

 

"Because he is your ally.  Because I want to know where you stand," Kratos challenged.  

 

"My convictions ain't changed, Kratos.  You fought him once.  Once.  Don't start gettin' the idea that you know him better than I do," Kenpachi disputed.

 

"And if he has betrayed you?" Kratos queried.

 

Kenpachi stopped, his fists pulsating with pain.  He looked over his shoulder at Kratos and replied.  "Then I'll kill 'em.  Him, and anybody else on the other side of that God damn painting who thinks it's fine by me if they turn their backs on us."  Kenpachi took a slow walk towards the portal, the music still playing loudly over the occupants of the Hallway.  "Besides.  I have no mercy for traitors.  Why do you think I wasn't gonna hesitate to cut Arthuria's throat?"  Yachiru climbed atop Kenpachi's shoulder as he marched towards the strange painting.

 

"Big guy!" Revy called after him.

 

Kenpachi paused where he was, waiting for Revy's next words.

 

"We're allies.  We're in this together right?  You, me, Kratos, your friend there on your shoulder.  And all these people here.  We're in this together.  Aren't we?" Revy queried.

 

Kenpachi shook his head and tightened the eye-patch on his face.  "If you're naive enough to believe that, then you won't last much longer, Revy."  Kenpachi turned around to face the blood-covered woman.

 

"What's that supposed to--" Revy began.

 

"If you think for one second anybody other than Kratos gives a damn about you, you're wrong.  We've got a common goal.  But we're not friends.  We ain't buddies.  We ain't pals.  So don't get caught up in thinkin' we're just gonna party up over there and everything is gonna be peachy," Kenpachi explained.  "I got three things to do once we get on the other side:  figure out what Kuchiki is doing, keep the Key outta the hands of the wrong people, and get me and Yachiru home.  That's it."  

 

Revy folded her arms.  "I don't know what's gotten into you all of a sudden, but that's pretty cold considering those guys just saved your life."

 

Kenpachi glanced to Nero and Alexander, then back to Revy.  "And I'm grateful.  Maybe I buy 'em a drink if they aren't dead after this.  But that doesn't mean I'm suddenly willing to cut them in on my life and become friends.  That's not how this works."

 

"Then how does it work?  Because I was under the impression we could all work together and take down that jack-off you call your friend who just waltzed out with the key," Revy rebutted.

 

"Hey!  You have no fuckin' clue--" Kenpachi began to march towards Revy angrily.

 

Kratos immediately stood in Revy's way, his hand on the large blade he was still carrying.  "You're right Kenpachi," Kratos said, still holding the hilt of the holy weapon.  "We are not friends.  But we do have a common enemy.  Those who seek to destroy our worlds with the Key.  We will fight side by side until they are defeated.  Then, you may return to your world, and never concern yourself with us again."

 

Kenpachi calmed himself, nodding at Kratos.  "Good.  Then I look forward to figuring out the truth on the other side.  And once it's all said and done, I'll be waiting for the day you finally die.  I'll usher that rotten soul of yours into my world, where we can settle this once and for all."  With no further words, Kenpachi cautiously stepped over to the painting and pushed himself and Yachiru inside.  Kratos and Revy followed not long after, albeit a bit more hesitantly.  Revy pulled Kratos by his arm before he could cross over.

 

"If he turns on us, what will you do?" she asked.

 

"I will drive my blade into his heart and bury him beside his convictions," Kratos declared.  Stepping through to the other side of the painting, Kratos disappeared.  Revy followed slowly, and she too crossed the threshold.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Uhh, long story short, Arturia is dead, and I'm pretty sure you did it with that lance thing you hit her with. It's hard to explain what happened next but one of our guys went crazy, and then passed out, I think."

 

Koishi locked her gaze to Lydia for a moment before struggling to get up, whispering a soft 'thank you' to her. Her body was still suffering from the strain of using Recollection with the absurd scale earlier, but slowly but surely she regained her strength, at least enough for her to sit and rest herself on a nearby rock.

 

Arturia was dead. Truth to be told, using Recollection on her made Koishi saw way more of her than she would have liked. In the end, as much as she tried her best to hate Arturia for what she did to Yukari, Koishi still couldn't bring herself to feel that way towards her. She wondered about what Yukari would've said, seeing her like this. Didn't she feel the same way towards her, once upon a time? After all, Koishi was part of the reason the world Yukari cherished so much to end. Where was she now? The battle's over already, surely she would be here so Koishi could talk to her, so she could stop worrying about her, right?

 

Her third eye closed for a bit, locking her in a state where she's not utilizing either of her normal state. Even if she felt that she would need to read people's mind to see what had she missed, she was just too mentally tired to do it. And then, the pathway guide appeared. Or not. He invited everyone to meet his master. So this was the end. It was so close. She was so close, so close to restore the world that Yukari and her sister loved. That was what they wanted, right?

 

"I got two questions for you. First is what's your name? And the other is "can you walk?" Cause, it seems like it's really, really important for us to follow that guy."

 

"I...my name is Koishi. I think I can still walk, I'm a youkai after all...we recover pretty fast. And we're so close to the end...I can't just stay here, right?"

 

Giving the girl that helped her a weak smile, Koishi struggled for a bit and resorted to use her tentacles so she could steady herself. After waiting for a bit so she could give herself enough focus so she could actually walk, she then extended her hand to Lydia.

 

"Thanks for helping me, Lydia. All these fighting, it makes me really tired. I'd like it if I can stop now, but that man had the key Yukari tried so hard to protect. Let's go catch him and end this, that's what needs to be done now, right?"

 

This was what Yukari really wanted, right? Even now, even with Koishi being able to read the gap youkai's heart, she still was unable to understand her. Still, at least she still could dream that she understood her and now act on her wish. Ah, some people liked it a bit too much to make themselves seem mysterious and all that. Once all of this was said and done, Yukari would surely explain her wish.

 

"Lydia, what do you wish to do here? What dream you might have to be here?"

 

---

[Super Chaos Sonic]

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

 

"Thank you, Key Wielder."

 

"Not a problem." Nero nodded, letting his X-Blade and Divine Remnant Keyblade vanish from his hands for a moment. He also hoped that the Curaga also healed enough of the others that were around them, that way things would be a bit easier for them for later.

 

Of course, it wasn't long before Kenpachi got up and Nero chuckled at what Yachiru immediately called him as: the one holding the Key to every city hall ever. A slight snicker was heard, as he shrugged a bit. At least she knew who she was talking about at least.

 

"I remember you. You're uh. . .one of Sora's . . .friends?  I know ya both got the key n' stuff.  Aaaaanyway, thanks uh. . . what was your name?  Ned?  Neo?  Fabio?  I remember 'e-o' but that's about it. Thanks for the help, kid.  Helping Yachiru means a lot to me."

 

"I-It's...N-Nero...!" Nero had time to say, as Kenpachi was literally shaking him like a ragdoll at this point from the handshake. "A-And n-n-no problem...K-Kenpachi...!" he finished, taking a few breaths after Kenpachi finished shaking his hand like he did. J-Jeez...and Sora...d-deals with that a lot...? he thought, shaking his head a bit, standing upright. Still...least that Arthuria is down. Sad that she couldn't see past her own twisted interpretation of what a king was...

 

 

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

 

”Congratulations. Because of all your efforts, the Pendragon has found peace. With the death of the Pendragon, you of the Counter Corps are no longer shackled to a false truth. She was traveling on a pathway to self-destruction. But in the end, she realized the error of her ways. In the name of our lord, I ensured that her mind would never change again...now the Key is exactly where it should be.”

 

Truth be told, nothing that Byakuya was saying was making a lick of sense for him. Of course, the Pendragon things were obviously true, but at the same time, he couldn't help but wonder if there was still a bit of something being missed or overlooked for this whole thing. And what was he meaning that the Key was exactly where it should be?

 

To Nero, this was becoming a long on going mystery that truly needed to be solved now. But he was cut from his thoughts as Byakuya spoke again.

 

”My lord has been trapped, observing, waiting. As she has done for a long, long time now. Patience, young sheep. Your salvation comes soon. At the Door of Origin, my lord shall welcome you with open arms. There, you will receive all the answers that you have longed for. We shall await you with open arms.”

 

And with that, along with an odd device playing some music, Byakuya just walked into this strange painting...urging them to follow.

 

However Nero didn't start walking, rather he kept near Kenpachi and Yachiru. Safety in numbers, plus at the same time, the warrior did seem like he might need more healing if need be. Though all the while, he kept feeling his right foot tapping in time with the beat of the music that flowed through the hallway.

 

Why...am I doing that? Nero thought, doing his best to stop tapping his foot. Maybe the song just had a nice beat to it or something. Then again, his mind came back to those golden plates...specifically the one with his name. There was another name there...or rather a few of them, but there was a bold definitive name at the end of the list. He wondered about that...while at the same time wondering why his damned foot wouldn't stop tapping to the music.

 

It wasn't long before he noticed that Kratos moved towards Kenpachi and the two began to "talk". Talk being the relative term there...more like...arguing now. Though throughout the arguing conversation...Nero heard Kenpachi say something after Revy did...

 

"If you think for one second anybody other than Kratos gives a damn about you, you're wrong. We've got a common goal. But we're not friends. We ain't buddies.  We ain't pals. So don't get caught up in thinkin' we're just gonna party up over there and everything is gonna be peachy. I got three things to do once we get on the other side: figure out what Kuchiki is doing, keep the Key outta the hands of the wrong people, and get me and Yachiru home. That's it."  

 

"I don't know what's gotten into you all of a sudden, but that's pretty cold considering those guys just saved your life."

 

"And I'm grateful. Maybe I buy 'em a drink if they aren't dead after this. But that doesn't mean I'm suddenly willing to cut them in on my life and become friends. That's not how this works."

 

Nero was pretty astonished from how things were going. It literally ended with Kenpachi and Yachiru just going through the painting. As they walked into the painting, Nero only sighed heavily before shaking his head. It was obvious that they did things differently in their own universes and worlds. Nero only walked towards the painting, his hands in his pockets.

 

Master? Will you be alright? Nero stopped as he heard Divine Remnant's voice, seeing his spirit beside him. Kenpachi seemed to have...in no other certain words, told you off. Will you be alright?

 

A small smile only appeared on Nero's face before nodding slowly. "Yeah. I'm actually alright Remnant. To be perfectly honest...the old me probably would've beat how important having friends and allies around them is, without knowing the full story. ...But right now, I can obviously tell that Kenpachi is troubled. That guy...I think Kenpachi is worried about what has become of his ally. And while he doesn't want to say anything...I know he isn't wanting to just take down his friend like we did with Arthuria."

 

Still... Remnant continued. What if Kratos makes good on his promise to end him? What will you do then?

 

Nero only removed his hand from his pocket and began to rub the back of his neck. "Honestly...I don't know what I'd do. I don't know either of them fully well to know how to handle them. But...I'm damn well sure that Sora can probably fix that problem." he said, glancing behind him. Of course, the Keyblade Master he spoke of was still not here. "I can only hope that I can do what I can to quell their arguing long enough for him to get here. And if things do happen that Kratos does that...I'll do what I've always done. I'll help those who need it."

 

Master...well...you are such a strange wielder. Remnant shook his head slightly. Then again, I'd be disappointed if I was stuck with anyone else who wasn't as strange.

 

"That better be a compliment." Nero chuckled, watching the spirit of his Keyblade fade. With a deep breath, he moved towards the painting and walked through. Sora...you better get your ass here soon. Otherwise I don't know what will happen between them. ...Or if I'll be able to stop them. he thought.

[Kingdom Xathers]

---

Alexander - Being shaken (not stirred) by Kenpachi's handshake (Moments Before)

---

 

"AaaaAAAAnnyYYYy tIIIIiiIIIimmmmeee, KeeEEEennpAAAaachIIIIiiIIIIIiiiIIII~!!!" Alexander yelped as he was ragdolled up and down by Kenpachi's otherwise friendly handshake. Alexander's entire being was still vibrating by the time Kenpachi finally ceased his handshake, the lombax being at least appreciative that the Soul Reaper hadn't opted to give him a hug like Hapshiel did. Taking a moment to catch his breath, Alexander left out a quiet sigh as his mood became a bit more somber. "Right... I do have something to tell you two, Kenpachi, Yachiru....

 

"... it's about--"

 

[[insert appearance from Byakuya and whatnot, I am too lazy to bother editing the whole thing into here =S]]

 

“... well, THAT,” Alexander pointed out as soon as Byakuya left, “was what I was gonna talk to you guys about.” He heaved a heavy sigh as he forced himself to add the dreaded explanation: “Somehow, I ended up with the Key in my possession, and Arturia tried to isolate me from the others so that she could take it from me. I managed to talk her out of destroying the Key, and she was ready to have a complete change of heart and everything, but… but then Byakuya appeared and struck her down, then demanded the Key from me next. Neos and Gemini tried to help, too, but in the end the whole situation was… literally out of my hands. Byakuya escaped with the Key….”

 

The expression on Kenpachi’s face was suddenly very unpleasant. “You tellin’ me Kuchiki is a traitor? That what you’re sayin’?” Kenpachi asked, watching Alexander.

 

Yachiru tugged at Kenpachi’s legs. “Kenny.” This forced him to take a breath, but Kenpachi’s look didn’t change. His eyes were narrowed, his hair stood on edge (more so than normal), and his fists were clenched tightly.

 

“That’s a guy who’s sole purpose in his life is to uphold the law and to maintain his pride. Him turnin’ traitor would betray that,” Kenpachi growled through gritted teeth.

 

“Kenny!” Yachiru snapped at him.

 

“But,” Kenpachi said at last. “Until I can see it for my own eyes, I won’t assume anything. Not about Arthuria’s death, and not about him.” Kenpachi folded his arms.

 

“I understand,” Alexander nodded solemnly. “Whatever the case may be, I hope that we can get Byakuya back, wherever he is or whatever has gotten into him. Rest assured, you have my support should you need it, Kenpachi. You too, Yachiru.”

 

“You’ve given me enough support,” Kenpachi said, turning towards the painting. “Now we need to get the job done.”

 

"I--wha--Hapshiel, what--?!" Alexander stammered as the overly buff Archangel swooped by and scooped the lombax up without ceremony or explanation, carrying him off away from the two Spirit Reapers. "Uhh, good talking to ya, Kenpachi~!" Alexander called out as he was carried away elsewhere, with the large Spirit Reaper giving a slight wave without turning around.

