Surprise everyone! Just as I decided to submit the first chapter of Date A Re:Live on Tohka's birthday, I decided to create a new story to mark what's likely to be Mio's birthday. During my time making DARL, there were some ideas that I liked, some ideas that I didn't like, other ideas I regret ever using, and ideas I felt could have or should have done/used differently.
With that and the fact that we've recently had V18 released in my mind, I thought: "Why not try the whole idea concept that DAR:L was based on again, but in a new form?" In the end, I did, so I gladly welcome you to my newest DAL story... Spiritual Successor! Now, for the biggest question that I'm expecting most people will ask me, how will this story be different compared to its predecessor?
The answer to that is while this one will also be a harem, Mio will be the lead girl this time, and the harem itself... will include every Spirit (except Rio) in it! It will also be closer to DAL's canon lore, which will include things from Date A Bullet and what it's revealed about the Spirit Dimension. However, the most important thing will be that I won't be in a rush to progress the story.
This time, the aftermath of Spirits being sealed will be considered, so there will be times story progression will take breaks to allow things like the Hot Springs episode from Season 1 and/or actually showing development between Shido and the girls in his harem. While there's no guarantee of this, I want to try making this story part of a series, not unlike my DxD Trilogy that some of you may already be familiar with.
Before we fully begin, the last things I need to address are how Ratatoskr, DEM, and the Non-Sephira Spirits will be shown through this version. Like in the original, I'm boosting Ratatoskr's strength, but the DEM will not be as weakened as before due to a reason you'll see soon enough. Finally, the Non-Sephira Spirits have little in common with their canon selves, also for a reason you'll see eventually.
Now with all of that said, it's time to begin!
«» - Character Information
「」 - Insert Song Beginning or Ending
【】 - Voice made by an Announcement or through an Announcer
『』 - Electrical Voice or Machine Speaking
Chapter 1 - Starting from Zero
Deep within the reaches of England, a group of four, specifically two men and two women, were seen crossing through a mountainous area. Their current attire consisted of robes that were a dull gold color, styled like modernized version of the clothes that the peasants of the medieval ages wore.
Looking through his goggles, one of the men who was also the group's leader focused his eyes on the horizon, putting a hand above them to block the incoming snow.
"Nigel, you sure this is as big as rumors say?" One of the women asked.
"I'm sure of it Karen, and that's why we should hurry before they can find us." Nigel answered.
Motioning his hand, the other three quickly followed him, crossing through more of the mountains as they hurried to apparently avoid something, either something that was chasing after them, or something they needed to avoid running into at all costs.
As they were rushing through the icy environment, the other man suddenly collapsed as a sudden pain shot through his leg, making him wince as he reflexively held onto it.
"Virgil, are you alright?" Nigel asked.
"I'm fine, I think I just stressed the muscle slightly..." Virgil grunted in reassurance.
"Just don't push yourself, you know how serious that injury is." Karen reminded him.
As they prepared to walk further down the path, they heard the sound of a pebble landing near them. This caused three of the quartet to turn as their group's still unnamed member waved to them, standing near an area they had somehow missed.
"Guys, I think I hit the mother lode." She whispered.
Following her into the hidden area she had discovered, they soon found something they couldn't believe... a secret hideout belonging to their enemies! Even better, it had the very information they had been searching for.
"Reine, try to decipher as much of this as you can before we hear or see any signs of their forces approaching." Nigel requested.
"Kabbalah." Reine promised, using their sacred code.
Quickly unfolding a map and grabbing every related paper she could find, Reine immediately turned on a device with the information they needed, quickly adding it to their maps. While she was doing this, she looked over said papers for additional references... until she found a hidden message.
"Gods, no... Nigel, you need to see this!" Reine exclaimed.
"Hmm? Reine, what did... you..." Nigel asked, walking over.
He lost his voice as he looked at the information she saw, all while Reine added it to their map. The result was 25 areas having an X sketched over them... all places they knew of.
"Nigel, what did Reine find?" Virgil asked.
"They... they've destroyed 25 of our peoples' homes, full casualties confirmed in each..." Nigel answered, his voice shaking a bit.
Virgil and Karen silently gasped at that, briefly turning towards them.
"Are you serious?" Virgil questioned.
"Just how many of us have they destroyed if that isn't the most recent update?" Karen quietly wondered.
A sudden shake was heard, making a bit of rock dust fall.
"Aircraft spotted, we've gotta go!" Karen exclaimed.
"Damn it!" Virgil screamed in anger.
Reine immediately smashed the device with a rock, having gathered all the information inside of it, then stole every paper before putting them in her bag.
With all of that complete, each of them took out their wands, preparing for the worst.
And the worst soon came, with various grenades being tossed out of some advanced hovercraft resembling a helicopter. Said grenades quickly hit areas of the mountain as the group of four hid in one spot.
"Damn it, they created a helicopter that can fly through this kind of blizzard?" Virgil whispered worriedly.
"Looks like they know we're the ones who came here... if it's us, they'll do whatever they need to achieve their bloody goals." Nigel replied, gritting his teeth.
Nigel listened as his group hid, hoping the hovercraft would pass by and give them a chance.
"Pilot to Vehicle, can you verify the target's status?" The pilot asked.
『"Heat signature detected in the area, targets are confirmed nearby. Do not leave to maximize chances of detecting them."』 The Helicopter AI answered.
Hearing that, Nigel sweated before looking at Reine, who breathed heavily as she looked at him in response.
"Reine, how long would it take to translate and share some of the information you've learned with the three of us?" Nigel asked.
Reine gave a response of silence, and Nigel realized what that meant... they didn't have the time for such a luxury. Knowing what this meant, Nigel put his hands on Karen and Virgil's shoulders, giving them a certain look as he took a deep breath.
"Nigel?" Reine asked worriedly.
"Reine, listen to me... I'm not sure if we'll all make it back alive like this, so we're going to buy you time to escape. You're to start heading back home without us." Nigel ordered.
She gasped at that, and before she could even say anything in reply...
"If none of us make it back alive, you must be the leader of our people. You have to do this for us." Virgil stated.
"Promise that you'll take care of our children... little sister." Karen smiled, tears in her eyes.
Reine shook her head, unable to believe this.
"No, I can't do it... I-" She tried to say.
Karen immediately pushed her away, making her nearly trip as Virgil rushed into view.
"Over here, you bastards!" He screamed.
The helicopter pilot immediately caught his words, seeing Nigel and Karen follow him into view as they held out their wands, which were forming runic symbols as they chanted a spell.
"I've got you now!" The pilot smirked, readying his weapons.
"Excandescunt!"
Their wands immediately released a large burst of flames, clashing with the aircraft's weapons as a huge burst of flame covered the area. Reine cried as she saw the trio run to a different area in response.
"No... I should be the sacrifice, not you three." Reine cried.
She quickly ran away, avoiding the sight of the hovercraft unleashing all its weaponry against the three, who in return cast all the defense magic they could. As she propelled herself to a higher elevation through a wind spell...
*"RUMBLE!"*
Turning around, Reine gasped as she saw the sight of a huge avalanche result from their clashing forces, making her gasp as she ran to escape its threat.
