It was dark.

Around a certain spiky-haired individual, the darkness and pure emptiness that surrounded him was overwhelming. There was no sense of direction, no means to differentiate up from down, nothing to judge distance by; there was only the dark. The boy would not have been able to see his hands if they were held out in front of him. That was the extent of the vast expanse of blackness which surrounded his form.

There was nothing he could do. Under these particular circumstances, there was absolutely nothing the boy could do to escape from this barren world in which he found himself stranded in.

And so he waited.

…

And he waited.

…

… …

How much time had passed? Had it merely been a minute? Perhaps an hour? A full day?

It was impossible to tell.

A bright, piercing light burst into existence. Having so long ago grown accustomed to the ever-present nothingness around him, the light that suddenly invaded his sight seemed to burn his eyes, causing him to cover his face with his arms. Even so, it seemed to be able to find a path around and further attack his face.

Laughter accompanied the appearance of the light. It was one that was full of sadistic amusement and reeked of malice; its owner, a feminine silhouette that stood before the spiky-haired boy a distance away, though the figure's appearance was blurred and featureless against the blinding light. Having been deprived of sensory stimuli for so long, the boy even found it uncomfortable to listen to the laughter. However, that may have been due to the way the laughter was laced with malevolence.

Soon, the laughter gradually subsided and was followed by a simple statement from the figure.

"You have failed"

Only three words were ushered forth. Yet those three words tore at the boy's heart, for his heart knew that it was the truth. No amount of denial or panic-induced search for another answer could change that. He could only accept the fact.

(I… have failed…)

His thoughts weighed heavily on his conscience, threatening to crush his being. He recalled the series of events that had led up to this point. Where there had once been an island made from seafaring ships and boats, there was now nothing. Where there had once been a battle between magical and scientific forces, where there had once been peace, sadness and happiness, loneliness and companionship… Where there had once been a world painted in a dazzling palette of colors and life, there was now nothing. Due to past choices, actions and inactions, the world has ceased to be.

It has been destroyed.

Along with the values the boy lived by and stood for.

"There is only the two of us. You will find nothing else here." The voice stated indifferently, as if it cared not for what had transpired to lead to this moment. "I have destroyed the world. You have failed…

…Kamijou Touma"

…

(… …Ah…)

Kamijou Touma listened to those words, and his mind came to a standstill. He forced himself to take in those words, take them apart and study them in a bid to find a contradiction, a hint of a lie anywhere within what that voice had said. But he found none.

The enormity of the situation tore away at the young high school boy.

Panicking now, he stumbled backwards; his head rapidly turning from side to side, eyes wide open in fear beyond this barren world, his breathing erratic.

The world has been destroyed.

Trapped so deep in his terror and trepidation, Kamijou Touma failed to notice the world around him begin to glow with a luminous light.

The people he knew had disappeared.

Lost in his delusions and last-ditch effort to return to the life he knew, Kamijou Touma failed to notice the world around him as lines faded in and colors swirled around, in an artistic manner similar to the creations brought to life by a painter. The world around him formed a familiar setting.

The life he knew had been taken away from him…

…

The life he knew had… returned to him?

That was his first desperate belief as he took notice of his surroundings.

Contrary to the hell that he had been in moments before, the unexpected but welcoming feeling of lying on a bed in a small room began to calm his erratic mix of emotions. While he was fully clothed and lying on the blanket rather than beneath it, the soothing pillow upon which his head rested served to finally calm his nerves. Letting out a tired, weak laugh followed by a sigh, Touma relaxed. He let his body go limp. Too tired was he to attempt to comprehend the events that had just taken place. He settled for the temporary explanation that it was all a dream, and proceeded to observe the door in the small bedroom, the cloudless night sky above him, a little penguin doll which sat on a shelf on the wall, the LCD TV on the bedside table, the-

-The cloudless night sky above him?

It dawned upon him then that the bedroom lacked a roof.