 

---

The rest of Team Lombax (A Moment Before the Previous Moment Before)

---

 

"It looks like Atsuko is about ready to disturb the proverbial "hornet's nest"," Clank expressed his observation to the rest of the group, having taken note of how long the young Fudo had been glaring up at Kyros, her expression slowly growing more agitated and furious all the while.

 

"Should we, uh, distract her for a while?" Ratchet suggested, his ears picking up on a low, bestial growl rumbling within Atsuko's throat.

 

"I've got a laser pointer," Umbris chimed in as he pulled out said device from seemingly nowhere.

 

"And I've a better idea," Gabriel spoke up as he strode up next to Atsuko's wheelchair, his gaze also fixed upon Kyros. "I believe we'd all like some answers, and I'm hoping you're able enough to give them," he called out to the man floating upon the Orichalcos Circle. "So, care to indulge us, Kyros?"

 

"That’s a touch direct isn’t it?” Red uttered in response to Gabriel's very forward approach to the situation.

 

The gaunt, zombie-like face of Kyros slowly turned to look down towards Gabriel and Atsuko, silently staring with lightless eyes. After fifteen whole seconds of silent staring, Kyros seemed to have reached a conclusion as he lowered himself closer to Gabe and Atsuko's level, though still keeping roughly 15 feet away from them. "... ... I... shall indulge...," Kyros hoarsely acknowledged. "The Leviathan... ... shall allow us... some time...."

 

"Like we've need of its permission," Atsuko angrily scoffed through her scowl, as her three Knights appeared by her side, along with Russell Oxford. The four Summoned beings looked about ready to assault Kyros, whether by Atsuko's command or by their own volition.

 

"Everyone, stay calm," Gabriel urged Atsuko and her monsters. "We need to come at this with a clear head."

 

"No offense, Gabe," Carla Bellerose retorted calmly, her chain sword tightly gripped in hand as her gaze was fixed on the man before them, "but it's kinda hard to remain calm in the presence of the man who is ultimately responsible for our world going to sheet."

 

"Not like us three former Swordsmen of the Orichalcos didn't have a hand in it as well," Lucas Matthews chimed in, "but you're right about one thing: that whole mess started with "our dear, beloved" Archetype Earth's father."

 

"Please don't use the words "dear", "beloved" and "Archetype Earth" in the same sentence ever again," Russell gagged, "I don't care if it's even as a joke."

 

"The question that requires a response now," Syria joined in, "is the "why". Why was it that the man who would ultimately become Sayer offer his only daughter to the Leviathan? What was the motivation, if any? And what--if he himself may elucidate--was his true morality up until that moment?"

 

"Honestly this feels like such a waste of time," Atsuko huffed again, arms folded in front of her chest.

 

"Still, this may be the last opportunity we have to get the whole story," Gabriel sighed.

 

"Then you may wanna use this, to be sure," Umbris spoke up as he approached the "Return of the Orichalcos Reunion Group" with a set of golden scales in his hands.

 

“The Millennium Scale…?” Atsuko blurted out, momentarily distracted from her anger towards Kyros.

 

“That’s right,” Umbris confirmed. “It was part of the care package you brought along for us. And that’s not all,” he added as something began to rustle beneath his cape.

 

“Kuriiiii~!” chirped a winged brown fuzzball as it emerged from within Umbris’ cape, zooming over and happily rubbing its body against Atsuko’s face.

 

“Apparently, Winged Kuriboh was once used in conjunction with the Millennium Scale and the Feather of Ma’at to weigh and judge the hearts of man,” Umbris explained as he handed the Scale to Gabriel, then called Winged Kuriboh back over with a clip of his tongue. “I figure that this would be as good a time as any to use it, as it’ll help us, among other things, to see if Kyros will be telling the truth.”

 

“That’s all well and good,” Lucas spoke up, “but you seem to be missing a key ingredient in this whole--oh,” the Knight ceased as, with an audible “POP”, Winged Kuriboh had expelled a single, pure white feather from its unseen mouth. “... I can admit when I stand corrected.”

 

The white feather slowly descended into Gabriel’s hand, its purity and holiness very evident to the Alchemic Luchador. This was, evidently, the Feather of Ma’at. They had all they needed to interrogate Kyros, to try and get the full story… and yet something in the back of his mind gave him pause. “... how will we know if Kyros will be the one answering?” he realized. “How do we know that it won’t be the Leviathan giving us the answers, or even influence the answers Kyros gives us? Would that not affect how the Scale works?”

 

“Ugh… of course, the obvious snag,” Russell facepalmed in agreement with Gabriel’s realization.

 

“... well, if my interfering with this interrogation is your primary concern,” a dark, reverberating voice radiated from Kyros’ direction, addressing the group, “then perhaps the one you should be interrogating... is me.” Kyros’ eyes widened and suddenly became blank and dull before his head slumped forward, just as a sinister, shadowy shape appeared rippling behind him, its glowing yellow eyes staring intently, sharply, at them. “I do not mind giving you the answers you seek. After all, with the end imminent, it would be superfluous to rehearse a fabrication. Also, just a very kind suggestion from myself, but it would not be wise to have your Winged Kuriboh weigh my heart--the poor soul would be absolutely overcome by my… essence.”

 

“You’re so kind,” Carla scoffed sarcastically.

 

The Leviathan’s shadowy head chuckled darkly. “But of course--what need would I have of corrupting such an insignificant speck?”

 

 

“Ku-WRYYYYYYYYYY!!!” Winged Kuriboh protested with an uncharacteristically demonic shriek.

 

“Damn jabroni, chill. LOL” “But enough playing around, I suppose,” the Leviathan calmly smirked, actually finding Winged Kuriboh’s out-of-character moment somewhat amusing. “I’m sure you all would rather I get to the heart of the matter.”

 

“Yes, please, before our writer gets left behind by the others,” Lucas nodded.

 

“I agree,” the Leviathan acknowledged. “Simply put: this broken man you see before you, Kyros, was a devoted, caring sort. Model citizen, decent human being, yadda-yadda. But, his devotion towards his own daughter was motivated in part by fear--fear of losing her, like he had lost his wife years before. So, the man attempted everything he could to protect her, ensure her safety and well-being. These attempts included isolating her from the rest of Atlantis, and the world--”

 

“TOLD YOU!!” Jeanne called out from off-screen.

 

“Jeanne, shush!” Bayonetta admonished her friend, trying to listen in on the exposition with as few interruptions as possible.

 

“Honestly, though,” Red suggested, “would it not be a good idea to join Gabriel’s group for this info dump?” Without answer or ceremony, Red began to forcibly herd the group closer towards the discussion in progress. Except for Hapshiel, who chose to fetch Alexander away from Kenpachi and Yachiru with the same amount of ceremony and reunite him with the rest of Team Lombax.

 

“Everyone comfortable, now?” the Leviathan dryly asked as soon as Team Lombax and Co. had all been assembled before him. “Now, where was I--ahh... yes… the moment of Reatrey’s corruption…,” the wicked deity continued, ignoring the faint, pained moaning coming from the twitching face of the catatonic Kyros. “A being whose soul was once so pure and innocent… to witness its transition to one of pure darkness was nothing short of exquisite. And all it took was to convince Kyros--who was struggling to fight off his own corruption so as not to inadvertently hurt his own daughter--that having her swallow the Orichalcos Stone would protect her from the monsters that the Atlanteans had become.”

 

♫♪"Sinister Consequences" ("Scarlet Boss Battle"/Silent Hill Homecoming Soundtrack)♪♫

 

“... you took advantage of him at his most vulnerable…,” Red uttered slowly, a fire both figurative and literal burning steadily in the pit of his stomach. “You saw his desperation and chose to manipulate him at a moment when he couldn't even SAVE HIMSELF!!”

 

“And yet you beguiled him with sweet nothings like some saintly god,” Hapshiel added, his eyebrow and glistening muscles convulsing with subtle, restrained anger. “It pains me to know you so callously abused a man's love for his daughter for your own selfish ends"

 

“”Sweet nothings”?” the Leviathan’s shadow repeated, the outline of a smirk etched into its ethereal shape. “Now now, Archangel. I may have brought ruination to the City of Atlantis, that is true, but I never once lied to Kyros about the salvation of his daughter; had she not been offered to me, she would have surely been eviscerated by the monstrous citizens of Atlantis, especially her own father, whose own will was waning ever-so-gradually.”

 

“And yet look at what that “salvation” caused instead,” Atsuko hissed furiously, her own body trembling in her wheelchair as her anger was reaching its boiling point. Yet she wasn’t so much addressing the Leviathan as she was addressing Kyros, who was now the focus of her oncoming rant: “Look at how your misguided desire to save your daughter turned out, Kyros! She had her future stolen from her by that abomination! She became another PAWN in the Leviathan’s plan! She turned ME! into a MONSTER!! just like HER!! and YOU!!! She did to me what YOU did to HER, and you think any of us should feel SORRY for you?!?!’

 

“Atsuko!” Russell yelped as he grabbed onto the flailing Atsuko, trying to keep the young woman to remain in her chair lest she topple herself over. “Atsuko, you’re gonna--AHH!” a pained gasp escaped his mouth as claws poked out of the mitt covering her right hand and began digging themselves into Russell’s forearm. “Atsuko--NNG!--please, you gotta stay calm--”

 

“funk STAYING CALM, RUSSELL!! I HAVE EVERY GODDAMNED RIGHT TO BE PISSED--AAAHH--!!” Atsuko gagged suddenly, her body seizing into a vibrating rigor, her breath becoming hoarse and shallow.

 

“ATSUKO!” Gabriel gasped fearfully, watching as the young woman was experiencing what appeared to be a seizure or a panic attack, with Russell still holding her tightly so as to keep her calm.

 

A dark cackle reverberated from the Leviathan’s shadowy form, one full of evil mirth and anticipation. “Ah, yessss, your progression is coming along quite nicely, child of Itsu Fudo,” the Leviathan purred. “You will make a fine vessel for the Great Leviathan in due time--”

 

“Bastard, you won’t get the chance,” Jeanne seethed.

 

“Oh, but there will always be a chance, my dear. As long as there are fools with desires in their hearts, and are desperate enough to go through the lengths to see them come to fruition, I will ALWAYS have the chance to rise…!” the Great Leviathan declared. “In fact, there are many such fools here, right now. Fools such as yourselves…!”

 

“Excuse the funk outta YOU?!” Umbris blurted out incredulously.

 

“There is no denying it, you all know it to be true,” the Great Leviathan avowed, its shadowy smirk growing wider into a grin. “You all wish to use the power of the Door of Origin to reclaim what has been lost, and you each have your own, personal reasons, desires, that you would give ANYTHING to have them realized. Your homes, your friends, lovers, family--”

 

“THAT’S ENOUGH!!” Alister furiously hissed.

 

“What’s the matter, Azimuth?” the Leviathan taunted. “Does the truth hurt? After all, you of all people should know firsthand how striving for one’s desires can have such unforeseen, dire consequences, no matter what the intention… hmm?” the Wicked Deity became somewhat perplexed by Alister’s sequence of expressions, having gone from wide-eyes fury, to a scrunch face with shut eyes, the trembling subsiding as the features of his face softened, before finally opening his eyes again, tears running from them yet otherwise giving the Leviathan a calm, focused glare. A calmer expression than the Leviathan had expected, or hoped. “What’s this…? You think you can suppress your emotions and that will be enough to deny the truth?”

 

“I’m not denying anything,” Alister returned in a calm tone, breathing as steadily as possible. “I am simply keeping myself in check, so as not to fly off in a fit of anger. I’ve not much experience in doing so, but it’s something I’ve been working on.”

 

“Oh, how precious. You’re acting much like a child being forced to behave,” the Leviathan observed. “Or is this part of that “influence” that your Other Selves tend to have over you? Oh well, it matters not--your passion and determination will eventually rise and cloud your judgment, as it has many a time before. Heroes or not, your desires will bring you to your own ruination… … a thought has occurred to me, however,” the Leviathan began to muse after a brief pause. “Two, in fact:

 

"Those of you who have gone through this war, and these Pathways... I sense that many of you may have actually benefited from the events that have transpired over these past few years days. I'm actually quite curious to see how this will affect your decisions going forward towards the end....

 

"That said... those whose hearts are guided not by their own desires, yet instead bleed for the sake of many others… they are the kind of bloom--a bloom of light and hope--that should be weeded out….”

 

A blinding flash and a deafening BOOM erupted, disorienting the entirety of Team Lombax & Co.. As soon as they could all see and hear again, Kyros and the Leviathan were nowhere to be seen.

 

“... because of funking course they would,” Ratchet grumbled irritably, trying to blink the last of the flashing stars from his eyes.

 

“Told you… it was… a waste of time…,” Atsuko sputtered out between breaths, shaken after her ordeal yet otherwise okay. “... … sorry about your arm, Russell,” she added in apology to her guardian.

 

“Eh, just a flesh wound, I’ll live,” Russell brushed it off with a slight smile as Gabriel got to work on tending to the quarter-inch-deep gashes in his forearm.

 

“Well, if nothing else, this just affirms that the Leviathan is still a major player, and threat, in this whole mess,” Bayonetta surmised.

 

“Which means we’ll have to take him down, too,” Umbris nodded, “along with whatever else is beyond that portrait.”

 

“And through that portrait we’ll have to go,” Jeanne added, “if we are to put an end to this whole nightmare.”

 

With nothing further to do in the Hallway of Origin, the group made their way towards the portrait, many feelings swirling within each of their hearts, but one especially taking the forefront of them all:

 

 

 

HOPE

[The Warden]

Lydia sighed with relief as the girl called Koishi stood, in spite of needing to use tentacles to do so. (Well she IS Japanese.) "Thanks for helping me, Lydia. All these fighting, it makes me really tired. I'd like it if I can stop now, but that man had the key Yukari tried so hard to protect. Let's go catch him and end this, that's what needs to be done now, right?"

 

"Yeah," Lydia said in agreement, "I think I'm pretty tired too, but... there's one more fight ahead of us. So let's go get that guy who I think has the Key, and... let's go beat Isamy as well while we're at it."

 

Keeping a watchful eye on Koishi as she moved slowly forward, the young yokai just had to ask something. "Lydia, what do you wish to do here? What dream you might have to be here?"

