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The Grand Crossover RP - Pathway to Origin [IC/PG-16/Apps Closed for Finale]

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Epiloguous

"The question is: How hard will it be to finally end her delusions of grandeur?"

At Lydia’s question, the sun goddess Itsu merely exchanged a solemn look with her before walking onwards. Indeed, whether it was through words or through brute force, there wasn’t going to be an easy pathway to victory.

"No one is truly immortal." Kratos remarked, in the aftermath of a bloody victory. Although it wasn't her business to be involved, she used some of her energy to open a hole right beneath Kenpachi's cleaved corpse - the shinigami's body fell within, presumably never to be seen again, tidying the mess of that grim tragedy.

Over the course of the past thirty minutes, the various warriors had made their decisions within this dreamlike, rainbow space in preparation. Some, like Hapshiel, had embraced the Power of the Past. Some, like Butler and Eria, had embraced the Power of the Future still. Others still, like Lydia, had opted to forge their own path onwards. Whatever the case may be, there was little doubt that they were now stronger, both physically and mentally, and prepared to take on their last challenge. In addition to the upgrades, they’d been given the opportunity to resolve any remaining feelings, to reflect on any lingering mysteries, and to speak their last farewells. After all, another chance may never come again for them, or anyone else.

Afterwards, the remaining survivors of the Origin War - Counter Corps and Divine alike - watched Itsu as she made her way over to the center of Epiloguous. Each and every one of them now ready for the endgame.

“Hello, everyone! It's your friendly neighborhood Sun Goddess here. Mind if I have all your attention one last time?” Itsu announced brightly, piercing the situation's tenseness with a booming, enthusiastic voice. “So… It looks like this is the final battle. Judging by those looks, I’m willing to bet you’re all ready. Or at least, as ready as you can be. I’m no Counter Guardian, but let’s do one last briefing." 

The goddess float upwards, moving higher above the rest of the warriors, until everyone was able to see her.

"Now that Isamy has been restored to her prime state, winning will take everything we have. We’re talking about an overpowered lich with a saviour complex here. The result of two little girls encouraging and enabling each others’ behaviour. By now, you’ve all seen how far her obsession goes. Here’s the rundown on what she’s capable of.”

A golden aura was radiating, or rather, leaking out from her body. For some reason, the level of power she had seemed to be dwindling with each passing second.

“Isamy Maximus is an Omni, an immortal being with a soul frozen in time. She will have access to Shadow Magic and Psychic Powers, particularly her power of ‘empathy’, letting her read others’ emotions like an open book. Isamy also has Time Sense, giving her what may be described best as a heightened sense of time.” Itsu explained, summarizing as best as she could. “Most importantly, her newest and most dangerous power appears to be called ‘Void Inclusion’. I’m sure you’ve all had the misfortune of experiencing this. While I don’t fully understand it, Void Inclusion seems to involve tapping into the Key of Origin to overlay others’ existences over her own, granting her their powers and associated possessions. As long as she’s aware of them… anyone who ever fought and died in the Origin War seems to be fair game. Under certain circumstances, just like it was with Dorian, even different versions of the same being may be Included. But stay strong! These Void Inclusions are temporary, and she will only be able to use them so many times. Act according to your knowledge and instincts.”

Even if any of it was flying over their heads, even if they wanted to jot down notes, they were racing against time now. There wasn’t enough time left to give a history lesson on her various capabilities.

“Remember. Despite Isamy’s immortality and arsenal of abilities, winning is not impossible... As a matter of fact, two methods of victory exist.

With a gesture, she summoning twin lights, which proceeded to morph and shape themselves.

“First, if she deems you guys enough of a threat to assume her true form, her soul will physically manifest. Although this grants an insane, nigh-cosmic level of power, this will also leave her soul exposed to all forms of attack, making it possible to end her. This was the first mission of the Counter Corps. Now, you will all have the opportunity to fulfill that mission.”

The first light formed the shape of a teenage girl-one who was promptly overriden, torn to pieces by a mass of swords, bullets, and magical attacks.

"Second, if you’re able to make her give up on her core desire, on her twisted need to give everyone else happily ever afters, her Omni Principle will collapse altogether. This will revert her back to being a powerless mortal or two, and have the added bonus of preventing another Omni from rising up in the future. I can’t say this will be any easier, only that the possibility is there.”

The second light formed the same shape-but this time, the girl collapsed to the ground and started to weep uncontrollably, before disintegrating into dust particles.

“In other words… Destroy Isamy’s soul, or force Isamy to change her way of thinking.”

Both lights proceeded to fuse together, morphing to take on a new shape. The shape of a blank trading card, that is.

“The Key of Origin we need is currently lodged inside her existence. Whether we crack open her soul or convince her to give up, the Key should be released in one piece. Either way, victory will be ours.” Itsu explained further, sparing no detail. Her eyes met with all the gazes of the incredibly stubborn warriors before her. “And then, uh, maybe this is thinking too ahead, but… If you take away the decision from Isamy, don’t expect a higher power to make the decision for you. Assuming you do get that far, just remember: The Key can only be used by a single holder. Hence, if you somehow find yourselves at the Door of Origin, victorious… It’ll be up to you guys right here to determine which warrior you’ll entrust with the fate of the multiverse.”

On that note, the light promptly faded, and Itsu waved her hand about apologetically. “No pressure.”

Indeed. The Key of Origin would be the prize of this battle, and there would be no Counter Guardians or Omnis to make the decision for them. Or rather, even if there were, could they possibly trust such an entity? To the Counter Corps, Arturia Pendragon seemed like she was on their side at first, she seemed trustworthy and seemed to know what she was doing, only for it to turn out that she was just using everyone. Meanwhile, the Divine had long since lost trust in any leaders.

After everything the warriors had gone through and fought for, was there anyone among them who could be trusted to hold the Key? Anyone who wouldn’t go mad with power the instant reality was at their fingertips? Anyone who could carry out their every wish and fix everything? Would there be a clear winner at the end of it all, or would the various warriors come into conflict with one another once they no longer had a common enemy?

But as the goddess stated, perhaps it was thinking too far ahead.

“It’s almost time. In moments, you will be able to return to the Door of Origin. From there, it’ll be up to your powers alone.”

After all, before even considering such a thing, they had a near-impossible battle with the Herald of Chaos and Entropy to take care of. As if to signal this, small tremors continued to spread all across the rainbow space of Epiloguous.

“It may be late to say this, but once I send you off,  I... My life is going to come to an end. Apologies for stalling as much as I have.” Itsu confessed, her smile staying as wide and radiant as ever. Although her shaking hands told a different story. Briefly, she gave Atsuko and Gabriel apologetic glances.  “It’s taking the last of my spiritual energy just to keep existing here, so with this next act, my existence will cease to be. I thought I was ready… Guess I’m not as strong as I thought. This is a surprise. Even with reality at stake, I suppose it’s hard not to get a little nervous about ‘the end’, huh? After all this time, I’m still not prepared. Bet that doesn’t sound very godlike of me. But of course, I’m the only one who can do this, aren’t I? I’ll do what I must. Disappearing in front of a ton of strangers wasn't the way I imagined going, but oh well. Looks like it’s time for me to make the sacrifice play now."

With those words, talking just to keep herself composed at this point, the former goddess could only stare up at the galactic sky with feelings that were difficult to describe. 

"Next time you see Isamy... end her suffering, alright? End... this war...”

The sun goddess’s golden glow was beginning to intensify, until it became clearly apparent that this light was consuming her from the feet upwards. That she was disintegrating.

Soon enough, only her upper torso was left, and as the light advanced, there was a distant, fearful, yet ultimately determined gaze in her eyes, fixated on an improbable dream far, far away.

"Oh, too bad Dami-kun..."

As her eyes vanished and brilliant golden light had finished overtaking the rest of her body, enveloping the remainder of her existence, the Interdimensional Troubleshooter's tone changed as she deliriously murmured her final words,

"I activate my trap card-"

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And thus, after millennia of existing, the ancient Itsu Fudo ceased to be.

Her vast, incredible history drew to a close, leaving only a sense that the multiverse had lost yet another great hero as a result of the Origin War.

...

Once the sun goddess had vanished, all that was left was a brimming, fiery vortex in her place, the remnants of her energy having been converted into a gateway back to the Door. It stayed fixed in place, spinning with incredible force, and the warriors knew exactly what lay on the other side; their final enemy, now at full strength.

In Epiloguous, all that was left now was the vortext, and with it, a solemn, silent atmosphere.

This would be the last chance for the Warriors of the Multiverse to reflect on everything that had happened thus far. When thinking back from the moment they first entered the Origin War to this very moment at the end of the Pathway, they'd been unable to shake the feeling that years had passed. Whether it was as early as the Shadow Realm or as late as the Pathways themselves, there was the unmistakable sense that whoever they used to be before entering, those people had long since ceased to be. That they had changed forever.

Was all this the effect of the Pathway to Origin?

Was all this the cost they had to pay just to reach the fabled Door of Origin?

In the beginning, so many hopeful warriors had embarked with them. But in the end, so many died. Too many.

All their homes had been lost to the distortions.

All their innocence had been crushed by a constant series of never-ending losses tragedies, and battles.

And yet...

...here they were.

One by one, the Warriors of the Multiverse entered the vortex.

 


 

When they left Epiloguous and drifted across nothingness for what was now the third time, foreign memories seemed to be passing through their minds.

Isamy’s memories, it seemed. Or at least, memories belonging to the two individuals who made her up. It wasn’t something they really needed to pay attention to. Perhaps this would contain the key to victory inside somewhere, somehow. Perhaps this would be a last bout of closure before their almost-certain deaths. Or perhaps this would simply turn out to be a set of meaningless stories. Regardless… let it be known that those stories were indeed told.

 

Quote

 

~          BLISSFUL DEATH         ~

 

Before she was given the surname Maximus, Amy was merely an orphan.

Once upon a time, that was the only life she understood.

As an unwanted child born to a poor, single mother, ‘home’ was not a word she knew for long. Although faint, she could still somewhat recall being dragged into a car without explanation, and then ultimately dropped off in the middle of nowhere. With no one else to take care of her, the legal authorities brought her over to an orphanage where she found herself amongst children of similar ages. And where she, in her innocence, decided to make friends.

It was during this period that her latent psychic abilities arose, her desires manifesting into an intense form of ‘Empathy’-and suddenly, being close to others transformed into a living hell. Their despair, their loneliness, their frustration, the maelstrom of their emotions amassed inside her head, and in that small orphanage, there was no way to escape them. It wasn’t even like she had the telepathy to figure out why they felt such things. She just felt it all. To experience the combined suffering of thirty-four orphans was a suffocating weight she was simply unable to bear, thirty-four times more than what she would normally feel. It was cyclical, really; she would feel distress, then others would feel distress at the sight of her, and in turn, her own distress would amplify even more. With each passing day, her emotional breakdowns grew more and more frequent.

Eventually, the orphan girl reached her breaking point. If she stayed inside the orphanage, the emotions of the other children would consume her. Yet if she escaped out into the world, the vast array of people there - of endless adults - would shatter her mind altogether. Where would she even go if she did? There was only one logical solution. While the other kids were outside, she snuck into the caregivers’ office in pursuit of a rumoured object, searched the cabinets, and ultimately found it.

That is, a Glock 26 semi-automatic pistol.

At seven years old, with shaking hands, the girl put the gun against her own forehead. If reality was so painful, if there was nowhere to escape, then the only way forward was to end it all.

“...”

But, ultimately, she didn’t fire.

Rather, a thought had occurred to her.

They lost their parents too... Do I really wanna make it worse for them?

It was a sudden sense of sonder. Not like the other kids really cared for her back then, or understood how to help her; in fact, she was considered a crybaby, targeted for her fits of uncontrolled emotions. But what they felt, what kept being shared with her on a consistent basis, was most certainly real. It wasn’t like they wanted to feel that way, or subject her to those same feelings. It was just that no one really understood how to help one another.

Right, that was just the sort of reality this was. A reality of idiots.

After dropping the gun, a caregiver would barge in moments later, confiscate it in a fit of terror, and with that, her one chance at ending herself would be gone. She got in trouble for this dangerous behaviour, of course, and for the rest of her time at the orphanage, the staff made sure to keep an extra close eye on her, accompanying her wherever she went. However, doing so turned out to be unnecessary.

If I’m going to keep on living…

If I really have to use this power…

Then I guess I’ll try to be a superhero around here!

The very next day, she resolved that she would try to power herself through the pain as much as possible. And the only way to do so was to minimize the pain surrounding her; to make the world as much of a happier place as possible.

“What’s wrong?”

“Sure, I can help you!”

“Don’t worry, dude, that's what friends are for!”

Amy proceeded to model herself into a small-scale superhero over the coming years. Others may call it being a 'doormat', but if so, then she would be the greatest doormats of them all. She forced herself to interact with the other orphans. She listened to their problems, made them feel better, did things to make them laugh whenever and wherever possible. Every time someone was depressed, she would track them down and cut the problem at its root. Every time someone was hurt, she would support them like her life was on the line. Although the times where everyone was sad still crippled her mind, conversely, the times where everyone was happy was like an overwhelmingly blissful drug for her. All of this, for the sake of not going mad from the pain… Or perhaps she already had.

Her own feelings, her own desires, her own opinions, these things stopped mattering-whenever she made those around her satisfied and happy, she shared in that satisfaction and happiness as well.

If acting the role of a superhero helped ease the pain,
if her own happiness would just be drowned out by what others felt,
then what was the point in even living for herself?

Even when she was ultimately adopted, the sorcerer who took her in was a man in constant agony. It didn’t matter that her new father gave her the greatest home she could ever want, or that he taught her how to properly use her psychic powers, or that he even showed her all the wonders of the greater multiverse. Because being around him was suffering, she couldn’t enjoy a single inch of it; not unless she dedicated the rest of her life to making him happier. He continued to use her for years, and all she could do was hope for her happiness by proxy.

Finally, when a failed attempt at assistance caused Protheus Maximus to drag her to the Castle of Necrophades, lock her in a certain room, and leave her to starve to death… All she could think was one thing.

I should’ve tried harder to help him. What kind of superhero am I...?

 


 

Before she was given the name Isabella Maximus, she was merely a slave.

Once upon a time, that was the only life she understood.

In the midst of a collapsing civil war, the girl who was once royalty was kidnapped from her bed and sold off. When violently torn from her sheltered, privileged upbringing, the child was shell-shocked, thrust into a world of cruelty. Just like that, she was bought by a foreign nobleman, where she found herself powerless and isolated. And where she, with her remaining innocence, had no option but to do the best job she could.

It was during this period that her latent magical powers started to arise. Inherited from Ancient Egyptian ancestry unbeknownst to her, the phenomenon called ‘Ka’ stirred within her heart. Every time she resisted, or refused, or told her masters their command was unreasonable, this display of independence was met with a cruel punishment. Every time the punishment was over and she could finally return to her chambers, she practiced her mystic powers in secret; it seemed she was capable of some sort of monster from her soul. At first it was tiny, puny, feeble, but the more she practiced and cultivated her hatred, the more it seemed to grow. Over the course of the next few years, she tried to serve her masters as diligently and as faithfully as she could, all the while cultivating her mastery over this dark magic.

Eventually, the slave girl reached her breaking point. As long as she remained a slave, she would continue to be treated like trash, she would never have anything to call her own, and she would never have a future. However, if she tried to escape, the soldiers would hunt her down, either selling her back into slavery or killing her outright. Where would she even go if she managed to overpower them? There was no logical solution. At the very least, perhaps she could find some justice in this world of evil.

That is, using the power of her ‘Sin Dracolich’.

At seven years old, with clenched fists, the girl stood in front of her master’s home and summoned her now-massive, monstrous Ka in the middle of the night. If reality was so painful, if there was nowhere to escape, then the only way forward was to end them all.

“...”

But, ultimately, she didn’t do it.

Rather, a thought had occurred to her.

They’re… just trying to be happy too…

It was a sudden sense of sonder. Her masters were an innocent family who otherwise happened to be strict, having three kids among them. It wasn’t like those kids really cared for her, treated her nicely, or showed her concern; in fact, they were far crueler than their parents in some aspects, not even seeing her as human. However, this was just the way they were raised, the way they understood reality to be.

Right, that was just the sort of reality this was. A reality of idiots.

Rather than kill them, she proceeded to deliver justice instead. Her Ka swooped up into the air, waking up her former masters with piercing screams and blasts of energy, and only once when they escaped the building did she set on fire. She would take everything from them, but as long as they lived, they would have the opportunity to rebuild and repent. Such was her compromise.

If I’m going to keep on living…

If I was blessed with power like this…

Then I’ll just have to become this land's saviour!

The very next day, she resolved that she would try to fight against the nation’s injustice as much as possible. And the only way to do so was to inflict destruction; to punish those who think so little of them, free the less fortunate, and make the world as much of a happier place as possible.

“What’s wrong?”

“I live to serve you!”

“Don’t worry, master, this is what slaves are for!”

Amy proceeded to model herself into an invisible saviour over the coming years. She would let herself be captured by slavers, suffer untold abuse and try to appeal to the richest noblemen; ideally those who owned the largest numbers of slaves. Then, every time she was taken in, she would gather information before ultimately destroying everything they held dear and repeating the cycle. Some of her owners were genuinely good people, yet still she burned down their homes. At times, the despaired faces of her former masters would weigh on her heart, but conversely, she felt like a genuine saviour whenever she saw the grateful tears of joy slaves gave her as they ran away. All this, while trying not to go mad from the pain… Or perhaps she already had.

Her own feelings, her own desires, her own opinions, these things stopped mattering-in order to achieve her goals, she dedicated herself to making her masters satisfied and happy, only to tear everything away from them in the end.

If acting the role of a saviour was her destiny,
if her own happiness was something that could be stolen away at any time,
then what was the point in even living for herself?

Aware of her powers but unaware of her nature, the sorcerer who took her in last was a cruel, arrogant man who committed atrocities on a whole other level. It didn’t matter that her new father gave her the greatest home she could ever want, or that he taught her how to properly control her magic, or that he even showed her all the wonders of the greater multiverse. Because he was such an utter monster, she couldn’t enjoy a single inch of it; not unless she found a way to usurp him. If she could find a way to stop him, perhaps even steal his powers, then she would become the multiverse’s greatest saviour. He continued to use her for years, and all she could do was wait for a chance to seize her happiness.

Finally, when a botched assassination attempt caused Protheus Maximus to drag her to the Castle of Necrophades, lock her in a certain room, and leave her to starve to death… All she could think was one thing.

I should’ve tried harder to kill him. What kind of saviour am I...?

 


 

The Door of Origin

“How… How am I…?”

She touched her cheek just to confirm, and immediately snapped back at the soft touch of her own skin. A gasp escaped her mouth. How bizarre.

After everything, after all the fragmentation her life had undergone within the past several years, it seemed she’d returned back to her original state. As a living human, with functioning emotions. As ‘Ameliorer Damiena Maximus’.

Confused, Amy thought back to her last memories.

The Herald recalled welcoming the many warriors to the Door as a psychic ghost, before being met with responses she couldn’t have possibly expected. Then - she temporarily lost herself to overwhelming hatred. Her soul was corrupted, turning into a Hollow that wreaked havoc on everyone, an endless force of frustration towards the cast. Upon regaining control, as a dying spirit, her desperation drove her to trick Nero into extending her life just a little longer, to split herself into a Heartless and Nobody. Her memories were foggy from there, but she could very barely remember. The darkness of being a Heartless, the emptiness of being a Nobody, toying with the cast. And then, a piercing light from the heavens… annihilating them both.

When a Heartless and Nobody are defeated, their materials drift back together to let the original self be reborn. In other words, she kept stripping her existence down until her core components - the Heart, Soul, and Body - were able to fit themselves back together in a proper manner. So that must be how she can exist here now.

Out of a bizarre turn of events, Amy had finally managed to piece herself back together.

Amy briefly looked around. It seemed she’d returned to the realm of the Door of Origin, itself damaged by cuts and tears in space, black spots permeating wherever she looked. It looked even more ruined than it did before, with rainbow colours melting into the whites. The blank circle in the distance, the Door of Origin, seemed as far away as ever.

But! If everyone else was gone, then there was nothing stopping her! Right?! Forcing this exhausted body onward, Amy started to walk across the realm, approach that Door in the distance.

Her dream was right there, right beyond reach, and after six whole years of being in this forsaken realm she was NOT about to be denied a happily ever after-

“You put the entire multiverse at risk for some greedy, self-righteous story that I ain't buyin'.”

She felt sick.

“The path you’re wanting...is the wrong path. My answer is no.”

“Happily ever after sounds awfully boring!”

““How can they cherish it when they didn't work for it? It’s selfish.”

She felt sick.

“There is no honor in this kind of power.”

“If you wanted what's best for us you wouldn't have gone on an insane quest that threatens to tear all of existence apart. You DON'T care about any of that at all!”

“How do you hope to satisfy every desire for happiness when they all conflict so thoroughly?”

She felt sick.

“You're more insane than myself if you believe that your endeavor will not cause an instant break in reality.”

I'd rather go through shit with the people I care about than to live in your twisted reality.”

“What's the point? What makes it your right to decide that? If you give everything their good ending, they might as well not live.”

She felt s-

“Being happy isn't a single state, but rather comes in changing levels, and I would probably end up rather unsatisfied with such a life.”

I just came here to undo the damage you have ended up causing to the Omniverse and get out here.”

Your words appear innocent, but they are laced with poison.  You're not a lady. You're a monster.”

Shut up.

“For all of your fancy goal, you are the one responsible for destroying so many homes, and ending so many lives without care for the consequences.”

 “I would rather swim in the River Styx before I spend an eternity with an empty shell like you.”

“How would the Door even fulfill such an abstract concept in the first place? Or do you have anything more detailed in your mind about your wish?”

Shut up.

“I don't want to return to my old life, even if Mr. Hat is with me. That would be like running away, right? I don't know if I should agree with you or not, Ms. Isamy, but I know that I mustn't run away like that.”

“This bitch wants to rewrite our worlds into a false reality.  She wants to dress it up and make it pretty.”

“Call me selfish, but I'm here to bring closure to this tale of war, so that other stories could continue. Because my story has really only just begun now.”

Please, just shut up.

That’s an insult if you ask me; never would I allow myself to take the easy way out of any dilemma.”

“Not to mention, you were willing to tear people away from their loved ones to accomplish that goal, as well.”

“You may think yourself a “hero” for wanting to help the Multiverse, and yet you made yourself the villain the moment your search for the Key to the Door of Origin caused the unraveling and subsequent destruction of all the worlds you stole from.”

“You and I are the furthest things possible from being anything remotely resembling “family”.

“I’d rather that myself and my friends work towards creating a better future for our world, and for my species if possible. No shortcuts, and no deals. So no thanks, Isamy.”

“You’re still ultimately looking to take away our choice--and free will--to decide our own futures, our own histories even! We ourselves deserve to write our own stories, not have them be written for us by someone else.”

“You believe, as I had, that some ends justify the means of doing so, but what kind of cost is it to damn countless worlds just to prove a point? Where does it end girl?! Will you be satisfied once all of reality has its “happily ever after”? Or will that not be enough once everything unravels?!”

Just...

“Even with everything I’ve seen here, I can’t believe that reality is just cruel by nature. It’s people who can be cruel to each other, and I wasn’t any different. And yet, I know that there’s still just as many- no, there are countless more people who know how be kind, to trust us even if we don’t deserve it. To wake us up from wallowing in our misery. ”

“I would have never joined you when all this started, and if you and your father have shown me anything, it’s that I made the right choice.”

“If I joined you to let you do whatever you please with the Door, then that miracle would have all been for nothing. I’d rather be damned again before I let you win.”

“We don’t need you. We have our victory. The only thing left is to put the multiverse back the way it was. We can all pick up our lives back from where we left off. There is nothing that you can offer me.”

“You don’t want peace. You’ve been killing the universe, but you treat it like it’s some broken toy that you can sweep under the rug and then move on with your life. How do you expect me to trust you?”

“It was never about whether my universe, or anyone else’s is fragile. It’s about how people like you think that as long as you get a simple answer, it doesn’t matter who else has to die along the way. The answer’s no, Isamy.”

 

Just-

“JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!!!” screamed a distressed Amy, clutching her head in a vain attempt to wring herself of their words.

Her own mind was fractured; although her emotions had now fully regenerated, recovered since the incident with Avatar Conflictous, it now felt painful just to feel. Not only that, but whenever she tried to think, their words flooded her brain. Their defiant feelings flooded her brain. The fact that they wouldn’t cooperate flooded her brain. More than that, her own actions, all her own actions, were now finally beginning to catch up with her. How many people did she kill when she'd taken the form of monsters? Why did they even fight? Why did they have to fight?

All of a sudden, she was finding herself in a state of utter powerlessness and confusion. All she wanted was a happily ever after for everyone. It was all so inconceivable, and even those who did agree the plan at first - Jace, Ayame, Kenpachi - somehow found ways to change their minds and break free from her soul. What was this insanity? No, this stupidity? No, this… This…

“This is too much.”

She grasped hold of her head, trying to suppress the throbbing headache. If everyone else was doubting her this much, then even if she had the Key under her control, what the hell was the point?

“This is just… kinda too much…”

Half of the warriors didn’t trust her due to the countless universes destroyed due to her distortions. The other half didn’t believe things were that simple, preferring to have things to return to the way they were.

“I couldn’t come up with a proper answer even after all these years.”

It wasn’t like she even had a concrete answer yet. Granting everyone in reality a concept as vague as ‘happily ever after’, while still accounting for everyone else’s lives and desires… was it even possible? Was the Door omniscient enough to give her a specific idea in mind on how to execute what she wanted, or were the warriors right all along?

“I... Is this what I really wanted…? This… This can’t be, can it…?”

Amy collapsed to her knees, lost. Now that she was a proper human again, she was able to reflect sanely about all the events of the past several years. That… all of that… even for her, wasn’t everything they did a little too-

“Maybe I should just-”

YOU SHUT UP!”

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“I cannot stand to hear another word... AMY! Just LISTEN to yourself, what are you even saying?!”

Then a different voice rang across the Door’s empty realm. A distorted voice, filled with anger. When the psychic girl looked up, she saw an entity descending from above-it was none other than what some had dubbed 'The Anomaly', now a ghostlike being taking the form of someone incredibly familiar.

Or rather, someone totally unrecognisable. After all, before becoming Isamy, the two girls had never actually met in person prior to their fusion. For two individuals who spent over a century as a singular entity with shared thoughts, and an extra decade conspiring between realities, it was a strange feeling to admit that this was their first physical meeting. In some bizarre, roundabout way, it could be compared to meeting a long-term online girlfriend for the first time.

However, the awe of an actual, proper meeting with her other half would not stop her from voicing her thoughts.

“But Isabel…” Amy started to muster up a response. “Don’t you see it’s impossible…? Our dream… The ‘happily ever after’ we thought we wanted…”

As if insulted by those words, Isabella grit her teeth. It was taking everything she had just to maintain this physical form, to converse with her other self, so the sudden doubt and resistance was really getting on her nerves. After persisting this far as the Anomaly, after surviving both Protheus’s Karma Bomb and true form, and after everything they’d done, why the hell were they having this conversation now of all times?

“Get yourself together. It’s possible! Of course it’s possible! I got you the Key of Origin, didn’t I?! The goddamned Door of Origin we wanted so badly is right there, isn’t it?! Sure, both of us had to go through hell, but here we are! So what exactly is wrong here?”

“It’s…” The former orphan could only hold her head lower. “My Reunion didn’t go as planned. Everyone who’s here right now, they… In the end, not a single one of them were able to understand what we wanted to accomplish… The few that did agree went back on their word. Why? Why, if not because there’s something wrong with us…?!”

“Damn it Amy, this isn’t the time for doubts!” On the other hand, the slave-turned-anomaly was beginning to panic. “The Counter Corps and the Divine will be back soon. If we don’t fuse together as soon as possible, we won’t stand a chance against them in our current states…”

“Neither of us know how we’re going to do this!”

“Are you saying you’re backing out now, Amy? Now? NOW, after all the millions of universes we ruined and sacrificed in the name of Isamy Maximus?!”

“Isabel, you...

Actually, I’m glad you brought that up, because there's some gaps in the memories Byakuya transferred between us!”

Ameliorer stood up in defiance.

“So I managed to contact you thanks to our little loophope, but as far as I recall, COLLAPSING COUNTLESS WORLDS wasn’t part of the plan. How on earth did ‘finding the Key of Origin’ transform into ‘become the greatest mass murderer to ever exist’ happen anyway?!”

“Ugh-” Isabella avoided her gaze momentarily, with a pained look. It seemed as though she'd been caught. “It was a SIDE EFFECT, okay?! How was I supposed to know stealing artifacts from millions of universes would create a web of uncontrollable, destructive distortions? By the time I noticed, it was too late to turn back! By the time I realised billions of lives had died because of me, it would've been an injustice to them if I just stopped there, if I just left those first hundred or so universes to keep collapsing. I just had to keep going… And going... and going... And eventually, it all just started feeling like a game, as if none of it were real!”

“And all those lives lost-”

“Man, the emotionless Amy never questioned any of this. What does it matter if they’re lost?! You didn’t tell me to stop before, did you? You know why? Because just like me, it didn’t feel real for you. Just like me, you figured none of it would matter once we opened the Door.” Isabel countered. “Seriously, of all people, you’re having second thoughts about this? I did all the hard work, I suffered and I killed and I pushed myself to my very limits, while you just sat here and chilled in Origin, and you still dare…!”

“So what?!” Ameliorer countered. “Isabel, you... You may have told Emiya you completed the Pathway yourself, but you don’t honestly know what it was like completing or surviving the Pathway to Origin. Not firsthand. You just blasted through the trials, right? You didn’t experience Death, Truth, or Remembrance. You didn’t meet Avatar Conflictous. You definitely didn’t spend a maddening number of years trapped in NOTHINGNESS!!!”

The psychic gave her a cold, quiet stare. The emotional turmoil she hadn’t been able to feel all this time was finally beginning to catch up with her, and the more it did, the more utterly overwhelming it was becoming. “I bet at no point was your life seriously threatened out there. Meanwhile? I was stripped away of everything. I was torn apart, piece by piece by piece. All the things I believed in were cast into doubt and insulted again, and again, and again, and again, and AGAIN. You know what made me hold on during all that? Here's a clue, it certainly wasn't hope. It wasn't justice. It wasn't any semblance of goodness or selflessness. Just duty. I didn't even have the chance to turn back like you did. Because it was impossible for me to leave the Pathway to Origin, my only two options were wait for what may be an eternity for you to find the Key, or just outright end myself. " A deep breath. "And the only reason I didn't do the latter was because I didn't want to let you down."

“Amy…”

In turn, the look Isabel gave her was an apologetic look. One of sympathy and regret.

"You know, Amy, I... I just didn't want to let you down either." Isabel admitted, staring down at her other half. "All I did was what you asked me to do. You'd broken yourself to reach the end, and in the end, it all turned out to be pointless. You would have been trapped there for eternity.  We couldn't have known the Door of Origin needed a Key. That damned old man didn't mention a Key ANYWHERE in those DATEA Files he left behind, and after everything, it turned out his plan was to trap us all along and take it all for himself. What a goddamned bastard, an absolute f***ing bastard... But thanks to fate, and fate alone, I was given the chance to fix our mistake. No matter how I look at it, I couldn't have just left you there! I didn't want to leave you alone, and I didn't want all your efforts to go to waste!"  

The floating anomaly that was Isabella tried to contain her anger. He'd reduced her to dust during her confrontation with Ophelia and later bombarded her distorted remains with that Karma Bomb when she reached Remembrance, both times wanting to seize the Door for his own selfish ideas. Thankfully, their own plan managed to surpass his in the end, but at what cost?

"So yes. I suppose the thing that really kept me going this long wasn't our 'happily ever after' thing... I just didn't want to let you down either."

"I see."

Ameliorer's response was quiet. An ironic smile couldn't help but grow on her face, as though this were a cruel joke played by a narrative. If neither one of them had been absolutely dedicated to the idea of 'a happily ever after', just who was?

"So that's how it is. The Omniverse is in shambles now, and it's all because two idiots tried to cover for one another."

"..."

"..."

"But don't get me wrong. Even if we did is unforgivable... If I could do this again, a hundred times over, I would." Isabella reaffirmed. " I wouldn't even hesitate. I certainly haven't given up the fight just yet either."

“Isabel...?"

“Amy. Together, we conspired to reach the Door of Origin, right?”

“Obviously, but-”

“Together, we made the decision to enter the Pathway to Origin, didn’t we?”

“I mean of course-”

“And together, we made the decision that we wanted to grant everyone a ‘happily ever after’... didn’t we?”

“...we did.”

“The fact that you’re still here means you haven’t given up. That your half of the Omni Principle is holding up, and that your core desire is still running strong.” Isabel pointed out. “You merely have doubts. So let me reassure you: If it’s a specific method you’re worried about… Don’t be.”

“Wait… what do you…?”

At that moment, the realm of the Door of Origin shook ever so slightly, almost as if an unpleasant concept had made itself known at last.

“This isn’t the first time we thought about this, right? This exact problem occurred to Isamy Maximus. It occurred to us. In the event the Door of Origin wasn’t quite able to acknowledge our vague wish, Isamy worked out a more logical, specific wish which would accomplish the exact same thing.”

“That's...!”

“I know. We didn’t agree on it then.” Just like that, Isabella drew closer to Ameliorer, softening her tone. “However, either we do this or the multiverse loses its only hope at an actual happy ending. I’m sure it’s a bit of a scary thought, but Amy… We came this far, didn't we? It’s time for us to dedicate ourselves to this cause. It’s now or never.”

“I-"

"I won't force you, but-"

"No. It's fine." The former superhero muttered, somewhat dazed by the implications. "Now that it's come to this... I guess a wish like that is the best possible scenario."

“Yes.” The former saviour nodded, confirming her beliefs. “Remember. At the end of the day, we’re just stories.”

“We’re just... stories...”

“May as well make sure this one ends with a happy ending, right?”

And with that, their eyes met.

This time, there was no hesitation in either of their gazes.

“...right.”

Taking this as acceptance at last, Isabella’s arms wrapped around Ameliorer.

Ameliorer reciprocated in kind. only moments later, and the two damaged women pulled each other into a deep, strong embrace. The shards of their respective Omni Principles connected, responding to each others’ presence, recognising each others' souls. Once more, their existences began to fuse with one another.

If either one of these beings had been alone in attempting to fulfill the impossible work of Isamy Maximus, they never would’ve made it this far. It was only because of the flexibility and adaptability of thinking between them, only because these two stupidly selfless humans supported and pushed one another, that they had made it so far. For Amy and Isabel were two very different individuals who saw reality in two very different ways, only happening to share the same ultimate ideology.

To put it another way, Isamy wasn't merely a fusion of personalities. Because of the very nature of her components, Isabella fulfilled the role of "id", the burning desire to help others, and Ameliorer fulfilled the role of "superego", the moral obligation to help others. It was in between those two coinciding personalities that the "ego" named Isamy Maximus could arise.

“Don’t worry. It’s all going to be over soon, Amy.”

“Yeah… Let’s show reality what we got, Isabel.”

Isabella and Ameliorer. Twin souls who only wanted to make things better for everyone.

Once, the twin souls dreamed of better worlds.
When they fused into Isamy the Omni, they tried to achieve those happy endings.
When they split back into Isabel and Amy, they sacrificed everything for those happy endings.

Isabel trampled across the multiverse, sending universes into oblivion solely in an attempt to discover the Key of Origin---only to transform into living distortions. The Herald of Chaos.

Amy fought to the end of the Pathway to Origin, foregoing her own identity for years solely in an attempt to survive until the Key’s arrival---only to be reduced to something less than human. The Herald of Entropy.

After all, this was the reality they lived in. A cruel reality which punished merciful idiots for dreaming too much.

“ T O G E T H E R . ”

Thankfully… they had each other.

And in that aftermath, the true Isamy Maximus awoke from her long slumber.

 

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7


6


5


4


3


2


1


 

Now, at long last, let the finale of the Pathway to Origin resume.

Upon exiting out the other end of Itsu’s vortex, the various warriors found themselves jettisoned out. Scattered across the realm, gravity pulled them to the ground, and only then were they able to take in their familiar surroundings. Finally, they had returned to the place they were meant to be at all along.

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“So you guys are alive. Welcome back, Warriors of the Multiverse.”

A girl stood before the Door of Origin, greeting everyone with an unusually calm smile on her face.

This grand location seemed exactly the same as the last time they were here, which must’ve been an hour ago now. It was an otherwise-blank realm, damaged by tears in space, with black spots permeating wherever the warriors looked to give their surroundings the impression of a deteriorated old film. Once bathed in warm, golden light, now this place was simply riddled in distortions, with that ugly hill of dark matter sitting within its midsts.

In the distance, the Door of Origin maintained its dormant, simple ring-shaped form. Hence, it was probably safe to assume the Key hadn’t been used yet. Just like last time, 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.

However, between the warriors and the Door stood their most troublesome enemy.

Isamy Maximus. And this time, she was in her original form.

“Is it just me, or have most of you inexplicably grown stronger since the last time you met my Amy aspect? What’s with your stronger connections to Origin? Hm... No matter. Doesn't change anything.” Isamy wondered. She blinked in confusion as she observed them, but then proceeded to shrug. “You may not know this, but now my Amy and Isabel aspects have reunited. Hence, I’m feeling more refreshed than ever… It's like waking up from a long slumber. Now that you’ve survived my earlier tantrum, there’s a few thoughts I’d like to get off my chest, so listen up.”

Exactly according to Itsu’s information, the two components Isabel and Amy had reunited, fused together, and as a result regained their former strength. The perfect, pearl-like form she possessed earlier had been sacrificed. Instead, those who served or encountered Isabella during the Origin War would recognise this appearance well. The heterochromatic eyes of blue and green, the radiant turquoise hair, the dark matter clothes and scythe, as well as the frail, youthful body of a seventeen-year-old teenage girl were all unmistakable qualities of the one who brought the multiverse to its knees.

“You know, Ameliorer just wanted everyone to be happy.” Isamy spoke up, smiling, possessing a slight trace of bitterness. “On the other hand, Isabella just wanted to end pointless suffering. We both tried so hard. Though in the end… you guys denied us both. This reality denied us both.”

Despite her youthful appearance, she seemed unworried by their presence, and the warriors knew all too well that they couldn’t underestimate her.

“But hey… You know what?”

If there were any attacks or assaults attempted upon her, she would’ve simply danced around them at great speed, all the while continuing her speech.

“I’m not actually mad anymore! Hah… Ahahahah…”

The more she spoke, the more delight seemed to flood into her words, the more her sentences broke off into uncharacteristic giggles, as though she’d finally been freed of a heavy burden.

Or as if she’d she finally gone insane.

“Ah, it all makes sense now. I get it! I was such an idiot, wasn’t I? You guys kept trying to tell me it’s impossible, but I didn’t listen. Believing that I could just make my vague wish come true, believing that I could just force everyone to get along… Stupid. So stupid.” Isamy continued to talk dreamily, staring into the distance. “I liked to think if I just entered the Door of Origin and wrote ‘everyone lived happily ever after’, it would just figure out an answer on its own. But if you guys made me realize one thing, it’s that… it can’t be that simple. Sure, the Door can grant all wishes. But because mine was so vague, there would’ve been no way to tell what would happen. You all heard the vagueness, and you all said ‘no’. Totally understandable.”

Although her self-deprecating manner of speaking should’ve felt like a good thing, and although she was pointing out the flaws in her own ideology, it was instead coming off as creepy and ominous.

“Well, don’t worry. I'm not a puppet anymore. Now I have my answer, my real answer. A proper way for all of us to have our happy endings…”

Did she change her mind on her own, one might be wondering? Unfortunately, they had the feeling that wasn’t it.

“Or at least the next best thing.”

The complete Isamy rose up into the air, her dreamy smile beginning to transition into a giant, uncontrolled grin as she beckoned to the Warriors of the Multiverse.

 

“Once I enter the Door of Origin..."


"Yes…"


"To give us all a 'happily ever after',

I'll just have to kill everyone in the multiverse, won't I?"

 

Those were her exact words.

“With the power of the Door, I'll reach out to everyone in existence. I'll find the absolute happiest moment of their lives. Then, I'll make them DROP DEAD right there.” The Herald explained with outstretched arms, filled with a calm serenity as she revealed her reasoning behind absolute omnicide.  “It’s brilliant, isn’t it? More than that, it’s perfect. This plan is practically foolproof, I'm sure. Past, present, future will all be covered simultaneously, so there'll be no need to worry about causing contradictions like killing off parents before their children are born. The contradictions of conflicting fantasies and desires will be resolved cleanly as well. EI'll target every world of every dimension and make sure their endings are beautiful. This way, everyone’s lives would still have meaning, and no one, and I mean NO ONE, will ever have to suffer unnecessarily again! it'll all build up to that one moment, and tragedies will never have the opportunity to take away from it! Just like that, we will have pragmatically granted reality the greatest possible HAPPILY EVER AFTER!”

If there was any doubt that she had gone absolutely insane, it had crumbled in this very moment. If there were still any doubts that she was a danger to all of reality, they were all been thoroughly vaporized in this very moment. “Disagree all you like, Warriors of the Multiverse. This time, my mind is made up. No more doubts. No more regrets..."

Itsu’s suggested path to victory, about reasoning with this girl, sounded even more unrealistic now. How the hell was that going to be possible with a mad psychopath?

"Naturally, for the sake of peace of mind, there’s just one last thing I need to take care of. To ensure there’s no more weakness left in me... To ensure I won't hesitate when I do enter the Door... I'm afraid I'll have to finish what I was doing earlier.”

Isamy started to rise even higher into the sky.

"And that is... killing every last one of you."

Her eyes closed.

“I shall no longer hide from my destiny."

High up in the skies of the Door’s realm, Isamy Maximus assumed a stance, raising her arms until they were precisely adjacent to her own body, forming the shape of a cross. It was reminiscent of the holy manner in which Ancient Egyptian deities once posed, and more than that, it was a pose Eria’s crew would vividly recognise; the same pose Protheus used when he assumed his true form. With this, dark wisps gathered around her; from the ground of Origin, from the skies of Origin, and from a plane of existence that existed beyond Origin. These wisps violently latched onto her flesh and clothing, rapidly spreading all over until she had been wholly encased in a co҉̶co҉̶o҉̶n of shadow.

“I, the Herald of Chaos and Entropy, shall now strip off this useless shell just for you. It is time for me to reveal my soul, my true form... It is time to meet IZANAMI!”

The co҉̶co҉̶o҉̶n

“NOW”

cracked

“WITNESS A TRUE OMNIBOUND IMMORTAL”

and as it opened, one could barely make out the outl̷ine of the Ḥ͇ẹ͎̞͙̼r͇a̻l͚d͎̪̺̱̪ as͘c͢en͢d҉i͢ng into҉̶ ạ͇̝̜͞n̖̦͕̮̹̰ ̧̪̬͍̺̻̺̙ẹ͉̙͔̺x̞̺̗̺i͏̘s͏̱͔̱͚̜t̶̻̯e̹̩͠n̢̫̻͈̹̥̮c͇͝ę f̓̂͛̌ͥă̵̲̽̓̈́͐̓ͧrͥ̉ͦ̓ ͚̮̤͌͐͌ͬ͟b͓̖̎̊̓e͚ͦ͌͂ͥy͔̥̬͓̹͌̋̔ͫȏ̖͔͇̞͍̜ͯn̟̰͎̫̦͕͉̈̈́͛d͍͇͚̝͚̤ͭͅ ̞ͭͨͤͬͣ̏ṱ̟͚̻͈̦̻ͫͭ͗h̖̉̐ͤ̐ͭͪe̝͙̜̝̯î̝r ͚ͯ̓̒c̠̾ͪ̄̆̉̾̏o̤̱̪̻͉͖ͯ̄̄̍ͣ̒̓m̪̊ͫ̓p̵̲̩̟r̸̞̣̱ͨe̜̪͚̖̻͕͛̏ͮͫ̌h̲ͬ̈̓̿͡e̛͚͎̳̋̄̂͆̎̂n̖͖ͬ̐̿̒́͊ͨ͝s̴͔̘̩͉͔̺̻̋i̤͈ͭ͌ͮͯ̿ŏ̮̳̳̼̓ͦ̆ͥ̊̚ͅn̼͔͉͉͇͕̒͛ͭ̃͞ͅ,

 

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Origin Cosmos


As the transformation consumes you, you are violently enveloped in swirling crimson energies. Your very existence is being painfully eaten at, almost as if it intends to break you down for the rest of eternity.

Yet, whilst this damning experience is going on, you resist. In defiance of this fate, everything that makes you ‘you’ rises up to the surface.

Your memories. Your beliefs. Your feelings. And your drive to END THIS.

…and then, you and your comrades burst out onto a giant flat platform, surrounded by a forcefield, suspended in an endless crimson cosmos. For some reason, you feel free here, as if the laws that once restricted your true power-on teleportation, on magic use, on sheer power output-no longer apply. If one were to focus on the surrounding cosmos with all their heart, they may be able to discern a bizarre number of things. Items, buildings, corpses both familiar and unfamiliar. Amongst them, there were things even more inexplicable. Mysterious sentences, passages, strings of paragraphs floating outside, describing eerily accurate events from both the Origin War and their own worlds… For that is the oblivion connected to Origin, where even the phenomenon called ‘P̴O̵͝S̴T̡́S̶’ may be visible.

At the far end of the platform, just outside the forcefield, you see the unmistakable white outline of the Door of Origin. It is fixed in place, still awaiting the victor of the Origin War. In other words, this must still be the Door’s realm, only corrupted beyond recognition by the distortions. The absolute final location.

Regardless, there was no time to wonder about all this. Around the battlefield are those who have conquered the same hardships as you, who came just as far as you. Be they Counter Corps or Divine, it doesn’t really matter anymore. In this moment, each and every one of them is your comrade-in-arms.

All the while being in this realm that resembles Death, you may begin to feel what can only be described as a sense of existential dread. Somehow, you just know that, if you die here, you will be wiped from existence altogether.

And just like that…
IZANAMI manifests into existence.

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At the center of the battlefield, what can only be described as an eldritch abomation is summoned into existence—unholy, unstable, condensed into the shape of a little girl—towering a thousand feet above the Warriors of the Multiverse with rainbow-patterned markings all over and an appearance almost incomprehensible to the mortal mind. Composed entirely of Distortions, all but a select few of the warriors will find their minds straining, even hurting, only able to make out multicoloured light and breathing static, incapable of comprehending the absolute scope of her true form. Is she wielding a scythe? Is that her laughter echoing all across the Origin Cosmos? No one would blame you if you were to falter for a moment, wonder if this might just be a nightmare after all. However, there is no question about it. This is truly the embodiment of Chaos and Entropy, and this is truly the opponent you will be facing.

You recall Itsu’s words, and understand that what you are looking at must be the true form of an Omnibound Immortal. IZANAMI, the Soul of Isamy Maximus. The Key of Origin lies somewhere within, and as you are well aware, two paths to victory exist: Destroy her soul or convince her to stand down.

Your characters instinctively know what this is—

The final stage. The last form of the ultimate boss. The only remaining obstacle on the Pathway to Origin.

There are no more words left to be said.

Therefore,

go forth,

and
END
THIS
ONCE
AND
FOR
ALL!!!

FINAL BOSS BATTLE
S T A G E   E N D

SO, THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN OMNIBOUND IMMORTAL.

As someone once called 'Isamy', who denied the inherently demonic nature of her powers under pretensions of being a 'hero', not once has she ever dared to assume her true form before this very moment. Hence, to the Herald of Chaos and Entropy, this level of power is beyond imaginable... No, can it even be called power at this scale? Why was she so afraid of such a gorgeously godlike power for so long? Spacetime bends around her physical body, as if attempting to compensate for her existence, and it feels as though all the chains that once held her down have been released. The extent to which she is able to invoke her Void Inclusions, and the raw power with which victory is guaranteed... In this form, with her soul materialized in the physical realm for all to see, would it be an exaggeration to say that she has ascended to the status of God?

~           WHEN IT FALLS          ~

The warped laughter of Omnibound Immortal IZANAMI finally begins to draw to a close, and her unstable mass turns to face the Warriors of the Multiverse. This entity beyond comprehension is floating merely a hundred meters away from them, so no doubt, there would be those who attempt to charge her right from the get-go.

Hence, as though anticipating this in advance,

"VOID INCLUSION:"
"RENEGADE JOKER!"

With the abrupt declaration of what may be the worst possible name, one some would recognise all too well, a blast of lightning strikes IZANAMI from beyond the Origin Cosmos. Just like that, IZANAMI finds herself adorned in hooded black cloak, and just as she did with her prior forms, she proceeds to invoke its powers. Using her newfound control of directional vectors, the final boss waits until the attacks connect with her-the instant they do, they are redirected in the opposite direction and jettisoned away at five times their initial velocity. So this is the power of the Tenshi no Tate (天使の盾 Lit. Angel's Shield), she wonders in awe. No wonder the Renegade Joker abused this ability so much. What greater shield could there possibly be?

The character in question was one who once possessed the almighty arsenal of vector manipulation. While there were certainly many who wouldn’t recognise the name, the Renegade Joker was a former Divine member who had coldly murdered two shinigami, brutally injured many more of the Counter Corps, and even dared to challenge Isamy herself in front of all the Divine. Now, this being’s existence has been integrated directly onto her.

Yet, immediately afterwards, IZANAMI spontaneously starts convulsing. Unexpected pain courses within her, threatening to destabilize her. Even in her true form, apparently this particular entity’s powers are proving surprisingly difficult to Void Include. It seems this is something she cannot simply abuse. In the meantime, she maintains her concentration, forcing the Void Inclusion to continue. With smart usage and enough determination, she is certain she can hold onto the Joker’s valuable powers for five minutes at most.

“DON’T YOU SEE?”

Regardless, simultaneously taking on everyone all at once is not a situation she intends to test.

“IZANAMI IS DOING THIS"

It’s time for them all to die.

“BECAUSE SHE LOVES YOU ALL!!!"

Before her opponents can mount another assault, she smashes her enormous scythe into the platform, accelerating its vectors with the power granted by the Joker’s ‘God’s Hand.’ Just like that, the sheer force causes cracks to rapidly spread across the land below the Warriors of the Multiverse. Perfectly controlled thanks to the Joker’s vectors, they find themselves forcefully separated from one another. After all, the platform has perfectly split into seven fragments.

IZANAMI isn’t about to let them regroup either, raising her scythe high up into the sky with the declaration of a new power. If it isn’t enough of a nightmare already, it is most definitely about to become one. Spacetime warps, the giant eldritch abomination distorting in several different directions-

“SPATIAL SHIFT"

And just like that, the final boss herself splits into seven IZANAMI.

They separate with a fraction of her energy, each one fifty feet tall, each one jumping onto a different platform fragment-and the instant they arrive, smaller distortion forcefields materialize around the platforms, trapping the respective casts within.

‘Spatial Shift’ is another one of the Renegade Joker’s abilities; it would ordinarily be utilized to displace their position in space and shift themselves to a new part of space. However, thanks to the unique properties granted by her own fluid true form, she is capable of simultaneously displacing herself and staying in the same location at the same time. While her clones are all linked together via Time Sense, and while neither her Void Inclusion nor Key of Origin could be replicated, these are perfect clones for all intents and purposes. What a beautifully strong character! How did he die so early on?

In any case, the Warriors of the Multiverse have now been divided into seven eerily-specific groups. IZANAMI’s intent is obvious: To divide them and to murder them at full power.

Six of the seven platforms are drifting further and further away from the Door, and on each platform, there is an IZANAMI familiar with their abilities, prepared to destroy them. They are all real, they are all linked to one another, and they all possess the power of the original… However, only one among them is composed of Isamy’s actual soul. Only one has the physical Key of Origin. It is clear that unless they somehow overpower the IZANAMI currently facing them and amass all their forces together for one last assault, victory may very well be impossible.

 

~          END OF THE UNKNOWN         ~

 

Amongst this crimson Origin Cosmos, the characters seem to hear the music audibly changing in the distance to some sort of epic electronic battle theme, unaware of the fact that they shouldn’t normally be able to hear this.

Yes. Let there be no mistake.

This is it, Warriors of the Multiverse... WELCOME TO THE FINAL BATTLE.

 

~ ~ ~

 

PRIDE IZANAMI vs SUBJECTS OF KINGDOM:

Spoiler

“CHILDREN OF ORIGIN... 

BEASTS WHO THINK YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT…
IZANAMI, THE EMBODIMENT OF PRIDE, SHALL DELIVER YOUR SWEET DEATH!”

On a platform hurtling across the Origin Cosmos, enclosed by a forcefield of distortions, IZANAMI stood opposed to the various Subjects of Kingdom, where Ratchet, Clank, Alister Azimuth, Alexander Abernathy, Red, Bayonetta, Jeanne, Umbris, and Gabriel were her opponents. Despite being separated from the others and despite all the odds against them, this was the last enemy stopping them from their epilogue. Even if it meant putting their lives on the line… It was time to fight one last time.

“VOID INCLUSION:"
"OTTO SKORZENY"

Upon the invoking of a name that may or may not be familiar to them, black robes resembling an SS Uniform adorned IZANAMI’s form, her scythe morphed into a giant Walther PPK handgun, and the faint trace of Hitler-esque facial hair could be made out where her face ought to be. As far as she was concerned, this was a Nazi Dark Signer whose vast control over darkness, army of shadow creatures, and overall advanced technological expertise may be the perfect counter to her current opponents.

“HOWEVER… THIS MAY NOT BE NECESSARY.”

But then, before they could begin engaging in combat, a tiny human-shaped object grew out of her foot and promptly detached; landing on two feet was a being shaped just like the original Isamy.

“Hi, Alister.” The Isamy Maximus construct approached the warriors, and if any of them could sense energy, they’d be able to clearly tell she was just a husk of an avatar; unable to fight or do them any harm. Then, a short distance away from the lombax, ignoring the rest of the crew altogether, she fell to her knees. “I know this has all gotten so complicated, but if anyone’s going to understand what I’m going through, it’s you. Maybe for you, it’s only been a few hours… But for me, it’s been years. Alister, seriously, I’ve been surrounded by maniacs-you’re my last hope in this dark, crazy reality. You haven’t given your answer yet, right? Well, all the holes in my plan last time have now been cleared up! So I’ll ask again… Join with me, Alister.”

With the far larger IZANAMI behind them all, the teal-haired girl was trying her best to remain calm, to keep her words straight. There was a genuine sense of desperation in her tone, but at the same time, a sense of hope. Unlike the last time she talked to Alister, this time she didn’t have the luxury of constructing the perfect response. Instead, all she could do was be honest.

Did you know? It was our predecessors who built up DATEA, who constructed the Pathway to Origin… A previous incarnation of me and an alternate incarnation of you… Alpha and Omega… They once worked side by side, and together, they achieved greatness. We can be just like them, you know. Wait, no! We can be even better!” Compared to the sociopathic explosion of emotions IZANAMI had been displaying earlier, the lombax may very well be one of the last few hopes keeping this girl together. “If we join forces, if we fuse our souls, I swear I’ll leave your friends alone. I swear the two of us can just abandon this fight altogether and make a beeline straight for the Door of Origin. Because we’re both ‘Distortions’, I bet we can take on the rest of the warriors and make it there!”

Perhaps third time really was the charm, she reasoned. Perhaps this was exactly the reason why she had persevered so long, to find a positive answer at last. Perhaps her Isabella aspect really was wrong about everyone else.

“One final time, I ask of you, Alister Azimuth: do you accept?”

Then, in a weaker voice,

“Can you accept…?”

 

 

 

~ ~ ~

 

LUST IZANAMI vs SUBJECTS OF BROKEN:

Spoiler

“CHILDREN OF ORIGIN...
HARBINGERS WHO CRAVE MORE THAN THIS CURRENT REALITY…
IZANAMI, THE EMBODIMENT OF LUST, SHALL DELIVER YOUR SWEET DEATH!”

On a platform hurtling across the Origin Cosmos, enclosed by a forcefield of distortions, IZANAMI stood opposed to the two Subjects of Broke N, where Lydia Armstrong and Hapshiel were her sole two opponents. Despite being separated from the others and despite all the odds against them, this was the last enemy stopping them from their epilogue. Even if it meant putting their lives on the line… It was time to fight one last time.

“VOID INCLUSION:"
"TITANOMACHIA”

Upon the invoking of a name Lydia would find very - well - familiar, dark robes matching the earlier Renegade Joker now adorned IZANAMI. Her normal composition dimmed, turning pitch-black, turning into an embodiment of despair. After all, this was once the result of LERNA’s victory over a Joker. Against two of the possibly most troublesome opponents, Titanomachia’s godly nature and ironic association with the Witch of Infinite Possibilities may very well be the perfect counter. Lydia seemed to have morphed so much that it was impossible to predict what she was capable of, whereas Hapshiel hadn’t shown a single clear of weakness since the beginning of the war. Therefore, if the final boss was going to keep abusing vector manipulation anywhere, it would be here.

“NOW…

LET IZANAMI SHOW YOU TRUE LOVE”

 

 

~ ~ ~

 

WRATH IZANAMI vs SUBJECT OF DAD:

Spoiler

“CHILD OF ORIGIN...
WARRIOR DEFINED BY BLOOD AND VENGEANCE…
IZANAMI, THE EMBODIMENT OF WRATH, SHALL DELIVER YOUR SWEET DEATH.”

