It seems this story had actually gotten quite a bit of attention while I was away (I had been horribly busy this past month) and now that I have free time I can actually put out a chapter

Thank you for all your reviews and suggestions! Know that I read every single one and had considered them as well.

As I had said in the first chapter... I didn't really have any concrete plans for this one so I needed to think quite a bit of how I'll show the events that had lead up to there as suggested in the review. After some thinking... well this is the result

Disclaimer: I do not own To Aru Majutsu no Index and its wonderful cast of characters. I do not profit from this work at all. Really.

This chapter should show you what had happened between the two right after the events of volume 9 and leading to the premise of the fic. It should also show you how I characterize Othinus and more importantly, how she views Touma in her mind.

You can treat this as the actual prologue of the story while the first chapter was 'In medias res'.

Special thanks for the editor of this chapter, Negame

===Stranded Together===

======Othinus=======

It truly was ridiculous.

That honestly was the only way I could describe it when I look back on everything.

I sought out to find my home, the real one that had not been obscured by the changes I've made, using whatever means necessary. I sought power and succeeded in gaining it through dubious means. I gathered resources, created an organization, gathered subordinates with false promises and overcame every obstacle that came my way.

Except for one…

Kamijou Touma, it was a name that would forever be engraved in my mind, body and soul.

It was the name of the man who fought against me despite the astronomical odds against him.

It was the name of the man that kept going in that infinite hell despite the countless times I had broken him.

It was the name of the single existence in the world that kept standing up against god when everyone else couldn't.

and…

It was the name of the only existence that understood me…

I can't remember when was the last time I had needed to write down my thoughts just to organize it… I recall when I had still been a human child that I would always keep a small piece of paper for whenever I would feel overwhelmed so I could organize my thoughts and calm myself.

Really now… that idiot… making me like this again…

From here on in are the thoughts that have plagued my mind since the start… memories that will most likely stay with me for eternity

===Stranded Together===

It was a strange feeling I had. I was able to finally triumph and defeat him, the single obstacle left against my plans.

Yet there was no feeling of elation.

I held what remained of his body and looked at him as he tried to speak. I waited for the words that every other human would speak.

I thought he wanted revenge, I thought he wanted to say the last words to convince me to bring back his world… yet…

"If you knew that, why did you challenge me?"

"I thought I could reach you."

Those words stunned me into silence. I couldn't truly grasp the meaning… or it was better to say I refused to grasp it despite it being so obvious.

"But nothing is left for you now. You have simply lost. The world you wished for will never arrive again."

I answered to him, trying to dispel any other possibility. I wanted him to admit the fact that he had done everything he did for the sake of his own justice.

"…That's fine."

Yet his reply simply brought me to silence once again. I could only look at him as he slowly lost the remaining strength left in his body as I raced through the unnecessary thoughts that were entering my head. I asked what reasons or motives he could have had for continuing to fight but before my thoughts came to a conclusion he asked her a wish.

For a moment, I thought he would wish for the happiness of those he loved but then again I was proven wrong.

"Make good use of this."

"…?"

"My right hand. I was only able to use it for fights, but you must know a better way to use it. You can use it as the reference point for the world that Ollerus mentioned."

I was indignant for a moment, taken aback by the thought that I would actually restore the world according to his views. I found such wishes meaningless and had no qualms in revealing my thoughts.

"The battle is over, so it's fine. Use this and take back your world; take back your first hope."

Yet when I had finally thought he would insist on bringing back his own world out of selfishness, he then proceeded to give me the one thing that could've granted the goal I've been pursuing.

"Do you think that isn't necessary because you can create an identical world from the ground up? You think it's the same as returning to your original world because no one can tell the difference? …That's wrong, Othinus. Even if no one else knows and the world is filled with smiles, it will be nothing but a tragedy as long asyouknow the difference."

He followed with those words, words that I knew far too well. I've looked long and hard for any means, any method I could've used to bring back the original world that I had come from but failed every time. I could only keep adding layers to the reality, fixing and tweaking it as I remembered but it was never enough.

I knew. I knew that it wasn't my world and so I was never satisfied.

It irritated me that someone thought they had the right to say those. It irritated me that someone could possibly even think they understood how that truly felt.

If it was anyone else, I would have already erased that person but deep inside myself, I knew…

I knew Kamijou Touma understood that pain like I did.

He spoke his last words as he did a pitiful attempt at stroking my cheek, challenging me to be selfish, to act the way I wanted in order to achieve whatever goal I may have. The next second, that arm that had almost reached me had fallen and he stopped moving.