 

"What do I wish for?" the sorceress repeated. "I think I've heard that several times today. But, aside from beating whoever's left to beat, really, I just want to know the multiverse or omniverse or whatever we're calling it is alright and the damage done to it can be fixed. Really... just so long as I know my world, my family, and my friends are alright, I can go join the Throne of Heroes without a single regret. That's all I feel like wishing for right now."

 

Feeling about ten pounds lighter, the sorceress and the yokai stood before the portrait. And without a word Lydia took Koishi by the hand, and the two went beyond the veil.

[Reinforce]

Chandra

 

"Fairly certain you'd like something other than the hard ground to lay on, though,"

 

Groaning as Jace mentioned the griffin now standing beside her, she slowly stood back up and climbed onto the creature. She got herself comfortable just in time to see the self-proclaimed 'guide to the hallway' show back up, taking the key with him as he spoke of a lord and of their former leader finding peace. As he stepped to the portal, she was still close enough to catch Jace's faintly whispered words, and the identity of said lord. Urging the griffin on, she flew directly through the portal, experiencing a brief sensation of absolute sensory deprivation that nonetheless reminded her of the blind eternities. The low whisper of the same name she'd just heard come from Jace's lips also came to her, on her way through the gap, before she was dropped out the other side, still mounted on the griffin she'd been provided.

 

---

 

Ayame

 

"I'm glad you survived and doing well too. Is that your friend?"

 

"Yeah, this is Naomi, my oldest and dearest of friends."

 

Beside her, the slightly transparent girl giggled, before cutting off her song to speak once more.

 

"It's good to meet one of the few people Ayame's actually talked to through the paths."

 

Turning to look at her friend, she continued to speak, this bit directly to Ayame though.

 

"I'm not going to last in this state much longer though, being nearly out of energy as I am. Just, before the magic sustaining this temporary existance fades, I won't blame you in any way if you fail, the task you've taken upon yourself is so momentously huge that I simply can't envision anyone succeeding at it easily. So cherish the friends you've made here, and don't let my death make you close your heart off from making more friends."

 

With that last bit said, Naomi's form started to fade away, returning to the vaguely black and white energy that'd made it in the first place. Before it could fade completely though, Ayame's hand, shimmering in darkness, curled around the vanishing mana, drawing it into her own body instead of letting it simply fade away. Inside her reality marble, a shimmering coffin, holding an ethereal form came into existence, untouched by the storm around it. With a sombre look on her face, Ayame stood back up, walking with Kazyua towards the portrait that'd been made into a portal.

 

---

 

Darcy

 

I will try my best in that regard. I also need to keep as much energy as I could so I can contribute more. Not having a nearly-infinite pool of energy is a pain, isn't it? At least you have that relic with you now.

 

Yeah, having limited energy reserves is a pain to deal with, but thankfully something I've always had as an issue, even if mine are fairly large on their own. Still, that relic will likely come in use, even if I do have to power it with my own magic.

 

Just after she'd finished saying that, Byakuya Kuchiki reappeared, key in hand, and proceeded to walk directly towards her, a sudden spark of magic freezing her in place as he continued to her, before grabbing one of the tablets nearby and reading a passage from it.

 

”Personality. Like her two sisters, Darcy demonstrates a sadistic personality… She does miss her sisters, but is determined to make the most of what's happening and wants to see if she can find a way to reunite with them when…”

 

Her eyes widened as she recognized the contents of the tablet, the very one describing her. As he dropped the tablet and passed her by, she drew her own magic up to dissolve and drain the bind that was put on her, not freeing herself quickly enough to have a go at stopping him, but at least taking the power he'd put into the bind and drawing it to top herself off a bit more. With the darkness turning into an image, she could at least get the idea that it would be a portal of sorts, though it's end location still escaped her. Walking the last few steps that would take her to the portal, she stepped through. On the way through, she could feel a brief but complete lack of sensory data, a sense of utter irrelevance in comparison to the void she'd seemingly stepped into. At the same time, there was a feel similar to her own ability to move across dimensions, as if she wasn't moving across space but through the fabric of reality. In the last few moments before she reached the destination, the void whispered a single name to her, that of the girl she'd been following since the beginning of this war, Isamy.

[Phantom Roxas]

Previously…

 

[spoiler=Death and the Healing]

[Remembrance C8] - Counter Corps vs Protheus Maximus

Protheus Maximus watched the ragtag Counter Corps team from a safe distance, beginning to wave his hands about, as though performing some tribal dance. It seemed purposeless at first, but soon became clear that he was actually releasing excess amounts of mana into the surrounding air. In this manner, he’d accelerated the time it took for him to cast powerful sorceries, anticipating that they would attempt to engage him directly. Somehow, the team had managed to not only disable both his Charmers of Wind and Fire, but also destroy his backup blade, Pure Edge. It was certainly annoying, yet still far from crippling. Perhaps he should’ve expected it; in the Origin War, both sides brought countless warriors with gimmicks to gain an edge over the other, so naturally they’d have a better chance at him than worlds alone.

 

He observed his opponents, preparing for the next round. Alongside the two Egyptian Gods, Eria had apparently summoned some sort of Leviathan. Sora and Kairi remained in their fused Master Form. Arthur stood, prepared for combat with MirageGaogamon, who’d entered Burst Mode - come to think of it, the Digimon had only escaped his sword after Arthur’s Keyblade glowed. He speculated whether there was a connection between the two. Could there be one? As he recalled back to his time as Viligance, the two had been practically inseparable, more than familiar with one another from the moment they entered Isamy’s Castle. A Digidestined Keyblader, then…? No, that was a too ridiculous combination to hold any plausibility.

 

In any case, none of the three Keybladers could get close to him with their meager magicks, MirageGaogamon’s digital gimmick had been worn out, and he’d fought too many magicians to place any worry on Eria. The only real threats were Ra and Slifer, but as it happened, he had the perfect trump card for them should they continue to pester him.

 

“Well.” At last, Protheus broke the tense silence with a casual comment. “Let’s get this over with, shall we? Here’s how a real sorcerer does things. Kuk! Reshep! Speos! Shu!”

 

Having concluded his charging, the man thrust his arms up into the air as he chanted four Egyptian spells. From there, intense amounts of mana channeled from his hands, various elements firing outward, each spell powerful yet condensed, more for piercing through their targets rather than obliterating them outright - two beams of darkness coursed up into the sky before arcing downwards onto the Master Form Sora and Arthur respectively. Even as Sora and Arthur protected themselves with their own Reflect spells, the darkness punctured through the shells like paper and into their arms. Just barely keeping the Keyblades in their grips, Sora and Arthur doubled over. The beam was pure energy, concentrated onto a single point, yet they could feel as if their entire bodies were burning from the inside out.

 

Two beams of lightning made a direct path towards Eria and her Leviathan, shooting across the air with a crackling thunder. The Leviathan circled around Eria as she formed a wall of ice, yet the lightning shattered the ice as quickly as it had appeared, each beam shooting straight through the Leviathan. Sparks began to steam over the Leviathan’s mechanical body, while Eria began to form more ice around herself and the Eidolon.

 

A beam of pure mana dived down into the snow, becoming a drill as it made its way towards MirageGaogamon from below. Without any obvious elemental weaknesses and no access to Virus-type attacks, it would have to be a simple test of strength and tactics to eliminate the Digimon. MirageGaogamon swung his flail, slamming the spiked ball against the drill, yet the drill spun faster than he could have anticipated, repelling the flail with ease. MirageGaogamon ducked, the beam continuing on its path, but the sheer force of the beam sent a shockwave against MirageGaogamon. For a moment, MirageGaogamon considered countering the next beam with a Full Moon Blaster, but that would only leave himself wide open for the next attack delivering a more decisive blow.

 

And last of all, having taken a different approach for the most troublesome opponents, two beams from the surrounding cold air danced across the sky. The beams took their time as they made their way to the two gods. Upon proximity, instead of hitting them outright, the beams scattered into fog right before their eyes to blind them; a parasitic fog that ‘attached’ itself to their heads. Slifer and Ra both howled, but not in pain. There was an anger in their cries that was, in its own way, perhaps more satisfying to the sorcerer than if they have simply been pierced by the teams. As Ra gathered flames in his mouth, Slifer turned his head. ”Hold Your fire! You cannot see the others, so they might get caught in the middle of Your attack as well!”

 

Ra’s eyes seared, flames burning against the fog. Still it persisted, holding out against the ridiculous might of the Winged Dragon, clinging to His golden scales as it drew in from the surrounding cold air to maintain the obscurance. It was more than cold air - it was a curse of blinding. Eventually, much of the air would be too warm to create fog, but until then the sorcerer had a window of opportunity.

 

“Ah yes. Perhaps I should have mentioned this, my lords… As with Keyblade Warriors, I have also slain gods before. Do tell me, do you recognize it? The magic of your own people?” Protheus uttered, smiling in satisfaction at the sight of their struggling. “I grew up worshipping your like, but as I came to find out, the three great Egyptian Gods were nothing more than overgrown beasts. I won’t lie. It was disappointing.”

 

Then he turned his attention to the others, who had just managed to resist his attacks. Not about to let up on the assault, he focused more mana into his next wave, now temporarily freed from worrying about the gods. ”Kuk! Reshep! Speos!”

 

Again, thrusting his hands forth, elemental beams were fired out with increased intensity. Dual beams of darkness arcing down from the sky to take on the main Keybladers, aiming for their hearts. Dual streaks of lightning shooting towards Eria’s ice defense, intending to electrocute her and her Eidolon to death. And two drilled beams burrowing into the snow, this time opting to take on the Digimon from differing directions to make dodging more difficult. It was immediately clear that, if they remained on the defensive - and took on his attacks individually - he would be more than glad to whittle them down until they were too exhausted to mount any significant counters.

 

Before Arthur could react, Sora already cast a much more powerful defense over him - Reflega. The shield still shattered as soon as the beam made contact, but Arthur was pushed aside, just barely missing the beam. Defenseless, Sora was struck by the beam aimed at him, while the beam originally meant for Arthur hit Sora instead. His right arm went limp, as one of the Keyblades fell from his grip, vanishing as it hit the floor.

 

Preparing for the force of each spinning beam, MirageGaogamon stretched the chain until each end was in his hand. His body spun like a tornado, with the spiked ball slamming against a beam once more, while the sickle sliced through it. In the middle of his spin, the beams continued undeterred, spiraling through his shoulders.

 

The Leviathan continued to defend Eria, but even its body was not enough to withstand the beams, as shot through Eria’s left leg. Eria’s body convulsed as the electricity coursed through her, her body only barely standing still again as she cast a Cure spell. ”We can only do so much against him.” Arthur and Sora’s Reflect spells had been reliable, yet Protheus made it clear that they were worthless. They needed to try something else.

 

“You children put up a valiant effort, but if you fall this easily to beamspamming… Then I must say your powerlessness to raw power is hilarious.” Protheus smirked, gazing at them as he raised his arms once more. They were certainly doing considerably better than previous enemies had against his spells, each of which was meant to be fatal, but the matter remained that they were mere mid-tier warriors, possessing gimmicks that could do virtually nothing against enough strength.

 

He eyed the two blinded gods, understanding that he had a few minutes left to finish the pests off, before advancing on with the third wave. ”Kuk-”

 

As soon as Protheus began to declare the name of the spells, Eria called out to him. ”Stop!” Despite the fact that it wouldn’t possibly work, he found himself pausing, ever so slightly, as the word strangely got to him. Had he simply been surprised at how she’d even bothered to try saying such a word? No, he wouldn’t have listened considering how meaningless it was. Rather, it seemed that his very magical circuitry had paused by some external exertion of effort… Charming, perhaps? Was that even possible?

 

...oh, that’s right. As he set his sights on the blue-haired girl, he recalled a prior incident. The other one did it as well, didn’t she? Truly, Charmers could be such pests when they opposed rather than served him, being practically walking debuffs to the sorcerer.

 

His smirk dropped ever so slightly, yet he didn’t waste more than a second of time as he unleashed Kuk in the form of darkness beams, carried on with a ”Reshep!” that fired lightning at Eria and her summon, and a ”Speos!” that sent more drills tunnelling towards MirageGaogamon. Even if they resisted this time, there was no way they would survive the fourth wave. This would be over quickly, and then he could move his attention to the Egyptian Gods.

 

Sora spun his remaining Keyblade against the beams, deflecting the darkness into the snowy field at his feet. Arthur rolled through the snow, dodging each beam, if only barely. Arthur was hardly capable of defending himself, especially when Protheus was able to target every one of them individually. MirageGaogamon swung his flail, this time allowing the spiked ball to take the brunt of each beam all by itself.

 

Rather than shielding Eria a third time, the Leviathan focused on avoiding the beams. Eria formed several blocks of ice in succession, throwing them into the path of the beams, slowly changing their course just enough that they veered slightly off from their original target, missing Eria and the Leviathan.

 

”Let’s try another approach, Leviathan!” At Eria’s command, the Leviathan coiled around itself, floating high into the sky until several hooks shot from its body. A veil of water surrounded everyone in the area, as the Eidolon assumed its Gestalt Mode. The veil of water solidified into a thin sheet of ice, and then transformed into the appearance of a circus tent. It figured as much that, after Butlerok turned Eria into a clown, and the Pathway to Truth reminded Eria of exactly that, the Leviathan would resemble a circus tent. Whether or not Megiddo realized it, he was practically mocking Eria with the summon.

 

Three times in a row, Protheus had sent an increasing amount of beams at all of them, and he spoke each spell with such ease as if they were a part of his common vocabulary. Even as Eria prepared for her own counterattack, Arthur was helpless to do the same. Arthur wanted to stop each spell, but how could he? Even Sora and Kairi, with all their powers over the Keyblade, hadn’t shown that they could prevent Protheus from using more spells. Even if that were possible, he’d probably find his own way around that.

 

In the Pathway to Death, Apollo had simply silenced Arthur with the snap of a finger. True, Arthur did inherit some of his father’s abilities, but a demigod was capable of so much. Apollo was certainly a prolific god, but how much of those skills was Arthur actually capable of beyond being a flashlight or a mirror? And yet, relying on his father’s power was about the only option he hadn’t tried yet. ”Got any other tricks up your sleeve?” Despite the burning in his body from his first few beams, there was something to enjoy about laughing in the face of danger. ”How about instead of say those same spells over and over again, why don’t you just choke on them?”