On a platform hurtling across the Origin Cosmos, enclosed by a forcefield of distortions, IZANAMI stood opposed to the sole Subject of Dad. Kratos.

Unlike the others, he would be facing the final boss all alone, and rejoining with the others may very well take every ounce of his spirit. Despite being separated from the others and despite all the odds against him, this was the last enemy stopping him from his epilogue. Even if it meant putting his life on the line… It was time to fight one last time.

“IZANAMI MUST THANK KRATOS FOR DISPOSING OF FINITE, THAT TRAITOR.
IN RETURN, IZANAMI SHALL NOT BOTHER USING HER VOID INCLUSION ON YOU.”

Was the eldritch abomination mocking Kratos because he ended up having to fight alone, or was she doing this as a genuine, fair sign of thanks for his actions? Whatever the answer actually was, her following words were filled to the brim with amusement.

“OH? NOW IZANAMI SENSES HATRED
DO YOU HATE IZANAMI FOR TAKING AWAY REVY? YOUR COMRADES? YOUR WORLD?
HEHE… THEN COME, GHOST OF SPARTA!”

 

 

~ ~ ~

 

ENVY IZANAMI vs SUBJECTS OF PHANTOM:

Spoiler

“CHILDREN OF ORIGIN...
MONGRELS WHO SOUGHT THIS VERY POWER…

IZANAMI, THE EMBODIMENT OF ENVY, SHALL DELIVER YOUR SWEET DEATH!”

On a platform hurtling across the Origin Cosmos, enclosed by a forcefield of distortions, IZANAMI stood opposed to the various Subjects of Phantom Roxas, where Sora, Kairi, Arthur, MirageGaogamon, Eria, and Gagagigo were all among her opponents. Despite being separated from the others and despite all the odds against them, this was the last enemy stopping them from their epilogue. It wouldn’t be the first time they took down an Omni either. Even if it meant putting their lives on the line… It was time to fight one last time.

“VOID INCLUSION:"
"ADR-01ii: JERI TYPE”

IZANAMI’s composition turned a greyish hue, with rabid golden eyes appearing on her face and wings sprouting out from her back, signaling her Inclusion of the Reaper. It was a dreaded name, one which a certain Digimon would recognise in an instant. This was a digital entity who had terrorized many over the course of the Desert Seth, most particularly MirageGaogamon, who’d drawn close to death too many times during their last battle. Indeed, the sheer versatility provided may very well be enough to do what her predecessor could not. With her new form, almost like a fallen angel, she faced her opponents.

Directly afterwards, her whole body twitched spasmodically; the Chaos which now inhabited her body slowly began to leak out from her skin, dropping onto the platform below. A sudden, inexplicable, and overwhelming sense of rage was washing over her, making it difficult to tear her eyes away from that horribly wretched Digimon - it seemed Jeriii’s sheer influence was something that could not be easily overcome. However, IZANAMI powered onwards.

“IZANAMI WARNS YOU...
SHE WILL BE NOTHING LIKE HER FATHER”

 

 

~ ~ ~

 

GREED IZANAMI vs SUBJECTS OF CHAOS, SIM, TALIM:

Spoiler

“CHILDREN OF ORIGIN...
BEINGS WHO SEEK THE DOOR SO BADLY…
IZANAMI, THE EMBODIMENT OF GREED, SHALL DELIVER YOUR SWEET DEATH!”

On a platform hurtling across the Origin Cosmos, enclosed by a forcefield of distortions, IZANAMI stood opposed to the various Subjects of Chaos Sonic, Simdoggy, and Talim Rave, where Nero, Darcy, Neos, Gemini, and Jace were all among her opponents. Despite being separated from the others and despite all the odds against them, this was the last enemy stopping them from their epilogue. Even if it meant putting their lives on the line… It was time to fight one last time.

“VOID INCLUSION:”
“TSUKASA KAYODA”

A name the Counter Corps members might’ve recognised, one of the warriors who joined them in entering the Pathways.

At first, it seemed the only thing which had materialized on IZANAMI’s person was a mysterious Decadriver device around her wrist. As the giant boss monster proceeded to invoke a Rider Card, a vast array of energy surrounded her, and only moments later, her fifty-foot-tall figure had now reverted to human height. Enabling her to adorn the crimson-and-black Kamen Rider armour.

Then, from the pouch at her waist… Darcy and especially Nero especially may have sensed certain foreign auras contained within; namely Sora, Tyson Hawks, and former Counter Guardian Emiya. It was inexplicable. Perhaps even impossible. Yet the fact was that Tsukasa was a former Counter Corps member who had come from an alternate Origin War, only to have all his comrades killed during the alternation with Uchiha Madara. Thinking he could change things, he took what powers he could before escaping to the current timeline-only for death to catch up with him. As far as the Omni was concerned, this man was a perfect symbol to show why resistance was futile. And ironically, by trying so hard to help a version of his friends he didn’t really know, he’d instead given their greatest enemy access to incredible power. Such was the greed of trying to change the past.

Kamen Rider IZANAMI raised her fists, assuming a combat pose. To opponents as dangerous as Darcy, flexible as Neos, and troublesome as Gemini or that traitor Jace, this was the perfect choice to teach them a lesson.

“MANY OPPOSED IZANAMI. MANY FAILED.”

Despite the ridiculous appearance, the warriors currently facing her had the sense that this was going to be a very difficult battle.

“YOUR KIND WILL BE NO DIFFERENT.”

 

 

~ ~ ~

 

GLUTTONY IZANAMI vs SUBJECTS OF BAILAS:

Spoiler

“CHILDREN OF ORIGIN...
MONSTERS WHO CONSUME WITHOUT LIMIT…
IZANAMI, THE EMBODIMENT OF GLUTTONY, SHALL DELIVER YOUR SWEET DEATH!”

On a platform hurtling across the Origin Cosmos, enclosed by a forcefield of distortions, IZANAMI stood opposed to the various Subjects of Bailas, where Dorian, Butler-Ragnarok, and Rhadamanthys were all among her opponents. Despite being separated from the others and despite all the odds against them, this was the last enemy stopping them from their epilogue. Even if it meant putting their lives on the line… It was time to fight one last time.

“VOID INCLUSION:”
“SHARON CAILE”

Upon invoking that name, IZANAMI had a loose short sleeved blouse materialized around her, her features turned somewhat more demonic, and a dagger sheathe hung at her waist… But compared to the Void Inclusions all the other IZANAMI were doing, especially compared to the earlier usage of Renegade Joker, this was nothing. The power increase was barely noticeable, if it was there at all.

‘Sharon Caile’. A name that meant absolutely nothing to her Divine opponents. After all, Sharon Caile was a Counter Corps member who died almost immediately after deployment, meeting her untimely end somewhere on the Sphere Forest. She had the ability to invoke some minor demonic abilities and switch between her two bodies, and that was about it. No ranged weapons. No It would be no exaggeration to say Sharon Caile was among the weakest beings to ever participate in the Origin War.

“FORMER DIVINE…”

Then… From IZANAMI’s body, another IZANAMI proceeded to burst out. Dressed in a dark qipao dress, appearing to possess exactly the same level of strength. What her confused opponents would not know was that Sharon Caile had been two existences, two bodies in one; Sharon and Necra. Because of the extraordinarily mundane ability named ‘Identity of Self’, equivalent to Dorian’s own former Perfect Balance, she’d been able to simultaneously maintain both with one mind. The Sharon IZANAMI and the Necra IZANAMI both seemed to have dagger sheathes attached to their waists. One containing the Dagger of Evil's Bane, the other containing the Blade of Purity's Light.

The twin final bosses started to move forward, one step at a time. Her opponents were Dorian, Rhadamanthys, and Butler-Ragnarok, beings whose scale of potential and power knew no end, yet she’d armed herself with one of the weakest characters in the Origin War.

The two IZANAMI remained focused on Butler-Ragnarok as they issued a playful warning.

“HOW BADLY WOULD..."

"...YOU LIKE IZANAMI TO PUNISH YOU?”

 

 

~ ~ ~

 

SLOTH IZANAMI vs SUBJECTS OF NAI:

Spoiler

“CHILDREN OF ORIGIN...
FOOLS WHO LIVE ONLY IN DREAMS…
IZANAMI, THE EMBODIMENT OF SLOTH, SHALL DELIVER YOUR SWEET DEATH!”

The six fragmented platforms had all broken off, hurtling deeper and deeper into the Origin Cosmos as they abandoned the main platform, itself enclosed by a forcefield of distortions.

There, IZANAMI stood opposed to the multiple Subjects of Ninanai, where the nameless Nanashi, Reimu, Kazuya, and Koishi were all that remained on the main platform.
Despite being separated from the others and despite all the odds against them, this was the last enemy stopping them from their epilogue. Even if it meant putting their lives on the line… It was time to fight one last time.

A mile past IZANAMI’s position, the faint white outline of the Door of Origin could made. If by chance this IZANAMI was the original, the one with the Key of Origin, then there was a chance they could even end it all right here, right now.

Although, such hopes were quickly extinguished.

"VOID INCLUSION:"
“YAKUMO YUKARI!”

IZANAMI, without shame, invoked the name of the legendary Youkai of Boundaries. Its meaning was self-evident: The godlike power to manipulate boundaries was now within her possession. Beyond that, her hair coiled up inside a mob cap on her head, her body was enrobed in a trigram-decorated Taoist dress of purple and pale pink, and the scythe in her hands morphed into a pink parasol. Yukari, a being so insanely powerful she singlehandedly ruined the plot of the Counter Guardians and fought head-to-head with Arturia Pendragon - her existence had now become one with the final boss.

Her body briefly convulsed as it struggled to maintain this power, just as it had with the Renegade Joker, but she was ultimately able to suppress the incompatibility along with any potential influence from Yukari herself.

The Herald of Chaos and Entropy observed her opponents, well aware of how extremely troublesome they could be. Not because of their power, but because of their unpredictability. Kazuya and Nanashi were certainly worth attention, but in her mind, the most dangerous threat was Koishi. Koishi, who’d taken down Arturia and had the capacity to do so much more; if she could throw her off using Yukari’s Inclusion long enough to get rid of her, or even better, if she could use her as a Void Inclusion, this battle would be as good as over.

The eldritch ‘youkai’ floated back, materializing a gap below her before her huge form proceeded to calmly sit down on it. A grin formed across the rainbow surface that was her face, as though daring them to make the first move.

“HEY, HEY~
WANNA PLAY WITH IZANAMI~?”

 

 

 




 

The (Approximate) Status of Omnibound Immortal IZANAMI

Spoiler

Omnibound Immortal

IZANAMI

Total HP: 695,500/700,000

Void Inclusion:

Status: Divide and Conquer

 

PRIDE IZANAMI
HP: 100,000/100,000
Void Inclusion: Otto Skorzeny (3 uses left)
Status: Facing the Subjects of Kingdom

LUST IZANAMI
HP: 98,000/100,000
Void Inclusion: Titanomachia (3 uses left)
Status: Facing the Subjects of Broken

WRATH IZANAMI
HP: 100,000/100,000
Void Inclusion: N/A (1 use left)
Status: Facing the Subject of Dad

ENVY IZANAMI
HP: 99,500/100,000
Void Inclusion: ADR-01ii: Jeri Type (3 uses left)
Status: Facing the Subjects of Phantom

GREED IZANAMI
HP: 100,000/100,000
Void Inclusion: Tsukasa Kayoda (3 uses left)
Status: Facing the Subjects of Chaos, Sim, and Tesability

GLUTTONY IZANAMI
HP: 100,000/100,000
Void Inclusion: Sharon Caile/Necra (3 uses left)
Status: Facing the Subjects of Bailas

SLOTH IZANAMI
HP: 98,000/100,000
Void Inclusion: Yukari Yakumo (3 uses left)
Status: Facing the Subjects of Risa- all on main platform, close to Door of Origin

 

---

 

Hint:

"Stay strong! These Void Inclusions are temporary, and she will only be able to use them so many times. Act according to your knowledge and instincts."

"..."

"Also, every time she declares a Void Inclusion, it will apparently link directly to the application in question.”

 


 

Edited by Merci

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ENVY IZANAMI vs SUBJECTS OF PHANTOM

Spoiler

 

~~ Paradisus Paradoxum ~~

Two possibilities stood before the Counter Corps.

They could fight Isamy and, by some miracle, destroy her. However, if they did, that would risk Protheus's other child, Minerva, inheriting the powers of the Omni Principle next. The very idea that Protheus had yet another child somewhere in the multiverse, waiting for his own chance to strike, was the last thing that needed to happen right now. This war began with Isamy, and it had to end with her. They couldn't let themselves worry about Minerva. Not yet, at least.

Which led to their other option. They could convince Isamy to change. In a way, that seemed harder than fighting her and seeing who could overpower whom. At least with Protheus, they could count on how he would refuse to accept all the guilt they threw at him. But they needed Isamy to accept. After they had all refused her, why should they expect her to accept anything they had to offer? Why would they even want to offer her anything, other than because it might destroy the Omni Principle?

Memories flashed through everyone's minds. They saw Ameliorer, the orphan who wanted to make everyone happy, and Isabella, the princess reduced to a slave, who also wanted to make people happy. Even at their lowest, they shared that one desire. Despite their vastly different backgrounds, it was perhaps no small surprise that, once they were brought together by Protheus, their ideals created Isamy Maximus. The girl now stood before all of them, her wish apparently crystallized. At their moment of true happiness, each and every one of them would die. The ultimate happy ending.

Even as the crimson lights warped around everyone, Arthur Ancyl could not bring himself to describe his opinion of Isamy with a word as simple as "hate". She had saved him from certain death. She didn't have to, but if she hadn't, then he and MachGaogamon would have been left to die where they stood. Certainly Emiya would not have saved him. Arthur had no regrets about betraying the Divine for the Counter Corps. For as little as he knew Isamy, there was some lingering gratitude. She was his master. His savior. That much he could not change, even if they were now enemies.

In the beginning, Arthur would have only wished for the gods of Olympus to perish. He didn't care about the other demigods who would have lost their parents. He didn't care about what would have happened to the world. Would killing the gods themselves have even brought him his own happiness? He wanted to find salvation, and believe he was worthy of that. Perhaps, although she deserved it even less than Arthur, if Isamy could find her own salvation, would be that enough? Would she be willing to give up, and sacrifice the Omni Principle?

As Isamy - no, IZANAMI - laughed across the entire realm, she made the opening strike.

"VOID INCLUSION:"

"RENEGADE JOKER!"

Arthur and MirageGaogamon moved first. They knew more than most what the Renegade Joker could do. "Magnet!" Arthur summoned a small node before Izanami, while MirageGaogamon fired a Full Moon Blaster. At first, the Magnet spell seemed to keep the beam in place, spinning in random directions to counteract the vector manipulation, but just before MirageGaogamon's attack could connect, the node shattered, and the beam was split up into several smaller lasers, striking random points across the area.

"DON'T YOU SEE? IZANAMI IS DOING THIS BECAUSE SHE LOVES YOU ALL!!!"

Love? Is that what she thought this was? Whatever love she once had was now just an excuse. "Keep talking, you're just giving us more reasons for why we should just kill you."

Izanami slammed her scythe into the ground, splitting the world up even more. One by one, they were all split up into several groups, with Izanami dividing herself up accordingly. Arthur, MirageGaogamon, Eria, Gagagigo, Sora, Kairi, and Ariel were all brought to a single platform, and the fragment of Izanami confronting them began to transform.

"VOID INCLUSION:"

"ADR-01ii: JERI TYPE"

Once more, another name that Arthur and MirageGaogamon recognized from the Desert Seth; one they had even faced at the same time as the Renegade Joker. Her eyes, now pure golden, focused entirely on MirageGaogamon. Lydia had been able to destroy the Reaper at the same time as LERNA. As powerful as MirageGaogamon was now, Jeriii was still designed for the sole purpose of erasing Digimon. It was doubtful that he stood much of a chance against Izanami using the Reaper's power. He stood back, but a gust of wind started to surround him.

"IZANAMI WARNS YOU...

SHE WILL BE NOTHING LIKE HER FATHER"

"This should help." Sora was aiming his Keyblade at MirageGaogamon. The wind seemed soothing, protecting MirageGaogamon. "Sorry, I think it's best if the rest of us handle this for now."

MirageGaogamon wanted to help, but he couldn't argue. "I'll strike from a distance. Just keep that in mind before you get to close to her," he cautioned. "Full Moon Blaster!" He fired another beam. Without the Renegade Joker's power, there was a better chance that this one could actually hit IZANAMI. Judging by the distance between them, it wasn't something the giant Omnibound Immortal ought to be able to dodge easily.

"α DECAY SHOT!"

And yet, the simple fact was that she didn't need to do anything like dodge attacks. IZANAMI vibrated for a moment, summoning together the essence of her Void Inclusion, before tapping into one of her newly-obtained powers. Just like that, she unleashed a concentrated wave of Alpha radiation, fired out as a beam of irradiated energy, violently colliding with the Full Moon Blaster-and proceeding to utterly overwhelm it in mere seconds, blazing towards its initial firing position. MirageGaogamon sidestepped Izanami's own attack, but just barely. This was the insane power of the final boss; it wasn't merely another Reaper they had to deal with, but another Reaper blessed with the absolute power of Isamy Maximus.

"NOW, LET IZANAMI TEACH YOU THE WONDERS OF CHAOS"

From there, IZANAMI turned her attention to the rest of the warriors. By then, enough Chaos had leaked out to the point that red liquid covered the ground all around her in a fifteen-meter radius; the sound of sizzling acid and smoke rising into the air all but told what this familiar substance was capable of. She knelt down close to the pool and concentrated, letting seven large, oozing orbs of Chaos rise from it. Then, with a flick of her hand, the orbs fired rapidly at each of the seven warriors, threatening to kill them and end this battle right here.

"Float!" Kairi cast a spell on herself and each of her allies, and soon their feet all began to lift off the ground, hovering well above the Chaos that flowed from IZANAMI. As each of the Chaos orbs shot towards them, the Keyblade warriors cast Reflect, while Eria followed by with a wall of ice around everyone. At first, it seemed that the Chaos was blocked, but they quickly began to eat through the ice.

Sora swung the χ-blade in a wide arc, sending a large wave of light that cut through the Chaos, destroying each of the orbs. He sliced the air twice more, and twin arcs of light formed a large X flew towards IZANAMI. While Eria began to quickly repair the holes in her ice barrier, she waved her free hand above the ground. A wave of pure water began to rise from the platform, crashing into IZANAMI'S own pool of Chaos. Eria jumped up several feet, then jumped again, each time the Float spell allowing her to gain a new foothold in the air to avoid the clashing pools. Yet, even as they advanced, IZANAMI stayed rooted in position.


MirageGaogamon, Gagagigo, and Ariel each stood closer to the back, letting the Keyblade warriors hold the front line. "We need Aetos," said Gagagigo. "MirageGaogamon, hurry!"

"That would be too dangerous," MirageGaogamon warned. "We were able to form Aetos in part because Arthur and I were able to Bio-Merge. However, that means transforming into a single Digimon."

"And I suppose that Izanami's current form is designed specifically to destroy you?" Ariel realized. "Then to form Aetos again would mean we all risk being destroyed. We would all be fish in a barrel, and Izanami is the poison. Yes, I could see how that would guarantee our death."

"Then what do you suggest instead?" Gagagigo asked.

Ariel pressed her palms together. "Hmm. I don't quite understand my own Void Inclusion yet, but thanks to Itsu… I may have an idea." Ariel studied IZANAMI. She was not overly concerned with the Reaper's power, but rather, what else IZANAMI could do beyond it. As she studied the properties of the Omnibound Immortal, she could perceive a direct link between their opponent and the strange red space surrounding everyone. Then, as she extended her senses even further, beyond the forcefield, she finally found what she was looking for. Floating existences, suspended amongst the abyss of the Origin Cosmos. There wasn't exactly a word in her dictionary to describe what they were exactly, clusters of energy, but ‘souls' was a close approximation. Very barely, she could feel a near-endless sea of ‘souls', which almost certainly was the source of IZANAMI's Inclusions. It was a long shot, but maybe, just maybe, she may be able to reach out to some of them...

"I can see the souls that Izanami can access. They are very faint, however. I feel… a connection, for lack of a better word. Just as my counterpart and I both started as the same Water Charmer, I believe this to be an extension of those abilities. I can take some of the souls, and pull them away. I would not be able to hold them for very long, and I can only take up to five of them."

"Considering how many options Izanami has," said Gagagigo, "That isn't very much."

"I realize that," said Ariel. "However, it is the best I can muster at this moment. I followed Protheus for much of this, and though I do have some of my counterpart's memories from our time merged as one…" Ariel's neck twitched for a moment. "I can't exactly say I remember them firsthand. I simply do not know the people who have fought in this war as well as any of you. The ones that would be most dangerous for Izanami to call upon, if she hasn't already. I will need you two to decide."

Ariel pointed a glare at Gagagigo. "I am asking you to make a proper judgment call here. Whatever your choices may very well decide the outcome of this entire battle. Do I make myself clear?"

MirageGaogamon nodded confidently, while Gagagigo himself was still unsure. It would be a dangerous gamble, no matter who they chose. Before either of them could answer further, Ariel continued. "I do know one that Eria would want gone first." To most of those who were fighting, IZANAMI was who they hoped would be their final enemy, but not to Eria or her darling Arthur. Megiddo was still waiting for them, all because he followed Solasiro, and Solasiro only came because of Ophelia.

It was hard to believe that this group was able to defeat Protheus and the Madara, when there were so many others that they could not defeat on their own. Before the Madara had arrived, Ophelia was the most dangerous threat of the Inner Periphery. At least, that was what Ariel could understand. She was suddenly struck down by a meteor, all the while Eria was helpless against her. The very sight of her had driven Eria to be reckless and cruel on Remembrance. Eria would be hopeless wreck if IZANAMI could use Ophelia's power. No matter what, Ariel could not risk that.

Ariel plucked at the stream of energy. At first, she could feel some resistance, but she was able to pull it free. "Ophelia," Ariel announced. "That should be an agreeable choice, yes?" MirageGaogamon and Gagagigo didn't argue. Ariel held the traces of Ophelia's existence close, and reached out again. "Now then, who's next?"

"If you've taken Ophelia, then you may as well take the one who killed her as well," said MirageGaogamon "I haven't seen Sephiroth around here. I believe it's safe to say that he was killed along the Pathways. From what I had seen, I would not want to risk Izanami taking his power."

Ariel pulled more energy. As she looked closer at the energy, she could begin to make our some symbols within the energy. Letters. She would have to worry about whatever they meant later. She still had three more names to pick.

"There was also Kenpachi." MirageGaogamon spoke more solemnly. "Damn it, Kratos…"

"With Kenpachi dead, Izanami can take his power now," said Gagagigo. "I hate to take his soul so soon, but it's our safest bet."

"Done." Ariel cared little about Kenpachi. He was jut another name, but she understood how dangerous he was, so she did not question it. She looked at the collection of souls, considering her final choices carefully. Thankfully, she could not sense Protheus or Arturia's souls at all, so there was absolutely no chance of IZANAMI taking their power anyway. Perhaps Itsu? With her demise, that carried the same risk as Kenpachi, but she couldn't find Itsu either. Or at least, Itsu as she would have recognized her from the Sun Goddess that had just perished.

There was another existence, one similar enough to Itsu, and yet it was its own distinct entity. Even as she tried to understand this existence, a cold shiver crawled up her spine. Her breathing was suddenly more shallow, and her head started to spin.

"When you met Arthur, he was among the Divine. It would not surprise me if he felt guilty of his betrayal and begged Isamy to forgive him."

Ariel held her head. She wasn't hearing this. This wasn't her mind.

"Your words betray your heart, Water Charmer!"

"Not you again…"

She knew this madness. It was Erebos, just not her Erebos. Yes, Butler had corrupted Eria before, in the battle against LERNA. Something even attempt to engage with whatever these existences could have been was stirring the memories, the terror, the anger that Butler had preyed upon.

Ariel looked over at Sora. He was still fighting Jeriii, though Ariel could not decide yet who had the upper hand. The other existence Ariel was reaching for had a similar presence as Sora, but was not quite him. "Xansvita," Ariel remembered. LERNA's familiar, born from Sora. Or rather, from another heart that dwelled within Sora. At this point, it didn't seem too strange compared to everything else that had happened in this Origin War.

Which meant that the first existence was not Itsu, but rather, Thermopylae. "MirageGaogamon. Gagagigo. I need you both to keep an eye on me. The last two souls… they may be too much for me to take. But if it means Izanami cannot use them, I have to try." The souls she had taken so far began to hover around her. With each hand, she reached for the last traces LERNA's familiars. She would free Xansvita and Thermopylae. As she took hold, Ariel screamed. She laughed. She cried. And yet, she still tried to pull them both away. MirageGaogamon tried to pull her back, while Gagagigo reached out.

"Don't you even think about touching me!" Ariel screamed. "You abandoned me! You abandoned all of us!"

The creature that served as Ariel's lower body began to swing its tentacles around, but Gagagigo parried one away, then another.

"Eria, please!" Gagagigo begged.

"Don't call me that!" Ariel snapped back, but MirageGaogamon kept trying to pull her back, flying higher up to avoid the Chaos. Gagagigo floated to follow him, but Ariel was still screaming. Worse, the three clusters of energy that she had already taken were starting to float away.


~~     Orchestral Version     ~~

IZANAMI didn't move even an inch as the multiple warriors advanced against her. At the moment, Eria was moving closer and closer across her ever-growing pool of Chaos, whereas Sora had just launched an X-shaped blast of light directly at her. Various cables proceeded to shoot out from around her body and jump into action, whipping upwards. About three cables sprayed a further quantity of Chaos just as the light neared IZANAMI - however, much to her surprise, the light proceeded to penetrate through that Chaos, managing to reach and slice into her body somewhat. She didn't cry out, but pain and annoyance certainly resonated across her existence.

"JERIII HAD SUCH A WEAKNESS? PATHETIC. KEEPING SECRETS IN HER OWN APPLICATION-"

Still, for Envy IZANAMI, it was no time for complaints. Whether this digital-based form was weak to light or some other force, that was nothing more than a slight disadvantage.

"α DECAY SHOT!"

Once again, the Omnibound Immortal charged up energy within herself. As the Keyblade Warriors advanced, attempting to close in on her, she let out a mighty multidirectional blast of Alpha radiation once more, pushing them backwards. The attack wasn't exactly something she could spam, but with her vast quantity of energy, it was a simple, reliable method of defense. Jeriii wasn't exactly known for her close combat abilities, so if they were going to be dealt with, it was best to deal with them at a distance.

As soon as the warriors were pushed back, even if it was only by a little, IZANAMI's cables shot right back up and aimed themselves straight at their positions. Afterwards, the cables blasted out crimson streams of wide, dense Chaos, sailing across the skies in an effort to douse her opponents. In particular, the ice barrier seemed to be keeping her from instant-killing the Digimon-the sooner she could get past that and decrease the amount of enemies to deal with, the better. 

Eria continued to reinforce her barrier, but she knew it would not hold forever. Instead, she looked just above IZANAMI's head. At the wave of a hand, a storm cloud began to form, and rain and hail began to shower on IZANAMI. It wouldn't do too much, with IZANAMI creating a defense for herself by manipulating the Chaos to form an overhead umbrella, but anything to keep her even slightly distracted would help. More importantly, they were able to counter some of the Chaos, but only a little. Arthur and Sora's Reflect spells could only hold so much Chaos back, while Kairi was staying further back.

As Sora started to cut through the cable's, throwing his χ-blade in Strike Raids one after another, Kairi focused on IZANAMI herself, and held her Keyblade upside down. With each severed cable, the Omnibound Immortal let out a slight, pained shriek, intensifying the torrents of Chaos in her remaining cables in an effort to break Sora's Reflect before the remaining ones could be severed. Between that and Eria's hail, it was just enough of a distraction for another warrior to land her assault. "Holy!" At Kairi's command, two circles of light appeared at IZANAMI's sides, humming as energy started to gather towards the circles before discharging. She tried to defend herself with Chaos, but succeeded only in dampening the assault. The circles blasted beams of holy light, tearing through IZANAMI on both sides. 

"A̧͠H̶͜-"

This time, the shriek was much louder, sounding much more robotic than her voice had been up until that point. Her form stumbled somewhat, the Holy's damage clearly sinking into the essence of her existence. Enraged, she gathered together even more Alpha radiation within herself and fired them from her three remaining cables as concentrated beams, aimed at Sora, Eria, and Kairi each in an effort to push them back. 

IZANAMI was beginning to grow annoyed. Was she, an Omnibound Immortal, genuinely being taken advantage of by such simple tactics and tiny warriors? Even a single attack landing should not be possible, and yet, the D-Reaper's servant had come with a weakness she did not anticipate. As a result, the theoretically-versatile Chaos was suddenly as useful as paper against the Keyblade Warriors. Was this honestly the limits of what the D-Reaper's servant was capable of? It couldn't be. It couldn't possibly be. This creature had been an agent designed to instigate the end of an entire world, so surely, there was more to Jeriii than glorified acid and energy blasts.

As she continued to put up a defense, IZANAMI was well aware that three of the warriors still had yet to join the fray. Whereas MirageGaogamon's lack of participation was understandable, why wasn't the lizard or that mysterious other Eria joining the fray? She briefly extended her psychic senses to investigate, and yet, as her ‘empathy' attempted to connect with Ariel, it seemed the Charmer was experiencing a bizarre range of emotions. What the hell was this? No, no no no, when she narrowed her senses even further, there were even more bizarre auras on the girl. What exactly was she doing? Could it be- 

‘ALERT FOR ADR-01ii: JERI TYPE.' Yet, right before she could reach the truth of Ariel's activities, the Omnibound Immortal's investigation was interrupted as she detected something else. Or rather, the automatic agent called Jeriii had just alerted her to a certain something she was previously unaware of. A quick briefing of information coursed through her mind, rapidly updating her on the background, details, and purpose of this.

Omnibound Immortal IZANAMI turned her attention to the combatants once more, no longer annoyed. Perhaps there was more to Jeriii than her applicant description after all. However, in order to determine whether this information was correct, it was something she absolutely had to put to the test.

"COME, MONGRELS.

IZANAMI IS DISAPPOINTED WITH YOUR DISPLAYS OF STRENGTH… IF THIS IS ALL YOU HAVE, THEN IT'D BE BEST TO SIMPLY GIVE UP HERE!"

With that, IZANAMI proceeded to slam herself into her own generated pool of Chaos, causing huge walls of crimson liquid to be thrust upwards in response. Then, the instant they reached her height, the Chaos hardened as much as it could, forming a circular wall of defense all around her. Combined with the Chaos umbrella above her, and IZANAMI was shut off from the outside… although she wasn't merely planning to defend. After a pause, a small gap appeared in the wall. She plugged one of her cables next to it and immediately fired another α Decay Shot, before shutting the gap, practically employing a hit-and-hide tactic. The Decay Shot of alpha radiation beamed across the air, targeting the least active of the Keyblade Warriors; specifically, Arthur Ancyl.

"Drive!" Arthur spoke it instinctively. The moment that word came out of his mouth, he could somehow feel IZANAMI's close gaze upon him, as if his next action was being very closely observed. Eria and MirageGaogamon each vanished, their energies drawn towards Arthur. Without MirageGaogamon to restrain her, Ariel was set free, but Gagagigo quickly grappled her to keep her from getting loose. Meanwhile, no response came from IZANAMI yet, still holed up within the walls of Chaos.

Becoming Aetos again was dangerous, and while the Drive was not as powerful, it was no Bio-Merge, so it would not necessarily be weak to Jeriii's power. Just as he had done against the Madara, Arthur was now wearing a golden cloak, wielding Eria's Keyblade in addition to his own. The Alpha radiation beam was rapidly approaching, but at the click of his heels, Arthur dodged out of the way, leaving a trail of ice and light in his path. 

Arthur ran through the air, and with some of his steps, frozen mirrors appeared under his feet. "Sorry about this," he said to Eria to MirageGaogamon. "Let's see if we can break through Jeriii's power." He held up both Keyblades, and more light shot from the mirrors, striking the wall of Chaos.

"MirageGaogamon. You said you wanted to become MagnaGarurumon again, right? I think I've got the next best thing." Arthur clutched United Horizon. Though the Keyblade had been given to him by Kratos, there was one last thing he could use. The power that Itsu had given him, his Keyblade, and even Aetos could all give him something to use against IZANAMI.

Blocks of light began to form around Arthur's body. First his feet formed into blue boots, almost resembling a wolf's. Slowly, as the light spread further, it began to crystallize, until finally, it materialized into armor. A helmet appeared over Arthur's head, the visage of a wolf completing the look. The very image of MagnaGarurumon was reborn, not as a Digimon, but as an extension of Arthur's own Keyblade. As his Power of the Future.

Fully clad in his newfound armor, Arthur charged headlong into the wall of Chaos, and with both of his Keyblades, cut through the Chaos. As the twin weapons gradually penetrated into the other side, the surrounding area started to melt in response, splashing and dripping with Chaos in order to douse the armoured Arthur before he could make it inside. Within, IZANAMI stayed prepared with her three remaining cables at the ready, being on edge as she awaited for her opportunity to arise. Arthur's armor held together, although it was steaming from the Chaos attempting to melt through it. Then finally, Arthur managed to penetrate into the darkness of the interior, where IZANAMI awaited him.

"SO FOOLISH, SO FUTILE!"

It was a trap-the instant he did so, two things happened simultaneously. First, the walls and umbrella-ceiling lost their solidity, immediately transforming into liquid Chaos which closed in on them from all around, threatening to whittle down and inevitably disintegrate the now-trapped Drive Form warrior. And second, IZANAMI - who would be immune - lunged out with her cables in an apparently physical attack, both to keep Arthur occupied and to penetrate that armour of his. With this two-pronged attack of near certain death, victory for the final boss may very well be right over the horizon.

Eria's Keyblade spun on its own, surrounding Arthur in a ball of ice, but the cables were able to pierce through, allowing more of the acidic Chaos to leak inside. However, IZANAMI's cables seemed to be caught in the ice, so Arthur struck each of them with United Horizon. "Spark Raid!" Electricity surged through the cables, causing them to whip about violently. Two promptly broke free of the ice and withdrew back to her side, whereas the third one fell limp from the damage, being detached from her body.

Mere meters away from the ball of ice, the Omnibound Immortal stood back and watched as the closing, melting walls of Chaos approached ever closer, dripping more and more onto ice-until finally the ‘ceiling' had given way, splashing down across the Omni's unaffected form, and leaving her exposed to the warriors and Eria's storm once more. Still, the expansive, hollow sheet of Chaos was melting around IZANAMI's giant body, and by extension, closing all around Arthur's weakened ball of ice like an acidic tsunami in slow-motion. In seconds, the liquid sheet was about to utterly envelop his ice, and then his armour, and then soon enough, him.

Two waves of light cut through the Chaos. "Get out of there!" Sora was calling out to them, likely holding the Chaos at bay outside with Kairi.

Arthur tried to summon more ice, but the Chaos was melting through it just as quickly. Eria's Keyblade swung again, and a torrent of pure water ripped through the Chaos. Both liquids dissolved upon contact, but it was enough to give Arthur a path forward. The sheet of Chaos was sinking lower and lower, threatening to drown Arthur underneath. He could see IZANAMI's upper body, with Sora and Kairi continuing to hurl more light spells at IZANAMI. They seemed to have exactly the magic to deal with IZANAMI, but how long could they keep it up? As it happened, they may not need to for very long.

"Blizzaja!" Arthur aimed Eria's Keyblade at IZANAMI, and the air around him started to grow much colder. Fog began to spread in the area, and even some of the Chaos began to freeze; at least for a moment, before it started to melt again. Blue lights gathered at the tip of the Keyblade, before shooting into a thin before of ice towards IZANAMI. In an instant, the beam exploded into a glacier that quickly expanded around IZANAMI's whole body. At first, it seemed as though she was about to resist easily, break through the ice as her two remaining cables whipped up - yet, only small portions of Chaos managed to leak from them, not nearly enough to stop Arthur's Blizzaja spell.

"WHA..."

The Chaos looked like it wasn't responding to her commands. IZANAMI writhed, but the ice rapidly developed more and more, until it enveloped her distorted, fifty-foot form with little resistance being offered up against it. Was most of her Chaos actually already used up at this point or something? In any case, it took only a few more moments for the fifty-foot giant to finally be frozen solid-ultimately being encased in ice, all the way up to her head. 

As a result, a massive glacier now sat in the middle of an expansive, yet still pool of Chaos, vulnerable to any further attacks. 

Abruptly… just like that… was it already over?

"IT APPEARS... THIS IS JERIII'S LIMIT?

IZANAMI IS DISAPPOINTED. CLEARLY AN ERROR WAS MADE."

IZANAMI suddenly admitted thus, now seeming stuck in her current position. Just like that, the final boss had been frozen in place, unable to move. Regardless, her voice boomed across the ice which had now encased her. With bulging eyes that resembled that of the late Jeri-Type, she observed the Keyblade Warriors who were lying in wait right outside the glacier. It wasn't even their entire group participating in this battle, yet they had already managed to corner the final boss this much.

~         Fortress of Lies          ~

"AS IZANAMI IS TRAPPED, IT APPEARS SHE CANNOT EVEN INVOKE ANOTHER VOID INCLUSION.

PATHETIC.

VERY WELL THEN.

IZANAMI KNOWS WHEN DEFEAT IS INEVITABLE."

And with that, the overwhelming, menacing aura she was emitting relaxed, losing its strength. The surrounding pool of Chaos relaxed as well, its acidity decreasing in intensity. Whatever was happening, it felt like she had lost the will to carry on fighting.

"THIS BATTLE IS OVER, ENVIOUS CREATURES.

FINISH THIS UNIT, AND BE DONE WITH IT-DON'T EVEN BOTHER WITH A DRIVE FORM, I SAY."

Arthur took a brief moment to look for Ariel. He couldn't risk letting the Drive separate now, not while IZANAMI still had Jeriii's power. "Ariel found a way to deal with the Void Inclusions," MirageGaogamon told Arthur through the Drive. "Izanami is trying to bait us, I'm sure of it. But at least let Ariel do what she must.

"Gagagigo!" Arthur called out. Gagagigo was still trying to restrain Ariel, but he seemed to have mostly gotten her under control. Leaving Gagagigo to help Ariel focus, Arthur turned back to IZANAMI.

Sora and Kairi each kept to IZANAMI's left and right, charging their next round of spells, while Arthur used his and Eria's Keyblades. He doubted that this could finish IZANAMI, but at least they could overcome Jeriii's power. Just as he had done against the Madara, Arthur created panels of light and ice around IZANAMI's head. The light was not as powerful as Sora and Kairi's, but Arthur was enchanting it with his own Reflect magic. If IZANAMI had another trick up her sleeve, the barrier should be enough to turn her power back on her.


Ariel looked back at the souls of LERNA's Familiars, Thermopylae and Xansvita. Two heroic souls that were literally drowned in despair. To touch what little essence of them still remain was threatening to consume her, pulling from memories to torment her. And yet, these memories were not hers, but rather, those of her other self.

Erebos was still alive. Solasiro and Megiddo had forced themselves into their war, and Solasiro was able to bind even Erebos into his service. "You still have a whole other mess to clean up," Ariel muttered. She wanted to push back against Gagagigo, but she seemed to relent upon hearing her words.

"Ariel?" Gagagigo asked. Ariel glared at him. Why was she still so surprised that he looked concerned about her?

"I…" Ariel struggled to find the words. She wanted to tell him that she was fine, but that wouldn't be enough. There was so much more she wanted to say. "I'll tell you later. I'm fine… you can let go now." Thankfully, Gagagigo didn't argue the point. The remnants of Kenpachi, Sephiroth, and Ophelia were already returning to the source of IZANAMI's Void Inclusion. Ariel grit her teeth, and began to pull their souls back. Now, she just needed Xansvita and Thermopylae.

She had thought hope had been a lie. It was taken from her, one by one. First Doriado. Then Gagagigo. Then Aussa, then Hiita. Even Wynn. Everyone who mattered to him was gone. For her to even live to this moment was either the punchline to a cruel joke, or because she had to be the one who would make things right. For a moment, she had to remind herself that it was just the other Eria talking about "making things right", but what difference did that make?

"Please," Ariel begged as she was able to hold the two souls. "Let me know hope again.

With that, Ariel plucked Xansvita and Thermopylae's essences free from the Void Inclusion. She held them for a moment, as whispers still tried to tempt her towards giving him, but she paid them no mind. "Finish her, now!"


Arthur nodded, as the sphere was now fully formed around IZANAMI's head. Together, Sora and Kairi charged, and in unison declared, "ULTIMA!" This was what would happen: Their Keyblades would strike IZANAMI simultaneously, as hundreds upon thousands of white lights cascaded throughout IZANAMI and her Chaos, ripping and tearing her body again and again. The lights would continue, bathing the arena in a blinding white.

Still, in the midst of their assault, as the Keyblade Warriors advanced with their respective weapons, they couldn't help but notice that the being within the ice was giggling slightly. Ever, so, slightly.

The giggles rose more and more in intensity as the warriors charged, until they became, quite frankly, maniacal-

Then, the ice shattered. IZANAMI emerged at the ready, and as she held out her hand, a brief, bizarre tear in space seemed to appear right above it, dotted with crimson eyes. It seemed so sudden and, almost certainly, was not among Jeriii's moveset. Unbeknownst to the warriors, this was the power of Yukari Yakumo, the power of ‘gap manipulation'-and from that gap, a mysterious hard drive fell into her palm.

Just like that, the Omnibound Immortal was giggling maniacally as she made her declaration. Her command. After all, as incredible as Jeriii was, they themselves had merely been the Herald for something far greater.

"INSTALL PROTOCOL:"

"D-REAPER BASE PROGRAM"

 

And thus, for the opponents of Envy, … the absolute WORST CASE SCENARIO entered reality.

How much did her opponents understand what those words meant? The ‘D-Reaper Base Program'. Remains of a critical artifact which had been stolen by Isamy long, long ago. Arthur and MirageGaogamon surely recalled how Jeriii had bested them so thoroughly, how the ADRs had taken over them, and how Apocrypha had pushed them so far. And yet, the Jeri-Type, the ADRs, Apocrypha… whether the warriors were aware of it or not, all of those enemies had merely been byproducts of an utter digital monstrosity. The ultimate antivirus which, in one certain universe, attempted to purge both the Digital World and the Real World of the virus called ‘life'.

To begin with, Jeriii's very own existence had merely been devised as a backup for the D-Reaper conscience, as the remains of the world-ending creature when it ended up failing in its task. For the whole duration of her time in the Origin War, she'd longed to get the base program back. Even with IZANAMI acting as a substitute, the puzzle pieces still fit together. The data could still very well use one another. After all, the simple truth is that programs always allow for updates-and thus, with Jeriii's existence as the update to a normally-harmless base program, it was simply all too possible to recreate that long-lost, evolved D-Reaper program. That is, to recreate the D-Reaper itself.

Just as the Keyblade Warriors' lights were about to make contact and deal a devastating blow, wide masses of blood-crimson Chaos exploded all throughout IZANAMI' pores, utterly enveloping their target in the substance. The liquid continued to expand out, forcing them back whilst spreading further and further and further across the expanse of the Origin Cosmos platform in an uncontrollable outpouring; as though a dam had just been broken, it seemed inevitable that the ground below was about to be completely flooded in Chaos within the next minute, leaving nowhere to stand. 

“IZANAMI. 

D-REAPER. 

NOW… THEY ARE ONE!”

At the source of the Chaos's sudden onslaught, the crimson substance immediately surrounding IZANAMI had since solidified into endless cables, building upon and wrapped around Jerii's Included form, causing the already-considerable Omnibound Immortal to expand to gargantuan proportions. As the ground flooded more and more, with Chaos brushing against the barrier surrounding the platform, the barrier itself appeared to weaken and falter, causing floating buildings, objects, and corpses in the Origin Cosmos to plummet and lodge themselves straight into the newly-recreated D-Reaper. 

And from there… the sight before the Counter Corps was unlike anything they had ever seen before.

 

~          E A T E R          ~

 

CQQuSZT_D1DbU-xxtheU5ANs7RNmmNVqAptwWgU6

 

“TRULY, IS DESTRUCTION NOT THE ONLY TRUE HAPPINESS YOU CREATURES SEEK? TRULY, IS LIFE NOT A CONTRADICTORY, ILLOGICAL VIRUS WHICH MUST END?

IT IS TIME TO PURGE ORIGIN

BEGINNING WITH YOU 

If an Omnibound Immortal was the judgment of the real world, then the D-Reaper must be the judgment of the Digital World. United as one, their shared ideals had blended and melded together to reform an entity on an entirely different power scale. To survive, let alone achieve victory against the D-Reaper, it may very well take throwing all caution to the wind. After all, this was the final boss. Holding back or hesitating even slightly would inevitably result in their untimely demise.

Of course, it wasn't as though there wasn't cost to this insane existence. At the same time, it appeared that IZANAMI's existence had suddenly become vastly more unstable - for anyone capable of detecting mana, they'd be able to sense that this form was rapidly depleting the otherwise near-infinite pool of energy contained within the Omnibound Immortal. It was certainly taking some kind of a toll, so the D-Reaper recreation was potentially not a form that would last forever-however, even then, would they survive long enough to last until then? Was victory even possible against this eldritch abomination of the Digital World?

There wasn't time to even ponder such questions. As soon as the D-Reaper had fully manifested, swarms of cables fired outwards from its massive body, aiming to wrap around the Keyblade Warriors who happened to be in close proximity to it. Sora and Kairi were quickly entangled, but Arthur was fast enough to evade the first array of cables, and repelled the next few with Blizzard spells.

Ariel and Gagagigo glided towards IZANAMI. "Do you still believe Aetos would be useful?" Ariel asked.

"No," Gagagigo admitted. "We need something else."

"What we needed was for this to not happen! How did you anticipate this? I could have prevented from turning into… well, that."

"I never met Jeriii," said Gagagigo. "She was killed before the others found me. However, I doubt even MirageGaogamon could have known that this was possible.

Ariel pursed her lips. "I suppose so. Now what?"

Arthur was approaching, and with a sudden poof, Eria and MirageGaogamon appeared beside him. The end of Arthur's Drive had surprised him; he and Eria both almost stumbled midair, but MirageGaogamon caught them both. Sora and Kairi were still struggling to break free.

"I hate to say it," Ariel said, "But I would not be opposed to attempting to face her as Ragnarok."

Eria didn't answer. Whether she was focusing intently on IZANAMI, or refusing to dignify Ariel's suggestion, it was hard to tell. "But I believe that's also impossible," Ariel continued. "You can't believe your future was secured unless all traces of Megiddo disappear. Even the power he gave you."

Another wave of cables began to close in on the group, but Eria blocked them all with a wall of ice.

"What the hell are you doing?" Arthur asked. "You really want to argue about this? Now?"

Ariel summoned a wave of pure water to push back some more Chaos. "Of course I do. Why shouldn't I? Itsu gives all of us the Power of the Future, but the instant Izanami turns into a monster designed just to kill MirageGaogamon, we're all suddenly scrambling. This is no heroic stand. In case you didn't realize this against Protheus, merely surviving, and only barely managing at that, is far different from actually fighting. If you insist on not using Aetos, I want to know what it is that we are supposed to do."

 

Edited by Phantom Roxas

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HAPSHIEL / LYDIA vs LUST IZANAMI

Origin Cosmos [Final Battle]

Spoiler

“CHILDREN OF ORIGIN...

HARBINGERS WHO CRAVE MORE THAN THIS CURRENT REALITY…

IZANAMI, THE EMBODIMENT OF LUST, SHALL DELIVER YOUR SWEET DEATH!”

 

On a platform hurtling across the Origin Cosmos, enclosed by a forcefield of distortions, IZANAMI stood opposed to the two Subjects of Broke N, where Lydia Armstrong and Hapshiel were her sole two opponents. Despite being separated from the others and despite all the odds against them, this was the last enemy stopping them from their epilogue. Even if it meant putting their lives on the line… It was time to fight one last time.

“VOID INCLUSION:"

"TITANOMACHIA”

 

Upon the invoking of a name Lydia would find very - well - familiar, dark robes matching the earlier Renegade Joker now adorned IZANAMI. Her normal composition dimmed, turning pitch-black, turning into an embodiment of despair. After all, this was once the result of LERNA’s victory over a Joker. Against two of the possibly most troublesome opponents, Titanomachia’s godly nature and ironic association with the Witch of Infinite Possibilities may very well be the perfect counter. Lydia seemed to have morphed so much that it was impossible to predict what she was capable of, whereas Hapshiel hadn’t shown a single clear of weakness since the beginning of the war. Therefore, if the final boss was going to keep abusing vector manipulation anywhere, it would be here.

 

“NOW… 

LET IZANAMI SHOW YOU TRUE LOVE”

 

Lydia and Hapshiel were against impossible odds, and yet, both didn't seem afraid. Really, given who they were, how could they be? "My child, this love you speak is tainted by lust. Warped by desire. It pains me with all my heart to say this, but now that your twisted idea of Love and Peace conflicts with my own, then I am afraid I will have to end you in the name of God, and his Love and Peace" the angel spoke up as he drew and brandished his flaming sword.

 

A weapon of heaven, to burn away the flesh of sinners and cast their souls to hell. It was repugnant. It was ugly. It was cruel. So who better to use it on than IZANAMI? At the same time, a SHING echoed across the stage, followed closely by ULTIMATUM drawing Impure Future from its sheath. It was irony in itself that Isamy would take on Titanomachia's power, because of the irony that she in turn would be facing her own father's weapon. ULTIMATUM’s hand was firm and steady, and she had no fear. No worry. All she held was Lydia Armstrong's desire to make this bitch pay for stealing away her friends, her family, her world! She held LERNA's burning contempt for the very notion of a happy ending where there could be no despair. She held the lingering ideals of Madara Uchiha, and his hatred for the one who brought him to such a miserable existence. And she held Avalon's desire to see this through to the end knowing everything he did was not in vain. "You will not win, Isamy. I have a promise to myself to keep, and you will not keep me from it!"

 

In their total heart all of these wishes burned as the fuel to grant the Witch of Endings power to see IZANAMI destroyed. And Protheus was going to help her do it. Within that blade held part of him. Yes, it was just a sword, but it was one he held close to him. His ideals. His desires. His self. They had bled into it, and with LERNA and The Madara's powers at her call, they too would be useful. Diving deep into it, she allowed Impure Future's contrarian nature to fill her. “Prepare to perish.”

 

“COME NOW, LOVE, WHAT USE ARE PROMISES IN THIS FALSE REALITY? 

IF YOU THINK WIELDING HIS BLADE WILL WORK, THEN THINK AGA-”

 

Her lips, though you could not tell with her helmet, had not moved. Her feet did not move, though to the keenest ears the sound of a draft and a heavy flap could be heard. Suddenly, IZANAMI writhed from large cuts running up her body inexplicably appearing. ULTIMATUM’s wings spread, and she flew forwards, all the while slashes began going down the Omnibound Immortal’s back. Taking the initiative of surprise the Witch of Endings followed the cuts perfectly, for she had already made them. It was hard to say how IZANAMI would react to this, but by then ULTIMATUM would have already avoided it.

 

The ‘eyes’ on Lust IZANAMI’s face widened in shock and confusion as she felt a weapon rapidly cutting into the distortions that made her up. What, how, already- She attempted to seek the vectors of the damage, of the, of the blade’s obvious trajectories, and yet somehow... it was impossible to lock onto them! It seemed she had very clearly underestimated Lydia, or at least, whatever this thing she’d transformed into was. 

 

As IZANAMI reached out further into Titanomachia’s nature, she gained her very own massive wings, accompanied by an equally massive scarf wrapped around her. Both were conceptual creations, the former an embodiment of Death, and the latter an embodiment of Darkness. For a brief, painful ten seconds, the Omnibound Immortal stood in place as she weathered the blows with full focus on regenerating her body - then, all of a sudden, ULTIMATUM’s blows seemed as if they were cutting into a mushy liquid. With each consequent blow, IZANAMI appeared to melt more and more, until at last the final boss shattered into pieces. Unfortunately, victory wasn’t going to be quite that easy for them. 

 

“THAT DAMNED OLD MAN, CURSING IZANAMI EVEN AFTER DEATH”

 

At the opposite end of the platform, IZANAMI had rematerialized, her scarf having noticeably shortened a little. Vector manipulation wasn’t the sole weapon under Titanomachia’s arsenal after all; teleportation and illusions were also now at her will. Inside, she cursed the fact that one of her enemies had access to causality reversal- And then, the noise of rushing wind filled the air, and large slices appeared across her torso.

 

“AH,”

 

Already? Already? Already?! The Omnibound Immortal writhed, coughing up a mass of distortions as the damage sunk in. To think that she’d already been targeted on the opposite side of the battlefield! If there was any weakness to this insane ability she’d learned from observing her father, it would be one thing-the fact that a cause still must happen. IZANAMI’s conceptual wings of Death expanded, proceeding to completely wrap them around herself. According to Titanomachia’s abilities, the wings rot and destroy whatever they touch, with prolonged connection resulting in guaranteed death. As she waited ULTIMATUM, the ‘cause’, to inevitably approach, she may as well let them charge straight into the jaws of death itself!

 

The jaws being writhing, twisting whirls of wind, with slicing sickles of condensed air cutting to the literal chase of dancing past her defences and crashing into her, exactly where the cuts had been made. IZANAMI observed in frustration, weathering the pain, having no choice but to buy some time as she closed her nigh-indestructible Wings of Death and totally shut herself off from the outside. Her opponent wasn’t even using Impure Future to do this, so how was this happening? If they’d managed to do such a thing, then somehow, they had stolen the causality-reversal ability for every single attack they were able to make. While she’d been expecting a difficult fight from them, this was akin to battling a Counter Guardian in physical form - just what heights had Lydia reached since their previous battle alone? Just what heights had everyone reached?!

 

“HEH…”

 

It couldn’t be helped. As her frustration gradually began to bloom into a different emotion, and as she remembered that she wasn’t even facing one opponent but two, she prepared herself to experience the onslaught of ULTIMATUM once more, cutting off her sense of pain. Sure, alright, the mass of distortions reasoned. If THIS was the way it was going to be, IZANAMI simply had no choice but to accept it all. She would accept ALL THEIR LOVE and TAKE THEM DOWN before they take her down!!!

 

“SO EAGER FOR VICTORY, I SEE…!”

 

All of a sudden, Lust IZANAMI’s demeanor changed. Her Wings of Death completely opened themselves up, as if acknowledging that the causality-reversal was not something she could simply stop, as if understanding that this was the way reality was and that she would just have to accept it for now. After all, wasn’t this exactly what that angel believed in? If taking damage was inevitable, then she would embrace the masochism and focus on closing in on the probability of her opponents’ demise.

 

Black feathers started to detach in flocks from the massive appendages on her back, and promptly fired outwards with the boost given by accelerating their vectors. Not towards her opponents, but towards the entirety of the battlefield. As an extension of her wings, they had the ability to dig into the target, and dissolve into the body after a few minutes, ultimately imposing the concept of ‘Death’ upon its subjects. It was a constant, near-endless flurry of feather-shaped bullets as they shot about chaotically, cutting across the platform as well as the skies at random. Using Titanomachia’s powers in addition to IZANAMI’s very own energy supply, this was an attempt to cover every single possible probability of ending both ULTIMATUM and the as-of-yet inactive Hapshiel. Even if they survived the feathers, the more she could close the probability of them dodging and force them to remain in a single position, the easier it would be to crush them after all.

 

Seeing the way things were going, ULTIMATUM released Impure Future’s power, just for the moment, and calmly walked over to the rather passive Hapshield, who seemed quite glad his sword wasn’t required for the moment. “Yes child?” he asked as she folded her wings while standing by him.

 

“I’m just waiting” ULTIMATUM replied.

 

For what, it became clear once IZANAMI’s feathers burned up on Hapshiel’s kinetic barrier. It would be corny to say, but even death can’t stand up to someone who radiates a lust for life. And as many feathers as there were, none could penetrate the angel’s barrier. “She’ll try something else once she gets huffy enough. Be ready for it.”

 

Regardless, IZANAMI had successfully managed to pin them to a single position. The feathers of death continued to pelt against the kinetic barrier for a good twenty seconds, and yet, even when Lust increased her firepower as much as she possibly could in this form, it was beginning to become readily apparent that there would be no way to penetrate Hapshiel’s defense. If there was any weakness that the insanely-overpowered Titanomachia himself possessed, it was that he lacked any method with which to unleash a giant amount of firepower. At the end of the day, vector manipulation, conceptual gimmicks, and the ability to fire death feathers were all that he was capable of. With this in mind-

“VOID INCLUSION:"

"JIN AKATSUKI”

IZANAMI invoked a new name, that of a Counter Corps member who Lydia wouldn’t have met, that of an angel-demon-human hybrid who gained full mastery over Nephilim powers, that of the one man who very almost ended Protheus Maximus himself back during the Shadow Realm. Just like that, a blast of lightning struck IZANAMI from the Origin Cosmos-

 

“ENHANCE”

 

Her aura instantly changed, losing all features of Titanomachia just like that in favour of an emblemed trenchcoat materialized around her and black angelic wings. Not even a second later, her attention was locked onto the still-defending Hapshiel and Lydia. This was her golden opportunity and she was going to end this now. Her scythe started to rapidly gather large amounts of high-density Inferno aura.

