"Impossible."
At the center of all of time and space, Hayate floated over the ruined world of Mid-Childa's stratosphere. Her legs hung limply underneath her, left arm feebly grasping her broken right one. All inhabitants of what used to be the most technologically powerful world evacuated off of the planet's surface. The once bustling cities and lush green landscapes were reduced to nothing but rubble and dirt. In front of her was the largest TSAB Headquarter Space Station that acted as a sentry over the once majestic Mid-Childa, not to mention the last one standing. Well, was the last station, as the only thing that remained was a tattered wreckage of the base. The landscape below her was lined with holes and craters, while the entire inside of the base burned, reduced to nothing more than a sickening pink pyre. It was the ultimate symbol of the annihilation of the Time Space Administration Bureau.
The last remnants of the grand inter-dimensional military force was gone. Around her, far into the distance, multiple planets under the administration's jurisdiction burned and floated lifelessly across the dimensional sea. The source for this destruction? It went by many names, mostly uttered in fearful hushed whispers and prayers, but the most prominent and common name that was used to describe the being was a very simple one that also chilled the hearts of millions across the universe. Shiroi Akuma, the White Glinted Devil.
Hayate was startled when she saw a shadow rise out of the destroyed base. From the flames rose the horrendous figure that haunted her nightmares for nearly a year. The figure was cloaked in darkness, born from the flames of the wreckage behind her. But she knew that this darkness was not the Devil's true color. No, in true ironic fashion, the color of this specific devil was a dull, lifeless white. The head was hidden behind a colorless helmet, with two horns protruding from its side. A plume of red hair flowed behind it, held in place by a long flowing white ribbon. Its body was garbed in sleek metal armor, with the cloth of its jacket and waist cape dancing in the winds. Within its left hand was a staff with a triangular shaped structure wrapped in a white cloth at the end of the handle, that seemed to glow ethereally bright in the darkness of space, hiding the device underneath. Taking in the appearance of the figure in entirety, only now did Hayate realize how robotic the Devil looked. Not a glimpse of skin or any sign of humanity present within its appearance. It felt all too soulless and mechanical.
Hayate couldn't help but grit her teeth.
"So this is the end, huh?"
The Devil merely tilted its head.
Hayate let out a hollow chuckle. "You actually did it." Her arms fell to her side. "I never thought that it'd be you of all people, but you actually destroyed all of it. The Time Space Administration Bureau is gone…"
The Devil merely replied back with silence.
"Was it worth it?" Hayate whispered. "With all those lives you ended, all those planets you razed, and all the destruction you've brought..." Blue eyes clashed with the V-visor that, despite its pink color, glowed ominously in the darkness. "At the end of the tunnel, were you able to find any peace for yourself?"
No reply.
"Answer me!" Hayate screamed, her eyes stinging with tears. "Are you satisfied with what you've done?!'"
The Devil pondered the brunette's question for a second, before it slowly, and almost mechanically, shook its head.
Hayate let out a shaky breath. Of course, she thought to herself. No person with a heart would ever be satisfied with this much devastation.
"Not yet."
Hayate's blood ran cold. That voice…
The voice was filtered through the helmet. It all sounded metallic in her ears, as every syllable that rang through the air felt like it was slicing her brain apart with every word she heard.
Even with all that filtering, she recognized that voice all too well. It was impossible not to. "Not yet?!"
The Devil nodded. "The Bureau hasn't suffered enough yet. Not nearly enough."
Hayate couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You-what?!" She motioned frantically to the blue and black desolation that surrounded them. "There's absolutely nothing left for you!"
"They must burn for all of it's sins. All of it." The Devil raised her right hand, and from the palm rose 12 glowing blue shards circling in orbit above her fingers. "Their past incarnation is no exception."
"The Jewel Seeds…" Hayate then realized what she meant. "Wait, you can't be-!"
"I am."
The Jewel seeds then floated above her helmet, spinning around the horns, like a halo of an angel. "With only twelve seeds, there is no hope of me opening the gates of Al-Hazard. However, twelve just might be enough to break apart space and time for me to travel to an alternate reality in the past." The Devils visor glowed, glaring at the stunned brunette. "Our past."
"I can't let that happen." The thought of such a monster being unleashed on all of her friends in the past made her sick to her stomach. "I can't let you do that, N-!"
Her voice died instantly, owing to the glowing white ring that constricted her throat. A magic bind, the Devil's signature. Her hands instinctively went to her neck in a desperate attempt to break the spell, but her efforts bore no fruit. Despite how futile it was, she struggled all the more as the Devil's hands stretched out towards her, as her body was pulled closer and closer, unimpeded and no longer under her control.