At that moment, Kamijou Touma had truly died.

"Oh…"

It was the only word that could escape my lips. As I looked at his dead body, I could only feel one thing.

Loneliness.

It didn't matter if I could recreate the world; it didn't matter if I could bring the Kamijou Touma himself back to life without fail.

I wanted to find my way back to the world I knew... the world I was born in, the world I grew up in… but when I thought long and hard, I couldn't go beyond that thought.

If I did succeed, then what? In that world, what was waiting for me? What did I have to gain from that world?

Those questions plagued my mind; I didn't know when it was that my goal had stopped making sense but when I truly searched for an answer, only one thing came to me.

"Did I want him to understand?"

"Did I want someone who understands me?"

I couldn't help but feel idiotic.

When I thought about it, there was no one in my original world that would've probably been able to understand me and the things I've gone through and the only existing person who had gone through the same thing, who could understand the pain I had felt, had died by my own hand.

His words had made me understand this. It was a truly cruel and merciless attack. I could only really laugh at myself if I had the will to do so.

Now I was left with a choice: to restore my world or his.

Really now. At that point, it wasn't even a question.

At that point I made a decision… though at the time I was mistaken. I wasn't alone at all… in fact it was likely I was being observed…

===Stranded Together===

I really shouldn't have been surprised when he chose to stand by my side.

When we had come back to his world, the moment before I had originally destroyed it, he didn't hesitate to protect me. I'm quite sure the entire world was dumbfounded by his actions but there was no real way for them to understand him.

I didn't put any effort into dissuading him since I had seen firsthand how utterly stubborn he was. There was no point convincing someone that was willing to die millions of times to reach out to someone. That would simply be completely pointless.

I had no illusion I could truly be saved, not with the sins I've committed but… even then I couldn't help but go along with him.

In complete honesty, I wanted to simply make it last a bit longer. It was a final act of selfishness on my part… I wanted to spend even a bit more time with the only one who could understand me.

So I indulged his wishes… I knew how cruel it was to put him in harm's way because of my selfishness but a part of me knew he would forgive me for what I was doing and what I planned to do.

After all, in that infinite hell, I had also gained an understanding of him that far surpasses anyone else who knew him.

He had told me, challenged me to be selfish and do what I want, hence I would do so without anymore hesitation. I would live the fantasy that had only existed in my dreams.

Even if it would never lead to anything, even if it would never last, if I could live it for even a few more moments then I could die with a smile on my face and say I was truly happy.

===Stranded Together===

After a few arguments I had used the Bone Boat to rotate the planet in order to bring ourselves to our target since the idiot had no real plan for us to follow. Being the god that I am I had told him that despite our predicament there actually was a sliver of hope to save me.

Our target was the spring of Mimir where my eye could be found. If I had the eye I had once sacrificed then I could return to being human, invalidating Ollerus' fairy spell.

He had embraced me out of happiness upon hearing those words.

The sensation had been so foreign to me that I couldn't help but push him away. Most existences feared my presence itself and would never dare get close. I could barely remember the last I had received close physical contact that didn't involve a battle of sorts.

Really who did he think he was embracing me out of nowhere?

He was rather laidback as well considering the situation but it was something I could easily understand. He treated me like a close friend and talked to me casually. We exchanged playful jabs at each other and engaged in some banter.

We acted like we weren't being pursued by the combined forces of the world. We went along in our little adventure, always finding time to tease one another when we could.

It was truly enjoyable.

I would've preferred if we weren't being chased by every organization but I at least had the confidence that we could handle whatever would come.

After all, even though my body continued to degenerate each passing moment, I was still the one who reached godhood and manipulated the world while he was the man who overcame god herself by sheer force of will.

I knew for a fact how much of a disadvantage we were in… but even then I could confidently say that his presence alone gave us a good chance of succeeding in the goal I had set up.

It had probably been due to my dying body or maybe the distraction that his company had provided but it had taken me a while to notice the inconsistencies that the world had developed.

===Stranded Together===

Academy City and the advancements in technology they presented.

The Roman Catholic Church and the collective will of its millions of followers.

The Russian Orthodox Church.

The combined might of the saints.

The former members of Gremlin.

The American military and Kamijou Touma's comrades.

They were the enemies we had been made to face. The odds were truly stacked against us but as I had expected, the man who stood by my side was able to take a step forward and keep walking as he pushed through adversity, not only overcoming the enemies but letting them become our allies as well.