 

“INFERNITY ROAR!”

 

And with that, as the last of the unleashed black feathers pelted against Hapshiel’s kinetic barrier, IZANAMI swung her charged giant scythe forth, and a massive, astounding beam of sacred flames were unleashed, accompanied by the sound of a roaring lion, slamming against the barrier with a considerable more force than anything that came before. However, even more than that was the properties of the flames -ingrained in them was the very ability to burn through aura itself. Amplified by the final boss’s own ridiculous strength, it blasted into Hapshiel’s barrier with flames scattering all around it, gradually burning into life itself. Due to this one quick switch in Inclusions, IZANAMI very much intended to burn the life and aura of these two to cinders.

 

And with a flick of ULTIMATUM’s fingers, the flame dissipated, all energy lost when an absolute zero area surrounded the outside of Hapshiel’s kinetic barrier. “It chills to the core. How fantastic!” Hapshiel uttered, quite ready to embrace the coldest portion of Hell.

 

“Yes. Magical flames are still flames, and at absolute zero there is no energy for them to burn with. Heat is simply one expression of energy, after all” ULTIMATUM commented.

 

“REITSUFUNE! CHAOS SIGHT!”

 

IZANAMI didn’t let this stop her, however. The instant the flames dissipated, her form charged onwards at surprising speeds, closing the distance between herself and the defending warriors. Her Tabris scythe, embodying Jin’s very own Shukuro weapon, gathered together even more Inferno aura as her clothes morphed to that of a samurai’s, increasing her own physical power. In addition, proper eyes made themselves visible on her distorted face; albeit completely black with a white spiral for the pupil. 

 

With her second Inclusion, Lust was abusing as much of Jin’s greatest abilities as possible. Reitsufune synchronized one’s full physical and magical potential, whereas Chaos Sight allowed one to see directly into the souls of others. If elemental attacks wouldn’t work, then she would blast through with raw strength. If even that didn’t work, then at the very least, she would take the opportunity to understand just what the hell Lydia had become before assuming a more appropriate Inclusion.

 

Just as the last of the Infernity Roar entered the absolute zero zone and dissipated, IZANAMI closed in on them without hesitation, hulking fifty feet above it, and proceeded to practically launched her giant scythe towards the kinetic barrier. When comparing her level of strength to his, this would surely only take a single attack, two at the very most. She aimed to not only shatter the barrier, but also stab straight into Hapshiel in the same singular movement. If neither death nor flames worked, then it was time for a physical, close combat approach…

 

The final boss would show them exactly how far her might extended.

 

~          Bipolar Nightmare        ~

 

“This could be bad” ULTIMATUM mused, using a thickened barrier of winds to aid Hapshiel.

 

“Depending on one's point of view things could be bad, or they could be simply wonderful. I am curious to know if this scythe would feel as awful as it looks. I am sure the pain would be tremendous” the angel added, enthralled by the idea.

 

“Okay, yeah, that’s kinda creepy Hapshiel. But, I guess it’s time for my next trick then” the Witch of Endings conceded and she grabbed onto the angel, and they exploded into a spray of light particles.

 

IZANAMI’s scythe cleaved through the empty space, and smashed onto the platform, her prey gone. Surprised but not about to let them go, she quickly spun around in place, scanning the battlefield with her Chaos Sight. Wherever they were hiding, their souls were one thing that couldn’t be hidden after all. 

 

“come out, come out, wherever you are…”

 

Though, strangely, they were everywhere. Fragments of their souls filled the air; a mix of obnoxiously shining gold, and feminine pink. Truly bizarre,they were undoubtedly the energies of Hapshiel and Lydia. However, if this was some kind of soul-scattering technique, some way they thought they’d be safe from her by being intangible, then they were about to be mistaken.

 

“OH! YOU’RE INVITING DEATH. THEN IZANAMI SHALL BE HAPPY TO OBLIGE.”

 

As the Omnibound Immortal held her scythe up high, she poured more and more of her Hybrid Inferno Aura into the weapon, condensing as much as she could into it. Then, she declared once more,

 

“INFERNITY ROAR!!!”

 

And just like that, a second wave of aura-burning sacred flames unleashed outwards. Only this time, it was fired out omnidirectionally like an explosion; turning into a ball of flames which filled up the immediate skies, expanding with each passing second. Even as IZANAMI tried to simultaneously will the flames away from herself, they still burned into her arms, damaging her own distortion-composed form. If the two warriors hadn’t somehow tricked Chaos Sight, if these truly were the fragments of their souls, then she would simply burn them to ashes before they could take a physical form again.

 

If IZANAMI had a little more thought, than quite possibly she would have prepared herself for this as the pink lights merged together at a speed of what they were, light. Hapshiel reformed with some serious momentum catapulting him forwards, his sword held horizontally. With a quick twist he was a roaring maelstrom of divine flame, counteracting the Infernity Roar with it and his kinetic barrier. The trail of golden particles followed him, boosting him forwards right for IZANAMI. 

 

As he fired straight towards her position, the Omnibound Immortal rooted herself in position as she pointed her scythe in front of her, redirecting the Infernity Roar’s assault so that its flames were entirely concentrated on blasting against the trajectory, attempting to slow the angel and weaken his kinetic barrier as much as possible. Still in position, it looked as though she were simultaneously readying her free right hand. Just a little closer, just until her enemy entered within range. The instant Hapshiel closed in on IZANAMI’s position, the final boss in question thrust her free hand in front of her, as if anticipating his inevitable arrival and aiming to intercept. 

 

“SOUL EATE-”

 

But the angel exploded into particles, his sword spiraling through the air like a pinwheel of divine retribution, clashing with Infernity Roar. And it was enough for ULTIMATUM to reform, a clawed hand cutting across the air for dramatic effect as a scar of reality was opened, unleashing a deluge of Despair Water to crash down upon the Omnibound. The waves of despair crashed upon the flames, extinguishing them in their path towards the caster. And in the midst of it all, ULTIMATUM disappeared into particles.

 

If IZANAMI had any doubts that Lydia had somehow gained absolute control over the Witch of Infinite Possibilities’ powers, they were erased right then. Also, judging from all her records and knowledge of that battle, ‘Despair Water’ wasn’t something she was keen on testing her true form against. 

 

No matter. It wasn’t like this substance would even get close to her anyhow. As she watched the Despair Water approach, her scythe rapidly morphed into the shape of crimson glove-gauntlets over her hands in what Jin Akatsuki once referred to as Form 2. She proceeded to assume the stance of an expert martial artist, melding her own experience with that of Jin, separated legs gripping the platform and raised fists charging up energy.

 

“FINE… WATCH CLOSELY NOW.”

 

Speaking those words, the otherworldly refractions of light that made up IZANAMI’s body tensed up and expanded in a simulation of muscles, gathering together her gargantuan physical strength-and with Jin’s gauntlets at the forefront, she thrust her herculean arms forth, straight into ULTIMATUM’s waves.

 

This time, it wasn’t a magical attack or special property of any kind. No, this was simply raw power. The gauntlets served to shield her fists, although they barely even connected with the oncoming Waves of Despair before the assault was rather brutally blasted back. A massive burst of kinetic energy tore across the entirety of the Despair Waters, practically being launched into the other direction by a monstrous air current, leaving behind a trail of wide, paved rubble along the platform. Just like that, IZANAMI had demonstrated just how insane the heights of her strength were. As IZANAMI stood upon the battlefield of the Origin Cosmos, scanning it with her Chaos Sight in order to locate her two opponents, she called out to the two combatants.

 

“PLEASE, LYDIA. DID YOU LUST FOR POWER SO MUCH THAT YOU EMBRACED MONSTROSITY TO REACH YOUR CURRENT HEIGHT? HAVE YOU SACRIFICED EVERYTHING YOU USED TO BE, JUST FOR A CHANCE TO END THE ORIGIN WAR?

REALLY, IZANAMI PITIES YOU!

AFTER ALL… THIS CRUEL REALITY WILL REDUCE ALL YOUR EFFORTS TO NOTHING.”

 

IZANAMI slammed one of her feet into the ground, letting the expansive platform rumble at her sheer might as if to emphasize this point.

 

“AND YOU, HAPSHIEL. YOU CALLED IZANAMI’S LOVE TAINTED BY LUST. EQUALLY, IZANAMI THINKS YOU ARE THE ONE TAINTED BY LUST. ALL THAT TIME, WEREN’T YOU MERELY AMUSING YOURSELF? YOUR IDEALS OF ‘LOVE AND PEACE’ ARE RESPECTABLE, BUT YOUR METHODS IGNORED BOUNDARIES AND MUST’VE FREAKED OUT MANY OTHERS, IF NOT HURT THEM. 

REALLY, IZANAMI PITIES YOU TOO!

AFTER ALL… THIS CRUEL REALITY WILL REJECT YOU AT EVERY TURN.”

 

Once again, IZANAMI slammed her foot into the ground, letting the rumble echo across the cosmos. As she did, the gauntlets on her fists morphed again, now taking the form and shape of Jin’s Form 2 Shukuro... That is to say, an actual submachine gun. Pitch-black, with blue bandages wrapped around the grip and bullets infused with Jin’s own burning aura. She wielded it casually in her right hand, awaiting the battle’s re-commencement.

 

“WARRIORS, IF THIS IS THE BEST RESISTANCE YOU CAN PUT UP, THEN THIS IS IZANAMI’S SUGGESTION:

SHOW YOURSELVES.

AND GIVE UP.”

 

“No.”

 

ULTIMATUM reappeared by the breach into her barrier she had cut, and she stared down at IZANAMI, a subtle red aura coating her wings. “Embraced monstrosity? Coming from you?! Do you forget what one half of you became?! A horrible Hollow, and then a Nobody and a Heartless! You’re talking to me about becoming a monster when you threw your own humanity away god knows how long ago? That’s pretty rich!” she spat, her wings flaring.

 

“I haven’t given up a damn thing! I’m giving LERNA and Madara a chance to fulfil their last wishes before they faded away, like they were destined to do. I’m accepting their own flaws, and in exchange we’ve become someone with the power to defeat you. I’ve accepted their flaws, so why can’t you accept the flaws of the Omniverse?!” she demanded.

 

“YES. IZANAMI IS A MONSTER. 

THE MOMENT IZANAMI ASSUMED HER TRUE FORM... SHE ACCEPTED THAT.

IF YOU’RE FULFILLING THE LAST WISHES OF MONSTERS, WHAT DIFFERENCE IS THERE BETWEEN YOU AND IZANAMI?”

 

The Omnibound Immortal’s words wavered somewhat, yet remained resolute as the entity stood against ULTIMATUM, gazing back at her.

 

“...FORGET IT.

BY NOW, IZANAMI IS TIRED OF LOGIC.

 

“You’re such a coward….”

 

ULTIMATUM shook her head in the face of this… awful creature. Why was it that ultimate power always went to the most petulant, unreasonable people? It was like some cruel joke written into the fabric of reality. Some disturbing, disgusting caveat that the worst of the worst should get positions and powers far above people who deserved it far more. “Then there is no other way. You’re going to have to be destroyed, and then the next Omni will be dealt with time. I accept this” the witch declared. “I am going to destroy you IZANAMI! Not just for every one you’ve hurt! But for everyone you’re going to selfishly destroy because you can’t just accept things as they are! Even if I burn out. Even if I end up like LERNA or The Madara, so long as your insane quest ends... I will happily accept that fate!”


The Witch of Endings spread her wings wide, her arms stretched out as far as they go. “SO COME ON THEN! HAVE AT IT! COME AT ME YOU COWARD!”

 

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SUBJECTS OF PHANTOM vs ENVY IZANAMI

 

 

Spoiler

“THINK, PLAN, ANALYZE, WIN

ATTEMPT THIS ALL YOU LIKE-BUT ASK YOURSELVES, WHAT POINT IS THERE?”

Sora and Kairi cut through the D-Reaper’s power cables, only for even more to ensnare them just as quickly. Meanwhile, Ariel still waited for her allies to answer her own question. Unlike Protheus, Izanami’s current form was designed specifically to delete Digimon. Aetos would not work a second time, especially after it had only barely succeeded against Protheus. Even then, that was because they were able to take advantage of the lake. Aetos only worked because they were able to turn the circumstances in their favor, but absolutely none of those advantages were available now.

“Perhaps there’s a way we could protect MirageGaogamon,” Eria offered. “Arthur, you’ve mostly relied on your Reflect spell, so you might have some knack for defensive magic. Maybe with the power Itsu gave us, there are some more spells you could use to give him an edge against the Chaos?”

“Maybe.” Arthur aimed his Keyblade at MirageGaogamon, but before he could try anything, the group had to avoid another wave of Chaos. MirageGaogamon carried Arthur away, while the two Erias conjured their waves of water to repel the Chaos. The Chaos quickly dissolved the water, but it was slowed down just long enough for the Erias to summon new ice platforms in the air for themselves and Gagagigo.

“If you can cover me,” said Gagagigo, “I may be able to save Sora and Kairi. Then you can focus on Izanami herself.”

As the team quickly exchanged ideas in the face of this utterly oppressive force, filling up by the second with a mixture of uncertainty and powerlessness, the D-Reaper of Envy spoke out.

“DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?”

The gargantuan force of nature, embodiment of crimson destruction, remained fixed in place as she towered over the battlefield. Yet even though her form wasn’t moving an inch, insane portions of Chaos began to wash over the platform’s surface, reaching the point where all they could see over the horizon floor was sickly, deathly vermillion.

“YOU LOST

AND IZANAMI WON

WITH HER NIGH-INFINITE POWER AND VOID INCLUSION, THIS WAS AN EVENTUALITY”

 Not only that, but the surface of the D-Reaper’s lower body seemed to be bubbling, apparently forming what appeared to be egg-shaped warts-and when they erupted, the result could not have been surprising. What else would be contained but copies of the only soldier-data stored within this program? What else would emerge but even more ADR-01ii: Jeri-Types

The familiar form screeched into the air. Mindless, lacking the years of development the original went through, yet clearly retaining all of Jeriii’s offensive power. For now, seven had prematurely emerged, but the innumerable amount of warts on the D-Reaper’s skin suggested that many, many more may soon be incoming.

“NO. ONE MAY EVEN SAY YOU WERE FATED TO LOSE HERE, 

IN THIS VERY BATTLE, IN THIS VERY LOCATION

RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW, WHEN IT MATTERED MOST, WHEN YOU CAME SO FAR AND CHANGED SO MUCH

...WHY, YOU ASK?”

 

Y_UvwyT-oIpREzjPCYOrnO7JhLD6YXYtPmhhJmse

 

“JUST BECAUSE:

RE̡ALI͢TY C̡ÁN B͏E ̴C̸R͟U͏EL ĻI͜K͏E͟ ̀T͏H̛AT̡”

Her voice echoed across the space of the Origin Cosmos, containing distorted remnants of Isamy Maximus’s original tone and attitude. Still, for some reason, it didn’t feel like IZANAMI, D-Reaper of Envy held ill will towards them.

Rather… It was as if this was a final declaration of war against them. As if daring them to prove her wrong and end things right here, right now.

 

FINAL PHASE - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3OsurDY0Aw

 

“Keep telling yourself that,” MirageGaogamon snarled, gripping his flail as his whole body glowed with golden light. The spiked ball began to grow, and grow, and grow until it was twice the size of MirageGaogamon himself. Pulling the chain with all his might, he shouted “Meteor Shackle!”

The flail crushed many of the Jeriiis under its immense weight, splattering them into puddles of Chaos. The residual Chaos attempted to eat into the flail, but its brilliant golden energy was somehow restoring itself. MirageGaogamon pulled the flail back, his whole body aglow, as he prepared to strike again.

“How many times do I have to tell you?” Arthur muttered. He knew Izanami would not listen. Even still, despite the displays of might between them and Izanami, she still spoke as if there was a debate to be won here. If there was, Arthur had only to do as Itsu had said, and convince Izanami to give up the Omni Principle.

“Reality isn’t cruel,” said Arthur, to which the D-Reaper gave no response. He prepared a Reflect spell, but tried to imagine more than just an ordinary barrier. The hexagonal patterns began to form around MirageGaogamon, but Arthur envisioned them shifting in place.

Eria and Ariel continued to keep away the waves of Chaos, while Gagagigo stood his ground, waiting to fight back. Sora and Kairi kept struggling, but they were able to push further ahead this time, before being caught once more. Everyone was doing their part, so Arthur chose to focus on MirageGaogamon. The barrier was starting to fold, as if it was conforming to MirageGaogamon’s whole body.

MirageGaogamon destroyed more and more Jeriiis, but just as many continued to spawn and replenish their ranks. Arthur continued to reinforce MirageGaogamon’s armor, but he caught something out of the corner of his eye. One Jeriii had avoided MirageGaogamon’s attack. Unable to pull his flail back in time, MirageGaogamon charged at the Jeriii and backhanded it. Another Jeriii aimed its hand at Arthur, before Eria froze that one solid.

Even more Jeriiis were beginning to avoid MirageGaogamon’s flail, and one by one, began to fire a barrage of α Decay Shots at MirageGaogamon. However, without hesitation, another swing of the flail demolished the Jeriiis. MirageGaogamon charged forward, seemingly undeterred by the agents of the D-Reaper.

Arthur smiled. His plan had worked. MirageGaogamon’s was able to take the brunt of the attacks. Of course, Arthur would have to restore the armor, but to be able to protect MirageGaogamon from the Chaos would be enough, for the moment. He was still not convinced that Aetos was the way to go, but it was a start.

“The point is that we have to win here! I told you that I didn’t want a shortcut. We’ve both suffered more than either of us would care to.”

“Don’t waste your breath!” Ariel warned. “You think you can talk some sense to her? We have to kill her now, so focus on protecting MirageGaogamon!”

“No, let him try,” Eria said. “Arthur… I hope you know what you’re doing.”

Arthur nodded. “Thank you. Izana- no. Isabella, Ameliorer. You’ve both suffered a lot.” Arthur took a deep breath. He wouldn’t excuse what they had done, and they were sure to see through any bluff. “After everything you’ve done, you’re come to the Door, and found that nothing you’ve done was worth it. You hit a dead end.”

“DEAD END, YOU SAY. NONSENSE...

WHAT 

UTTER

NONSENSE!”

Agitated by this, the D-Reaper of Envy forced more of her eggs to burst, releasing even more Jeriiis into the sky. Eria nodded over to Gagagigo, and she commanded his platform to carry him forward. Though various Jeriiis immediately turned to swarm Gagagigo, Eria summoned just as many ice shards to impale the agents before they could get too close.

“If you insist on standing in our way,” Arthur continued, “then that just proves my point. Reality itself isn’t cruel. It’s us. You, me, so-called ‘Guardians’ like Emiya or Arturia… you and your father started this war, and everyone here is trying to end it. I’m fighting so MirageGaogamon and I can be friends without having to choose between him or my family. A family that I betrayed. I didn’t give them a chance, and they don’t deserve to lose everything. You chose me, but why should I be the one who gets to live, while their world falls apart? And Eria…”

Arthur and Eria shared a glance. “I wouldn’t be here if she didn’t have faith in me. I don’t know if I can have that same faith in you, so I’ll make it clear what the difference is between you and us. What the damn ‘point’ of this is.”

Arthur’s eyes began to glow gold. As he raised his Keyblade above his head, he could feel his arms warming up, as if something within him was starting to burn. Alexandra, his father, the Royal Knights, Sam, Baxter, all of Camp Half-Blood… there were far too many people waiting for him.

“Father,” said Arthur. “If you can hear me, I could use your help right now.”

Suddenly, the warts across IZANAMI’S body started to boil. Sparks of light flickered into life, and the whole area started to grow warmer. “Gagagigo, jump!” Arthur cried out. Gagagigo looked down and saw that his platform was starting to melt. Jumping onto IZANAMI’s towering body, Gagagigo into her body, pulling Sora and Kairi free. With the quick aid of an Aeroga spell, Sora, Kairi, and Gagagigo were all pushed away from IZANAMI with a gust of wind.

The sparks of light began to expand, and a ring of light appeared above IZANAMI. Then, another ring around that, followed by a third. As she turned to face them in surprise, her D-Reaper mask glowed as if analyzing its composition, as if attempting to understand what exactly she was facing here. 

“Everyone has a future waiting for them, Izanami,” said Arthur. As Gagagigo brought Sora and Kairi back across, MirageGaogamon pulled back as well. With everyone behind him, Arthur cast a Reflect barrier around the team. “Just because you’ve hit a dead end doesn’t mean that anyone else has.”

“FOOL!

THIS CANNOT HURT ME!”

 

KBK-o_-rcA7o1EjnJmzbPTn24PWi9EY8W976FRsR

 

“Eschaton.”

At Arthur’s command, a giant beam of golden light shot through the rings, as the sparks of light exploded all at once. IZANAMI’S entire body was being burnt alive by the raw pure power of a sun. 

Just like that, the deep crimson tower called the ‘D-Reaper’ was utterly enveloped in a sudden, and bright, and merciless light, and for all her scale and prowess, even something on a galactic level of power such as the sun was not something she was capable of resisting. The onslaught ripped away at her every layer, burning deeper and deeper, evaporating all oozing Chaos in the vacancy and incinerating every growing Jeriii within. She resisted, of course. IZANAMI resisted, calling all her forces together to attempt to form a wall, a net, anything to protect her against the beam. Certainly, there was little doubt that even in this state, she may only be able to maintain this form for seconds, perhaps twenty at most. And as she burned, she wondered, why? Why? Not how this was happening, because she understood exactly how. But rather, why? Why why why why why why why did that DAMNED sun god Apollo answer the boy’s prayers after all this time?! To support his progress? Or to spite her desire? This was, this was unacceptable… Unacceptable...

“UNACCEPTABLE!!!”

Naturally, one path of victory still remained for Omnibound Immortal IZANAMI.

In the seconds before IZANAMI ceased to be, she - with extreme reluctance - let go of her connection to Jeriii’s Existence and reached out to the greater realm of existences. To the void. To the only person, the only existence which could possibly protect her against the power of the sun.

And amidst that burning light of destruction, IZANAMI mightily declared,

 

“VOID INCLUSION”

As soon as she heard those words, Ariel thrust her hands forward, attempting to reach out for the collection of souls that she had witnessed before. Whoever IZANAMI was hoping to transform into next, Ariel was determined to stop her. Arthur was falling to knees, his body giving off smoke. Slight burns had formed across his body; nowhere near as bad as anyone would have expected from standing close to the sun, but his barrier had protected everyone but himself. Eria rushed to his side, trying to summon some magic to soothe his wounds and heal him, while MirageGaogamon, Gagagigo, Sora, and Kairi were steeled themselves for IZANAMI’S next move.

“ITSU

FUDO!”

Of course it was.

Shamelessly, Omnibound Immortal IZANAMI called out her name. When the power of a sun god ended up being unleashed on her, when she was in the process of being incinerated, what other choice did she have? Who else did she have to counter with but the power of another sun god? The sheer size of her existence, unstable as it was, would consume her remaining Void Inclusion uses and take a heavy toll just bringing it here, but that didn’t matter. That didn’t matter! It would help her survive. It would help her achieve victory. She would include the aspect of Itsu Fudo that initially entered the Origin War, back when the goddess was still at full power, held back only by the now-bypassable restriction of distortions. Whilst Itsu Fudo possessed many talents that made her unstoppable, her foremost use in this situation would be her complete mastery over heat and the sun, absorption included. To begin with, Itsu Fudo herself was once a sun. It was the perfect choice.

Not to mention, by the sound of it, it was Itsu Fudo herself who’d saved the others and granted them the powers necessary to oppose her. With this in consideration, how utterly satisfying would it be to use her powers to crush them?! If even the D-Reaper wasn’t enough, she would use Itsu Fudo’s powers, and she would use them to their fullest to crush any last interference from Apollo, and steamroll everyone else, and ensure ultimate victory!

A giant blast of ruby lightning blasted out from the Origin Cosmos the instant she declared this name, penetrating the platform’s barrier and ready to make contact with IZANAMI in an instant. 

“-?!”

However, it never reached her. The lightning seemed to stop midair. Although IZANAMI was still shielded within the remains of the D-Reaper, an expression of horror and confusion swept over her.

“H- HOW-?!”

Ariel was concentrating on the pool of souls, holding onto Itsu’s essence. She could see it, far in the distance, yet still shining brightly among all the others. How could she not have seen it before? Whatever the case, she was holding onto the essence, just as she had with the others. But she could hear it resisting, trying to break free. The bolt of lightning slowly began to inch its way through the sky above them, but Ariel tried to hold on.

“Don’t try to hide behind anyone else’s power,” said Ariel. “Isabella, Ameliorer, whoever you are, it doesn’t matter.” The monster connected to Ariel’s lower body dug its legs into the platform, holding its ground. “Thanks to your father, I’ve been connected to the Omni Principle once already. You’re not like him, though, so it’s far more difficult to gain a hold on it.”

“Here.” Eria handed the Staff of Armadyl to her counterpart. It had helped against Protheus, but it had broken the Staff in half. Ariel narrowed an eye, uncertain if it would be just as useful in this state, but she took the Staff, pointing it at Itsu’s essence. She wouldn’t dare try to absorb the essence, but she could at least feel its resistance growing weaker. Even the lightning bolt in the sky was starting to recede, but it wasn’t enough. Ariel had to prevent IZANAMI from using the Void Inclusion altogether.

Ariel’s body was burning. It was burning even hotter than the residual heat from Arthur’s attack. Poor Arthur couldn’t handle his own attack. “You idiots,” Ariel snarled. He had made such a propesterous speech, and if IZANAMI was able to use Itsu’s power, what good was it for Arthur to just kill himself? “At least one of us deserves to be happy. Eria, promise me that you’ll save him.”

“Like that’s even in doubt.” Eria tried to push back tears as Kairi and Sora aided with Cure spells, but Arthur was still barely moving. He was breathing, yes, but for how long?

“He promised you the future.”

“Please don’t,” Eria begged.

“Hold on,” said Ariel. Itsu’s essence was drawing closer. With the staff, even if she couldn’t take all of Itsu’s power, she might be able to draw on just enough to turn this around. “Before we started this battle, I told you that I felt something more. For all the power that Itsu promised, I didn’t think that she had given us enough. That she had let us down.”

“What do you mean?”

“You said that we would use the Door to decide our future. I believe that with the Power of the Future, we may only be able to call upon a future that we believe in. I… I didn’t see much of a future for myself, I’m afraid. Maybe long enough for us to defeat Izanami, for us to go back home, but… after that?” Ariel smirked. “Well, it’s like Arthur said. You give us faith, Eria. Faith that it’s not too late for us.”

Ariel’s skin grew pale, and the Gishki Beast howled as its skin began to shift. Black scales began to transform into violet armor. Its frills turned transluscent, and the monster’s roar slowly grew more mechanical. Ariel’s upper body likewise began to change. For a moment, gears appeared out of her skin before sinking back in.

“What are you doing?!” Eria asked.

“It’s alright,” Ariel assured her through gritted teeth. “It just means there will be more pain in my future. Can’t say I’m too surprised. But that’s what you and Arthur are preparing for, so why should I be any different? It’ll be worth it, in the end.”

Eria pursed her lips, but she nodded at last. Smiling back, Ariel called out to the last of Itsu’s essence. “I’m ready now, Itsu! Show me my future!”

Corona flares flowed directly into the Staff of Armadyl. The artifact started to tremble in Ariel’s hand, as the last traces of black and blue in her clothes turned violet. In her other hand, a second staff began to materalize, adorned with a mirror displaying the symbol of the Gishki. Ariel accepted the rest of the power, and she could feel herself growing calmer. Her body no longer looked human. Instead, it resembled something more of a mechanical doll.

 

KyF8Y_dYNUJ6CWYqF08RPRQTXF9I_KOByT1RI2X-

 

“IZANAMI!” Ariel called, as she held the Gishki staff up high. “You cannot hide any longer.” Dozens of blue strings shot out from the mirror, and into the Origin Cosmos. Several more strings fired to wrap themselves around IZANAMI’S body. 

“THIS… THIS IS RIDICULOUS!

IZANAMI FINDS THIS RIDICULOUS! 

HOW… HOW DARE YOU, A MERE PUPPET OF A DEAD MAN!”

With Itsu’s Void Inclusion about to be used up, the situation was dire. Still, even as the D-Reaper’s giant essence melted around IZANAMI, her own physical strength as an Omnibound Immortal was nothing to scoff at. She pulled against the strings constricting around her, summoning her signature Tabris scythe into one hand as she attempted to tear out of this trap. If she could just stop Ariel before whatever the Gishki Charmer completed whatever she was doing, if she could just salvage a Void Inclusion, these tables could still be turned in her favour… and yet, the situation was even worse than IZANAMI could have ever envisioned.

Feeling the Staff of Armadyl continuing to warm up in her hand, Ariel tossed it aside.

“No!” Sora called out, but it was too late. As soon as the Staff of Armadyl started falling to the ground, Itsu’s essence had finally overwhelmed it. Cracks formed along its body and to the crystal at the top, until finally, the staff exploded. For as much as it had carried them through this, to overcoming Xansvita and Protheus, to the power it had once granted Itsu, it was perhaps only fitting that Itsu’s own power would in turn destroy it once and for all.

Ariel paid the Staff of Armadyl no mind, however. Grabbing her new Gishki staff with both hands, she pulled it back, tugging on each and every string it had conjured, pulling against the Omnibound’s raw strength. Thanks to Itsu - and though Ariel would hate to admit it, Protheus as well - for a brief moment, Ariel could feel herself connected to the Origin Cosmos. 

To the very center of the IZANAMI’S Void Inclusion.

That brief moment was all Ariel needed, as she pulled the staff.

“AH.̴̫͎̦.͚͕͈̩̲̰.̤̝̺̞̰̘̝͟

.͍̣.̭͞.̛̺͍.̪̪͕̱̙.҉͎̜̮͉̮ͅ.̕.̝̣̫̱̪͙̼̀.̴̫͎̦.͚͕͈̩̲̰.̤̝̺̞̰̘̝͟.͍̣.̭͞.̛̺͍.̪̪͕̱̙.҉͎̜̮͉̮ͅ.̕

.̝̣̫̱̪͙̼̀.̴̫͎̦.͚͕͈̩̲̰.̤̝̺̞̰̘̝͟.͍̣.̭͞.̛̺͍.̪̪͕̱̙.҉͎̜̮͉̮ͅ.̕.̝̣̫̱̪͙̼̀.̴̫͎̦.͚͕͈̩̲̰.̤̝̺̞̰̘̝͟.͍̣.̭͞.̛̺͍.̪̪͕̱̙.҉͎̜̮͉̮ͅ.̕.̝̣̫̱̪͙̼̀.̴̫͎̦.͚͕͈̩̲̰

.̤̝̺̞̰̘̝͟.͍̣.̭͞.̛̺͍.̪̪͕̱̙.҉͎̜̮͉̮ͅ.̴̫͎̦.͚͕͈̩̲̰.̤̝̺̞̰̘̝͟.͍̣.̭͞.̛̺͍.̪̪͕̱̙.҉͎̜̮͉̮ͅ.̕.̝̣̫̱̪͙̼̀.̴̫͎̦.͚͕͈̩̲̰.̤̝̺̞̰̘̝͟.͍̣.̭͞.̛̺͍.̪̪͕̱̙.҉͎̜̮͉̮ͅ.̕.̝̣̫̱̪͙̼̀.̴̫͎̦.͚͕͈̩̲̰.̤̝̺̞̰̘̝͟.͍̣.̭͞.̛̺͍.̪̪͕̱̙.҉͎̜̮͉̮ͅ.̕.̝̣̫̱̪͙̼̀.̕.̝̣̫̱̪͙̼̀”

 

 

And just like that… something was severed. 

A connection. 

A power. 

A bond.

What had happened? Whatever it was, IZANAMI’s very soul felt it, experienced it, hurt from it. What was this sudden emptiness in her senses-did someone destroy all of reality? Or did someone simply switch off the internet? It was a sensation that rattled her.

At last, IZANAMI tore herself free from Ariel’s strings. The last remnants of the D-Reaper’s Incluson had since melted, leaving nothing but the avatar’s initial, distorted figure. Although it still vastly towered above the warriors, emanating raw strength and magic, it no longer possessed the sheer scale that the D-Reaper came with. Still, confused but otherwise unperturbed, she grinned as she eyed the warriors.

“IZANAMI IS PERTURBED, BUT NO MATTER!

NOW THEN, WHERE WAS I…?”

Readying her scythe once more, IZANAMI thrust it into the sky as she declared,

“VOID INCLUSION:

ITSU FUDO!”

But this time… nothing happened.

“WHA…?”

Indeed, it seemed her own words had come to bite her, reality had come to punish her exactly as it was foretold would.

For it wasn’t working. Her Void Inclusion wasn’t working!

All Envy IZANAMI could do was well up with annoyance. Still, however that girl had achieved it, at least it wouldn’t hinder the others- LIVE MEMORIES OF INTERCONNECTED IZANAMIS SUDDENLY RACE THROUGH WHAT IS THIS

 


 

“THIS CANNOT BE-”

 


 

“NOW OF ALL TIMES?!”

  


 

“IT’S NOT WORKING! DAMN THAT ARIEL!!!”

  


 

“IZANAMI WAS JUST ABOUT TO HAVE SOME MORE FUN…”

 


 

 “SO IT AFFECTED ALL IZANAMIS. PATHETIC.”

 


 

“DISAPPOINTING… 

BUT NOT THE END!”

  


 

Envy IZANAMI reeled back with horror, standing on the scorched battlefield of the Origin Cosmos as she faced the ragtag team of Counter Corps in disbelief. Her eyes locked onto Ariel first, but then onto Arthur, and then onto MirageGaogamon and Eria and Gagagigo and Sora and Kairi AND how could they have possibly accomplished this?

“...”

HOW COULD THEY HAVE POSSIBLY LOCKED OUT ALL THE IZANAMIS FROM VOID INCLUSION?! HOW COULD THEY?! HOW COULD

“HOW COULD YOU? DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’VE DONE? TAKING THAT AWAY… TAKING THAT POWER AWAY… WITHOUT THAT, IZANAMI… IZANAMI’S CHANCES OF VICTORY AGAINST YOU ARE...”

Omnibound Immortal IZANAMI hung her head low, standing coldly a short distance away from her opponents. Her emotions intensified. Her power, although vastly reduced now, solidified and condensed itself in preparation for one last stand as immense energy-both violet psychic and dark shadow-danced around her. If there was ever a time to strike her down, it may very well be now.

“STOP WINNING, DAMN IT…”

Even though her appearance was no longer humanoid, the shaking of her fists, and the rattling of the scythe in her hands, could still be seen.

“STOP BEATING THE ODDS.”

And ultimately, convulsed as her emotions hit a breaking point none other than envy shattered its way through.

“YOU GUYS… 

STOP IT! 

STOP BEING SO, SO GODDAMN BLESSED WITH FORTUNE!!!”

Those were the words IZANAMI screamed, standing opposed to Team Eria with what could only be described as the human feeling of ‘extreme frustration’.

“Are you ready now?” Ariel asked the rest of the team.

Arthur started to cough. Eria lifted him up gently, but Arthur’s breathing was still weak. “I… I think so.”

Ariel stared at him. Arthur could only push himself so much further. “Whatever you have in mind, make it count.” Her voice was still. Emotionless, just as it had been while she was under Protheus’s control.”

“Is this… are you sure you want this future?” Eria asked.

“I will choose it,” Ariel answered plainly. “I may not know how I will come to be like this, but if this is to be my future, then so be it. However, my desires are irrelevant at the moment. We need to finish Izanami.” She raised her staff once more. “Now.”

“Arthur,” said MirageGaogamon. “If she no longer has the power of the D-Reaper, then we can use Aetos. We must!”

“I think you’re right.” Arthur continue to push himself, though he only managed to stand on one foot. “Is everyone ready?”

Eria, Sora, and Kairi all raised their Keyblades as well, and together, they called upon a brilliant light, as sparks of data surrounded all of them. In a flash, Arthur, Eria, Sora, Kairi, MirageGaogamon, and Gagagigo once more had merged together into Aetos. The gestalt warrior knelt on the ground, reeling from the collective injuries their original selves, but they would push through the pain. They had to.

"Hmm,” Ariel observed. “I hope it’s enough.”

“Wait, what are you still doing there?” Aetos asked in Eria’s voice. “Come on! You should be a part of us!”

“We are still using the Power of the Future,” Ariel reminded them. “I believe that all of you still have a future together, but I have my own. I had helped you with Aetos against Protheus, but much of that power came from my counterpart. I… do not believe that I am meant to be a part of Aetos, if that is what is the future holds for us. But, I am sure that you will do fine as you are.”

Aetos could swear that there was the faintest hint of a smile on Ariel’s face. “Alright. If you say so.” Summoning all four Keyblades, Aetos flew off towards IZANAMI, while Ariel began to fill the entire area with more water, concentrating it in a spiral around IZANAMI.

They were finally ready to finish this.

 

Edited by Phantom Roxas

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Testing, testing, one two three. SOS can you hear me? Yes? Goooooood.

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Well howdy folks, how y'all doing right now? Me? Well I'm doing just peachy ha ha. I hope you don't mind me ever so impolitely hijacking the airwaves, but there's been an elephant in the room for quite a while now, and frankly, it's really starting to smell. This little charade as it were has gone on for far too long, and like things that go on for far too long, Fox naturally extends it out for another ten seasons BAZINGA! All jokes aside, this was never going to end how we wanted it to. Believe me I'm just as disappointed as everyone else is. I mean, could you imagine how epic this fight was supposed to be? Everyone cracking out their best attacks, Isamy fighting back with everything she's got only to be so thoroughly obliterated. It'd be enough to even make me shed a tear. I mean, if I could I would, but I digress. Now, I'm not one for interference, though I have been interfering quite a bit, and for longer than you know. But they were all in earnest I assure you. Please officer release me I'm innocent! Anyways, this will be the last time, I promise you that. With permission I have been granted the opportunity to move time forward, to after the greatest battle in the entire GCRP to the moment afterwards. I just hope we aren't all too tired from this tiresome wait, but it'll be worth it to finally stick a fork in this turkey. Now then boys and girls, are you ready to do the Time Warp? After all, it starts... with a jump to the left!


It was truly epic as Isamy fell. Everything she had hoped, everything she had dreamed... they were all for naught as she faded away. The Omni that had damaged countless universes was gone, and flying from her ashes were two shooting stars. And then, everything went all wibbly wobbly in a seizure sort of way. Lights swirling like you were on a tilt-a-whirl, and it felt like the Hall of Origin was about to implode upon itself.

And then, everyone was back in a white space that was almost reminiscent of a field, with faded grey lines just barely making out the curves of hills and grasses. And in the center of it all was the Key of Origin, the black card seemingly split in twain as they hovered above the ground. And behind it, with the same faded lines was an incredibly large door. The Door of Origin. Anyone now could possibly take the pieces and the door for themselves if they wanted too. If not for a voice shouting

"REJOICE!"

Forming between the Key pieces and the Door was a beautiful white marble statue, depicting some kind of angelic being. It was of six feet in height, not including the base, and for some reason a line formed around the torso section. This cut was noticeable on its bent, upward-facing arms, as it bisected through the bicep and the forearm. Small wings wrapped around from waist, and it bore a flat, featureless face. And, yet, in spite of its nature, the statue seemed incredibly alive.

"Rejoice!"

it declared excitedly, two glowing eyes forming on its face.

"Rejoice and... oh"

it said in surprise. The upper body of the statue suddenly rotated, revealing another torso coming from the other side, this one having a hand to its chin, with the other hand still raised.

"Well, there are quite a few more of you than I expected,"

it admitted, before immediately rotating around to the other torso,

"but nonetheless welcome one and all to the Hall of Origin! I am Avatar Resolution, Steward of the Door of Origin. And it is my greatest honour to meet with the Champions of the Multiverse!"

Avatar Resolution explained in jubilant tones.

 

(Feel free to explain whatever eleventh hour power-ups you would have acquired in the boss battle in parenthesis or otherwise.)

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SUBJECTS OF KINGDOM vs PRIDE IZANAMI [The Final Battle]

Origin Cosmos [The Final Battle]


 

 

“CHILDREN OF ORIGIN... 

BEASTS WHO THINK YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT…

IZANAMI, THE EMBODIMENT OF PRIDE, SHALL DELIVER YOUR SWEET DEATH!”

On a platform hurtling across the Origin Cosmos, enclosed by a forcefield of distortions, IZANAMI stood opposed to the various Subjects of Kingdom, where Ratchet, Clank, Alister Azimuth, Alexander Zenith, Red, Bayonetta, Jeanne, Umbris, Atsuko and Gabriel were her opponents. Despite being separated from the others and despite all the odds against them, this was the last enemy stopping them from their epilogue. Even if it meant putting their lives on the line… It was time to fight one last time.

“VOID INCLUSION:"

"OTTO SKORZENY"

Upon the invoking of a name that may or may not be familiar to them, black robes resembling an SS Uniform adorned IZANAMI’s form, her scythe morphed into a giant Walther PPK handgun, and the faint trace of Hitler-esque facial hair could be made out where her face ought to be. As far as she was concerned, this was a Nazi Dark Signer whose vast control over darkness, army of shadow creatures, and overall advanced technological expertise may be the perfect counter to her current opponents.

 

“Oh great, she’s invoking the literal Nazi,” Umbris blurted out upon recognizing the outfit.

“I mean, given her stated goal, it does make sense she would do this,” Alexander replied.

“Nice~ now I get to punch her without feeling guilty for doing so!” Gabriel chimed in.

“Still strange how we ended up with such a person on our side,” Jeanne mused.

“UmbraWitchImplyingANaziWasOnTheSideOfTheCounterCorps say WHAT?!?!” Gabriel shrieked in shock.

“Okay, but what IS a “Nazi”, exactly?” Red questioned.

“Well,” Alexander began, “imagine if Adrastos--”

“Got it, Alex, thanks,” Red hastily interrupted, getting the idea almost instantly.

 

“HOWEVER… THIS MAY NOT BE NECESSARY.”

But then, before they could begin engaging in combat, a tiny human-shaped object grew out of her form and promptly detached; landing on two feet was a being shaped just like the original Isamy.

“Hi, Alister.” The Isamy Maximus construct approached the warriors. If any of them could sense energy, they’d be able to clearly tell she was just a husk of an avatar, unable to fight or do them any harm. Then, a short distance away from the lombax, ignoring the rest of the crew altogether, she approached cautiously. “I know, I know. I know this has all gotten so complicated, but if anyone’s going to understand what I’m going through, it’s you. Maybe for you, it’s only been a few hours… But for me, it’s been years since our previous meeting. Alister, seriously, I’ve been surrounded by maniacs-you’re my last hope in this dark, crazy reality. You haven’t given your answer yet, right? Welp, any holes I had in my plan last time have now all been cleared up. So I’ll ask again… Join with me, Alister.”

With the far larger IZANAMI behind them all, the teal-haired girl was trying her best to remain calm, to keep her words straight. There was a genuine sense of desperation in her tone, but at the same time, a sense of hope. Unlike the last time she talked to Alister, this time she didn’t have the luxury of constructing the perfect response. Instead, all she could do was be honest.

”Did you know? It was our predecessors who built up DATEA, who constructed the Pathway to Origin… An alternate incarnation of you and a previous incarnation of me… Alpha and Omega… They once worked side by side, and together, they achieved greatness. We can be just like them, you know. Wait, no! We can be even better!” Compared to the sociopathic explosion of emotions IZANAMI had been displaying earlier, the lombax may very well be one of the last few hopes keeping this girl together. “If we join forces, if we fuse our souls, I swear I’ll leave your friends alone. I swear the two of us can just abandon this fight altogether and make a beeline straight for the Door of Origin. Because we’re both ‘Distortions’, I bet we can take on the rest of the warriors and make it there!”

Perhaps third time really was the charm, she reasoned. Perhaps this was exactly the reason why she had persevered so long, to find a positive answer at last. Perhaps her Isabella aspect really was wrong about everyone else.

“One final time, I ask of you, Alister Azimuth: do you accept?”

Then, in a weaker voice,

“Can you accept?”

Alister breathed out a deep sigh.  “... Isamy and I are gonna need a moment, guys,” he said to the rest of the group.

“Al--” Ratchet began to protest.

“Time Isolation Field - HASTE,” Alister calmly declared with a slight reverb in his voice, conjuring a clockwork sigil beneath himself and the Isamy construct.  The gears of the Sigil proceeded to spin rapidly, creating a barrier that separated Alister and Isamy from the rest of his team in the process; everything outside of the barrier appeared to have become frozen in time, but in truth… “... you and I are currently being sped up,” Alister explained, having also conjured a table and chairs for the Isamy construct and himself to sit on.  “From the perspective of everyone outside my Sigil, we’re invisible.  A result of the time dilation--to them our conversation should take no longer than 3 seconds.” 

“No longer than three seconds, huh?” Isamy muttered in response, as if pondering something to herself. A warm, relieved smile grew on her face. Her gaze moved out towards the distance. “Yeah… That’ll do just fine. Three seconds is more than enough time to decide the fate of the multiverse. The Izanamis will allow the existence of the field, and we’ll do our best to support your Sigil with distortions. So neither of us have anything to worry about! We have all the time in the world, and you can tell me all about your answ-”

Then, as Alister moved to take his seat at the table, a tea set appeared, resting upon a decorative doily.  “Have a seat, if you wish,” Alister offered to “Isamy” as he poured two cups of tea.

“O- oh?” As if a little surprised by the warm reaction, the Isamy construct stayed in place for a moment. After a small pause, she nodded with a faint smile, pulled out her own chair, and gently took a seat opposite Alister. It might’ve been an incomprehensibly long time since she last had a casual moment like this.

“In that case, don’t mind if I do.” And with that, gestured towards the lombax to continue. “Fallen Saviour... As I was saying, it looks like we have all the time in the world. So please, do take as long as you need with your answer. I’m here to listen.”

 

~ Voice of No Return ~

Alister merely nodded as he handed Isamy her tea cup, which she gratefully accepted.

The girl drank from the cup, slowly but surely, in an attempt to calm her nerves. She’d been waiting to hear an answer for so long now. Too long, in fact. So long, she almost dreaded to hear what would await her. However… Everything needs a conclusion. This was no exception. With a sigh, the Herald of Chaos and Entropy steeled herself, and let her eyes meet with that of the being before her. By then, her expression had reverted to a cold, neutral state.

The time had finally come to hear this man’s answer. There was no turning back now.

And so…

Alister Azimuth spoke.

“I must first apologize for taking so long to give you an adequate response,” Alister began as he settled back into his chair.  “Being near death the first time and experiencing an existential crisis the second time tends to, uhm… have one’s tongue tied.”  ““Have one’s tongue tied”? Seriously, Alister?” he mentally scolded himself over his metaphor, taking a sip of his tea to keep Isamy from seeing him roll his eyes at himself.  Setting his cup back onto its plate, Alister spoke once again: “You and I do have a lot in common, don’t we?  And not just whatever connections certain versions of us had to Protheus, either.  We both… desired for others to be cared for, to be protected, to be happy.  I felt that it was my duty, as a General, to do whatever I could to make sure my people were safe and prosperous.  As long as they were, that was enough for me… and yet,” he continued somberly, tracing a finger along the rim of his tea cup, “... and yet… I couldn’t protect them forever.  One mistake on my part--a foolish belief in a lie--was all it took to lose it all--my rank, my home, my people… my loved ones.  I was exiled from joining the rest of my kind in the new dimension, left alone to live with the weight of my sins, my mistake, slowly crushing me… “Why me?” I thought to myself.  “It’s not fair.” “Why must I be left alone?” “Why couldn’t I come with you all?” “If you’re going to punish me, at least take me with you.” “They should’ve just executed me and be done with it.” “Why… do I have to suffer, alone…?”  And yet, suffer alone I did,” he uttered softly, wiping away a tear from his eye, “for twenty long, agonizing spans.  Spans in which I struggled to find a way to redeem myself… to undo what I had done.  I would’ve done anything to get them back, even if it meant staining my hands, my soul, with further sin….

 

“... it all came to a head at the Great Clock,” Alister continued, his heart heavy with what he was about to say next.  “Ratchet and I had a brief dispute over what to do about our timeline--about the lombaxes… I, of course, desired to undo my mistake that resulted in the massacre and banishment of the lombaxes, while Ratchet proposed that we should leave the past as it was and save them some other way.  To me, however, there was no other way--there were no more Dimensionators, and the only ones capable of building a new one were gone--and to be told otherwise after having come so far and to be so close was… maddening.  In my fury I lashed out at Ratchet… and that action would cause a split in my world’s timeline:

… one in which my attack killed Ratchet, resulting in a separate timeline where I would inadvertently cause my universe’s destruction,

… and another in which Ratchet was saved from my attack by Clank, resulting in a battle between Ratchet and myself… ending in my sacrificing myself to prevent the Great Clock’s destruction….

… and thus, two “Alisters” were “born”: one who denounced his true self and became Alpha, co-founder of DATEA; and one who would be brought into the Origin War to fight for the Multiverse’s future--and fate… of course, you already knew that,” he shrugged as he gave a half-hearted smile to “Isamy”.  “My actions, one way or another, are the reason any of this is happening.  All because I felt I needed to do something for the sake of others, no matter what I had to do to bring it to reality… … much like you.  Isabella.  Ameliorer.  Isamy.  Izanami.  No matter the form, no matter the name, you’ve always had that one goal in mind, almost to--no, exactly to the point where it is all you are: She who wishes to help others, no matter the cost.  Is that… really what you want?” he asked.  “That’s a rhetorical question; of course it is,” he quickly added before “Isamy” could utter even a syllable in response.  “The better question I should be asking is… “Is it what you feel that you truly need?””

To his words, Isamy only stared back at him in response. Almost as though she were a statue, frozen in place, in time, giving away no hint of what she was feeling deep inside. There were moments when her eyes fluttered slightly, or when her breath was briefly cut short, but she made her absolute best effort to remain rooted in place. To make sure he wouldn’t notice that faltering weakness inside her.

Leaning back into his seat, Alister took a moment to study Isamy’s expression before continuing.  “... you’ve been denied what you truly needed for so long… is it because you were made to feel you didn’t deserve it?  Because your caregivers, and Protheus, made you feel that you, Isabella and Ameliorer didn’t deserve it?  And that now only the Door can help you accomplish what you feel you need to at this moment? To reclaim what you lost? To fill the void…?

“... don’t get me wrong, Isamy,” Alister spoke again after a brief pause, “I do want to help you, but not with what you’ve asked of me.  I want to help you reclaim what you’ve been denied for so long, to help you find what you truly need, just as they,” he gestured to the group standing outside the Time Isolation Field, “had helped me to discover what I needed, what I was lacking, what I had denied myself… … ….”  Another pause as he sorrowfully looked into Isamy’s face once more.  “... … but, I… don’t know if I’m the one who needs to help you.  And even if I am, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do to help you.  I mean, I got lucky when trying to help Alex and Red--I had help--but this… I don't know what I can do to help you without making a mistake.  But I know that you deserved better--that Isabella and Ameliorer deserved better.  And you still deserve better, Isamy… … which is why I feel you shouldn’t go through with making that wish,” he asserted, now with a stern, determined glare in his eyes.  “I know what it’s like to make a catastrophic mistake that would lead to many lives being ruined or destroyed, and I refuse to let you do the same--for your sake, and the rest of the Multiverse’s!”

At the sudden burst of determination, taking her by surprise, Isamy’s eyes widened. The cup in her hands dropped to the floor, shattering. “Wh-”

“... in other words, Isamy,” Alister concluded as calmly and gently as possible, steeling himself for Isamy’s inevitable reaction, whatever it might be, “in regards to helping you attain the Door’s power, my answer to you, that you’ve waited so long to hear is…”

Then, as he gave his answer…

...the Herald knew it was over.

 

“I decline.  That… is my final answer to you… … I am sorry.”

 

“...”

To that, Isamy stared at Alister for a moment.

“... … …”

Then… She hung her head low.

“... … … … … … …”

Despite having been so well-spoken up until now, despite seeming like she could choose all the perfect words and appeal to all the correct notions, with all the knowledge she had regarding all the people around her… Isamy Maximus didn’t respond.

Instead, she stared down at the ground. For a second. A moment. An hour. Or rather, maybe it wouldn't even be an exaggeration to say her pause lasted entire years in this frozen shard of time.

 

“.....................................................................................huh?”

 

Then, after what seemed like an eternity, 

after what may as well have been an eternity,

the Herald’s voice finally came out.

 

 Not in the form of an elegant prose of words. Just… In the form of a small, simple whisper.

 

 

~ The Tower ~

 

“Huh? W- what do you…”

Isamy Maximus kept her head hung low, as she sat on that same table across from the lombax. Her expression tightened, as though her mind were forcefully trying to keep itself together.

And, eventually… she found the strength to voice exactly what her emotions wanted her to voice.

“What do you mean… you decline?”

She looked up.

“What’s with those words you’re saying, huh? What’s with… I-... I came all this way, you know? I waited all this time to hear you answer… You, more than anyone else… That’s why I held on. Even though this reality’s breaking apart, even though I’m cursed with Time Sense, even though everything’s hopeless and even though ‘Isamy Maximus’ should’ve long since been replaced with Izanami by now. I-... You were… you were my hope, Alister… and yet-”

The Herald’s voice trembled as she spoke, struggling to put words together.

“And yet… what do you mean you decline, Alister Azimuth...?!”

With her fists clenching, she smashed the table before them with a single strike. Isamy stood up from her chair, facing the lombax--who remained seated, unflinching in the face of his guest’s outburst--head-on, opposing all of the emotions within her own heart.

“You’re wrong, you know! You’re wrong! You’re… you’re so wrong about this! About all of this! Of course I need the Door of Origin! Of course it’s necessary! Y- you think I want this? You think I’m the one who wants to do any of this… I’m putting aside everything, everything, everything, EVERYTHING, and it’s not for me! It’s for you guys! It’s necessary because so many of you are gonna end up with bad fates, it’s necessary because there’s no other way! And you UNDERSTAND THAT, RIGHT?! RIGHT, ALISTER AZIMUTH?!”

Her words grew faster and faster in pace, and tone, until she ultimately found herself screaming at the lombax.

“YOU THINK I’M FILLING A VOID, HUH?! THAT I’M THE ONE WHO NEEDS HELP?! After everything I’ve done, you’re… I… I don’t… That’s not… L- look, sometimes, things just need to be done! Isn’t that what you did with the Great Clock?! Isn’t that what soooo, so, so, so many of your alternate selves did?! And there’s all sorts of messed up people out there, you know? Who think they know what’s right? My predecessor Protheus Maximus, putting himself above literally everyone else… That Counter Guardian Arturia, consumed in her self-righteousness, thinking it’d be better to just let countless people die… A lot of people in this very Origin War committed terrible things, pretty much proving my point... Isn’t that all so messed up?! There’s all kinds of people like that out there! All of them with their own reasons, all of them conflicting with one another, all of them hurting one another… Selfless people, selfish people, people in it for themselves, people in it for those close to them... What was I supposed to do, huh? Was I supposed to just sit back and let tragedies happen? Was I supposed to just sit back… and watch as people like you DIE UNFAIRLY?!”

Her hands moved up to her head, grasping at it to keep herself steady.

“I’m just… tired of all of that… This is all such a cruel joke… That’s why I needed to make the sacrifices I did… It’s not like it would’ve mattered anyway, you know? I… With this wish, I could bring everyone back. With this wish, I can bring everyone back. I’d change it all, fix it all, save it all. And then, at long last… Wouldn’t it all be over?!”

Before, as if finally reaching the point of exhaustion, she looked back down at the ground.

“…What... I need is...”

Gazing down at the spatial platform upon which they stood, and the endless abyss beyond it, beneath which the energies of Origin flowed.

“... …. You see, w- what I... …. … … … truly need is…”

Isamy remained motionless. Stiller than even the very time and surroundings around them.

“......................”

Then she looked up.

“I don’t… know what I need…”

As she admitted this, tears were beginning to well up in her eyes⸺perhaps for the first time in eternity.

“I… I don’t know what I’m supposed to do… I don’t know… I don’t know, I don’t know, I keep thinking about it and apparently I just can’t figure it out! I don’t know what the answer is, I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing, I don’t even know if the Door will be able to give me the answers I want, I just- I just don’t know… I don’t know anything anymore!”

And her gaze meets with Azimuth’s.

“If even you won’t support me, then… what am I supposed to do, Alister?”

And the Herald looks to him with a pleading, desperate look.

“No… Maybe what I should be saying is…”

“Isn’t it too late to turn back now?!”

 

“... … …”  It was now Alister’s turn to respond with silence, mulling over what he had just calmly sat through and witnessed.  Isamy’s anger, frustration, confusion, desperation… those were all emotions that he himself had felt that day… and to see them expressed before him by Isamy… he couldn’t help but to imagine himself in her place.