 

Out of everything these children could do, their petty insults were just terrible. As Protheus chuckled in more amusement, something felt stuck in his throat. At first he thought it was a completely foreign sensation, and yet, it was something that he hadn’t quite experienced in a long time. His throat seemed to be swelling on the inside. A lesser being would otherwise be compelled to cough, but Protheus was more confused by the boy’s intentions. Was that Keyblader… Digidestined… whatever he was, trying to prevent Protheus from speaking? With a frown, the sorcerer thought - How peculiar.

 

A decent attempt, although as it happened, there were many methods of spellcasting. Not to be disrupted, his hands moved, forming a few gestures with his fingers. Signs, a nonverbal alternative to speech, each one corresponding to an Egyptian hieroglyph. The Ancient Egyptians had never been known for their consideration of sign language, and yet it was an art he had taken much time to understand in the land of Konohagakure. With a spell of negation, the lesser magic was quickly overrun by dark mana. In a few seconds, Arthur’s unexpected attempt had been halted.

 

“Curious… That was not the spell of a Keyblader.” Protheus muttered. There’d been too little of the boy’s mana to properly analyze, but the little he did sense wasn’t natural. In fact, was that a tiny hint of divinity? Well, not that it mattered. He pointed both his hands at Arthur, and without warning, verbally declared, ”Kuk. Kuk. Kuk.” The sooner he got rid of this strange one, the better. Streaks of unstable darkness were fired outwards, his efforts temporarily concentrated on Arthur. Each streak was akin to a shooting buzzsaw, threatening to rip his body asunder before any of his friends could assist.

 

Almost as if on impulse, Arthur responded with yet another Reflect spell. Was this spell really the most he could muster? Arthur kept using it, as if it was the perfect solution, but the most he could manage with the spell was mitigate the damage he took from any attack. He could still feel the force behind the impact, only barely surviving the most dangerous parts of any spell. At most, it was only a barrier. Despite the spell’s name, he could not truly “reflect” these spells. Not always. The spell seemed too basic, and yet he was sure that Sora and Kairi could manage something beyond this.

 

”Reflega!” Arthur called the spell’s name, the barrier seemed to reinforce in place. The streaks carved into the barrier, yet the darkness seemed to halt in place. ”I don’t care if you think we’re a joke. We won’t let you reach that Door!” This was their final Pathway. The end had to be in sight. To fall now would make everything pointless. How could he erase the Madara, only for Protheus to take the Key just seconds afterwards? ”You took the Key from me. Consider this payback!”

 

Arthur’s eyes shined in their golden light, and the barrier matched their glow. Where the darkness had pierced the barrier, an arc of light had surrounded them, blasting towards Protheus in a concussive force, shattering the barrier to push more force into the blast. Without Pure Edge, Protheus would have a disadvantage in close combat. Arthur charged at Protheus, declaring ”Thunder!” Even as most of its mana was redirected away, the bolt struck Protheus. Once the spell connected, Arthur moved his arm to slice - slam his Keyblade against Protheus.

 

“Oh…?” It was theoretically correct, that Protheus was more vulnerable in close combat without his sword; without either of his swords. However, both his brute strength and his overwhelming control over magic were still very much a thing, and the expression on his face was that of delight as the boy closed in. That smile on his face, that would not be broken, could only mean trouble.

 

Suddenly, inexplicably, strangely, two arms composed entirely dark energy emerged from Protheus’s chest - they lashed out at the approaching Arthur, one grasping his waist and the other grasping his arm, trapping him inches from the dark sorcerer’s body, holding his Keyblade closer still. Compared to the experienced warrior Sora, the feeble teenager Arthur - who’d relied on bows and creatures to fight - simply did not have the same capacity for close quarters. Taking him by surprise with a trick was practically child’s play. Now immobilized, the false arms were maintained as Protheus poured mana into them, grabbing hold onto Arthur’s wrist that held the Keyblade.

 

“Having taken my blade, don’t you think it’s only appropriate…” He whispered into the demigod’s ear. “...that I, once again, take your Key?”

 

All of a sudden, the arms of darkness lightened in strength, their mana racing straight for Protheus’s hand. His hand was enveloped in a mass of dark energy as his grip over Arthur’s wrist tightened, harder and harder, such that his skin gave way to small streams of blood, his inner muscles squeezed together, his bones screamed under an intense pressure, and his joints stretched, barely holding on, threatening to tear in its entirety. The so-called Golden Wolf was being pushed back by the larger man’s other arm, whilst his wrist was violently pulled as far back as possible, with brutal strength that vastly outmatched that of the Arthur Ancyl on so many levels it was actually pitiful. Protheus’s intent was all too clear - to rip off the boy’s hand, and claim that Keyblade for his own!

 

A scythe cut through the dark arms, causing Protheus to briefly gasp as if it’d inflicted actual pain onto him, as MirageGaogamon carried Arthur away. Even as MirageGaogamon seemed to save Arthur, Arthur screamed, his body still writhing from Protheus’ grapple. ”All clear! Go, now!”

 

The fog obscuring Slifer and Ra’s vision had cleared, and the two Egyptian Gods turned their gaze back to the sorcerer. White hot flames gathered around Ra, burning as fiercely as they had against Hiita. With MirageGaogamon and Arthur far enough away from Protheus, Ra shot the flames directly towards him. “sheet.” was the only word that came out of the dark sorcerer’s mouth before the end.

 

In the blink of an eye, Protheus was suddenly surrounded completely in the flames, the ice beneath him giving way to steam and smoke, as Protheus Maximus was completely reduced to ash. In essence, the might of the gods had rendered his whole physical form into nothingness. A complete death, delivered by those with absolute control over death.

 

For a moment, everyone was still. One of the few sounds they could hear was the calm movement of the waves in lake before them, disturbed only by the crackling of smolder and flame. Where Protheus Maximus once stood was only ash arranged in a shadow of a figure.

 

And yet, Arthur could only help but feel uneasy. His h̴ea̶ŕt͏ was still racing, his eyes trained only the ashes. Was it over?

 

…

 

No. Noooo no no no no no no NO NO NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT! All of a sudden, a sheet of darkness materialized around the ashes. Wrapping around them. Condensing to form an orb of incredible power, rupturing presence, and a surrounding Terror Aura that made it difficult to look at, let alone approach. It was perfectly identical to the one the Counter Corps team had witnessed at the start of their battle...whatever this was, it seemed that it was the dark sorcerer’s method of revival from the jaws of death. Was it an inherent ability? Was it a spell? It was impossible to say; the only thing for certain was that HE was alive. The protective orb was released, letting out a shockwave of energy that thrust anyone nearby away.

 

“You… You GODDAMNED GOD, how dare you? You think you can use your killing effect on ME, like I’m some kind of MERE DUEL MONSTER? You are sadly mistaken!” Protheus Maximus walked out, perfectly restored from the sudden assault with a new body, his fists clenched yet maintaining his anger with a twitching eyebrow. His furious grey eyes met with the crimson eyes of the Winged Dragon of Ra, his silver attire contrasting against the dragon’s golden scales, before sweeping across the rest of the team - Arthur, Eria, Sora, Kairi, their two pets, plus that Leviathan thing. “This will not go unpunished. I’ll be sure to destroy you. I’ll be sure to DESTROY ALL OF YOU! My patience has been worn out, and I, the Herald of Darkness, will make each and every one of you regret ever choosing to defy me.”

 

Having said that, he gritted his teeth as he thrust his arms forth. Mana started to channel across his arms, quickly coalescing in front of him, as though preparing some almighty spell. Fear, and anger, and despair, negative emotions of all kind were combining to create an attack of certain doom. This power...was on a level that vastly exceeded Protheus’s own capacity. Remnants of vain deaths, gathered from every single victim at his hands, weaponized for his own purpose. The ground below him was shaking. High above, the clouds were parting. Everything that he had done thus far dwarfed in comparison. Alas, what else could it be but his ultimate attack - a move from which survival was almost certainly impossible. He had only two uses left, but screw it, he was pissed at his abrupt loss and would make them suffer for it.

 

A word of power, like no other, escaped his lips. “AKH-”

 

A shadow formed below Protheus, and it was growing bigger. Something was closing him. A ball of both roaring flame and crackling electricity shot towards him. Once more, his body was burning, but his body did not burn to ash quite as quickly as Ra’s own flames had. Ra had burned his outer former, but the flame and thunder burned inside of him. It was, quite literally, burning away at his mana reserves, instantly incinerating his body in the process without so much as an “AME- WAIT!”

 

”Gloat all you want,” Slifer the Sky Dragon’s voice boomed. ”I have foreseen countless births. It is within that moment that I judge the potential one has. The good they can offer this world. The evil that they will create. For all your years, it cannot measure to all the lives I have seen come and go. You are still but a child in my eyes. You can survive death… but I will only see that as your rebirth. Whatever tricks you may have up your sleeves, I only see a newborn endlessly crawling its way out of the womb. I have already seen the evil you have wrought. This Origin War is a race to survive what you have unleashed. I could see the very form of feelings in that spell you just tried to unleash. All that hatred… all that despair… Let it burn you just as you have burned so many others.”

 

Ashes drifted down, resting upon a wide puddle that was more like a pond; a huge amount of snow having been melted from the gods’ attacks. At first, all was still. Perhaps there was a limit to his revival after all. Perhaps, as anticlimactic as it was, this was the end… Only it wouldn’t be. Once more, a dark orb enveloped what little remained of sorcerer’s physical form, rapidly expanding until a newly-formed Protheus Maximus was released. More than ready to rant.

 

“THAT LYDIA CAUSED ME ENOUGH TROUBLE, AND YOU DARE SUBJECT ME TO THE SAME HUMILIATION?! SLIFER. RA. I WILL ENJOY TEARING YOU BOTH APART, PIECE BY PIECE.” When he next emerged, he’d snapped, seething with immense fury at yet another unexpected death. His immediate instinct was to quickly channel mana through his arms, and fire two familiar cursed beams at each of the divine dragons - the exact same ones that had previously blinded them. “YOU FOOLISH GODS, I AM AN OMNI! I WAS BLESSED BY ONE SUPERIOR TO YOUR CHILDLIKE DESIGNS, AND ALREADY, I HAVE SURPASSED THE CHAINS OF DEATH-”

 

Both Ra and Slifer anticipated the beams, though their hulking bodies made it difficult for them to quickly dodge the beams. However, Eria had formed two sheets of ice in front of the gods, the beams striking the ice at just the right angle to turn in their direction, continuing in their path, but far away from the gods. Flying past the ice, Slifer sneered at Protheus. ”My turn.” Once more, a Thunderforce Cannon bombarded against Protheus, burning his body and his mana. ”Whatever you are, I know will you run out of energy eventually!”

 

“WE SHALL SEE ABOUT THAT.” The dark sorcerer stated in a mixture of confidence and annoyance - seconds before he was obliterated yet again, in an outstanding wave of lightning that no mortal could hope to survive. Reduced to ashes just like that. And yet, just as quickly they began to pile back together beneath a dark orb.

 

”Don’t toy with him, Slifer!” Ra chided. ”He was playing with us before, but his tantrum is more than that. He is taking this seriously. You cannot let up, even for a moment!”

 

As though echoing this thought, Protheus re-emerged from his orb, completely unscathed, and yelled “I can keep on reviving… Do YOU have enough energy to keep on destroying me, Sky Dragon?!” before another Thunderforce Cannon silenced him.

 

Even though he was dying over and over, the thought of it all was terrifying. Even with what was essentially cheating, using a loophole to carry on ending him every single time he revived, he was showing no signs of weakening. His injuries did not stay. His mana did not deplete. His strength did not lower. Everyone had tried so hard to kill him, but to think that even if they’d succeeded without the gods, he would have just returned at full strength like this? Again, and again, and again - an unstoppable, unkillable monstrosity?

 

As Slifer traded blows with Protheus, incinerating him again so casually that even the sight of Protheus’ entire form turning to ash began to grow repetitive, everyone else could only watch. No matter what the gods themselves did, Protheus would revive. Again and again he attempted to bring them down with varying rushed spells, only for those attacks to be intercepted every time. ”What… what is he?” Eria prepared more of her spells, but her hands were trembling. She looked back to Arthur, who was still reeling from his injuries. ”Arthur! Just being held by those arms… Slifer and Ra are keeping him busy. I’ll try to heal you.”

 

Eria wrapped the water she had gathered around Arthur’s arm. It was cold, but soothing. Arthur could feel his bones and muscles relaxing, but the sensation of pain still lingered. Arthur tried to stand, but Eria grabbed his back and chest. ”Don’t. Not yet. You can’t rush at him again.”

 

”I have to do something,” Arthur snapped.

 

Whilst this was occurring, it became clear that Protheus himself had ceased yelling in any regard. As though having calmed down to think more rationally, he took every following Thunderforce Cannon in stride. His eyes locked onto Slifer with a deathly glare every time he emerged from that dark orb. His hands gestured and moved rapidly every time his body reformed. Cast violent spells streaked towards the gods, passing by every Thunderforce Cannon that promptly ended him and started the process all over. As much as the constant deaths were frustrating...he had come to terms with it. It was obvious that this constant cycle of killing only to resurrect would not last much longer. Something had to be done, whilst he was still trapped in this loop of semi-vulnerability.

 

Eria turned to Arthur. ”Emiya… he said something in the very beginning of this. Before we went to the Shadow Realm. He said that Isamy was some kind of lich. Maybe Protheus is the same? But… it doesn’t make much sense. I’ve heard of liches, but ordinarily, they have…”

 

”A phylactery,” Arthur finished. ”Liches don’t really exist in my world. I think. But I’ve played a few games where they’ve been enemies.”

 

”Arthur…” Eria pursed her lips. ”This isn’t some sort of game. This is real. Whatever you have planned-”

 

”I thought MirageGaogamon was part of a game.” For a moment, Arthur thought pointing out that, as far as Protheus himself was concerned, Eria was part of a game, but he couldn’t do that. ”Even before the Origin War, I thought that Digimon were just characters in a game. And then I met MirageGaogamon. Actually met him, back in the Digital World. And as far as I’m concerned, all those games I’ve played, they had some basis in what would happen if these creatures were real. And it’s a longshot, but… no matter what Slifer does, Protheus keeps reviving. And with some undead, there’s a certain strategy that’s kind of backwards, but that’s what makes it so perfect.”

 

Eria crossed her arms. ”And what’s that?”

 

Arthur smirked. Even as he formed the words, he was frightened, but it was all he had. ”Revive Kills Zombie.”

