Author A/N: I'm back for another chapter! Sorry it took so long… well I promise this chapter will be much interesting than my other stories so far. It fact it will be a big introduction and twist inside. Anyways, please do enjoy!


~Chapter 7: Your Fate has been decided~

"Welcome back, my old guest…"

A voice was heard in the distance. You found yourself standing in the darkness as you were suddenly jolted awake by a mysterious and invisible force. You tried to search for the person that was calling out to you… but you could not even see where your hands were in the pitch black room.

"Haha, sorry if it's too dark here. Here… this will make things better."

Suddenly, a bright light was casted over the entire room, removing all the darkness that was there a moment ago. You winced as your eyes adjust to the new brightness.

The small flames on the millions of candles across the room dance gracefully as they sway from left to the right. It was as if they were alive and aware of their surroundings. Right in front of you, you saw the same mysterious figure wearing a red coat with his hood covering his face sitting behind a round table with tarot cards arranged neatly on it.

"Let me repeat once again… Welcome to the place between mind and matter. I am a servant of fate, telling fortunes to the gods of our world and beyond, guiding them to their destiny."

Your eyes narrowed as you studied the entity, unsure of whether you can trust him or not.

"But today, today we have a different purpose of being here…" He began to draw out a tarot card from the deck. He flipped the card to face it up and revealed the picture of the card to you. Much to your horror, it showed…

The Death arcana!

"Today… we shall continue to see the journey of our young mortal and how he faces the challenges ahead of him… including death."

He held the Death arcana card towards you, as if asking you to take it. "Let us begin… Shall we?"

Once your path of life controlled by Fate, you can never change it no matter how hard you try or how 'out of character' of the choices you make…

You could only… mindlessly… obey the will of Fate…

And walk on the path he has created for you…

As all of you are merely followers of fate…

~Shopping Street of Inaba… Time: 12.00pm (? POV) ~

…30 minutes left before the Dark Hour ends…

Thick white fog engulfed the streets of Inaba as I leaned against the wall smoking my third cigarette. I started to reflect the un-enjoyable battle between Yu Narukami and me.

It was… disappointing. That was very little blood spilled from him, no signs of suffering and aguish from him, no… breaking of fighting spirit. I was expecting a more heated battle, but I guess I was using some of the weakest shadows against him.

It also ended very anti-climatically with the sudden interruption of 'Marie'. *Sigh*… some kind of stupid entrance she made. After I finished puffing my cigarette and throwing it away, I turned to look after the girl I just captured. Or should I say… was.

Instead of the pathetic teenage girl wearing a blue cap, my chains have captured a young woman with long silky dark hair wearing the same clothes that were now torn and too big for her. I smirked as I slowly walked towards her. Just seeing her frantically trying to escape from the entanglement just makes me laugh.

"Let me go! I need… I need to see him!" She shouted angrily as she continued to struggle helplessly. I knelt down in front of the goddess to meet her emerald eyes.

"Do you really think I will let you go easily, Izanami?" The goddess immediately stopped moving as she heard her name.

"H-How… How do you who I am?" Her voice softens down to a mere whisper as she stared at me with horror in her eyes.

I laughed evilly as I slowly stood up and looked down at her, showing my dominance over the so called 'goddess of creation'. "I know exactly who you are and where you have been ever since you were created Izanami… I also know what your new role was when you turned into a human named 'Marie'."

As she listened, her eyes grew wider and wider as she realized how much I knew about her and grew even more terrified as she saw my merciless dark aura surging around me.

I stepped on her chest and leaned close to her face as I forced her to see my soul-piecing sliver eyes. "And I also know exactly why you are here." I gave a hard kick to her torso and I stood up to walk away from her.

As she grunted in pain, I began to take out my slivery-black revolver. Multiple black tarot cards started to appear all around me as I slowly insert in the bullets into it.

All the while, she was quivering in fear as Izanami watched me, helplessly, as I did whatever I pleased.

"What… What you think you are doing? Y-You shouldn't do this whoever you are! I-I am supposed to be out there what's right for mankind. Let me go this instant!"

"You're just like them… So naïve." I ignored her ward as I insert the first bullet into the empty chamber of the gun.

"Thinking you could solve the problems in front of you so easily…" I insert the second bullet in.

"Thinking that the people you trusted, the people who you loved with your heart and soul would save you at the most critical moment…" I insert the third bullet in.

"Thinking that you would get away with it, the mistake you made, the people who you hurt… running away from the true voice inside your mind and the people who are telling you the absolute truth." I insert the fourth bullet in.