“... it is… frustrating, I know,” Alister eventually spoke, voice cracked as he did his best to hold back his own tears.  “I know what that’s like, feeling that you have to continue on and see it through to the end… to desperately make up for all the wrongs you’ve committed and hoped to undo, even if it means committing even more sins in the process.  But when does it stop?” he continued, calmly rising from his chair.  “When can it stop, before it gets out of control, before there truly isno going back?  At what point can you see for yourself the Point of No Return placed right in front of you and stop yourself from crossing it, stop what you had put into motion before it grows beyond your control...?! 

“I… I was in that position once before,” he croaked, now finding himself standing five feet away from Isamy.  “I had thought… that the Great Clock held the solution I needed, just as you see the Door.  I attempted to use the Clock to undo my mistakes, just as you wish to use the Door to grant everyone their happiness.  I… was made to realize, however, that what I did to try and fix everything would instead do the exact opposite if nothing was done to stop it before it was truly too late… … … and stop it, I did… … ….

“... Isamy, I know it may be too late to ask you this… but if there was a part of you that wanted to stop this, if you had the choice--a chance--to stop this before it’s too late to do so… would you take it?” Alister asked Isamy, even though he knew that the being before him--the last remaining fragment of the girl named Isamy--may soon cease to be, completely overshadowed and replaced by Izanami.  “Because there is still time to stop this… there’s still time… ....”

“T- that’s, well…”

To that, Isamy faltered for a moment. Even almost losing her balance as she stood. Tears continued to well up in her eyes, bit by bit, and her every attempt to fight back at them was only beginning to prove futile.

Then,

“...you don’t even need to ask. You already know the answer, don’t you?” Isamy whispered.

With a sigh, she regained herself. She turned her gaze outwards, towards the Origin Cosmos space surrounding them. Towards the platform they were on, towards the onlooking Ratchet, Clank, Alexander, Red, Bayonetta, Jeanne, Umbris, Gabriel, towards the IZANAMI opposing them, and towards the six surrounding platforms upon which the rest of the Warriors of Origin were paused in time, fighting for their lives against six equally powerful aspects of the Omnibound Immortal. The survivors of this long, brutal Origin War, doing their best to defy death, to avenge the fallen, to save the multiverse, engaging in a battle to end it all at long last-

“None of this is what I envisioned. None of this is what I wanted. None of this is… Every time I thought about quitting, every time I took things a step further, I told myself ‘there’s no turning back now’. But honestly…?”

And with that, she simply admitted the truth.

“It was a mistake… a mistake… all of this was a mistake, of course it was all a mistake!” 

The Herald returned to look at Alister, only this time with a sad, apologetic look. Broken.

“And if I had the choice to stop it all before it happened, I’d take that… I would. But asking me to turn back now, after this, after everything I’ve done… It’s practically impossible. The IZANAMIs are an embodiment of my decision, you know? They can’t be reasoned with, they can’t be stopped, they’ll keep going until the Door is open. And after all the lives I’ve taken, after everything I’ve done in my the name of my wish, that’s… No matter how you look at it, I can’t just give up-”

 

… … …

 

… … … … …

 

“No… Maybe I’m just being a coward.”

The Isamy remnant closed her eyes, as if in deep thought. 

“Hey, Alister. Knowing what you do about me, having been in the same position as me, understanding me as much as you do… If I said there was a way this can be stopped, once and for all… A way to go back on everything I’ve ever achieved… Would you take it? Do you think you could take it?”

Alister blinked, somewhat taken aback by this suggestion.  He was curious, but still very cautious, about what Isamy told him.  “... I’d say that depends,” he stated apprehensively, “on whatever this “way” is that you speak of.”

“...” The girl began to speak, doing her best to explain it, to put it into words. “First of all, I should probably say exactly what I am. In order to stabilize my existence, I needed to use the Key of Origin as a crutch for my soul. That holds true, even now. And what you saw emerge from Pride IZANAMI earlier… The entity talking to you… She’s not simply a construct. I mean to begin with, that was never possible…”

She opened her eyes again.

“Yeah. Instead, you could say I’m the Key of Origin.” Isamy uttered. “Or at least the parasitic core of Isamy Maximus, latched onto it. Everything that’s left of her, everything that holds her together. That’s me.”

“... the Key… is what’s keeping you tethered…?” Alister blinked harder this time.  “... ah, so that was what you meant about “making a beeline straight for the Door”--… … … so, what is it that you’re trying to propose to me now?” he pressed as he regained a calm composure so as not to make an impulse-driven mistake.

“The truth is, IZANAMI never intended to lose. Not from the beginning. Not ever. Even in the event you and all your friends somehow defeat the seven IZANAMIs, the seven sins of the Omnibound Immortal, my existence would have served as the final backup plan⸺a timer to open and enter the Door. It’s not a decision I would make, nor a decision anyone can reverse. It’s simply a curse I’m guaranteed to perform...if all else fails.”

And so, she voiced what needed to be done. 

“So I’d have to ask you to do something a little difficult… No. Maybe a bit more accurately, I would like to request this of you.”

.

.

.

.

.

~ Pocket Watch of Blood ~

 

“If you really think I should turn back… Then please kill me, Alister Azimuth.”

With a sad expression, those were the words Isamy Maximus uttered. Holding both hands close to where her heart would be.

“... Isamy…!”  Alister uttered in quiet shock, horrified yet amazed that this was the young girl’s request to him--her final request.  To be asked to grant a Mercy Kill was a possibility he had anticipated, and yet… he found it hard to maintain the pace of his breathing.  Could he… really bring himself to end another’s life at their request, with no resistance on their part?

“You seem to be struggling with your decision there, Al,” a voice spoke to Alister from within his Pocket Watch.  Orvus’s voice.  “We’ve a suggestion, if you would like to hear it.”

“I… I’m all ears,” Alister mentally replied back as he subconsciously turned his head to the side, a bit frantic as time was truly of the essence here.

“Isamy’s continued existence is due to the Key giving her form, yes?  In essence, she’s already no longer of this world--just about anything you would do to her at this point would end her existence.  That being said,” Orvus continued, a hint of sympathy in his tone, “you’d rather make it as painless for her as possible, if you could.”

“... … …,” Alister sighed sorrowfully.

“There is a way to do so, then,” the voice of Alpha’s Conscience joined in to explain.  “Your portion of the Philosopher’s Observation will make it possible….”

“... … …”  Alister returned his attention to Isamy, his breathing still shallow.  “... … okay,” he replied with a quavering voice, his right hand reaching up to clasp the Pocket Watch hanging from his neck.  “I will do it, Isamy… I will… help you to rest….”  With his other hand, Alister reached behind his neck to pull the chain of the Pocket Watch over his head, the Watch itself now fully secure in his right hand.  Doing his best to hold back his tears, Alister swallowed hard, holding out his arms to Isamy as he stepped forward slowly.  “It’s… going to be okay now… Isamy….”

“...”

The Herald of Chaos and Entropy gazed back at him in understanding, and also with a little fear. She tried to hide her nervousness, her worry, just to make it a little easier, but  There wasn’t much left she needed to say, much left to this story, but she would accept it. Welcome it.

“I know it’s a lot to ask, after how far you’ve come… So I hope this is the last time you’ll ever have to do anything this bad. Please be strong, okay? After this, I feel like… everything’s going to work out just fine.”

And at last...she smiled at the lombax, as tears started to run down her face.

“Y- yeah... Maybe this is long overdue.”

There was just one last thing she needed to say.

https://i.imgur.com/InKGz4u.png

vOMkwa-X3UC6eJgPwtKKV6Mpy7iRzSCCkkpljVHY

 

“Thanks… You’re my hero, Alister!” Isamy Maximus said, holding her arms out wide.

 

... a hero… it was an odd feeling that Alister felt when he heard Isamy say those words.

He didn’t feel like a hero.  Not one bit. Not after all the things he had done.

He was just… someone who wanted to do what was right… …

… but, to know that he was “someone’s hero”...

… it filled him with… a painful sadness… but also… a somber ease….

… and with that feeling in his heart, Alister held Isamy close to him, hugged tightly, but gently.  “You needn’t worry anymore, Isamy...,” Alister quavered, holding himself together as best he could even as his tears began to fall.  “We’ll… we’ll make sure… that the Multiverse still has a chance.  So… you don’t have to worry anymore… you can rest now…,” he tearfully assured Isamy, comforting her as best he could, all while the Pocket Watch still gripped in his hand began to glow.  “... you can rest, now… you did your best… … just close your eyes… … you can rest… … ….”

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

~ Memento ~

 

.

.

.

… when next she opened her eyes, she found herself in a strange room she had never been to before, and before her was an odd menagerie of individuals.

For a moment, she blinked, completely confused as to what had just happened﹣or perhaps more confused that she still existed at all. 

“Is that… Isamy?” Pearl, the slender, pale feminine member of the group spoke in shock.

“Alister seriously just pulled her soul into the Watch, didn’t he?” blinked Admiral Vivi, the gruff-looking man with a long ringtail.

“But why…?” Homura, the raven-haired magical girl uttered, gazing leerily at the newcomer.

“Now-now, Homura-chan, no need to be confrontational,” spoke the largest, regal-looking member of the group--Aligore Azimurr.  “The poor girl has been through so much--I mean, we all have, but… anyways,” he added as he knelt down before Isamy, a gentle glimmer in his eyes, “it has been quite a while, hasn’t it?  We may not have exactly parted on the best of terms, but… I hope now we can start anew.”

“...” At that, the girl just smiled shyly. The realization of what Alister just did had finally dawned upon her. Where she was, what just happened, all of it- That guy, he… This is more than I could ever asked for…

Starting anew, huh...

Finally, she tried her best, to put a voice to the words deep within herself.

 “Uh…”

Facing the people in front of her.

“U- um...!”

Facing the new friends awaiting her, the tears now flooding from her relieved face.

 

“My name’s Isamy. 

I may be new here, but... 

I hope we can all get along!”

 

https://i.imgur.com/h2kGz6B.png

xYVJaNLh4rgM8Dm8IHNt59onOIXaHZrJIIvjq5im

 

 

 


 

Soon enough, the Time Isolation Field wore off, and time would resume.

To the other Subjects of Kingdom, it would appear as though the remnant had suddenly vanished shortly after conversing with Alister, who they saw standing solemnly with tears in his eyes and his Pocket Watch clutched to his heart. Meanwhile, unaware of what had just transpired with the Key of Origin, and with their own core, the seven Omnibound Immortal IZANAMIs continued to fight on. Failing to understand that they’d lost access to the Key, failing to understand why Ariel’s attempt to cut off their Void Inclusion would actually succeed, and ultimately failing to understand why their energy was draining much faster than it should’ve been…the final battle raged on:

The same held true for Pride IZANAMI, who was quick to engage into combat with her opponents. Ratchet, Clank, Alexander, Red, Bayonetta, Jeanne, Umbris, Atsuko, Gabriel, and even Alister:

Ratchet and Clank were fused together, with help from Alexander’s “Polymerization”: Clank became a power suit for Ratchet in a style similar to the Murakumo Units, complete with various weapons floating behind Ratchet like a mantle or a set of wings.

Bayonetta and Jeanne combined their powers to call forth Queen Sheba, the Ruler of Inferno, to fight alongside them and the rest of Team Lombax against Izanami.

Drawing upon the bonds he shared with his teammates, as well as the powers of Burning Soul, Alexander was able to create a miracle in the form of successfully Summoning the Aeon to the Door’s location without any drawbacks, allowing those who had remained on the ship to join the fight against Izanami and the Great Leviathan.  Alexander also combined himself with Umbris and Terris to become Nebula Neos Alexander. Neo-Spacian Red Dragon Archfiend also evolved into Neo-Spacian Morningstar Dragon to assist in the battle.

Gabriel combined his powers with those of his Sworn Brothers/Other Selves, Nigredo, Albido, and Citrinitas, becoming "Rubedo, the Greatest Magnum Opus Knight". Lightray Garlandolf also joined him as his Familiar for the fight against Izanami.

Red was able to invoke the Aspect of the Ancient (or was it “Blood of the Ancestor”?  Can’t recall which), drawing upon the strength of the Dragon Ancestor of Fire, Tyndarion.

The Great Leviathan, acting through Kyros, struck a deal with Izanami, offering his servitude and strength in exchange for being the one to devour the souls of those that had attained their “Happily Ever After”.  The Great Leviathan was nonetheless defeated by the combined efforts of Team Lombax, the passengers of the Aeon, and even Kyros himself who had acted from within.  After its destruction, the Leviathan made one last attempt at survival by attempting to possess Atsuko, but Kyros, wishing for Atsuko to not suffer the same fate that befell his own daughter, Reatrey, intercepted the Leviathan’s soul.  In response, Gabriel/Rubedo used “The Grand Magnum Opus Barrier” to trap The Great Leviathan deep within Kyros’s soul in a way that prevented the Leviathan’s influence from poisoning Kyros’s soul, thus sparing Kyros from becoming evil again.

Atsuko, meanwhile, briefly transformed into a “Mini Leviathan” while in the presence of the unleashed Great Leviathan, but still had control of herself, much to the Leviathan’s utter outrage.  She then attained a Goddess-like form through her connection to her mother, Itsu. The Leviathan’s defeat and subsequent sealing inside Kyros’s soul caused Atsuko’s Orichalcos Heart to cease functioning, but Gabriel/Rubedo once more intervened by using his last remaining Cheato Card to transmogrifying the Orichalcos heart into an organic heart, allowing Atsuko to survive.

And as for Alister, he employed his fragment of the Philosopher’s Observation to Summon the Altisters into the physical plane, as well as use the Altister’s Talents more freely and in combination.

A ferocious battle ensued, but in the end--even with the Great Leviathan granting Pride IZANAMI its aid--the warriors emerged victorious against her Nazi Zombie powers. Then, when she finally attempted to invoke another Void Inclusion, she found herself unable to, rendering them the opportunity to deal the final blow. With that, at long last, Pride IZANAMI exploded into a brilliant display of rainbow light.

Judging by the other six platforms, one by one, bright bursts of light also emanated from them, as if signaling that the other six aspects of the Omnibound Immortal were also being taken down one by one.

 

And so it was that…

Just like that…

The Final Boss Battle came to an end.

 

Edited by Asgore Dreemurr

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~ The Spirit Puppet, Or Rather Her Love And Resuscitation ~

 

“ARE YOU LOOKING DOWN ON IZANAMI…

CALLING HER A COWARD, SPEAKING OF THE NEXT OMNI, THINKING YOU CAN SIMPLY DEFEAT HER… SIMPLY DEFEAT HER? SIMPLY DEFEAT HER?
UNACCEPTABLE.”

 

In the face of the declaration of the winged Witch of Endings, ULTIMATUM, the Omnibound Immortal Lust IZANAMI was irritated, to say the least. Any moment now, her opponent would strike, and the sheer amount of factors accompanying this enemy were dangerous. And yet…the Final Boss did not falter. The Final Boss would not falter.

 

“THIS IZANAMI WILL DEEPLY ENJOY THE LOOKS ON YOUR FACES⸺WHEN YOU FINALLY ACCEPT HER DREAMS AND HER LOVE!!!”

 

The point of no return had long since been crossed. Having given up on logic, it really couldn’t be said whether or not this entity could even be considered Isamy Maximus anymore. Meanwhile, nearby, the boss herself could very vaguely sense someone else interfering with their shared connection to Void Inclusion. While the other aspects may be arrogant enough to presume this would mean nothing to them, to her, in this desperate situation, this may very well mean that if she was going to perform one last Void Inclusion, now would be the perfect, if not the only time to do so.

 

And thus, she needed power. The power to counter the Witch of Endings, the power to oppose her once and for all.

 

That was why, just as ULTIMATUM planned their next and final strike, they invoked the words. Words from which there would certainly be no turning back.

 

“VOID INCLUSION:"

 

If it was a Witch who opposed her, then it was a Witch she would become! One stronger than LERNA, one stronger than her current opponent, the very strongest Witch in the world! That was what she needed, above all else…!

 

"K҉RÌEMH͠ILD GR̛E̴TC͜HEN̡"

It was the final successful Void Inclusion of the battlefield. 

 

Whether or not her opponent understood its meaning, IZANAMI invoked the true name of the embodiment of salvation itself, and the most powerful Witch of them all. A creature consumed in their desire for peace and their relentless drive to bring others into their own personal heaven. A creature possessing such power that they ended the very world they resided in within a mere ten days. The very fact that this was possible at all was only because a member of the Counter Corps, Aesir, had introduced her Grief Seed into this very Origin War. And now, as a result of that ill-advised decision, it would all reach its peak here, as if this were exactly the reason why it ever happened in the first place...

 

A pink lighting strike rushed from the skies of the Origin Cosmos, and struck IZANAMI, causing a burst of darkness to race across the entirety of their platform. The final Void Inclusion had completed.

 

And just like that, only moments later, what now faced her two opponents was⸺

 

GemBod8ntH3iqAHN5Rt36h9ZQOPubcZepNT6aLlu

 

~ MAGIA ~

 

Pure darkness, all connecting together into a singular, supermassive entity. The newly-formed existence of the W͟i̛tch ơf̵ ̴S͜alv̵a̛t̶i͢o̕n, the ultimate symbol of what happens when the greatest magical girl falls to despair. Scrambled, incomprehensible thoughts of kindness and pain, and a pure drive to bring all of existence into her heavenly realm, seemed all that consumed it. As the embodiment of Isamy’s lust, that utter insanity was the kind of existence this Omnibound Immortal had let herself become, embraced for the sole purpose of victory.

 

“⸺⸺⸺”

 

It didn’t move, nor did it seem capable of movement. It didn’t speak, nor did it seem capable of speech. It didn’t even attack. Instead, the very instant the Witch of Salvation manifested, both ULTIMATUM and Hapshiel simply felt an inexplicable pressure upon themselves. As if an immense vacuum was sucking them towards its body, or as if space itself was distorting to force them to enter its Witch Barrier, whatever that may be⸺

 

ULTIMATUM grit her teeth and dug in her heels, to avoid the drag of Kriemhild Gretchen’s Barrier. It was unlike anything she had ever felt, and in spite of her prior confidence… she was afraid. She couldn’t even begin to process the unholy nature of the Witch before her. She was even forced to bring Hapshiel back to physicality, just to prevent the light particles being pulled in. “Oh myyyyyy. I haven’t felt suction like this in so loooong” the angel moaned.

 

“Not appropriate right now Hapshiel” ULTIMATUM grunted, driving her staff into the ground to hang onto.

 

This was possibly bad. It was hard to tell. Really she should have no knowledge of this Witch, and yet, as if by ULTIMATUM’s own nature, she knew precisely what this Witch was. Greater than Homulily. Greater than Walpurgisnacht. The Witch to end all Witches. It was here, and if they didn’t do anything, they were going to be dragged into her Barrier. Granted, how would that even work. “Then what do we doooo?” Hapshiel drawled as he planted his feet into the ground.

 

“We push her back! She’s not invincible, and she can still be beaten!”

 

Drawing upon the scars in the air that divided this world from her own barrier, Despair Water blasted out, crashing down on IZANAMI’s own expanding barrier. It seemed to force some kind of stalemate for the moment, as the suction died down as Salvation and Despair battled. And then from the base of IZANAMI water of her own began to flow, driving back at the Despair Water. “Impossible” ULTIMATUM uttered in disbelief.

 

Whatever the substance was, it wasn’t just pushing back the Despair Water, but destroying it outright. Could this be some kind of Witch/Despair destroying creation? Of course, in hindsight it would be. She was the Witch of Salvation. To save all, from despair. “NOOOOO!!”

 

Swirls of electricity arced around the Despair Water, the columns riddled with charge that ran through it into IZANAMI’s own stream and through her roots, tearing apart the torrents and electrifying the Witch Inclusion. “What… was that?” The Witch of Endings uttered, staring up her own barrier.

 

wnoLnVjbKIqS4U2lb2gmzd19FYBuiLH9bGk_VPKd

 

“AH⸺͠⸺̶̷͡!̴̛!͏!̛!̛!͜͢”

 

But that was for later as the Witch of Salvation screamed irritably, at a loud, ground-shaking intensity and pitch higher than any human could possibly muster, just as streams of fire erupted out of her. 

 

Drawing her staff, ULTIMATUM was ready to take on the technicolour flames, only for something to catch her eye. A shooting ball of fire erupted from her barrier, widening the tear while it itself spun across the air. Conflicting with the Flames of Salvation, it spun around, drawing them into itself and dissipating them in a hail of ashes. They fluttered through the air, guided by the flaming ball that landed by the Witch and the Angel, revealing itself to be a horse-sized fox with three burning tails. The air writhed around its hot body, and Hapshiel was certainly feeling all steamy around it. “Mistress. I am glad to have made it in time” it explained.

 

Lydia, however, was utterly perplexed by this. “Fire Fox?” she blurted out.

 

“Not just I!”

 

Falling from the barrier came an a enormous, armour-plated polar bear, a dolphin riding on a small wave, a large purple hedgehog with lightning arching across its needle-like quills, a rhino with stones growing from its armour, a hawk with feathers floating along its wind, an owl of purest white, and a black with eyes darker than midnight. “You’re all the Dizasters. But… how? You all became Avalon!”

 

“We are not they” Storm Hawk answered.

 

“But in our own right we are” Shade Bat explained.

 

“We were born from you and your barrier” Aquos Dolphin finally explained.

 

“We exist to protect you as your Familiars” Terras Rhino informed Lydia.

 

“We will fight with you for the Multiverse!” Volt Hedgehog vowed.

 

“And we will crush IZANAMI!” Blizzard Bear roared.

 

Lydia turned her head to Shine Owl, who had taken a perch upon Terras’ back. “Hmmm? Oh, they put it succinctly enough I feel” it said with a shrug.

 

“I…” Lydia stammered, her very human emotions returning to her.

 

“Please do not get emotional right now” another familiar voice drawled.

 

Gently cantering down from the barrier on a root growing out of it was a centaur whose human half was very, unpleasantly familiar. “Madara” Lydia sighed.

 

“Don’t be so surprised. All of us who helped make up ULTIMATUM still live on within you, both as our collected souls, but now as your Familiars. While I do not consider it so appealing, it is what it is” the literal ninja centaur sighed as he placed his arms behind his back.

 

“So is she-”

 

“Yes. She is there too. But she will not come unless beckoned” Madara cut in.

 

“Then I will leave her be, for now” ULTIMATUM decided.

 

“Mistress, please remember you do not have to act like only you can do this. We are here with you as well” Fire Fox pointed out.

 

“I… yes, now with you guys here, I think we can all take her down” Lydia nodded.

 

Drawing her staff, the Witch of Endings- No, that wasn’t right now, was it? She wasn’t ULTIMATUM. It wasn’t about ending things. This… was about hope. It was about ensuring Isamy could no longer bring harm to anyone else. No more worlds damaged. No more people cast to void. Standing tall, she turned to Madara. “I’m guessing you can still do the sword thing, right?”

 

“Unfortunately yes. You still carry that memory with you, so it is within my repertoire now.”

 

“Then do the thing. Meanwhile… LEEEERRRRRNNNNNAAAAAAA!”

 

The hole of the barrier widened, water spilling out of it as an enormous hydra head pushed its way out. And six more holes formed, allowing her other heads to push their way through. They stared at their Witch, awaiting orders. “Push IZANAMI back. I need time” Lydia commanded.

 

LERNA’s main head unleashed a guttural snarl, but nonetheless it obeyed as it drew energy from the barrier, converging it all in her maw. A seven-way blast erupted from her jaws, striking at IZANAMI’s barrier and keeping it at bay, even as the Witch itself tried to fight it back. And with IZANAMI held back, Lydia raised her hand, and Madara, begrudgingly, became an ornate gold and platinum blade. Holding it with both hands, the force of her own powers erupted, drawing on the eight elements. Each Dizaster bowed, their forms fading away as they became raw, elemental energy. Joining with the blade element by element, the blade enlarged, its colours flickering between each added element, until Shade Bat joined as the last member. The rising energy exploded into an enormous blade of pure, golden light. Even LERNA was surprised by it, stopping her assault as a familiar presence was felt within the glowing aura. “AV! A! LON!”

 

A dragon’s roar shook the dimension as the blade was swung, the swung energy resembling an enormous dragon’s head as it ripped through the darkness, and any sense of false salvation. 

 

“AH⸺⸺⸺?”

 

This was true hope. And it cleaved through Kriemhild Gretchen’s barrier, and the witch itself, splitting it completely in two. Unable to process what was happening, unable to question what was happening, unable to comprehend the concept that it had even been defeated, all its form could perform was a slight, ironic smile where its face should have been. With that, the Omnibound Immortal’s prolonged existence ultimately proceeded to burst into a vast, brilliant explosion of rainbow light. Flooding the whole battlefield, blinding the warriors, taking over everything in the vicinity.

 

 

… … …

 

Eventually, the light faded.

 

There was no longer any sign, or trace, or hint of the presence that had cursed the multiverse for so long.

 

And that was that. LUST IZANAMI… had been defeated at last.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

V4yGI06Wu4jsbXfFaaFboBUVcwJSVzHVw9onQ1ko

 

And yet…

 

Somehow, something else was there.

 

Where LUST IZANAMI once was, another entity stood.

 

An entity who surveyed the platform, and the Origin Cosmos, with a hint of curiosity, before turning to the victors of the battle. To the collection of the victorious, to Lydia and Hapshiel, and all the others. 

 

“Wow. You sure did a number on her, huh?” She remarked lightly, giving off a gentle smile. In the distance, one by one, similar bursts of rainbow light could be seen occurring on the other platforms. It looked like the battle was coming to a conclusion at long last. “Yeah… We shouldn’t have so much to worry about now.”

 

gz_GE4BWfmWViwKTd1qXkOo2DHLY2-1JjeWJPNWm

 

~ Sagitta Luminis ~

 

“Please don’t mind me. I’m only passing by.”

 

A mysterious pink-haired girl, whom they’d never met before, addressed them as she moved to tie her hair back. 

 

Even though there was a sense that this being contained power, and in some strange manner even seemed to resemble the aura of the sinister Witch of Salvation they’d just faced, she radiated no malice. On the other hand, Hapshiel might’ve been able to discern that she was a goddess of some kind, surrounded by divine energy. Whatever the case, there seemed to be no immediate reason for her existence.

 

In the meantime, she simply knelt to the floor of the platform and picked up Kriemhild Gretchen’s Grief Seed. Then, upon pocketing it, she turned back to the rest. First at LERNA, the Witch of Infinite Possibilities.

 

“Hi, Galina.”

 

⸺and then at Lydia Armstrong.

 

“And hi, Lydia. I followed my other self here, but truthfully, there was no real reason I needed to stop by… I guess you could call it curiousity. I just wanted to see what you were once like, with my own two eyes. Sorry!”

 

The girl simply offered her apology, apparently making no sense as she addressed the Warrior of Origin.

 

“Okay?” Lydia remarked.

 

“How cold. Good to know we’re on a great start.” At that, the pinkette just pouted. “Well, just thought I’d stop by to say… Good luck.” 

 

Then, she started to smile again, keeping her hands by her side. Her form glowed against the cosmos of the origin, like something out of place, an anomaly that did not belong here, only made possible by way of a miracle. There was something about the way energy wrapped around her aura that suggested a motherly, or perhaps even sisterly warmth.

 

“Once this is over, there won’t be any turning back for you.” The ethereal being spoke lightly. “The decision you’ve made, the decision you plan to make, it won’t be one you can ever reverse. You’ve got a long road ahead, and so much to do, and so much of it will be painful. It’ll be more painful than you know. But...you’re prepared, aren’t you? You know exactly what to do, don’t you?”

 

And for some reason...

 

“As long as you hold onto hope, everything’s gonna work out just fine...”

 

Even if it wasn’t in Lydia’s own memories, she could almost feel like she should recognise this individual.

 

“You and I will be friends someday. But for now, just for now, I won’t overstay my welcome.”

 

MC-7AmXR9SwhjK8_Ngb-mj7vcdXRZisQSy2xADQY

“Take care, okay... Lydia?”

 

Then, with a nod and an unusually enthusiastic thumbs up, the mysterious goddess herself disappeared into an array of light. And as the light faded, Lydia held out a hand to catch one single particle of it, before it too faded from her hands. “What an unusual being” Hapshiel mused.


“Yeah, she was” Lydia said in agreement. “Thanks for the pep talk… Madoka. I know what comes next, and believe me, I’m ready for it.”

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SUBJECTS OF NINANAI vs SLOTH IZANAMI

Origin Cosmos [The Final Battle]


"CHILDREN OF ORIGIN...

FOOLS WHO LIVE ONLY IN DREAMS…

IZANAMI, THE EMBODIMENT OF SLOTH, SHALL DELIVER YOUR SWEET DEATH!"

The six fragmented platforms had all broken off, hurtling deeper and deeper into the Origin Cosmos as they abandoned the main platform, itself enclosed by a forcefield of distortions.

There, IZANAMI stood opposed to the multiple Subjects of Ninanai, where the nameless girl, Reimu, Kazuya, and Koishi were all that remained on the main platform.

Despite being separated from the others and despite all the odds against them, this was the last enemy stopping them from their epilogue. Even if it meant putting their lives on the line… It was time to fight one last time.

A mile past IZANAMI’s position, the faint white outline of the Door of Origin could be made. If by chance this IZANAMI was the original, the one with the Key of Origin, then there was a chance they could even end it all right here, right now.

Although, such hopes were quickly extinguished.

"VOID INCLUSION:"

"YAKUMO YUKARI!"

 

IZANAMI, without shame, invoked the name of the legendary Youkai of Boundaries. Its meaning was self-evident: The godlike power to manipulate boundaries was now within her possession. Beyond that, her hair coiled up inside a mob cap on her head, her body was enrobed in a trigram-decorated Taoist dress of purple and pale pink, and the scythe in her hands morphed into a pink parasol. 

Yukari, an entity so insanely dangerous that even without most of her powers, she singlehandedly ruined the plot of the Counter Guardians and fought head-to-head with Arturia Pendragon through sheer craftiness alone - her existence had now become one with the final boss.

Her body briefly convulsed as it struggled to maintain this power, just as it had with the Renegade Joker, but she was ultimately able to suppress the incompatibility along with any potential influence from Yukari herself.

The Herald of Chaos and Entropy observed her opponents, well aware of how extremely troublesome they could be. Not because of their power, but because of their unpredictability. Kazuya and the nameless girl were certainly worth attention, but in her mind, the most dangerous threat was Koishi. Koishi, who’d taken down Arturia and had the capacity to do so much more; if she could throw her off using Yukari’s Inclusion long enough to get rid of her, or even better, if she could use her as a Void Inclusion, this battle would be as good as over.

The eldritch ‘youkai’ floated back, materializing a gap below her before her huge form proceeded to calmly sit down on it. A grin formed across the rainbow surface that was her face, as though daring them to make the first move.

"HEY, HEY~

WANNA PLAY WITH IZANAMI~?"

 


This was it, the final battle. 

Four heroes stood against her on the main platform, each examining this situation through their own personal perspectives.

The nameless girl gazed at the threat before her. So many things had happened, and so many had been sacrificed. And just for this final battle, everyone had grown too. But, would it be enough?

She was the one to now wield the memories and the dreams of Arturia Pendragon within herself. And within the golden blade that she held was her Origin made manifest - Nothingness. A being born in this Origin War, she had no place to call home, and no future to reclaim. This nothingness had become something that she weaponized to terrifying effect. Her very nature as an aberration in this conflict had allowed her to go so far, and now she faced the last opponent that stood between her and a chance for herself to exist as [someone].

That possibility terrified her, yet she, an empty existence, had to move forward, no matter what.

Next to her was Kazuya, fully accepting his rightful heritage as Abel, the King of Bel itself, while refusing to give up his life as Kazuya too. An ethereal golden light permeated through his body, giving off an air of divinity to him. Yet, his form was still that of a human. 

Despite the turmoil within him, he had chosen to eventually take an active role to protect his world from both the forces of Law and Chaos. By doing so, he acknowledged that he would give up his identity as Kazuya as soon as this final enemy was defeated. But was that what he really wanted?

Meanwhile, floating above them was Hakurei Reimu. The Shrine Maiden of Paradise was now in her most brilliant form - for once, she was showcasing a strong desire to fight. A strong desire to achieve something, so strong that it stabilized her very existence from disappearing due to her own powers. 

The other Yukari, the one coming from Reimu’s world, had chosen to give up her essence for the maiden. It was the least that she could do after causing so much of the mess that Reimu had to deal with now. Reimu, who had always possessed an affinity to control boundaries, now became a true successor of the ancient youkai.

And the last one was Koishi Komeiji. 

The Moon Princess herself.

Her eyes were that of blue and crimson, wielding both her own powers and of her older sister’s. Both of their hearts continued beating within her body. Her elaborate black dress signified her determination to finally act on her own volition. Koishi was always a girl that loved the world so much, but this was the first time that she made the decision to save it.

The only survivor of her world, whose world lived on within herself, as memories, as recollections. She was an unlikely messiah, one who once spent most of her time locking herself deep within her own heart, but now, with those closest to her gone, she rose up to the challenge. Her heart-throbbing adventure had led her here, and with this newborn determination, she intend on finishing it.

"I cannot do that anymore. I will not stay in my dream world and hide. That Koishi is no longer here." 

Koishi’s locked her gaze on IZANAMI, the entity that now had taken over the form of her dearest Yukari.

"I… I will not hesitate anymore, even if you took Yukari’s form. She lives on in my heart, in my memories.  My sister… Yukari… everyone, I will no longer disappoint them. 

Izanami… we will end your dream here."

 

And with that, a war was declared.

TzMwdw7z_ksJ08wm9N6FTl66zibC2jLzGswfzsKy

"Vague Recollection - Explosion Sign: Peta Flare!"

Koishi manifested a card in front of her, moments before crushing it. The faint sight of a hell raven formed around her for a few seconds - followed by warning sirens as nuclear-powered blasts began to spread throughout the arena, all aimed at IZANAMI. The memories of Utsuho burned away from her mind, and Koishi could only reminiscence sadly before it fully disappeared.

Ah, if only she spent more time with her sister's pets. She would've been able to...

Nuclear explosion after nuclear explosion filled the air. The destructive power of the attack was unquestionable, but Koishi didn't worry about such attack giving her allies radiation poisoning. For something as familiar as this, she could selectively recreate the attack. 

IZANAMI watched on as the sky was filled with explosions, unmoving, seemingly unconcerned as she continued to twirl her umbrella with an amused smile. 

Koishi’s spirit was certainly commendable, but just how far would those words take her? 

As the blasts advanced towards IZANAMI, the giant leaned backwards-right before disappearing into the gap she’d been sitting on, letting the nuclear fire blaze across nothingness. At the exact same time, another gap had been waiting elsewhere in the sky. In sync with her disappearance, IZANAMI descended from this second gap, now directly above the combatants.

Even though the Included individual’s existence had been so unstable, so limited, her own form as an Omnibound Immortal was more than enough to compensate. Anything and everything that held the old Yukari Yakumo back was something she would simply force her way through.

"IS THAT SO…?

HEHE. THEN LET IZANAMI TEST THAT CONVICTION!"

 

~       necrofantasia        ~

As the previous two gaps dissipated, IZANAMI willed another pair of gaps to open up. One right in front of the travelling blast, and another right in front of her. It needn’t be described what happened next, as Koishi’s attack passed through one path and ended up being redirected in the other, now being fired downwards-straight at the one floating between her and the other warriors, Reimu!

The shrine maiden, however, was prepared.

"I’m not the sort that generally likes to appreciate any sort of Yukari, but that one was so much more of a better person than you, as much as she doesn’t look like it." Reimu began to chant under her breath. "I won’t let your lame use of her powers defile such a person any further."

Eyes formed on the sphere orbiting Reimu as Reimu made a non-verbal spell declaration. Moments before the blasts would swallow her, a great barrier formed between herself and the attack, and from it, a giant gap opened itself. The gap swallowed the attack as if it was nothing, and its darkness left nothing behind afterwards.

"LAME? HOW MEAN OF YOU."

For a split second the Omnibound Immortal froze in shock, confused as to why gaps other than her own her had just appeared, as to how exactly Reimu seemed to have control over them, but there wasn’t enough time to question it.

Because Reimu was not done.

With a hand gesture, gaps begin to form all throughout IZANAMI’s form. Each part of its own body was seemingly segmented with various gaps of different sizes. It was like seeing lines being drawn on her body.

And, just with a swipe from her hand, all those gaps collapsed into itself at once. As her own opening move, Reimu held nothing back. A technique that even Yukari herself rarely used - utilizing gaps as a method to sever two things from each other. The sharpest blade that could cut anything. Against anything else, this would easily be an instant-kill attack.

Yet, faced with the fate of being torn to pieces, IZANAMI was able to think of one method to answer this sudden assault. 

Before her form could collapse, she brought forth her own gaps parallel to that of Reimu’s and immediately thrust them outwards. The result being that the multitude of gaps slammed into one another, being consumed by one another, and just like that, they’d cancelled one another out. It was almost as though these pockets in space had just cannibalized one another. 

As it ended, her form remained no worse for wear compared to how she started. And the attack had given her ample opportunity to fire back at her opponents.

"FANTASY NEST: FLYING GLOW WORMS' NEST!"

IZANAMI thrust out her free hand and pulled out a spell card from the void. Almost immediately afterwards, just like what happened to her earlier, a vast quantity of gaps materialized all around Reimu. At first it seemed like danmaku would be fired outwards, but instead, it was followed quite promptly afterwards with what appeared to be heavy gummy worms, cannoned at the girl from all directions. 

Suffice to say, Reimu was not amused.

"That’s not how the spell- damn it!"

But the absurdity of the attack’s form betrayed the danger they posed, and Reimu understood it, thanks to her Intuition. The proximity of the gaps meant that she wouldn’t be able to use her own gaps to dodge them. With the projectiles being only mere inches from where she was, Reimu activated her Fantasy Nature at the last moment, turning intangible as she slipped past the gaps. 

However, she couldn’t maintain it for long enough. Right as the technique ended, the gaps turned around to fire the worms at her at a speed that caught Reimu off-guard. The premature ending of Fantasy Nature and the speed at which the gaps turned made it impossible for her to fully dodge the attack, however…

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"Luminosite Eternelle!"

 

A barrier of light formed as the image of a flag-bearing saint appeared for a moment. Reimu was at first confused, but she soon noticed that Kazuya was floating not far from her, his form clearly showing that he was the one to summon the saint.

"Go! The others are relying on you, Miss Reimu!"

Reimu nodded. And with that, with the bright light of the saint distracted IZANAMI temporarily, she disappeared into a gap of her own.

But this action only made Kazuya the prime target of IZANAMI’s spell card. As the Saint’s barrier disappeared, all the gaps were now aimed at him, and the onslaught of projectiles soon commenced.

Kazuya saw it, and focused his mind. Divine light formed on his palms as energy gathered there, and without even declaring the name of the attack, with a gesture of crushing the light, lasers scattered from his palms, striking the projectiles one by one before he would move to dodge the rest.

However, not even that was enough. Some of the worms struck him, and much to his surprise, they would begin eating through his skin at an alarming pace. Even grazing one caused a large gash to form on his body. He fired another one of his own barrage and used Salvation to heal himself. These worms reminded him of Beelzebub’s flies. He entertained the thought of using that himself, but quashed the thought aside. 

Instead, as IZANAMI’s barrage intensified, Kazuya invoked Beldr into himself, turning his skin temporarily impenetrable so that he tanked through the entirety of IZANAMI’s attack.

"Is that all you got, Izanami? Is that all your dream amounts to?"

And Kazuya served as the perfect distraction. Right as IZANAMI was taken hold by Kazuya’s taunting, Reimu chose it at the moment to strike, appearing from a gap right in front of her. Not giving her any chance to react, she delivered a strong kick at the giant.

At first, the false Gap Youkai seemed to be ready for this, giggling in a distorted voice, responding quickly as she started to materialize a gap in the exact spot Reimu was about to hit. However...

"EH--?!"

The gap didn’t actually materialize. Rather, it was as if her body had frozen in place the very instant she attempted it, had been held in place by some internal force for just the briefest second. IZANAMI didn’t understand how or why it occurred, or where it came from, or whose will it was. 

There was only one explanation that she knew of, but such a thing couldn’t possibly happen in a Void Inclusion, could it?! 

Regardless, it was far too late. That window was all it took. Just like that, the shrine maiden’s assault planted itself onto the Omnibound Immortal, forcing her back slightly, and that wasn’t about to be the end of it.

"Hi-yah!"

The moment that Reimu’s kick struck true, the real extent of her plan materialized itself. Reimu’s body immediately dissolved into a storm of talisman, surrounding and binding IZANAMI with a force capable of even restraining deities. 

"WHAWHAWAITWHAT?!"

IZANAMI writhed in place, her playful facade dropping to a burst of frustration as she poured as much of her herculean strength as possible to try to break free from the talismans. As far as she was concerned, gaps couldn’t help here. The sheer level of force keeping her together was both sudden and unexpected, and even if eventually she should be able to break through the paralysis by sheer strength alone, right now the mighty Omnibound Immortal was truly struggling. Her gaze locked with that of her combatants, and although that smile stayed on her face, her eyes were burning with a hint of hatred.

"It’s my turn now!"

Utilizing the opening that Reimu had given her, just as the talisman erupted, the nameless girl already rushed towards IZANAMI. And at this exact moment, a gap formed right behind her. The heat of Koishi’s nuclear blast was released at full force, propelling the girl forward like a rocket.

However, that was not all. The golden sword on her hand was shining more and more brightly as she moved closer and closer. It took all the excess energy from this impromptu rocket into itself, gradually turning itself into a mass of pure energy.

"Divine sword, blaze on!

EXCALIBUR OVERLOAD!"

Rather than a blast of condensed light that the holy sword was known for, the attack was instead done through a simple slash. It was a technique taken from the memories of the King of Knights, the signature attack of a certain knight of the lake. 

The moment the slash would connect, all of that energy that the sword stored, all the momentum from the nameless girl’s charge, all would be poured in directly into the internal systems of IZANAMI, obliterating her from within.

"HOW DARE YOU

NO 

NO NO NO-"

And it connected. 

The very moment IZANAMI managed to tear herself out from the talismans, it was too late. She was unable to move fast enough to counteract the assault, nor she was reactive enough to summon a gap to deal with it.

It was too sudden. Propelled by this insane energy, the nameless girl successfully reached the fifty-foot giant and slashed out with her imitation holy sword. The assault tore into the Omnibound Immortal’s essence, landing a critical, potentially even lethal blow directly across her form. Although it hadn’t sliced her apart, the innards of her body were revealed as a strange, glowing spatial matter. The entity’s cry was cut short and, for a moment, whilst suspended in the sky, their enemy fell silent. 

IZANAMI fell still.

...

...

A sense of unease spread among the warriors.

"It’s… there’s no way it’s already over, right?"

The nameless girl stepped backwards from IZANAMI after making her cut, creating a safe distance. Reimu materialized not too far away from her while Koishi remained to watch what was left of IZANAMI vigilantly. Kazuya, in the meantime, seemed to be busy chanting something.

No one said anything. They knew the answer to that question, naturally, but no one wanted to be the one to say it out loud. There was an invisible tension between the four of them, at least until Kazuya finally spoke.

"Of course not. She said it herself - this was simply one Void Inclusion she used." 

Without breaking his focus, Kazuya answered. From his palm, light began to gather both around him and around the residue of light from the nameless girl’s earlier attack. "While I'm glad we can deal with Yukari's Inclusion this fast, I believe it to be more important that we finish her off before she would take an even more problematic Inclusion."

"Well if that is what you want to-" Before Reimu could finish, the light Kazuya summoned became brighter and brighter as he finished his chanting and feathers began to fall onto IZANAMI’s remaining form.

"Megidoladyne!"

The light from him reached a critical mass, and the almighty attack consumed where the 50-foot giant used to be. The light from the attack, even if it was its first use, was so brilliant, that the others had to shield their eyes from it to not get blinded. With the force from the attack, IZANAMI’s form wasn’t even noticeable anymore, as the giant was thoroughly consumed by the almighty light.

As the light faded away, it was clear that the Giant’s form had been reduced to nothing but dust. For a moment, although they had their doubts, it almost looked as though they’d managed to safely obliterate their enemy.

...

However, such thoughts would merely be a sign of naivety.

"HEH"

Needless to say, it simply wasn’t over yet. In fact, it may be far from over. From the barrier at the top of the Origin Cosmos’s platform, yet another gap materialized, and the false Gap Youkai reemerged upside-down, still gripping onto her umbrella. Her previous panic was gone, and now, she was gazing down at the various combatants with a look of glee. Visibly, the Yukari dress was still torn, and the wound that Nanashi had inflicted was still there; it simply hadn’t killed her. Or rather, did it even manage to wound her at all? As if time was rewound, that wound too disappeared, and the dress fixed itself. It was as if IZANAMI had been reborn anew.

"HEH HEH HEH.

IZANAMI MUST APOLOGISE.

SHE DID NOT REALIZE THE EXTENT OF YUKARI’S REACH UNTIL JUST NOW…"

Her distorted voice echoed across the platform, as she gradually made her descent, preparing to enter into a second bout of combat with her opponents.

"SO IT IS TRUE-EVERYTHING DOES HAVE A BOUNDARY THAT SHE COULD GRASP.

EVEN... DEATH."

The moment the holy blade had connected with her and tore into her life, she’d tasted that exact feeling - that exact moment of death. It didn’t just brutally tear into her, it practically killed the Yukari Yakumo within her. Or at least it should’ve. Unfortunately, everything had a boundary. As a matter of fact, that includes the boundary between existence and nonexistence. Between reality and the void.

Between Life and Death.

"IZANAMI HAD TO SPEND ONE VOID INCLUSION TO LEARN THIS, BUT NO MATTER. 

THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL DISCOVERY! 

TRULY BEAUTIFUL! 

TRULY, TRULY!"

Could her opponents decipher her words? To IZANAMI, it didn’t matter. She was simply overcome with delight at the discovery, at the slothful potential this meant. The moment Yukari’s existence was supposed to fall back into the void, to become unusable, she’d simply manipulate the boundary such that it would re-enter herself again, granting the Yukari inclusion a second life at the cost of filling in her second Void Inclusion slot. In other words...

"Spend…?" Kazuya watched the reborn IZANAMI with a questioning look. But IZANAMI did not need to answer. Just looking at her was enough.

Kazuya felt a chill on his spine as he gradually realized what IZANAMI meant, and how did she even manage to survive the nameless girl’s attack earlier.

And from the look of it, his comrades all shared that same realization.

"OH BOY!

LET IZANAMI SHARE HER DISCOVERY…"

The Omnibound Immortal outstretched her arms.

"THANKS TO YUKARI, IT DOESN’T MATTER IF IZANAMI DIES!

IZANAMI CAN SIMPLY REUSE YUKARI AS A VOID INCLUSION!

YOU MUST… THAT’S RIGHT! KILL IZANAMI TWO MORE TIMES! UNTIL THEN, SHE IS IMMORTAL! 

AHAHAHAHAH~"

IZANAMI gloated, and gloating was what she truly did. Her laughter echoed through the expanse of her arena, her pride at the heroes’ inability to slay her as clear as her confidence to crush them with little effort.

But, one of her adversaries had already stood behind her.

"You… please, don’t talk anymore. A… monster like you don’t deserve to say her name."

Right before Koishi, another card materialized and shattered. The shape of a woman in a blue kimono materialized behind her. Butterflies began to manifest around her, and with a swing from her fan, the symbol of a black butterfly manifested on IZANAMI’s chest.

"I don’t want to do this, I really don’t. I understand what you feel but… I can’t let you use Yukari’s body any further.’

So please, die for me."

It was not an offer that could be refused. With Koishi’s words, the power that the Netherworld’s Mistress had over Death manifested. A giant ornate fan manifested behind Koishi as her right hand outstretched.

 

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"Saigyouji Parinirvana."

The power over death manifested in the form of a singular butterfly. Without any fancy tricks, without any excessive show of light, the singular butterfly flew towards IZANAMI.

"COME NOW, ABSOLUTE DEATH? THAT’S NO FUN!"

Something within IZANAMI’s chest seemed to stir at the sight of that female in the blue kimono, of Yuyuko the departed spirit princess. However, more importantly, a state of utter death was about to be inflicted upon her. The butterfly’s arrival was absolute. No matter the attack, no matter how much power was used to stop it, the butterfly would continue its advance, and that would spell an absolute end.

Not wanting to use up another one of her Void Inclusions quite so soon, the only way to deal with it was to employ a non-straightforward answer. IZANAMI instead reached out to the very boundary of the imposed Death, right as the butterfly made contact with her. She detached it from herself as quickly as possible before it could take her life, severing the connection. It was not a physical separation, but a conceptual one. While the others would see it as a gap being ejected out of her chest, Koishi was able to understand that Izanami had isolated the concept of absolute death away from her, right as Yuyuko’s memories were burned away from her mind.

"KOISHI, YOU SHOULD RESPECT THE MEMORIES OF THE DEAD MORE~ 

HAHA!"

Despite her display of confidence, it hadn’t exactly been easy to counter Yuyuko’s manipulation of death; the very act drained quite a bit even from her near-infinite pool of mana, taking its toll on IZANAMI’s stability. 

Yukari wasn’t the most stable of Void Inclusions either. Even if she was the most appropriate enemy for everyone here - IZANAMI certainly had to watch out for the other three, but out of all the warriors currently facing her, Koishi Komeiji might be the most dangerous wildcard here with how far she’d be able to force more of Yukari’s abilities.

"NOW!

WHY SHRINE MAIDEN, DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH GAPS FOR THIS?" 

IZANAMI took out another spellcard, eyeing the warriors on the ground with a faint trace of excitement in her eyes. As she did so, her appearance seemed to morph, becoming more and more humanlike, until-

 

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"YUKARI’S ARCANUM: DANMAKU BOUNDED FIELD!" 

At her declaration, a multitude of explosive magical bullets came into existence - although ‘multitude’ was certainly an understatement. Perhaps it may be more accurate to say that an uncountable number of such blasts started filling up the entirety of the Origin Cosmos platform’s air, surrounding the warriors all within the barrier. With every bullet under her control, they all advanced, playfully but constantly closing in on the ground’s center before moving out-cutting off all escape, zooming back and forth in an effort to blast their targets. It was something even those familiar with danmaku Yukari’s tactics would struggle with, so was there even room for anything other than certain death for the one who wasn’t? 

After all, this IZANAMI was the embodiment of Sloth. The laziest way to attain victory was the best. 

The logic was simple: If IZANAMI’s opponents had ways to counter her, be it Koishi with her unpredictable power simulations or Reimu with her own familiarity of gap manipulation, then she would simply try overwhelming them with pure, pure numbers and see if that worked. 

Thus, the battlefield degenerated into pure chaos.

Not even Reimu, who lived her entire life as someone who had in depth experience in dodging projectiles, could safely move around within this bounded field. She attempted to reach its edges to dismantle the spell, but the movement of each bullet, which seemingly had a mind on their own, made it impossible for her to do so. 

"Fantasy Nature!" 

She declared as she floated away from reality once more, only to find a slightly better position for herself. This time, she couldn’t even maintain the state for more than a few seconds. And so, pulling out amulets from her gaps, she instead made a barrier of her own to push back the barrage, giving her time to think and analyze the bounded field Izanami trapped them in.

Meanwhile, Kazuya so far survived utilizing shields made out of Jezebel’s roses to protect himself while also shooting down anything too big for him to handle, but he realized that he couldn’t last forever this way. He attempted to find IZANAMI and utilize his heavenly bindings on her, but he could barely even move without risking being blown apart by IZANAMI’s high-powered and super dense bullets. 

Once more, he summoned Jeanne, but the speed of the bullets prevented her from even being able to activate her Noble Phantasm. 

Not even Nanashi’s speed was able to safely dodge the projectiles, and she was the one worst off amidst this attack. She attempted to use her body to absorb the bullets, but there were way too many going at her at the same time. Parts of her body had been blown apart again and again, and even if she was able to restore herself, her energy reserves were at risk of running thin.

And in the midst of all this was Koishi. Barriers of roses formed as fast as they were dismantled by the barrage. They would not last forever against the intensity of Izanami’s attack. However, that was fine by Koishi.

She just needed a little bit of time.

Time. Time. Time... One name crossed Koishi's mind as she thought so, and another card manifested right before her.

"Oh time, please stop!

The World!"

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As the card shattered, the world came into a halt. IZANAMI, the other three, and the bullets attacking them, all were frozen in place. Koishi weaved through them with ease, as if she was swimming in the sea of bullets.

Sakuya’s power had given her the time to figure out what to do next. Soon, her power and memories would be burned away from Koishi’s mind. And she couldn’t stay in this stopped time forever. But, using this power had given her the opportunity to dig once more into her pool of memories, and she pulled out another card.

The silhouette of Flandre Scarlet revealed itself behind her.

Ah, Flandre. Bits of memories entered Koishi’s mind as her form manifested. Vague memories of the time the two fought, and the horrible things Koishi did to her passed her mind. The two of them were very similar, but… Flandre couldn’t really find love from her sister.

She didn’t have someone who doted on her like how Satori doted on Koishi. It was such a shame, so so much of a shame, and Flandre had to die and lose herself, thinking that her sister absolutely hated her.

Once this was all over, would she have a chance to apologize for attacking her? Koishi thought before the final trace of her memories of Flandre disappeared from her mind.

A sphere formed on the Flandre’s projection’s palm. The core of the Bounded Field had been identified. As Flandre crushed the sphere on her arm, Koishi could feel that reality around her cracked.

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And so, time resumed to normal. With it, cracks formed on the emptiness of the Cosmos.

As Flandre’s form disappeared, IZANAMI’s Bounded Field shattered, ending the spell card prematurely, and with that, the endless sea of bullets vanished into nothingness. Outside of the Bounded Field, IZANAMI’s form was as clear as day, watching over them judgingly. 

Koishi had saved them from IZANAMI’s deadly spell, but the strain of using such powerful memories one after the other was still too much for this body of hers. Without Satori stabilizing herself, Koishi was sure she would have her mind crash from the strain.

Exhausted as she was, however, she still shot IZANAMI a defiant glare.

"I’m not just...going to let you do whatever you like…"

"HM."

The Omnibound Immortal’s eyes were trained directly upon the tired Koishi, having been following her for the whole ‘duration’. Even if she hadn’t been able to move, the continuity granted by Time Sense allowed her to see exactly what that girl just managed to accomplish. This was more than a little inconceivable - between all the evidence she’d been provided thus far, did that girl seriously embody the powers of all these beings from Gensokyo? To what heights had that girl reached?

Around her, gaps started to materialize once more. Or rather, they weren’t just around her - they were materializing all around the platform of the Origin Cosmos, growing more and more numerous. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem as though she was about to give the warriors a break anytime soon, especially not the girl who’d just saved them all.

"WELL.

WELL, WELL, WELL.

NOW IZANAMI REALLY  WANTS YOU DEAD.

AND WHEN YOU DIE, HORRIBLY AND PAINFULLY-IZANAMI WILL USE YOUR EXISTENCE TO HAVE EVEN MORE FUN!!!"

The countless number of the gaps warped, positioning themselves so that they were aiming straight at Koishi.

"HEHE…"

And this time…

"HEHEHE…"

...what emerged from the gaps WASN’T any kind of energy attack. 

"EHEHEHEHEHEHHEH!!!"

Rather, what emerged were things which were once thought lost. Things entirely inconceivable. The objects emerging from the gaps appeared to be entirely random at first. Unknown swords imbued with legendary auras, strangely-shaped relics and antiques from unfamiliar cultures, bizarre mechanical devices, even severed body parts here and there which contained magical energy - all of which were artifacts which had, once upon a time, served a greater purpose to their home universe. 

 

Indeed. They were the STOLEN ARTIFACTS FROM THE MULTIVERSE.

 

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"DON’T BE SO SURPRISED!

AFTER ALL… THE VAULT WAS ISABELLA’S VERY OWN REALITY MARBLE, YOU KNOW?"

Perhaps they shouldn’t have been surprised. Perhaps it was only natural that she would have access to them, especially while she had access to Yukari’s powers. But regardless, it was an undeniable truth they would have no choice but to fight, on TOP of everything they already knew about the Omnibound.

"SO-"

The drain was instant, and the pain was instant, with IZANAMI’s body visibly twitching as the legendary artifacts were summoned into this reality. Naturally, this act was a double-edged sword. Every object she brought out of ‘Isamy’s Vault’ and into existence required spending an equivalent amount of mana to do so, and in addition, one of the worst case scenarios was someone else somehow making it into the vault. However, neither of those mattered right now. What mattered was the idea, and the FACT, and the DELIGHT, that she was about to inflict SOUL-CRUSHING SUFFERING upon all those who DARED OPPOSE HER!

 

"ABANDONED VAULT: 

AIMLESS JOURNEY TO THE ABANDONED CROSSOVER!!!"

Precious artifacts, godlike artifacts, technological artifacts, legendary artifacts, abstract artifacts.

Just like that… they all fired.

~          more necrofantasia          ~

It wasn’t like IZANAMI remembered what any of them were actually capable of individually. Far too much time had passed for her to remember such miniscule details - all she was concerned about was using them as projectiles. As long as they were within IZANAMI’s power to materialize, they materialized, and they actually fired. That is, all homing in on none other than the position of the youkai satori, Koishi Komeiji.