"Please, let this be good for them. Let it keep them safe!" Reine begged.
Unfortunately, fate had a different plan in mind as loud screams were heard, making her panic as she rushed to find a safe spot. When she finally made it, the sight she saw was one she wished her eyes had failed to see.
It was all three of them and the helicopter being caught in the avalanche, causing the heavy snow to push them into the lower area of the mountains... with the aircraft exploding in fiery horror as it struck the bottom.
"No... no!" Reine whimpered, feeling tears well up in her eyes.
She collapsed onto her knees, making her hood come off and reveal she was a woman in her 20's, having silver hair tied in a ponytail on the right side of her head.
"Nigel! Virgil! Karen!" Reine screamed.
She immediately laid her head in the snow, ignoring the cold as she released a loud cry in response.
The scene opened up to an image of the Earth, but it wasn't the same as people once knew it. To those who viewed it from up in space, you could see the addition of greenery to the land, while the areas marking the North and South Poles were no longer ice, but actual land.
Not only that, but the realm of space seemed different, with streams of energy flowing around its dark blue-purple form and the Earth. The sun and moon shown glowing... through the light and dark sides of its atmosphere!
Meanwhile, on the actual surface, one could see a more colorful world than just the green that was still the primary color along with the blue coming from the ocean and the sky. In fact, one couldn't notice the ruins of suffering nations, if any.
"It all began 30 years ago, during the year of 2027. The day had begun like any other before it, with no one on Earth realizing that on that day, every tomorrow would never be the same as the yesterday before it."
Everything briefly flashed back to the Earth were more familiar with, showing the familiar green grass and blue skies people were more familiar with. The area in specific was an unknown field by a mountain range.
A single butterfly saw a flower to land on and did so... only for a sudden wave of some kind of energy to wash through the area, making it fly off as its instincts screamed of an incoming danger. Unfortunately, the poor creature would never realize it was flying away in vain, as without any warning... the sky suddenly began to swirl. To anyone that saw it at the time, it just seemed like a hurricane was about to form.
However, it quickly became clear that the sky was swirling way too fast for a hurricane to form and more energy waves began shooting out, with the nearby rocks forming the landscape and slight mountains beginning to crumble into a few shards as the swirling actually made the land shake.
Finally, the true horror began, one that would have made anyone unlucky to be at the epicenter of what was about to happen... the sky began stretching towards the ground! It looked fairly rounded at first, as if the sky was actually falling, but quickly grew out into a focal point, becoming a sharp tip that aimed itself towards the ground as if trying to drill a hole through it.
"The land itself was said to have been roaring, the oceans began raging, and then... the sky stretched down like a sharp needle, as if to represent the Heavens were attempting to pierce the Earth. At first, it began somewhere harmless, an unsettled area of the world barely touched by Human hands if not entirely untouched, but before anyone knew it..."
After an entire minute since the swirling began, the sharp tip hit the ground, and then...
*"BOOM!"*
Rather than piercing the ground, the tip caused the entire area to explode! However, the explosion a burst of searing flames, but an expanding dome of pure force with a dark color and savage movement (almost black darkness in energy form), leaving only brief ripples of every color in the rainbow shining through its ever-growing surface.
In just minutes, a nearby town suddenly heard a sound, with a sudden dust storm being pushed over, confusing everyone as they went into a panic. Unfortunately, for everyone that lived there? Regardless if they were male, female, old, or young... they were instantly thrown into the air before they were completely vaporized by the energy dome devouring the entire town!
Such horror was finally caught by satellite footage, instantly forcing an emergency broadcast to everyone in the world by all forms of media and related devices to warn them of this unknown disaster. However, that warning meant little when before most could get it, another 49 explosions went off across the globe in a chain reaction.
"As if to mark the rage of the Grim Reaper before he slaughtered the world... no, as if even the Grim Reaper was murdered while Earthly Laws were shattered through a force used by the Gods or something beyond even them, they began."
"Spacequakes."
"That's the term that was given to the unprecedented phenomenon that attacked the world that day, then continued to plague the world for another six terrifying months. The lands that were hit by them were flattened, completely incinerated as if the flames of Hell chose to devour them, yet was never satiated with their feasts."
Without any rescue workers that had learned to deal with such catastrophes, the results of the damages were too great for anyone to simply define the results as chaotic. For how the specifics of the damage could be defined?
Many were shown crying for those they lost, while others screamed as they lost their minds, and others wandered aimlessly like broken toys that didn't even realize they had been damaged. Volcanoes were seen leaking, just as damaged as the world, while smoke billowed across the cities that weren't fully devoured, covering most of the skies in as if they too had been scarred.
It was truly a living nightmare for everyone, regardless if they were part of the damages... or just hearing of them.
"From the first Spacequake alone, which decimated a large area of the Eurasian Continent, there was an estimated 150 million casualties. After that, the ones that hit the USA, Brazil, China, England, Germany, France, Russia, Japan, India, and forty other locations across the world, it was clear how much damage had been done to Humanity."
"Out of the 10 billion that lived when everything began... authorities had estimated 2 billion casualties. What was worse? During this time, all that anyone could do was run away or hope they'd never be in the range of destruction."
Eventually, the period of six months finally came to an end, leaving a remnant of the surviving 8 Billion in their ruined shells of a home. Among the survivors, those who had any skills related to the satellites that caught the original quake quickly began gathering all the information they had.
Just because the Spacequakes had stopped didn't mean that they were gone for good, so the last 30% of Humanity wisely chose to fear every loud sound they heard.
"Eventually, people managed to discover the source of the Spacequakes. For reasons we never fully understood, an area of space would suddenly begin to vibrate, distorting its dimensional plane like the proposed theory of intense gravity warping the laws of physics in a certain area, and twisting it until it compressed into a singularity."
"Once that singularity was unable to shrink any further, it became stronger than even a fusion-based weapon, acting like a miniature big bang. With this information, the term of Spacequake was officially coined. With this knowledge, everyone was sure they were prepared... until the true nightmare began."
Then, out of nowhere... the world was suddenly seen cracking, turning a fierce black and red color as everyone expected what looked to truly be the end of the world.
"It wasn't long before the threat of the Spacequakes truly revealed themselves to the world, as the intense damage they left finally destabilized everything, and with it... the world began to die. Everything went black or dark as the Earth began to rip apart, becoming the true worst disaster in Human history."
"The Day of the Black Earth."
"The entire planet was hit with a slow and gradual version of the destruction brought by Spacequakes, further shrinking Humanity's numbers until they were less than a billion strong. All of them began to accept the inevitable, knowing that at the very least, they were together. Then, just as all of Humanity believed they had no hope of seeing tomorrow..."
A flash suddenly emitted itself from the Earth, showing a white version of the original Spacequake, but instead of a dome that ate whatever it hit... it was a powerful glow that embraced and healed it with a rainbow light!
"A miracle happened!"
The survivors of Humanity all suddenly opened their eyes, seeing the form Earth took in the present.
All of the plant life, all of the animals grazing around, the great blue skies, the vast oceans, and more... everything that had believed to been razed and swallowed in Earth's apparent end?
It was all here, just like they were.