However as we moved forward we began to notice the inconsistencies and errors.

The number one esper that Academy city had sent was female.

The Roman Catholic Church included the Amakusas in their ranks.

The saints were lead by Princess Villian carrying the curtana.

The one who attempted to use the fake Gugnir with the help of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum was Patricia Birdway.

There had probably been more that had escaped our notice but those were the most glaring ones. Both of us had been perturbed by the change but we had no choice but to continue on.

Yet as we progressed it seemed more inconsistencies had come forth. Changes occurred at random the closer we approached to our destination.

It was when he had defeated Almighty Thor that I had understood the possible reason for the world's condition.

The mayhem, the chaos, the errors and inconsistencies…

I caused all of them and if I kept on prolonging the current state of affairs then it was likely that the single existence I wanted to preserve may not be able to go back.

Then and there I decided… that it was time I ended everything.

I couldn't be saved… no, I had no right to be saved. That was the conclusion I had reached at the time. The boy did everything he could to save me and that had truly made me happy… however the more I relied on him the more damage I did to him and the world around him.

Of course… I wasn't truly aware of the real cause at that time however I believe my actions held merit regardless.

===Stranded Together===

I wasn't running away like he thought. It the only one to be affected was myself then I would have gladly turned myself back into human and faced the consequences of my action.

However if I did so then he would be caught up in the fallout. He had stood by my side, fought against the world, and supported me would've been surely viewed as a criminal for aiding the greatest evil.

There was no way I could or would allow such a thing to happen.

My life and happiness didn't matter. I deserved death and whatever fate for the sins I've committed but the existence called Kamijou Touma had done no wrong…

… and I would make that absolutely clear to all of them.

I once again brought out the crossbow that had taken him down and prepared my shot. It was something capable of destroying a planet, something Kamijou Touma knew better than anyone else.

Of course… he ran towards her regardless. He charged, his eyes burning with determination, and faced all ten shots.

He had most likely been afraid. He had most likely been reminded of the deaths he had experienced from the very same weapon… but I knew he would keep going no matter what.

I couldn't help but smile as drew closer, not even hesitating as he faced down the final arrow, the one that had ended the battle between us. He clenched his fist and punched it with all his might.

He succeeded.

Every bit of strength I had left seemed to escape me as he pulled me into an embrace. It was only for a moment but my body was able to regain its senses.

It had felt warm.

I smiled satisfied with the result. I was saved. Despite everything that had happened, despite everything I had done, he had still went through and saved me.

I was truly happy. Happy that everything had finally come to an end

Yet even then the world refused to give me that end.

===Stranded Together===

*BZZZZZZZZZZT*

As I was held in his embrace the world seemed to blur.

*BZZZZZZZZT*

"E-eh…?"

He let out as both of us looked around to see what was happening.

*KSSSSHHHHHHH*

All around us was static. It was like watching television with horrible reception as everything in sight seemed to be unable to hold its existence.

*BZZZZZZZZT*

Sounds of loud static grew louder as the ground and sky themselves were crumbling.

"W-what's happening?!"

"I… don't know…"

For the first time in a long time I had been dumbfounded. I had neither had a real grasp of the true state of things nor the actual cause. I thought that my end would dispel the inconsistencies…

*KSSSSHHHHHHH*

*BZZZZZZZZT*

He held me tight, making sure not to let go. I had no power left and was slowly fading away while he was far too injured at this point to even do anything.

*GOGOGOGOGOGO*

"OTHINUUUUSSS!"

He shouted my name as large earthquake occurred and the ground below us broke apart. We were thrown away from each other but he had stubbornly held on to my hand.

I wanted to tell him to let go but I had no strength left to even speak.

*GASSHAAN*

*GASSHAAN*

Everything around us shattered into tiny particles and swirled madly like a storm.

"HOLD ON!"

He kept shouting to her. She could barely hear his voice due to the vortex of particles that seemed to be storming around them.

"Gaaahhhhh?!"

The next moment they were falling as they were being carried away by the large flow of particles.

After that was darkness.

===Stranded Together===

A/N: So what do you think? I wanted to badly incorporate the events of Volume 10 in order to preserve the official developments between the two. This is basically Volume 11 in the first person perspective of Othinus with some of the additions that leads up to the premise of this fic.

You can treat this as diary entries made by Othinus... whether I'll do one again in the future is undecided...

Thank you for taking the time to read this and if it isn't too much trouble, please leave a review.