But a barrier formed between her and the attack. It was a powerful barrier, yet it was still not enough to stop an attack of such a varied and abstract nature. The artifacts came racing towards it at blinding speeds, smashing into it without remorse, without reason, without any memory of what they once stood for?-while there were some worthless items like flashdrives and straw hats which burst on impact, other objects appeared to contain enough insane power to brutally damage, if not outright shatter the barrier on their own. However, the barrier rose, again and again.

Koishi thought at first that it was Reimu that had saved her, but it would soon dawn on her that instead, it was Kazuya. As he carried the power and divinity of the King of Bel, he was the least exhausted of the four warriors, and even if he had little opportunity to utilize a stronger barrier utilizing his summons, more and more barriers continued to be created around Koishi.

But yet that alone was not enough. No matter how powerful his barriers were, the projectiles, the artifacts collected throughout the multiverse were too varied for any one barrier to stop in its lonesome. 

"I can’t let you fall here. We’ll see through all this until the very end." 

If being on the defensive was not enough, then…

"Megidolaon!"

Bursts of almighty light crashed through the treasures, taking many out. More and more, Kazuya continued to fire Megidolaon after Megidolaon, thinning the rain of artifacts even if IZANAMI would continuously replace them with more and more from the vault.

"Scarlet Sky Rapture!"

Just as Kazuya missed some of the artifacts, Nanashi was able to clear a path through the rain with her beam of scarlet. With the exhausted Koishi huddled near her, Nanashi would stand back to back with Kazuya, looking at the relentless assault that soon would hit them.

"So, do you have any plans?" Kazuya asked as he would form more barriers protecting the three of them, as the nameless girl would take over handling the offensive now. 

"Naturally. Go use Gae Bolg to throw me right onto her face." The nameless girl answered nonchalantly, provoking a bewildered reaction from Kazuya.

"What? No! What will that even accomplish?" Kazuya found it difficult to keep his composure. The two of them saw a giant sphere of pure magic falling towards them like a meteor, and without saying anything, a combination of scarlet and golden light tore through the sphere, causing a large explosion above them that Kazuya shielded them from.

"Trust me, it’ll work." Again, the nameless girl tried to convince Kazuya, while her tone didn’t show whether she actually thought about her plan properly or not. "I mean, didn’t you try the same with Reimu back then?"

"That time was different! It also doesn’t work as well as we hoped."

"But see, I’m not Reimu. I’m made to be thrown around!"

"...You’re seriously not making any sense." 

Ancient letters formed in front of Kazuya as he shook his head. He decided to do his own thing instead. As the incantation was complete, Ishtar once more came forth from the aether, settling on his side. She gave an exasperated look seeing Kazuya and the nameless girl, she couldn’t express her own snide take on his situation as she noticed the barrage around them. She knew what to do in this situation, and so, once more she prepared her Noble Phantasm.

"Needing my help once more eh, Abel?" She laughed with the pride befitting of a divinity like her. She haughtily gestured in front of Kazuya and the nameless girl as she turned to face IZANAMI, sneering at the Omni. "Well then… since you're hopeless without me, then I'll oblige. I'll show you a spectacle no one else can provide.

 

Gate Open!"

 

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A great gate to space made of light manifested above her. From it, the gigantic form of Venus, or more accurately, an image of it gradually descended, its size alone blocking some of the fired artifacts. Even as an image, however, the gravity was overwhelming, yet with full confidence, Ishtar turned all that image to a small sphere carrying its essence, of which she loaded into her Maana as an arrow. Kazuya could only look in wonder. Was his connection to Babylon and their proximity to Origin had allowed Ishtar to finally fire off the true extent of this attack?

"Watch and be amazed, mortals! From the Great Heavens to the world below, this is my full throttle attack! 

An Gal Ta Kigal She, Full Burst! "

Radiating power that exceeded what to be expected of even an ancient goddess, Ishtar fired her arrow at the barrage. Yet, rather than a singular, overpowering blast that could destroy mountains, Ishtar’s attack split apart into an uncountable amount of beams of light instead, blasting through the many different artifacts one by one. All these artifacts, so important in their original worlds, were systematically destroyed by Ishtar’s display of her full power.

And yet, more and more were still coming

Racing at one another, the lasers and the artifacts connected with one another, practically smashing into one another-some of the beams of light found themselves overwhelmed, only weakening the artifacts’ approach before they smashed right back into Kazuya’s barrier. Others managed to overpower the weaker-launched artifacts, tearing through them with great bursts and firing onwards, only to be cancelled out by the next flurry of artifacts. It was pure chaos, just as it was a display of ultimate power. Even though there were artifacts which were clearly not designed to be launched, the sheer number of them meant there were bound to be those which were capable of matching the arrows. In any other world, a single one of these objects could very well serve as the entire beacon to a long story plot… but here they were being thrown about like utter trash. 

Then, as one of Ishtar’s blasts managed to break through the constant assault of IZANAMI, to the point that it was rapidly approaching her person, her eyes widened for a moment. She needed to cancel it out straightaway. The next artifact had to be something which undoubtedly had that level of power. But what? Instinctively, IZANAMI opened a giant gap and launched one of the few things she was indeed familiar with, and a supermassive heart was suddenly fired outwards-

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Indeed-right before Ishtar’s arrow could meet her person, the Omnibound, quite literally, thrust a goddamned Kingdom Hearts into it. Kingdom Hearts, an object which individuals had dedicated whole lifetimes to obtaining, had just been launched like some sort of plaything. The mountain-shattering arrow tore into the Kingdom Hearts, and in turn was ripped asunder by the spirit’s sheer power, causing a cascade of endless, living hearts to explode out and scatter everywhere - and without a container, all those thousands of hearts faded into the oblivion surrounding them. Unknown lives came to an end without even being aware of it.

"EHEHEHEHEH!

HOW MUCH LONGER DO YOU THINK YOU CAN KEEP THIS UP?!"

After witnessing that ridiculous spectacle, the unbroken IZANAMI chose to declare such an arrogant taunt. Internally to the boss, bringing that out drained her much more than expected, but it was worth it if it assured her safety. 

Naturally, after such a display of power, Ishtar would disapper once more, however, what shocked Kazuya was how exhausted he himself had become as soon as Ishtar fully dematerialized. It seemed that the overwhelming power Ishtar fired off earlier was only possible due to her taking it directly from his reserves.

He was still able to keep the barrier up due to his own regeneration, but his breathing had become heavier.

"Kazuya! Don’t lose focus yet!" A clone formed next to Nanashi, which soon fired her signature scarlet beam towards the onslaught of artifacts. The beam swept through IZANAMI’s attack, but it only managed to delete some of the weaker artifacts thrown by her. A large sphere with a constantly shifting surface in particular failed to even budge from the attack, and the distortion of magic around it only made it more worrisome. Both Kazuya and Nanashi opted to just dodge that one, wary of its nature.

Such remnants of different stories were thrown around, with nobody on the battlefield having the chance of knowing, of understanding the vast memories each of them carried. To them those were just obstacles, dangerous junk to eliminate, to avoid. At the end of narrative among narratives, both to IZANAMI and to the warriors fighting her, none of these artifacts meant anything. 

It was a tragedy of tragedies, and everyone present were none the wiser about it.

Amidst this chaos, Koishi continued to watch. Pieces of memories came to her mind as each items shot from IZANAMi came and went. Yet, she could barely even comprehend the memories of each world that those items carried. Carrying the burden of an entire world’s memory was hard enough for Koishi, understanding those other worlds' would be an impossibility.

But, amidst all these memories, one important memory, one important mind was missing.

"Where’s… Reimu?" She weakly asked. "She’s… I couldn’t sense her anymore."

Hearing that, Kazuya and the nameless girl turned around to face her, as confused as she was. Both just realized that Reimu had been missing all this time. At first, they feared for the worst, but then...

"eHEHHheeheH…... EH?!"

Their attention was taken by the incomprehensible noise that IZANAMI made. The three of them looked above, and much to their amazement, somehow, all of the projectiles’ trajectory were now reversed by something.

It was as if something rewound them, and now, all of them were coming directly straight at IZANAMI’s direction.

"Sorry for taking so long." As that happened, Reimu appeared not too far away from them. On her hand, she carried an ornate scepter adorned with blue lights and an intricate design. It was nothing like what Koishi had ever seen before. "Trying to find anything I could actually use amidst that sea of junk was a pain, but this one seemed to work nicely."

"W- WHERE DID YOU COME FROM? 

AND HOW DID YOU GET SUCH A WEAPON?!"

"Ha, why don't you figure it out yourself?!" Reimu, even through her exhaustion, laughed at IZANAMI’s misery. "It's not my fault that you’re so blind to everything!"

The truth was, right as IZANAMI activated her spell card, Reimu used her gap to travel directly to the Reality Marble that was the Vault. Without such a pre-existing connection, it would be impossible for Reimu to go there. And thus, as the other three were on the defensive, Reimu thought of finding something that could help them win the fight. With a victorious expression, Reimu went towards Koishi and carried her on her back. 

Ironically enough, there wasn’t enough time for the Omnibound Immortal to figure out how something so insane could’ve transpired. When the artifacts suddenly reversed back on IZANAMI, the nearest several immediately blasted her Yukari-shaped body. To escape the rest, she promptly ceased her assault, thrust herself into a gap, and reappeared elsewhere on the battlefield, watching as dozens and dozens of reversed artifacts fired into the barrier surrounding them.

Indeed, IZANAMI did not look too good after that sudden reversal. Blood dripped from multiple wounds on her body, an adorned sword was lodged into her left shoulder, and her right leg appeared to have gone missing. And yet, despite all this insane damage, the false Border Youkai still clung onto life.

"IZANAMI IS…

IZANAMI IS PISSED!

THAT’S CHEATING! CHEATING CHEATING CHEATING!

HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!"

Rather than decipher what had just happened, IZANAMI chose instead to give into sloth and throw a tantrum. Her eyes locked onto Reimu, who seemed to be holding some sort of scepter. It seemed, well, somewhat familiar? But then again, she’d seen so many scepters in her life that it could have come from just about anywhere.

"FINE THEN!

LET’S SEE YOU REVERSE THIS, WARRIORS!!!"

Once again, the Omnibound Immortal opened up countless gaps. Only this time they proceeded to manifest in circles all around the warriors, building up more and more until a dome of gaps had formed, at which point she clicked her fingers, letting even more artifacts fire out. Just how many had she even collected prior to the Origin War? Was there ever going to be an end to these artifacts?

A swipe from the scepter forced a good amount of the artifacts back to where they came, but the firing rate and the proximity between the portals and the warriors were too much. Reimu then attempted to gap everyone out of the firing zone, but the moment they emerged, IZANAMI’s own gaps had formed around them already, ready to fire the next volley. 

"Come on, is that all you can do?" Reimu irritatedly looked at the scepter. This was supposedly an artifact powerful enough to define a world, so there must be more that it could do. Or at least, that was what Reimu thought. She ultimately was not someone with the proper experience to use that artifact.

"...Let me try something." Koishi weakly said from her back. The satori youkai would hold onto the scepter, and through utilizing any remaining memories from its past usage, Koishi fired off a blast that ended up slowing time around the group. Reimu looked at Koishi with amazement, but the youkai gestured for her and the others to move out instead while they had the chance.

With that, Reimu and Koishi continued to use the scepter to help them avoid all of IZANAMI’s endless bombardment on them. Kazuya in the meantime, fired off various attacks towards the ones that the group couldn’t easily avoid. It seemed that while they couldn’t find a way to attack IZANAMI right now, they would be able to stand on their ground.

Yet, the nameless girl noticed that the scepter was breaking apart, bit by bit as Koishi swung it around. Perhaps it was due to a lack of maintenance? Whatever the truth was, Nanashi knew that she needed to find a way to end this fast. 

But how? 

Nanashi looked at the various holes IZANAMI made around them. While the stream of artifacts coming from them were nearly endless, there perhaps was...

Getting an idea, she tapped Reimu on her shoulders and told her of what she would do. Reimu was less amused hearing it, but ultimately agreed to help her. And so, as iZANAMI’s barrage only intensified in nature, unknown to her, the nameless girl had disappeared from the group.

...

Then, out of nowhere, Nanashi appeared right behind IZANAMI, lunging at her with her blade of Nothingness in hand, causing the final boss to briefly turn towards her in surprise. To think someone dared to engage her in direct combat! 

IZANAMI withdrew one of the weapons lodged into her own shoulder and used it to deflect the sword before it could reach her, relying on Isamy’s battle instincts and pure strength as she proceeded to push Nanashi back across the sky. However, Nanashi soon disappeared into a gap.

"HEHE, IZANAMI SEES YOU’RE GETTING DESPERATE!

YOU THINK YOU CAN LAND A HIT?

JUST TRY IT!"

With a grin, IZANAMI held that sword in one hand and her umbrella in the other. Even though she was still bleeding badly from the surprise reversal earlier, the entity faced Nanashi without retreating - for a brief minute, the assault on the other warriors seemed to lessen a bit, becoming somewhat more aimless as the controller’s mind was distracted by something else.

Then, the nameless girl appeared from another gap, only for IZANAMI to parry her attack once more. She disappeared as fast as she emerged, and at first, IZANAMI found it odd, her guess going towards Reimu.

However, she soon realized that how Nanashi managed to sneak at her was because she had utilized her gaps, just as she was firing. Once again, IZANAMI had been taken off guard by such a simple trick.

But this time, she would not let them exploit it any further.

"IF THIS IS THE GAME YOU WISH TO PLAY, THEN LET’S PLAY IT.

IF YOU DARE TO FACE IZANAMI IN PERSON, THEN BE PREPARED... TO FACE THE CONSEQUENCES!"

Suddenly, just as the nameless girl was about to fire out of yet another gap, what she was met with instead was the image of Omnibound Immortal IZANAMI charging directly towards her⸺and into that very gap!

 


 

-The Vault-

An expansive spatial space, stretching on as far as the eye can see with endless artifacts.

That was the vault of Isamy Maximus, an area only a handful had held the privilege of seeing firsthand.

Upon entering, a singular new gap materialized, and the Omni promptly grabbed the weapon that emerged from it. Among the uncountable treasures that had been gathered in the Vault, this was among one that even in her current state, IZANAMI was still perfectly aware of its nature. Then, it was in that space IZANAMI physically rushed towards Nanashi, appearing not to use any gaps for this close-combat scuffle as she maneuvered to slash right into the girl with all the force an Omnibound Immortal possessed. 

As sword clashed with sword, it was only then that the nameless girl recognized the sword in IZANAMI’s hands. How could she not? How could anyone not? After all, that was none other than the Sword of Promised Victory…

Arturia’s very own ‘Excalibur’.

~ EMIYA Remix ~

In the skies of the Vault, IZANAMI proceeded to focus all of her efforts on demolishing this singular enemy. The Omni possessed none of the grace nor the skill that the king who wielded the weapon once upon a time would have showcased, however, the brutal force she swung around the holy weapon was more than enough to cover for it. There were no gaps for the nameless girl to escape into, and try as she might, she was unable to get anywhere close to the ground, unable to make use of even a single one of the Vault’s artifacts.

On the other hand, sword after sword were broken by IZANAMI’s relentless assault, and the nameless girl was only able to keep up as she was able to recreate her own golden sword as soon as it was broken. However, even that had its own limit. IZANAMI saw the pattern to her movement, and she, befitting of Sloth, made the decision to carve through the nameless girl in the simplest, easiest way she could.

Shifting her target and using the overwhelming force she was capable of, IZANAMI made a single, strong slash that cut off the nameless girl’s arms in one go. She gloated seeing that, and with the opening presented, went right towards her heart. 

"This is only a flesh wound!"

Before the holy blade would pierce through her, however, the nameless girl managed to parry it using her own leg. No, on a closer look, she had turned her own leg into a golden blade. IZANAMI still managed to shatter the blade in one go, but then, another trick was revealed by the nameless girl.

The shard of the blade that was once her feet suddenly shattered before forming chains that bound the holy blade in place. As that happened, the nameless girl took the time to regrow her limbs before focusing her mind on the sword.

It was the sword of Artoria. With all the memories belonging to the King of Knights stored within her, she banked on her analysis ability to understand its nature and break it. Her hand reached for the sword as she dug for memories of its structure to understand it.

"Holy Sword Excalibur, shatter!"

She declared loudly, as scarlet light bathed the sword and IZANAMI. 

And yet, nothing happened. IZANAMI broke free from the chains easily, and went forward for another attack. The nameless girl hastily blocked it at the cost of her arm, all while looking at the sword in horror.

It was far different from Caliburn, the Sword of Selection. This sword’s existence extended far beyond Artoria’s life and memories. Its structure was far too alien for her to analyze using the king’s memories. 

And so, she returned to square one. IZANAMI took delight in cutting off her limbs one by one, enjoying this little sword fight they had more and more after each swing of her blade. Meanwhile, with each torn off limb on the nameless girl’s end, another quickly replaced it, ready with another sword to block another of IZANAMI’s slashes. 

But this was a certain deadlock. Izanami would never tire from doing her frenzied onslaught, while the nameless girl would eventually tire out, as each regrown limb took a chunk of her reserves. Not even the reserves provided by Tenshi’s alternate selves would last long at this rate. 

She couldn't stay on the defensive forever. A chance of winning, however small, must be grasped by her own two hands.

Using Reinforcement magic to strengthen her golden blades, she blocked IZANAMI’s next swing with both of her arms, and with the time it gave her, she aimed her leg forward, where another golden sword would form and be fired towards IZANAMI with the speed of a bullet.

"LAZY! LAZY, LAZY, LAZY-"

That, however, didn’t faze IZANAMI. Her eyes tracked Nanashi’s assault, lunging towards the opening in her attacks. Rather than bothering to respond physically, she opted to create a gap in the very space Nanashi was about to hit, and proceeded to-

"H- HM?"

However, much to the Omnibound Immortal’s surprise, no such gap manifested. Was there still some flaw in the Void Inclusion, or limitation, she was unaware of? Or perhaps, could it be- No, there was no time to think about that. Quickly changing course, the stubborn final boss unleashed a burst of radiating energy from her body, hoping to blast back the crude counterattack!

The burst came rushing towards the nameless girl… and yet, it would not connect. Before she was taken by the blast, another gap materialized and pulled the nameless girl right out.

Replacing her was a clone made of explosive amulets, which soon set the skies of the Vault ablaze.

 


 

Reimu finally managed to locate her and pulled her away using a gap. It was only then did the nameless girl realize just how exhausted had IZANAMI left her. Kazuya noticed this, and casted Mediarahan to heal the group, as well as offering some of his energy for her to use. She looked at the group’s current state at the time. Koishi was floating on the ground, seemingly fully drained out of her energy. Reimu was only slightly better off, and there was no trace of the scepter she used earlier. Kazuya was the only one that looked remotely fresh among them, yet even his breathing had become unsteady.

 The nameless girl made a short gesture to thank him, however, her mind immediately went back to what happened inside of the Vault.

"Something was odd earlier." Nanashi said to the others as she caught her breath. "This thing’s so-called Inclusions… they started malfunctioning earlier."

"Malfunctioning?" Kazuya raised an eyebrow to what she said.

"She was trying to block one of my attacks with a gap, but it somehow fizzled. It was as if she was losing control of Yukari’s powers." As she said that, the nameless girl began to think. "No, actually…

No...I figured it out! The secret is boundaries all along!" Nanashi suddenly exclaimed.

"Hm? Did she mess with your head back there or something?" Reimu wondered, however before she was able to say more, Nanashi began to elaborate on her point for once.

"Ultimately, Yukari’s power is merely an inclusion inside of IZANAMI. It was not an innate part of her, and we can see her struggle to fully utilize it. There is a clear boundary between IZANAMI and Yukari." She described her train of thought. "Multiple elements in one being without a glue for cohesiveness means that it’s a glaring structural weakness.

If I get the opportunity to analyze this fully, I should be able to land the decisive strike, exploiting such a huge structural weakness. This way, I can fully separate IZANAMI from Yukari's inclusion, so even if she said that she had two more uses of the Inclusion, I can bypass that and end this."

"...Hm, that is a good point." Kazuya said. "We cannot last forever against her, so a decisive strike is our best hope. I assume you’ll stay back for now, then?"

"Yeah." Nanashi nodded, however, she admitted that with a heavy heart. "Usually I could figure this out on the fly, but she’s a difficult one to decipher. 

Reimu, Kazuya…" Nanashi bowed in front of the two of them. "Please, buy me some time! This is our only hope now!"

"Hmph." Reimu turned around grumpily, but as her eyes cut off contact with Nanashi’s, she was smiling. "Are you doubting me? I’m Reimu Hakurei! The best and only Shrine Maiden of Gensokyo, and a genius in barrier-making. If it’s just giving you a few moments to breathe, it’s child’s play for me!"

"And I shall do my best too." Kazuya said, nodding to Reimu’s fired up declaration. "We’ll buy you all the time in the world if we have to."

"GAPS, GAPS, GAPS, WHY?! THIS IS WEIRD!"

Just like that, a new, gigantic gap materialized back on the battlefield. IZANAMI materialized, seeming to have recovered from her malfunction earlier, and relatively unharmed by Reimu’s explosive clone. No, it appeared as if she was unwounded completely - not even the reversal done by Reimu earlier left any trace on her. Seeing her return, both Reimu and Kazuya spent no time to idle and flew upwards, quickly bombarding her with a combination of Kazuya’s almighty attacks and an uncountable amount of amulets from Reimu.

The amulets and almighty barrage launched outwards at her target, and at first, the entity simply watched in confusion as they approached. 

Reaching into the foremost reaches of her own essence, IZANAMI grasped hold of the space and boundaries surrounding her, and finally succeeded in forcing more gaps to tear open. With that, once again, random mysterious artifacts from Isamy’s Vault launched outwards, blasting into each and every amulet and laser beams, attempting to cancel out each and every one. Fine. Fine, fine, fine, if Yukari’s Void Inclusion was refusing to cooperate, then she would force it to! AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE! 

However, not every gap actually succeeded. After a few minutes of bombardment, much to Sloth IZANAMI’s surprise, she found herself hit by an amulet. And then another amulet. And then another! Where gaps should have materialized to cancel out the amulets, a few amongst the many were refusing to materialize, like every 1 in 100 gaps.

Finally, IZANAMI decided to investigate just why this was happening, sharing her consciousness with the other six-

Ah. It appeared that, somewhere else on the battlefield, other warriors had somehow succeeded in cutting them off from further Void Inclusions. In addition to barricading them from future Void Inclusions, it also interfered with the connection with the inclusions they currently held. How frustrating, how hopeless, how terrible… But also, how futile!

"DISAPPOINTING…

BUT NOT THE END!"

Proceeding to move swiftly, the Omnibound turned her attention to Nanashi. They couldn’t be allowed to decipher any of this, or come up with a counterattack. She’d simply take care of Reimu and Kazuya, then deal with the wildcards. As the rain of artifacts, lasers, and amulets continued to cancel one another out, Omnibound Immortal IZANAMI readied the Excalibur in her hands, holding it up as she locked eyes with Reimu and Kazuya. If she needed to beamspam this thing, then she would absolutely do that, as the most slothful and direct answer.

 

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"YOUR STORY ENDS HERE."

While grasped in IZANAMI’s hands, the blade started to turn black. Rapidly gathering energy from the surrounding Origin Cosmos, rapidly building up its legendarily terrible power, which they’ve born witness to only a few times before-

"EXCALIBUR!!!"

And thus, the giant entity unleashed a hypermassive beam, blasting across the rain of amulets and shooting directly towards Reimu and Kazuya. It was nothing short of raw power. The sheer, overwhelming mass of the final boss’s mana supply, transformed into a holy light of destruction.

The very light that ends dreams.

And only two people stood against that display of absolute power. Divine light clashed against divine light, as Reimu and Kazuya both casted their strongest protection against the overwhelming light of Excalibur powered by the Omni’s near-limitless power. Too powerful to be redirected, too overwhelming to simply be fought with another attack, yet the two of them remained defiant, standing side by side facing the light head on.

The analysis of IZANAMI is currently at 80%

"It would be a shame if this ends here and now, don’t you think? We've come so far already..." Taking in more and more of his personal reserves, once more Kazuya summoned Jeanne D’Arc for her to use her banner to grant them protection. But it was still not enough.

Cracks formed on the saint’s supposedly impenetrable protection. Kazuya quickly reacted, casting his own barriers to stop the wall from giving in.

"Of course it’d be a shame. We actually have a chance of winning for once here. No way in hell I’ll let that go to waste!" 

Reimu yelled out. She refused to have this journey end here. Tapping deep within herself, taking in all that Yukari knew of barriers, and using every single last scrap of her power, Reimu extended her hand forward. 

A spell card formed on her hand for a moment before disintegrating as a magic circle replaced it.

 

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"Boundary World: Eightfold Fence of the Land of Phantasm!"

Using Yukari’s knowledge and powers given to her coupled with her own knowledge about barriers, Reimu recreated the absolute strongest barrier that she knew of.

The Great Hakurei Barrier.

An aurora-like wall of light began to create a circle around them all, standing mightily against the endless light of Excalibur. The Great Hakurei Barrier was normally meant more as a boundary line to separate, rather than to act as a true "barrier". However, it was as simple as changing a few details in its creation to turn it into something that could shield worlds against an apocalypse.

The analysis of IZANAMI is currently at 83%

However, doing so took most of Reimu’s energy. She was barely able to stand up and had to use Kazuya to support herself. Through sheer force of will, she forced herself to remain awake, because she knew.

Once the Hakurei maiden lost consciousness, the barrier’s end would soon follow.

Seeing that display reinvigorated Kazuya. After healing Reimu, enough to give her a few more moments of awareness, Kazuya focused all he could towards the combined barrier the two had established so far. He felt himself unconsciously summoned various demons through his hand, each who gave up their essence to reinforce the barrier.  

"Right. I will not fall. This light… it will not overcome us!" 

But, even with that, he knew that the reinforcement done to the barrier was still not enough. Reimu could pass out anytime soon, and once Reimu fell, so would their chance of victory.

There was no Koishi to pull out a miracle, and the nameless girl had to focus, so she couldn’t give out any of her zany plans anymore. It was all up to him now. Among them four, he was the one with the most reserve left. Even if it was quickly draining despite how fast it normally regenerated, he still would last the longest.

And, if he had to, to save his own energy, he could assume Beldr’s power for himself, and power through the blast on his own.

Kazuya shook his head at the thought, however. He wouldn’t be able to do this on his own. Even if he could survive that way, he would be left all alone. Even with the power of the King of Bel, he wouldn’t be able to win on his own.

And his conscience wouldn’t let him sacrifice the others just for his own future.

As that resolution formed in his mind, he could feel Beldr’s power escaping through his fingers, the barrier before him taking in all of the demon’s essence to strengthen itself. It was just in time, as soon after, one layer of Reimu’s barrier disappeared.

The analysis of IZANAMI is currently at 87%

"IS THAT ALL, CHILDREN OF ORIGIN?

HOW SLOTHFUL!"

But there was no sign of IZANAMI’s light stopping anytime soon

Another layer of Reimu’s barrier soon disappeared, as Reimu grew weaker and weaker despite Kazuya’s efforts to keep her awake.

Was this it?

While Beldr’s layer of the barrier stood tall, cracks already formed everywhere else. Even Luminosite Eternelle had almost fully disappeared by now. Kazuya desperately patched in holes after holes that formed, but would that be enough?

He had given up Beldr’s power. The option to let himself survive at others’ expense was no longer present. As more and more holes formed, as even Beldr’s layer began to crack, another emotion filled him.

Despair.

He wasn’t enough. He would always come short. He couldn’t even protect those he cared about, at his strongest. Even in this Origin War, he couldn’t make himself count. And now, he was all alone. There was no way someone like him could win this fight.

More and more cracks formed on the barrier. Kazuya couldn’t keep up with them. He wondered if he should even try. Perhaps it was best to give up now, so that the other warriors… perhaps they could succeed where Kazuya and the other three failed.

But, suddenly he felt someone punch him from behind. It was Reimu. She was still awake, and she, somehow, still could find it within herself to reinforce the barrier as Kazuya’s will waned. Kazuya looked at her in disbelief.

Are you seriously going to lose here?

Reimu couldn’t even manage anything other than a whisper, but that was not the tone of someone who had given up.

No, Reimu was right.

Kazuya hadn’t yet put his all to this. There was still a chance for them to win.

Pushing all of himself to strengthen the barrier, Kazuya gave up Belial and Jezebel’s essences, forming more and more layers for the barrier.

And with that, he gradually realized what he had done. He remembered his thoughts on the past, the resolution he made against Isamy. He remembered saying that he wanted to become the world’s protector against the constant war of Law and Chaos. Because he was the human-like King of Bel, he thought that it was the best thing for him to do.

Yet, here he was, slowly giving up parts of his authority as the King of Bel. At the end of this all, he wouldn’t have the power to serve the role that he wanted to serve.

However, Kazuya accepted this as an outcome. He laughed at that thought as he simply put more and more of himself into the barrier.

"In the end, being a god or a demon doesn’t suit me, huh." Kazuya said, as he saw that even the addition to the barrier was still not enough, each layer being torn bit by bit by Excalibur’s light. 

"I am just a mortal, a mayfly compared to the infinite vastness of the multiverse. Trying to force my way as an arbiter, a protector of the world… that sounds absurd now.

Life is fleeting, so why should I force it to be eternal?"

The primary barrier cracked.

However, Kazuya was more resolute than ever now.

The analysis of IZANAMI is currently at 91%

"Order will always go against chaos. Such conflict is part of life’s many conflicts. Stopping it would only lead to a stagnant existence." Kazuya smiled, even if a little of Excalibur’s light escaped the barrier, showing that it would not hold for long. In response, he gave up Beelzebub’s essence, covering the entire barrier surrounding them with an uncountable amount of demonic flies. 

"Conflicts, imperfection, hardships, it helps us define what truly mattered for us, to cherish it and understand its importance. Without pain, we wouldn’t understand the value of comfort. Without sadness, we wouldn’t understand how much happiness means to us.

While you can say that in the grand scheme of things, all of this is meaningless, but none of us mortals live in such a grand scheme. All these meaningless things? It meant the world for us."

He didn’t say these words to anyone in particular. IZANAMI was too mad, too lost to even be communicated to. Whatever was left of Isamy within her would not recognize any of his words. But he was alright with it. These words meant something for himself. These words were his strength, his will given voice. Even as his body gradually gave in, his heart was still resolute.

At this point, Reimu had passed out, and the rest of the Hakurei barrier was gone with her. It was only him now. He simply responded by giving up Belberith’s essence. The conglomeration of gods and demons that was him formed a layer of divine flesh around them all, momentarily buying more time for them.

"I stand here to protect that insignificant thing for the people that I know. If that is an act of selfishness in the grand scheme of things, so be it. I might be the King of Bel, but ultimately, my name is Kazuya Minegishi.

 

And as a mortal, as a human, I deny you the right to choose my future."

 

The analysis of IZANAMI is currently at 95%

And with those words, Kazuya gave in the last trace of his authority as the King of Bel - The "Demon Summoning Server" Babel, who lived on within him as much as it existed outside as an entity of its own. No, it was more than that. His brother, Naoya, utilized the gathered emotions of the entirety of the human race using the Internet to bring it forth. Thus, Babel was born from the collective consciousness of his world.

As he did so, he could feel an uncountable amount of hands holding back the barrier against Excalibur’s surge. Hands of those who put their wishes on his shoulders, those who wanted him to reign over them. Those who trusted him.

Following them all, even now without any of his powers left, Kazuya put his hand on the barrier.

The wishes of an entire world stood against IZANAMI.

"AHAHA…"

And yet… it was still not enough.

"AHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!

WHO SAID YOU HAD A CHOICE, HUH?! TIME TO WAKE UP FROM YOUR DREAM, KING OF BEL!"

Despite absolutely everything they had done, what met them in response was nothing but a pure burst of laughter from the Excalibur-wielding IZANAMI. Just like that, as if she were turning up a dial, even more of the Omnibound’s energy started getting poured into the beam, intensifying it, more and more, and more, to the point that it would quickly become impossible to contain. Then, after withstanding the attack for so long, after Kazuya lost all that he could use to reinforce it, the barrier inevitably gave in.

In the face of the overwhelming brilliance of Izanami’s final Excalibur, the powerless Kazuya stood. He had done all he could. If this was the end, then he would gladly-

"Recollection."

It was as if everything stopped as a small voice said that single word. A voice that would have been drowned otherwise by the overwhelming magnificence of the Sword of the Promised Victory, yet everyone was able to hear it loud and clear.

That Kazuya had lasted this long had given time, not only to the nameless girl, whose focus remained unbroken. His persistence gave light unto one Komeiji Koishi, who put all of her to stand up, inspired by him. With one word, she brought upon one last memory, one last Recollection with all that she had left within her.

"A foreign land, the end of time. Even so, this final hope is within mine breast. All matter of destruction shall not reach us. 

Gather! Guardians of the Round Table!"

Another light went against the overwhelming torrent of energy. It seemed to be small and insignificant at first, yet…

The image of a young, red-haired man producing a sheath passed through her mind. The image of that man and a blonde-haired king, fighting together. The image of that young man, ended by the blade of his most trusted ally.

Right before Koishi, the sheathe manifested. More and more memories began to overload her mind as she took in every single drop of memory belonging to King Arthur to perfectly recreate the form. All the regret, all the pain, and yet… all the determination to move forward.

Even if these were the memories of the person who had killed her Yukari, who allowed her essence to be toyed with by IZANAMI... At this brief moment, Koishi felt like she understood this person. To go to such length for one's own ideals, it was admirable, even. 

Koishi held the hope within her heart that she could be as resolute as her, one day.

The form of the scabbard dissipated into an uncountable amount of light, becoming an impenetrable shield as Koishi screamed out the True Name of her Recollection.

"The Everdistant Utopia: 

Avalon!"

With that declaration, an impossibility had been recreated.

The light of complete isolation covered the four of them as Excalibur continued on its path, annihilating anything else in the empty world. The barrier of the fairyland, the distant, unreachable dream that protects from any harm.

More than the Spear of the End of the World, this should have been something that even Koishi’s recreation couldn’t fully replicate. While the spear was an anchor of the Otherside, the sheath was as if she recreated an entire world out of memory, and superimposing it into reality itself. However, the existence of the Holy Sword itself and the life memories of its owner, held within Nameless, congregated into one and allowed Koishi to bring a miracle.

Such a recollection left Koishi on her knees, as she saw Kazuya finally falling over, unconscious, following after Reimu who had expended all she had before. Was it a meaningless gesture? Would the time bought this way achieve anything? Koishi had no idea. But she had made the decision to fight, even if it would not mean anything. 

And so, Koishi too, lost her consciousness, falling victim to exhaustion. With her fall, the nameless girl was the only person left to finish the fight.

The analysis of IZANAMI is currently at 97%

"WHA…

HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY ⸺?!"

Sloth IZANAMI screamed this out, as the shock of this utter, incomprehensible impossibility materialized before her. And so it was that her Excaliblast had been met with its own natural, absolute counter. The sheath of the Everdistant Utopia took in the blast, absorbing it in, practically invalidating its existence. For a moment, the Omnibound Immortal could only stare at her opponents, at the unconscious Kazuya and exhausted Reimu, and no-doubt. And she was simply baffled that this could have happened. Baffled that, even with all of Origin’s miracles, that something like Avalon had managed to have been recreated. Just how far would they have had to go to…?

However, after observing and analyzing them for just a second, her shock simply transformed into a mildly annoyed, distasteful look. Whatever they were attempting to delay her for, it simply would not be enough time.

 

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"NOT BAD. IZANAMI IS IMPRESSED.

UNFORTUNATELY… YOU EXHAUSTED YOURSELVES FOR NOTHING."

Even if the blast was cancelled out once, the fact remained that they could have only pulled off that miracle once. Meanwhile, the Sword of Promised Victory, Excalibur, remained in her hands, and she raised it up with nothing but pure malice in her expression. The weapon remained perfectly usable. Perfectly spammable. Perfectly…!

"NOW DIE."

 

WIthout anyone else remaining standing, it was the end for these four warriors.

Their fate was sealed with the swing of IZANAMI's sword.

And so, their story ends here, consumed by Excalibur's infinite light.

 


 

...

...

...

...

However,

Out of the abyss, the origin.

Another miracle happened.

 

"I wonder how Viviane reacted…

when you pried a king’s right from her lake?"

 

"WH-"

From the blast upon which Excalibur and Avalon collided, as if materializing out of thin air, she suddenly launched out. A party no one could have possibly anticipated, or expected, or even hoped for-

~ Saber ~

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"Why, I do imagine… it’s quite like the look on your face right now!"

A burst of wind, a missile of wind, a display of ultimate knighthood. 

A golden gust appearing out of nowhere, striking before anyone could realize what had happened. 

There she was, a gallant array with blonde hair and shimmering aura of charisma, seizing the blade Excalibur straight out of the hands of IZANAMI in a singular swift movement. Or perhaps it was more like a magnet discovering another magnet, the rightful sword tearing itself out from the immortal’s grip to be possessed once more by the one true king.

Regardless of the truth, there was no doubt about it. It was her... The King of Knights herself.

IZANAMI’s expression immediately dropped to shock, confusion, if not outright horror at this turn of events. Before the Omnibound Immortal could even process this information, the knight swung her blade, and the massive energy already charged into it was unleashed in a single go. In a panicked attempt at survival, the Omni quickly opened up another gap and disappeared into it, before appearing a little further away. 

"WHAT?! HOW CAN THIS-

HOW CAN YOU EVEN BE HERE?!"

"You underestimated them. It’s as simple as that, Herald." Like a spirit only just forming into existence, her dress proceeded to complete itself as she assumed a fighting pose, standing directly in front of the exhausted warriors. "To recreate Avalon, one must also recreate the rightful king. Equally, to unite Avalon with Excalibur is to call upon the king. Therefore… this should come as no surprise. As long as we’re in Origin, it doesn’t matter whether it’s reality or memories, it’s simply another boundary we can cross. Koishi’s Recollection merely gave me the opportunity to do so."

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"Perhaps you should think of me as a simple Heroic Spirit answering a summoning."

And just like that, with a swing of her blade, she looked behind herself. Her eyes briefly met with that of the nameless girl.

"Now then. Please give me an order—Master."

...

 

The Analysis of IZANAMI-

And so, the nameless girl was forcefully dragged back into reality. The sight of her king before her left her speechless. What sort of omen was this? How did she even...

"My king..." It was all that her voice managed to express. Before her was the king that Nanashi had pledged her loyalty to, once upon a time. The leader of the Counter Corps, the one whose vision she once idolized. Even if now, she had carved a path of her own, carrying her own vision, the feeling of respect she had to her remained.

And that sight filled her with a maelstrom of emotions.

Of course, she couldn't deny that she felt happy to be reunited with Artoria. But at the same time... just looking at her right now, filled her own heart with pain. Her firm expression, her voice, her bearing, it was all the same as always. Through her memories, she understood the person behind the bitter hero who betrayed the rest of the Counter Corps. She understood the heart of the king, oft said to be the perfect ruler that did not understand the heart of people. Nanashi understood all that, and yet…

She understood those pieces as fragments, and yet… she was unable to form a full image of the king using those pieces of puzzle. Even if she was side by side with her now, the nameless girl saw Artoria simultaneously as someone so farmiliar and a complete stranger.

She saw the King extended her hand to her. The nameless girl shook her head, and took that hand.

"Saber...  no, nevermind that." A memory came across her mind as she spoke, but she couldn't bring herself to keep referring her as such. For such an impersonal name, she felt like it was, somehow, too intimate for her to use.

However, this was not a time to be distracted any further. Pushing away everything that wasn't connected to her goal now, the nameless girl addressed her king, no, her Servant. Her tone became firmer and her hold on the King's hand became tighter.

"King Artoria Pendragon. As your Master, I command you…"

The Analysis of IZANAMI has been concluded.

The nameless girl pulled out a golden blade of her own, and stood next to her king. The king, whose memories now live within herself. The king, who the nameless girl understood almost as well as her own self, yet at the same time had barely known yet.

"I command you to fight on my side, until our very end."

No, she couldn’t let herself be torn over that now. If she wanted to truly understand her, then perhaps fighting on her side was the best way to achieve that. She had the key of victory within her. She couldn’t let this opportunity go to waste. The maelstrom that was her feelings would have to wait until everything was over.

To that, the King of Knights gazed back at her briefly.

"Then..."

Before finally giving a nod of understanding. 

"From this time forth, my sword shall be with you, and your fate shall be with me... Now, our contract is complete."

There was no need to question it, no discourse to be talked about, no regrets to be voiced. The two individuals simply had a mutual understanding and roles to fulfill ﹣ and now, once more, the time had come for her to fight on someone else’s behalf.

With that, brandishing her still-blackened blade, the King turned towards the nearby IZANAMI.

"HOW… HOW… HOW…"

Meanwhile, the Omnibound Immortal could clearly tell that the tides had somehow shifted. Even though most of her opponents had been thoroughly exhausted, she herself had been cut off from future Void Inclusions, and as far as she was concerned, only had a limited amount of time left with Yukari’s. If she hoped to crush them, no, in order to thoroughly destroy any hope they had, she would need to be swift. Strike with all her power.

"MEH! LIKE THAT MATTERS!

WHAT CAN A LOST EXISTENCE AND USELESS EXISTENCE DO ANYWAY, HUH?

IZANAMI IS THE ONE GIVING YOUR LIVES MEANING, AND YET HERE YOU ARE REFUSING IT ALL!"

Forcing her Void Inclusion to continue, gripping hold of Yukari’s existence,  IZANAMI’s appearance started to morph, darken, even melt somewhat. Gaps began to materialize into existence behind her, expanding to form a sea of eyes as their very surroundings distorted into a crimson red.

As this happened, the nameless girl gave a final glance towards her downed allies. Using some of her life force, she gathered them together and formed a small barrier around them, before pushing them away from where she stood. 

It was the least she could do. She couldn’t afford to lose any more energy. With the link that she had established, the innate understanding that she had achieved, the only option was to go forward. The King of Knights was with her now. Many miracles had been achieved, many sacrifices had been made for this one, singular moment to be possible. 

All that miracles… now it was her job to make them mean something. It’s her job to end this, once and for all.

"THIS TIME, YOU CAN FACE IT ALL… EVERY LAST ARTIFACT OF MAXIMUS!"

PH1S91Pz18WnGCdoqC1jnOZyK15Thhh_TDfQ24bO

 

"ABANDONED VAULT: 

AIMLESS DESTRUCTION OF THE ABANDONED CROSSOVER!!!"

With that ominous declaration, the contents of the vault were once again blindly fired forth. Precious artifacts, godlike artifacts, technological artifacts, legendary artifacts, abstract artifacts. The embodiments of plots, the victory of heroes, the source of endless stories and strife, a collection of the multiverse simply launched forward as if they were nothing more than disposable trash. Their original purposes overwritten, stampeded upon with the singular mission of destruction. This time trained on, firing directly at the respective positions of the Warriors of Origin, Nanashi and Artoria... her only remaining threats!

 

~ Paradigm ~

Fulfilling her duty, the King of Knights stepped forward first in front of the nameless girl and gripped Excalibur tightly. Even in the face of the overwhelmingly horrendous odds against them, she remained steadfast.

"I shall delay the assault. I’ll leave the planning to you... Master!"

The nameless girl nodded as she gripped her own sword. Despite having established a direct connection to Izanami, that Izanami utilized the force of the Vault’s treasures had dampened the effectiveness of such a would-be advantage. But, she refused to be deterred by such a fact.

"Then I will not disappoint you." 

Her expression changed into a more vehement look as with a gesture, the nameless girl utilized all the scattered temperaments in the empty world to form numerous clones of herself, each wielding the same exact golden sword as the real one.

There was no moment to elaborate on the exacts of the plan, however.

The rain had begun to fall on the two warriors. Once-important objects, priceless artifacts worth killing worlds over, but now serving as nothing more than just nameless debris, fired at high speed towards them.

The clones were the first to act. They would seek out magical artifacts from the uncountable amount being fired, and utilizing their abilities, scarlet light bombarded the target artifacts. One by one, these artifacts caused a chain reaction, blowing up many others as they exploded from the force of the bombardment. 

Many of the clones perished. Demolished, torn apart, reduced to nothingness. The various artifacts crashed into them, and one by one, even with their best attempts, they were simply not strong enough. Still, their combined efforts were just enough to somewhat minimize the bombardment, getting rid of some of the more dangerous artifacts amongst the torrent of the vault. 

Then, as the remainder fired onwards, aiming for their intended targets, they ended up being sliced apart, knocked down, or outright kicked aside by a singular force. The King of Knights stood her ground as the ultimate shield. The decrease in the number of artifacts was making it just manageable for Artoria Pendragon, although it was clear that she was straining herself, pushing her instincts to the limits as her skills were practically entirely consumed on being on the defensive. 

A wild array of objects fired at a blinding pace - Artoria focused less on the harmless ones like random pieces of paper, tiny devices, and flashdrives, funnelling them off-course with Invisible Air, whereas the far more dangerous artifacts - those without magic - that made it past the clones were met with powerful Mana Burst strikes. Blades, monuments, a giant mecha and, quite alarmingly, even a literal space station at one point. That one she poured all of her strength into stopping in place, using it as a temporary shield before it, too, was decimated in the bombardment. Far too many of the projectiles were singlehandedly worthy of attention, and it needn’t be said that this most certainly couldn’t be kept up forever. Slowly but surely, more and more bruises and cuts were showing on the king as she stretched herself to her limits.

Then, what appeared to be an entire gigantic spaceship fired out of the portal, seeming unaffected by the clones’ bombardment tactics. Unbeknownst to them, it was a Star Destroyer with its own functional forcefield, closing the distance between IZANAMI’s gap and them-

"EX… CALIBUR!"

The king’s holy blade glowed, and she launched a powerful blast of light, obliterating the cruiser and a large number of artifacts around it in a single strike⸺yet still not enough to reach IZANAMI, losing energy shortly before it could even make it to her. Based on her remaining mana supply, it wasn’t something she could use more than five or six times. Her tactic here was obvious - to save each every use of her Noble Phantasm for the absolute most dangerous of artifacts.

Between the clones and the knight, they were just barely managing to hold their own, and with each lost clone and depleting mana supply, they came that much closer to certain defeat. Was a counterattack even possible against such ridiculousness…?

Amidst the chaos, the nameless girl continued to focus. For each lost clone, another would replace it, even if it was more and more imperfect than the previous one. Each clone was made from the lingering temperaments in the battlefield, none came from the nameless girl herself. Right now, she needed an opportunity.

The clones, gradually became more and more unable to properly utilize the golden sword, was instead born as suicide missiles this time. One by one, they launched themselves to various debris, with the aim of each of their own demise causing as much destruction as possible.

It was an unsightly tactic. And the nameless girl watched through it all. Seeing her own face blowing up, over and over again, hoping for the one small chance that an opening could be made.

"WHAT’S WRONG?

WHAT’S WRONG, WHAT’S WRONG, WHAT’S WRONG, ARE YOU SLOWING DOWN? GIVING UP?

THAT’S NO GOOD!

IF YOU DIE HERE, THAT JUST MEANS IZANAMI’S DREAMS WERE MEANT TO BE!"

Meanwhile, IZANAMI’s initial fear had long since dissipated into nothing but a delightful, entertaining insanity, mocking them with her booming voice. Watching over her opponents as they slowly but surely succumb to the sheer torrential rain of her vault. 

By this point, the Omnibound Immortal had moved her own body back behind a gap, as if simply to ensure she’s protected from any stray Excalibur blasts⸺leaving naught but an exposed, widened eye in the sky solely for the sake of observation. This also served the purpose of hiding the fact that she was still racing against time herself. The Yukari Void Inclusion was slowly becoming more and more unstable, harder to control, and it showed as her body melted, and as the number of gaps firing upon everyone very slowly… oh so slowly… started to decrease. However, the difference was still incremental, and at this rate, there was no doubt it’d only take a few more minutes to utterly crush the resistance put up by the clones and King of Knights.

"EXCALIBUR!" Once again, for the fifth time, the King was forced to unleash their Noble Phantasm upon the approach of yet another inanely difficult artifact, just barely managing to obliterate it before being immediately forced back on the defensive. This brought their total mana supply down to just one or two, if even that.

IZANAMI gazed upon this attempt with frustrated hatred and malicious enjoyment, a far cry from the hero Isamy Maximus once attempted to be. Her singular eye gazed at the opposition she was dealing with.

 

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"AND NOW IT’S ALL GOING TO COME TO AN END.

PLEASE ALLOW YOUR DREAMS TO DIE… SO THAT IZANAMI’S MAY REIGN SUPREME IN THIS PUTRID REALITY!"

As Sloth IZANAMI declared this, the so-called "Abandoned Vault: Aimless Destruction of the Abandoned Crossover" showed no signs of stopping anytime soon.

The two warriors were at an overwhelming disadvantage. The number of clones decreased faster than the number of gaps firing away all the various artifacts. Izanami painted upon itself a large target to strike at, but the relentless rain of projectiles proved that even reaching that was exceedingly difficult for either.

Yet, slowly but surely, the number of gaps did decrease. And while the rate of fire of these individual gaps were impressive, the two warriors were more agile and reactive than Izanami, as it had been established with the battles before this.

An opportunity, however small, must be forced into the situation.

As she thought about this, most of her clones had disappeared. She held her own golden sword straight towards the giant eye in the sky, and declared an attack.

"Scarlet Sky Rapture!"

A massive beam of hypercondensed bullets were fired from the tip of her sword, destroying most in its path. Yet, as mighty as the attack was, Izanami simply utilized her gaps to bring out various larger and larger artifacts to break down the attack before it could reach her.

But this, however, presented an opening. This was the point where to deal with such an attack, there would be a small, but significant enough opening that could be utilized.

That beam, while impressive, was nothing more than a distraction. Arturia would be able to understand that. And she, naturally, would understand too, the meaning of the one that approached her.

"It’s your turn now. We still can win this."

"Brilliant. Then let us seize victory at once—!"

To that, Arturia nodded in understanding as she used the brief, momentary, invaluably short space of time to raise her holy sword high. The sheer level of the bombardment had been such that she’d now drained the vast majority of her mana in six Excaliblasts. Therefore, this may very well be the last time she can do this. But for the sake of survival, for the sake of victory, and for the sake of everyone, she wouldn’t even hesitate.

Then, locking eyes with the IZANAMI in the sky, eyeing the small opening created by Scarlet Sky Rapture…

"EX…"

The Servant Saber proceeded to unleash her Sword of Promised Victory one final time.

"CAALLLLLIIIBBUUURRRRRRRRR!!!"

It was the force, the cry, the roar of the once and forever King of Britain. Upon the declaration of its sacred name, a blast of ultimate holy light was unleashed from her sword, utterly obliterating everything in its path as it made its way towards that very opening. Pouring more energy into it than usual, the platform they stood upon began to shake and tremble as the mighty beam plunged in the sky, defying what artifacts were in its path as it finally made its way towards IZANAMI. 

Closer, closer, closer, the light of destruction approached a certain gap in the sky, targeting her exposed eyes.

"WH- WHAT’S THIS, A LAST-DITCH ATTACK?!"

At first, IZANAMI was taken off-guard by the oncoming blast. However, it very quickly registered in her mind that it was racing towards her at unimaginable speeds, having taken advantage of the previous attack as a decoy. At this rate, it may very well reach her before she could close the gap. With that being the case... shouldn’t her only natural response be to crush any hopes or dreams they might’ve had in ever reaching her?!

"AS IF… 

IZANAMI SIMPLY NEEDS TO MOVE, DOESN’T SHE? HAH!"

Then, just as the beam was about to connect with her, the Sloth Immortal’s gap suddenly started to move horizontally along its suspended space. It raced far from the Excalibur’s giant beam of destruction, taking the image of Yukari’s giant eye along with it - until finally the gap stopped just outside of its blast radius. With that, the Excalibur beam continued onwards into the sky of the Origin Cosmos, disappearing and thundering far into the distance. And therefore, leaving its intended target completely unharmed.

The gap containing IZANAMI rotated in line with the beam, watching as it disappeared further and further into the distance, as if ensuring it wouldn’t suddenly turn around or reveal itself to be a tracking beam. Then finally...

"YOU WASTED YOUR FINAL NOBLE PHANTASM ON THAT?"

This was her victory. She smugly mocked her opponents, moving her gap back down to face them. Indeed, Arturia Pendragon had almost entirely exhausted herself, having depleted too much of her mana supply to activate Excalibur any more times. And as for Nanashi-

Wait.

Where did they go?

The one that fired the rapture earlier, and the one who spoke to Arturia were both gone now. Were both merely some of her clones? But in that case…

A tiny speck hung on the edge of the gap. Against the massive eye and the size of the gap itself, the figure was insignificant, yet somehow, it had managed to reach that point, hanging around for its dear life as the gap moved around. 

Izanami was right. The Excalibur was a last ditch attack. It would be easily dodged. Arturia would not have the mana to fire off another. The blast radius was exactly like what everyone saw. However, there was something that she did not count on.

That the Excalibur might be a decoy for something else.

That perhaps, rather than to blast her with it, the Excalibur was used in another way.

 

Such as, for example, being a propellant for the true last-ditch attack.

"THAT’S⸺"

By the time the Omnibound Immortal realized, it was already far too late. It was something she couldn’t have ever expected. An act of trickery, an act the original Arturia would never have done, and yet-

Putting all of her into it, Nanashi used a burst of energy from her feet as Izanami gloated to jet forth, and spent no time to spin around, her sword in hand, and stab the gigantic Omni right on her eye. It successfully made contact with the giant replica of Yukari’s own eye, plunging inwards, piercing directly into that gap. Or rather, perhaps what it was really piercing was the very inclusion of Yukari itself.

And with that, as the golden blade was soaked by the blood of the Omni, everything was complete. The connection, the fruit of her analysis, they had been fully completed.

"HOW… COULD YOU…

YOU-

YOU USELESS, 

MEANINGLESS, 

NAMELESS EXISTEEENNNCCEEEEE⸺!"

Just like that, just as Sloth IZANAMI gazed at the opponent who’d bested her with every ounce of hatred, just as the boss moved, as if to perform one final action of defiance…all the gaps across the platform burst into a radiance of pure bright light.

Light expanded and exploded, enveloping everything like a victorious embrace of energy, overwhelming Nanashi alongside the entire battlefield. The warrior found herself blown into the sky by the sheer force of what must have been an explosion of some kind, blinded from the infinitely bright energy.  

And then, for a moment, 

Just for a moment, as white overtook it all, 

everything fell still.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

When Nanashi opened her eyes again, she found herself on the floor of the Origin Cosmos’s platform. 

There were no longer any signs of the gaps. Nor any of the debris or scattered artifacts from Isamy’s Vault. Nor, for that matter, any sign of the Omnibound Immortal IZANAMI herself.

Only the calmness of the platform. And the serenity of a rainbow cosmos, surrounding everything.

Kn36RV2av-XHa5OZ_6rzcehnDfGwQGtSCqzkQMrb

 


It…

It was finally over?

【東方Piano】 Sleeping in Bhavaagra ~ Wonderful Dream 「Marasy」

The others were still unconscious nearby, soon to wake. Kazuya, Koishi, Reimu...

And there, standing before her, was the blonde-haired King.

"You fought well, Master." Arturia Pendragon greeted her calmly with closed eyes. "It seems the enemy’s Void Inclusion was successfully eliminated, forcing this aspect of her to finally vanish."

The knight was bruised and cut, her wounds only slowly regenerating, and yet her stance remained pure. By then, it seemed the Excalibur in her hands had reverted back to its original golden, illustrious state.

"To think you would use the divine blade meant to protect kingdoms, for the sole purpose of a propellant… My, I daresay few would come up with such an inane strategy. Regardless, it appears to have worked. We have stopped the assault from the Vault. We have survived, and we have emerged after the defeat of our opponent. This is, certainly, your victory."

"It would be an impossible victory without you. Without everyone else. All I can do is to disregard common sense, and do what my heart told me to do." Nanashi replied. "All my gratitude is for you, King Artoria."

They had won. Such a fact was something that the nameless girl could barely grasp. It felt like such an unrealistic dream, yet there the two of them were, with no signs of the Omni anywhere. 

Only… one other thing quickly became apparent. The fact that Artoria was gradually disappearing. Dissipating back into mana. 

As that happened, Nanashi couldn’t muster the strength to rise up. She was laying flat on her back, her eyes gazing at the stars above. She couldn’t bring herself to look at her king’s form, not at this state. Her arm reached upwards, futilely reaching for the stars above.

"This is the end, huh." She said, weakly. "This journey of a few days… it finally has ended. I felt like… I had lived through many lifetimes with this single adventure, even if I was born yesterday. Time truly is strange, isn’t it?

And yet…" Without realizing it, tears welled up from her open eyes. "I wish I could still have more time. I still couldn’t find it within myself to truly understand you. And now, you’ll be gone before I can spend any time with you."

She grasped upon that light, but it was still too far away from her. She had met and be separated from Artoria times and times again, yet it was this time where it truly dawned on her, that it would be the end. That from here on, they would walk a completely different path from each other.

And at this final moment, her frustrations, her worries, they came into the surface all at once. As Artoria Pendragon’s form dissipated, all she could do was to watch, helpless to do anything to stop her disappearance. She wanted so much more, there were so many things she wanted Artoria to guide her to, so many things she wanted to do with her, so many questions she wanted to ask,

But all that she could do was to talk.