"No one knows what happened, but... it seems that when the Spacequakes damaged the world, they also created a change in it. What everyone saw as the end? It was just a new beginning, an evolution of the world as they once knew it. Humanity was given a second chance, and they did not waste it."
"Thanks to a certain organization who managed to study the Spacequakes fully, it wasn't long until Humanity learned how the planet was touched and then discover a powerful new energy source. The remnants of Humanity came together, putting their differences aside to rebuild with this new energy, creating a miraculous new technology that helped society quickly recover to its Pre-Spacequake state."
"Soon, Humanity learned not only was the land itself touched, but so were they. As the next generation of this new world was born, the energy that changed the world was found in the first children that were born into this new era, granting them phenomenal physical abilities and skills."
In a city within the restored United States of America, a boy was walking by when he suddenly heard the scream of a girl, who reached out the window as the papers for a college essay were carried away by the wind.
"No, please come back!" She begged.
Seeing her plight, the boy launched into the air, using a nearby flag pole to swing himself towards the papers. Seeing him catch them, the girl sighed in relief.
Moments later, the boy jumped near the girl's window, holding out the very papers he saved.
"I believe this is yours?" He smiled.
"Thank you." She smiled in relief.
"Just why did the Spacequakes happen? What changed to make them happen? Was it natural or artificial? Was someone responsible, or was no one to blame, intentionally or otherwise? No one knows for sure, and while its true Humanity was freed from chains that had held it back, allowing everyone to become better for it... they still paid a heavy price through all the lives that were taken."
"Eventually, around 5 years ago, the Spacequakes finally returned to plague the world, but this time Humanity was ready, and made proper measures against them. Nowadays, it's incredibly rare for a Spacequake to claim a single casualty, leaving it easier to study the strange phenomenon that may have very well changed the world. To this day, they still search for the answers to the truth..."
"Little did any of them know that in the country of Japan, within a city made on top of the crater of the first Spacequake to hit it, those answers would finally reveal themselves. How the events of 30 years ago began, and most of all... how they may do so again."
Standing on a notable viewpoint in Tenguu City, a single boy stood on his own, looking out towards the view before him as he just took in the air in preparation for what he'd knowingly and unknowingly face tomorrow.
"But first, let us begin this story from where it truly began..."
The screen faded to black as things were sent back to the vital moment that created the present day, the single event that nearly ended caused the Earth's destruction.
As the world began cracking apart, a single silhouette moved at incredible speeds to reach a certain destination, dodging various explosions being fired at them from some kind of hovering land vehicle.
Unleashing another shot, one of the explosions managed to get in the silhouette's path, making them tumble a bit. When they finally stopped, said silhouette was revealed to be humanoid in shape, possessing curves that confirmed them as female.
"You've reached your limit! Just give up and hand over what we desire!" The driver demanded.
"Never! I will not let... your actions destroy this world! I will save it... and my family!" She shouted.
The vehicle fired again, right as she gave a mighty scream.
Thankfully for her, it allowed her to force enough of her remaining strength to create a barrier that pushed the incoming fire away. The driver's eyes widened in surprise as it also forced the vehicle back.
『"All vehicle motor functions have been disabled, driving is now impossible."』 The Vehicle AI said, heavy static in their voice.
"What? No!" The Driver roared, slamming the wheel.
Collapsing onto her knees from the burst of power, the unknown female looked to a large chasm she had been heading towards, forcing her legs to trudge along.
"I... have to make it, I'm... almost there." She panted.
She trudged a bit further as Earth's surface continued cracking, further bringing it to the end she was trying to prevent. Eventually, her legs gave out, forcing her to use her hands to crawl her way over.
After another minute or two, she finally made it to a large chasm, revealing the worst of the chaos that was engulfing the world. Holding her hand up, she tried to unleash some power to cancel it out... only to look horrified when it was shredded apart by the chasm's greater power.
"Is this... my limit? Is this where it all ends for... everyone? For all of my friends, my family, and... my own life?" She cried, watching everything keep getting worse.
At that moment, a teddy bear fell off her form, making her see it.
As she looked into its eyes, she came to a realization, and closed her eyes as she weakly held out her hand to it.
"No, this isn't it... I can't let it end this way! I won't!" She grunted.
Her fingers were only inches away from the blue teddy bear's form.
"Just how many have... died because of all of this? If I do nothing... if I fail here... then everything about me will be meaningless in the end! This ashen world will... never regain its beautiful colors!" She screamed, finding a renewed strength.
Managing to touch the bear, she focused her thoughts as a ribbon materialized into existence, which then tied itself to the teddy bear's form.
"Shin... please forgive me, but in order to keep my promise to save the world... I have to break my promise to you." She apologized.
She immediately raised her hand, sending the teddy bear across the sky as it was teleported somewhere. With all of that taken care of, she smiled before forcing herself into the chasm, making herself fall into the rampant ocean of power as it hammered against her form, revealing her to be a teenage girl.
「Wreck it Ralph: You're My Hero - Ralph's Speech」
Despite the pain being enough she screamed, the girl kept pressing on as she dove deeper, eventually reaching the epicenter of the disastrous power... the Earth's core.
"I'm... almost there, I can... do this." She grunted.
Reaching out with all of her strength, any pain she felt before faded away as the realization she would be able to save everyone and everything, as long as she kept moving.
"So, this is it... how I die." She said to herself, feeling strangely calm.
Closing her eyes, everything that lead her to this moment in the last six months, feeling all of her best memories flash through her mind.
"I learned what it meant to be happy..."
She remembered first meeting the friends that she came to see as family, along with experiencing love for the first time.
"I came to understand being angered..."
She remembered the one time her closest friends were threatened, and how she stood to defend them no matter the cost.
"I suffered the displeasure of sadness..."
She remembered getting her heart broken, and how awful it had felt to experience such sorrows, along with how it lingered.
And just like that, she began to cry.
"This world... when I first came here, everything was a mystery to me. I was so scared that I kept running without even knowing why I did, neither knowing who or what I was. Despite that, even though you knew as little as I did, you gave me your hand without hesitation. From there, you gave me my name, you gave me a home, and you gave me a family."
Her body started to glow, starting as a silvery color that barely shined through the rampant power.
"You all taught me what it meant to be alive... no, you taught me what it meant... to be Human, and because of that? This world I came into, a world I originally saw as gray and ashen, became filled with a rainbow of colors that made my life worth living!"
In response to her words, her silvery glow turned into a kaleidoscope of colors that shred through the chaotic powers, marking a strange symbol with her as its center point.
"Because of your kindness, I can say that I've lived a full life without any regrets! So, know this Shin... you, Mana, Ellen, Ike, Elliot, Haruko, and Tatsuo still have your lives to live, and your dreams to achieve. In my heart, there's no need for me to dream, because I've already lived it through all of you. Thank you for everything, so now... keep living, for my sake."
With those words, she fell into the core of the Earth, extending her arms out as if waiting for a hug. Her eyes closed as she felt the last of her tears flow out.
"Thank you... for everything." She whispered, a big smile on her face.
The symbol around her fully formed, transforming into what looked like the Sephirot before it began to alter, though how it changed was left unseen as at that moment... a large white flash spread out and eliminated the chaotic energies.
