Mkay, so I took some criticisms from the original posting of this story and decided that I guess I shouldn't just try a massive leap outside my comfort zone. So, I retreated back to just a little tiny bit outside my comfort zone and started working on this. Since I really liked the idea, but a change in approach might simply be needed.

You're going to probably notice things that are gonna make you scream "AAAA THAT'S NOT HOW IT IS/WAS/SHOULD BE BECAUSE CANOOOON". Yeah, that's intentional. While it isn't a necessity (since actually NOT having read Dies Irae will sort of aid the "mystery" component), having read Dies Irae will probably help understand the mechanics of some of the things that happen.

Granted, I can either let them be explained in story or if it really gets confusing, I can probably offer explanations based on my reading of Dies Irae. Things like the mechanics of the Ahnenerbe, of emanations, etc. Optimally it can work without having read all of Dies Irae and that actually adds to the mystery factor, where like, you are trying to figure things out along with the characters, but eh. We'll see.

Anyways, I am happy to be back in the FoZ sandbox. After reading Dies Irae I couldn't help but just find so many delightful things where I and some friends couldn't help but say "Heh that's totally a desire/Ahnenerbe material right there". I originally did this with a much different character. I won't necessarily call him shit, I just prefer poorly written because I just had no experience writing a character like that.

Also allow me to just say this: There are spoilers for a certain someone in Dies Irae, so if you really don't want to go on with it, this is your last warning.

But yeah, let me know what you guys think. Awaaaaay!

Chapter 1: Turning Gears

The silver snake idly watched the world pass by as he continued to work on his formula. Soon it might reach the point of becoming a finished product, but for now it was but only a beta product. No, it was most likely in the early stages of an alpha.

But who would he test it on?

"Oh?"

This world was a little different than the others he had observed. Or perhaps this was the first time it had caught his attention. An Earth that was seemingly linked to another world.

"Interesting."

It did not take him long to find out what lay in this other world, a land that bore the name Halkeginia—or at least, that was the name of the continent that grabbed his attention, for all the others were of no significance.

"A man who desires to become the God of Mages, having created a way for humans to use magic?" The silver snake could only muster a small grin.

This man would have his blessing. If having one's strings being tugged on ever so slightly by the silver snake on the throne could be considered that.

"Ah, perhaps this world will grant me some amusement. To you, human that wishes to transcend upon greater heights, I shall grant a blessing. It will serve as a good chance to see if this formula of mine is indeed what I require."

With but a wave of his hand, this particular world and timeline became separated from all the rest by nature of a variation of his formula. If this mage were to reach the Atziluth he intended for this formula's users, he would rather not have to deal with the emanation spreading across the entirety of time and space. In essence, reaching the Atziluth stage in this little mockery of his formula would not cause an emanation to spread forever; rather, it would bestow upon one a false godhood, a false Atziluth, but to the untrained eye it would be indistinguishable.

"But there would be little excitement in letting you have your way so easily. Let us put a few foes in your path and close to your heart, so I may watch how you dance upon this stage. Now then, shall we see the tale of a man who wishes to become a god? Just how far are you willing to go? What will you gain, what will you throw away, and what will you forever cherish? And to his polar opposite, to what extent will you go for your freedom? Ahahahaha, entertain me, o human so unsatisfied with one's limitations, and o elf whose heart rages with the flame of conflicting loyalties!"

At the head of the world, he stood. Ready to march, ready to burn, ready to salt the ground beneath his feet. They would give no quarter, not to an enemy they so justly loathed. They would reclaim what was theirs. Humanity would become supreme and rule over land, sky, and sea. With him, the God of Mages, at their head, to be worshipped for all time by those with and without magic.

Hundreds and hundreds of soldiers, clad in iron. Their weapons and armor shook and rang with the intent to deliver death to their enemies. No matter how many of them died, they would be victorious. Yes, this war would be bloody and full of sacrifice. But not a single man, woman, or child in the ranks wavered in faith. Truly, their god, who marched in front of them, would deliver them to victory.

At this side were the four who served eternal, blessed by he, The Founder, himself. One whose skill in weapons could not be surpassed. One whose skill in handling animals could not be surpassed. One whose skill in magical devices could not be surpassed. One whose abilities remained even an enigma today.

"Halt." The Founder said. The world listened.

He turned around to give a speech to those who followed him into hell to turn it to their heaven. Raising his staff, a staff that had been used to claim the lives of many that stood in his path and looked akin to some sort of scepter or spear, he made his voice carry out to the ends of the earth. The crusade would be declared. Hell would rain upon the enemy.