"Even if this very body lived and breathed the entirety of your life’s memory, even after we fought together here… I still cannot reach the light you radiated." The nameless girl giggled as tears continued to fall from her eyes. "Why did someone like you choose the path that you ended up choosing? Why, despite everything, did you keep fighting? I’ve always admired you, my king, but right now I couldn’t even be sure why."

"..." 

To those words, the fading king briefly looked out at the cosmos.

"Hmm… That is certainly a difficult inquiry. If I confess, I would be lying if I stated I knew what the correct answer would be."

As if pondering what the correct truth was herself.

"There are many reasons for why I chose the path I did, and why I followed it with an unwavering will. From the time Merlin informed me I would be King of Britain, to the time I took on the quest of the Holy Grail, to my attempts to save my kingdom and my subsequent atonement as a Counter Guardian… " 

Then, she looked back towards the nameless girl.

"However, if you desire a definitive answer, then I can think of one. And only one."

 

IM1JzH1x2jQ5QncutPY0MX5WP179_i47A5-cvnbH

"My name was Arturia Pendragon. It's as simple as that." 

The king stated those words, as though it were obvious as anything else.

"Because I had such a name, because I was blessed with this name… No, because I chose this name the moment I withdrew the sword in the stone... I had the duty to uphold it with every inch of my existence. Beyond all of my ideals, my responsibilities, my people and my mistakes… Because it was something ‘Arturia Pendragon’ would do, it was something I performed to the best of my ability. Indeed. In the end, that is all there is to it. To my story, the story of King Arthur."

"...I see." The nameless girl closed her eyes, taking in and pondered about what Artoria had said. 

"And what of you… Master?"

Arturia Pendragon, or what was left of her, smiled slightly.

"I admit, I do not believe I ever had the privilege of hearing your name once in this Origin War. In addition, I learned from an old friend that not everyone wishes to be called ‘Master’."

And their eyes met.

"Being that the case… may I ask what your name is?"

"I don’t have one." It was a brief answer. She was no longer in denial about her lack of identity, but something about saying that out loud like this put a weight upon her heart. It was as if, her heart yearned for something. "I suppose you can call me Nanashi, but I held little attachment to that, as descriptive as it is. In the end, I am simply a phantom too stubborn to disappear, with nothing in my existence other than latching onto those my heart fancied."

She paused, as her words made her think more of what Artoria said before. 

Just what was her life, so far? Artoria, being who she was, had something to define herself. What she wanted to do, what future did she expect for herself. It was natural for the girl to not understand why Artoria could figure out so much about herself. Artoria was Artoria, and she was herself. 

Bit by bit, the nameless girl understood what Artoria meant. Perfectly understanding others, even someone like Koishi wouldn’t be able to achieve something so ridiculous. It was alright for her to not understand Artoria’s nobility. It was alright for her to not understand why Tenshi did all that she did. But… what was important was perhaps that she tried.

"I thought that there was something broken within myself. I couldn’t bring myself to understand you, nor I could understand the girl who gave her life to me. I thought that it is simply because of the nature of my existence." Through looking at the king’s firm expression, various memories passed within the nameless girl’s mind. "I radically changed myself over and over, attaching myself to an idea before discarding it as easily, all because deep inside, I accepted that idea. That I was empty."

But she now knew, at least. Even if she couldn’t crystallize her own existence into a singular name, even if there was nothing going on within herself… 

"Is that so." The former Counter Guardian closed her eyes again, as though wondering about something herself. 

At this point, more and more of her body was beginning to fade away. It was obvious to the both of them, that this Heroic Spirit had no more than a few minutes left in the realm.

"Then, if you are a phantom with nothing to your existence… Would you be opposed if I granted you something to keep?"

"...?" 

The nameless girl’s eyes widened, she was left speechless. Artoria’s offer caught her by surprise, and she was unable to answer her properly. Just what did she mean by it?

A gift? Would it really shape her into something? Every single fiber of her being was skeptical of the meaning of what Artoria had for her, yet she couldn’t find it in herself to refuse it.

"Very well."

While the nameless girl remained in a state of confusion, the regal knight turned directly towards her, 

"I invoke all my royal authority as Arthur, King of Britain, and all the authority allowed to me as a Counter Guardian of the Multiverse, to issue a gift."

And started walking closer and closer

"This gift shall be in the form of a decree."

And brandished her royal sword high,

"And therefore, I hereby grant this subject of mine the name⸺"

And with that…

"⸺Rin."

 

~ Rin's Melody / Ocean of Memories ~

 

...the nameless girl was no more.

She experienced the sensation of a warm steel blade tapping her shoulder. It was the single, brief, infinitesimally simple action of a tap, carrying no spell, no magical energy, no actual power. And yet it may very well have carried with it an unusual weight to this once-nameless individual.

"Cast it aside if you wish." Arturia mentioned, withdrawing her sword with a slightly apologetic smile. "I merely thought it might be a shame...if history did not know you by a name. And when I see your strength, I could think of no name more appropriate."

"I…" 

With the display of respect that Artoria presented, even if her muscles refused to budge, the girl forced herself to kneel before the king. Many thoughts overwhelmed her mind. Such a name was something that she ever, or even could, ever thought of. A name without any ties to who she was from, or who she had lived her life with so far. A new name, free from any attachment, filled with possibilities.

It was terrifying.

Just thinking about it made her shiver. She didn’t have a home, nor she knew what the future that name will bring to her.

But…

"I… I will accept this gift you have bestowed upon me, my liege." She spoke those words, casting aside any of the remaining doubt and hesitation within her heart. "This gift of a name, it is truly something precious. I shall live on with this name until the moment I draw my last breath."

Not because it was a gift from the king. Not because she wanted to emulate the king, or Tenshi. She had believed so far that she was empty, but that was nonsense. She was alive. She had done many things, things that nobody else would do. This naivety, this lack of common sense, this flame of determination that burned within her, it was all hers. 

She moved forward because she existed. And as long as she existed, she would continue moving forward, no matter how scary the future would be.

She existed as herself, and by accepting this name, she made her final affirmation.

"Then I am glad." 

With a pleased, satisfied nod, Arturia Pendragon turned away. 

"If I could have you pass on one message, once this is over... Please tell Alexander ‘Thank you. I will be just fine.’ It is due to him that I may part with you all, knowing peace in my heart. The others will be fine without me."

Her very form was disintegrating into golden wisps. 

"I do not know what awaits your future from this point forth, but I believe you hold the determination to face it. Your identity is your own, your strength is your own. And should you ever find yourself in doubt… Let your name guide you."

And so, no longer prolonged, the end arrived at long last.

 

"Now then, it appears this is it. 

I bid you good luck in the journeys to come."

Egv-kGctE4LvISVonDyXWOp8P2tEZyF0b3okmSwA

 

"It has been an honour serving by your side… 

Rin."

.

.

.

.

.

And in the next moment, the King of Knights was gone.

"And thank you, for granting me life."

By that point, only she was able to hear those words. But it was alright. She was done crying. Pushed by the flames within herself, she forced herself to stand. Her allies were showing signs of waking up. She would need to be there, to show her gratitude to them, to tell them that they had won.

There were so many things that she couldn’t understand well yet. Love, hate, respect, adoration, sadness… what separated them from one another? But, she was fine not knowing for now. She had a lifetime to figure out their meaning for herself. After all, the end of this story would not be the end for her.

No, this was her beginning.

Wiping out any tears left from her eyes, Rin approached her allies with the widest smile she could manage.

---

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---

Edited by Merry Nightmare

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FINAL BATTLE

 


SUBJECTS OF PHANTOM vs ENVY IZANAMI

Origin Cosmos

Summoning all four Keyblades, Aetos flew off towards IZANAMI, while Ariel began to fill the entire area with more water, concentrating it in a spiral around IZANAMI. 

They were finally ready to finish this.

Meanwhile, Envy IZANAMI observed their approach as it came closer and closer, well aware of the current situation she was in. Even putting aside Aetos’s incoming assault and Ariel’s surrounding water, the overall situation was turning sour. The other six IZANAMIs had been cut off from Void Inclusion. Already, she could sense that multiple of the IZANAMIs had been defeated, even Sloth, who should’ve been unstoppable with the Yukari Inclusion they’d been granted. Not only that, but she’d even lost connection to the Key of Origin somehow, as if something had happened to it. In other words, her intended final backup plan had been negated. Her dreams had been negated. 

The situation was growing more dire by the second, and without the power of an Inclusion of her own to hold onto, the battle may already be lost. Countering this might just be impossible…

"...IS WHAT YOU’D LIKE TO THINK, BUT!"

As Aetos’s assault closed in on the Omnibound Immortal, what could only be described as a spatial, galactic-themed set of barriers burst from her body, pushing them back. Even if everything else had been lost, at least she still had access to Isamy’s own abilities. Manipulating distortions, tearing space apart, and actively generating dark matter enabled her to form this. Creating something of this size, at this speed, would rather harshly drain her of energy, but it couldn’t be helped. Together, the barriers quickly extended outwards, before finally combining into an orb to envelop her whole form, sealing shut before either Aetos or the torrent of water could harm her. 

With that, a spatial orb of dark matter had now formed around Envy IZANAMI. It remained suspended in midair, doing its best to absorb being assaulted.. Perhaps this was a last-ditch effort to protect herself, or perhaps their enemy was biding time to think of a counterattack.

Aetos flew around Izanami, assessing her new barrier. One Keyblade launched a light Fire spell, but it was easily absorbed by the barrier. Trying to break through the barrier likely wasn’t going to work.

Arthur had to admit, he was impressed. He was only beginning to learn Reflect magic himself, and yet Izanami had set up a magnificent barrier. At the very least, it meant she must have been desperate, but there was still no time to waste.

"If we can’t get through the barrier," Sora said through Aetos, "We’ll just have to drag Izanami out of there!"

Two Keyblades launched towards the barrier, one glowing lavender and the other silver. The Keyblades hovered on the left and right of Izanami, and began to unleash their magic. The lavender light released the intense force of Graviga, while the silver light created Magnega. The two spells twisted and pulled on the barrier, warping the dark matter. Wisps of light flowed from the Keyblades, slowly reaching towards each other. As the lights coallesced, the two spells melded into one: Transcendence.

A shockwave resonated from Izanami’s barrier. Even Aetos had to start flying away to avoid the pull of Transcendence’s power. Soon, Izanami’s barrier was itself encased within the spell, threatening to unravel her last line of defense.

"STOP THAT! HEY, STOP THAT!"

Aetos heard a frustrated cry from within as the Magnega and Graviga worked in synchronization, and as, slowly but surely, that defense was indeed being unravelled. The dark matter of the barrier gradually warped, and despite being impenetrable, one thing it wasn’t was immune to magic. From within, they could feel an intense pull from IZANAMI, as she simultaneously attempted to maintain the barrier and prevent herself from being removed. As the seconds went by, and the magical tug of war advanced on, what finally gave way was a small gap, a breach in the barrier, widening more and more until finally-

"THIS IS…!"

The sight of her giant, distorted form was ultimately ripped out from the dark matter as a result of the mass Transcendance. By this point, the remaining warriors would see that her form was now beginning to break down for some reason, with little pieces and wisps breaking off from her body, even fading away. 

"YOU DON’T KNOW WHEN TO QUIT, DO YOU? DO YOU DO YOU DO YOU DO YOU?!"

Now exposed back in the Origin Cosmos, IZANAMI’s eyes fixated itself directly on Aetos with a look of hatred.

Aetos took their remaining two Keyblades - Arthur and Eria’s - and held them together. The Keyblades began to morph, melding together. The bodies of the Keyblades began to curve, and once they had settled, what was once two Keyblades was now a single gold and blue bow.

Aetos pulled the bow’s string, and in Arthur’s voice said, "I’m a little stubborn that way. No matter how much my enemies try, I simply refuse to die. I have you to thank for that."

As Aetos drew the string back, a golden arrow formed in their grip. With a light smirk, Arthur added, "This is goodbye, Izanami."

And with that, IZANAMI’s eyes widened.

"W- WAIT⸻"

The arrow fired. A brilliant rainbow trail followed the arrow in its path, until the arrow finally pierced through Izanami, right between her eyes. 

And just like that… it connected

It was a simple, pure, and effective strategy. The Omnibound Immortal’s head was penetrated clean through, before she could even make any attempt at a counter. The singular arrow not only penetrated through her body, but her very essence, her soul. After all, to assume one’s true form as an Omnibound Immortal was also to leave oneself at their most vulnerable, and Isamy Maximus had done just this, knowing all the risks. Her body started to become enveloped in energy, gradually disintegrating into light.

Together with the other six, this was certainly her loss. And this would be her en

"NO…

NO, NO, NO, IF IZANAMI IS GOING, THEN

SHE...WON’T GO ALONE!!!"

Suddenly, just as it seemed the ever-stubborn Envy Izanami was about to meet her ultimate conclusion, her entire body burst into a singular, gigantic hand of shadows, SHOOTING OUT TOWARDS AETOS⸺ 

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Final World

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A space of infinite emptiness and serenity. 

A surface reflecting an infinite blue clear sky.

A realm that did not feel as though it were part of Origin in any way. This was the place in which Arthur and Eria suddenly found themselves⸺alone. It didn’t feel like they’d been transported, or teleported, or forcefully moved, or even defused for that matter. But rather, it was more like the duo had naturally found themselves here.

Just… what had happened?

~ The Final World ~

"Where are we?" Eria asked. "Where are the others?"

Arthur and Eria drew their Keyblades. They were no longer a part of Aetos. If Izanami had yet another trick up her sleeve, it would have to come down to just the two of them.

"MirageGaogamon! Sora!" Arthur called.

"Gagagigo! Kairi!" Eria added more quietly, almost as a whisper, "Ariel."

Nothing. They were answered only with silence.

...until, a short distance away from them, another entity materialized. 

And yet, it wasn’t exactly one they recognised.

 

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Rather, it was a plain-looking young girl with dark brown hair and turquoise eyes, dressed in some kind of school uniform as she stood amidst the strange realm. She sipped from what appeared to be a coffee cup, as she watched the two with the most bored expression one could ever see on a human.

"Sorry. It’s...just us, I’m afraid." The girl remarked at the two. Her eyes moved down to their Keyblades for a moment, before sipping from her cup again. "You should probably give up on calling them. They’re not gonna hear you. Nobody is, really."

"Who are you?" Arthur asked. "Are you still Izanami, or something else?" He gripped his Keyblade, deciding whether to hear this girl out, or, if she was Izanami, make absolutely sure she was finally dead.

Eria paced around the girl, keeping an eye on her, but also trying to understand this place. "There has to be a way out."

"Hmmm… I mean, I guess escape isn’t impossible. I used to come and go all the time. It’s quite a nice place once you get used to it." She responded, both coldly and casually, her eyes moving up to the sky. There was a bizarre emptiness in her eyes. "But you guys? That’s a harder question. See, what that kid out there did was what you’d call ‘cheating’. She tried to take you all to the Shadow Realm, drag as many down as possible before her existence ceased to be. But instead, you ended up here. Origin’s funny like that."

The girl briefly glanced here and there. "Looks like she only got you as well. Either the rest got lucky, or she was gunning real hard for you two. Either way, Arthur, Eria, I don’t exactly have good news."

Then, the enigmatic, inexplicable female tossed her cup aside. It seemed to vanish into thin air… 

Just as their hopes when she said what she did next.

"To put it another way… As far as the warriors up there are concerned, the both of you just died."

Arthur and Eria froze. Arthur put his hand to his chest. "No. Didn’t you hear what I said? I refuse to die! Not now. Not like this..."

Eria fell to her knees. She had to tell herself that this girl must be lying. This couldn’t be the afterlife. They couldn’t have simply… died. Not like that. It all felt so pointless. Eria burst into tears. Arthur screamed.

"Do you know… if Izanami is dead?" Mustering what little she could say, Eria neeeded to know that they had succeeded, even if it had cost them their loves, but Eria wasn’t sure if she actually wanted to know the answer. If there was even the slightest chance that Izanami was still alive, what could Eria hope for? Perhaps the others could use the Door to wish Arthur and her back.

Eria tried to feel her heartbeat, or feel any sensation that could convince her was she still alive. Unfortunately, there was no such heartbeat. Even though her mind and body were clearly there, functioning, conscious and aware, it was almost like she’d been reduced to a simple existence...

"What, the kid? Yeah, don’t worry. They’re taken care of." 

The enigma responded simply, as matter-of-fact.

"Izanami might’ve had a chance of persisting if they didn’t use their true form, but that risk just comes with being an Omni. You wanna play with space and time? You put your life on the line. Stuff like that. Meanwhile, Prometheus was too much of a coward to use it unless he absolutely had to… Oh well." She shrugged, before turning back to the duo. "Anyway, you’ll be fine. Looks like all seven of the kid’s aspects have successfully been eliminated. Plus, thanks to Alister, you won’t be getting any nasty last-minute reveals either. They took care of her core."

Even though this girl resembled an ordinary highschooler in practically every way, there was just something about her that seemed somehow, inherently, intrinsically off. Was it the empty look on her face, or was it the casual manner in which she spoke of otherwise-groundbreaking information? Whatever the case, she gave them the answer they wanted to hear most.

"In other words…Omnibound Immortal Izanami is out of the picture. For good."

Arthur relaxed a little. Izanami was finally dead. But it only meant so much. He and Eria were still dead. There had to be a way he to change that. If there was any chance it wasn’t too late, maybe they could both get out of here. They had to get their lives back.

Why were they here, in this specific realm? There was so much he didn’t understand about this girl, and what her presence her was supposed to mean. "Hang on. You keep calling Izanami a ‘kid’. You also seem to know some stuff about what it means to be an Omni."

"Please, just tell us who you are," Eria asked. "At least so we know you’re not our enemy."

"Still haven’t figured it out? That’s a pain."

Then, with another bored shrug and a sigh, 

"Fine, I’ll play along."

the enigma took a step closer to the duo.

"Being real for a sec, I don’t really have a name to call my own. What I do have is a bunch of useless titles... though it doesn’t take a genius to give one you’d recognise."

And smiled slightly.

 

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~ ??? ~

"Hi.͞ 

I'́m the͞ ‘̴One Ma͜s̡t̕e̴r’."

 

As if it were as simple as that.

As if it were as obvious as that.

As if it were the most natural thing in the world, the girl introduced herself as the One Master.

A wave of cold washed over Arthur and Eria. The One Master. This girl could have been anyone else. Maybe some lingering remnant of Isamy, or even Protheus. Nearly anybody else would have been better.

But this girl was behind everything. Neither Protheus nor Isamy would have even existed if it weren’t for her.

Arthur raised his Keyblade. "So it’s you. All of this is your fault."

"Yup." The apparent One Master herself didn’t even deny it.

"If it’s really you, how are you still here? Chardonnay told me that Protheus killed you."

"Huh? Oh yeah... I guess there was an incident where Prometheus took me out of the game." In response to that, the girl just shrugged. "Didn’t really die, it was more like...getting grounded, you know? Spent a few million years stuck in an orb. Once in a blue moon, I’d get visitors. I’d point people to the Key. Fun things would happen. You know, the usual."

While rattling off such crazy facts like they were mundane things, she waved her hand, and another coffee cup suddenly materialized in it. "Prometheus’s friends were cool, but they weren’t that cool, you know? After all… the only one who can kill me is me."

The girl proceeded to hold her left hand out. Two more coffee cups inexplicably appeared on it, one perfectly balanced above the other.

"Anyway, want something to drink?" Before holding the balanced tower of cups to the couple.

Arthur and Eria reluctantly took the cups. Both felt hot in their hands, as if they’d been filled with fresh coffee. A quick look would reveal they appear to contain simple black coffee, in fact, with gentle waves of steam emanating outwards.

"Well, seeing as you’ll probably spend eternity here, slowly fade away in the Final World, all that… If you’ve got any other questions, ask away. I guess."

"With all the power you have," said Eria, "There has to be some way you can bring us back to life."

Arthur glared. "Eria, are you seriously asking her to help us?"

"I don’t want to either, but what other choice do we have?"

"Yup. I can do that." The One Master simply confirmed, responding to the inquiry. 

Once again, the One Master sipped from her own drink. Even though there was no aura of power surrounding her, there was a different kind of sensation her existence appeared to emanate⸻specifically, a pure, unadulterated sense of boredom.

"But that would be boring. So I won’t."

As those words left her mouth, she looked back at the duo with a bit of amusement... before her eyes reverted back to their usual, bored state.

"Of course not," Arthur muttered. He set his drink on the floor.

Eria pursed her lips. "Let’s be careful about this. I can understand if it’s boring to you. You resurrect us, we go back to our friends, and then what? Looking around here, we’re probably the first people to keep you company in… a long time, I assume. So of course you won’t want us to leave when we just got here."

"Shoot. Looks like I’ve been figured out." At that, the girl, the source of absolutely everything that went wrong in the multiverse, just chucked slightly. "Yeah, pretty much. I mean, it’s fun to watch from time to time. I’m not really restrained to the orb anymore, got to possess a guardian body for a bit. But, like… you know that feeling when you just wanna sit back and chill? And watch what happens to reality? It’s kinda like that."

Even now, she was still no more distinguishable than any other ordinary schoolgirl. For a moment, she swayed the liquid in her coffee to and fro, as if entertaining herself with its movement and sensation. "My essence got transferred from Prometheus to Izanami, so between this and that, I’d like to think I’ve had a nice view of what’s been going on. And uh, what did Chardonnay call it again? The End of Darkness? Fancy name. Yeah, that’s worked out pretty well. I got the short stick, but everything else went exactly according to plan."

The unusually mundane One Master proceeded to sit down on the floor for a bit. 

"So instead of worrying about weird things like staying alive and paying bills and trusting others… why not sit back with me?"

"Because we have so much more left to do," Arthur answered. "I have to make things right. I need to know that people can trust me."

Eria looked at her hand. Megiddo’s mark was still there, but it had still hardened into a crystalline white. "Even if Izanami is dead, I know already that this won’t be the last crisis the multiverse has to endure. I still have a purpose in this. Megiddo chose me, but I have to stop him. I can’t bear to leave this fight to anyone else."

"Oh yeah. Megiddo. He’s cool too." Hearing that name, the One Master sipped from her coffee cup again. "Got some ambitious plans. The power to follow through with it. Looking forward to what he’s gonna do. And sure, if you wanna take it upon yourself to fight him, that could be interesting… Shame you’re dead though."

And proceeded to down the cup in one sudden, final gulp. The bizarre entity tossed it away and, once again, it vanished into nothingness.

The One Master sat back. Swayed to and fro. She waited for the both of them to provide a response, glancing at them every now and again, but the situation didn’t really need to be said. Under any circumstances, these two were just that unlikely to change their minds.

"Well, if you’re both gonna stay persistently boring about this for the next seven, seventy years or so, then I may as well make things interesting again…"

After that, she started waving over the duo.

"Mind coming a little closer, Arthur, Eria?"

Arthur and Eria shared a look, but they both slowly approached the One Master together.

"So. If you wanna live that badly, return to your friends, all that jazz..."

 

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"One of you… 

Volu̡nt́e̵eŕ t̛o̢ ̸b͘e̛ m̶y ne̛x̶t͢ ̢O͠m̧ni.̛"

 

~ Face My Fears ~

Thus, the One Master - the very source of the two beings who caused all this suffering - did give them such an offer.

"You know the drill. Inherit my essence, my ‘Omni Principle’. Get your soul bound. Become immortal. Do fun things around the multiverse, and follow your desires for as long as you stubbornly exist… You’ll sacrifice your humanity, sure. Probably get to see all your friends grow old and die. Might even go off the deep end. I mean, you didn’t forget what happened to the others yet, right?"

And reached out her hand.

"But in exchange, you get the privilege of enjoying this reality firsthand. Together with your partner, you’ll return back to life, see out the conclusion of the Origin War, and then some. Meanwhile, I get to be entertained, through your eyes and experiences..."

And smiled slightly.

"The fact that I can’t even begin to predict what either of you would do with it… Yeah. That could be fun. How about it?"

There was no need to keep any secrets behind what being an Omnibound Immortal meant, since more than anyone else, these two had learned enough information to understand exactly what it would mean to become one. They witnessed firsthand what the power had done to Protheus and Isamy, how it consumed them, and how they met their ends. But it might just be, precisely because they held such information, why these two entities were most qualified to answer it.

With simple amusement and intrigue in her expression, the all-powerful schoolgirl sat back. Observing them, giving them time to absorb this offer, and of course, come to an ultimate decision. 

"All we want is to live," Arthur answered. "We can just sit here for a little, and wait for our friends to open the Door and wish us back to life. Your Omnis are dead, so that means your Principle is worthless now. Why should we take their place?"

At that, the One Master’s amused expression didn’t cease for even a moment. "Yeah, you’re right. They’d certainly do that...if they remembered either of you ever existed."

She simply continued to sit back, looking to wrack her brain a little as she gave them the answer they wanted.

"Hmm… How should I put this… There’s a lot of things that come with being an existence. Your soul, your body, your mind. But the memories others have of you? That’s part of your existence too, you know. The way individuals persist long after death is by way of others remembering them. And by entering the Pathway to Origin, by coming all the way here and challenging IZANAMI, you opted to put all of those precious things at risk."

"Not to mention the Key still needs to be used. The Door still needs to be opened. I imagine Avatar Resolution will help smoothen the process along, but the decision that comes with it will be up to the survivors. So you know, you’ve got that to worry about too. Depending on the type of wish they make, they might just miss out on you guys."

"Ah… But that’s all complicated and that’s all uncertain. Maybe you wanna take the risk, right? I get it, I get it. You guys want a real answer to your question. Why you’d ought to take their place. It’s simple, really."

Her smile dropped, and the empty-eyed dark god met both of their looks dead on. Relaying yet another unpleasant truth.

"If one of you won’t entertain me, I’ll find someone who can. That’s just how it is."

 

~Don’t Think Twice~


Only two options stood before them. They could wait here, and take a chance that their allies could restore them. The One Master was warning them about the risks, but how likely was it that they would not be restored by the wish? It wasn’t an impossibility, but it also wasn’t an absolute guarantee.

On the other hand, one of them could serve the One Master. Forever. Neither of them wanted to believe they could end up like Protheus or Izanami, but they had both experienced so much in just the past few days alone, and that had already done plenty to change what they thought of themselves. Given a millennium or two, it was entirely possible they could start their own Origin War, if they were pushed to that point. In fact, the One Master was counting on it.

"So there will always be an Omni," Arthur realized. "It was never going to end with either of them."

Arthur tightened his grip on his Keyblade, but Eria could see his hand shaking. "I’ve already been chosen by Megiddo," Eria said. She put a hand on Arthur’s shoulder, trying to help him relax. Or maybe she needed the assurance herself.

Arthur put his free hand over hers, and looked at her. "That’s why you shouldn’t do it," he said.

"I know. The power that comes with being an Omni… it could be enough to help me face him head-on, but that’s only thinking in the short term. After that? I’d still be bound to her. Either way, I’m a pawn, and I’d only be trading one master for another."

"Which is why I-"

"No," Eria said quickly. "Don’t you dare try to finish that thought. Listen to me, Arthur. You were right, earlier. I thought if one of us could become an Omni, we could stop Izanami. But it wouldn’t have made a difference. You keep telling me that you want to go back home and have a normal life. You’ve gone from wanting to erase your gods, to at least tolerating them. From everything you’ve told me, and all we’ve been through, accepting even that much is a sign of how much you’ve changed. And you say you still have more you want to do. If you become her Omni, you would just be giving up on your only chance to make everything right. Don’t take her deal, just because you think it means saving both of us."

Arthur took a deep breath. "You’re right," he admitted. "And I’m sorry if I was judging you for it before. It would be stupid and reckless to think filling that just their role would mean another one can’t come along later."

"Then what do you think we should do?"

Arthur made a fist. "I think… I think you know what it is I’d really want to do. I just want to be sure you’re up for it."

Eria nodded. "I know." She held her Keyblade next to Arthur’s. "And I am. One way or another, it all ends with her, right?"

"Then I guess there’s only one thing left to do."

Eria and Arthur raised the Keyblades side by side, pointing them towards the One Master.

"Sorry," Arthur said.

Eria smirked. "But our answer is no."

And together, they fired a massive Blizzaga straight at the One Master⸺

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.

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~The Decisive Battle~

 

"It could’ve been so easy…

...b́u͡t͜ ̵you̕'͞ve ̨çh҉o̡se̸n͠ ỳou̷r̀ ͏f̧a͢t҉es.."

 

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For a brief moment, the feminine existence was wrapped in a cloak of light and shadows, chaos and entropy. When it emerged, her appearance didn’t appear to have changed much⸺her hair had been tied up into twintails, having turned a similar turquoise colour to that of Isamy, and there were mysterious bandages present on her body. Yet, more than the slight aesthetic change, was the utterly overwhelming aura they suddenly felt emanate from her body. It wasn’t an evil aura, nor an aura of darkness, but rather, an aura that permeated nothing but absolute, pure apathy, sweeping across the whole Final World. Apathy towards their lives. Apathy towards their existence. And apathy threatening to render their very existence null.

If there were any doubts that this entity could be the One Master, those had long since been vanquished. The scale of this power was something else entirely.

"Fine. Let’s play… Arthur. Eria."

Then, in a flash of light, what appeared to be a second, pitch-black Blizzaga fired outwards from the sky, intercepting and negating their spell entirely. At the same time, the girl raised a single finger from her hand.

"One hit. 

Land one hit on me... and you can get your ‘happy ending’. Your desired outcome. Your whatever.

You know what? No more Omnis neither."

With that absolute statement, the girl took one step closer.

"But I’ll warn you⸺"

And with a click of her fingers, the sky above them suddenly went black...

"I don’t care enough about you guys to play nice."

No. It hadn’t turned black. Instead, it had been blotted out by countless sudden spells, shooting closer, and closer, and closer, transforming into a trail of what could only be a hundred, maybe even a thousand shadow replicas of the very same Blizzaga spell they’d just cast. An endless number of black ice started to scatter and part ways, before proceeding to rain down against Arthur and Eria’s positions

Eria summoned a full glacier in an instant, blocking much of the black ice, but the seemingly endless ice kept coming. It began to wear through her glacier, and she needed to reinforce it. Arthur cast a Reflega to aid, but their defenses could only withstand so much. They couldn’t stay on the defensive for long. Even if the One Master was willing to accept just one hit, they knew it would not be easy. At best, they would only have one shot, and it would have to count.

Standing not far away, the girl crossed her arms as she simply watched in boredom, observing as the thousand Shadow Blizzagas gradually pelted and wilted away at the defenses of the two lifeforms facing her. 

"I know your limits, you know? I know everything about you. For mid-tier guys like you, this is really a waste of time..."

The One Master remarked with a casual sigh. 

Then, just as it seemed as though the glacier was finally going to endure the last of the black ice, she simply skipped forward a step, raised her hand and appeared to flick something towards the duo. Neither of them knew what she’d done until the remains of the Glacier were suddenly struck by a vast, dark, mirror-like force⸺an offensive, fired Shadow Reflega, expanding out from the One Master’s body⸺threatening to slam their very own defensive structure into themselves.

"Break!" Arthur called out, releasing his Reflega, and the two barriers collided with each other, both shattering in a shockwave, pushing Arthur and Eria back.

Arthur stood up as quickly as he could. "I’ll go left, you go right."

Eria nodded, and the two ran. However, the rain of Shadow Blizzagas seemed to follow their movements. Any false move would end with them impaled on an icicle.

Arthur wished there was something he could do, but he could feel that the power that Itsu had given him before had faded. Even if he still had it, though, he wasn’t sure he would be able to pull off another attack like the beam of light he had hit Izanami with before. Other demigods would never be able to pull off something like that. Even the Keyblade didn’t seem capable of something like that, at least not in his hands. He was sure that his father had somehow helped him before, but this place seemed too far out of his reach, even for a god.

The One Master had said that Izanami tried to drag and pull them into the Shadow Realm. The Shadow Realm was supposed to have been made from the One Master’s own body. Whether Izanami realized it or not, it started to make sense that she had brought them before the One Master herself.

The One Master was right about the two of them being "mid-tier". There would be no Aetos. Even against the Madara, Protheus, or Izanami, each of them had extremely unique weaknesses that only Arthur and Eria could directly exploit. He could not count on being so lucky this time.

Eria called forth a trail of ice to carry her through the air. If she tried any big attacks, the One Master would just repel her with something equally as powerful. Was there a chance they could catch her off guard? Possibly, but counting on that was not something she could build a plan around.

Within the span of a few minutes, the utter overwhelming odds the duo were up against here must have become clear. At this rate, even getting close may well be a next-to-impossible challenge, let alone actually landing a single hit on the One Master.

While the Water Charmer struggled to her utmost, being carried through the air by ice, the as-of-yet-untouched One Master just watched. Turning away from Arthur to observe Eria, and remarking something to themselves.

"Dull. Do something more… fun."

On the word fun, they synchronized it with a single wave from their arm, aimed at the escaping Charmer. Just like that, a wide array shadowy pellets of ice were unleashed, resembling the ones Eria herself had summoned…rushing to bombard the trail as she made her way through them!

Eria needed to take a risk. Shadows or not, they were still a form of ice. She made a second trail just below hers, and jumped onto it. Continuing on her path, she looked back at the pellets, and attempted to extend her influence towards them, hoping to pull them away. And yet, even though it should’ve perfectly worked in theory, her powers failed to register them for some reason. It wasn’t like LERNA’s sea, or the Waters of Remembrance, where a formula still existed to be figured out, and where she could still discern how to manipulate them. It seemed like they were some kind of alternate existence altogether, only behaving like ice in every possible way. To put it another way, it was rather like they were shadow mimicries. Thus, a piece of Shadow Ice ended up rocketing her into the air as punishment, with others in quick pursuit.

Meanwhile, Arthur tried to get close behind the One Master. No spells, he told himself. Even if she wasn’t the Madara, there was still one trick he remembered from their battle. The Madara replicated whatever spells or abilities they had thrown at it, and made them its own. Was the One Master doing something similar? It didn’t seem likely, but it was worth testing. He ran up to the One Master, and swung at her back.

As he attempted this, the One Master turned around as if having expected this and⸺much to his surprise, proceeded to splash a cup of hot coffee in his face! 

Using the burning liquid as a distraction, letting the cup drop to the floor and disappear, the girl took a few simple, bored steps back. Thus far, she had shown no signs of abnormal reflexes, enhanced strength, or physically superhuman abilities. In addition, aside from the ever-replaceable coffee cup, it seemed like all she’d been doing was reproducing pitch-black, shadow versions of their spells… 

Arthur wiped the coffee from his face, but the heat still stung. Eria was standing up, recovering from being knocked down. They were both testing their limits, and it didn’t help that, despite the One Master’s threats, she still wasn’t even close to showing off their full power.

"Too hot for you, huh?"

Before either of them could perform another action, the seemingly-limitless One Master clicked her fingers. From there, just where the remaining hot coffee liquid had splashed onto the floor in front of Arthur, they promptly froze and coalesced into a miniature black trail of ice, mimicking the shape of Eria’s second trail exactly... before firing at the boy from his feet!

Arthur stepped back and slice through the black ice. Everything they did was mixed with shadow. Even if he couldn’t use something overly powerful, there still had some other power he had inherited from his father that could help him. Something that couldn’t simply be duplicated with extra shadow flavoring.

Blind them in a flash of light? No, that would be easy to turn back on him. 

"Well?" The One Master crossed her arms from a short distance away, tilting her head as she observed him take his time to think. Despite the sheer level of odds Arthur and Eria were up against, terrifyingly enough, the girl just looked like she was close to a yawn in comparison.

Arthur just kept swinging, ducking and dodging in case they had something more to throw at him. There had to be a trick, he was sure of it. Something that he was missing.

Eria ran in as well. With each swing of her Keyblade, its arc would have behind a trail of water. The water would act on its own, trying to splash against the One Master, though freezing at just the last moment before contact. Even just one hit was all either of them would need.

Arthur’s eyes lit up. All he could do was swing without any real plan besides hit them. "What are you holding back?" he asked. "Copying our attacks, and throwing around coffee? You must have something more. Something that made the Omnis so powerful."

In response, the One Master just tilted her head even more, her boredom only appearing to grow and grow. Almost as if the answer should’ve been obvious. 

"If you can’t see it with your own eyes… That’s your problem, not mine."

She remained in place, watching as the arcs of water honed in on herself at first. Then, once they got close⸺all of a sudden, two exact replicas of Eria’s Leviathan Keyblade, both pitch-black, materialized in the One Master’s left and right hands respectively. She proceeded to casually swing them at the oncoming torrents, and far larger, superior arcs of ice were unleashed outwards. Each one smashed through Eria’s ice attacks, thrusting the shards back outwards through sheer force, and causing the remainders of black ice to come shooting back at the Charmer’s own position. The One Master swung back as many times as Eria did, though noticeably, she jumped out of the way for the last wave and turned her last swing towards Arthur. Just like that, a giant arc of water fired straight at him, freezing into a horde of smaller black icicles as they came close.

Eria summoned a sheet of ice over Arthur, blocking the icicles just in time. Arthur moved past the ice. Meanwhile, the One Master wasn’t about to give them a break. She appeared to desummon her Keyblades, stretched her arm back, and a replicating sheet of black ice materialized above her hand. It proceeded to start spinning, taking advantage of its thin nature, before she finally launched it at the duo to cut them in half.

As much as he hated to do it, fighting with magic was Arthur’s only option. He cast a small Fire spell, just enough to counter any more ice she would summon. As he did so, he could feel some power stirring in his Keyblade. He thought of the bow he had used against Izanami. If he could use something like that again, that might be enough.

Eria summoned a wall of ice in front of herself, just thick enough to block the One Master’s own ice. Absorbing the flames, the spinning shadow sheet proceeded to slice into the wall before finally losing momentum, stopping just short of her. Her own Keyblade began to hum as well, and it began to glow turquoise.

"Oh." Opposing them, the One Master seemed to pause a bit as she glanced at their faces, before simply shrugging and clicking her fingers again.

Then⸺from the skies, both Arthur and Eria noticed as a horizontally-positioned black wall of ice began to crash down towards their positions, threatening to flatten them.

Arthur and Eria ran away, looking at the shadow at their feet until they were sure they were out of the way. At the very last second, they each dodged and rolled out of the way, the ice shattering on the ground just behind them. Unable to fully prepare their own wards in time, many of the shards ended up cutting through their skin, leaving small lines of blood all over the duo. In just a short span of time, both of the warriors appear to have been reduced to a state of dishevelment, just trying to stay alive.

"Okay," Eria said. "Copying everything I do has gotten really old."

Arthur sighed. "To be fair, you’ve got the better powers to copy. I’m not sure this is going to really be a puzzle boss for us, though."

"Puzzle boss, huh?" At that, the One Master scratched her head from across the Final World, now a great distance away again thanks to their running. "Well… You’re the ones who challenged me. If you wanna complain, that’s just too bad."

Through a flick of her hand, black flames materialized above it. But this time, instead of being fired or launched, the Shadow Fire simply levitated by her side. With it next to her, the entity proceeded to advance, slowly walking over towards where Eria and Arthur had ran off, step by step. 

"Not my fault you’re so limited.

Pener was. Isabel was, Amy was. All of you are, really."

It would likely take a while for her to reach them, and she certainly didn’t appear to be in a rush. 

"Why is it so difficult to break free from your limitations?"

Her aura of apathy followed her with every step she took.

"Because you’re so limited, you’re cursed to live dull lives.

Because you’re so limited, you’ll never lay a finger on me.

And because you’re so limited, you’ve been forgotten by reality.

That’s just the way it is, you know?"

Finally, the One Master stopped, a mere ten meters away from the duo. The single ball of pitch-black flames continued to burn in her hands threateningly, as if demonstrating the fact that she could unleash it at them at any given moment.

"Forgotten by reality?" Arthur repeated, watching the black flames. "What about you? How many people even know who are you anymore? Protheus and Izanami remembered you. So did Itsu. But now all of them are gone. All that’s left is Chardonnay. Maybe some of those Guardians from the Throne of Heroes, but how many of them would go around and spread your gospel?"

"Are you sure you only need an Omni for entertainment?" Eria asked. "Whether they want to or not, it sounds like they serve to extend your influence on reality. Without them, the only thing you have is this place. You need them to do anything meaningful to make a difference, or else you’re irrelevant. You can kill us any time you want, but why take the risk? Or maybe… maybe you’re just as afraid of being forgotten yourself."

". . . . ."

At those words, the One Master stared at the two of them for a moment. The level of her apathy was such that it was impossible to decipher what this entity could be thinking, and yet, something about what they’d said certainly gave her pause.

"Not bad. You’re almost there…"

Then, she smiled. Just a tiny bit, as if showing the faintest hint of amusement amidst this world-turned-battlefield.

"Yup. Most of that’s not wrong.

As long as I’ve got an Omnibound Immortal running around, you could say my ego continues to remain in existence. That’s how I get to stay entertained."

"But Isamy and Protheus are both dead!" Eria said. "You don’t have an Immortal to keep you tethered!"

Arthur’s eyes widened. "No. She does." He had kept thinking so much about just the two Omnis that had caused this whole war, that he had forgotten what Itsu had warned them about.

"Protheus’s son," Arthur realized. "Minerva Clearstream. It’s him, isn’t it?"

At the mention of that name, the One Master seemed to pause again, turning to stare blankly at the demigod…before her smile grew ever so slightly, as if bemused by this theory.

"It’s just like I said. If you don’t entertain me, I’ll find someone who can. Unlike the two of you, Minerva’s desired this for quite some time… Sadly, the process did get interrupted with Izanami’s fall. Maybe I underestimated Alister."

And with a shrug, she took one step closer.

"Still, it’s because the kid gave up her Omni Principle that you had the privilege of being offered it."

Then another step closer.

"But let’s be real. You were never going to agree, simply because it’s not in your character to do so. I hoped for a miracle, and it did not happen."

Then yet another step closer.

"You wanna know the truth? I am an existence tethered by memories. That’s my true nature, and the only nature I have.

Omnibound to nostalgia.

Yes, I suppose being forgotten may threaten that⸺"

And finally, held her ball of black fire high.

"You’re simply under one mistake.

I don’t really care if that happens."

~ ROLLING GIRL ~

"If I’m forgotten, if I cease to exist, if I die… Maybe that, too, would be entertaining."

With a throw of her hand, the small Shadow Fire burst into a inferno of black flames. Taking the form of a colossal serpentine figure, it circled into the sky of the Final World briefly, before ultimately diving back at Arthur and Eria with relentless abandon.

Their Keyblades continued to glow, until soon, the light began to overwhelm them. Arthur’s Keyblade transformed into a crossbow, while Eria’s became a trident. Eria threw her Keyblade, and a torrent of crystal-white water shot towards the One Master. Arthur pulled the trigger on his crossbow, and a golden arrow, much like the one he had shot at Izanami before, followed the path of the water. The arrow curved in its path, spiraling around the water, until finally the water, light, and flame all collided at once, exploding into the sky above Arthur and Eria.

"Now, find your resolve.

Unless you prove your journey was worth the hassle, unless you put absolutely everything on the line for your desires, this wouldn’t be very fun.

Isn’t that right… Arthur? Eria?"

As a brilliant explosion of energy filled the Final World, the One Master herself stepped forward. Was it their imagination, or were there more bandages around her body than before? Or perhaps more accurately, just how often were new injuries and bandages appearing on her? Even though they hadn’t laid a single scratch on her, even though they hadn’t even touched her once, her movements seemed to be in a bit of pain as she approached them. It only seemed to add to the number of questions surrounding this entity. 

Why she appeared so mundane and ordinary, why she possessed the seemingly-fathomless power she did, why she performed the actions she did, why she selected the Omnis she did, why she held such overwhelming boredom and even why she desired entertainment so much... Perhaps they were mysteries no one would ever know.

Still, as the One Master advanced towards the two characters, characters whom she’d been granted the privilege of meeting firsthand… It almost looked like a light was finally beginning to shine in her otherwise-apathetic eyes⸺

In this Final World, only one thing was for certain.

Somehow… Her opponents just knew they would be in for the most important battle of their lives.

l1blCKCtdAhFPIDbsMtMr8eTDeR1ZtbHWxVX2wxj

"Now… surpass your limits or die.

Just once more, 

let’s have fun⸺!"

 

"You ready?" Arthur asked.

Eria nodded. "Always."

The battle would push them both, further than they could possibly imagine. But even now, beyond the literal end of absolutely everything, there was one truth that Arthur and Eria knew in their hearts.

They would still live to see tomorrow.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

troqIELJwGdsW1fqmrmoefhrUGTpquNnW05PPsuO

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Testing, testing, one two three. SOS can you hear me? Yes? Goooooood- Wait what?

image.png

Ugh, this is so tedious. You go through ALL of the effort to move shit along cause stuff ain't happening and the GM is gonezo. And then when you make the effort suddenly after a year everyone has time and energy to do stuff and make things end satisfyingly. Why do I even bother sometimes? Oh yeah don't mind me everyone, just some omnipowerful, omnipresent being with clearly nothing better to do but move your plot along. Not like someone wasn't working their ass off to make an indolent GM with no time at all to move their ass, until somehow they magically do. See why I wanna wreck everything? Christ you people deserve the carnage I have done, am doing, and will be doing. Look, so Isamy's gone, and we didn't get what we wanted. Anyways, this shit is rolling right along now.


It was truly, finally Isamy's end. Everything she had hoped, everything she had dreamed... they were all for naught as the laast IZANAMI faded away. The Omni that had damaged countless universes was gone, and lost in the midst of combat was the Key. And then, everything went all wibbly wobbly in a seizure-inducing sort of way. Lights swirling like you were on a tilt-a-whirl, and it felt like the Hall of Origin was about to implode upon itself.

And then, everyone was back in a white space that was almost reminiscent of a field, with faded grey lines just barely making out the curves of hills and grasses. And in the center of it all was some faded lines that seemed to shaped itself into an incredibly large door. The Door of Origin. It was all quite shambolic, and all too serene. There wasn't any sound here, save for what the combined Counter Corps and Divine made. And then, a voice cried out

"REJOICE!"

Forming before the Door was a beautiful white marble statue, depicting some kind of angelic being. It was of six feet in height, not including the base, and for some reason a line formed around the torso section. This cut was noticeable on its bent, upward-facing arms, as it bisected through the bicep and the forearm. Small wings wrapped around from waist, and it bore a flat, featureless face. And, yet, in spite of its nature, the statue seemed incredibly alive.

"Rejoice!"

it declared excitedly, two glowing eyes forming on its face.

"Rejoice and... oh"

it said in surprise. The upper body of the statue suddenly rotated, revealing another torso coming from the other side, this one having a hand to its chin, with the other hand still raised.

"Well, there are quite a few more of you than I expected,"

it admitted, before immediately rotating around to the other torso, whose hands were now clasped,

"but nonetheless welcome one and all to the Hall of Origin! I am Avatar Resolution! Successor to DATEA; Herald of Origin; and Steward of the Door of Origin. And it is my greatest honour to meet with the Champions of the Multiverse!"

Avatar Resolution announced in jubilant tones.

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Rin patiently awaited the rest of her group to wake up, still cherishing the gift that had just been given to her. That all three managed to survive the final barrage of IZANAMI without a single scratch was a miracle, though, seeing the twitch of a hand, Rin realized the reason.

"Thank you, Reimu. I see you're awake all along."

"Haah, and I thought I can play dead while you enjoy your glory." Reimu snickered, before pushing herself to sit up from her position. "Well, always got a hunch you'd end up lasting the longest between us."

"It's all thanks to you all, that I can even stand here now." Rin said. "It's our glory."

"Whatever you say." Reimu said as she checked on the condition of Kazuya and Koishi. Rin, in the meantime, used her analysis to see their current state. She couldn't see any trace of Yukari anymore within Reimu, and Kazuya seemed to be nothing more than a normal human now, losing any trace of his heritage as a demon lord, nor his powers inherited through his COMP. And Koishi...

Surprisingly, she was the one least changed by the battle's aftermath.

"You sure looked happy, you know." Reimu said as she sat next to Rin. "Never saw you look that genuinely bright before." 

"Someone gave me a gift, earlier. It's kind of only between us, though, so that's all I will say here." Rin said, gesturing in a teasing manner at Reimu, who only sigh in response. As the two watched, Kazuya soon woke up, looking exhausted and confused. 

"Wake up, sleeping prince." Reimu knocked Kazuya's head with her gohei, somehow still unharmed. "What do you think you're doing? Giving up all your authority like that, are you trying to impress us or something?"

"Uh... not really?" Kazuya frowned at Reimu's words.

"I suppose that was at least a pretty good speech you had there." Reimu giggled. Rin only looked at the two in confusion, as she was too locked in her analysis to notice what happened. 

"You sure love making fun of me, aren't you?" Kazuya rose from where he was before sitting across Reimu, grumbling. "But nevermind. What's important is that we win."

"Say, Rin. How did you even beat IZANAMI, anyway?" Reimu turned to Rin as she asked that, However, before Rin could really answer that, light would consume the platform that they were in, before they realized that they had been transported once more. It was a white space, and at the very center of it was, unmistakably, a giant Door-like structure.

The Door of Origin.

Before they had time to react to it, though, a loud voice blared.

On 10/19/2020 at 7:02 PM, The Warden said:

"REJOICE!"

Forming before the Door was a beautiful white marble statue, depicting some kind of angelic being. It was of six feet in height, not including the base, and for some reason a line formed around the torso section. This cut was noticeable on its bent, upward-facing arms, as it bisected through the bicep and the forearm. Small wings wrapped around from waist, and it bore a flat, featureless face. And, yet, in spite of its nature, the statue seemed incredibly alive.

"Rejoice!"

it declared excitedly, two glowing eyes forming on its face.

"Rejoice and... oh"

it said in surprise. The upper body of the statue suddenly rotated, revealing another torso coming from the other side, this one having a hand to its chin, with the other hand still raised.

"Well, there are quite a few more of you than I expected,"

it admitted, before immediately rotating around to the other torso, whose hands were now clasped,

"but nonetheless welcome one and all to the Hall of Origin! I am Avatar Resolution! Successor to DATEA; Herald of Origin; and Steward of the Door of Origin. And it is my greatest honour to meet with the Champions of the Multiverse!"

Avatar Resolution announced in jubilant tones.

"Well, this sure is a festive greeting." Kazuya responded. "I suppose all we can do is to relax now, and see what will happen. The key aren't with us, after all."

And so, the three warriors began chatting more and more, as if they had been fire-forged friends for years despite having only meeting each other in this journey of a single day.

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Sora, Kairi, MachGaogamon and Gagagigo awoke in empty space. The Avatar’s joyous praise was sudden, and at first, they couldn’t quite believe it. But as the heroes all started to gather around, they realized that they had won. Isamy Maximus was finally dead, and the Origin War would soon end. They all breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

MachGaogamon and Gagagigo both looked around, surveying all the surviving warriors. Others who had fought their own Izanamis were still arriving, which was as reassuring as it was puzzling. Their group became Aetos to fight Envy, so it made sense that they would all arrive together. And yet, not all of them had returned.

Arthur and Eria were nowhere to be found.

“Where are they?” Gagagigo asked.

“I… I’m not sure.” MachGaogamon didn’t want to admit it, but he was sure that Isamy had done something. One final desperate move to make sure that she would drag them down with her. “If the worst has happened-”

“Don’t say it.” Gagagigo stormed off. Eria had to be here. She had to be. So where was she?

Sora called out to him. “Hey, hold on!”

“Idiots.” Ariel walked past them. She didn’t even look at MachGaogamon or anyone else. She had a slight limp, and her arms were hanging loosely. Her hands, body, and even her head each seemed to fade in and out of existence for a few moments. Even when her body seemed to be stable, MachGaogamon could see through her.

“Let me talk to them,” MachGaogamon told Sora and Kairi. They nodded, and he followed behind Ariel.

“Go away,” Ariel told him.

“Arthur and Eria are gone,” MachGaogamon said. “Gagagigo and I need to talk.”

“They’re not just ‘gone’,” Ariel muttered. “They’re dead.”

MachGaogamon stopped for a moment, and Ariel turned around. One of her eyes flickered, but Ariel simply chuckled. “You don’t seem too surprised. Or even that upset, really.”

“We had all made a promise,” he answered. “We would bring everyone back with the Door’s power. Whatever Isamy did, it can’t be beyond the Door’s power.”

Ariel sighed, and pointed a finger to her empty eye socket. “You’re betting a lot on blind faith. That’s never a good thing.”

“You should be concerned about yourself, too.” MachGaogamon told her with growing irritation.

“Maybe. But I’m not. I don’t think it’s really something I can do now, though. That power Itsu gave us was supposed to transform us into our future selves. I guess at some point, the other me finds a way to split us back up, but that’s probably not going to happen for a while. She had to call up Megiddo to fuse us together. A desperate move, but it worked. But it was only going to work in the short term. Without Eria, right now I’m just some leftover side effect of the Void Inclusion. Which means if you want Eria and Arthur back, you’re not getting the Eria that your friend is head over heels with. You’re stuck with whatever nutcase happens from mixing us together.”

She waved a hand at MachGaogamon, but soon that hand faded as well. “Which means I don’t have much time left. Do what you gotta do, and maybe I’ll see you on the other side. I have some unfinished business.”

MachGaogamon nodded. “Very well. Take care of yourself… Eria.”

Ariel scoffed. As MachGaogamon left to rejoin Sora and the others, she continued to follow Gagagigo. He had stopped searching, but now he was just standing still.

“How much did you hear?” Ariel asked.

“Enough,” Gagagigo replied, but he did not turn to face her. His newer armor had faded, and instead he now had only the enhancements that Kozaky had put on him. Once it had granted him enough strength to overwhelm her, and she had only barely survived. Now she could only see Gagagigo quivering in fear and regret.

“You’re pathetic,” she grumbled. “I thought you were here because at least in your universe, you and I might actually be able to work as partners again. MachGaogamon’s trying to put on a brave face because he hopes the Door can fix everything, so the least you can do is pretend that’s all you need, too.”

Gagagigo tried to hold back tears. “I know. But after coming this far, just to lose her again…”

“It wasn’t your fault. At least, not this…” Ariel bit her lip. “Sorry. The point is, you came into this war as nothing more than Kozaky’s puppet, but you found that other me again. You’ve probably still got a lot to work out, I’m sure. But you’re still her friend.”

Ariel dropped to her knees. Gagagigo came to help her up, but she raised her remaining hand to him. “But we’re both probably going to be stuck together. This might be the last time I can talk to you as myself, so let me just say this: I’d like to be your friend again, too. So I’ll give you a chance, for your Eria’s sake.”

Gagagigo embraced Ariel. Tears ran down his cheeks. “I understand. I promise I won’t let either of you down.”

Ariel slowly raised her hands. She welcomed the hug. She didn’t think she should, but she didn’t exactly want to let go, either. “I know you won’t. Thank you, Gagagigo.”

Ariel closed her eyes, and at last her body completely vanished. Gagagigo remained sitting, trying to hold on as if she were still there. Gagagigo slowly opened his eyes. Now, neither of the Water Charmers remained.

MachGaogamon, Sora, and Kairi soon joined Gagagigo.

“Hey,” said Kairi. “I’m… I’m sorry, Gagagigo.”

Gagagigo took a deep breath and stood up. “It will be alright, Kairi.”

MachGaogamon put a hand on Gagagigo’s shoulder. “I know this may be a lot to ask so soon, but… are you ready?”

Gagagigo nodded. “Yes. Let’s finish this.”

With nothing more to be said, the four heroes joined the others to meet Avatar Resolution.

Edited by Phantom Roxas

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“... it’s… really over now… isn’t it…?” Alister hoarsely whispered, his Pocket Watch once more clutched tightly to his chest.  His breathing was somewhat heavy, a stunned expression on his face as if he were still trying to process everything that had transpired in the past several minutes.

 

“... sooooo, is this the part where we rejoice?” Ratchet nonchalantly asked the rest of the “Subjects of Kingdom” as he and Clank unfused into their separate selves again.

 

“Well, you lot are free to do so,” Bayonetta shrugged.  “I mean, for Jeanne and I, this is just another Night Before Christmas.”

“”You beat one “Mad Deity”, you’ve beat ‘em all”, eh?” Rubedo!Gabriel chuckled.

 

“You could say that,” Jeanne laughed slightly.

 

“That said, it’s not like we’ve got a shortage of things to celebrate,” Alexander chimed in as he separated from Umbris and Terris, rejoining the others while leaving the two Neo-Spacians to happily, and lovingly, embrace each other without a care for who was watching.

 

“You can say that again,” Kokonoe spoke up as she and Rodin approached the group.  “The passengers and crew on The Aeon are throwing a celebration as we speak,” she added in a displeased tone

“The music selection is cheesy as all Hell, and the food is shit,” Rodin scoffed as he adjusted his sunglasses. “Kokonoe and I couldn’t get outta there fast enough.”

 

“It would be nice to join them,” Red nodded.  “Although, it still feels a bit too soon for jubilations just yet,” he added as he craned his head to look towards Alister, seeing that the lombax had a thousand-yard look in his eyes once more, though not as concerning as last time.  “Al, you okay over there?”

 

“Ah--” Alister gave a short gasp as Red caught his attention.  “I… I’m alright,” he hoarsely replied as he glanced around at his companions.  “It’s just… … ….”  His legs suddenly failed him as he dropped to his knees.