 

Eria blinked, but Arthur was already running way. ”Wait, Arthur, what are you doing?”

 

Arthur held his hands up to his mouth, and took a deep breath. He had tried to use whatever power he could manage before to curse Protheus. If Arthur was right, “healing” him would have more of an effect. If not… well, it’s not like Protheus would be powerful than he already was. Right?

 

If he understood his father’s powers right, the healing would probably be a lot more effective in the form of song.

 

This would quite possibly become one of the dumbest plans Arthur had ever made.

 

As fire and thunder rained upon snow, as the dark sorcerer Protheus Maximus fought just to survive the wrath of a god, Arthur began to sing the first thing he could think of that would possibly carry a happy melody that would empower a healing spell. Consumed in his battle, the sorcerer then revived for the umpteenth time...and froze in place to the most bizarre noise.

 

”Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday… dear… Protheus…

Happy Birthday to you!”

 

With the song finished, Eria, MirageGaogamon, and Sora all slowly raised their hands to their collective faces. Arthur bit his lip and drew his bow, readying an arrow. ”F*** it.”

 

Energies of light danced around the newly-formed Protheus and stung at him, the healing certainly having some sort of negative effect, yet whatever it had accomplished wasn’t externally visible. Perhaps it had been significant however, as the dark sorcerer remained incredulous. Standing in place, completely still, staring at Arthur Ancyl with an expression of disbelief as the boy prepared to fight. Trying to understand just what had happened. Trying to understand if he had actually miscalculated the boy all along. He maintained this look even as Slifer fired another Thunderforce Cannon, a ball of pure destructive lightning rushing towards his exact position.

 

His last words, before being obliterated yet again-

 

“That impossibly harmonious voice… It can’t be…!”

 

Protheus said this with such dead seriousness that, when his body was overwhelmed with thunder and rendered asunder, it was only appropriate.

 

Upon being reduced to ashes once more, the dark sorcerer, strangely enough, did not immediately revive. The tarnished remnants of his latest body floated down to the ground, and softly rested, unperturbed. In full control of the process, apparently taking liberty to think, to deliberate, to decide and analyze his next move whilst the others were powerless to do anything against him. In fact, he was rethinking his entire perspective on the battle thus far. He looked back on his past actions, on the reactions of Counter Corps team, and if it was true, Isamy was genuinely a ridiculous one for involving him. Were this the case, he had to act quickly.

 

After an awfully long silence, with both the gods and Arthur anticipating the return of their greatest enemy, the ashes suddenly coalesced. A dark orb shielded the revival taking place, completing within seconds, and a yet again newly-reformed Protheus Maximus burst out - and yet this time, he was on the move. Running directly to none other than Arthur’s position; bloodlust in his eyes that wasn’t there before, recognition in his eyes that wasn’t there before.

 

“Were you in disguise this whole time... APOLLO?!”

 

Protheus reflected on previous events, revolving around Arthur Ancyl. With regards to the traces of Divinity, the inexplicable victory against the Madara when no one else out of all the multiversal warriors could do so, and of course how this teenager seemed to be at the center of a team that was surprisingly competent against HIM the Herald of Darkness, this was the only explanation that made sense. The boy may act innocuous, but that was exactly the sort of method Apollo would fight with, wasn’t it? Brute force was never his style. The foolish sun god had taken a risk when he attempted to ‘heal’ him to death, no doubt from experience with Hades, but this was far from the first time gods had attempted to corner him. He would not be fooled.

 

With a resolved look, he took out a pitch-black card - even if he did not have the time to cast a Death Bomb before his next demise, there were OTHER WAYS to attain victory, even in his absence. He’d been hesitant up to this very moment, but if he was up against THREE GODS, well, that tipped the scales a little TOO far for his liking.

 

”Come forth…”

 

From a distance away, Slifer the Sky Dragon instantly knew something dangerous was about to occur. Opening his larger jaws, he unleashed his Thunderforce Cannon in a wave of utter destruction hurtling towards the dark sorcerer-

 

But before then

 

Protheus Maximus chanted a short hymn... that was as much a hymn as it was a death sentence.

 

 

“Let light accept darkness, let darkness accept light.

 

Let the portal to the end open, and let release the blight.”

 

The falling snowflakes

 

stopped in place.

 

 

“Oh fallen god,

 

though thy name hath been forgotten,

 

make me your anchor…”

 

The tense emotions of the battle

 

were utterly crushed.

 

 

“ADVENT.”

 

The sky

 

turned black.

 

 

”TH͟E ̕TWIĹIGH҉T́ ON̷E҉!”

 

Just as Slifer’s deathly cannon of electricity had reached halfway through to Protheus, a gigantic, no, supermassive shadow materialized in between, absorbing the attack without even noticing it. The shadow only grew larger, and larger, and larger, stretching over the snowy plain they battled on, stretching over the nearby lake and the snowstorm, its wings reaching out to both of the walls that lined the Pathway to Remembrance. It was an impossibly giant beauty that did not deserve to materialize in such a fragile, self-contained realm - why, it even appeared to halt its own growth, understanding that to have a wingspan of more than five hundred meters in length would be disadvantageous to its anchored summoner.

 

The Twilight One flapped its wings once - in this small space, such an act was too devastating. Huge amounts of wind were caught up and then thrust downwards, a hurricane ravishing the entire snowy plain that the various Counter Corps members and Protheus were standing upon. The waters of the nearby lake parted tremendously, raging against the winds with currents that were drawn up high, and the trees of the nearby forest were ripped off and flung in all directions like mere sticks. While the Egyptian Gods stood their ground, the insignificant insects that were the Counter Corps were effortlessly swept off their feet and flew about in the air amidst chaotic snow, rubble, and violent winds.

 

Having done the liberty of attaching himself to the ground first, Protheus watched in satisfaction at the destruction surrounding him. Not even these incredible gusts were enough to phase his overly-stylized hair. He grinned as the human-shaped ‘Apollo’ - having been closest to the hulking Twilight One’s body - was also taken in by the ridiculous wind currents, carried off out of sight and presumably flung someplace that would stop him from being a nuisance for some time. MirageGaogamon, the Digimon who had accompanied Apollo, desperately flew to save him, only for the torrents to throw MirageGaogamon in the same direction.

 

A minute after summoning, Protheus was alive and better than ever. His own arms stretched out, triumphant and victorious, heralding the entrance of his mightiest and most loyal servant. The hurricane settled, and the debris, the snow, and the people all fell back down to the ground.

 

“It has been too long, old friend. No gift from the One Master has ever served me better!”

 

The great black god did not answer. It only levitated in the air, its presence blocking the light and casting a deep, dark shadow upon the whole Lake of Remembrance - its waters still rocking back and forth across the edge, discontent and unsettled with this alien presence.

 

 

 

Now, the Twilight One was visible in all its majesty. A dark phoenix, with eyes of vermillion, feathers of violet, and an insurmountable strength that dwarfed all living creatures that walked on the surface. The ultimate darkness, with mastery over the light. This, this was a god. Even without a name, its unholy presence compelled all those who saw it to bow, to pay their respects, to swear never to rise up against it and worship it for as long as they breathed. The fact that such a being would ever care to obey Protheus, when it could quite potentially destroy worlds at whim...was impossible to comprehend.

 

The arms of the Herald of Darkness fell to his side, content. He scanned his surroundings, the snow having become uneven all over with hills of white everywhere. Spotting his target, he locked onto the fallen Water Charmer.

 

Underneath the shadow of his greatest pet, he took a step forward. “Relinquishing control of your gods was a fatal mistake, dear girl. Say hello to my very own god... ” Then he looked up, at its head that towered far above him like a skyscraper. “You thought you possessed power. Let’s put that to the test. Allow us to demonstrate what true power is.”

 

As if responding to that statement, the Twilight One gazed downwards; not at its master, but at the two Egyptian Gods close to the ground. Slifer the Sky Dragon, and the Winged Dragon of Ra. Crimson and golden. In its long life of servitude, it had known only the taste of victory against its enemies...yet some time had passed since it had been utilized to counter other gods. Would they be worth the challenge? Or would they break at a single blast? The result to that had yet to be clear.

 

Upon willing it, an incredibly wide vortex tore itself into the Pathway’s space directly behind Slifer and Ra. And then, the far more massive Twilight One swooped downwards, slamming hundreds of meters of wind against the ground as it zoomed towards the two gods. Not only was it massive, but it was fast, too fast for its size. It smashed into them, each dragon hit by each side of its wings, forced along as it fearlessly raced into the vortex.

 

And then, the vortex closed. Just like that, the massive shadow, the massive divinity, the massive source of power was gone, having vanished as soon as it had appeared. The two gods with it now sealed off from the outside. The tables had been turned so quickly that it was practically a joke.

 

Eria simply froze. With the gods taken from her, there was truly nothing she could do. The pitiful girl had at long last realized that she was completely, pitifully helpless. “It’s over,” Protheus said, crossing his arms in contentment.

 

This battle had been eventful, it was true… But now it would come to a decisive end.

 

To Be Continued…

[Merci]

Upon entering the painting, one would feel enveloped in an grand darkness depriving them of all of their senses; touch, taste, scent, sight, and hearing. Just like that, all their talents and all their experiences seemed utterly worthless. There was only the barest sensation that they were being transported to their destination. In the midst of transit, the countless characters were essentially being propelled by a greater force across an ocean of pure black. The primal darkness, the void that existed before the beginning, an infinite nothingness in which time and space did not exist. They were not moving through space, but rather, through the fabric of existence itself.

 

The real pathway to Origin, one might say.

 

~ Red Song / Suuns ~

 

Time and space were abstract concepts, flicking by in a series of bright lights. There was only the faintest hint that they ‘were’, at all. Their past, their present, their future, each were rendered pointless in the face of this endless existence. With that thought, and that knowledge, they held onto their very identities with determination. In that absence of anything, in that suffocation of everything, one thought kept them going: ‘I know why I came here.’

 

The Shadow Realm. The Desert Seth. The Sphere Forest of the Periphery. Even the Pathway to Origin itself. Throughout four arcs of narrative, the characters had been a force of unstoppable momentum, blasting past every obstacle and every expectation. Even when LERNA and the Madara attempted to grind arcs to a halt, despair and fantasy alike were crushed by it. Remembrance, Truth, and Death made certain that only the most worthy would make it here, to the end, and here they were - the grandest of them all.

 

Things were lost, and things were gained, but there was certainly a point to all of it. To prepare them for the end. To ensure that, when they finally reached that crucial finale, they would know who they were and what they would do.

 

The end approached. Just beyond that crystallized eternity, a mysterious voice started to sing a simple children's lullaby. It wasn’t speech per se, but rather seemed to be etching itself into the very souls of all those currently present. This wasn’t the first time it had happened.

 

hickory dickory dock

 

the martyr upon the clock

 

the clock struck noon

 

and no more was doom

 

hickory dickory dock

 

As before, its voice appeared to be devoid of anything. There was no accent. No tone or fluctuations. No variety. No emotion. No life. Merely existing words, typed on a keyboard, with a light turquoise colour, large font, and the Jokerman font viewable only to some - all thrown in for a false sense of expression. In essence, the voice was making zero effort to apply a description to itself for the narrative. To deliver these words, it simply tore through the minds of its recipients. This was not the first time they had heard it, and yet, something was different this time. Not with the voice, but with themselves…

 

Why had each word filled them with emotions?

 

With a sense of contentment?

 

With a sense of relief?

 

With a sense of love?

 

There was no time to dwell on the thought. A point of light had appeared over the horizon, mercilessly tearing into the void to project an entrance to the grand finale. Everyone’s senses returned to them as their bodies accelerated through the void, fast incoming－－－

 

 

---

roleplay:

---

to act out the role of another

---

to assume the attitudes, actions, and discourse of (another)

---

imitating the character and behaviour of someone who is different from yourself, especially as part of learning a new skill

---

simulating a make-believe situation in an effort to understand a differing point of view or social interaction

---

the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role

---

to experiment with or experience (a situation or viewpoint) by playing a role

---

participation in a role-playing game

---

warping your perceived reality to unknowingly create another

---

subjecting individuals to torment

---

playing god

---

i s e e y o u .

---

 

 

~ Title Screen ~

At last, we reach the finale of the Pathway to Origin.

 

The many warriors of the multiverse materialized. Having reached their destination, they were jettisoned out of a vortex, spread across the realm at random - before gravity pulled them to the ground.

 

Before them was a land reminiscent to both the Inner Periphery and the White Rooms, in that it was a bright, blank world. Devoid of any detail. Only a white floor amongst an empty expanse, stretching out over the white horizon, towards eternity. Considering how far they had come, how much they had fought and how hard they struggled to get to this point, it may have actually felt anticlimactic to be met with such an empty sight. And yet it only made sense. The description of detail exists only to the observer, while this was a realm never intended to be observed by anyone, let alone an army of resolved individuals. Of course nothing would meet them. In the beginning, there was nothing. Nothing but－

 

 

Remembrance. Truth. Death.

 

Having completed the three Pathways, the warriors had finally reached the Door of Origin... And yet, it seemed not quite ready yet. Where it ought to have been, in all its magnificence, there was instead a ring of white. Off in the distance, this ring was superbly gigantic in nature, although the lack of other objects to compare it to made it immensely difficult to discern just how far or large it actually was. Whether it was closer to the size of a building or an island, none could tell.

 

The only thing was certain was that its true form had yet to materialize. Still, as inexplicable as it was, the sight of that ring alone oddly invoked the feeling of ‘home’ in everyone. It was impossible to put aside the feeling that they had finally come home after a long, wearisome journey. This shouldn’t be a surprise. As the connection to Origin itself, every single one of them had originated from whatever lay beyond.

 

Somehow, the three great Pathways had led to a ‘nothing’ that wasn’t even brilliant; it was a rundown excuse of a finale. The otherwise-blank realm was damaged by cuts and tears in space, black spots permeating wherever the warriors looked, giving their surroundings the impression of a deteriorated old film. The atmosphere was tense and stale. They couldn’t help but sense that this wasn’t how things were supposed to go - it was the some sort of sense that had let them remember how things should’ve been for their own worlds. There should have been warm light, leading them to that ‘something’ capable of rewriting all of reality, that so many dedicated their entire lifespans to pursue. They should have been met with the sight of a circular, breathtakingly glorious Door of Origin, welcoming their entry. Not a blank circle. And definitely without that giant obstacle in the way.