However, it would start with one thing. A sacred creed he had come to learn of. One that came right from his heart and soul.

And so the creed was spoken.

"Atziluth."

And then the word was spoken. The Law of Magic began to spread throughout the world, rebirthing all of existence.

Although, the emanation was far slower than he thought it would be. Almost as if a law were fighting his own, though then its avatar surely would come to defend it? Or could something had chewed at his soul before? Nonsense. His soul felt whole, stronger than ever. There would be no possible way for him to have been deluded in how strong he was.

Bah, it was no problem to him. No one would be able to stand before him in the end. No matter how long it took, all would follow his law, one that commanded all to bow before and serve the God of Mages. Sooner or later, it would emanate all over the world, and all would be powerless.

But it was not so.

For one of the eternally serving four had betrayed him. The world stood in shock, engraving the sight of the golden glowing sword dripping with blood—red blood, the blood of a human, not a god—into its history forever, acknowledging that there was someone, something that could fight the laws of the world. Or perhaps a secret had been concealed from him, all this time.

The traitor gave a whisper before pulling away.

"May I make the dreams of the one I love a reality."

"Mooom…" I grumble as she pulls me into a hug at the restaurant from her wheelchair before ruffling my dirty blonde hair. "...we're in public."

"Aww, so my little Ahn's finally reaching that age." she puts her napkin to her eye and dabbles out some fake tears before dramatically running a hand through her blonde hair, styled in a loose side ponytail. "My son doesn't even want to hug me anymore. Waaaah!"

"Ahn."

"But dad—"

"Just let your mother do this for once. You're seventeen now, after all."

"I don't technically turn seventeen for another two hours." I mutter, putting my hands back in my zip hoodie's pockets.

"Well, it's your birthday." He says with a nod, brushing away his brown hair out from his eyes. He really could use a haircut. The long hair is interfering with the fact he's in a suit. "Besides, you'll be in your senior year now. Before you know it, college will be here. She'll really be a wreck, then."

"Roger…" she says, looking at him while tilting her head down, her hair exposing her slightly pointy ears for a brief second.

"I-I'm kidding, Katalina!" he says in a mock panic, knowing that they're both just teasing. I only sigh before retreating back to my seat.

Ha… but I really can't wait for senior year to be done. I want to be free, out there in the world. I wasn't too good at school, so I was planning to enlist right away. Mom threw a hell of a hissy fit about it, but hey, I wanted to serve. Besides, I wasn't half bad in a fight.

I note that throughout the night as my birth time, roughly 8:37 in the evening, approaches, my mother and father keep checking their watches, albeit a little nervously.

"Look, if you two have a surprise for me, you don't need to go out of your way for it. I appreciate the gesture of trying to get it exactly when I was born, but still. You both look like nervous wrecks out here. It's killing the mood."

My mother only flashes a smile before leaning back in her wheelchair. "I'm sorry honey, but you know us."

"Sentimental to the core." I mutter darkly, prompting an eye roll from her.

"Well, I want to be the best mother I can be while you're still young and impressionable."

"Mom, I'm almost an adult." I fire back.

"You aren't an adult until you've had your first legal beer." Dad chimes in, getting an elbow from mom.

"Oh, come now Ahn. Just let your mother have the time while she can still wrap her arms around her son and protect her. I know you have your pride, but no matter what you'll always be my one and only son. And I will always be here to protect you."

Before, when she said that, I used to question it since she had been in a wheelchair. But even so, she's still scary with a rapier. Apparently she used to fence before having me.

But one thing I didn't really get was what forced her into a wheelchair. Mom never gave me any specifics, but it seemed like she was confined to it just after giving birth to me. She never really seemed to be hampered by it, but I guess she does have those drowsy spells where falling down could be dangerous…?

At about eight o'clock, we leave the restaurant and start walking back home. The air is crisp and cool, with summer's end nearly here. The leaves are still almost all green, but with the light of the streetlamps I can see a few of them are starting to yellow.

There's not a single sound in the air, save for the creaking of mom's wheelchair. Everything seems so perfect and idyllic at this exact moment…

...it was almost impossible to believe what we came upon.

"...shit." Mom muttered, completely out of her normal style of things. "Roger."

"Ahn."