 

“Al!” Ratchet and Alexander yelped as they ran to Alister’s side to assist him.

 

“I… I’m fine, really” Alister panted softly.  “It’s just… my adrenaline suddenly went away.  Can’t remember the last time I... had this feeling….”

 

Alexander gave a soft chuckle.  “I’d say it’s a feeling well-earnt.”

 

“Well-earnt, huh…?” Alister repeated with a faint smile.  The smile dropped as he glanced down at his hands, which now rested on his legs; the right hand was still clutching his pocket watch, while in the left, glowing faintly, was….

 

“That’s… that’s the Key…?!” Ratchet quietly gasped.  “Al, you got the Key!”

 

“Th… That’s right…!  Isamy appeared before Alister moments before we fought Izanami,” Alexander realized.  “That was her Soul, wasn’t it?  Itsu… she said that the Key would be within her… then, that means… Al, what happened in those three seconds?”

 

“Long story short?  I… changed her mind,” Alister replied slowly, holding up the pocket watch in his right hand.  “She’s in here, now… she’s not alone anymore….”

 

“... you granted her peace,” Alexander breathed out as the rest of the team (and Kyros) joined the Lombaxes.  “You could’ve ended her in any other way, and yet you gave her a peaceful way out.  I do hope the other souls in there are treating her okay.”

 

“Aligore actually seems to have taken to her pretty quickly, actually,” Alister replied with a sad smile.

 

“That was the large “Altister”, right?” Bayonetta asked.  “He did seem to have a fatherly aura about him.”

 

“Who…?” Jeanne blurted with a tilt of her head.

 

“Good that Isamy’s living her best afterlife, I suppose,” Red joined in, “but I can’t help but wonder what will become of her once the Door has been used.  Which brings us to the main topic at hand--Alister’s hand, in this case,” he added as the group focused on the Key of Origin in Alister’s hand.

“... right… … about that…,” Alister croaked as he held the Key between the index finger and thumb of his left hand.  “... I… I don’t think I deserve to--”

 

“Stop right there, Alister,” Red knowingly interrupted.  “We never said anything about whether or not you’re deserving of using the Key--”

 

“--I know.  But I just--”

 

“Alister, please, if you try to list all the reasons why you feel you’re not deserving of anything, we’ll be stuck here for another month,” Bayonetta shook her head.

 

“But I--”

 

“Ah-ah-ah, General Fuzzy, no more fishing for that Self-Deprecation Boner.  We really do need to get on with it; Mr. Zurkon especially wants to get this over with.” Mr. Zurkon scolded cheekily while zooming around Alister's head.

 

“But--”

 

“Get on with it, Al!” the rest of Team Lombax droned in unison.

 

“Guys, c’mon--”

 

“Yeah, get on with it!!” blasted the passengers and crew of The Aeon.

 

“But if I can jus--”

 

“YEAH, ALISTER, GET ON WITH IT!!!” the voices of the souls and Altisters inside the pocket watch erupted so loudly that Alister fumbled with it as everyone was taken aback in shock.

 

“SERIOUSLY, YOU GUYS TOO?!  Great, who else is gonna give me grief--?”

 

https://i.imgur.com/E1lDlzZ.png

 

dddD3YpX3yApK3nHA71n6sxIFv8cBDOcfkapNEa3

 

“GET ON WITH IT, ALISTER!!!"  "

AlsofriendshipisthegreatestforceintheMultiverse!”

 

“... … … okay, but can I at least mention that the scene we’re parodying should at least involve characters that have yet to make an appearance--?”

 

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/a/ab/Persona_4_The_Animation_Margaret.png/revision/latest?cb=20111007134915

 

ufRJ_WKypM15ET7rA4vCk4TeaQreKDsFl4zt-Q3I

 

“Please, do get on with it, Mr. Azimuth.”

 

0ANQKFbX6RaaXqzKS14zHmPEwRXRYg3ZbB0BtcNp

 

“Yeah, hurry it up so I can hate on you in the next Volume, old man!”

 

“ALRIGHT, ALREADY!!!” Alister roared in exasperation.  “Sheesh, I suppose I should take it as a sign when even my alternate timeline son gives me shit from beyond the fourth wall… … anyways, any takers?” he sighed out as he held the Key of Origin out to the rest of Team Lombax.

 

“Think it’s a bit too soon to decide that, General Azimuth,” Rubedo!Gabriel said while waving his hand.  “We should at least discuss it with the other survivors first.”

 

“Truth be told, though, if we had to decide now,” Alexander joined in, “I think most of us would agree that Alister’s got a good chance at being the one, given all the progress he’s made.”

 

Before the thought of attempting to interject again even crossed his mind, Alister found his mouth suddenly sealed shut with duct tape.  

 

“Keep that on your mouth until it’s time for our next post, dearie,” Bayonetta cheerily chastised him as she spun the roll of duct tape on her finger.

 

Alister could only make a muffled growl behind the duct tape as he threw his hands up, rolling his eyes as the rest of Team Lombax made their way towards Avatar Resolution.

 

“... Mr. Azimuth?” a quiet, hoarse voice spoke to the Lombax.  Alister turned to find Kyros standing before him, appearing very unkempt and emaciated compared to his doppelganger Sayer.  Oh, and tired, too.  Oh so tired.  And yet there was an oddly warm sparkle in his amber-colored eyes as he gave Alister a weak, yet kind smile.  “... congratulations on your progress, Mr. Azimuth.  And thank you… all of you.”  He then unsteadily made his way to join the others by the statue further away.  A few yards in, Kyros tripped over his own feet, and would have landed flat on his face had Alister not rushed to his side and caught him as he stumbled.  “... thank you, again,” Kyros meekly chuckled appreciatively.  

 

Alister merely nodded--since his mouth was still sealed with duct tape and he couldn’t remove it until the next post, God is that gonna sting--as he helped Kyros walk the rest of the way.

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Lydia was quiet as the world went white, her hand still holding tightly onto her Familiars as existence went away. And Hapshiel was, well, Hapshiel as he went into the sweet embrace of oblivion. Supposedly.

With everything back in focus, they were now with the others, and an overly jubilant statue proclaiming that they should

“REJOICE!”

And, for once, Lydia truly was relieved. She had finally avenged on her friends, her family, her world…, Zac. Everything she had wanted, she had finally achieved. Even her Familiars felt her jubilation as they returned around her and Hapshield, Fire Fox gently nuzzling his head under her hand. “Is it over?” she asked aloud, as if unsure of it.

“It would appear so” Madara confirmed as he peered around in search of the other one he had chosen.

“It feels like a dream” the Human/Witch hybrid uttered.

“I much prefer your nightmares” LERNA mused, one of her heads still poking out of a rift between her Barrier and reality.

“I might just regret having my subconscious create you” Lydia said honestly, only for the depraved former-Witch to chuckle coldly as she returned to the Barrier.

“It seems we have a gathering in our midst” Hapshiel observed as everyone seemed to be converging towards the statue in the distance.

“Then let’s go and end this, once and for all” Lydia nodded as the other Dizasters left for her Barrier, leaving but Madara to walk with them. “Are you happy this is over, Madara?”

“While it seems a shame I was not able to achieve my own ends back in the Sphere Forest, I could think of worse outcomes” the ninjataur commented.

“That’s lovely” the angel crooned as they approached Avatar Resolution.

And with all the groups converging, Avatar Resolution still waited patiently, as he had done for what has been anywhere between never and forever. It was just nice seeing real people again as they all came towards him.

“I welcome you all again brave warriors”

he declared politely.

“I have waited so long for someone to return the Key to this domain, but I will admit I did not expect such a battle to occur”

AR remarked, only for his torso to rotate around, the other side resting his hand on his chin ponderously.

“Or perhaps I should be more surprised that it did not happen sooner?”

Rotating back again, the Avatar disregarded this.

“But regardless, I am glad to welcome you all to the Door of Origin, which you can see behind me. And, I am certain that you no doubt have many, many questions for me as to what happens next. So please, speak your woes to me, and I will do my best to administer a suitable answer for your inquiries.”

MachGaogamon stepped forward. If anyone could know if Arthur and Eria could be saved, he was sure this Avatar would have the answer.

“Countless people have fallen throughout this war. Entire universes are gone, all because of Isamy, Protheus, and even Arturia. With the Door’s power, is it possible to bring them all back? Not just the people we have lost, or the worlds we knew. All the universes that have been and could ever be, even those that we may never know about. They all deserve another chance.”

“YEOWCH!!!” Alister shrieked as the duct tape was ripped off of his mouth as quickly as it had been slapped on.  Hurriedly checking to see if his facial hair and fur had been messed up by the act, the elder Lombax sighed in relief before adding on to Machgaogamon’s enquiry: “And will that include the alternate timelines of those universes, as well?  Will they be salvaged and restored, or are they.... doomed to fade into cessation?” he added, clutching the pocket watch tightly as he spoke.

The Avatar was silent for a moment, before rotating about, the other torso clasping its hands together in what would be called “a diplomatic fashion”.

“All of the universes that were destroyed as a consequence of this “Origin War” can indeed be restored by the Door of Origin. Alternate timelines, if it is their destiny to persevere, can likewise be restored. And those who perished as a consequence of this war too can be restored. However, all fates will depend entirely upon the Choice that must be made”

it explained, rotating back around to its jovial, upright-hand position.

MachGaogamon nodded, mostly satisfied with that answer. “Very well. What is this choice?”

Alister, however, felt more uneasy after the Avatar’s explanation--there were, after all, several thousand individuals (many of whom he had yet to personally interact with, even) residing in his pocket watch / Soul Room, all of whom ended up in there due to either having a terrible fate befall them, or just being in the wrong situation at the wrong time.  Even if all of them could be restored, there was still the matter of their respective timelines existing; if all of them could be restored--especially the timelines connected to Alister’s dimension--what effect would it have on the Great Clock? 

“Alister, do cease your panicking, please,” Orvus’s voice politely echoed in Alister’s head.  “Alpha and I have also realized this, and we’re currently all convening with the Altisters and Souls to discuss what may happen.”

“And?  Have you come up with anything yet?” Alister mentally pressed.

“... well, yes,” Orvus replied slowly.  “Or, rather, the Altisters came to a decision on their own.”

“Which is…?”

“The Souls trapped in the Watch will be able to return to their respective worlds, that much we can guarantee... but….”  Orvus paused to sigh ruefully before continuing, “I am not sure how much you’re going to like this, but… most of them are willing to let their timelines be removed, and thus the existence of their respective Alister Azimuth.  Our hope is to allow roughly seven additional alternative paths to remain, something that the Great Clock is perfectly capable of managing with little additional strain, but… … I know how much you had hoped they could all be freed--”

“--yet I had figured as much,” Alister admitted sadly.  “... are they also deciding--?”

“--which of their timelines should remain?  Yes,” Orvus replied.  “Zayon’s is one of the obvious choices, as his Alister does have a life and family past the Origin War. And then there is--”

“--please, tell me later,” Alister insisted as he returned his attention to the Avatar before him.

“It is quite simple”

the Avatar responded, its empty eyes almost feeling as it was regarding everyone carefully.

“The Choice is thus: Who will use the Key of Origin? And by doing so, who will be the one to pay the price?”

And then its body shifted slightly, so that stared intently at Alister.

“I understand you know something about that matter, General Alister Azimuth; as do the occupants of your Pocket Watch. Do give my regards to Alpha, as I never had the chance to meet him before DATEA ended.”

Turning more, it then regarded MachGaogamon.

“I understand the concerns you must have for Eria and Arthur. Their current position right now is less-than-desirable, given where they are. And why it would be tempting to use the Key to reclaim them.”

“So only one of us may use the Key?” MachGaogamon asked. He looked around all who had gathered here. He couldn’t hear the people Alister talked to, but he gathered that he was at least taking the question into consideration. Sora, Kairi, and Gagagigo stood close to him, but none of them were stepping up to be one to use the Key. He certainly would not trust those few who had remained with the Divine to the very end, but if anyone were to use the Key, he wanted to be sure that it would be someone who could save as many people as possible.

Would he be so concerned with getting Arthur and Eria back that, if he were to use the Key, he would make a mistake and overlook too many of the infinite unknowns? Possibly. Or perhaps he was just overthinking this.

“You said that those who perished in this war can be restored. If that can include Arthur and Eria, then… that should be enough. What is the price of using the Key?”

“I will explain, in due time MachGaogamon. However, I believe some of your allies would like to have their inquiries answered as well, before the Price of using the Key of Origin is explained”

the Avatar responded.

“Alright, here’s a question,” Bayonetta chimed in: “Where will everyone end up if-and-when the Multiverse gets restored to its proper state?  Because I distinctly recall being trapped in a Goddess’s left eye before Isamy made me her impromptu guest.”

“And I do recall Marcus Fenix saying that Dom Santiago was about to sacrifice himself to save the rest of his teammates before Isamy swept him away,” Gabriel added, a tinge of sad realization in his voice.  “Does that mean once the COGs’ world is restored, they’ll be put back at that moment when Dom sacrifices himself?  Will the decision to sacrifice one’s self still need to be made?”

The Avatar rotated thoughtfully.

“That will depend on who uses the Key. Things can be changed, if the wielder has the stomach for it. Further details will be provided soon, as the full extent of those answers are tied with knowing the Price”

it expounded.

“... alright, I’ll bite,” Ratchet blurted out agitatedly, concerned about what the “Price” that the Avatar kept bringing up could mean yet already having a decent idea of what it was: “What is this “Price” you keep bringing up?  What’s gonna happen to the one that uses the Door?”

Avatar Resolution made a calm breathing noise.

“The price in question is thus: If one of you were to use the Key of Origin to interface with the Door of Origin, you will gain the power to change reality as you know it. However, with it comes infinite knowledge. And when I say infinite, I truly mean infinite. You will know every single truth in existence, which includes things you’d rather not know about, such as the truth of existence itself. In essence, one could call it the death of personality as you will know all that there is to know, and you will never be able to go back from knowing all. Some would find that too steep a cost, even with the power to shape our omniverse with effortless ease”

it explained to no doubt awed faces.

“However, the decision is not of one option, but two. If you all feel that losing your own identity for the sake of the omniverse too much, there is a second option available: Myself. My creator, knowing that it was possible that no one in DATEA could agree on who could be trusted to use Key of Origin, granted me the capacity to use it as well. If you so wish, I will repair the extensive damage caused by Isamy Maximus’ quest, and you will all be able to live your lives in the peace of not knowing everything existence has to offer. But again, there is a price for this”

Avatar Resolution announced.

“By allowing me to be your proxy, I will do only what needs to be done in order to repair the damage, for I must return the omniverse back to the order it had before this war. What this means is is that every single individual here, and those who perished as well, will go back to your prior states before this war even began. All knowledge you have acquired, all powers you have gained or fostered, all friendships you have made, and all relationships born by this conflict... will be erased!”

“What?!” Red cried out in disbelief, a claw grasping Alister’s shoulder. “Do you simply expect us to simply throw what we have gained away?!”

“If I am to be the arbiter who will repair existence, then yes Elder Red, I will expect you to accept my resolution. I was chosen to provide the most straightforward and effective usage of the Door of Origin. And thus I have decided that reversion to be that usage. That way, all knowledge of Origin, its Door, and its Key, will be forever lost to the ether. The only ones who will ever know will be Isamy Maximus, and Protheus Maximus masquerading as Viligance. But their quest will be fruitless as I will ensure to prevent another war by erasing all DATEA left behind. There will be no Desert Seth, no Sphere Forest of the Periphery, no Orb imprisoning The One Master, no Key, no Pathways, no Hallway, no Door in this changed world. You will all live your lives as you did before Isamy Maximus and her ilk interfered with them; and all who perished too will have no recollections of their untimely deaths. Everything you have gained and learned will be gone, but your worlds, and all lost worlds, will return and continue as if nothing had happened. Such is the cost and the reward of choosing me to use the Key of Origin. This is why the decision must be made carefully, as it now falls to you, the Champions of Origin: Will one of you sacrifice yourself to infinite knowledge so that your fellows can continue? Or will you throw away every victory you have made it getting to this place, so that you may continue in the blissful ignorance you lived before this war? Choose wisely one and all!”

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“It has to be one of us,” MachGaogamon said. Before this war, Arthur had been angry. Lost. Wanting nothing more than to lash out at a world he thought had been unfair to him. Throughout the war, he had grown. Though he still had much to learn, MachGaogamon was proud of Arthur. He had taken his first steps, and MirageGaogamon wanted to see how much farther he could go

Gagagigo had found Eria again, and with her help, he was able to heal from his madness. Eria had saved both Gagagigo and Arthur. How many others had grown throughout this war, and learned more about themselves? Everyone deserved a chance to heal, rather than erase all their experiences, good or bad. If allowing one person to gain all the knowledge in the world was what it would take to bring everyone back, then the price seemed more than fair.

And yet, MachGaogamon could not bring himself to volunteer. The Avatar had made it clear, the true price was your own identity. Everyone standing here now could only do so because they managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, and yet there still had to be one final sacrifice.

“The way I see it,” said MachGaogamon, “One of us must make the sacrifice for everyone else’s sake. If we could bring everyone back, I would rather that we would all learn from this experience in ways that we can help our worlds, rather than forget about what has happened. I wouldn’t ask anyone else to forget, either. I do not wish to go back to the person I was before this war began. I am sure that there some of you who feel the same way. However, I also believe that some of us cannot bear that pain. It would make living so much easier if we could simply purge our greatest suffering from our lives.”

This was about more than Arthur or himself. The entire multiverse was at stake.

“If we reverse the multiverse to as it was before this war, it would allow Isamy and Protheus to return. I don’t care if their quest would be a wild goose. Right now, they’re both dead, and they should stay that way. It’s better for the entire multiverse than if we just brought them back, no matter how pointless their lives would be. What good would it be to prevent this war from happening again if Isamy and Protheus could just find something else to do? They would have millennia to wreak havoc all over again. Even if we would all have been dead for tens of thousands of years by then, allowing them to ever return is an option I refuse to risk.

“We are trying to reset the whole multiverse for everybody else, but for one of us, we have to sacrifice everything. There will be no going back for them. We cannot count on being able to spare that person. I don’t necessarily agree that knowing all there is to know would be some so-called ‘death of personality’, but nevertheless, it is a risk we cannot take lightly. Knowing that those we can save would be waiting for us after all this is done could hold any of us back from volunteering.”

The people surrounding him were either friends, former enemies, or people who had simply fought in this war for as long as him but still managed to be strangers. He was not the right person to ask this of so many people. However, a decision had to be made.

“I know it is selfish, but for that reason, I don’t think I can be the one to use the Key. What I can do is help ensure that whatever we decide, we can all be certain it is the right choice.”

Sora, Kairi, and Gagagigo all nodded, though none of them said anything.

MachGaogamon gave a heavy sigh. “With that said, I suppose there’s only one question left. Do we have any volunteers?”

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Rin Hinanai-Pendragon

The blue-haired girl paused as the guardian of the ending, the Avatar Resolution, spoke of what was necessary here. As doubt seeped on those present here, she thought that perhaps, she should volunteer herself, but as it, and later MachGaogamon, explained in depth on what was needed, on what sort of sacrifice was necessary here, she too, was filled with doubt. This existence of hers had been only around for such a short time. Her name, her identity, was a gift that she wanted to cherish for as long as her form could last. Although the idea of the ultimate sacrifice, perhaps, was something that Arthuria would approve of, right now Rin felt that, for the first time in her life, that she truly wanted to be selfish. 

Yet at the same time, she knew it was wrong. She looked at her companions. To Reimu, to Kazuya, and to Koishi, who looked like she was still unconscious. None of them looked sure on what they wanted to do here. 

To not move forward as a sacrifice would be the end for her too. As an existence entirely tied to the Origin War, resetting everything would mean that she would cease to exist. Thinking about it that way, right now there wasn't much option left for her. 

No one else would be willing to make the sacrifice. And for her, the path ahead would only lead to a death of identity, one way or another. She couldn't accept this outcome, but yet... at the same time...

Rin was filled with doubt. She felt a maelstrom of emotions inside of her, unwilling to accept her end. But... someone had to do it. 

Her hand, feeling despair at the lack of choice she had at the very end of her journey, began to-

"I... I will volunteer myself."

Another voice spoke out before she could. Another person had raised her hand at MachGaogamon's prompt.

"I... will use the Key of Origin."

---

Koishi Komeiji

Komeiji Koishi had been awake all along. And she had been listening.

Deep within, Koishi knew that the tragedy of her world was unavoidable. It was not the distortions in the multiverse that caused all of the mess to happen to her world. It was not Isamy, who led to the end of the world she loved, of the family she had made. Standing at the very end of existence, after tapping into the collective unconsciousness of her world through the fight against IZANAMI, Koishi knew.

And Koishi knew that she had made a lot of mistakes along the way. 

The moment she carried the entire memory of her world with her, she had thought of what she wanted to do once she returned. Using her true form, she thought that she could attach herself to the moon itself, and forcibly used all of the world's memory within her to overwrite the Moon Descent Plan, and return everything to normal, at her own expense. It was only her that could do that, and it was only her that would be willing to do such a thing.

Because in the end, Koishi loved the world. And throughout this journey, she understood something. Pain and suffering, in the end, was part of life too. It was unavoidable, but happiness meant something because pain and suffering existed, and people could only move forward because of it. The Moon Descent Plan... Isamy... the world they created would be far, far different than the one she loved.

And so, for the first time, as the embodiment of the moon itself, as the collective memory of a world, and... as a young girl that loves everyone and everything, Koishi made her decision.

She raised up her hand as a volunteer.

"I... I'll take it. I'll take everything into me." Koishi spoke, her tone that first was unsure, began to be more firm as she went. "I will become the memory of the entirety of existence, if that was what it takes to resolve this. To give Yukari the happy ending she deserves, to have all of you move forward... 

I'll sacrifice myself."

Koishi paused to take a breath. It wasn't even necessary on her end, as a parasite puppeteering a host body. Perhaps the memory of those within her had already made her forgot what sort of existence she was for a second.

"Koishi, you can't-!" Reimu raised her voice, looking at her in disbelief. She was not the Reimu she knew, and she too, would understand that she was not the Koishi she knew. At the same time, her time so far... ah.

It felt nice, to have someone worry about her, after so long. But she already made her decision. She wanted this Reimu to see a future beyond what her Reimu ended up dying for.

"Are you really sure about this?!" Kazuya followed. Koishi didn't have to read his mind to know that, for a moment, he was almost going to be the one to volunteer despite his doubts. But... Koishi read through his memory already too. He still had friends to return to. He still had a future for himself. 

He too, deserved to move forward.

And then, Koishi's eyes went towards the blue-haired girl. Rin, the name that had been bestowed upon her. She could see within her, that despite all the doubts she had, her heart loudly said: "You don't have to do this! I'll... take your place instead!"

Yet, Rin couldn't bring herself to say that. The girl had truly understood selfishness after a long while. Koishi couldn't blame her.

After all, her decision here was a selfish one too. 

"I will remain on this choice." Koishi said with a smile. Her Third Eye, split in the middle between pink and blue, a sign of her union with her beloved sister, floated in front of her body.

It would become a very long and lonely eternity.

But perhaps, this way, she could finally, truly connect with everyone.

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Lydia stood idle with her Familiars, her head turned to the formless floor as she listened to the others who would give up everything for everyone else. "My my my, what a choice, the ultimate masochism" Hapshiel purred.

"It's insane, isn't it? This statue is telling us to give up ourselves to infinite knowledge, or let it reverse everything we've achieved. It'll be like none of it happened. Well, no, it'll NEVER have happened. I'll go back to my world, back to the same, impulsive woman child before all this started" the gestalt witch shuddered.

"One journey ends, another begins. Having been so close to divinity, this is funny" Hapshiel mused.

"How do you mean?"

"When you wield the infinite, you become infinite. I couldn't even begin to imagine that, but it would feel as if I could spread my Love & Peace to everyone, all at once. You would be everywhere, so why not choose only to be once?" the angel cryptically expounded.

"Are you saying despite taking the power of the Door, we could still keep ourselves?"

"Did I say that? I must've sounded very smart" the himbo angel giggled. "Why not really? You have the power!"

Lydia looked to the ground, and everyone around her. Everyone, including her, had all risked their lives and some had spent them all for the sake of one mad girl's quest for world peace. Would Isamy have been able to accept the price? Knowing her she would have had some kind of fail-safe to keep her together while wielding the Door's power. And if DATEA could do it.... "I volunteer!" Lydia called out. "I can't allow anyone else to pay the price when too many have suffered already. I will take the power of the Door and END Isamy and Protheus' insanity!"

Avatar Resolution, stunned, began spinning rapidly.

"STALEMATE!"

Sinking into the ground, large marble hands appeared under the present candidates, taking them upwards into the sky. And from the soul came Avatar's Resolution's head, made of four faces each facing a cardinal direction. It drew its hands to the head, its shining eyes on Koishi and Lydia.

"STALEMATE DETECTED BETWEEN TWO PARTICIPANTS! ARE THERE ANY OTHERS WHO WILL CONTEST THEIR CLAIMS?!"

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♫ Small Shock ♫

 

Team Lombax had gone deathly silent after hearing Avatar Resolution’s explanation, and for good reason; if anyone wanted their memories, bonds, and development to remain, one of them would have to sacrifice themselves and their individual identity to be able to reshape the Multiverse.  If not, then Avatar Resolution would reset everything--and everyone--back to how they were before the Origin War began.

“... … can I… retract my nomination…?” Alexander chimed in meekly, feeling mortified that he had originally suggested that Alister should use the Key before being made aware of the consequences.

“Alex, it’s fine,” Bayonetta reassured him as calmly as possible, despite also being as shaken by the information as anyone else.  “Many of us assumed using the Door would be simpler than it turned out to be, even though we should have seen this coming.”

“And we know you weren’t offering to have Alister sacrificed--none of us even knew the Price at the time, and even then we know you’re not the type of person who’d do that,” Red added as he gave Alexander a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“Although… ah, shit…,” Umbris cursed as he glanced at Alister, with most of the other members of Team Lombax (and Kyros) following suit.

“... what?” Alister blurted flatly, perturbed by the stares he was getting.

“C’mon, Al, you know exactly “what”,” Umbris replied with arms crossed.

“What, you guys think I’m just going to offer to sacrifice myself all willie-nillie just ‘cuz of prior events?  Just ‘cuz the idea of doing so is now in my head?” Alister scoffed.  “I mean, that kinda hurts, to be honest.”

“Well, he’s got us there,” Gabriel admitted with a sigh.

“Listen, I know it’s a very difficult decision to make, especially with what’s at stake,” Alister spoke to his teammates (and Kyros).  “We either have one of us lose their humanity to essentially become a god in order to rebuild the Multiverse, or we have Avatar Resolution undo everything we’ve gone through to live our lives as if the Origin War never happened.  Of course we can’t just blindly choose where to go from here--we need to carefully think and take into consideration all the factors before we can proceed.  That being said… there is a lot to consider, and much more at stake here than just us in the here and now,” he added with a hand held to his Pocket Watch.  “After all, it’s not just our iteration of the Origin War that will be affected by our decision; it’s all of them--forty-two thousand iterations, including this one.  If we want the Multiverse to have a chance at recovering and becoming stabilized, most, if not all of those other iterations must be pruned off, so to speak.”

“Makes sense,” Atsuko agreed. “Many of those iterations were either dead ends or Bad Ends, right?  So getting rid of those shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Meanwhile, the residents of the Pocketwatch--the Altisters, the Souls, Orvus and Alpha--they’re deliberating which handful of their timelines can continue, right?” Alexander asked Alister.

“That’s what I was informed, yes,” Alister confirmed. “Many of the Altisters are perfectly fine with their respective timelines getting erased, though Alpha felt that there are some that should be preserved or salvaged--Zayon and Reid’s timeline especially.”

Red lightly gasped, understanding what Alister meant. “Rex….”

“... but, that begs the question,” Kyros wearily chimed in: “Will that plan work regardless of whomever is chosen to use the Key…?”

At this, Alister briefly froze up.  “... that… I don’t quite know.”

“But you have a portion of that power now, right?” Ratchet spoke up.  “The “Philanthropist's Oviposition” or whatever it’s called?”

“... … … … … …”

“... erm, Little One, this really is not the time nor place to be discussing kinks in public,” Bayonetta pointed out to Ratchet while doing her damnedest to suppress a laugh.

“... wait, what?!”

Clank let out an exasperated sigh. “The “Philosopher’s Observation”, Ratchet,” the little robot helpfully corrected.

“Y-Yeah, that,” Ratchet stumbled as he attempted to recompose himself from his malaproper, before returning to addressing Alister, “you can use that to look ahead, can’t you? See what the possibilities are that could allow those other timelines to exist?”

“It’s only a portion of that power, Ratchet,” Alister reminded the younger lombax, “and it’s a power that I’m still not used to using; there’s no guarantee that what I end up seeing is the answer we’re looking for.”

“In other words,” Gabriel shrugged, “we’re shooting blind.”

“There is also still the matter of Alpha,” Clank pointed out, “or rather, the other Alpha. He still exists somewhere, and most likely has not given up his own ambitions—which he may attempt to resume should we return everything to how they were before the Door was discovered. Which, as a reminder, happened in a branch of our original timeline.”

“... … …” Alister stood silent, grimacing.

“Al…?” Ratchet spoke up, concerned for the eldest lombax.

Alister sighed quietly.  “... Clank has a point, as does MachGaogamon.  Returning everything to how it was before the Origin War and the cycles began would mean that Protheus returns to wreak havoc across the Multiverse, and Isamy--as either the separate Isabella and Amy, or the combined entity we know them as--will either follow in his footsteps again, or be made to suffer… and Alpha, the first “me”... who’s to say that he won’t try and destroy our universe in an attempt to find the Door again, even if we permanently seal it?  And if not that, what else would he, in the mental state he was in, attempt to do to find a way to accomplish whatever goal he’d have in mind?  Or even… … … oh, gods… ….”

“What is it, Alister…?!” Red asked, concerned for what Alister had realized.

“... it’s what Alpha’s “Better Half” said: Alpha is still around somewhere, even now.  “A hidden location”, “close to the Door”, “with no way for him to ever reach it.”  But what if Alpha doesn’t need to try and reach it himself?  What if he tries to reach one of us--especially whomever has the Key?  Our attempt to open and use the Door could be compromised…!”

“... okay, I get where you’re going with this, Al,” Ratchet spoke up, “but how do we know for certain that Alpha will try and swoop in on us?  Isn’t he sealed away in that location?”

“That’s what I thought, too.  But Good!Alpha mentioned something else before that; specifically, the weapon Alpha used to destroy his After Images and split himself in two--the “Sacred Artifact” that can sever bonds, from the physical to the immaterial.”

“... wait, Alpha mentioned all of that while you were--”

“--and I told you guys then--I could still hear you all even in the depths of my despairing,” Alister clarified in an almost prideful manner.  “But you are picking up what I’m putting down, right? Alpha does have a way to get out of that dimension, and who knows how his strength has changed since splitting off from his Better Half and being trapped in there, but regardless… no matter who is ultimately chosen out of all of us here to use the Door, we need to take Alpha out of the equation first.”

“... you mean “you”, don’t you…?” Ratchet darkly sighed.

It seemed obvious to Alister where Ratchet was about to go with this. “If need be, Ratchet, then yes.  But it won’t be because of an impulsive need or desire to redeem myself, or to fix the mistake--or “mistakes”, rather--made by a different version of me,” he replied firmly.  “In fact, as far as I’m concerned, Alpha is just another villain seeking to force their dream upon the Multiverse, nothing more, nothing new.  But I will admit,” he added sheepishly, “dealing with Alpha sounds a lot easier than deciding whether one should lose their identity to essentially become a god.  Which, honestly, I’m not sure I can do, if only because, well… I made a promise to you guys. A promise that we’d all get out of this alive, to be able to live a new life, to support each other in our new beginning.  If I were to become the Origin’s Will, I won’t be able to do that, because I’ll have lost my chance to be with you all… after all we’ve gone through… and all you guys have done for me just so I can get to this point,” he quavered.  “I would never have gotten as far as I have without you guys… all of you,” he added as he clutched his Pocket Watch.  “That’s why… I’m scared… truly scared… of forgetting everything, especially how much you guys mean to me....”

 

♫♪ (“Dreaming Your Dreams”) ♪♫

 

“... fear hasn’t stopped you before, has it?”  These words Ratchet spoke carried a calm, sincere tone--different from the scathing, livid edge Alister had anticipated.  “Look, I know you’ve ended up going through a lot in such a short time--we all have--and you’re right that we’ve all made it this far because we had each other, whether to pick each other up when we were down, or to slap some sense into each other before we jumped off the deep end… believe me, I know,” Ratchet added with a somewhat guilty glance towards Red--or rather, the dragon’s kneecap.  “I mean, if you think about it, dealing with Alpha--the “Old You” as you say--is just one more step towards your growth as a person… and you’ve grown so much already, and I’m proud of you for that, Al.”

“You have greatly matured from this endeavor, too, Ratchet,” Clank chimed in assuringly.

“Pffft, well, yeah, but that’s kinda my thing, y’know?” Ratchet humbly chuckled as he playfully tapped his knuckle to Clank’s head.

Alister couldn’t help but give a slight chuckle of his own, his prior doubt and unease slightly alleviated.  “... thank you, Ratchet,” he nodded.

“If you truly believe that this is something only you can do, Al, then we won’t stop you,” Alexander surmised.  “I figured that’s the sentiment behind Ratchet’s little speech, and I agree; if anyone can put to rest Alpha’s ambitions and the threat he poses to the Multiverse, who better than the one who shares his Origin?”

“Besides, it’s not like he’ll be alone in taking on Alpha,” Umbris added; “he’ll be going in with a whole squad of Altisters and Souls backing him up.”

“Not just them,” Alister confirmed. He then focused his mind to converse with one of the residents of the Orvus Apparatus--specifically, one of its “co-creators”.

“Orvus, you can alter the Apparatus’s functions, right?”

“Indeed I can, Azimuth,” Orvus confirmed.

“Disable the “Return to the Past” part--there’s no point in having it active at this point.”

“... ah, fair point,” Orvus acknowledged.  “And you want the rest to operate as-is?”

“Of course,” Alister replied.

“May I ask why?”

“... something tells me to keep that to myself, to be quite honest.”

“I see, I see~  Very well, I won’t pry, then.  You just “do you”, as the kiddies say, meh-heh-heh-HEH-heh-heh-hee!”

“Thank you, Orvus.  Truly….”

“... okay. I’m ready,” Alister declared to the others physically with him.  With the Key of Origin still in hand, he glanced around at each of his companions (and Kyros), before settling his gaze upon Clank.  “Clank, I’ve a favor to ask.”

“Ask of me?” a perplexed Clank pondered briefly.  He quickly put two-and-two together. “... … oh, but of course.”  Without another word, Clank opened the compartment in his torso and retrieved the Chronoscepter from within.  “You plan to use the Chronoscepter to reach Alpha’s location--the location his Better Half sent him using the facsimile Orvus created,” Clank clarified as he handed Alister the Artifact.

“Right.  It should have the same, or similar effect,” Alister nodded as he took the Chronoscepter into his hands.  “That leaves me with one last thing,” he said as he held out the Key to Alexander.  “Alex, I need you or one of the others to hold onto this while I’m gone, doesn’t matter who.  But I am trusting you, specifically, with this one very crucial task: if you at any point can no longer sense me on the other side of Alpha’s space… you need to give the signal for whoever is chosen… to use the Door quickly.  We cannot afford to let Alpha get to it, so you mustn’t falter, no matter how badly you wish to help me.  Have I made myself clear, Alex?”

“... crystal,” Alexander solemnly nodded as he carefully took the Key from Alister’s hand.  “... Al, just please--”

Alexander finds himself interrupted by Alister suddenly embracing him.  “I know, Alex.  “Please make it back to us safely.”  Trust me,” he assured his fellow Lombax as he pulled himself away from the hug, “I have every intention of making it back to you guys.  Wouldn’t want to miss the Grand Opening of the Door, y’know?” he added with a light-hearted chuckle.  Yes, Alister was scared and worried deep down, but he couldn’t help but to put on a brave face, both for his friends’ sakes and his own.

Alexander seemed to understand this, as he, too, did his best to keep a straight face, even as his eyes welled up with tears.  “Y-Yeah, wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“... welp, time to mosey on out, yeah?” Alister reckoned as he moved away from the rest of the Counter Corps, with Chronoscepter in his right hand and Praetorian OmniWrench in the--

“--Mr. Zurkon knows General Fuzzbutt isn’t about to leave Mr. Zurkon behind!” blared Mr. Zurkon as the synthenoid forcibly fused himself with Alister’s OmniWrench once more, much to Alister’s bemusement.  “Mr. Zurkon helped beat your butt once before,” the Z-Wrench declared proudly, “so Mr. Zurkon shall help you beat your alternative timeline butt.”

Vexed yet amused and appreciative, Alister could do nothing but grunt and roll his eyes in response.  “No point in me telling you “no”, huh?”  After a slight chuckle, Alister held the Chronoscepter upright before himself, the Artifact radiating a bright blue glow that quickly spread all around Alister’s body.  Soon, his body began to slowly vanish before everyone else’s eyes, signaling that he would soon depart for the hidden location where Alpha awaited him.  Before he vanished completely, Alister turned back to face his comrades, his friends, and with the straightest face and most reassuring smile he could muster at that moment, he uttered what he hoped would not be the last words he’d say to them all:

 

“... thank you all. For everything….”

 

… … … … …

 

… … … …

 

… … …

 

… …

 



 

♫♪ (Where a Dreamer’s Emptiness Resides) ♪♫


 

Alister found himself standing within a featureless, grey area--not even a horizon line was visible to separate the ground from the sky.  His footsteps were muffled, yet echoed, as he made his way through the grey void, for what seemed like minutes.  Several long minutes.  It soon became clear to him that the area was in fact shrouded in a deep fog, as he could make out a figure gradually coming into focus.

“... so, this is where you’ve been,” Alister scoffed as he eventually got a clear-enough view of the individual before him; though they looked somewhat emaciated--yet surprisingly less emaciated than they probably should be--it was unmistakable who the individual was--or once was--and thus, who they are now--

“... a curious thing to say, as if you had been looking for me all this time,” the figure spoke with not an ounce of emotion in his tone.

 

ExupHA0XCkEK0hI4iODGfWiNHt2zaq1w6i9X4jDG




 

“Maybe not, but I suppose you were always the End Game to my journey,” Alister leered at his Alternate Timeline Self.  “Took about forty-one thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine tries too many, but I’m finally here.  I’m sure you’re elated--or you would be, if not for you cutting away your “better half”.”

Alpha merely shook his head slightly.  ““Better half”, you say. As if that half of me hasn’t brought endless grief and suffering.”

“For you, anyway,” Alister clarified semi-mockingly.  “I’m already aware of your backstory and plan, Alpha--or at least the gist of what you hope to accomplish.”

“And you intend to stop me how, exactly?”

“You saying I can’t or won’t be able to?”

“I have been able to observe the iterations of the Origin War from this space, and all of your iterations as well,” Alpha clarified--

“--well thanks for confirming one of my suspicions,” Alister interrupted.  “Alpha told me that he bestowed a portion of the Philosopher’s Observation unto me, yet he never exactly clarified if he possessed the rest of it or not.  It had to have been a significant portion, though, for him to assume he had the whole thing.  So you still had a fragment after all….”

“... … …,” Alpha ellipses’d in Alister’s direction.

At this, Alister rolled his eyes. ““Of course he would make such an assumption--he was the part of me prone to making such humiliating mistakes--but that isn’t relevant to our current discussion. Speaking of which, if you are done rudely interrupting me I’d like to continue ranting about how you have no way to stop me from achieving my dream.” That’s what your dead-eyed glare was saying, basically,” Alister shrugged.  “How much of that did I get right?”

Alpha merely blinked once, slowly, before continuing.  “Much like your attempts to irritate me, Azimuth, you will come to find that your attempts to put an end to me shall likewise bear no fruit.”

“Such self-assuredness,” Alister mockingly praised.  “Lemme guess, that blade of yours--”Boundless Tail” I believe it’s called--you used its power to sever your bond to mortality, I bet?”

“... … …”

“... oh, I see, not gonna confirm or deny any of my guesses, huh?  Well, whatever,” Alister scoffed as he prepared his Z-Wrench for combat, “there’s always more than one way to skin a Blargian Snagglebeast.”

“... so you still intend to waste everyone’s time with this endeavor,” Alpha sighed as he summoned the Boundless Tail to his hand.

“I intend to put an end to you and your self-serving dream,” Alister snarled, “and after that, I intend to return to my comrades’ side and see this journey to its conclusion.”

“... so be it, then,” Alpha declared as he, too, entered a combative stance. “This day, one dream shall die for the other to live.”

… … … …

“... is… is that the best you can come up with?” Alister blurted after a full ten seconds awkwardly passed by.

“... what are you getting at?” Alpha questioned, still in his stance.

“I mean, I know you’re lacking most of your capacity for emotion, but like, c’mon, man! I don’t feel like I’m facing the last obstacle to this story’s ending, the Greater Scope Villain who will upend the entire Multiverse to see his desires realized and will make a bombastic display of tearing down anything and anyone that would stand in their way… no, all I’m seeing before me,” Alister clarified, “is a man too broken and tired to do anything more than to just go through the motions.”

“... are you saying… I don’t have what it takes…?” Alpha pressed with a weary leer.

“Just saying, if you wanted to go the no-nonsense route and get straight to the point, you would’ve done so by now.  I mean, c’mon, we all want this to come to a close alre--”

Between the moment he uttered the last “to” in that sentence and the instant he began to say “already”, Alister found himself suddenly ten yards from where he was standing before, his face now mere inches from Alpha’s and with the latter’s blade pierced through his chest.  “Is that “straight enough to the point” for you…?” Alpha retorted calmly to the surprised Alister.

“V… Very…,” Alister croaked through a mouthful of blood… which for some reason had the color and consistency of… grape jelly?!  Alister proceeded to (playfully?!) spit a huge wad of the jelly into Alpha’s appropriately stunned face before straightening himself out, the sword still impaled in his chest. “Yes, that’s much better,” he asserted in a clear and composed, almost taunting tone while wiping away the excess jelly from his mouth.  “However, I fear that was just Step One towards finishing this encounter….”

“... how--?'

“Ugh, we told Too-Dee not to fill that papier-mâché model of Alister with jelly,” scoffed Moony as he materialized to the right of Alpha.

“Nono, I believe we specifically said “no grape jelly”,” Alizure clarified as he materialized to Alpha’s left.

“What does that matter? Either way, he didn’t listen!”

“TO BE FAIR, GRAPE WAS ALL WE HAD,” I.T. monotonically admitted sheepishly as he materialized behind Alpha.

“And WHY is that?!  We don’t even LIKE grape that much--!!”

“... shut. UP!” Alpha barked as he decapitated the three Altisters and the papier-mâché Alister in one swing, causing all four to burst into clouds of tattered paper (and jelly in the model’s case).  As the cloud dispersed, Alpha was left standing alone, humiliatingly covered head-to-toe in jelly and paper.  “... … enjoying yourself, I suppose…?” Alpha quietly uttered as his face quickly returned to its emotionless facade, though now his right eye is twitching violently.

“Perhaps.  Should I, though?” the actual Alister spoke up as he emerged from the fog, accompanied by a couple dozen Altisters.

At the sight of the group coming to outnumber him, Alpha’s face twitched into what resembled both a grimace and a smirk.  “You think coming at me with those mistakes will give you the advantage?”

“Unless you’ve got a way to even the odds, then yes,” Alister replied bluntly.  “... does he?” he mentally added as an aside to Light!Alpha.

“I… I think he does?” Light!Alpha stammered.  “... dammit, don’t tell me he took that portion of my memory in the “divorce”…!”

“I mean, he still has a portion of the Observation, so that’s also likely,” Alister noted. A thought occurred to him shortly after: “Wait, what can he do with his portion of the Observation…?”

 

♪♫ “(lost grip of time)” ♫♪

 

As if to answer Alister’s unheard question, Alpha proceeded to pull out a card from the inside of his coat.  “You see, the Pathways weren’t just literal pathways to the Door--they were also made to provide me with valuable information.  Information that I can use however I see fit with the Observation’s power.  And since you were foolish enough… I mean, “ever-so nice” to employ your portion of the Observation in my vicinity….”

“So that’s it… he can access the Observation whenever I do.  I was right to not’ve used it right away…!” Alister realized.

“Ah, but of course my “better half” failed to mention that to you,” Alpha surmised almost mockingly.  “So, naturally, that failure rests on his shoulders.”  He proceeded to hold the card high above his head, and shattered the card with a snap of his fingers, causing the data recorded within to materialize and spill out as a swirling, amorphous dark cloud.  The dark cloud rapidly coalesced into the emaciated, semi-decayed form of a legless feline-headed monster, the remaining shadows forming a tattered mantle.

“... Umbris?!” Alister gasped in shock, suddenly remembering what Alexander and Umbris told him about their experience in the Pathway of Death.  “So, this is the “Void-Spacian Phantasmal Panther” they had faced before.  And I suppose you’ve got other nightmares up your sleeve, too, right?” he barked at Alpha.

“It would be foolish for one to not use whatever tools are at one’s disposal,” Alpha calmly boasted as he once again entered his combat stance, the Void-Spacian hanging behind him like a living shadow.  “And my tools shall make quick work of yours….”

“... did he seriously just call us “tools”?” Vortex Al spat.  “Pots and kettles, this one…!”

“Big talk from a stupid fuzzball ignoring the cracks in his own weapon…!” Alister’s Z-Wrench returned to its ordinary state as Mr. Zurkon separated from it, blaster and focus aimed at Alpha.  “That sword may as well be holding itself together by sheer force of will alone.  But Mr. Zurkon’s will is stronger--Mr. Zurkon will send that sword to the museum it belongs to!” Mr. Zurkon proudly boasted.  “Alister should focus on Umbris’s Nightmare in the meantime--”

“No need for all of that~” Orvus’s voice chimed as the Zoni emerged from the Pocket Watch as a wisp of light blue energy.  “I believe I’ve stayed on the sidelines of this whole shebang long enough.  Wouldn’t you agree, Alpha?”

“So,” Alpha scowled calmly at the sight of his old “associate”, “you’ve chosen now of all times to finally get off your--”

“--oh, silly me, I should have specified, dear boy” Orvus’s energy projection chuckled at Alpha just as Light!Alpha materialized by Alister’s side. “I was referring to your “Better Half”, natch.”

“It’s obvious what you plan to do, Alpha,” Light!Alpha joined, hand to his chin.  “You intend to use the Yakumo no Chigiri--”Boundless Tail”, as it is also known--to sever the connection between Alister’s Soul and the Orvus Apparatus, thus robbing him of his ability to call upon the Altisters and Souls within to assist him.”

“wow you came up with that all by yourself” Alpha replied in a flat, sarcastic tone, his “Better Half’s” presence making him clearly irritable.

“More like he and I, but that’s beside the point,” Orvus corrected.  “Likewise, it is admirable that you figured out how to use a small fraction of the Observation still within you as a “backdoor” to access the rest of that power, even forcing-slash-tricking Alister into giving you that access.  Yes, yes, very clever of you, indeed…,” the Zoni nodded.  “Wouldn’t you say, Better Alpha?”

“I mean, if you’re asking what I would say,” Light!Alpha shrugged, “that it would be something to the effect of: “Wandering Dragon slumbering within, I beseech you by my name as Alister Azimuth, rend yourself and disperse into a rainbow of 24 dragons, bound no more!”... that’s what I’d say if I were that Alpha, anyway.”

“Which is funny, because that is exactly what he just said!”

 

♪♫ “Reversal Judgment” ♫♪

 

At this, Alpha panickedly reached his free hand to his throat.  Had he truly repeated what his “Better Half” had recited?  Did his “Better Half” compel him to say it?  What trickery was this?!  “... WHAT…?” Alpha croaked in shock, looking down at the Boundless Tail in his other hand just as the artifact suddenly exploded in a brilliant technicolored display of wisps and sparkles.  “... how…?!”

“Why, your discarded half used a “backdoor” of his own, of course!” Orvus chuckled, a sparkle in his eyes as he watched the wisps take on the vague form of serpentine dragons, dancing and twisting in the fog-filled air.

“We all figured your intensifying emotions were either from your heart “rebuilding” itself to fill in what it lacked, OR due to you being in such close proximity to your “Better Half”,” Alister explained, silently acknowledging the distorted silhouette of what appeared to be a Japanese High School student that he caught a glimpse of out of the corner of his eye.  “The latter hypothesis, as well as your demonstrated ability, gave us the idea of having your “Better Half” sabotage you.”

“Aww, but Mr. Zurkon wanted to destroy the museum piece…,” Mr. Zurkon pouted uncharacteristically as he sulkingly fused back into Alister’s Omniwrench.

“... you will pay for this…,” Alpha seethed, his glare focused on his discarded half.

“Pay for what, exactly?” Light!Alpha tauntingly asked.  “Making you dispel your own ill-gotten weapon?  Or making you refer to yourself by your real name…?”

“That is NOT… forGET it!” Alpha hissed in unison with the Void-Spacian’s roar.  “The Void-Spacian and his power will be more than enough to deal with you all--!”

“--so long as you can maintain it,” Orvus calmly smiled, “which you need the Philosopher’s Observation to do so… say, Al? Would you like a “Tee-El; Dee-Arr” of what the Observation actually is?” the Zoni asked Alister as he nonchalantly snapped his fingers.

The world began to horribly spin for Alpha for a few seconds, necessitating him to call out his own Praetorian Omniwrench to support him in the midst of his sudden dizzy spell.  “What... what did you…?” he hoarsely sputtered.

“Something I should have done long ago, if I am being perfectly honest,” Orvus sniped at Alpha, his usual jovial tone carrying a hint of bitterness and remorse.  “And could have had you not put me in “Time Out”. But now it’s high time for you to be grounded, and that includes no playing with your kitty.”

Alpha regained his senses just in time to see that his conjured Void-Spacian was now disintegrating before him, the monstrosity’s pitiful howls of anguish barely audible among the almost elated sighs of the spirits trapped within it.  As the creature vanished before his eyes, Alpha felt his legs grow weak if for but a moment, the Praetorian Omniwrench being his main support as a numb feeling washed over him.

“The “Philosopher’s Observation”, as it is now called,” Orvus began to explain, “is of course a fragment of the Origin--or rather, a fragment of our universe’s Origin, which itself is a fragment of the greater Origin.  A fragment of a fragment, ever-so miniscule, yet with so much potential.  And we, the Zoni, managed to find one such potential use: as the power source of the Great Clock.  Wasn’t easy figuring out how to regulate it and whatnot, but we managed, given enough time… in spite of what the Fongoids had done to it, but still.”

“Regulate…,” Alister blinked, the math suddenly mathing for him. “... and so, when the Great Clock exploded, taking out the rest of our universe, part of our universe’s Origin--the “Philosopher’s Observation”--ended up being absorbed by Alpha….” He paused to take a brief glance at Alpha, noticing the DATEA Founder was regaining his wits and predicting he would most likely come after him, especially in a rage.  “... so, I take it you helped him to craft the Orvus Apparatus from his pocket watch, not only to regulate the energy inside of him… but also to siphon it out of him.”

“So clever, Al, exactly!” Orvus nodded, happy that Alister caught on.  “Yes, I had hoped to pull the Origin out of him so that closing him off from it would be an easier task--”

“--so, you intended to betray me from the start…!” Alpha growled as he turned around, all traces of his stoicism gone as he glared at the Zoni with a burning fury in his eyes.

“... oh, you misunderstand, Alpha--one cannot betray what they were never loyal to to begin with.” the Zoni replied chillingly, his jovial, cordial persona stashed aside.  “Did you really think that my helping you--after your overblown temper tantrum led you to murder your best friend’s son, destroy my assistant, send MY SON plummeting to his presumed doom, and destroy both the Great Clock and our entire known universe--was purely out of the goodness of my heart?  Why else would I “help” you?!  Granted, I gave you the smallest benefit of doubt in the hopes you would see the error of your ways, but CLEARLY YOU DID NOT!!

“Anyways~” Orvus continued, his mood swinging horrifically back to jovial in an instant as he once more addressed Alister, “now that Alpha’s been stripped of pretty much all his resources he had planned to use against you… what would you like to do next?”

Alister, still suffering whiplash from Orvus’s abrupt mood shift, took a few moments to quietly compose himself.  “What would I like to do next?  I mean, it’s as you said, Alpha’s had both his access to the Apparatus revoked AND his Sacred Artifact destroyed… at this point, it’d probably be simple to just leave him in this space and be on our way,” Alister proposed as he glanced over at Alpha, the latter clearly seconds away from having his rage reach its breaking point.  “Just leave him here, with nothing but his unfulfilled dream, the crushing weight of his mistakes and failures, his endless life, his thoughts… leave it all unfinished, no end in sight… it’s what he deserves, really… … … and yet….”

 

♪♫ “Second Chance…?” / “March Toward Completion” ♫♪


“And yet?” Orvus blinked hard, already sensing that Alister had something different in mind.

“Personally, it’s not exactly something I’d like to happen,” Alister expressed.  “Not so much out of pity for Alpha, mind, but, really, will it ever truly be over if we were to just leave him in here. Even without the Observation, who knows what he may attempt to escape from here.”

“How do you propose to put a stop to him, then?” Light!Alpha wondered.  “If he can’t be killed, how else will you end him?”

After a brief moment of thought, Alister asked out loud to Alpha, “Hey, you still want out of here, don’t you?  I mean, regardless of your ability to do anything.”

Light!Alpha blinked hard. “Al, what are you doing…?”

“Proposing a way to get Alpha out of here, of course,” Alister shrugged matter-of-factly.  “After all, it wouldn’t be right to just let him see the last bits of his hopes and dreams crumble here in such a dismal place… when he can see it crumble someplace else.”

“... now you’re mocking me…?!” Alpha growled, suddenly invigorated by his rage that he was now standing on his own legs, ready to pounce on Alister at any moment.  “You proposing a so-called “deal” to try and lower my guard, are you?!”

““Try”? Heh, I don’t have to try with you,” Alister snarked.  “And I’m not just mocking you “now”--I’ve been doing that from the very beginning. Or have you not been paying attention all this time?!”

Light!Alpha was getting a strange--yet familiar--feeling.  Specifically a feeling that felt like it was his own, yet wasn’t.  “I’m not sure this is such a good idea…,” he whispered to Orvus.

“Me neither but I wanna see where this goes,” Orvus snickered.

“What are you getting at?!” Alpha fumed at Alister.

“Do I seriously have to spell it out for you, quark-for-brains?  (“Hey…!”)  There’s a reason you’re trapped in here, and that’s because you couldn’t truly face yourself or your mistakes--you would rather destroy everything you once were just to get away from it all… but you never could, and you never will!  You denied yourself the chance to actually learn from your mistakes, your sins, your past, and THIS,” Alister declared, motioning to the void all around them “is what your cowardice got you!”

Though still extremely furious, Alpha managed to keep a steady composure, if only for a moment longer.  “Cowardice?” he seethed, the left corner of his mouth twitching into an almost smirk. “Sure, I suppose you would see it that way.  But really, I’m just tired. Tired of my failings, of being Fate’s plaything, of everything seeming to go right for just about everyone else regardless of my own efforts.  Even you and the rest of the participants of this blasted “war” will somehow earn their “happy ending”--even that “daughter” of Protheus Maximus that you managed to bring to your side… she still has a chance at happiness even after all she’s done… AND WHAT ABOUT ME?!!  WHAT THE HELL DO I GET??!!!  AND HOW COME YOU” he bellowed furiously, jabbing a furious finger in Alister’s direction, “GET TO HAVE BETTER THAN ME??!!  What makes YOU so goddamned special, HUH?!”

“There’s nothing “special” about me, Alpha,” Alister retorted, “I just did things differently from you, is all.  You could’ve avoided your misfortune if you had, for one thing, just listened to Ratchet--”

“--ALISTER!” 

Orvus’s cry alerted Alister just in time to stop an attack coming at him from his right, his would-be assailant succeeding only in plunging a glowing dagger through Alister’s left hand while his right hand grasped his assailant’s wrist.

“Tch…!” Alister scoffed, wincing in pain as he struggled to keep the dagger’s pointed end from plunging into a more vital area of his body while also preventing his assailant from retreating. “Guess there was still another backdoor you two shared, huh Alpha…?”

“A-Alister…!” Light!Alpha struggled to speak as his body attempted to act of its own will--or rather, by Alpha’s will. “Alpha, he… the longer he and I… are in proximity of each other… the more that he and I… re-synchronize… soon he and I… will be one and the same again… and I won’t… be able to help you anymore… I’m sorry, Al…!”

“Why be sorry?” Alister replied calmly, in spite of the pain shooting through his left hand and arm.  “At least one half of you did the best you could, and I’m glad to see that at least some part of you is capable of being a better person, even if there’s not much you can do about it at this point.  That said,” Alister added as a light briefly flashed from within his vest, “you and your other half reuniting… is exactly what I’m hoping for!”

“What…?!” “I-It is…?!” Alpha and his better half blurted out sequentially.

