Aethiana absentmindedly threw the two bags of garbage she was carrying into the dumpster before looking up at the night sky with an irritated frown. It had taken a great deal of convincing of the matron of the inn to allow her to do even the smallest of chores given how bad her injuries were. Well, how bad she was playing up her injuries anyway. Her Exaltation allowed her to heal much faster than a normal mortal would have (she was almost completely healed at this point), but she wasn't willing to let on her true nature yet for a number of reasons.

In any case, Aethiana mainly asked for duties in order to stave off the boredom she had been accumulating for the past few days. To put it simply, the Chosen of Battles was not used to being cooped up in a room with nothing to do for extended periods of time. She was a person of action, and preferred to be doing things rather than just sitting around. Unfortunately, the woman was at a loss for things to do, and it wasn't just because she was trying to keep up the illusion that she was still infirm. Normally she would be spending her time planning for her next encounter with the sorcerer and using some skills unique to her Exaltation to do so. There was just one problem with that:

Her Fate Craft no longer worked.

She glared up at the stars even harder, as if doing so would cause them to align in a way that actually made sense. It wasn't that she couldn't just find Zelretch; she couldn't see any Fate whatsoever. Normally any Sidereal worth their salt could make out the designs of the Loom of Fate reflected among the stars, but at the moment they might as well have been random points of light on a black sheet. It was to be expected, she supposed; the Loom of Fate only governed that which was in Creation, which she as she had found out shortly after she arrived here she was not in. Still, it was rather disconcerting to not be able to see the great design which she become accustomed to through her long existence. She briefly considered the idea that this world had no Fate at all before discarding it. The idea that a world could exist where there was no grand design behind all things was just absurd (and though she didn't want to admit it to herself, more than a little terrifying).

She gave a sigh and looked back down from the heavens, but didn't immediately turn back to go inside. It had been a very long time since she didn't know what to do, and to be honest it was not a sensation she enjoyed. It wasn't just her mission that was causing her uncertainly, but also her current situation. She was stuck in an inn with a bunch of rambunctious non-human women involved in a rather dubious relation with the only other man in the house (Well, there was another man besides Shirou living in the Izumo Inn, but she had her doubts about that one.) Not only that, she was frequently engaged by the other members of the household to converse with them. It wasn't that she was adverse to it per se, it was just, well, she had no idea how to talk to people who weren't other Sidereals or gods. Many other Sidereals could mange just fine, but she was a Chosen of Battles who was very focused on her purview. She didn't talk with mortals very often, and when she did, they would always forget about her later due to the Arcane Fate that afflicted all Chosen of the Maidens. With the Loom of Fate out of reach, that was no longer the case and the various residents of the inn could remember her just fine.

She was also coming to learn that she may need to revise her opinion that Sidereals were the eccentric beings in existence.

Her musing on the gaggle of excitable busy females had to wait till later though, as a familiar voice spoke up from behind. "I think you need to tell me more about just how you got here."

Aethiana's form became a blur as she whirled around and lashed out with a kick at the form of Zelretch that had appeared behind her. However, rather than connecting, the damn sorcerer once again disappeared in a flash of prismatic light to reappear a short distance away, like he had numerous times during their previous fight. She pretty sure she knew how it worked (likely a variation of her own form), but she needed more information before she could think of an effective counter. "I do not need to tell you anything, sorcerer." She replied harshly. "You are the one who needs to tell me where the Solar is. Do not think that your tricks will continue to protect you from me. I've already figured out most of them."

That was something of a half truth. She had indeed figured out a number of the techniques he had used during their battle (some were things she already knew, others were rather novel which she would love to study later if at all possible), but it was the ones she hadn't figured out that she was worried about. She also didn't have as much Essence as she would have liked as for some reason her pool had been regenerating rather slowly ever since she got to this world. However, she wasn't truly concerned about ether of these things; she learned enough about the man's abilities to be confident in a rematch, and her own skill with Obsidian Shards of Infinity gave her all the Essence she truly needed.

Zelretch's face gave her pause, though. The very serious expression that he wore was at odds with the playful smirk that she had seen him wear before. He gave a grunt and said "I don't care about think you know about me, I care about why portals from your world are starting to open up in this one."

She blinked in surprise. "Wait, what?"

"I'm sure that you heard about it. Today, there were several monsters that appeared and attacked inside the city. Didn't you wonder where they came from? "

Aethiana thought back to earlier in the day when she heard the glasses wearing redhead yelling something to that effect. She had wanted to enquire more about it, but she had no idea if that was something that happened often in this world. She was having a hard enough time as it was masking her origins, and asking questions about things that may be common knowledge around these parts could be the canon that broke the warstrider's back, as it were. "So, I'm taking it that's not something that happens in this world?"