I don't even move. My eyes are too busy watching the flames consume my home, the screams of pain, and the bleeding bodies on the ground. At least a dozen firemen, maybe a half dozen policemen. I've seen dead bodies before but… the only reason I can even estimate that much is because the uniforms are on the ground. The bodies don't look killed as much run through a blender.

A sudden sensation to the back of the head brings me back to the world of the living. I turn to find dad handing me a combat knife.

"Dad…?!"

"Ahn, run." he says with a worrying amount of calm, lightly pushing me back. "Run away and don't turn back."

"But dad—!"

"We'll be fine." he assures me, pulling out a fucking Desert Eagle from inside his jacket. "Whatever you do, you must not look back. Don't go anywhere you're familiar with, either."

"Where am I supposed to go?!"

"I don't know, Ahn. But you have to live."

"Ahn, for your mother. Please, you must live."

The look of desperation and conviction in my mother's eyes is enough to send me over the edge. They… they really want me to do this? To just leave them here?

Another smile from mom makes me realize that they're completely serious. They want me to just… just leave them here.

"You… you better be right behind me!"

"We will, Ahn. Don't worry. After all, we have yet to give you your birthday present." Mom says, flashing another grin.

I take a few steps back before turning around and running, tears of confusion in my eyes. Just what the hell is going on here?!

The Star of Hegemony

Katalina sighed as the hooded figure emerged from the burning wreckage as the sound of Ahn's footsteps finally faded away. "So you found us, didn't you?"

"It was only a matter of time." It croaked out in a grave voice that spoke of death. "I see you have convinced your spawn to flee."

Katalina narrowed her eyes. "You are but a shade, are you not?"

"It is more than enough to defeat you. I can sense it even now. Your own soul has been providing the energy for your Ahnenerbe. As your are now, not even a hundred of you could defeat me."

"I see." Katalina closed her eyes, sighing. "Roger."

"Yes, mi'lady?"

"It seems we have additional company." she said, gesturing to the four other hooded shades that had arrived. "Please take care of our guests."

"As you wish."

"As for myself…"

She rose up from her wheelchair, a breeze kicking her dark blue dress into the air by about an inch, her eyes aflame with determination.

"Yetzirah."

The brown blade that had lost its sheen over the years formed in her hands. A blade that symbolized what it meant to transgress upon the laws for love. She silently vowed, in her certainly final struggle, to make her ancestor proud.

"Derflinger, just hold on a little longer." she whispered, hoping that her prayer from the deepest recesses of her heart would be answered. She then picked her head up and looked at the one in front of her. "So, Brimir, I shall slay you here and now."

The shade paused before breaking out into a roaring laughter, perfectly in time with the wicked flames around him.

"You? You?! You, who could not even make her traitorous sword gleam with its former glory?! You would claim to be able to strike me down?! Wench, I shall strike you down and force you to obey the Law of Magic. You and the rest of the line of that elven whore will be put to an end here. But I must say, it is quite fortunate for you. If you have that blade, there is no reason to hunt down your son. By destroying that Ahnenerbe, he will not have the tools to fight back."

"If I may know, how is it that you came into this world?"

"You would dare ask me to reveal my secrets?"

"I was simply curious."

The shade could only smile as he stretched out his right hand, with a blood red scepter seemingly made of light, almost phantasmal in appearance—threatening to fade away at any given second—appearing.

"My loyal followers have granted me enough sacrifice that has allowed me to materialize, ever so briefly. Getting here was a simple task and I simply followed the traces of magic to discover your location."

"Ah, what unfortunate timing on my part. So you're simply here to eradicate me."

"Is that not apparent?"

"Just checking." she said, continuing to stall for time. Every second her life was not being attacked was crucial. "So after you kill me, back to your tomb?"

"Hmph, what an uncouth woman. If you wish to say that, yes. But my return will happen. There is no choice but for it to happen. Eliminating you is simply ensuring it happens."

"Really now?"

"All this time, everything has been dancing to my tune. My unsealing is inevitable. Whether you do strike me down here, it is inconsequential. But that pesky Ahnenerbe of yours must go. That elven whore—"

"Sasha." Katalina shot out.

"—I will call her as she is fit to be. She could have been my queen, worshipped by her kind as their savior, a patron goddess that would save them from my noble mages. But she chose that bastard of a man instead, forgetting who it was that she first pledged loyalty to. As I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me, she would despair at seeing it all now. All of her actions have been futile—no, they have worsened it all." He turned to his staff and spoke into it. "Return to me. The boy is of no threat. We will destroy this wretched Ahnenerbe once and for all."