Without warning, his senses bombarded his mind, desperately telling him that something was terribly amiss. In his increased awareness he was able to notice that the LCD TV had somehow turned itself on and was now showing what appeared to be the news.

Turning to the side to face the TV, Touma was initially confused by what he witnessed, but he soon came to understand what he was seeing. And what he saw terrified him.

For the TV showed a depiction of a city.

It was Tokyo City.

And it was in flames. While suffering from what appeared to be a complete blackout, the orange-tinted sky revealed the gray outlines of destroyed buildings.

A female Japanese reporter dressed in a suit was explaining the scene.

"The international coalition army is continuing its joint invasion of Japan's capital city of Tokyo in order to eliminate Kamijou Touma who is hiding within the city. We have word that seventy percent of the 23 special wards in the heart of the city have already been reduced to rubble, but there are concerns that the large-scale destruction will leave doubt as to whether Kamijou Touma is actually dead."

"…Wh-what…?"

In his mind, Touma was unable to form a response.

The TV broadcast switched to another channel.

A man stood tall as the lights and camera flashes focused on him. It was the President of the United States, President Roberto Katze.

"I will skip all the unnecessary details. For one thing, we all know there was no room for argument. The Japanese government may have admitted Kamijou Touma is hiding in their country, but they have hidden this fact for a long time. That is an insult to the people of all nations who wish for a stable and peaceful international society."

"Kamijou Touma"

A voice spoke over the Presidential speech.

(That voice…!)

Touma was very familiar with that voice. It was the same voice that had spoken of his failure when they had been in the broken world of nothingness from before. Could this mean that it had not been a nightmare or an illusion?

Heart racing faster than before, he whipped his body around and was met with the sight of a girl with her arms folded and leaning against the wall. She was dressed in little more than a long cape, tight-fitting leather clothes bound to her body, and a wide-brimmed hat that resembled a witch's hat. An eyepatch covered her right eye.

Recognizing the being before him, his anger took hold as he clenched his fists.

"Y-you! Magic God Othinus!"

"We are forcing great hardship on the people of Japan, especially those who live in the city center." The translated, peculiarly calm voice of the President spoke in the background.

Standing up now, he felt only anger towards the Magic God before him, and, to a lesser degree, pity for the people who were apparently wishing for his death. Surely they must be under a spell or a threat, he rationalized.

"What did you to the world? Why isn't everyone fighting you? Did you use some sort of spell to control them? Is that why they're after me?"

Othinus stared at Touma with indifference. Remaining where she stood, she spoke.

"My, my, so many questions asked at once. Calm yourself, boy; must I repeat what I have told you before?"

"That is an undeniable fact, but we cannot end this onslaught until we have definite and undeniable proof of Kamijou Touma's death."

"You are sorely mistaken if you still believe I manipulated them," Othinus stated. "I am a God. I destroyed the world; you witnessed it yourself, or has your mind finally reached the point of being unable to comprehend simple matters? Nevertheless, this is now the current world and it calls for your death. That is the reality."

"Even those of you who insist on pacifism must understand deep down. For true peace, we must slay that demon now!"

"…"

"In the face of this little predicament, what will you do? As it stands, if you don't deal with the reality before you, you will die."

"Even if opinions are split in the present, historians a century from now will surely applaud our decision."

Touma was at a loss for words. It was not because he was being told that his death will arrive if he didn't act soon. Rather, the abnormality of the world in which he found himself in caused him great confusion. He wanted to cling on to the hope that the world had not been destroyed at all, but more exactly he had been transported elsewhere that was dark enough to resemble the black void-like place he and Othinus had been in. He knew that the Magic God must have deceived the inhabitants of the world by some means unknown to him, and that the God was just lying to him…

He could no longer attempt to understand the actions of the Magic God, nor could he attempt to understand the consequences that transpired thereafter. If believing in false hope can help to retain his sanity, then so be it. That was his thinking.

"If Kamijou Touma is allowed to escape and once more disappear into this wide world, nothing but rubble and corpses will remain in a century! In accordance with the goodness of all mankind, we will make sure to bring his life to an end!"