From within the chasm, that white energy suddenly spread and enveloped across the world.
「Insert Song End」
The surviving humans all came together, expecting this to be their final moments, but for a certain group of seven? It was a different story as they saw the blackness getting swallowed by the light.
"Mio... you did it." Shin breathed, tearing up as he smiled.
Before now, the world had been damaged to the point of complete destruction by the chaotic black energy tied to the Spacequakes, but thanks to one brave soul?
This white energy had saved it.
Meanwhile from within the chasm, Mio's form could be seen, looking like it could disappear at any moment... which it apparently did as it vanished in a weak flash.
Following this, a huge crystalline mass of energy flew up, and then... it shattered apart. From the shattered fragments came a myriad of colorful lights, which quickly shot themselves throughout the world and took spherical shapes before disappearing.
Whatever they were, not a single person had managed to see them during their brief presence.
Finally, the white light vanished, leaving the silhouette of the damaged Earth being born anew.
~ April 30th, 2057: Tenguu City
The scene opened to the day after the one boy's visit to the infamous "Tenguu Viewpoint" as its citizens called it, in the quiet and peaceful neighborhood of Nankou, known as such for having a small number of residences while being near vital places like the supermarket and hospital.
Within a particular house within this peaceful neighborhood, one that fit a small mansion that had the usual for a small family, the said boy was shown to be asleep...
"Wake up!" A female voice sang.
Said boy groaned as the door slammed open, showing a girl his age had entered the room.
She had a voluptuous figure akin to a Goddess and huge breasts, eyes like bright rubies, and long crimson hair tied into twin tails by black ribbons with red tips, decorated with gold symbols in the shape of flowers with doubled-edged petals.
However, the one thing about her appearance that would have been odd in the past? Her pupils weren't black, instead being pure white, actually glowing in the dark bedroom.
"Kotori, please stop..." He begged, turning over as he pulled his pillow over his head.
"Then don't complain Shido, since you asked for it!" Kotori replied, smiling like a cat.
«Kotori Itsuka»
Age: 15
Height: 155 cm
B/W/H: 106/57/88
Blood Type: AB-
Feeling her legs on the bed, Shido suddenly became nervous as it creaked slightly... which signaled her jump into the air. He panicked as she made her descent.
"Kotori, don't! You're gonna kill me!" Shido screamed.
Her face looked dark as she prepared to land on him... only to shift her legs and make them land on the sides of Shido's stomach. Shido panted a bit as he saw this, quickly slumping onto his body in both relief and slight shock.
"And that's how you keep an old trick working in High School. So, are you awake now?" Kotori smirked.
"Y-Yeah... I'm awake." Shido confirmed, his voice nearly wheezing.
Smiling at his response, Kotori bent into a hand stand before doing a backhand spring to land herself on the floor.
Shido's full body soon came into view, revealing he had short blue hair and gold eyes with the same white pupils as Kotori's, confirming it was a norm for their generation to possess.
"Now, do you mind letting me change by myself?" Shido asked.
Kotori sighed at that, shaking her head.
"I'm letting your mom know, so you better not sneak back into bed." Kotori warned, pointing at him.
That warning was enough for Shido to gulp slightly, changing out of his black pajamas.
"There's something else that still works despite we're now in High School..." Shido realized.
«Shido Takamiya»
Age: 16
Height: 170 cm
Weight: 55 kg
Blood Type: A+
Kotori soon went downstairs by sliding on their railings, shouting excitedly before she dismounted.
After getting his new school uniform on, the yawning Shido finally came downstairs, where Kotori was already seen watching TV as his father sat at the table with a newspaper, and his mother was cooking food in the kitchen.
"Morning everyone." Shido greeted.
Shido's mother was shown to have long hair that was the same color as her son's, which she had tied up in a ponytail that left some bangs left out.
She had hazel-colored eyes that had normal black pupils, signifying she was born before the era of Spacequakes, and a mole under her left eye. For her current attire, she wore a pink apron over a mint green jacket, which was over a white blouse, and a blue skirt.
"Good morning, sweetie." Mana greeted.
«Mana Takamiya»
Age: 44
Height: 150 cm
B/W/H: 92/61/86
Blood Type: A+
She immediately flipped a few eggs off her frying pan, immediately holding out some plates and twirling around, causing them to land on them without any spilling. Kotori immediately clapped.
"10 out of 10!" Kotori praised.
"I aim to please." Mana smiled.
Shido smiled a bit, quickly turning to his father, who looked like himself as a grown man, only with his mother's eyes and smoother, slightly shorter hair.
He was currently wearing a black buttoned shirt with a high collar and gray jeans, currently working on his Laptop that showed the blueprints for the development of some kind of upcoming invention.
"I heard the noise upstairs, be lucky you survived Kotori's apparent assassination attempt?" Shinji chuckled.
"Dad!" Shido shouted in embarrassment.
Kotori began laughing at Shido, pointing her finger for added emphasis.
«Shinji Takamiya»
Age: 46
Height: 165 cm
Weight: 72 kg
Blood Type: O+
Shinji began to do the same, only for Mana to immediately tug on his cheek after she put all her plates down.
"Dear, remember what we promised Shido last night?" Mana inquired, giving him a soft yet stern look.
Shinji quickly nodded, causing Mana to let go.
"Uh... you're not going to do that to me because I was also laughing, right?" Kotori asked, giving a nervous chuckle.
"Oh Kotori, I've told you this before. I only tug on my biological family. You're like a daughter to me because of my friendship with Haruko. Not to mention if I did tug your cheek, Haruko would scream at me." Mana reassured her.
Kotori sighed in relief, right as she noticed a news report suddenly pop up on TV.
"Hey guys, look what's on right now." Kotori mentioned.
Everyone turned to look at the broadcast that just came up, right as a reporter came onto TV.
『"Earlier this morning, a Spacequake was recorded near the center of Tenguu City. The good news is, as usual, the shelters made sure we had no casualties, with the slight damage in the area healed through the DEM's Realizer technology. Even now, Isaac Westcott and his company are still doing their best to find out the source of the Spacequakes, no matter how long it takes."』 The News Reporter announced.
As images of the area's ground zero could be seen, the sight quickly changed to show a man with dark ash hair and blue eyes standing in front of a podium, answering questions without a recorded audio to show what he was saying.
He looked to be as old as Shido's parents, his eyes having a tired look, though in the fatigued sense due to him lacking dark circles under his eyes.
"Another one, huh? Sounds like this one was pretty close." Shido remarked.
"Yeah, it was." Kotori verified.
Kotori quickly took a bite of her eggs, listening to the rest of the broadcast.
"The Spacequakes... they've continued to plaguing the world in the 30 years since they first began, with the only solace being they aren't as destructive anymore. There is an unspoken rule to never ask those who lived through the nightmare what it was like, as by some unexplained miracle, not a single person who lived through it ended up with PTSD and/or depression."
"Many children have tried to ask some indirect questions about what happened back then, simple things like family that was lost. From what Shido's gathered? His parents lived together, no signs of family whatsoever, though there is someone that was like family they lost... and they didn't have to say a word to explain it."