"I shall not let you." With that, Katalina adopted a fighting stance as her husband, Roger, stood at her back, ready with his weapon.

"We shall not let you."

"Of course, dear." Katalina said with a smile, knowing that this truly was to be the end. Both of them already acknowledged they would die here—there was no need for anymore words between them, for Roger's statement alone had already conveyed their intent to stand together, even in the face of the avatar of the laws of the world. "I swear it upon my runic name! For I, Katalina Raimond Dietrich the Winged, shall cut you down here and now!"

Beginning to burn out with the rest of her soul's light, she shot forward intending to deliver a sharp decapitation. But it was not so, for Brimir's shade but lifted his scepter just enough to defend against it.

At the same time, Roger moved away, firing his Desert Eagle into the shades around them. His aim true, every round struck. But these shades were far from normal. The police who had fired upon them certainly couldn't have done anything. Shells were littered across the ground, indicating some sort of uselessness.

But with every impact, a small fireball was born. The others who had come to move in paused as one of their comrades burned away into nothingness.

Always saving my skin. Roger thought, chuckling at the blow to his manly pride. He could not even begin to fight these things without Katalina's help. Even if her blood had been extremely diluted, part of her was still an elf. He had not quite understood where she had learned how to do it, but he assumed that it came from the dreams he began to have when he started courting her that involved what he could only describe as a "beautiful if not with the face of a hardass" elven woman. Every night she would warn him of his doom should he choose to pursue Katalina. And every night he would say he would not waver.

Who would've thought that my wife could have made magical fireball bullets? With that, he fired another barrage, drawing the support away from his wife. Do your best, Katalina!

And doing her best she was, for she was hammering against Brimir's shade as fast as she could. Her technique was impeccable and in fact her strokes looked more like art than a fighting style. The loud crashes of metal and hot red sparks filled the air as she kept her siege going.

"Give up."

"You'll have to make me." she hissed out as she forced them into a lock, giving a push that made Brimir's shade take a step back. In that momentary opening she launched another offensive, having reached the pinnacle of human capability in her swordsmanship.

Her sword looked less like it was trying to kill him and more like it was doing a complex ritualistic dance that would end in his demise. Some men would be moved to tears just by watching it.

With every attack she could feel part of her soul starting to burn away as she continued to fuel herself. It was more efficient to use her limited leftovers defensively, but she had to buy as much time as possible. Every second she was attacking was a second that the shade was not.

And it meant she was alive for even just a second longer.

"Fall."

In a sudden twist, Brimir's shade twirled his scepter and launched it forward like a spear. Katalina batted it to the side and pushed it, aiming for his neck. The shade stepped back, before making a sweeping motion with his scepter. Katalina leapt back, recovering her footing and getting into a guard.

"For a single soul, you are incredibly annoying."

"I aim to please." Katalina replied with a teasing grin, knowing that the tables were about to turn on her.

"What's your game… you use only your own soul. I can tell there are many souls housed within that Ahnenerbe, so why don't you use them?"

"Why should I tell you that?"

Brimir's shade glared at her as Katalina got back into an offensive stance.

"Very well, Katalina the Winged, I shall clip you from the skies."

Katalina immediately switched her stance to a defensive one. And rightly so, for a torrent of magical power slammed into her the next moment.

"Gah…!"

"Impressive. You survived. Just how much longer can you go using your own soul?"

"Ha…" Katalina took a breath before resuming her stance. "How much longer indeed…"

"Enough with these games. You bore me. If you have any last words, say them now."

That was a critical mistake.

For the next words out of her mouth were but a guaranteed victory.

"Von der Schraffur des Eies,
"Ich habe mit größter Sorgfalt beobachtet.
"In meinen Händen hat er Vertrauen gelegt,
"in meinen Armen hat er seine Ängste gelegt.
"Fürchte dich nicht, Kleine, deine Mutter wird dich wiegen
"Ich werde selbstsüchtig alle deine Lasten aufnehmen.
"Verzeihen Sie mir, dass Sie nicht das Nest verlassen wollen, aber solange ich kann,
"werde ich Sie in meiner unglücklichen erstickenden Umarmung halten.
"Bis es Zeit für dich ist, fliegst du.

"Beri'ah. Die Flügel des Abschieds!"