"And there you are, lying here before me, losing your status of a great god." I insert the fifth bullet in.

"In the end, No one will be here to save you. You die here… where your existence will fade into naught." I insert the last bullet and push the chamber back into the revolver. "Not even Izanagi can do anything about it."

"In the end… You are just a rotting corpse waiting to be disposed of!"

I pointed the gun to one of the tarot cards in front of me and pulled the trigger. The sounds of the Shadow arcana cards breaking was heard all around me as I took several steps back to let the Shadows crawl out of their cards.

"…May your death be swift and painless, or not." I grinned cruelly as I leaned against the wall and took out another cigarette to smoke. I patiently wait for her screams of pain and suffering and her blood to spill upon the floors of the Dark Hour.

I will have to prepare another spot to hang her once the deed is done. I silently thought as I smiled to myself. But that could wait…

~Izanami's POV~

Is this where I am going to die…?

I watched in horror as the Shadows of different shape and sizes slowly approached me, with their mouth drooling with saliva.

Why…? Why is this happening to me…?

I shut my eyes tightly as I silently prayed that this was just a dream, that it was not reality, that when I would open them back all of this would have been just an awful nightmare.

I tried to wash the statements of what that man had said off my mind, denying that it was the truth.

But I can feel the Shadows' heavy breaths all around me. Their loud grunts and screeching that were hurting my eyes. It was at that moment that reality hit me hard.

I am going to die… and will soon be eaten by the Shadows. …Dying as I, Izanami, a God.

Tears of sorrow and despair began to slide down my cheeks as I lay on the ground, helplessly, by the ever tightening metal chains that were crushing my chest.

My friends….

Memories of having fun and going out with them were dug out as shadows tower over me. They helped me realized what it's like to be human: enjoying life with the people you care about around you.

Yu…

He tried so hard in order to help me regain my memories 2 years ago. Even though he failed as I regain them myself, I have made him my first friend at that time because of what he did. His loyalty, his courage and his kindness… It reminded me of…

Izanagi… I…

I was so close to be reunited with him again. I realized I was wrong to chase him out when I was in the underworld million years ago…as I was trapped in that hell hole, alone.

Please help… please help me.

I tried to speak but the metal chains around my chest were crushing me, thus preventing me to call out for help. I felt something wet drip onto my face and something warm around my body. It seems the shadows are preparing to eat me.

Izanagi… I…

One by one my memories began to flood back to my mind.

The first time we met each other…

The first time we got to know each other…

The first time we fell in love with one another…

The first time we kissed…

The first time we officially became husband and wife…

Please… Just this once more…

I held my breath and let out the loudest scream I could ever release.

"IZANAGI!"

Out of the sudden, there was the sound of crashing and slashing of a sharp-bladed weapon. Flames and electricity were shot of the air and the collision of the projectiles created large amounts of smoke, preventing me from seeing was followed.

I was unable to take in much oxygen as I coughed loudly and violently due to the amount of smoke and chains pressing down against my lungs.

The world around me slowly faded into darkness and I began to lose consciousness.

The last thing I was able to see was a faint humanoid figure with a red and black jacket.

…and a face that I seemed to recognize.

~Magatsu Izanagi's POV~

Minutes before the fight happened…

As I roamed around the streets of this Shadows-infested place, I took a moment to analyze my surroundings. The smaller shadows left and right were feeding the fresh corpses hanging on the poles and rooftops, while the larger ones pushed away the weaker shadows in order to get their meal. It was nothing out of the ordinary for me until…

I heard a soft, familiar voice out from the distance.

It was too faint to hear exactly what it was saying and I could not point who was talking.

Out of curiosity, I walked towards where the voices were coming from. Turning around the corner, I saw the mysterious man whom I met previously. There were also a large group of shadows surrounding someone or something nearby.

As the man casually smoked his cigarette and leaned against the wall, I assumed he was just killing another one of his victims. I narrowed my eyes and looked through the bodies of the shadows in order to see who the unfortunate victim was. But what I saw was not what I was expecting…

There was a woman with long silky dark hair and torn cloths, that was being imprisoned by metal chains. But it was not any normal mortal woman. As she looked up at the shadows surrounding her, I instantly recognized her face. I tumble backwards as I stared at her in shock, somewhere in my mind does not believe that what I am seeing is the truth.

This…This can't be… Izanami… is here?

A million questions raced through my mind, what is she doing here? How did she get trapped and surrounded? Why is she dressed like that? …And most importantly.

How is she alive?