Looking at a nearby dresser, Shido saw a picture frame with a faded photo in it. This picture was of a younger Shinji when he was 16, who looked just like he did now, and a younger Mana when she was only 14, with Kotori's parents on the sides.
Standing in the middle of the quarter was a girl Shinji's age, her eyes closed as she smiled. The only other thing he knew about her was the teddy bear she was seen hugging.
Shinji briefly glanced at Shido, giving a quiet sigh as he was reminded of a subject he could only talk about with his wife. Mana briefly paused as she saw this, rubbing his back to comfort him.
"Besides that? The only real differences about the Spacequakes from 5 years ago to the present day in comparison to those from 30 years ago is the originals were gigantic and erratic in their timing, while the ones that occur in the current era are weaker and proven to have no chance of destroying the world a second time. Despite that, people still ask a justified question... how did they come back?"
As she saw the end of the news broadcast, Kotori popped a lollipop into her mouth.
"They've been getting more frequent..." Shido mentioned.
"I know, it almost feels like Tenguu City's a magnet for them, although... it may be true when you remember what the city's built on." Kotori agreed.
The scene zoomed out to show all of Tenguu City, with a black arrow showing kanji that said: "Built on a Spacequake Crater" blinking next to it, before returning to the Takamiya House.
"Well, you two better start walking to school, otherwise both of you are going to be late." Mana reminded them.
Seeing the time, Shido and Kotori gasped.
Shido immediately picked up his plate and used his fork to push everything into his mouth, while Kotori used her hands to force her lollipop to spin, allowing her to lick it all in seconds. When they were finished, Shido put his plate in the sink while Kotori shot the stick into the trash can.
"Wow, nice shot." Shinji remarked.
"Thanks, and I'll see you two later!" Kotori replied, waving as she grabbed her backpack.
Shido quickly grabbed his.
"Have a good day mom! Have a good day dad!" Shido exclaimed.
Shido immediately followed Kotori as they ran towards their school, ready to start his Junior year and her Freshman Year.
After a long run, Shido and Kotori found themselves at Rindouji, taking a moment to catch their breath.
"Alright, just so you know in advance? I'll be heading over to Danny's after school. If you need me for any reason before heading home, just meet me there." Kotori mentioned.
"Got it, and good luck on your first day." Shido replied.
Both of them gave each other a high five, with Kotori quickly rushing inside to experience her first day of high school. Watching from a distance, a trio of female students who were also enrolled in Rindouji looked at the scene.
The first one was a tall blonde with matching eyes, having her hair tied in a ponytail, but a much shorter one that the one Mana had.
The second had reddish-brown hair with marching eyes, which was styled in a slightly rounded bowl cut.
The last of the trio was short and had black hair with a blue tint, which reached down to the middle of her back, and wore round glasses with thing black frames. Like the other two, her eyes matched her hair.
Like all the children of the new era, their pupils were white, and like Kotori, had fairly buxom figures. However, their sizes were around the 90 to 100 range, better known as the D-Cup range. While such a size would be considered big over 30 years ago, they were considered small/average by the new era's standards, whereas Kotori's size was what people knew as the new large, in what had been considered rare in the old era.
"That girl with Shido was Kotori Itsuka, wasn't it?" The blonde asked.
«Ai Yamabuki»
Age: 16
Height: 165 cm
B/W/H: 94/60/89
Blood Type: B-
"You mean the girl whose parent engineers working under that one subset of DEM Industries, Asgard Electronics? Yeah, that's definitely her." The brunette confirmed.
«Mai Hazakura»
Age: 16
Height: 160 cm
B/W/H: 92/57/87
Blood Type: O+
"Guess our school's betting pool guessed right on her attending Rindouji with him." The one with glasses remarked.
«Mii Fujibakama»
Age: 16
Height: 155 cm
B/W/H: 90/62/85
Blood Type: A-
Shido briefly turned and noticed the trio, but didn't hear what they were talking about.
Right as Shido prepared to walk into the school, he suddenly felt someone grab his hand, making him jump.
"Hey there." A male voice greeted.
Looking behind him, Shido saw a boy with spiky black hair and a facial expression like that of a Casanova. This was someone Shido knew well, causing a trickle of sweat to go down his face as he looked at him.
"Hey there Hiroto, nice to see you..." Shido greeted, albeit in a forced manner.
«Hiroto Tonomachi»
Age: 16
Height: 175 cm
Weight: 62 kg
Blood Type: B+
"You ready for the first trimester of our Junior Year? It looks like you are." Hiroto questioned, still holding his charmer smile.
"Oh boy... guess he actually managed to transfer here?" Ai sighed.
"Worse... he's also in our class this year. Not only does that mean he'll be annoying us often, but it's totally lame." Mii confirmed, sighting slightly.
"Great." Mai groaned sarcastically.
Right as that was going on, someone was hiding behind a light post near the school, their expression held in a silent gasp as she looked towards Shido's form with a slight blush.
'I don't believe it, it's him... he's really here!' She gasped.
Once everyone was at school, all of the Freshman, Junior, and Senior students were gathered in the gym to attend the school assembly to start of the new year. After a moment of waiting, a student walked into view before standing on the assembly podium.
She had maroon-colored hair, tied into three different short braids, two on the sides resting over each of her shoulders, and one resting behind her on her back. Her eyes were a purple-pink color, and she had clear skin that looked as smooth as a baby's bottom. On her uniform was a red band, showing her position in the school, with most of the Freshman students showing surprise.
"Everyone, I welcome you all to Rindouji High! My name is Sawa Yamauchi, though if it's hard to remember, you're free to just call me Saya." The female student greeted.
«Sawa "Saya" Yamauchi»
Age: 15
Height: 165 cm
B/W/H: 96/59/90
Blood Type: AB+
"Now, as you may have noticed by the band on my arm? I'm the newest Council President of Rindouji High, despite the fact I'm only a Freshman. This was a choice made by the previous class that graduated, who occasionally vote the next President from the Third-Years of Keisei Junior High, as I was for this year." Saya explained.
Most of the Freshman showed faces of understanding, as it explained how someone who just began attending Rindouji could already be in such a position.
"I'm fairly sure for those of you who are Freshman that just joined this school, you're likely feeling anxiety and nervousness about your new surroundings. Let yourselves know now that I am in the same shoes despite my position. Also, you must remember that all of the Juniors were in our position last year, while the Seniors who'll be graduating this year are also here to guide you. As such..." Saya announced.
Saya soon cleared her throat, making everyone listen closely as she paused for dramatic effect.
"Everyone, let's make this School Year a proud one!" She finished, raising a hand up in promise.
All the students clapped in applause, cheering slightly.
"Thank you everyone! And with that, I conclude my speech, so start heading to your assigned classes." Saya smiled, clapping her hands together.
With that, everyone headed to assigned classrooms, with Shido finding himself in Class 2-A.
He took a quick look around to see who was new among his classmates, noticing the Gossip Trio among his classmates from Freshman Year... with Hiroto being among his new classmates.
"Nice coincidence, isn't it Shido? We ended up in the same class, like in Junior High." Hiroto remarked.