Within the next moment, Katalina changed. As if sent by a divine being, she radiated with the light of an angel, complimented by the wings of light that erupted from her back that were large enough to smother someone. The wings of her pure sin, the wish to hold onto him forever. The light shimmered around her for a second in the shape of a bubble, an all protective sphere that would survive anything.

Derflinger, who remained unchanged, was pointed at Brimir's shade as Katalina gave a glare as if an archangel were staring down an devil that would be slain.

"So you were even able to reach that stage?" He muttered in brief surprise. "If only you and your line had been on the right side."

"I do not believe I could have ever reached this if Sasha had chosen so poorly."

"It matters not. Begone."

A blast of white—no, purple—light erupted from his scepter. Katalina swung Derflinger down, blocking the attack. The shade let out a grunt of pain as he did so, recalling a painful memory.

Very well. She could not block everything.

Rather than an all-consuming blast, he launched millions of tiny needles at her from all sides. No matter how fast she swung, she could not block all of them. And right he was, for she should have been a pincushion underneath all of those attacks.

Yet she remained.

"I bet you're wondering how I'm managing to survive. Let's just say I'm very annoyed with you, Brimir." Katalina taunted, taking on a very 'nagging mother' type of tone.

It was the power of her Beri'ah, The Wings of Goodbye. Her selfish wish—to be a mother who could be protect her child forever—gave birth to such an ability. A mother bird who cradle her child and withstand whatever blow she needed to in order to save them, to keep them from harm. As long as she had fuel, she could survive nearly anything this shade could throw at her.

And she knew just how much fuel she had left. She could feel her soul starting to wither away, having approached it limit. But she knew she could hold on. It was only a matter of moments that she needed to survive.

She withstood blow after blow. There was no need to expend herself attacking. She had already bought enough time by attacking relentlessly until she had no choice but to defend.

A spell of fire that began melting the sidewalk underneath her.

A spell of water that created enough pressure around her that made her feel like she was about to explode.

A spell of wind that would have cut her insides to shreds.

A spell of earth that would have pulverized her into dust.

Spells of Void that threatened to erase her very existence.

She endured it all, despite how hypocritical she seemed to her own wish. She wanted to protect Ahn, her only child; so it would have made sense for her to fall here. But she saw something beyond—for if this shade claimed victory tonight, then nothing could save her beloved son.

"Ha…"

Katalina took a few more breaths, seeing her tattered wings hanging as if lamenting her position.

But she knew she had won.

For as soon as the shade had launched another attack aiming right for her heart—

—her torn wings became dust. The light around her became absorbed into the night. Derflinger vanished from her sight—

—and the attack ripped through her with zero resistance. Her body flew through the night like a ragdoll before hitting the sidewalk with a sickening CRUNCH, next to where Roger's remains now lay. Katalina gave a silently prayer on the behalf of his soul, knowing he had resisted to the very end, managing to keep the support off of her long enough.

She found a scepter in her face, but could only smile.

"It seems your soul has reached its limit."

"Indeed…" she said, bitterly laughing. But she knew she had won.

It was not so much that she had run out of fuel, but rather that it had all been given to someone else.

"Now, for the destruction of your Ahne—"

The shade paused. It could no longer sense it was here. He quickly reviewed his memories. The attack had certainly happened, but even so, he would have felt the release of those souls if he had destroyed it.

"You—!" He angrily yelled, bringing his staff high.

Katalina only put on a grin and silently gave him the bird before breathing her last.

"Find the bo—"

When the shade looked around, he saw his comrades falling to the ground. He realized what was happening.

"Katalinaaaaa!" he roared with fury as he too, fell to a single knee. That witch had tricked her, taunted him into going all out, knowing that she was about to do something to that Ahnenerbe that would prevent it from being destroyed! He had wasted his time, using far too much of the souls that had been accumulated to unseal his power just long enough to hunt her down. Thousands of years of sacrifice instantly wasted like that. He could feel it even now, that he no longer had any power left from the souls of the sacrificed to even so much as stand.

While he had defeated the bearer of Derflinger today, he acknowledged that it was a loss. But even so, not all was lost. This was only to secure his eventual return. It was still entirely possible that things would transpire as he had planned.

But yet because of this day, that doubt would forever linger...

The Star of Hegemony

It's been about two and a half years since that day.

It's overcast this Sunday as I'm walking out of the church. I was never really religious, but I figured that I might as well ask someone to help my parents out. The overcast turns to a drizzle on my way to my apartment, so I open my umbrella and keep walking.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"I thought that expression was long dead." I say to one of my companions. He's a bit of a rough fellow. Works the night security shift at the museum in town.