"With only twelve seeds, there is a very reasonable chance of failure. But twelve seeds alongside the Living Lost Logia, herself? The chances of success nearly doubles." Her gloved metal fingers clamped around the black book clipped to Hayate's side. "Don't make this any more difficult than this needs to be, Yagami Hayate." Hayate's eye welled up with tears at the sight of the Tome-like device, of the only remaining remnant of a dear friend long since lost, in the hands of a friend that was a dark shadow of her former self. It was too much. Like a reminder that she was forever destined to lose those closest to her.
Once it was in the Devil's hands, the binds of the book were forcefully broken and thrown open. White pages flew against the intense winds, and the jewel seeds began their dance over the legendary artifact. The winds intensified and the jewel seeds grew brighter and brighter. Above them, a ripple in space burst open with a brilliant blue light; a portal with black magic circling around it's edge eclipsed the sky. The portal pulsed, not unlike a beating heart, with every pulse sending forth an intense current of information and magic. As Hayate gazed into the portal's light, she could feel a great wave of nostalgia washing over her - the feelings of a past long since lost to time, brought back to the forefront, even if it was not theirs in truth, but a mere facsimile that came infinitely close to the life they once lived, a life, at one point filled with their smiles and their happiness.
The waves of magic from the jewel seeds sent forth an intense current of dimensional distortions across space and time, destroying nearby planets and altering physics around the both of them. With a wave of the Devil's hand, a white magic barrier enveloped both her and Hayate protectively from the aftermath of the jewel seed's activation. After a few minutes, the dimensional distortions died down, but not before the damage was done - the already ruined landscape of Mid-Childa was further ravaged, looking truly as though the planet had been put through the apocalypse and only barely survived the outcome.
"It is done." The Devil closed the book, and the jewels floated back into her grasp. She looked behind her through her visor and lifted the spell around Hayate's neck with a simple flick of her finger. The girl collapsed, placing both hands around her throat to mend the pain. She coughed and cried, but not from the pain. The Devil floated closer and knelt beside the brunette, placing the book back in its proper place.
"Do not try to stop me."
"Please don't go." Hayate cried. "It's not too late to turn back."
"It is too late for me, my friend." With that, the monster straightened her posture and turned her back to the brunette.
"What will you do when you're back there?" Hayate asked.
"I will staunch the flow of corruption from its source, and bring the Administration Bureau to its knees once again. Perhaps then I will find satisfaction."
"Is this what you've become?" Hayate bit her lips. "Is there nothing left inside you? Have you really forsaken your humanity?"
"Call me a Devil if you so wish. You would not be the first. Only a mission exists within me now. That is all." She then flew towards the portal in the sky, ready to commence the next part of her grand plan.
"Liar."
When she heard the girl question her conviction, she froze mid-flight.
"This is about Fate-chan, isn't it?"
The Devil swerved her head back at lightning speed, bringing along with it a pressure so strong, it almost made Hayate flinch. Almost, but she couldn't back out now. Still, her heart hammered loudly and rapidly against her chest.
"S-she wouldn't.." Hayate paused for a second, trying her damndest to regain some composure. "I mean, she would be very sad at-"
"Do not," The Devil hissed into her voice filter, "use her name lightly."
Hayate shook, tears once again beginning to resurface. But…
"I loved her too!"
But she wasn't going to back down to the Devil. She was going to defy her to the end. Even if it meant her death.
"She would have hated what you've become." A complete sentence. She didn't stutter, nor did her voice shake whatsoever. She made her statement clear, and the Devil clearly didn't like it. The thin visor across the helmet flared with a glow that radiated malice. Hayate breathed in deeply, closed her eyes, and waited for oblivion to take her. A couple of seconds passed, and she was surprised that, inexplicably, she still drew breath. Hayate opened one eye, albeit hesitantly, only to find that the white figure was flying away from her. She was, quite frankly, overwhelmed that she was spared from the Devil's wrath.
"Live your life how you see fit, Hayate." The Devil said with her back turned to her. "Protect the ones you love, and cherish them for as long as you have them. For you may not know when you will lose them." With that said, the armored figure made her way into the portal. Once she passed through the ripple in space, it disappeared in a flash of light. The portal to the past was gone, leaving the brunette staring blankly at the crumbling planets around her.
"That's not true." Hayate said with tears rolling down her face freely. "Now I've lost both of my best friends…"
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
JUDGEMENT
A/N: This chapter is pretty short, but its supposed to act as an intro. Future installments are going to be much longer. Please leave down your thoughts and review. The longer, the better for me. Thank you, everyone.
UPDATE: This chapter was re-written and re-edited. I want to thank the user Pencil Of The Gods for his tremendous work on polishing this chapter, and adding so much to this introduction. He's a lifesaver.