"Are you gonna make some kind of comment about this being fate?" Shido questioned in expectation.
"Yes, I would be one of those people." Hiroto confirmed.
Hearing him say that, Shido hung his head down as he put his left hand over his eyes and shook his head, with the Gossip Trio staring at Hiroto with odd looks.
A small chime went off, making Hiroto take out his phone.
"Oh, excuse me for a moment, it's my girl." Hiroto apologized, opening an app that showed a pink-haired girl.
"So, who's route in which game this time?" Shido wondered.
"It's not a game this time. This particular app actually has the girl actually live on your phone. She'll give teach me everything I need to know for when I get a real girl." Hiroto stated.
"Um... excuse me?"
Both of them turned as the girl who hid behind the light post revealed herself.
She had long hair, which was as white as the driven snow, reaching down to her waist, and her eyes were a beautiful shade of Aquamarine. Just like Kotori, she had a voluptuous figure akin to a goddess, with breasts even larger than hers.
"I don't mean to interrupt, but... by any chance, would your name be Shido Takamiya?" She asked.
"Uh... yeah, but how do you know my name?" Shido confirmed.
Her eyes briefly widened as they suddenly began to tear up, confusing some of the students as she began crying a bit.
"It's really you, I knew it." She sniffled smiling at him.
Shido blinked a few times, but he was completely confused by what this girl meant.
"I'm sorry, but... do I know you?" Shido questioned.
Hearing this, the girl suddenly froze, as if she got shot through the heart by those words.
"You... don't remember me? Not even a bit?" She whimpered, looking like she'd cry out of sadness this time.
"No, I don't think I've ever met you before." Shido said, not recalling her image anywhere.
Lowering her head, she finally did cry for sad reasons, and then looked at him.
"I... I guess I was getting my hopes up too much, thinking you'd remember me just because of what you did in the Tenguu Fire." She said quietly, about to turn.
Shido's eyes suddenly widened, and he grabbed the girl's wrist, getting her attention.
"The Tenguu Fire, an event that occurred five years ago, only shortly before the return of the Spacequakes... some even saying it was a herald of their return. For unknown reasons, the whole neighborhood of Nankou suddenly went ablaze with magical flames."
"Did you just say... we met during the Tenguu Fire?" Shido questioned.
"Uh... yeah, I did. Why do you ask?" She inquired.
Sighing a bit, now it made sense to Shido how she knew him despite he didn't seem to know her.
"Then it's no wonder I don't remember you. During the events of that fire, I got hit on the head by a metal beam and I lost my memories of that day, along with everything about the week before it. The doctor's said I was lucky to have even survived, much less with only slight amnesia." Shido explained.
Hearing this, the girl's tears slowed, smiling in relief.
"So, is it alright if I ask you to re-introduce yourself?" Shido requested.
"Not at all. My name is Origami Tobiichi, and... you saved my life twice over." Origami properly introduced herself.
«Origami Tobiichi»
Age: 16
Height: 152 cm
B/W/H: 109/55/85
Blood Type: A+
Most of the class began to murmur, having heard about her.
"Wait, as in the transfer student that aced the entrance exams!?" Shido exclaimed in shock.
"Y-Yeah, that's me..." Origami said, blushing slightly.
"And... I saved you twice over?" Shido asked, a confused look on his face.
Origami nodded a bit, looking at him.
"Yes, you see... right before the Tenguu Fire happened, my parents... ended up in a car accident." Origami revealed.
Most of the class gasped at that, while Shido himself was caught completely off-guard.
"The shock of it had hurt me so bad, I wandered outside and didn't even notice the flames... or maybe I did, but just didn't care what happened to me by that point. However, right as debris was about to hit me, you pushed me out of the way. You asked me why I put myself in such danger, and when you heard my answer, you told me you'd take all my sadness, my pain, and my tears... those words gave me the strength to keep living." Origami explained.
"I see, and... I'm sorry about your parents." Shido replied, sharing his condolences.
Origami blushed, waving her hands a bit.
"Oh, n-no! My parents are still alive! The crash was serious, but they survived it! If you hadn't saved me that day... I might have died and never realized my parents were waiting on the other side. That's why... I can never thank you enough for-" Origami clarified.
*"SLAM!"*
Everyone suddenly winced as Origami tried to bow... only to slam her head on Shido's desk. She quickly rose up, holding her forehead as she winced in pain, making Shido stand up.
"Ow..." Origami whimpered.
"Oh god! Let me check that, just to be sure you don't have a concussion." Shido offered.
Checking her forehead with his hands, he sighed in relief, taking out a bandage to place on it.
"Nothing to worry over, it's just a light bruise." Shido smiled.
Origami nodded her head, moving her hands to let her hair cover the bandage that had formed. Right at that moment, the morning bell rung, causing everyone to go to their seats as their teacher walked in. Upon seeing her, most of the class looked excited.
"Oh, heck yeah! It's Tamae!" Hiroto exclaimed.
Most of the class cheered in response to his words.
Tamae as Hiroto had called her was a woman in her late 20's, with short and curly brown hair. Her attire consisted of oval-shaped glasses with black frames, a pink dress, and a golden wedding ring.
"Welcome back everyone. Like last year and as I will be next year, I'll be your homeroom teacher!" Tamae smiled.
«Tamae Okamine»
Age: 29
Height: 150 cm
B/W/H: 88/65/87
Blood Type: 0+
She briefly covered her head as everyone threw their stuff in the air, especially those who heard the rumors she'd be their teacher again.
"Yeah, I expected that reaction." She chuckled.
Clearing her throat, everyone immediately calmed down and gathered their thrown materials before sitting back down.
"As you all know, we don't have any classes since everyone needs to set our roles and the new Student Council needs to settle. Due to that, we'll be deciding who our Class Representative and Class Deputy will be. So, do we have any volunteers for these positions?" Tamae explained, looking around.
Most realized the job wouldn't be easy and didn't show any signs of interest, including the two who had done the jobs last year. There wasn't anyone willing take the positions until Tamae noticed Origami and Shido raise their hands.
"Ah, glad to see you involving yourself this year Shido. I'm always excited you're making a good first impression Origami." Tamae smiled.
Origami blushed at that.
"So, do either of you want a particular position, or would you like me to choose your positions for you?" She inquired.
"Um... I don't mind taking the role of Class Rep, I did it at my previous school." Origami offered.
"I'll take the job of Class Deputy." Shido stated.
"Alright then, your roles are set." Tamae smiled, writing their names besides each position on her clipboard.
With that settled, Shido briefly took a look outside the window.
'So, this is how my year begins.' Shido thought, looking at Origami one last time before shifting his focus back to the front board.
Hours passed until class ended for the day, with the Gossip Trio standing by Origami.
"Hey Origami? Out of curiosity, are you attending Rindouji due to a scholarship from DEM, or the jobs one/both of your parents do?" Ai inquired.
"Any particular reason you wanna know?" Origami asked.
"Just a fun little question everyone here asks. People attending Rindouji either got the chance through DEM's kindness or paying their way in, and since usually the latter is because of jobs that give families the wealth needed to attend, we ask about the jobs more than the money itself." Mai explained.