"You look miserable is all."

I turn to look at Dane. His blonde hair is still uncut, even though I keep telling him to get it cut so it doesn't reach his shoulders. He's wearing his Sunday best, made out of some brown khakis and a white dress shirt. His light blue eyes shine with an almost irritating amount of optimism.

"Is it because of Sheffield?"

I roll my eyes at him.

"Telling you man, you could've bedded her."

"Oh shut up, Dane." I say, lightly nudging him in the ribs.

"Hey man, we were all waiting for it to happen. The two of you kept beating each other up back in those days, then both of you decided to get your shit together." He says, catching the stink eye of a woman walking with her son. "Shame she suddenly skipped town. Never even called back."

"It is a shame."

"Probably found some rich guy and seduced him, eh?"

"Doesn't sound like her."

"Haha, yeah." He reaches up and lifts my hair on my right side a little, exposing my ear. "He probably wouldn't have those little pointy ears of yours."

I bat his hand away. "My ears aren't that pointy, goddammit. They're just a little less round than others."

"Whatever you say, boss-man. So, what's next for today?"

"Was going to go home. I have some paperwork to fill out."

"Oho, finally heading out to the military, right?"

"Yeah. Figured that it's what Sheffield would've wanted."

"Look at you, big boy." He pats me on the back. "Hey, if you get in, we're celebrating before you head out, okay? You, me, all the usual crew. Minus our little Amazon, anyways."

"Thanks, Dane. I really appreciate it." I offer him a bit of a smile before seeing him cross the intersection. I turn the corner and head down towards the apartment complexes.

I got into some rough times after that. Moved here into the city with some family friends. They kind of wanted me out though, so I started working. Two dead end jobs, but I managed to put myself through some trade classes. About halfway through those classes though, I got into some nasty business. Let's just say I met some unsavory folks and we had… disagreements.

Ended up with me getting into some roughhousing. It's where I met Sheffield, the only person who eventually had the balls to fight me. After a while we got bored of beating each other's heads in and started talking. Started to get our lives back in order.

"I'm home." I call out when I enter the studio apartment. There's nothing much for decoration. Just a foldable plastic table and chair, a mattress without a frame, an old TV and desktop, and the small altar in the back corner. I close the door behind me and lock it before turning on the lights. Before anything else, I switch out of these fancy clothes and go for something a little looser. Black cargo pants, light grey shirt. It's warming up so I leave the bomber jacket off.

The rest of the day is pretty uneventful. I sit around, have Chinese take out for lunch, fill out my paperwork, and at the end of the day, start streaming the football game. Just another ordinary Sunday…

Louise Francoise de la Vallerie made a silent prayer as she stepped up to the field.

It was her turn to summon a familiar. She, the failure. She, the washout. She, the Zero.

The girl began to trace out her pattern. According to her texts, this surely would bring about the strongest familiar. She would show up all of her classmates. Especially that Zerbst.

Behind her, her teacher watched. It was by the far the most intricate one he had ever seen. Not to mention the runes she put in several key parts. They were of ancient times, too. Part of him wanted to stop her, because those runes…

Origin. Cut. Destroy. Rend. Flame. Lightning. Blizzard. Heaven. Darkness. Time. Victory. Ancestor. Desire.

...were frightening. Where she had even dug up the ancient variants of those runes, he had no idea.

She stood in the center of the of the circle, upon the runes that spelled "Desire".

The young, pink haired girl spread her arms wide, her wand in her right hand. Her words sang to the air like a divine prayer.

Her classmates trembled when it began. As if their souls were affected by her words. It was a feeling like no other and the fact it came from The Zero made it worse.

Just what type of monster did she mean to summon?

The words she spoke were a wish. The words she spoke were a prayer. The words she spoke were a request.

To deliver that which could save her from the depths of despair to her side. To bring about the instrument that would play an orchestra of praises for her and her alone. To create a light in the darkness, an unending star that she would follow.

In short, she wished for the impossible: To turn zero into infinity.

""From the origin of all being—
"—I call forth that which will cut all my chains.
"Destroy all those that would seek to harm me.
"Rend every threat that stands in my way to victory.
"May your passion to serve me be like a raging flame.
"May your speed be like the lightning in the stormy sky.
"May your gaze be like a blizzard, cold with no mercy.
"Tear even Heaven asunder.
"Yet, cleave through the darkness without fear.
"May time itself halt, for thou art fair beyond measure.
"Grant me nothing but victory by your power.
"Shame not my ancestors with your grace.
"This is but my one and only desire."