 

Between the teams and the Door was a hill of a dark, glittery substance vaguely resembling space - dark matter. While not 'dark matter' in the scientific sense, it was dark matter in that while it shared the exact same properties as normal matter, it was a physical distortion in space that shouldn’t exist. These traits made it unaffected by entropy, indestructible. The few who were familiar with dark matter would know, all too well, who its primary user used to be...

 

Above the hill stood a shadow, also composed of dark matter, shaped to resemble that of a bipedal humanoid. This figure stood as still as a statue, and whilst a passing silence came by, the characters soaked in this new environment with a mixture of emotions. Uncertainty, disappointment, apprehension. Each time their emotions changed, one could feel a chill touch their souls. As though their every emotion was being monitored.

 

Finally, the shadow started to solidify into a more distinct form...

 

A voice, young and gentle, spoke in their minds.

"I have waited an awfully long time for this… Thank you all for coming.”

 

The figure of the woman was exactly how it was in the painting, as elegant as it was empty, and as beautiful as it was bereaved. Rather than a living being, she was much more like a spirit of nature. Her eyes were faded. Her skin was a dazzling pearl white. Her body was mostly exposed, with naught but a white cloth around her hips and an unusual headdress to cover her; to her, there was no trace of shame. Roses were tattooed along the shoulder of her right arm, appearing to grow bit by bit. As whole, there was something about her that seemed to contrast with the other characters, being hyper-realistic, extradimensional, if one could put it that way. But at the same time, the sight of her made her feel like… Like family.

 

This person was emitting power. Indescribable power, which words could not possibly give justice to. There was simply more and more and more, seeming to never end. Was it, in fact, limitless? For all the major threats they had faced in the past - LERNA, Xansvita, the Ophelia Trio, Avatar Conflictous, even Arturia Pendragon - every single one was made insignificant, dwarfed in comparison to this grand majesty. Not only that, but while their auras had colour, and emotion, and purpose, hers was impossibly clear. Void of emotion. Too much like an unborn baby－or a pure-hearted messiah.

 

Kuchiki Byakuya was nowhere in sight to be found, but in her left hand, an adept eye would spot the Key of Origin - in the form of a blank card - being held. Even though she’d outwitted the warriors and obtained it, it was a curiousity how she chose to wait for them, rather than head straight to the Door.

 

A single black ‘∞’ symbol, representing infinity, materialized above her. It glowed, at which point the warriors would quickly realize that time had frozen for them - that they were stuck in this temporal state, effectively forced to listen to whatver she had to say. Her lips didn’t move as she speak, her words being conveyed by a telepathy that could not be blocked out.

 

"It’s a pleasure to be acquainted with each and every one of you, for the first time. I gotta say, quite a few of you look different from what I had imagined... Even those of you who still resemble your pictures look more mature now. I’ve thought about it before, but text really doesn’t do the real thing justice, does it? That’s so weird… Hm.” Her face twitched, ever so slightly, as her eyes touched upon the giant cast of characters before her. Checking out the expressions on their faces, and the feelings within their hearts. “What’s with these emotions, people? Confusion, fear, even a bit of anger. Wait, don’t answer that, hold on, I must be forgetting something important about social interaction. Forgive me, it’s been so long since I interacted with someone other than Byakuya, so being able to talk like this is a first. I’ll get the conversation thing down in a few paragraphs, I’m sure. I wonder, I wonder, I wonder. Oh! I get it now! I thought it would be obvious, but I suppose it’s only right for me to explain what’s going on. Come to think of it, there’s a lot for me to say. I ought to introduce myself while I’m at it. Okay, let’s get that out of the way first.”

 

Although her words were so vibrant, full of personality and quite familiar to those who’d heard her voice before, it directly contrasted with the blank, corpse-like look on her face and the utter absence of body language. Even Ophelia had been more expressive than that. It was comparable to the divide between someone’s online persona and their real persona, between the text on a computer and the person behind it.

 

“Yes.

As you probably already thought, my name is Isamy Maximus.

But, I’m not the one you’re familiar with.

Oh, no, I’m the other Isamy. The one who, just like you lot, completed the Pathway to Origin, passed the Avatar, and reached the Door we all stand at now.

Fate has decreed that we meet here on this momentous instance in time, so it’s only fair that you learn about me. Feel free to skip over this information if you must, but I implore that you take a leap of faith, even if it’s only a little. It might just help you understand how we have ended up here now, and why I think the way I do－”

 

Indeed, she was Isamy. Who else could she possibly have been? As the woman spoke weirdly - in an informal and cryptic manner - her right hand was turning darker, taking on a more spatial tone. Psychic energy seemed to be being charged within it, some of her memories and knowledge being condensed into a short passage. She snapped her fingers, abruptly releasing all of that energy. and a story entered the minds of the cast of characters.

Once upon a time.

 

There existed a wise, but bitter, old sorcerer once, called Protheus Maximus. He understood that, even with his mastery over time and darkness, his end may yet come. Twice during his lifetime, many millennia ago, this immortal man found himself thinking of it. He dreaded the idea of his own death, but as it happened, he also dreaded that he may not leave a legacy were it to happen. Ultimately, both times, he decided that he wanted a successor. And both times, he sought a girl to raise as his very own daughter.

 

The first, was a slave he rescued. She had vast magical potential, particularly when it came to her manipulation of time and space. Her mind had been hardened by the horrors experienced at the hands of those slavers, and she desired to become a saviour. He named her Isabella.

 

The second, was an orphan he took on. She had vast psychic potential, particularly when it came to her power over Empathy. Her mind had been hardened by the constant negative feelings that surrounded her in the orphanage she grew up in, and she resolved to become a superhero. He named her Ameliorer.

 

To that man, both were tales he barely cared about. He raised each one for several years, but when they eventually proved to be disappointments, he opted to dispose of them. He didn’t even hesitate; to him, their existences were a stark reminder of his own mortality. Hence, they were treated the same way everyone else was. Banished to the Shadow Realm, trapped within a dark castle, left to die horribly amidst the corruption and the depravity.

 

But eventually, just like that, Protheus himself would die. One of the multiverse’s most overpowered dark lords, blessed by the One Master, who trampled across universes with destruction left in his wake, who had researched the deepest secrets of reality, and who had even survived the Doom of DATEA - his long life just sort of ended. However that happened, no one knew. History hadn’t the faintest idea how the Herald of Darkness simply went and stopped existing. Yet, his vast power as an ‘Omni’ had to go somewhere. For some reason, it flowed into the remains of those two girls, merging them into a singular, ultimate successor. Isabel and Amy became one, mind, body, and all. To inherit his name, his lands, and all of his powers. To create the original Isamy.

 

Isamy Maximus would go on to travel across the multiverse as the Herald of Justice, choosing to use her Omni powers for the greater good.

 

She tried her very hardest to make a difference in people’s lives, saving as many people as she could, ending as many wars and disasters as possible. After all, she had ultimate power. Her every decision would shake the entire foundation of that world’s plot. No one was capable of opposing her, or at least not directly.

 

With each failure, she would renew her resolve and move on, learning from her mistakes, telling herself ‘next time’. Over days and weeks and months and years and decades, she tried everything to save others. But despite her ability to time travel, her access to endless advanced technology, her unmatched magical and psychic prowess, and so forth, it was never enough.

 

She tried being a leader on the frontlines and she tried being a manipulator from the shadows.

 

She tried to bring people together and she tried to isolate them from one another.

 

She tried to be the hero and she tried to be the villain.

 

EVERYTHING.

 

All for naught.

 

In the end, she was left only with the sight of BURNING WORLDS. It was then, that she realized just how futile her century-long quest had been. At that very moment, t̡he ̢cru͠ȩl̷t̢y ͢of th̢is re͝a̸lit̷y ̕b̸eca͢m҉e c̀lear ͏to he͡r͠.

 

There was only one option remaining. The place described in her father’s old research notes. The Door of Origin, it was called. An object theorized to be the ultimate wish granter, capable of rewriting reality in its entirety. The damned man, together with his Dreamer colleagues, had created a Pathway to Origin! Without hesitation, she embarked on a mission to achieve what would otherwise be impossible. At the time, apart from the three Pathways, she didn’t know what the requirements were. It wasn’t as though there was a convenient post explaining everything. She couldn’t have possibly known what she needed to bring.

 

Indeed, she entered the Pathway to Origin. She confronted Death, and her powers were stripped away. She confronted Truth, and her identity was placed into question. She sacrificed everything to reach the end. She confronted Remembrance, and her old horrors were brought to the forefront. She broke her own heart to pass Avatar Conflictous at Prologuous. By the time she reached the Hallway, she was a shell of her former self… And when she reached the Door, broken and lost and unable to leave, only then did she understand the horrifying truth.

 

The Door of Origin.

 

Turned out it needed a Key of Origin.

 

That should have been the end. Without any way of progressing, the Herald of Chaos and Entropy, Isamy Maximus, would be fated to fade away over the course of eternity.

 

...BUT FATE HAD BLESSED HER.

 

Unbeknownst to her, an event in the Shadow Realm had occurred. The Communion of the One Master had somehow been activated. The ruinuous room with a troubled history, built deep within the walls of the Castle of Necrophades, had been accidentally broken into (namely by Eria and Gagagigo). There lay an ancient artifact intended to bring forth the ultimate god of darkness, the original source of the Maximi, but it would have rather quickly found that hE no longer existed. So naturally, it would move onto the next best option. The last known instance of hiS existence. In other words, the very instant Isamy Maximus left reality and entered the Pathway to Origin.

 

Unbeknownst to her, this event created a paradox. Isamy Maximus must invariably enter the Pathway, but Isamy Maximus must also invariably be summoned to the Shadow Realm. There was only one clear solution to this logical conundrum - considering the two components, Isamy was ultimately split back into the sorceress Isabel and the psychic Amy.

 

The Amy-Isamy would go on to reach the Door of Origin, only to be trapped.

 

The Isabel-Isamy would be summoned into confusing future events, in which she would fight a strangely-aggressive Counter Guardian and take down the Shadow Realm.

 

Both would have been at an impasse… The Amy-Isamy had no method of communicating to Isabel-Isamy what had to be done. Yet, by chance, the Shadow Realm’s Isamy stumbled upon the perfect solution to her dilemma; she found a Shinigami, mortally wounded. Offering to save his life, she fused the warrior into her own soul using the Communion. This caused a loophole in the narrative, which was exploited to no end. The former Captain, Kuchiki Byakuya, had unique properties that blended in with her Time Sense - an ability that kept her static across all continuities. This enabled him to TRANSITION seamlessly between the two otherwise-split versions Isamys. He could not only relay memories, but also relay artifacts between the two versions of Isamy Maximus.

 

Hence, Isabel-Isamy - the one still in the omniverse - threw away her morals, pushed her control over spacetime to the limits, and pulled out all the stops to find the Key of Origin. For the sake of the greater good, she turned herself into a psychopath bent on one purpose only. No matter how much destruction she caused, no matter how many distortions she left in her wake, it wouldn’t MATTER if everything could be fixed with the Door. With each stolen artifact, each core of that universe, Byakuya would transfer it to the Door to be tried and return it when it turned out false. This Isamy learned to manipulate the very distortions she created, weaponizing it to further her search, twisting the very omniverse so that it would give up its knowledge on the whereabouts of the Key of Origin.

 

That wanton destruction eventually attracted a Counter Guardian, and Emiya was summoned. Inspired by Byakuya’s servitude and usefulness, Isabel-Isamy formed the Divine as a counter-counter to the Counter Guardian and their Counter Corps. This was the point the Origin War officially began.

 

…

 

Meanwhile, Amy-Isamy - the one at the Door - would wait. Testing every artifact that came her way, sharing the experiences of her other self. The first several years were bearable, receiving artifacts to try daily and experiences to make her learn. Her most interesting year was when the Origin War started, in which Isamy’s mind was filled with experiences and thoughts that this trapped Isamy could cathartically live through. The Hallway of Origin also started being populated with more tablets than her own, for some reason, giving her interesting, if short things to read.

 

But then, that dragged to an end, to a slow crawl unto nothingness. The last three years were the worst. Not so eventful. The other Isamy had been overwritten by some machination of her father, and although Amy-Isamy could experience his memories as well, they were far fewer and less interesting. Still, he was bringing both the Key of Origin and the war, so her plan would be fulfilled, even if it was a roundabout way of doing it. And with that, she gradually awaited the cast’s arrival over. Three. Gruelling. Years. It must have only been just over three hours to them, but to her, over three years had passed since their entry. She even distorted the Pathways to hurry them up, to little effect.

 

Still, the characters approached. Months ago, she sent Byakuya, to greet them, to ensure their safety, and to secure the Key. He succeeded in all of these tasks, as he always did, before leading them onwards.

 

The omnicidal Counter Guardian had been eliminated. The annoying Herald of Darkness was being delayed.

 

And now, at long last, the wait of Isamy Maximus has come to an end. Her plan had been delayed, but it was a success. The Key was in her possession, and the warriors had come to her as they were destined to.

 

Now, at long last, we can have our reunion.

The huge amount of information released by Isamy flowed through the teams, but it was only flowing naturally. This could be blocked out or only touched upon in small bits. Nonetheless, those who watched it emerged from that multitude of answers incarnate, feeling as though they had awoken from a long, century-long dream.

 

Only to be faced with reality. After giving her background a minute to sink in, the enigma continued, further broadcasting her telepathy.

 

"Seriously though, three years? That long? s***, whose fault was that? I was waiting here so long that I had come to expect we would never meet, and that I would spend eternity on this land. Well, I’m sorry for complaining. I'm sure each of you must feel the same, having treaded the entire span of the Pathway to Origin.” She blinked for the first time. ”With that said, I really do appreciate you all coming. I’m certain that, as I did, each and every one of you has come here with a concrete goal in mind. You may have been under the impression that a ‘final boss’ would meet you here, but that isn’t the case. That doesn’t have to be the case. This can be the end if you choose it to be so. No matter what he says, no matter what those voices at the back of your mind say, there is no reason for this to go any further. All my experiences have led me to believe that this is the only way everything will work out… Lay down your weapons. Now, while some of you may know this already, please hear out what I think. ”

 

The bare figure of Isamy Maximus stood upon that spatial, silent hill. Looking down on everyone, not condescendingly, but much more like a patient mother.