"But… I still don't see how the world could have possibly stopped targeting you!" He managed to gather his words to form his response. "This is all a trick! All the major forces were hunting you down! There's no way you could have convinced them all to stop. If it's a spell you're using, then I'll just destroy it!" He could not accept the possibility that this world was one that the Magic God had recreated from the ashes of the original world. He did not want to come to terms with it at all. He couldn't imagine the possibility of having to survive against the entire world.

"It is an extremely unique situation, but we should fight here because our honor is at stake. It is quite rare to see evil on this level these days." The TV channel changed. It showed an interview with the Queen Regnant in a palatial setting, speaking with a TV spokesperson.

"Recently, even mafias and gangs have been speaking of good. We are honored to carry out the role of a modern day dragon slayer."

The Magic God let out a small sigh while containing her growing frustration. As she made to turn around and take her leave, she spoke again with a matter-of-fact tone.

"Do what you want. It does not change the fact that your death being called for. You can continue to deceive yourself. It only makes my job easier."

Before Touma could protest, a bright light entered the room from outside, accompanied by voices. With the appearance of the sudden intrusion of light and sound, the disappearance of the Magic God was soon apparent as he looked around for the source of the voices. Ignoring the disappearance of the Magic God, he discerned that the voices originated from outside.

"Hey, I heard a TV in there, but it can't have been a 1seg TV for disasters. To preserve the battery, they don't let you turn the volume up that loud."

"But the power is out over the entire area. No one can run a giant TV."

(N-not good!)

Touma realized his mistake in leaving the TV turned on.

"They must be using some kind of trick. Someone might be living here in secret. Let's check it out. It might be him." A third voice spoke with a mix of apprehension and excitement.

The emphasis that was placed on the last word of the sentence caused chills to course through his spine.

He heard the sound of glass being shattered. A window was broken.

Frantically, the boy ran over his options in his mind. He recognized the futility in attempting to escape by any normal means, such as down the staircase, or along the quickest route, both of which will end in his discovery by the intruders. Having learnt this, he settled on remaining within the house, hiding and waiting until they left the house.

But where should he hide? Or rather, where could he hide? Hiding under the bed and hiding in the closet were some of the ideas that presented themselves in his mind. However, he knew that hiding in such a way would only defeat the purpose of concealing himself. This was because those hiding places were safe hiding places. And the safer the location he chose was, the more likely the intruders will check that location. This meant he had to hide himself in a place that barely qualifies as a hiding spot, such as behind the opened door.

By observing the room once again, he gathered that the exits are the door and the broken wall, though the wall wasn't broken insofar as having a few missing chunks from the wall; rather, the entire wall no longer remained. The balcony that had once linked the rooms together had also given way long ago. The rubble and remains lay strewn across what had used to be a yard.

While the crunching of glass shards beneath shoes and the creaking of wooden floorboards was heard past the dangerously thin flooring of the second level, Touma cautiously moved from the bed to what had used to be the wall. Peering over, he hoped that he could recover from a fall from his current height down to the ground below, should he need to escape in such a way. He had doubts though; an injured leg would only serve to slow him down and allow his then-pursuers to catch up to him. It might be possible to hastily fashion a rope from salvaging the curtains, which would allow him to climb down safely from where the balcony used to be.

Having finalized his plan, he pressed his body flat against the wall to hide behind the door and began his wait for the intruders.

But his anticipation for them was never met with their arrival. The sound of footsteps never reached the second floor.

It was then that he could sense a smoky scent. It had already been present when he woke up in this room, but now it was more prominent, and increasingly so.

The lively crackle of fire was heard.

The intruders had started a fire, either to smoke him out or burn him alive.

(Crap! What do I do now?)

His plans now amounted to nothing, his expectations all but shattered. Caught by surprise in such a major way, fear resurfaced and gripped Touma, rendering him immobile. The priorities, common sense and judgement of the world truly has been taken apart and reassembled in a rather illogical manner if all it took for people to burn down a house was merely because they heard a TV. Or perhaps these events had become the norm, whereas he had still to acclimatize to the new norm and abandon his own sense of what was normal and what was not.