It was Zelretch's turn to blink in surprise, followed by the man pressing his hand to his face. "No, no it's not." He replied. "Monsters in this reality tend to be more discrete or stay away from high population centers." He looked back up at the Sidereal. "But that is neither here nor there. The point I'm trying to make is that the two worlds have become connected somehow, and this city has become the focal point on this side. It's causing the fabric of reality to warp, and as we saw today, tear. It's been happening ever since your arrival here, though until now, there's only been a relatively small amount of foreign energy bleeding through. So, I will ask again," he said stepping forward, a hint of menace in his voice, "Exactly how did you travel arcos dimensions?"

The Sidereal would have been mildly annoyed at the man's attempts to intimidate her if she wasn't busy processing what he just told her. What is happening? I was told that the Maidens would reopen the portal when I sent the signal using the artifact they gave me. It shouldn't be happening on its own like this… She thought.

After a few moments of thought, Aethiana decided to give the sorcerer a brief summery. "After you left, we found that there were trace amounts of you magic where you departed, though they were fading quickly. Once the nature of the sorcery was determined, my order, as well as the Maidens of Fate, were called upon to devise a way to follow where you had gone. I was the one who laid most of the ground work due to my experience with parallel realities."

Zelretch arched an eyebrow. "Isn't it a little ironic that a master of alternate possibilities is in the employ of beings that control fate?"

Aethiana rolled her eyes at this. "Only if you believe in the most childish and simplistic explanation for Fate. In truth, not every little thing is exactly planned out, just the larger and more important things. And that is to say nothing of beings that exist outside it like Demons. Or yourself."

A small smile came to the man's face. "So what you're saying is that Fate is less of a straight line and more of a big ball of wibbly wobbly fatey watey… stuff."

Aethiana stared incredulously at the man, gaining the distinct feeling that she was being made fun of. "What? No! That does not even make any sense. Of course I wouldn't say that. Who would?"

"Oh, it's just something an old friend of mine used to say when describing temporal mechanics." Zelretch said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "In any case, please continue."

The Sidereal tried her best to keep her eyebrow from twitching as she continued. "Anyway, while I was able to figure out the core probabilistic fluctuations and dimensional vectors, there wasn't enough time me to complete all of the calculations before all traces of you disappeared. Considering that I was treading new ground in a very specialized field of fate and probability, I'm rather impressed that I got as far as I did. Fortunately, the majority of the calculations required only needed basic Fate Craft and additional reference points, so the rest of the Five Score Band was able to carry those out. The Maidens themselves provided the power to send me past the boundaries of Creation."

The sorcerer stroked his beard as he listened and thought over the explanation. "Hmm… Yes, I can see how that could work. If you have the power and working knowledge of probably manipulation, it's relatively simple to figure out how to go beyond it if given an example. Of course, the real challenge comes from trying to find any single target in the whole of everything that was, is and will be possible. Outsourcing that function and distributing it among several people is a very clever way of getting the frame of reference needed. I must say, I am impressed on how quickly you went from theory to practice." The frown then returned to his face. "However, the more people working on it, the more chances there are for someone to make a mistake."

Aethiana shook her head. "Don't see how that could happen. The rest of Five Score Band might not be knowledgeable about dimensional mechanics, but I gave them specific instruction on what to do. I even told them check with each other to make sure they got it right."

Zelretch arched an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Because the more I think about it, the more I'm starting to believe that's might have happened. There's likely more to it than just that, but conflicting reference points would diffuse the effect over an area of spacetime." His gaze hardened. "Regardless of what's causing this, what do you intend to do about it?"

"Me? What am I supposed to do? I barely know how any of this works, not to mention the fact that Fate doesn't work the same way here as it does in Creation." Quite frankly, she was surprised that any of her abilities still worked, but fortunately her primary martial art was still functional despite the lack of Fate for some reason, so her overall combat ability wasn't really affected. This reinforced the fact that she was the correct choice to send on this mission, as most other Sidereals would have been rendered helpless if in her place.

"If that's the case, why don't you go back to Creation to fix the problem from that side?"

Aethiana's eyes narrowed at the older looking man. "Oh? And how am I to know that this isn't some ploy to make me abandon my search for the Solar? Even if the danger is real, it could have just been created by you to keep me occupied while you use the Exalted for your own ends."