 

“See, the Door of Origin... It's not just something that would allow people to rewrite all reality. The idea is typical, laughable even. No, it's a door that takes us to a higher plane of existence. We are essentially placed at the top of the narrative, allowed to dictate whatever we so choose over this reality. Anything can be brought into existence, and anything can be brought out of existence. With that logic, even a wish as foolish as mine can be made true. When I enter it, I will write down just one simple line for the omniverse-”

 

 

’and everyone lived happily ever after’

 

"What’s the point of dying in vain? Why do tragedies need to exist in our lives? Us, and an infinite other lives, we all seek happiness, but at the same time, it’s in our nature to crush each other’s happiness. The Door can override that. I admit I don’t know how, I admit I don’t know what would happen, but if it’s the grand Door of Origin, of course it can do that. Our pains, our hardships, the tragedies we face... Surely it can’t be that bad to want to alleviate it. To give everyone a light at the end of the tunnel.”

 

Having said that, Isamy Maximus gazed at her subjects. While her expression was unchangingly corpse-esque, her voice was picking up in passion and determination, as though remembering what it used to feel like to care.

 

“My dearest friends, factions are no more. Now, as a fellow character, I simply invite you all to join me. Not just as a member of the Divine, but literally join me. Become one with me.” Isamy declared, her voice still maintaining that gentle, sweet tone all the while. Even if they weren’t interested, her words had a strange effect, as though trying to subtly adjust their emotions to agree with her. ”I offer the chance the fuse with my soul, as Byakuya did, and become a Herald of Order. We shall enter the Door of Origin together, as one. You shall hold influence over the final result of the omniverse, free to finetune your own happy ending as you see fit.”

 

She held the Key of Origin up into the air, the blank Duel Monsters card visible for all to see. It was clearly reacting to the presence of the Door of Origin, glowing, resembling an Xyz, and for the faintest moment, one may have been able to make out its title...

 

'Yu-Gi-Oh Card Maker!'

 

Hm, perhaps they saw wrong.

 

”Come, let us end this here. If you believe in what I believe, and if you seek the ‘happily ever after’ that I do, I kindly invite you to step forward.”

 

 

~ The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Castle ~

 

Her arms started to move all of a sudden, retracting back towards herself. One might even wonder if she was dancing for about a second, before a new, urgent thought arose. Gradually, she was actually bringing the Key of Origin close to her mouth…

 

And proceeded to put it in…

 

And then swallow it whole.

 

Now, there was no possible way the Key could ever be stolen from her. A bright light was visible over the surface of her skin as it slowly made its way down her throat, resting just below her chest after some time. Her body shook, clearly placed under some sort of strain, but her expression did not falter for a second - was she even capable of feeling pain, one might wonder?

 

Whatever the case, the only ways to gain access to it would be to either engage her in combat, which seemed practically impossible considering their differences in strength… Or to become one with her, and truly become ‘Divine’…

 

 

Afterwards, Isamy turned to the warriors directly. Although her mind was beginning to tire, and the encroachment on her shoulder was spreading, she prepared to make one last push.

 

"Dorian von Schroeder. Head of Schroeder Corp, the Celestial Violent Star, the finest of Divine. You endured a year of constant hell to get here. Do you still remember me? I must admit, I originally came to your world to recruit your father Ziegfried. However, when I was approached by his adopted son, fearlessly hoarding his ego over me, I was...mesmerized. As frail as he was, the Perfect Balance between his mind, body, and soul, the control over his existence that would surely guarantee him a great life, convinced me to take him on. That man would soon perish, his soul cast out of the war, vulnerable to all the havoc of the multiverse; I wouldn’t be surprised if the journey to hell turned that exposed soul into a Distortion itself. However, he held on, and ultimately rose from the ashes－much like an almighty phoenix. You are a businessman with big dreams and brutal ambition, conquering Death through attrition alone. Many would call you a villain. But, I think you’re just like me. Seeking satisfaction. Bennu Dorian, you truly are worthy of the title ‘Untouchable Emperor’.”

 

Her words, her tone, and her beliefs were chosen carefully to appeal to him most. Opening up her heart, whilst showcasing all of her knowledge on him, a lot of which she couldn’t have had any way of knowing. Naturally, the first one to be addressed would be her most loyal subject－the one who had, from beginning to end, never let the other Isamy down.

 

“Well, my comrade, our deal is finally drawing to a close. You have endlessly impressed me on this progressive journey of yours, and have overcome every hardship, no matter how strong or ridiculous. Now, just as my other self promised, the Door of Origin is at your fingertips. To fulfill that satisfaction of yours. Will you stand by my side, and make the rules to your heart’s content?”

 

But also naturally, he would be far from the only one she was privately communing with. Her mind conveyed via telepathy pleas to everyone she was capable of reaching out to. In their minds, her voice was oddly soothing, as she addressed them by their names－offering each and every one an invitation, to a happily ever after.

 

With a welcoming gesture, the Herald beckoned to everyone at once:

 

“Butler. Dorian’s closest friend and greatest ally. When you entered the Origin War, you were powerless to protect your master. But now, here you stand, one with the Demon Sword Ragnarok, in possession of the Alpha Stigma, wielding the power of many great souls; the greatest bodyguard in the omniverse. As I thought, giving you access to the Vault made you practically unstoppable. But despite the exceptional circumstances that you have been placed in, despite the tremendous power that you have amassed, you have remained ever-faithful to your master. Never doubting your purpose, even under all of that madness, even under the Pathways’ scrutiny. You are a precious rarity we need more of, and Ragnarok has been wise to select you as his host; as an opportunist, I am sure he will cooperate with whichever decision you take. Now, the greatest power of all is at our fingertips. Will you souls take this opportunity?”

 

“Nameless girl. From Tenshi Hinanai, to Tenco, to a blade without aim. You struggled with your identity for some time, but found an anchor in the chance to avenge your fallen friend. Yet, when you took my Tenshi into yourself, you were left without purpose. My father crushed your ideals. The dragon king ignored your ideals. Even though your story as the Successor of the Heavenly Mandate was trampled, you have learned so much in such a short time. You’re not unlike me when I was younger. A young idealistic girl, searching for answers, wandering through ruin. It took me a hundred years to find mine. Now. Turn your attention to what lies beyond us. That is my answer... My friend, welcome to the light at the end of the path. Shall we walk there together?”

 

“Zaraki Kenpachi. The 11th Division Captain. I had the privilege of seeing you in action through Byakuya’s memories, as opposed through text alone. ‘Kenpachi’ itself is a name belonging only to the strongest of Shinigami－everything you have achieved, you deserve. You don’t know the definition of sanity, and you don’t care, for your worldview is the only worldview you’ll ever concern yourself with. Even when you experienced, you returned. I have no idea how, but you did. Although I consider myself a pacifist, even I can appreciate an amazing warrior when I see one. Let me assure you now, that Kuchiki Byakuya trusted me with his life, and joined me on his own free will. Will you?”

 

“Yachiru Kusajishi. Kenpachi’s lieutenant, and constant supporter. You have been at his side for so long now. You laid down your life for him once, and would do so again. Your loyalty is more than commendable, it’s beautiful. You’ll follow wherever he goes… There is nothing more to say to you.”

 

Kratos. The God of War. Although we have never met personally, I met gods from other worlds who would whisper your name in fear, terrified of your rage and of your strength. For much of your life, you've been filled with fury… It’s tiring, isn’t it? I watched as you killed the other Byakuya in an act of mercy. I know that feeling too well. To try so hard, only to be met with disaster after disaster, injustice after injustice. And yet, you’ve found hope in this war. That someone who has endured so much anguish can find such joy, brightens what's left of my own heart. I want to help keep that peace. Won’t you support me?

 

Revy. The Two Hands. You were raised, no, forged in an environment of immense injustice. The scars in your heart drove you to adapt, to seek out as much power as you could reach for no matter how much it hurts. I won’t waste your time too much, but believe me, I know that feeling, that frustration. I understand your pain all too much. We both know that this reality is cruel, and that happiness is a fleeting sensation, in which every moment of hope is crushed by a moment of despair. I am on a quest to rewrite those rules. Permanently. No bullshit involved. Won’t you join me?

 

Nero. The Keyblade Hero. Wow, you've gone through a lot. For a time you under the control of another, lost to the darkness, yet you managed to beat all the odds. There are very few others here who share the same pure conviction that you do. The fabled χ-Blade in your hands is a testament to that fact. I see it’s much friendlier with you than it was with me. Alas－even the greatest universal key was rejected from the greatest lock. I know you won’t like me, but we aren’t so different. Our lives were consumed by war, and we fought and we cried with our comrades, not for some ideological honour, but because we had no other choice. I’m not wrong, am I? Take a risk. If you can place your trust in me, would you help me unlock this Door?”

 

“Ed. The Black Swordsman. I must say, you're pretty cool. I mean, come on. Black flames. Dragons. A human-vampire hybrid who really only cares about cool battles, unconcerned with petty drama. I've met warriors like you, they gave me headaches and frustrated me, but I would've long broken down if it wasn't for them. Even though we've never met, guess I should say thanks. Truthfully, it's the ones like you who make the hell of war a bearable place to be. But there is a greater battle for us, fine warrior. Our enemy: The very concept of injustice. Will you be my ally?”

 

“Elsa. Queen of Arendelle! Your highness, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I do not require an application to know your story. I watched a film about you as a kid and got utterly addicted to it. The other kids used to close their ears and groan whenever I went around singing 'Let It Go' like a maniac... Whether you know it or not, you inspired many kids to embrace themselves, be they in your world or in others. You were my idol. An inspiration for me to embrace my own powers. Just once, could you trust me to repay that favour?”

 

“Gon Freecss. A Hunter, just like your father. Only fourteen, but you have gone through so many ordeals and proven yourself to have the will to stand against this cruel reality. You have the maturity to battle in the Origin War, but also the heart to not lose yourself. My beliefs were just like yours when I was younger. I wanted the people around me to stay safe, and I wanted the strength to make that so. Now, I have access to that strength. This is a reality that will not hesitate to dispose of everyone we love, but I don’t have to lose anymore. You don’t either. Will you help me win?”

 

“Killua Zoldyck. Hunter, and the heir to a family of assassins. Only fourteen, but your experience speak for itself. Throughout their time, the names of both Maximus and Zoldyck brought only misery and death...we both inherited rather troublesome surnames, didn’t we? But in your pursuit for entertainment, you came to realize, as I realized, the value of life. I sense a genuine friendship between you and Gon; to you, who grew up in darkness, he is the light. Let me help you protect him, and everything you treasure. Won’t you follow me into the light?”

 

“Wyvern Rhadamanthys. The Celestial Fierce Star. Oh God of Death, it is my honour to be in your presence, as it was for my other half. You have upheld the remarkable responsibility of being a judge of the underworld without question. Having stayed gloriously loyal to Hades all this time. Even now, you fight in your lord’s name, do you not? Your battles with the Saints of Athena has been arduous, not without consequence, and I promise you as I did all that time ago that the Door holds the power to rewrite that. I beseech, for your Lord Hades, will you stand with me?”

 

“Darcy. The Dark Witch. My first real recruit. It was a pretty nervewracking experience for the other me. You weren't nearly as nice as I expected, so your straightforward request took me off-guard! Still, never a moment goes by when you don't know what you're doing. I can't help but admire that firm ambition of yours. You sought power, and you seized every opportunity you were given. Deep in my heart, I actually disliked you at first, but in retrospect, we were never that different. We're both stubborn, selfish outsiders. So, as we did long ago, would you care to serve me?”

 

“And Satori Komeiji... There is little to say to a golem. But I admire the love you have for your sister. That feeling alone is true enough to keep you going. Whatever she decides, I implore of you to not stop her.”

 

“Koishi Komeiji. The No One’s Rose, with eyes closed to love. Poor, sweet girl, subject to the cruelty of this reality, and none of it by your own volition. You are a victim who has been tormented by incurable troubles, and temporary hijacked the Border’s body in an effort to continue. Desperation and fear has fuelled your motives. But believe me when I say that I’m here for you, that everything’s going to be okay. The dragon king fell thanks to you, and now the Key is safely secured, whether it should be. This reality has been determined to crush you, as it does us all. Yet here we are. Through the Door, you can live out your old life, with a hat that will not be lost, with dreams that will not be forgotten. My dear, doesn’t that sound nice?”

 

“Gabriel. Or Rubedo the Holon, whichever you prefer. I understand that you may not have the best opinion of me. After all, my other self was the one who placed you into my Build-A-Bear lion (how is Little Theus by the way? Is he being taken care of?). But even if your creator never made a proper application for you beyond a footnote, I saw your memories whilst transporting your soul. Even without the complex origins of our souls, we’re not so different. We grew up orphans, crutching on the same children’s card game, dreaming of an impossible future－you a wrestler, me a superhero. We pursued them, and we became them...until this reality screwed us over. Now look where we are, Gabriel. I don’t think this is quite what either of us had in mind as kids. But perhaps this is where our impossible dreams are realized, without disasters like the Great Leviathan irreversibly ruining it. Behind that Door, War Garvas awaits your return. Will you join us?”

 

“Bayonetta. The Famed Witch, and Left Eye of the World. Cereza’s a nice name, but your current name suits you far better - you really are a bayonet. Even though my other self trapped you in the Vault, I had somewhat of a soft spot for you, going out of my way to make your stay comfortable. In truth, I was envious of you. I mean, your, ahem, proportions…are certainly one very notable thing, yes, but more than that, I found your personality charming. You’re vicious yet kind, chill whilst enjoying whatever comes your way. Escaping the Vault came at the cost of learning devastating news, but you pressed on - and miraculously, your heart was granted a reprieve. Somehow, she returned from death. It honestly warms my heart to see you two side by side. But, imagine if that didn’t happen. There are countless others to whom it doesn’t happen, waiting for loved ones who would never return. Is it wrong to care? To want to change that? I’ve been told that I’m way too stubborn for my own good, even sacrificed my own humanity to get here. I’m only interested in surefire solutions, and this Door is that solution. So, what say you? Do I peak your interest at all?”