In knowing that, death awaited him if he remained in hiding. The chance of being detected if he scampered out of the house in a coughing fit was greatly increased, too.

As he lingered while doing battle with the tirade of thoughts and options in his mind, the relatively insignificant cackling of embers had grown into a deafening roar within mere minutes. A deadly orange glow could be seen in the gap under the door. Smoke seeped out of the gaps between the doorframe and small holes in the floor and walls.

Truly, there was no escape.

(W-what the hell do I do now!?)

Fear-filled minutes flew by; precious minutes that could have allowed the panic-stricken boy to devise a plan of escape; precious minutes that had now allowed the residence to be encapsulated in the inferno. Fiery tendrils reached into the bedroom from beyond the door – it too was now in flames. The door crumbled into a smoking heap of black-red charcoal, revealing the entrance of the conflagration that continued to eat away at the structure. A wall of searing heat hit Touma, and he breathed with difficulty. The scorching air threatened to burn his lungs.

Backing away from the fires, he managed to see the cause of the blaze beyond the hole in the wall. Armed with rifles and surrounding the doomed residence were a group of police officers.

One such police officer noticed him. The officer must have notified his group, because they all raised their rifles and took aim.

They pointed death at Touma.

Wide eyes were met with the flash of gunfire-

"Aaahh!"

Touma threw himself out of the bathtub, stumbling through the small room and knocking over various objects in the dark, screaming all the while.

It was still night time. He was in the bathroom in his apartment.

"Th-the hell!?"

Gripping the blanket that somehow managed to remain on his body, his erratic breathing and thundering heart seemed to endanger his very wellbeing as he leaned into the wall and slid down onto the floor.

(Not again!)

The boy was a trembling mess on the floor. He could only let out a helpless whimper.

It had been a while since GREMLIN had terrorized the world. Touma had confronted Magic God Othinus but she had appeared to have destroyed the world before he could act (she had placed Phases over the world to give the impression that the world really had been destroyed). Although they had spent what may very well have been eternity in various Phases locked in battle and arguments, they had eventually come to a mutual understanding of each other and had allied themselves against the entire world after Othinus had restored it. At the end of the ordeal, Othinus lost her powers as a Magic God and became a 15 centimeter doll-like fairy. The former Magic God now lived with Touma.

A short amount of time had passed after GREMLIN's defeat. The high school boy, having been subjected to terror after terror and faced with an unimaginable quantity of hells in the form of the Phases, in addition to the more recent threats and horrors presented by the arrival of St. Germain, additional Magic Gods and the World Rejecter, his mental state has all but begun to deteriorate, finally showing the effects of his numerous life-threatening adventures.

His fortitude was failing him.

His most recent nightmare was a recollection and reinterpretation of one of the first Phases the former Magic God had created to break Touma's heart. Knowing how that particular Phase ended to give way to the next, Touma feared for his next night, when he will inevitably be forced to relive the continuation of his nightmares.

He sat on the floor and his breathing soon became slowed, calm and controlled. He sat on the floor until his heartrate decreased until it was steady.

Even then, he remained where he sat on the floor. He made no attempt to move.

…

(At least I didn't wake up Index or Othinus. I don't want to have to worry them… I need some air.)

He steadily rose up, putting a hand on the wall to keep his balance. Exiting the bathroom and into the dark living room of his apartment, he stood by the door, weary unfocused eyes staring into the distance far beyond. A silent sigh escaped his lips. Running a hand through his spiky hair, he spared a glance towards the bedroom where he heard the light breathing of a certain nun, and then towards a dollhouse on the shelf where the former Magic God resided - safe from the reaches of their calico cat - before making his way to the front entrance of his apartment, carefully lest he awaken either inhabitants.

Without looking back, he unlocked the door and stepped out into the night scenery of Academy City.