With every key word in her chant, another rune lit up. At the end, she looked up, as if asking the heavens for the answer. The earth rumbled and the skies themselves bled red, if only for a brief moment.

She stepped off the rune in the center, a purple beam descending from the skies, splitting the clouds above. When it subsided, and all was well again in the world—

I stretch as the computer shuts down. That was an alright game. Playoffs start soon.

Afterwards, I begin my usual night routine, which begins with praying in front of the altar. On it is a rosary, a small bible, and my father's combat knife that he gave me before telling me to run.

...I didn't actually run all the way that day. I ran only a little bit and decided to hide, where I say my mother become an angel.

"Mom, I don't know if you can hear me now, but… help me out at work, okay? This is going to be my last few weeks, so I want to provide a good example to the new guys. Let me shine as bright as you did that night…"

I pause as the wall becomes painted in an eerie green. Turning around, I see a green circle, hovering in the air. Ah… I recognize this feeling. It carries the same kind of air around is as the house did all those days ago…

Part of doesn't want to go forward. I can tell that if I go in there… I will definitely end up meeting whatever mom and dad fought with. But...

I can feel myself trapped when I look at the circle a little closer. There's no point in resisting. I know I'll eventually be drawn in one way or another. I grab my father's knife and my bomber jacket, make sure my phone is charged, and then take another look around the apartment.

"You won't be seeing this place for a while."

I get that sort of feeling. Or maybe it's a voice in my head telling it to me. I've started to have these funky dreams. Where there's some woman who looks like an elf straight out of fiction trying to tell me something. But the image is always blurry and her words are always mangled, so I can't make sense of it.

But… I guess I've gotta get going.

"...see you later." I say to no one in particular before reaching my hand to touch the floating green circle.

One moment, I'm in my apartment. The instant after I touch that circle, my vision changes completely. The first thing I note is that I'm lying down since I can feel something on my back and that I'm looking up at a blue sky.

Where the hell…

I can hear voices. Sounds I am fairly sure I've never heard in my life. But for some reason I can understand them, know what they're saying. Like the knowledge was born into me.

"—this being, and make him my familiar."

Well, I guess I'm going to hell. I realized it just now, being disoriented, but there's some girl to my left side on her knees that just kissed me on the lips. Take me away, coppers.

Any—aghghgh!

A searing pain erupts from my right hand. It feels like someone's running it through a saw mill while also setting my hand on fire. I bite down hard to keep myself from screaming along with clenching my right fist.

In the middle of all this, my breath is stolen away from me as I feel my heart skip a beat. From my chest emanates a feeling of cooling, as if to counteract what's happening in my right hand. But it's not enough and I start convulsing on the ground, hissing in pain.

After thirty seconds of intense pain, far worse than any amount of injuries I've ever taken in my life, both feelings subside, leaving me gasping for breath on the ground. Fuck…

I look over and see a balding, older man talking to the girl kneeling beside me. The two of them talk, but I can't hear anything because at the moment everything is pain. He offers her a hand, helping her to her feet. Despite being in pain, I look around. I see some other kids dressed similarly to the girl next to me. Looks like some private school…?

My hearing starts to return as I hear jeering voice.

"Haha, look! It's a commoner!"

"I bet she barely contracted him too! He was probably resisting the binding!"

"As expected of Louise the Zero!"

I clench my fists. These kind of voices are the ones of people I used to beat down. Full of arrogance and superiority. The kind of guys who would talk tough shit at the bar but then would be the first to pussy out of a fight when it came to blows. That's the same feeling I get from them.

"Congratulations, Vallerie. It looks like you really are a mage." A female voice, one that I estimate to be the ringleader of these kids, says in that kind of honeyed voice that could take a compliment so dear it would move Shakespeare and make it sound like an evil curse on one's family.

I slowly get up to my feet, still feeling a bit disoriented. I quickly regain my balance. Alright… oh. Those kids are flying. What. What.

I take a deep breath and try to calm myself down. Okay, so those kids are flying and so are their pets. Like a bigass red lizard. And a mole. What.

Looking back on it, I guess mom knew about something greater than the world I was familiar with. Did you know about this, mom?

I turn around, looking at the pink haired girl who barely comes up to my chest. Looks like you've been through a lot.

"Familiar."