Origami nodded in understanding at their answer.
"My parents run a business that helps give relief and support to those who barely survived Spacequakes because they didn't reach a shelter in time. We recently gained ownership of Tenguu Hospital." Origami explained.
"Wow, I bet your parents are awesome." Ai praised.
"Thanks, though what about you and some of the others in our class? What do all of your folks do?" Origami asked.
"For the three of us? All of our parents work for the News Network, hence our title as the Gossip Trio as you've likely heard by now." Mii explained, pointing at the trio.
Origami briefly giggled at that.
"Shido's father is a Developer that works for DEM, while Tonomachi over there... his dad just makes visual novels that didn't net him enough dough during our Freshman Year." Ai continued, pointing at the others.
Origami looked at Hiroto, noticing the Casanova vibe he seemed to give off.
'That... actually explains so much.' Origami thought.
As Shido could be seen packing everything into his backpack, Hiroto walked over to him, getting Shido's attention.
"Hey, Shido? You free right now?" Hiroto asked.
"Sorry, I'm meeting up with Kotori at her favorite diner. I'm betting she wants me to follow her there as a way to celebrate her first day of High School." Shido replied.
Hiroto chuckled at that, making Shido sweat a bit.
"You know, I'm honestly surprised what kind of relationship the two of you have." Hiroto remarked.
Shido face palmed, shaking his head a bit.
"Who's Kotori? Your little sister?" Origami asked.
"No, just my childhood friend. Though I guess her parents are away from home enough that she's basically my younger sister." Shido explained, chuckling slightly.
"Wish I had a brother or sister." Origami sighed longingly.
At that moment, a blaring noise went off, signaling a familiar alarm to the entire school.
【"WARNING! YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE, THIS IS NOT A DRILL! THERE HAVE BEEN PRECURSORY SIGNS OF AN IMPENDING SPACEQUAKE IN THE CITY! PLEASE EVACUATE TO YOUR NEAREST SHELTER! I REPEAT!"】
Hearing that made every worried, with even Shido sweating slightly at the announcement.
"We just had one this morning, how is there another Spacequake already?" Hiroto questioned, knowing how rare it was for multiple Spacequakes to hit the same area in one day.
"Come on, we need to evacuate!" Shido advised.
Right as everyone got up to do just that, Origami suddenly collapsed on the ground, getting the attention of both boys as her body curled up and began to sweat heavily.
"Hey, Origami? Are you alright!?" Shido asked, shaking her.
Origami's replied with something... incomprehensible, possibly just gibberish from whatever had made her collapse.
"Is she alright?" Hiroto asked.
"I'm no doctor, so I'm not sure. The best guess I have is it may relate to the panic she got from the announcement in conjunction with how she accidentally slammed her head at the start of class." Shido guessed.
Sweating a bit as he tried to think of what to do, Shido immediately released a heavy sigh.
"Hiroto, go take her to the shelter while I head to the Nurse's office. I'll see if there's anything there that could help her until the quake passes." He requested.
"Alright." Hiroto agreed, nodding his head.
Shido placed Origami onto Hiroto's back, allowing him to piggyback her towards the shelter as Shido rushed towards the nurse's office.
Inside a large building within the center of Tenguu City, the site of a dark room could be seen as many people were seen sitting by screens, all that showed data that was measuring the many variables of the Spacequake that the public had no knowledge of.
As everyone continued working, the sight of a door opening could be seen as a man walked into the room, getting everyone's attention. That man was shown to be none other than Isaac Westcott himself.
"Everyone, give me the current status of your readings." Westcott requested.
"Nothing definite just yet. Right now, the Maryoku readings are still too scrambled for us to determine anything beyond where the incoming Spacequake's location will be." A male worker explained.
"Understood, then give me any new information you find as you receive it." Westcott replied.
"Roger that." The worker confirmed.
As Westcott sat down in his own seat, he tapped two buttons on each arm rest to make two screens rise from the sides of his chair, causing the image of a man and woman his age appeared on each respective screen.
"Elliot, status on evacuation to the shelters?" Westcott asked.
"We're green on this area, there should be little to no casualties at the rate things are going." Elliot confirmed.
"Good, and Ellen? Will you and the AST be ready for deployment?" Westcott replied, looking at her.
"I've already gathered everyone, we're getting ready as we speak." Ellen confirmed.
Nodding his head, Westcott hung up their communication line before putting his focus back to the screen... right as he heard a few gasps.
"What's wrong?" Westcott asked, raising an eye.
"Isaac, there are unknown signs being registered on the radar." A different male worker revealed.
"Define the unknown." Westcott requested.
"To be specific... the level of threat is undefinable, with all attempts to analyze it being registered as unreadable." A female worker said.
"That means this Spacequake may belong to a new Spirit." Westcott realized.
Right as Westcott said this, everyone immediately jumped as the alarms blared once again, registering another warning while the first was still ongoing. Westcott looked confused before turning to one of his female workers.
"Shiizaki, what's happening!?" He asked.
"Not sure, but I'll try to get a reading." Shiizaki replied, typing even faster in response.
In moments, Shiizaki gasped as the readings for the second warning caught up to the first.
"Is this possible?" She questioned.
"Shiizaki, what are you getting?" Westcott asked, starting to sweat slightly.
"This second reading is also for a Spacequake, but this one's already caught up to the first... no, by now it's become even stronger! It'll happen before the first one!" Shiizaki revealed.
"Wait, look at this wavelength!" The first male worker exclaimed.
Bringing it up, the wavelength was shown to be rhythmic in nature, which was odd because Spacequake readings were always erratic.
The moment Westcott saw this, gasping as he realized what was happening.
"Computer, see if any of those readings match any of the Spirits we have on record and do it fast!" Westcott screamed, sweating a bit.
『"Acknowledged."』
Taking a moment to look through the DEM files, the screen soon showed a check mark as it finished.
『"Match has been found! Spacequake readings indicate no destruction, while the matching Spirit has been confirmed as..."』
An image appeared on the screen, revealing a familiar image that made everyone's faces widen in shock and disbelief.
"It can't be... that's impossible!" Westcott breathed.
Immediately contacting Ellen again, she looked surprised at Westcott's sudden contact.
"Ike, what's wrong?" Ellen asked.
"Ellen, let your team know to keep all weapons on standby before facing the Spirit, because there's two that you will encounter." Westcott ordered.
"I don't get it, why would we need to-" Ellen questioned.
"Because one of them... is Deus." Westcott answered.
Ellen's eyes immediately widened, immediately looking at the AST as he hung up.
Westcott on the other hand immediately took a deep breath.
"How is this possible? Is this some kind of miracle, or worse... one of their plans?" He wondered, biting one of his finger nails in response.
With the evacuating students, Hiroto arrived as everyone was guided by Saya.
"Keep calm and stay in an orderly line. Don't push anyone, don't run ahead, and don't wait around." She advised, guiding everyone.
As Hiroto got close, Saya noticed Origami on his back.
"What happened to her? Is she alright?" Saya asked.
"I don't know. Right as Shido and I tried to leave our classroom, she just suddenly collapsed on the spot!" Hiroto explained.