My mind was telling me that this wasn't real. She could not be alive; she was supposed to be in hell. She was supposed to be trapped… and alone. But my body was telling me differently as I did not realize I was slowly walking towards her. All those years ago, she was dead and sent to hell in the first place because of me.

I killed her… and I left her there.

I was not supposed to do this. I was not supposed to remember the happy memories about the time we spent together. I was not supposed to have the desire to be together with her again. I was not supposed to let my emotions control me.

But this is different. I am not the Izanagi that left her to rot. I am not the Izanagi that moved on without her. I am not the Izanagi who believed we could never be together again.

I am Magatsu Izanagi. The Izanagi that does who the original cannot do.

"IZANAGI!" My thoughts were interrupted as I snapped back into reality. I watched in horror as the shadows charging casting their fire magic to burn her.

A mental image popped in my mind. It was the image of her burning in flames, screaming in pain as tears fall from her face. She called out to me as I stood there and watched. I could not save her at that time…

But today, I will save her.

*Cue Battle Music: Ethan Rage Theme – Attack on Titan*

The red and yellow veins along my body shine brightly as a burning flame of anger raged inside me. I grabbed my spear and charged towards the shadows, letting out a loud war cry. The shadows turned their attention towards me and away from my beloved wife.

I casted a large thunderbolt from my free hand and struck those who were too close to her. A group of shadows nearby, which were shaped like a box with weapons floating above them, tried to retaliate with a barrage of fire balls. But I simply ran through them without effort and slice them apart with a quick swing from my spear.

Suddenly, a barrage of ice shards came raining down from the sky. But the attempted sneak attack was useless as I effortlessly backhanded the ice shards back to their owners. I then easily struck them down by sending a flame tornado at them and burned them to ashes.

I quickly turned around to parry a group of sword-wielding shadows before stepping to the side to dodge their blades.

"So Pathetic…" I muttered.

As I stabbed and sliced one of the shadows attacking me, I took a quick glance of surroundings to find where my wife was. I saw her lying on the ground unconscious, far behind me, untouched and unnoticed by the Shadows.

Knowing that she was still safe, I turned my focus back to my enemies and destroyed them by creating a giant tornado beneath their feet.

Izanami… I am going to save you, I swear!

Wait for me as you did in the past.

I will do my duty as a husband, unlike that wretched bastard.

I infused my spear with electricity and spun around in a circle, slicing the Shadows to bits that were beginning to crowd around me. My eyes glanced around my surroundings, looking for the next shadow approaching me.

In an instant, I immediately jumped back as a humanoid shadow larger than me tried to smash me from above.

"You are so weak… Yet you dare to oppose me?!" I smirked as I watched the shadow desperately trying to pull its hands from the ground.

With a quick swift stroke of my blade, I impaled the creature's head and pulled it off. Its headless body just stood there for a moment before falling to the ground with a light kick from my foot.

As I turned around to see if my wife was still where she supposed to be, I was horrified as another group of Shadows crowded around her. One of them was on the verge of opening its mouth to swallow her.

"No… NO YOU DON'T!" I rushed in towards them and casted a strong wind tornado to blew them back.

"As long as I live, she's MINE…!" I felt a burning flame of rage raging inside me as I stood over Izanami protectively. The veins on my body flared up and my spear began to glow red.

"Iza… Izanagi…" I heard a soft feminine voice below me, whispering my name. I looked down and saw she was still alive and well. But her face was pale, and her body seemed weak and needed aid immediately.

Soon, my wife closed her eyes and fell unconscious once again.

Seeing that this needed to end as soon as possible, I gripped my spear tightly as a red aura surged around me. I held up my spear in the air and created a giant ball of pure energy.

"I'll kill you…" The ball of energy grew larger and larger. The shadows that attempted to eat her saw what I was going to unleash upon them. They all turned to mass of black goo and took off their heels to make distance between them and I. Unfortunately for them; I am not going to let them run away with their sins unpunished.

"I'll KILL YOU ALL!" I threw the giant ball of energy and it exploded on top of them. I watched in satisfaction as they were integrated to mere particles before my eyes.

I huffed and switch my focus to my wife, who needs immediate medical attention right now. I cut the metal chains around her to allow her to breathe properly. I was about to lift her up when… I looked in shock at the worst situation that I fear would happen.

No… this can't be. The sliver flame representing her soul within her was so small that it seemed that it would burn out at any moment. Has she been enduring this for so long?! Why didn't I notice it sooner?! I should have ended that fight earlier!

Just as I was scolding myself for my arrogance, I was blown back as a strong force struck against my face.