“That’s the only way to truly put a stop to him: by first making you whole again!” With that, Alister quickly kicked Light!Alpha away from him, his right hand now free to reach into his inner vest pocket and retrieve what was just bestowed upon him, courtesy of the Alternate Alexander residing in the Apparatus: “I now activate the Quick-Play Spell, “Super Polymerization”! Now if I understand the rules correctly, in order to activate it I must discard another card from my hand. Of course, I don’t exactly have another card in my possession, but,” Alister explained as he gestured to the bleeding wound in his palm, with some of the blood dripping out coalescing into the shape of a card before disappearing, “I suppose my own blood should be able to suffice.”

With its activation requirement paid, the Spell Card began to take effect in the form of a swirling vortex suddenly appearing behind DATEA!Alpha.  “The hell is this…?!” he uttered, anchoring himself with his Praetorian Omniwrench just as the vortex began to generate a suction force that threatened to pull him within.

“The effect of Super Polymerization,” Alister recited, “allows the caster to combine any two or more creatures present in the area--even those not on the side of the caster-- and create a new, singular monster. And what’s more, once it’s been activated, not a thing can be done in response to prevent its resolution--not even the one who cast the Spell!

“Now I’ll get straight to the point, Alpha,” Alister declared: “I’d prefer you be reunited with your “better half” sooner rather than later, so I’m speeding up the process right now using the two of you as the Fusion Materials!”

“I see,” Light!Alpha uttered understandingly as he too could feel himself getting drawn toward the vortex, only for Alister to grab him by the wrist.

“I’m sorry,” Alister sincerely apologized to Alpha’s “better half”, holding onto Light!Alpha at least long enough to say his peace, “the last thing I wanted was to betray you after all you’ve done.”

“No need to apologize,” Light!Alpha sadly smiled, having already accepted his fate.  “I had always figured, always known, that my fate is tied with the rest of Alpha--that I, one way or another, would have to be your enemy.  So no, I feel no betrayal--neither of us were ever really loyal to the other to begin with.  All I could hope to do was guide you towards putting my dream to rest.  I merely used you, as I’ve tried to use the other Alisters before you--”

“--y’know, I’m gonna miss this sincere, remorseful side of you,” Alister interrupted, slowly losing his grip on Light!Alpha’s wrist.  “It’s a shame, really, that you’ll likely be overwritten by Alpha’s malice and desperation; you reuniting with him may not do much to fix his damaged heart, if at all… I know you did all you could, despite everything… so that’s why, at least with what little time we have left here, I wanted to say: goodbye, and thank you.”

“... I see.  Then, I too shall say “thank you” to you, Al,” Light!Alpha quavered with one last, hopeful smile, just as he slipped out of Alister’s grip and felt towards the vortex, colliding with and dislodging Alpha on the way.

 

“... and “good-bye”...”

 

The vortex erupted with a brilliant light as soon as both halves of Alpha were absorbed within it.

“... I must ask, Al,” Orvus chimed in as he and Alister awaited the result of the “Fusion Summon”, “why didn’t you also include yourself as a “Fusion Material”?  Would’ve made this whole Boss Fight much shorter, for one.”

“As if you’re that concerned with the length of time,” Alister shrugged.  “And besides, fuse myself with Alpha? No thanks, I’d rather not have so many of the other Alisters in my head like that--eh, no offense, guys,” he added as an aside to the Altisters both physically present and still in the Apparatus (to which they collectively replied, “None taken!”)--much less the worst possible Alister in all of space-time; the last thing we need is for him to ruin what would otherwise be a positive outcome.”

“But then how do you intend to--?”

“--shh, he’s coming,” Alister hushed the Zoni just as the light of the Fusion died down, revealing the result that was now the complete Alpha; the plain jumpsuit he wore beneath his now-blood-colored coat was replaced by his old Praetorian Armor, and all hints of stoicism he had before were now completely eradicated, his furious expression now tinged with a touch of… insanity.

“... what have you done to me…?!” Alpha gurgled as he shakily examined himself, mortified to see that he closely resembled his old self, the self he tried to distance himself from.  “What. Have. You. DONE?!!!!”

“I put you back together,” Alister stated flatly. “Trust me, it’s for your own--”

“STUDDUP!” Alpha hissed, reflexively firing an energy blast from his OmniWrench at the alternate self that dared to taunt him, dared to vex him with his very presence.  Of course, Alister merely sidestepped the blast, but even if he hadn’t, the damage to Alpha’s psyche was already done.  “Just SHUT UP!! I don’t want to hear another word from you, from ANY of you!!” he shrieked, his eyes darting between Alister and all of the Altisters currently present.  “It was bad enough that I had all of you FAILURES in my goddamned face… but NOW?!?!”  Alpha clutched his head violently, his eyes bulging out as if threatening to pop out of their sockets. “NOW!! Now I have all of your failures playing in my head… MY HEAD!!  MY FUCKING HEEEEAAAAAD!!!!”

“His better half…!” Moony gasped in realization.

“Alister played his cards correctly… pun unintended,” I.T. spoke without his synthesized voice filter.  “Fusing Alpha’s two halves before they were completely synchronized must’ve allowed Alpha’s better half the chance to flood Alpha’s mind with images of all the previous Alisters’ Bad Ends.”

“But what now?” Zayon questioned.  “All this will likely accomplish is make him even more pissed off than before, not to mention have him do the “Yami Marik Face”... or is it the “Vector Face”...? W-Whatever, the point is: what was even the plan, Alister?! Make him want to die even though he can’t??”

Alister was prepared to answer, but a sickening crunch and squelch seized his attention; Alpha had, in the throes of his ((technically) self-inflicted) psychological torture, rammed one of his hands through his own chest and torn out his own darkened, lifeless heart.  “Talk about “what’s the plan”...,” Alister blinked in mild disgust.

A deranged, mirthless giggle gurgled out of Alpha’s throat, a thick ichor oozing out of his mouth like festering tar. “I… am done.  So very done… with you… with all of you… with EVERYTHING…,” Alpha growned, his dead heart nearly bursting with how tightly it was clenched in his hand.  “I am… SO very tired of getting my hopes up, just to have them dashed against the rocks… first Tachyon, then Protheus, and NOW! all of you--you, Orvus, your various mistakes, those Souls, even my so-called “better half”... how dare you all, trampling over me and my dreams, subjecting me to and making me the butt of this cruel, sick JOKE, after everything I’ve done, and can’t ever take back… … can no longer take back… … … if I can’t take it all back… … … … then… … … … … … … … … that’s it.”


 

I’ll

 

Just

 

End

 

EVERYTHING!!!!


 

“I’ll end it all, I’ll end EVERYTHING!!!” Alpha boldly declared in invigorated delirium as he crushed his own heart completely, the blackened, oozing blood splashing onto the left side of his face and upper torso as well as the floor beneath him.  “This cruel Multiverse has had its fun with me for FAR too long!!  No more will I allow myself to be its sad little CLOWN performing for its amusement!!”

“... aaaaaaand he’s snapped.  Of course that’s the conclusion he comes to,” Alister rolled his eyes, somewhat disappointed that Alpha didn’t have a sudden epiphany, but also not surprised.  His train of thought was interrupted, however, as something in the spilled black blood caught his eye: a single red eye belonging to… SOMETHING, shooting its hateful, piercing glare in Alister’s direction as the pool of blood began to expand on its own. Clearly, Alister realized, Alpha ripping out and crushing his own heart wasn’t just for dramatic, theatrical effect, nor to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he cannot die--no, Alpha was calling something to aid him.  Something… from deep within.

“If I cannot undo what I’ve already done,” Alpha continued to rave as the pool of black blood surrounded him and grew ever wider, “if I cannot bring my dream to reality, if I cannot have my happy ending, THEN NO ONE SHALL!!!”  The pool of blood suddenly erupted upwards, engulfing Alpha completely as the stream rose ever onwards.

“Knowing as much as I do,” Alister uttered as he watched the tower of blood reach the height of a 20-story building, “I’d say Alpha’s is calling upon his Shadow… how right am I?”

“A very good guess, Al,” Orvus nodded as he and Alister watched the tower of shadowy blood begin to take on a quasi-humanoid form.  “Though to me it seems he’s attempting to summon his Shadow as a Persona.  “Attempting” being the key word here.”

““Persona”…?” Alister repeated.

“Oh, right, Alexander and Umbris didn’t get that far in their Shadow explanation last time, did they?  Well, best way I can “Tee-El;Dee Arr” it is this: a Persona is what happens when one’s Shadow--the manifestation of their inner self--is “refined” and tamed by own’s ego, and acts as a “mask” for one to be able to face hardship.  In this case, however, eurgh…”

“We could say his inner self has become a beast barely contained since his two halves reunited,” Alister completed, “but it looks like he’s managed to surpass and overpower that beast by sheer force of will… or just sheer force, really…”  He glanced back up at Alpha’s Shadow, seeing it take on the towering appearance of a kneeling, porcelain-skinned, ball-jointed doll with an angelic, masculine visage, complete with wings sprouting from its back and the sides of its head.  Various cracks in the figure’s porcelain skin--mostly on the right side of its body--reveal a clockwork skeleton within, along with a starry void; from the largest of these cracks in the center of its chest dangled a synthetic heart branded with a mark similar to the engraving on Alister’s pocket watch. Grand, golden chains materialized from a portal in the center of a giant floating gear high above the Shadow, shackling the figure like the strings of a marionette. Atop the Shadow’s head lay a pool of the blackened blood, a festering bog which contrasted with the bright porcelain of the figure, and residing in this pool, submerged up to his waist, stood Alpha, grasping what looked to be his own set of golden chains shackled to his own wrists.

Ryhea8t0gX14LRaOhK_I3m-rOEHaAD3dKax6UgrF

((pardon the crude sketch, but here's a rough visual representation of the Shadow as described above))

“Combining with your own monster, huh? How very “DM-Era”, as Alexander would put it,” Alister shrugged at Alpha’s display.

“Continue your mockery at your own peril, ”General”,” Alpha sneered as he raised his left arm, the Shadow forced to make a similar motion due to the chains puppeteering its arm. “Just know that you will be the first to taste oblivion by my hand!!”

“Yeah, yeah, shuddup,” Alister scoffed as he got into combat position, alongside Moony, I.T., Aligore and Zayon. “Let’s get this shindig over with already--I’ve got people to get back to and a party to throw.  And that’s “Alister” to you,” he firmly added.

 

♫♪ VS Shadow of Alpha (Apollyon) / “Avatar Beat” ♪♫

 

“No, you are NOTHING to me, and soon you will BE nothing!! MAFREIDYNE!!!” Alpha bellowed as he ordered his Shadow to cast a Nuclear Spell at Alister and the Altisters, all five dodging out of the way and dashing towards the Shadow just as five small nuclear explosions erupted where they each once stood.

“Aligore, I.T., you two focus on the Shadow’s cracked limbs along with Pearl and Vivi, starting with the right leg!” Alister instructed as he summoned the Crystal Gem and Furret Pokemorph out of the Apparatus. “Moony and Zayon, see what you, Homura and Reid can do about that heart!”

“And what about you?” Zayon asked as the Puella Magi and the Dragon Elder appeared by his side.

“I’ve got some backup in mind, but otherwise I’m going straight for the head.”

“Then allow me to give you a boost, Adonis,” Reid offered as he grabbed hold of Alister mid-stride and, with Zayon, Moony and Homura clung to his back, kicked off into the air, soaring up towards the heart of the Shadow before flinging Alister upwards towards the head.  “Give him all the Hells, Al!”

“... anything else you wanna tell me, Orvus?” Alister mentally said to the Zoni as he zipped through the air.

“You could tell, huh?” Orvus replied.  “Okay, I must confess that there is one more thing I must tell you so that you may be best prepared: while the Philosopher’s Observation allows you to call upon the Altisters and Souls from within the Apparatus, there is a limit to how long you can maintain them before they’re forced to go back, proportionate to how many you have out at a time.”

“And how much of that limit have I used up so far?”

“... a little over twenty percent.  And counting.”

“... that should be plenty,” Alister mentally nodded just as he landed atop the Shadow’s head, a few yards away from Alpha.

“I know that look,” Alpha taunted. “Orvus just now told you something last minute that he could’ve brought up sooner--specifically about the Observation’s limits with maintaining your After Images… I know I’m right,” he added with a smirk.

“And what if you are? Whaddya want, a cookie?” Alister scoffed. “In-before you say “No, Azimuth, I want you to DIE!” or something like that.”

“Tch… I actually WANTED to say that, you dick!” Alpha angrily scowled.  “Yet another thing you denied me just by existing…!  ATOMIC FLA--hrrRRK-*!” Alpha attempted to cast yet another Nuclear Spell, but Alister had thrown a “Gyakutenno Megami” card right into his open mouth, causing him to choke and stopping the reciting of the Spell’s name.  “... really…?!” Alpha grunted after pulling the card out of his mouth and crushing it.

“Not our fault you made it so easy with that big mouth of yours,” an Alister-esque voice taunted back; while Alpha was distracted from the mouthful of “Goddess of Reversal”, Alister took a risk to call upon three Altisters that Alpha almost immediately recognized: Alpha-Romeo, Alpha-Delta, and Alpha-Tango.

“You three… but HOW?! You three should have ceased to exist when the Pathways were destroyed!!” Alpha exclaimed with shocked outrage.

“Yeah, we were wondering about that, too,” Alpha-Romeo scratched the back of his head.  “Turns out that interacting with Alister--whether we were conscious or not--caused us to sync up with the Apparatus again, and thus created a backup for each of us.”

“So it’s not enough for you to throw YOUR mistakes in my face,” Alpha seethed at Alister, “NOW you’re pitting MY mistakes against ME—?!!”

“Quit giving yourself so much credit, Alpha--our mistakes and deaths were ours alone, while you were just along for the ride and subsequent crash,” Alpha-Delta retorted as he called out one of his Mini-Mechs to fire its missiles at Alpha.  Alpha shielded himself from the missile strike by spinning his OmniWrench before himself, but still sustained a fair bit of damage from the impact of the explosions.

“We wouldn’t even be here if not for your experiments, so consider this karma for dragging all of us through your bullshit!” Alpha-Tango sneered as he unfurled his ragged cloak, several lasers firing out from within the cloak aimed for Alpha’s head.

(Zayon’s Group P.O.V.)

Despite Alpha’s attention being otherwise occupied with Alister and the AlphAltisters, the Shadow was still able to defend itself without input from its “Master”; a swarm of locusts began to spill out of the “Deity’s” mouth, converging on Reid and his passengers.

“The one time I forget to bring bug spray… figures,” Moony scoffed as he, Zayon and Homura provided cover fire against the cloud of locusts.

“You don’t need bug spray,” Reid boasted, “not when you’ve got a living flamethrower!”

“Having an actual flamethrower wouldn’t hurt, though,” Homura pointed out flatly as she retrieved said weapon from behind her buckler, back-mounted fuel tank and all.

“... this child scares me,” Zayon and Moony blurted in unison.

The Puella Magi, after a quick smirk and a flick of her hair, proceeded to douse the oncoming swarm with the ignited fuel, giving Reid time to surround himself and his passengers with a swirling spherical cage of flame, just as a new swarm of locusts made a beeline for them once again, yet only succeeding in becoming ash as they collided with the cage.

“That’s odd,” Reid mused as a third stream of locusts collided with his flame cage.  “Is it me, or does it seem like these locusts aren’t even bothering to protect the heart?  It’s as if they’re less interested in defending a possible weak point by acting as a distraction, and more interested in attacking us for the sake of attacking.”

“... perhaps because Alpha doesn’t see the heart as being something worth protecting,” Moony hypothesized.  “Even if doing so would be more beneficial to him.”

“... … because, just like what it seems to represent,” Zayon added, taking special note of the mark emblazoned on the heart’s surface, “he must not want anything to do with it, even if it was once something he couldn’t be without, for the pain and suffering he now associates with it.”

“So do we just ignore it, then?” Homura pressed.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Moony shrugged.  “We’ll have to come up with something while we deal with these locusts.”

“Fair enough,” Reid nodded, having already prepared to fire off his Quad-Kill Attack.

“Though I have to wonder if the group on the ground floor are having any issues with the locusts too?” Zayon pondered.

“Meh, I’m sure they’re fine,” Moony shrugged.

(Aligore’s Group P.O.V.)

“This is NOT fine!!” Pearl shrieked indignantly as she, Vivi, I.T. and Aligore fought to fend off the swarm of locusts pestering their group, having made little-to-no headway on their objective of cracking the Shadow’s porcelain skin further.  “It’s like there’s no END to them!”

“Aligore, don’t you have any Fire moves that can hit as many of these locusts as possible?!” Admiral Vivi called out while trying to shake off a cluster of locusts that had clung to his long, bushy tail.

“I’m trying!! BLOOMING EMBERS!!!” Aligore called out while spinning his Praetorian Trident above him, unleashing a flurry of petal-like flames from the weapon’s ends which encircled the group.  Many of the locusts harassing them exploded upon making contact with the flaming petals, but more quickly took their place shortly after. “I’m going to run out of Tension Points (TP) at this rate!”

“Your Asgore Half isn’t from that continuity--you’re not using TP!” I.T. blurted out, trying his best to mark the “shatterpoints” of the Shadow’s skin while swatting away the swarm with his Cable Tails.

“Point being, I can’t keep this up forever, I.T.!!” Aligore grunted.

“They all seem dead set on going straight for us,” Pearl noted while firing beams from her spear.  “Maybe if we had more of us out here….”

“But that would put tremendous strain on Alister’s use of the Observation,” I.T. revealed. “He’s already using quite a bit just having us out and about.”

“We just need one to help us out,” Aligore surmised. “One specific Altister.”

“...!” I.T. ellipses’d in realization. “That has to be your most brilliant idea to date, Aligore! Get your Blooming Embers ready!” I.T. proceeded to put out what looked like a folded piece of paper from his pocket.  “Get to multiplying, Too-Dee!”

Unfolding in I.T.’s hand, Too-Dee gave a cute giggle as he began to duplicate his body exponentially, each copy grabbing hold of one of Aligore’s Blooming Embers as they floated through the air before landing on I.T.’s Shatterpoint Marks. The locusts, drawn to the sudden appearance of Too-Dee’s duplicates, redirected their focus to bombard the scribbly decoys. The Blooming Embers that each duplicate held detonated as soon as the locusts made contact, setting off a chain reaction as the explosions cracked the Shatterpoints of the Shadow’s porcelain skin in rapid succession until, with a loud crash, the Shadow's right leg shattered completely, throwing the Shadow off-balance and forcing it to support itself with its right arm.

“... … wait, so I.T. just had Too-Dee with him the whole time?” Pearl blurted confusedly.

“I ain’t gonna question it,” Vivi shrugged, glad that the spectacle saved them a lot of time and effort.  Speaking of…

(Alister’s POV)

The Shadow’s loss-of-balance caused Alister’s group and especially Alpha to stumble in the midst of their scuffle, with Alpha even faceplanting into the pool of black blood surrounding him.  As Alpha struggled to pull himself out of the ichor, Alister and the AlphAltisters seized the opportunity for an All-Out Attack, attacking the DATEA Leader from all angles in rapid succession.

“Fuck… OFF!!!” Alpha bellowed angrily, setting off a point-blank Megidolaon that struck right where he stood, and managed to catch Alpha-Romeo in the blast radius even as the other two AlphAltisters and Alister retreated just in time to avoid the damage.

“Alpha-Romeo!” Alpha-Tango and Alpha-Delta cried out as they watched their fellow AlphAltister disintegrate into sand before his eyes, a sign that the AlphAltister had Timed-Out.

“And that,” Alpha declared with malefic triumph, in spite of having lost small chunks of his own flesh as a result of his desperate counterattack, “is what’s going to happen to the rest of you!”

A bestial growl erupted from Alpha-Delta’s throat.  “Well why wait?!” he furiously barked as, despite protests from Alister and Alpha-Tango, Alpha-Delta dove into the cockpit of his Mini-Mecha.  “You want us gone that badly?! Consider that wish granted, but just know we won’t go down without a fight!!”

“Freidyne!!” Alpha immediately unleashed another Nuclear Spell aimed at Alpha-Delta’s Mini-Mecha, yet the machine bowled through the attack as it made a mad dash for Alpha’s position, prepared to do as much damage as possible to the DATEA Leader and/or his Shadow even if….

“Al, take cover!” Alpha-Tango shrieked, dragging Alister to the floor and covering him with his own body just as a great explosion erupted, firing shrapnel from Alpha-Delta’s Mini-Mecha all around them.

“Well, that was excessive on Alpha-Delta’s part,” Orvus chimed in as he appeared by Alister and Alpha-Tango’s side.  “Are you two okay?”

“Alister is… at least,” Alpha-Tango grunted in pain, having taken several searing shards of metal to his back.  He gingerly lifted himself up from Alister, relieved to see that the lombax had not sustained any injuries as a result of Alpha-Delta’s kamikaze attack.  Yet something in the back of his head was bothering him.  “... ah, shit, is there one in the back of my head, too…?”

“I’d, uhm… rather not say,” Orvus gulped.

“Ugh… Al, don’t look,” Alpha-Tango advised Alister, keeping the back of his head--and the piece of shrapnel sticking out of it--away from the latter’s view.

“Okay, but… did that get him?” Alister worried, turning his attention towards the wreckage that was once Alpha-Delta’s Mini-Mecha.  “At least tell me if that put a dent in him….”

“... I’ll admit, it did.” The voice that calmly answered came from the now mostly-stripped skeleton of Alpha, with only the left half of his face and upper-left side of his torso still having any flesh clinging to his black blood-covered bones.  “A valiant effort on that After Image’s part, though it still amounted to nothing in the end….”

“... holy fuck…,” Alister and Alpha-Tango gasped at the horrific display which proved beyond all doubt that Alpha was not going to be killed… at least not physically.

“... you’re just a cruel imitation of a living creature now,” Orvus shook his head, his tone almost pitying as he, Alister and Alpha-Tango watched Alpha regenerate his flesh using the sickening black plasma.  “I daresay the Shadow beneath us is more “you” than you are now--”

“--but of course I’m not “the old me” anymore,” Alpha sneered as his body regained the appearance it had before--minus his outfit, now replaced by a layer of black ooze covering the forearms and lower half of his now otherwise naked form. “I have forsaken the old me long ago--no more shall I be “Alister Azimuth” ever again--”

“--but you’ll always be Alister to me… won’t you…?”

Alpha, Alister and Alpha-Tango were all taken aback at the sudden appearance of Kaden, the yellow-furred lombax staring Alpha down with a slight tinge of pity in his barely-noticeable smile.

“Kaden…? But I didn’t sense him being called from the Apparatus…,” Orvus thought to himself. “Some of the others have retreated, though, and yet….”

“... Kaden…?” Alpha-Tango uttered, just as confused as Orvus was.

As if to ease Alpha-Tango’s mind, Kaden placed a reassuring hand gently on the Altister’s shoulder. “Alister and I can take it from here, so you go ahead and retreat… okay, Tango?”

A slight gasp escaped Alpha-Tango’s lips, as if realizing… … a slight, knowing smile quickly appeared on his face before vanishing in a cloud of dust and sand, Timing-Out from the damage he had sustained prior.

With the Altister gone, Kaden helped Alister to his feet before returning his attention to Alpha.  “You know there’s still a chance for you to stop what you’re doing, Alister,” he told the DATEA Leader.  “Even with this whole, erm… display you’ve got going on here.”

Alpha stood regarding Kaden in mystified, paralyzed silence.  “... you… can’t be real.”

“I mean, it has been quite some time since you last saw me, right?” Kaden replied calmly.

“That’s not what I--,” Alpha grunted, stumbling upon his words.  “You… you know me, Kaden… do you really think… that I can stop now…?  Even if I wanted to now, I… I can’t.  I can’t stop now, not ever… I’m too far into this to be able to…!”

Kaden couldn’t help but to shake his head at Alpha’s response.  “You always were stubborn, weren’t you?” he asked in a way that made it sound like the question wasn’t just for Alpha… or even for Alister.  “... Al, if you don’t stop now, you will cross the point where it will be too late to turn back.  You’ll destroy everything, up to and including the Multiverse itself, and for what--?”

“PAYBACK, Kaden…!” Alpha barked, his insanity snapping back into place.  “Our universe, the entire Multiverse, saw fit to thrust tragedy after tragedy upon me and the ones I love, tear it all from my hands no matter how tightly I try to hold on to it, and I was supposed to just continue on with whatever little the Multiverse desired to leave me with?!  No… no, Kaden… I know that the Multiverse is MY enemy, and I will be the one to bring it to its knees and--”

“--and make it your “bitch”,” Kaden scoffed, glancing up at the chains hanging down from the halo-like gear above the Shadow, the same ones binding its limbs and wings, the same ones which Alpha now holds in his hands.  “Much like how you feel the Multiverse has made a clown out of you, is that it?”

“That’s what happens when one takes the universe’s humor the wrong way--they try to burn the entire comedy club down with everyone in it…,” Orvus sighed.

“YOU BE QUIET!!!” Alpha bellowed at Orvus, firing a plasma blast from his OmniWrench at the Zoni for good measure.  “Always getting on my last nerve with that “Universe and its great sense of humor” BULLSHIT!”

“Well MAYBE!” Alister cut in as he swatted the blast away from Orvus with his own OmniWrench before firing off his own volley of plasma blasts at Alpha, “some of us should’ve listened to what the Universe was trying to tell us instead of taking the punchline the wrong way!”

“Of course YOU would say that!” Alpha hissed back, deflecting Alister’s projectiles.  “YOU got to have a second chance to live YOUR life, and to see where and what you did wrong--

I didn’t need a second chance at life to see WHAT I DID WRONG!!” Alister bellowed as he took the chance to clash wrenches with Alpha.  “What I NEEDED--what YOU needed--was someone to beat some SENSE into us to get us to STOP what we were doing before we FUCKED THINGS UP FURTHER!!!  Which is fucked up in its own right because we shouldn’t’ve NEEDED all of that to begin with--WE should’ve known damned well enough to just stop and listen in the FIRST PLACE!!!”

Before Alpha could retort, Alister had backhanded him across the face hard enough to temporarily dislocate his jaw. Kaden used the distraction to fling several CryoMines in Alpha’s face, the explosives freezing Alpha within a block of ice.  “Clearly you must know, Alpha,” Kaden spoke as he stared into the shocked expression on the frozen lombax’s face, “that what you plan to do will destroy every universe, every timeline, everything and everyone in them!  The lives and very existences of the ones we love will be erased… do they mean so little to you now?!'

Even through the layers of ice, Kaden’s words struck a chord in Alpha.  Not a Chord of Epiphany, mind, but rather a Chord of Betrayal.  Breaking out of his icy prison with a roar, Alpha materialized a separate golden chain to ensnare Kaden, the binding links steadily tightening around the lombax’s ribcage.  “STOP TRYING TO TALK ME OUT OF IT, KADEN, AND GET OUT OF MY WAY!!  NOTHING WILL KEEP ME FROM ACHIEVING MY DREAM!! I’VE MADE UP MY MIND!!!!”

“... so have we.” A few seconds after hearing this line, spoken by another familiar, yet raspy voice, Alpha glanced down to see the right half of his face, lying face-up in the pond of blood and staring back at him with the same stunned expression as his left.  It had been blasted off by the assailant standing behind him, their Constructo Pistol still aimed at (what’s left of) Alpha’s head.  “Regardless of what you have planned for the Multiverse, know that we won’t let it come to pass… Alister.”

Alpha’s body became paralyzed, frozen, with terror, realizing who it was speaking to him, confronting him, at that very moment, not even reacting to the Kaden-shaped Decoy currently deflating in front of him.  His right eye, however, despite currently being separate from the rest of his head, could see this adversary clear as day: Ratchet. His Ratchet.

“Now Ratchet…?” Orvus mused to himself in confusion.  “Again I failed to sense a calling from the Apparatus--oh.  Ohh… goodness, my mind really does tend to slip, doesn’t it?  Why didn’t I make the connection sooner? Myeh-hee…!”

Alister, too, seemed about as confused as Orvus was at the sudden appearance of Ratchet (or I suppose we shall call him “Ratchet-Zero” for clarity’s sake), yet something in the back of his mind seemed to tell him what was really at work here, and so he decided to run with it.  “Your sins and your guilt are finally catching up to you, Alpha,” he taunted sternly.  “Even here you can’t run and hide from them forever.”

“... me, hide…?” Alpha croaked, his paralysis doing nothing to keep his rage at bay as he turned his focus back onto Alister.  “What about you? You yourself are hardly any better than I when it comes to the sins you committed, or were willing to commit.  It’s as you said: you “needed” someone to beat some sense into you to get you to reconsider activating the Orvus Chamber.  What if that “someone”--your Ratchet--failed to bring you to your senses?  I’ll tell you: YOU STILL WOULD HAVE ENDED UP LIKE ME!!! You still would have killed Ratchet, and then destroyed the Great Clock AND your universe, THEN be “rescued” by that bastard Protheus and offered to join him in his crusade to find the Door of Origin--!”

“--so me becoming “just like you” comes down to specific variables lining up in just the right way, basically,” Alister rolled his eyes, interrupting Alpha’s monologue.  “Sure, you’re right, I could have become just like you had Ratchet failed to stop me… but he didn’t, and so I didn’t, and quite frankly when it comes to you and I, what did happen is more important than “what could have happened”--what has happened cannot and should not be changed--!”

“You are a COWARD!” Alpha barked back, the hole in his head quickly resealing itself with more black blood.  “A coward and a hypocrite!!  You and I both know that you should be DEAD right now--”

“--and that Isamy’s intervention is what’s kept me from dying,” Alister once again finished Alpha’s thought while cutting yet another monologue short.  “It’s true that her turning me into a Distortion has effectively prolonged my life, or perhaps more accurately… delayed my actual moment of death--I could very well be on a timer, and once it reaches zero my death will catch up to me… and honestly, that’s fine by me.” 

“Alister can accept when his time is up,” Ratchet-Zero spoke up, still holding Alpha at gunpoint, “unlike you, who severed himself from death despite having killed himself--when you ran yourself through with “Boundless Tail”!  It’s like Orvus said--you’re nothing but a “cruel imitation of a living creature” now, just a soul trapped in a festering mass that can’t even be called a “corpse” anymore!  You’ve… twisted yourself into something unnatural, all in the vain hope of achieving your ambitions, and not even death can free you of it now; you’ll be stuck like this even after the rest of Multiverse comes to its natural end.  Do you even realize how thoroughly you screwed yourself over?!”

“... so what if I have, Ratchet?” Alpha coldly shrugged.  “If becoming an undying perversion of nature is the price I must pay to realize my dream, then consider it paid!  I will spend that eternity either reshaping the current Multiverse, or crafting a new one once the slate cleans itself!”

“And how many times WILL you be recreating the Multiverse, then?!”

“As many times as it takes!!”

“You’ll never be satisfied, then,” Orvus spoke.  “You’ll be spending many Multiversal lifetimes chasing that dream, falling short of your expectations every time--”

“--he knows that already,” Alister interrupted Orvus.  “Or at the very least he’s willing to go through with it, even if his dream can never be realized.  He’s already resigned himself to that fate because he sees no other option for himself.  No other potential for himself.”

The response took everyone else by surprise--even Shadow Alpha flinched slightly before going deathly still.  Alister continued, “You asked me before about what made me “special” compared to you, Alpha, and my answer moments before was that there was nothing, aside from what I ended up doing differently from you.  I still feel that holds true, but there’s more to it than that.

“You and I still share the same core, Alpha--we’re selfish, arrogant, impatient, ambitious, hard-headed and prideful to a fault… hell, at least a little bit insane, even.  The difference, however, is that you no longer see yourself--or me--growing much beyond all of that.  But I do see it--have seen it--my potential to grow beyond the pain and suffering that would lead us astray, my potential to hope for greater things and a better tomorrow not just for myself, but for those who will come after me.  All that you saw and wrote off as “mistakes” I see as possibilities for myself and all those I hold dear, and that is why I am here to put a stop to you--!”

“--of course it is,” Alpha cut in with a flat tone that sounded almost bored and irritated.  A second later, Alister and Ratchet-Zero found themselves impaled and pinned down by various spears made out of Alpha’s black blood, all of which conveniently avoided puncturing any vital organs--but only because Alpha willed it to be so.  “Bored as I am with everyone’s incessant prattling, I can’t help but to at least throw in my own two cents.  Of course you’re here, Azimuth, risking your life to try and stop me, all for the sake of those you care about,” he said, ignoring Ratchet-Zero’s gasps and whimpers of pain as he strolled over toward Alister, backhanding and sending Orvus flying as the Zoni made an attempt to confront him head-on.  “I know this, obviously, because I am--or was--you, once.  We who would do anything for those in need, those who would never ask for our help or even thank us for it, if for no other reason that it being the only way we can ever live with ourselves for what we’ve done… even if it means we don’t live at all… but I’m done with that now, so allow me to bring this farce to an end,” he declared, stooping down and grabbing the kneeling Alister by the neck, “by taking your life--snuffing it out along with all that hope and potential you’ve been ever-so keen on defending, attached to all those insignificant lives you hold so dearly, before moving on to erasing the rest of this accursed Multiverse and everything in it… what have you to say to that?”

“... I’d say,” Alister strained through the pressure against his throat, managing a slight, defiant smirk despite the immense pain he was otherwise in, “... that not even you can help… but to monologue, Mr. Straight-To-The-Point…!”

 

“INFINITE IMPERMANENCE!!!”

 

Hearing the declaration behind him, Alpha had only enough time to frantically turn around to face Ratchet-Zero before being blasted by a blinding light that enveloped him is a thick blue aura, which then dissolved, along with the chains connecting him to his Shadow, into a cloud of cyan bubbles that floated up and away, silently fading into the empty sky as a similar, familiar feeling of power-loss washed over Alpha.  “Lost your cool, lost your focus,” Ratchet-Zero taunted, proudly showing off the Trap Card he had just used on Alpha as if he hadn’t been made into a parody of a pincushion mere moments before, “and now lost your power, if for but a moment.”  The young lombax smirked as his appearance rippled and warped, settling on those of Kaden. “‘Course I couldn’t have done this without “Soul Alexander” teaching us how to play Duel Monsters his way, without your deep-seated guilt over killing Ratchet making you choose to deal with “him” second, nor…,” “Kaden” added as his entire being now rippled and warped again, revealing his true appearance: Moony.  “... without Alister helping me to distract you long enough to pull this off.  Speaking of, he was right,” Moony added tauntingly; “even us “mistakes” can learn and grow from what we ourselves or each other have experienced since becoming Altisters, so what’s really been your excuse, Alpha?”

“You… worthless…!” Alpha growled through his teeth, prepared to do one of the few things he’s capable of in his current state and blast a hole through the Altister with his OmniWrench.  Alister, meanwhile, attempted to take advantage of Alpha’s distracted state and tackle him from behind--even though, unlike Moony, he was more affected by the pincushioning he he was subjected to.

… yet neither would get their chance at the moment, as Alpha’s Shadow--no longer bound to its “Master”--suddenly convulsed and writhed violently, catapulting Alpha, Alister and Moony off of its head with an ear-grating screech.  Thankfully none of them had very far to fall as, due to I.T.’s quick thinking, Too-Dee formed a nearby papier-mâché platform with his many duplicate bodies upon which the three landed relatively safely.

“Oh good!, we’re all back in the picture now,” Reid chimed sarcastically, having wondered just when the screentime would return to the two groups dealing with the Shadow.  “Anyways, don’t mean to rush you, Al, but could you hurry it up whilst you clearly have the advantage?!”

“I’m working on it!” Alister grunted as he got back to his feet as quickly as his injuries would allow.  Alpha, however, was already making a murderous dash towards the lombax, OmniWrench in hand and energy charge, ready to fire--

--yet Alpha would once again be briefly inconvenienced as a dagger plunged right in the center of his back, throwing him off-balance.  “Oh good,” Moony snarked, dagger-throwing hand still raised as he began to vanish and retreat back inside the Apparatus, “I managed to hit my mark this time.”

This brief inconvenience was just enough for Alister to make his own move, tackling Alpha to the ground and disarming him of his OmniWrench, which the Z-Wrench proceeded to pin to the ground.  “You say you wanna “take my life”, Alpha?!” Alister roared as he straddled Alpha, pinning him by the neck with his left hand while, with his free right hand, he grabbed hold of the Pocket Watch dangling from his own neck, breaking the chain as he furiously yanked it off--

 

“When you love something, never lose it… you must always keep it safe, close to your heart….”

 

--a shadowy, distorted energy erupted around Alister’s hand as he plunged the watch into the gaping hole still in the center of Alpha’s chest, into the chest cavity where Alpha’s heart once existed.  “Then go ahead and TAKE IT!!!”  The same distorted energy began to radiate all over Alister’s body, billowing behind him almost like a cloak blowing in the wind.

“What are you doing…?!” Alpha gasped in shock at witnessing this spectacle, frantically wondering just what Alister was trying to accomplish at this very moment.  “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!?!”

“... giving you back what you’ve lost,” Alister calmly responded as he began to pour every ounce of the distorted power within his body into Alpha’s.

“Wait, is he…?!” Pearl gasped as she and the rest of Aligore’s group watched what was happening on the platform above them.

“He’s… utilizing the power of Distortion granted to him by Isamy,” Aligore uttered in awe.

“He’s blasting Alpha from the inside with it!  And it’s affecting the Shadow, too!” Admiral Vivi added as everyone else witnessed the Shadow crumple onto its own back, crying out in agony.

“But being made into a Distortion is what’s keeping him alive in the first place,” Homura informed.  “If Alister uses up and removes that power from his own body--!”

“--he’s aware,” Reid uttered solemnly.  “It’s why he’s even doing this at all--he got the idea from what happened to Zayon and I….”

“Ceasing to be a distortion will bring his own life to an end,” Zayon quavered knowingly, tears calmly falling down his face, “which will create an Altister within the Apparatus, and in turn will also steal away Alpha’s own soul--whether he is capable of dying or not--since he’s the one in closest proximity to the pocketwatch.  That’s how it happened, with me and my Red….”

“So THAT’s your game, huh?!” Alpha snarled hysterically, laughing in Alister’s face even as the Distortion was flowing into him.  “Once again you throw your life away to try and patch up your failings!  Some things never change at all do they--?!”

“Make no mistake, Alpha,” Alister calmly stated, all while he could feel his own lifeforce steadily draining from his very being, “this is not me giving up on life or living--far from it.  I’m resolved to never give up on myself ever again--and that includes ALL of my alternate selves… even you.”

“!!” Alpha was utterly taken aback by this declaration, but once again it was for but a moment, as this amazement quickly gave way to indignation.  “Of all the insipid drivel to come out of that blasted mouth…!  SAVE YOUR FUCKING SYMPATHIES FOR SOMEONE WHO DESERVES IT, AZIMUTH!!!!” he shrieked as he reached both of his hands up as if to grab Alister’s head, his palms glowing with concentrated Almighty energy--a sign that the effect of “Infinite Impermanence” had come to an end. “MEGIDOLAO--!!”

The spell Alpha intended to unleash would never appear; heralded by a warped slashing sound, both of his arms began to crumple apart into small cubes of flesh and bone, leaving stumps up to his shoulders.  Stunned by this development, Alpha glanced away from the minced remains of his arms cascading upon him and up at the figure that had partially emerged from the cloak of distortion billowing behind Alister: a familiar, teal-haired young woman in a cute, fancy outfit complete with a tophat, wielding a shadowy scythe in her hands--the very same scythe that had just finished dicing up Alpha’s arms before he could decimate Alister’s head.  “... Isamy… you brat.”

Though the effect of “Infinite Impermanence” no longer restrained him, Alpha found himself somehow unable to merge the minced pieces of his arms back together to the rest of his body, nor manipulate his blackened blood for any other use.  Was this a result of Isamy’s own power interfering with his, or was there something else--

“Seems we’ve truly reached your checkmate now.”  Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Orvus slowly materialized back into Alpha’s view--whether Alister could see this too, or if this was for Alpha’s eyes only, no one quite knew at that moment.  “Granted, you’ve had yourself in check for so long, it was bound to happen eventually; thankfully it happened sooner rather than later.'

“So you’ve come to gloat now that I’m seemingly defenseless?” Alpha scoffed at the Zoni.

“Nothing “seemingly” about your state, Alpha--this is it,” Orvus chided.  “In just a few more seconds the results of Alister’s actions will make themselves quite apparent, though perhaps not in the way most believe they will--”

“--how so?!” Alpha snapped.  “Everyone already knows what’s happening--Azimuth is going to end his life just so he and I can be sealed inside the Apparatus along with the rest of the Failures and their Plus-Ones.  Then we’ll get to sit through yet another cycle and watch as yet another--”

“--nope,” Orvus cut in, wagging a finger in Alpha’s face.  “As per Alister’s request before we entered this domain, I had the “Return-To-Start” function of the Apparatus disabled.  Permanently, I might add, so regardless of what happens here, this will be the final “Loop” that the Apparatus will make, whether anyone likes the results or not.

“As for the whole “Alister giving up his life for the sake of those he cares for and/or the world/universe/Multiverse” bit, while it is true that he would do so without hesitation--and I mean, c’mon, we’ve seen him try that so many times--the truth is that would be his last resort… and what he’s doing now is anything but.”

“WHAT.”

“Right now, what Alister intends to do,” Orvus explained, “is use the power of Distortion bestowed upon him AND the Philosophers’ Observation he gained from your Better Half to not so much breathe life into you again, but rather to restore your severed connection to the Cycle of Life... the connection you severed when you attempted to separate yourself from your emotions, your inhibitions, your identity… the action that rendered you undying even as your own blood festered and coagulated into ichor, your body wasting away with no chance of release from your own rotting corpse, a prison of your own making keeping you from joining the afterlife to be reunited with those that would welcome you with open arms… even despite everything.  Granted, effectively becoming a Lich did grant you access to some rather… unenviable gifts that served you well in this battle up to this point, but all of that will soon end; in fact, your inability to reform your arms after Isamy destroyed them means that Alister’s efforts are already bearing fruit.

“Now, I must ask, and feel free to give an answer or not, I don’t mind either way,” Orvus said, taking a moment to study Alpha’s expression of astonished realization, “so: with your connection to the Cycle of Life being restored while in your current state, what do you suppose will happen to you?  Even without being an otherwise amorphous mass of rotten flesh, you literally have no heart--you made sure of that with your little display before calling out your “Persona”.  And even if your heart were still intact, you’d surely bleed out from your wounds (and I’m not just talking about bleeding from those two stumps that were once your arms)... okay, I’ll go ahead and answer for you since you seem ever-so preoccupied with what may be your final thoughts: You’re going to die, Alpha.  Death will finally catch up to you after being denied the chance for so long.  Hell, it’s likely you’ll die before Alister gets the chance to--how embarrassing would that be for ya, amirite?  And all because you kept putting yourself in check: from the moment you murdered your Ratchet nottomentionCLANKlet’snotforgetthat, to the moment you overloaded the Great Clock, to the moment you denied accountability for both… ALL the way up to this exact moment, everything you’ve ever done to get yourself out of check only served to keep you in check, and not even a stalemate can end this prolonged game of Chess that you should have lost long ago.  Everyone’s tired--even you, I’m sure--and they want to go home, but they can’t until THIS game comes to a close… your dream must remain a dream, Alpha, and you need to let yourself rest, too.  You need to…”

 

♫♪ (Determination) ♪♫

 

“... you need to rest, Alpha,” Alister croaked exhaustedly, removing his hand from Alpha’s throat to gently touch the side of his doppelganger’s face.  “Rest, and go home… please.”

“... … …” He couldn’t figure out if his interaction with Orvus just now was genuine, or a hallucination in which he was really speaking to Alister, but… at this point, Alpha feeling too drained to care either way.  “... … …”  He spent another ellipses wearily looking into Alister’s tired eyes, seeing in them a sort of pity, a sort of empathy….  “... … … if I do… … will you do… what I could not…? … … will you… make your dream… come true… … …?”

“... … …” Wordlessly, Alister gave a solemn nod.

“... … … … … … then… go… … do it… … … your way… … … … … … ….”  While Alpha’s face remained stoic to the very end, a look of peace and what appeared to be the slightest smile flashed across the face of Alpha’s Shadow as both it and Alpha’s body began to crumble away into ashes, the pocketwatch glowing faintly as Alister pulled it out from Alpha’s remains….

“... … does this mean,” Alister hoarsely uttered, glancing down at the pocketwatch in his hand, sensing Alpha’s Soul silently resting, waiting, inside, “... we can start to roll the credits…?”  As if to answer his question, the domain around him began to waver and tremble, as his next destination faded into view….

 

“... not just yet, Al.”

 

Epiloguous

 

Alister was still too exhausted to properly raise his head, but he could tell that he was back in Epiloguous, somehow, surrounded by his teammates, his friends (… and Kyros).  “We still have a ways to go before then,” Alexander continued as he knelt down before Alister, placing a reassuring hand on the latter’s shoulder, overjoyed to see him again safe and sound.  “... you’ll be able to stick around long enough to cross the finish line, right…?” he added with a hint of worry.

“… I’ll try,” Alister nodded, attempting to get to his feet, yet failing quite miserably.  “Shit… losing my adrenaline again….”

“I gotcha, beefcake,” Red declared as the dragon stooped down to pick Alister up from the floor, opting to carry the lombax with one arm.  “I’d say you definitely deserve to stay off your feet for a while.”

“Thanks, Big Guy…,” Alister said appreciatively, petting the scales of the dragon’s underbelly tenderly.  “... how’d you guys know I was done with Alpha…?” he asked, puzzled.

“How else?” Bayonetta shrugged whilst gesturing in Alexander’s direction.  “Alex was practically on the verge of a panic attack worrying about you, so he used that connection between his Soul Room and yours to get a peek at what was happening.”

Alexander scoffed incredulously ““Panic attack”? Why’d you have to frame it like that?!  If anything I was being affected by Ratchet and Red’s collective anxieties--”

“--SHUT UP, ALEX!!” Ratchet and Red blurted out, furiously blushing in sync.

“Just saying, I’m an empath.  'Sides, I would've pulled you out myself, but it seems Orvus used the Chronoscepter to bring you back here himself--”

“Hate to have to break this brief respite, everyone,” Gabriel chimed in, “but we’ve still got one last matter to deal with.”  The Luchador pointed upwards (specifically for Alister’s benefit) where Avatar Resolution was currently “having a fit”, with Koishi and Lydia being its current audience, held up to the sky on marble hands.  “We’re in a stalemate about who will have to use the Door, and all that entails, so Avatar Resolution is having a hearing to decide.”

“I see…,” Alister acknowledged.  “... so, can anyone have a say in that discussion?”

“You’re saying you want to join in?” Kyros asked.  “Will you be able to, in your current state?”

“All I’ll need are my mind and my voice, won’t I?” Alister argued, glancing down at the various wounds still covering his body.

“You will need to stay alive as well,” Jeanne pointed out.  “Expiring in the middle of your appeal would certainly put a damper on your case, I would imagine.”

“I can last long enough, I assure you,” Alister said in a confident tone, despite his own confidence in his opinion being shaky at best.

Seeing through Alister’s bravado, Alexander sighed.  “Well, someone’s gonna have to make sure you well enough for this hearing, so I’ll join you as your Plus One.  ‘Sides, you entrusted me with the Key,” he added as he produced the Card, “so having me join you will kill two or more birds with one stone.”

Alister sighed relentingly.  “Giving me very little choice, huh? Alright,” he nodded, glad to at least have some company for this last upcoming bit.  Red gently stooped down to hand Alister off to Alexander, helping the younger lombax support the elder lombax on his feet.  “Hey, Resolution.  Got room for one more and his Plus One?”

As if in reply, another marble hand rose up through the floor beneath Alister and Alexander’s feet, lifting the two up to join Koishi and Lydia in one last debate to settle on how the Multiverse will be saved.

“... by the way,” Alexander spoke up a few seconds after the “elevator ride” began, “is, uhm… what is Alpha doing now?  In the Apparatus, I mean.”

Alister glanced down at the pocket watch still in his hand, as if staring deeply into its contents.  “... he’s in the process of being sealed to make sure he doesn’t pull a fast one, but… he’s not resisting it.  In fact, it feels like he’s… waiting,” Alister replied.

“I see…,” Alexander mused slowly, wondering just what Alpha could be waiting for.  “... and his last request?  He really wants you to realize your dream?”

Alister nodded.  ““To do what he could not”… maybe he became lucid enough in his last moments to regain some sense of reason--actually realize where he went wrong… but I guess we’ll see.”

Edited by KingdomXathers

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"STALEMATE!"

 

Avatar Resolution seemed almost annoyed by the outcome, his upper body rotating to take a clean look at each candidate, though it took longer than most in regards to Alister and Alexander. Finally he ceased his movements, and with a glow all non-participants were levitated up into solid marble seating, with marble fences around the participants, as if this were some form of courtroom. The chosen were even given their own desks with comfy chairs as well.

 

"STALEMATE! Three-way tie between entities: Alister Azimuth. Koishi Komeiji. Lydia Armstrong. By the rules of the Door of Origin, you are to debate amongst yourselves as to who is most worthy to wield the Key of Origin. Those attending in the gallery are allowed to voice their own concerns during the speeches if the matter allows it, but save any comments for after each speech. But the voices that must be heard hear and now must be the voices of those I have named. Now, please amongst the chosen please speak your case as to why you are most worthy. And once deliberations are complete, and your cases are made, everyone must unanimously decide on the victor. If compromise cannot be made, and an agreement cannot be met, this stalemate will be considered null and void. And if found null and void, I will become the default beneficiary of the Key, and will thus do as I have promised to revert the Omniverse to its original programming. NOW BEGIN!"

 

~~Let the Debate BEGIN~~

 

"Wow, what a bad time to have performance anxiety" Lydia muttered to herself, before she took a deep breath. "I hope you guys don't mind, but I want to speak first! Look, I'm not going to make any noble speeches here, or say if this is some kind of big sacrifice. The truth is is that my speech is to say that, well, I'm selfish. When I started this story I was a nerdy girl who treated this whole thing like it was some kind of game; some bit of fun to escape a universe that stopped moving. But LERNA changed that. The carnage she caused in her fight made me shake in a way I've never felt. And everything moving forwards from that frightened me more. I can't even say if I'm even me anymore, since now my soul houses a god-like dragon, a Witch, and a ninjataur. And I still don't even know which of those I find the weirdest honestly. This journey has changed me in ways that, really, I can't go back from. And I know there's plenty of you who probably feel exactly the same. So I know some of you may want to sacrifice yourselves for one reason or another, but...."

Looking to the gallery, she saw Hapshiel sitting pleasantly, and she recalled the cryptic words he had spoken before about before. "You would be everywhere, so why not choose only to be once?"

"But I think it might be best if you let the sacrifice be a selfish one. I don't plan to reset everything completely like Avatar Resolution will, because it wouldn't be fair to take away everything we've earned from this journey. So my promise is to try and grant as many of your requests for returning home as I can, to ensure that we treasure our journey. Mostly, I plan to split our worlds, so that there will be an original self to go back to as if nothing happened, while the new world will be where you will return to, to maintain causality and stuff. The world will be identical to to before we left, but our memories and new powers and gifts will persist. After that, I plan to end my existence so I can go on to join the Throne of Heroes, as... as Arturia said I may do. I can't say for sure if I will, but I'm willing to take that risk. Let my selfishness be a benefit for the rest of you, so nobody has to suffer anymore than we have already!"

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      This RP will have the occasional incident in school to make things interesting, festival for celebration or field trip if you feel that your current location is a bit boring.
    • By LordCowCow
      Hello......hello. Again? No, that's not right. Hello for the first time, for you at least, everyone. I hope this message gets through. You see...there have been some problems in my universe. Oh, right, there's multiple universes. Don't worry you'll understand eventually. Anyway something has gone horrible wrong. And the only hope we have is...all of you.
      No pressure. Well. Perhaps a small, just a tad, a smidgen really, bit of pressure.
      I, we, really need your help. You won't be alone and, even if you find yourself in the unfamiliar, take heart that you have comrades. You will fight together. Live together. Argue with. Forge bonds. Perhaps even more. At least...I hope so.
      Perhaps you'll just kill each other. This isn't an exact science. It's not even science at all, not really, actually.
      But that's enough from me. There's plenty more to say and I, while I'm a wonderful orator, would take far too long to explain it all.
      Rules
      Premise
      Setting
      Applications
      Accepted Apps
      If you do join please be able to stay dedicated to somewhat frequent posting. I want this to work and not just be a "fun thing to play around in for a month then leave" so be sure to pick your character carefully. They're gonna be with you for a while. If you're unsure about anything let me know. I'll try and point out anything I see as problematic but don't feel down if I do it's kinda just my nature.
      Lastly I won't have a solid limit on number of players but if I feel it's too much I'll make a limit.
      Well...there you have it, let's get this going!
    • By LordCowCow
      BGM
      What separates a dream from reality? Is it the unusual nature, the impossibility, of a dream that crosses it from reality into fiction? What then do you do when something impossible happens in your waking world? Does reality then become a dream? And then, in that case, does that mean the dream is now reality?
      All you heard was four words. "I need your help." All you saw was darkness. At least that was the only way you could process what you saw before you. The pit that was entirely empty. Not just empty. Devoid of existence. Pure nothingness.
      You didn't have time to feel fear, or anticipation, or anything at all. Yet you had no idea how long you were in that nothingness. And how long you, too, were nothing.
      When you're enveloped in a blanket of nonexistence it's impossible to tell where you are, when you are, and perhaps even who you are. Thoughts floated past like driftwood. Just out of your reach. And the nothingness continued on for only a moment. And yet, as well, for eternity.
      When you opened your eyes, or were they already open and you only now had something to see, the landscape was much different than you were used to.
      It was uncertain where you were and there were only two things you could be certain of. One was that wherever it was you found yourself it was not where you were before. Nor was it the nothingness from an uncertain amount of time ago.
      And the other was that someone was calling for you. Not audibly. But calling nonetheless.
       
       
       
       
       
       
      The end of one chapter begins another.
      The park was empty. At first. And then in a blink, a moment, there were several people standing in its midst. For a second or two they seemed to not really be there. Their outlines blurred, the details of their faces and clothing uncertain, and then there they were. In shocking clarity.
      To call it a park would be an overstatement to some of them. It was rather small, they could see the end of it any direction they looked, and the number of trees could be counted on an average human's fingers and toes. Several benches were scattered across a path that weaved around these scant few trees in a loosely circular formation.
      Near each bench was a flowerbed. Perfectly rectangular, which could be proven if one had the proper tool and were inclined to check, and only five feet wide, the flowers in them were as varied in appearances as the people who were now standing in this supposed park.
      The only noise was a soft bubbling that came from a fountain behind them. It was larger than even the trees, which themselves were 15 feet high, and the base was diamond shaped. The height came from the large statue of a dragon, on two feet and aiming its mouth, from which sprang three arcing jets of water, towards the sky, standing in the middle.
      Other than the group that had appeared the park seemed empty. No citizens out for a stroll or vagrants using the benches for a bed despite it being nighttime. Not even an animal could be seen.
      And surrounding this park, which seemed separate somehow from anything else, was a city.
      Even those from what might be called a "modern world" would think it somewhat unusual. Large buildings could be seen in every direction and neon lights flashing various advertisements and names of establishments. On several buildings were large screens filled with news broadcasts. Subtitled in a language that, though none of them should know, was perfectly understandable to the group. And titled with the words "Prana News"
      "Seems that the sports stadium will reopen tomorrow. In other news; an attack on the police station was thwarted earlier today. More on that after these sponsors." Followed by an advertisement for some kind of breakfast cereal for children "It glows in the bowl and in your stomach; who said breakfast can't be fun! Try Nuk-O's today!"
      As they tried to get their bearings each of the group would, again, hear something calling to them. They felt a mental tug which seemed to want them to go somewhere. Somewhere that they instinctively knew was in the center of this city of metal and lights.
      Whether they followed this tug willingly and directly, or instead went in another direction and tried to ignore it, was up to each individual.
      Their first steps into a brand new world had begun.
       
       
      OOC
       
    • By Crow
      [DA PLOT] A convergence has happened. In the world of Pokemon, new creatures akin to them have appeared. They came from another world, here to live in ours. Some were instinct-driven, integrating themselves into ecosystems. Others had the minds of men, and could live among them easily.
      They were beings known as Duel Spirits, and they have come to stay.
      Today, they're spread across the world of Pokemon, but one region in particular - the K'nomi region - has the greatest concentration of these Duel Spirits.
      They were the first region in the world to allow Duel Spirits to be used in official Pokemon League battles and tournaments. Gym Leaders, Eite Four, even the Champion used them. The K'nomi region treated them like Pokemon, fellow humans, and of course, there is always those who want to use them as tools.
      Within this saga, different tales will be explored.
      Are you part of a detective agency that investigates problems caused by Duel Spirits throughout the region, helping those who cannot adapt to these newfangled creatures?
      Are you out to find Duel Spirits that are on the level of Legendary and Mythical Pokemon, believing that they might clash with the Legends of our world?
      Or are you out to fight Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, the Champion?
      Well, I basically took someone's old idea from 2010s YCM. I've been thinking of remolding it for a while.
      I guess I might have to think hard about some mechanics. For the time being, only Fusion will be an actual card game mechanic used here while I imagine others like Synchro Monsters, Link Monsters and the like are regular evolutions or even standalones.
      I suppose Synchro summoning mechanics could be integrated easily.
      I imagine most monsters will have evolutionary lines based on aspects of their lore. Once we get into accepting phase, a lot will be explained.
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