Zelretch's voice was laced with anger as he replied. "It might not be known for my compassion, but I don't like your implication that I am willing to commit genocide to get what I want, and make no mistake, that is what will happen if this continues. Tears will continue to open between worlds if nothing is done to fix this and neither of these dimensions are ready for that. This world isn't as defenseless as you might think, but millions could still die if the wrong thing appears in the wrong place."

Aethiana was silent for a moment, considering what he said. Eventually, she responded "You could be right. However, as it stands, I still cannot trust you. You stole a thing of great power from my world for your own ends and you act like it is nothing of consequence. You can only guess at the potential of an Exaltation, and yet you let it run free in this world without a care. No, sorcerer, I will not stop my hunt for the Solar Exalted. If you are indeed so concerned about our two worlds, than I suggest that you find a way to fix it yourself, as you will no doubt be more knowledgeable about what to do than I would."

Zelretch stared at her for a few moments longer before giving a small sigh. "I see. I'm sure that we will meet again Aethiana Salence, and I hope then you'll have a better sense of priorities." Then, with a quick flash of rainbow light, he was gone.

She stood staring at that space he occupied for a moment, wondering if letting him go was the right thing to do. She considered attacking him and finishing their previous battle several times during their conversion, but decided against it out of curiosity. She didn't know if he was lying or not (social interaction was not her forte after all), so the idea that the worlds were starting to bleed together might have been true. Whatever the case, she needed to look into it herself, and without her Fate Craft, she would have to use more mundane methods of investigation.

Still, a potential upside of all this if it were true would be that Zelretch would be too busy trying to fix everything to keep the Solar hidden from her, as callous as that sounded. Still even then she had to decide just what she was going to do to the person when she found them. She had told Zelretch that she was willing to kill them for the Exaltation, and that was true, though she didn't really want to. Aethiana was one of the few Sidereals that had come into existence after the Usurpation, so she had never really bothered forming an opinion on the Solar. Now it looked like she would have to form one and soon.

She was broken out of her musings when a familiar voice called out to her from the inn a short distance away. "Aethiana-kun, what's taking so long? Were you overcome by your injuries and unable to return to the house?" Miya teased her as she put a hand over her mouth to hide her smile.

Aethiana gave a small snort at the jab. "Everything is fine, Matron." She said as she returned her gaze back upwards. "I was just looking at the stars."

I awoke as I usually did those days, buried under a pile of nubile female bodies. I suppose most guys would love to say the same thing for themselves, but they probably didn't know how much it took to get used to all the elbows and knees poking into you, waking you up in the middle of the night and interrupting your sleep. While fortunately I was use to such things, unfortunately I had something else keeping me from a good night's sleep.

And it was something that Akitsu, in her habit of watching me sleep, noticed. "Another nightmare, Shirou-sama?"

I looked to my left to find the snow woman in her usual position, looking at me with more concern than she usually did. I gave a small grimace as I nodded, remembering the dreams I had briefly forgotten in my morning haze. As I began the arduous morning ritual of digging myself out of the pile, I thought about how it was unsurprising that Akitsu was the first one to notice my bad dreams. Given how she almost constantly stared at me, it stood to reason that she would start seeing the differences in my sleep cycle. Still, the fact that she could tell the difference between a psychic vision of a reacting Sekirei and a normal nightmare was somewhat disconcerting.

Well, normal probably isn't the correct term to use here. Perhaps it was spurred by my encounter with those things the day before, but I had more visions of Harmonious Blades 'purging' towns he had thought had been corrupted by the 'Wyld', though I was quite certain that most of them were perfectly fine. With his paranoia ever increasing, I wouldn't be surprised if he burned his entire kingdom to the ground.

I just wish I didn't have a front row seat to it.

As I finally managed to stand and Akitsu moved to get dressed herself, I looked down on my flock with a frown. I was starting to worry just how my new… condition might affect them. The Sekirei were all supposed to be psychic to some extent, mostly in connection with their Ashikabi. What if they started subconsciously picking up my visions of death and madness? What if my very presence stared to warp who they were into something terrifying?

I had thought I might have had to come clean when I got back to the inn and found reports of a monster attack on the television, but fortunately there were no clear photos or descriptions of myself. They were noticeably close though, and gained me some curious looking from the assorted members of the Izumo Inn, especially Homura. Still, the reports made mention of the more fantastic abilities I used, so I simply asked if they really thought I was capable of such things. After a moment most of them just shrugged and moved on, choosing to believe the much more sensible answer that I was just a normal human and that unknown hero was someone who kind of looked like me.