 

“Jeanne. The Pride of the Umbran Legacy. Your presence here, I must confess, really confuses me. I genuinely thought you were dead, so how are you alive? You weren’t among the Counter Corps, Divine, or even Ophelia’s crew, so when did you enter? When did you find time to complete the Pathways? Ah, forgive me… These aren’t the questions I ought to ask. One way or another, you conquered death, and here you are, finally reunited with the Umbran Sister I stole from you. I sense the closeness between you both; you two really are ‘one of a kind’. I ask that you don’t blame me for what you’ve been put through. I’m not the reason. When you think about it, the true reason is this reality. Won’t you aid me?“

 

Hapshiel. The Angel of Love. The sight of you makes me cringe, I must admit, but perhaps that’s not so bad. I am envious of your unyielding confidence. The message you spread is a positive one, and you do so without the faintest trace of fear. When Ophelia brought you into the Origin War, you knew exactly what you had to do. You have truly dedicated every inch of your being to your belief… And believe me, it's a belief that I share. Both you and I have bore witness to true evil, and in our own ways, we have acted against it. Our goals are in alignment. Through the Door, everyone may know true love. Will you help me share that love?”

 

“Reimu Hakurei. The Shrine Maiden of Paradise, charged with the task of maintaining the Great Hakurei Barrier between Gensokyo and the outside world. The lives of all youkai essentially rest in your hands. It truly sounds perilous. All your life you have upheld a tremendous responsibility, separating yourself from others for the sake of duty, and I must say I know what that’s like quite well. We’re both Judgment in our own ways. You know that reality can be cruel, don’t you? The Incidents in your land are enough of a reminder at how easily everything can go wrong, and believe me, things go very wrong in other continuities. Thus, I must implore of you. Will you help me set up a new barrier - one against the injustices of this reality?”

 

Her voice turned colder for this one, “Yukari… Will you continue to stay in the shadows? Do so, and you will end up like your other self. Strip yourself of arrogance, stand down, and stay by my side. You know you can’t win.”

 

“Ayame Kaguya. Half-human, half-demon, and free from the influence of shadows. Your life has been defined by your desire to be there for others. After the loss of your mother, your father constantly went to great lengths to protect you, so the enrolment at that academy seemed only natural. You met Naomi, and your beliefs and your friendship were tested. You patiently stood by her side for years, forming a bond unlike any other… And this reality, cruel as it was, murdered Naomi in cold blood. My other self erased the Shadow Realm exactly because of its evil; I never could have imagined it would actually attempt to persevere via a host. I respect that we may not agree with one another, but think about what I offer. Do you want a tragedy like that to happen again?”

 

“Neos Rivetter. A fellow traveler of universes, and a badass Ditto. Being Jace's friend automatically makes you more likable. I know what it's like to go through journeys of uncertainty and chaos, entering strange worlds and involving oneself in all these adventures, trying to make a difference. I know what it’s like to suffer as a consequence. The Counter Guardian trusted you because you have a bright head on your shoulders. I apologize for what I had to do, for what I ordered Byakuya to do. Despite what Alexander achieved, you have to admit that Arturia could have changed her mind again at any point－if she had, all of us would’ve been in danger. I wanted her to die happily. There’s so much more you could do. Could you take a leap of faith, for me?”

 

“Gemini Rivetter. A fellow invader of Origin. And that’s a hilariously appropriate hat you’re trying to hide there, but I won’t judge your fashion sense. In any case… You’re different from the others. I can see your entire existence, from the moment you were first written to this very point. Calling you a split personality isn’t right, for you’re someone completely separate from Neos. And you are hurting, aren’t you? You were born in pain, and have lived a life of pain. I don’t claim to understand. But I know that pain is pain no matter what, and I live by the simple philosophy that everyone is worth saving. ̷Dr͠o̧p͢ ҉t͠h̸e ̶p҉re҉t͠e͢n͝se҉ ͢t͏h̢at͡ a͟ny̧t̷h̵i͞n̢g ͜m̀àtte̷rs̴, ̴f̕in̛e͢ dèmo̢n. On̕l͝y͢ ͏y̴ou a҉nd̢ ̶I kn͘o̕w ̛of th̶e ̛f̛r̷ight͡e̡ni̢ǹg͜ ̕'͟T͘r͏ưth’.̛ ̵If͢ ̧w͡e͢’re̵ ̛d͡e͘stine̡d͢ ͘to ̴be ̧puppe͡ts,̷ at҉ l͢eas͞t͡ ļet m̨e ͝g̛ive us ̢a͝ll͞ m͞ea͠nįn͞g. Can you find it in you to trust me?”

 

“Kazuya Minegishi. Once called Abel, the First Martyr, but now a summoner of awesome beings. You are so young and inexperienced, yet this is not the first war you have been dragged into. You were brought into the war between angels and demons, and in a mere seven days, banished all demons from Tokyo… Yet this did not last, you knew it would not, and you dread your powerlessness in the whole affair. You joined the Counter Corps because you saw hope to create lasting peace in your world. Look beyond, my friend, to the Door I offer. To true lasting peace. Will you take it?”

 

“Atsuko Fudo. Daughter of Itsu... I have wanted to meet you for so long now, so I wish it were under better circumstances than this. Even if your controller has changed, you are still exactly the same to me. You and I are two sides of the same coin. The shadows left behind by gods. Your own mother failed you, as my father did I. And yet it looks like we both overcame our hatred, seizing on our dark powers for the greater good. It hasn’t been an easy journey, but here we stand, opposing one another as our predecessors once did. That doesn’t have to be the case. As fellow sisters, won't you help me?”

 

Her voice took on a distinct malicious edge for this one, “Great Leviathan. I had hoped to greet a good man named Kyros, but it appears I can only reach out to you. Listen closely, fine creature. Even you will be granted happiness. However, your intentions for the Door simply cannot be. Even LERNA would have been more reasonable in her desires. I request you but one thing… Lay down your life for me, and there will be no conflict.”

 

“Ratchet. The Lombax Hero. You have lived many lives, all with amazing achievements, fused into one singular, slightly confusing point. Despite that fusion, your core has made it past the Pathways stronger than ever. Believe it or not, we grew up quite similarly. You a lombax, me a psychic, we were the only ones of our kind… was it that separation that brought you to dream of heroes, as it did I? We entered adventures in naivety, but with every battle, we learned to let go of our grandeur and selfishness. There was a time when you intended to trade your life for those captured heroes. Look at me. That’s exactly what I intend to do now. Will you take my side?”

 

“Alexander Abernathy. The Unity of Dimensions. Your father once wanted you to be a Preatorian Guard, didn’t he? Back then, you probably couldn’t have imagined that ‘taking a different path’ would’ve brought you all over the multiverse. You were forged in the pains of great injustice, the memories of which motivate you to this day… I may only wonder if you took on the name ‘Abernathy’ as a reminder. I cannot apologize enough for what I made you see, with regards to the dragon king. However, we are fellow travellers of the multiverse. Even if we don’t agree on our beliefs, we have both experienced the diverse, unnecessary pain of this reality firsthand. The many Duel Monsters at your side, Umbris, and many, many others, are all supporting you, having followed you this far through hardship. I am certain they will understand, no matter what. You want to make a difference, don’t you. I do too. What do you choose?”

 

“Lydia Armstrong. Sorceress of Hope, Slayer of LERNA. Avalon suits you－you’re practically unrecognizable as you are. You started off headstrong, the spunky magical girl sidekick to your best-friend-turned-superhero, and I imagine you were like that coming into the Origin War. LERNA must have changed that. The hope in your heart was exposed to the greatest despair… You’ve only grown stronger since your victory, even besting my father in single combat. That resolute look on your face reminds me of a Counter Guardian. Even if you’re only twenty-three, there is no doubt as to your maturity. But even if we don’t see eye to eye, we don’t have to oppose one another, Lydia. You understand the power of hope. Together, we can spread hope to everyone in this reality. Would you deny that opportunity?”

 

“Chandra Nalaar. The Fire of Kaladesh, and a formidable Planeswalker. You’re powerful, rebellious, and unafraid to show it, an embodiment of flames through and through. Like Jace, you have witnessed much of the terrors that this reality has throughout your travels, and you have acted against it however you can. I know how that feels very well. I also know that your flames originate from a source of pain - forgive me for bringing this up, but wasn’t it fire that burned your village and your family to the ground? The fires of the Consulate? And what did that achieve? Remember that pain, that agony. The same pain we all feel in the face of such incomprehensible horrors. With the Door, we can raze pointless tragedies like that to the ground! What do you say?”

 

“Jace Beleren. The Mind Mage. The telepathic Planeswalker from back then. Hi. It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm sorry I couldn't be there when you woke up, but you’ve come exceptionally far since then. Let me reassure you, that I am the same as the Isamy you met... The only difference is that, due to my different beginning, I get you even better. I grew up like you, a psychic, you a telepath and I an empath. Forced to share in the sufferings of the many. Forced to witness the injustice of this reality with wider eyes than most. Despite our pain, we took on the responsibility of countless lives, be it as the Living Guildpact or as an Omni… And beyond that, everything else I shared with you is valid. Jace, my friend, you entrusted your life to me once before. Because you understood me. Because we understood each other. Even now, as you listen in on what I’m asking the others, I’m sure you understand every word. Thus, would you be willing to entrust your to me life one more time? I promise... This'll be the last time I ask this.”

 

“Red. The Arisen. I believe you were one of the Divine’s final recruits before my other half faded away. You were a Dragon Elder, whose life was ruined due to the Sorcerer’s interference－what?” Isamy’s telepathic words came to a halt for a moment. She was checking the plate of the individual she was addressing, yet it showed up blank. “Red, where did your application go…? No matter. I have seen enough of you. When my other self approached you, you had sought to save your world from its own entropy and decay. You understood, as I understood, the lengths we had to undertake for the sake of the greater good. Even though you had very little to go on, you took that leap of faith to follow me into the Sphere Forest. You had the mind of a true Divine, and in the presence of those such as Xansvita and Sayer, were a much-welcomed breath of fresh air. Thank you. You appear to stand among the Counter Corps now, but let me assure you that I am not the scoundrel my father was. I intend on going through with the words I once spoke. Now, here I stand. All too prepared to fulfill my promise to you. Will you accept?”

 

Finally, she addressed her last subject.

 

“General Alister Azimuth. The Fallen Savior. You’re overcoming your terrible fate, aren’t you? You were a leader and a hero, yet made a mistake that cost countless lives. All you ever wanted to do was correct that mistake. You sought out the center of the universe and discovered the Great Clock, but...it turned out to be far more dangerous than you’d thought. You sacrificed yourself to rectify that. When we met, I could tell that you were cursed to death; this reality was determined to say that you had reached the end of your life. But I’m not known for following the rules… To save you, I instilled my magic into you. I turned you into a Distortion. That way, you would be a tear in reality wherever you went. Something fate couldn’t lay its hands on. But the act had some, well, bizarre results. The Great Clock must’ve had a major impact on you, and fate must’ve really wanted you dead too. The Origin War should be a fixed point in time with no alternate continuities, but there you were...”

 

As the previous dialogues drew to a close, her eyes shifted directly to her last subject, to whom she had too much to say and too little time. Was it the Lombax’s imagination, or did her eyes light up with life?

 

“...DISTORTING the future left and right every time you died. Yes, I know. My other self watched it all. I watched it all. Due to my Time Sense, I watched from afar as you died, time and time and time and time and time and maddening time again. Got up to 17,350 before losing count. I wonder if you know of this? I truly came to admire you, to root for you. With every action you took and every dying breath you made, I couldn’t help but think that you...were just like me. I couldn’t even protest when you defected, as most of the Divine were in it for selfish reasons... You and I, we’re one and the same. The both of us are fallen saviours. Now, look at where you are… You have the power to fix everything. And this time, it’s not something as defective as the Great Clock. This is EXACTLY what you wanted all along.” Then, holding out her delicate hand to the General from the top of the hill, "Come to think of it, you never did give a proper answer the last time,” she spoke exactly the same words as she did all that long, long time ago. "I can give you the means to rewrite your past, but you must be willing to help me. Join with me, and your dreams can become a reality: a perfect past with which to create an even greater future. I ask of you, Alister Azimuth: do you accept?"

 

At last, Isamy let out a heavy, exhausted sigh.

 

Before her eyes were all of the characters that had made it this far. Those belonging to the Phantom still had yet to come, but she would be ready to meet them when they did. It wouldn’t matter for now. Right now, at this very moment, the very people whom she sought to save were in her presence, forced to listen to her words.

 

Although it may seem that way, the psychic goddess was not necessarily omnipotent,. Still, she had drawn on all her personal experiences and knowledge in an attempt to reach out to everyone. It was the result of a combination of the other Isamy’s memories, her own power to sense their emotions via the psychic ability of ‘Empathy’, and the ability to read the sources of their existence - their ‘Applications’ so to say. Each of her messages were constructed with a personal touch that would appeal to them to the best of her ability.

 

Her feet stumbled for a moment, weak from the excessive amount of mental energy she had poured into her speech. The strain on broadcasting such long messages, combined with the effort to overcome resistance from dozens of warriors, had consumed much of her remaining determination, and she could feel the Key of Origin pulsing within her heart. All of these factors were vastly accelerating the process of encroachment that had yet to break her. Not once would she let herself yield to it. Even though her physical body had perished, and even though her existence was unravelling, she had held on for four years. Through pure determination had she made it this far. Now, she had come oh so close to the realization of her ultimate goal. To the salvation of all reality.

 

However, even with the Key of Origin in her possession, one thing remained.

 

The recruitment of the Divine was never a necessity.

 

The recruitment of the Counter Corps could have been halted at an early stage.

 

But she let them exist… For this reunion between Reality and Origin. So that they would reach her, in this easier version of the Pathway to Origin. So that they would hear out her reasoning for her beliefs. And so that they would place their trust in her. After their experiences in the Origin War, she was practically certain that they had to understand...and when they did, she could enter the Door of Origin with no regrets. Knowing that she was doing the ‘right thing’.

 

The idea that she was doing the ‘right thing’... That was the only reason why she had held onto her own ghostlike existence for this long.

 

 

Upon having contacted everyone, Isamy Maximus moved her mouth for the first time, to speak verbally for the first time. Her actual voice was hollow, robotic, broken, betraying the amount of care that her speech had up until now, and yet there was a hint of pain in it. As if she was trying her utmost hardest to remember what it was like to feel emotion. To understand them on a personal level.

 

“Please. Take some time to seriously consider my proposal.”

 

On that note, she finally concluded her all too long welcome speech, packed with an incredulous amount of information. The infinity symbol above her disappeared, time resumed, and everyone found that they could move once more. Free to respond and act.

 

What do you choose, warriors of the multiverse?