"I've got a name." I say, realizing that while my thoughts are in English, my mouth is saying something else. Like I'm digging up the knowledge from my blood itself or something.

"Follow me."

As if not even considering an outcome where I didn't follow her, she began to walk away. Alright… I don't know what I'm doing here, but for now I guess I'll just keep it on the down low. That girl… I know that look on her face. It's the kind of person I used to be. One step away from breaking.

...I don't like playing hero. I would've hated it if someone waltzed into my life and tried to solve all of my problems. I don't know what I'm doing here, my situation, or anything of the larger picture. Hell I don't even know what's going to happen to my life back home. But what I do know is that there's someone here who's dangerously close to what I used to be and is all alone. The only reason I was able to pull myself out of the grave I was digging for myself is that I had people who legitimately cared for my well-being. They didn't save me, but they gave me the choice to save myself. I don't know if this is the right thing to do, but I'll stick around for a bit before figuring out what the hell to do from here. I was never good at this 'big picture' stuff. Baby steps. That's how I roll.

Mom, dad… I just hope that you saving my life that day doesn't end up being in vain with what I'm about to do here. That guy that day definitely could do magic and from what I can see here, it looks exactly like magic. She called me a familiar. I'm not that smart, but I've read a little, so I know that I'm supposed to be some pet that does things for her. You fought for freedom that day, but here I am, apparently serving this girl. So just watch over me. I'll try to do what I can.

That's my choice. Whether or not I keep choosing to take this road… I guess we'll just have to see.

Goddammit Mercurius. Anyways yeah that's about it spoiler wise for Dies Irae. Since you know, like, it's freaking Mercurius and he's a walking goddamn spoiler.

But yeah, here was my second take on it. Ahn gets to have a nice family who's killed by Brimir's shade who someone survived being stabbed by Sasha through some sacrifices (those familiar with Ahnenerbe and souls will understand immediately), with Derflinger getting an early bird cameo and him vanishing. We get to have a Beri'ah chant right off the bat (based Google Translate lol) and for those unfamiliar with Dies Irae, you get your kind of first taste. Brimir's shade calling Sasha out is intentional and just is supposed to show the relationship between them, furthering the implication in the intro scene that it was Sasha who stabbed him (but never quite disclosed).

Either way, I wanted that scene to do several things: (1) Show that Brimir and Sasha are clearly at odds and this is something that bleeds down even now, (2) Showcase that Brimir is clearly a threat in some way, (3) ESTABLISH WHAT KIND OF GUY HE IS, YOU KNOW, KICK ASS AND TAKE NAMES, (4) Give some motivation to Ahnsel. That sort of thing. I guess having the Beri'ah chant was just a nice add-on.

Regardless, his parents die and we skip to Ahn just under 3 years later. He's grown up a bit and is still looking to reclaim what life he had before, but rather than make his character motivation about freedom, I decided to make it more about being a guide. He had a rough time after watching his parents get slaughtered, so he doesn't want to see Louise undergo the same fate when he meets her. With his summoning I also wanted to foreshadow something along the lines of "this being meant to be", indicating some higher purpose being everything that happened to him, allowing him to prepare for taking the plunge and trying to figure out the mystery of why his parents met their fate like that.

His motivation does get a little bit highlighted at the end where he mentions that he's had it rough, but he had people there for him. I didn't give any details, but that's saved for later. Sort of 'Show, don't tell' even though technically Ahn is telling you about how he used to be, it simply affords me some time to show it later. I did want to shoot for the "asshole who improves himself" character at first, but I guess writing assholes as the POV character well isn't something I'm good at (lol).

Anyways, let me know if you guys are interested in this project. I really did like Dies Irae (not because I love reading philosophy or anything especially Nietzsche), so having this one is kinda fun since it lets me have a project where I can sorta go a little more over the top than usual (seeing as DI is super chunni). Peace out, doods.

Trivia:

Katalina's Beri'ah, "The Wings of Goodbye", Translation (Keynote: This is the original, it was Google Translate I used LOL, it actually got close enough or so I'm told)

"From the hatching of the egg,
"I have watched with utmost care.
"In my hands he has placed trust,
"in my arms he has placed his fears
"Fear not, little one, your mother shall cradle you
"I will selfishly take upon all of your burdens
"Forgive me for wishing you not leave the nest
"but for as long as I can I shall keep you in my unfortunate,, smothering embrace
"Until it is time for you to take flight."

"Beri'ah! The Wings of Goodbye!"