I wasn't quite as lucky with some of the others, though. Miya already had suspicions about my nature and gave me a coy smile as I denied any involvement, though I was certain that she wouldn't say anything. My real problem was Matsu, as she used her computers to go over everything with a fine digital comb. This was admittedly my own fault as I gave her a Norito and told her to find out everything she could about the incident. I was well aware that doing so could lead to my discovery, but I was more worried that not finding out everything I could about it would have worse consequences in the future, so I took the risk. Given that Matsu knew that the 'Golden Hero' as they were calling him looked very similar to myself, she was at least very suspicious of me, even if I said it wasn't me. I felt bad lying, but I didn't think she completely believed me anyway. I would just have to deal with that later.

Oddly enough, I didn't see Aethiana that night, as she opted to stay in her room. I was meaning to talk to her about all this, but I was so caught up in everything else I just forgot about it. I would have to talk to her today then.

"Master…" I was snapped out of my thoughts as my head turned to the side, finding Akitsu looking at me and fully dressed.

At first I just thought she was simply telling me that she was ready to go, but then I realized what she actually said. "Akitsu? What's wrong?" She didn't refer to me as 'master' unless she was upset.

"Ah…" She looked down to the side, a small blush on her face. "It's nothing."

I frowned and walked over to her. "No, there's something bothering you. What is it?"

She spent a moment longer looking away before glancing back at me shyly. "You're worried."

I blinked in surprise at this. "I… suppose I am. There's a lot to be worried about." I replied, not sure what to make of her statement.

Akitsu shook her head. "About your nightmares. You've been getting them more often. They're troubling you. I…" she looked down at the ground, as if ashamed. "can't help."

Ah, now that made sense. She saw someone she cared about hurting, but didn't know how to fix it. That was something I could relate to. Personal relationships were never exactly my strong suit. I gently took her by the shoulders to get her attention. "Akitsu, don't worry about it. I'll be fine."

She didn't look at me, instead tensing at the contact and continuing to look at the ground. I gave a small sigh before I move a little closer to her, putting my hand on her cheek to bring her head up. "Akitsu, look at me." She did, though her blush increased as her eyes met my own. "Look, I know that I've been a little… different lately, and yes there are some things troubling me, but that doesn't mean there's nothing you can do to make me feel better." I tried my best to sound comforting, though I wasn't quite sure if it was working. Regardless, I pressed on. "If you want me to feel better, just… keep being you. Your one of the few constants I can rely on these days."

"Ah… really?" She replied in a small voice.

I gave her the warmest smile I could. "Yes, really."

There was a pause before her shoulders relaxed. "… Thank you, Shirou-sama."

As a small bit of tension left my own shoulders, the next thing I meant to do was go down stairs and start breakfast, but that didn't happen. Standing there as I was, so close to the rather beautiful woman with my hand on her cheek, I found that I couldn't move. Maybe it was her concern for me, maybe it was the proximity, or maybe that it had just been a while since things had become this intimate with a woman. Whatever the case, the next thing I knew I had brought my head down and was kissing her.

Two very interesting things happened at that point. The first of which was that I felt her drain my od. This was surprising as I would have thought such a thing impossible due to her being scrapped. However, it was the second thing that turned out to be far more important:

She also drank from my Light as well.

There was a small thump like a pressure wave and as I broke contact with Akitsu out of surprise, she arched her back and looked upwards as wings made of ice crystals erupted from her back. It was more than just that though, as the temperature in the room dropped and snow began to form and swirl around her. The air took on a crisp quality, and for a moment I had a feeling. I didn't how I knew, but could swear that it was the feeling of standing in the middle of a frozen lake at night, snow quietly falling around me. The crest on her forehead and her wide eyes burned with a golden light as she stood there, like an angel of winter.

I was dimly aware of noises behind me, but they were ignored in favor of the sight in front of me. What was happening? My Light was never drained when I kissed Matsu, so how did it Akitsu do it? And just what was it doing to her.

Eventually, the enchanting sight before me faded, the wings dissolving into the air and the glow from her head and eyes dimming. When it had all disappeared, Akitsu slowly titled her head back down, a look of shock and disbelief on her face.

I knew that my other Sekirei had awoken from the event, but no one said anything. The room was completely silent as we stared at the ice Sekirei.

And stared at her now clean forehead.

Finally, tears began to form in Akitsu's eyes and she spoke to me, a smile of utter happiness coved her face. "From glories most high, I am now yours. Forever and ever."