Saya looked at Origami, soon hearing her try to say something.
"K-Keth..." Origami weakly said.
Saya listened closer, trying to make out what Origami was saying.
Meanwhile with Shido, he was currently in the nurse's office, trying and failing to find something that could help Origami until he suddenly heard his phone ring.
"Hello?" Shido answered.
『"S-Shido... help... me..."』 Kotori weakly replied.
"Wait, Kotori? What's wrong?" He asked.
The phone soon hung up, making Shido panic as he immediately called her back.
『"We're sorry, but the number you're trying to reach is currently unavailable."』
"Wait, is she still..." Shido realized.
Activating his phone's GPS, he immediately traced Kotori's location, and when he did...
Kotori was standing in front of Danny's.
"Kotori, I'm on my way!" Shido exclaimed.
Rushing out of the room, Issei quickly found himself outside as he hurried towards Kotori's location, where she was seen lying across the ground in a similar position to Origami's earlier collapse.
As he ran outside, Shido noticed the city had been completely deserted from the evacuation, warning him of how little time he had to save Kotori.
"I've got to hurry!" He told himself.
Forcing all the adrenaline he had into his legs, Shido rushed with all his strength to make it to Danny's before the Spacequake went off. As he couldn't see any rippling in the sky, he had no way to know where it would be.
"Please, don't let me be too late to save ger!" Shido begged.
As he kept running, a certain memory flooded into his head.
A young Shido was seen with his parents, standing before a woman with short red hair and a man with scruffy black hair wearing dark green glasses. Clinging to the red-haired woman's left leg was a young Kotori, who seemed a bit timid and fearful.
"Tatsuo, Haruko! It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Shinji greeted.
"Glad to see you too Shinji, Mana." Tatsuo replied.
Putting a hand to her mouth, Mana giggled a bit before she looked towards Haruko.
"Does he still fall for all those fake deals?" Mana asked.
Tatsuo blushed at that, with Haruko giving a playful laugh in reply, furthering her husband's embarrassment.
"He's as gullible and naive as he was in high school." Haruko confirmed.
"Honey..." Tatsuo blushed.
Looking at her daughter, Kotori gave a nervous shake.
"Kotori, these are good friends of ours, and that's their son. Why don't you say hi?" Haruko explained, petting her head.
She nudged her ahead, while Mana did the same to Shido.
"Hi, my name's Shido." Shido greeted.
"M-My name is... Kotori Itsuka. It's nice to meet you." Kotori replied.
And with that, their friendship was formed.
Shido began moving faster, almost near Danny's.
"Kotori."
"Kotori!"
"Kotori!"
Right at the moment he turned, his eyes suddenly widened as he saw seen a ripple as it hit the ground.
'Kotori... I'm sorry.' Shido apologized, realizing he was about to die.
Right at that moment, the Spacequake began... only for his eyes to widen as what came out wasn't the expected black dome of energy he had come to know.
This dome of energy... was pure white color, just like the light that ended the chaos during the Day of the Black Earth.
"What... what is this?" Shido questioned.
The unique Spacequake soon hit him... only it didn't harm him or the area it encompassed. The sight made him pause in shock, watching as it continued to spread before finally vanishing without a trace.
"A white Spacequake that doesn't harm the world? Just what's going on here?" Shido questioned.
"Mu..."
Hearing that voice, Shido motioned his head to where the ripple hit the ground, only for his eyes widen in complete disbelief.
"No way, this is...?" Shido gasped.
「Date A Live: Seirei」
Right within the very spot the Spacequake went off, he saw a lone figure laying across the ground, completely unconscious.
She was only covered by a faintly translucent white cloth that seemed to be made of light, having hair that was a shining silvery-platinum color, and from what Shido saw of her appearance? Her beauty beyond even that of a Goddess, having a perfect hourglass figure with the biggest breasts he'd ever seen in his entire laugh.
'It's... a girl, but... where did she come from?' Shido wondered, looking at her.
However, once he got close enough to properly make her out, Shido's eyes widened as he got a good look at her face. Despite never meeting this girl before, he did recognize her...
Because, she was the girl from the faded photo!
"That's impossible... there's no way she could be..." He stated, feeling his eyes shaking.
However, that thought ended as Shido realized he had no idea if she was alive or not. Fighting the blush on his face, he rushed over and then lowered his head, slightly touching Mio's humongous breasts as he tried hearing if she had a heartbeat.
Giving a slight blush at his touch, Mio's eyes slowly began to open, making Shido see her beautiful blue orbs. To his shock, she had the same whitened pupils that the kids of his generation did.
"Hmm?" Mio mumbled.
Trying to focus her vision, Shido's blurry form began clearing up... making Mio gasp.
"Shin... is that you?" She asked quietly.
And with that, Mio blacked out once again.
In some strange realm, a girl with long violet hair could be seen sleeping on what looked be an ocean of endless violet energy that was mostly black where it was less focused, with bits of yellow forming between golden lines stretched across the landscape.
She only wore a white-colored nightgown, which was revealed to be made of light, just like Mio's.
As she slept there... her eyes began shaking before they opened.
"Am I... awake?" She asked.
While she stayed in that position, her eyes suddenly intensified out of nowhere, making their unique coloration of violet and yellow shift in response to the intensity of her swelling emotions and gritted teeth.
The energy of the realm went wild as she stood up, suddenly forming something around her body.
"I suddenly feel... angry!" She screamed.
Something began to form in her hand, causing the realm she was in to ripple before she mysteriously disappeared without a trace.
And with that, Spiritual Successor's first chapter has come to a close. With this chapter alone, you can already tell there's a lot going on, most of which game from scrapped ideas I had for other DAL stories that were never able to happen on their own. Some of the big, yet minor ones are Mana is now Shido's mother (based on what V17 revealed), Kotori is simply Shido's childhood friends, while the Hermetic Trio are good guys.
There's one other thing I used from my previous DAL story in having Humanity's numbers take a hit, but I've made it more important to the story this time, hence the "Day of the Black Earth" as everyone calls it... along with the yet to be revealed antagonists of this story. After all, you know something's up with the bad guys when they completely ignore Earth's destruction, yet seem to be completely Human.
There are also a few ideas that are getting more focus this time, which I ended up neglected a bit. The prime example being the gifts of those who were benefited by what the Spacequakes left behind. By having everyone in the next generation be like this, not only is it different, but it makes the Spirits harder to recognize because their defining feature is no longer such, meaning they can hide in plain sight.
Another big change is while still younger, I've not only made Kotori older from the start (her appearance resembles that of Stella Vermillion's from Chivalry of a Failed Knight) and only a year younger so she's a Freshman in High School, but Origami's parents and Sawa are alive from the start (her appearance resembles the girl with Miku in the one Encore V7 illustration), while Rindouji has taken the place of Raizen High as a Co-Ed School.
Shido better get ready, because he's had his first meeting with Mio, and while Tohka's about to wake up from her nap? It doesn't look like it'll be on good terms with how angry she got out of nowhere. With this meeting between Shido and Mio, the events from 30 years ago are about to echo into the present, and this time... it's Shido's turn to protect the world.
Until next time everyone, and stay awesome! ^^