*battle music paused*

~Narrator's POV~

In a blink of an eye, Magastu Izanagi was suddenly blown back by a mysterious force out of nowhere. He landed head first into a nearby building, causing it to collapse as broken concrete and wooden furniture crashed upon the God. As the crimson warrior slowly stood up and brushed off the debris, he tried to look through the smoke to see who the bold creature that knocked him away was.

When the smoke finally cleared, Izanami was found lying on the ground with metal chains around her once again… with him by her side. The man with the black jacket and gray cap gritted his teeth in anger.

"You disappoint me, apprentice of Fate… I thought you were supposed to be on our side but yet you get in my way." He then wiped off the dust from his black leather shoes and adjusted his cap, "Now you are not even worthy to get kicked in the face again."

"You… You did this, didn't you?!" The god-like warrior shouted back. "…You summoned the shadows to kill her… I will NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO HER!"

"Forgive?" The mysterious man questioned. "Why do I need forgiveness from the likes of you?" He pointed his revolver at the unconscious goddess. "She… The all so mighty 'goddess of creation' is supposed to be dead. She wasn't supposed to create in the first place. So why in the name of hell, should I be the one in the wrong?" He argued.

Upon hearing those insults being thrown at his wife in front of him, Magatsu Izanagi gripped his weapon tightly as his rage began surging within him.

"…YOU! TAKE THAT BACK!" The god began to charge at his foe recklessly with his blood red spear swinging violently. "SHE IS MY WIFE! NO ONE SHALL TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT!"

However, the man seemed unfazed as he causally walked towards the raging warrior. At the first set of furious swings of the spear, the man with the black jacket dodges it with a small step to the left, followed by ducking and sliding to the right.

He then just stood motionlessly as an overhead slash misses him by an inch from his cap. As the spear crushed into the ground near the man, Magastu Izanagi stared at him in horror, shocked as to how he was able to dodge every single attack.

"…You are the one who is pathetic, Magatsu Izanagi. If you are unable to accept the fate of others, how are you even going to begin to follow the instruction given by the Will of Fate?" The man sighed in disappointment.

"Shut up! This is my Fate. I am here because he has given me a second chance to live once again. Izanami never did anything wrong, she is not supposed to die like that." Magatsu Izanagi yelled in anger.

The crimson warrior lifted his spear once again and infused his weapon with fire. He began furiously slashing at the man while casting tornados and ice spears at him. But the mysterious man was able to dodge every single attack that was thrown at him; and whenever Magatsu Izanagi increased the speed of his attacks, the man simply picked up the pace of his effortless and unreal dodging of the oncoming assault.

It finally ended when the god tried to land an overhead strike on his foe, only to be stopped by the man's index finger on the tip of the spear. This startled Magatsu Izanagi as he never felt so weak and powerless to land even a single strike on his enemy before. It was then he remembered who the man was all along.

He… he is the avatar of death.

"That is correct, Magatsu Izanagi." The man commented. "This is why I do what I do." A dark aura began to surround the man as he took out a tarot card from his pocket. He flipped the tarot card to face up, revealing the picture of a huge skull in front of a metal door.

"I am giving you one last chance… Accept her fate and move on… or die!" He shouted.

But Magatsu Izanagi seemed unfazed by the threat and was not backing down. He was not fighting over a random God. This is the goddess of creation, Izanami-No-Mikoto… his wife who for the past millions of years he had been by his side. Although the God that was with her was not truthfully him, the memories of her and her death is what bring forth his creation… the side that wanted revenge and that couldn't move on.

At the start when the second Izanagi was born, he decided to find her and be with her forever; regardless she has become the god of hell or not in the past.

Magatsu Izanagi has already made his decision… and he was not planning to change it.

"…NEVER! I will save her… I will bring her back to the days we loved each other like in the past… I will be better than that fake Izanagi and take my revenge. The Will of Fate gave me this chance to live once again so I am not going to waste it!"

The god-like warrior applied pressure on his spear as he leaned in closer to the avatar of death.

"I am Magastu Izanagi. This is… my last resurrection. No one shall interfere and question my decisions! …And I will kill you because you are in my way!"

The dark aura around the man with the black jacket grew larger as well as his temper. "Kill me? You certainly know how to annoy me with jokes… very well then… YOU WILL DIE WITH HER!"

He dropped the tarot card into the Shadows casted by them with the shining rays of the red moon above. With a quick snap of his finger, a shockwave that was so huge that it destroyed the ground beneath as pieces of concrete were flown in the air. The fragile glasses in the window of the nearby houses were also affected by the invisible force, as they shattered into a million pieces.

This injured Magatsu Izanagi greatly as he was blown back until he was a mile away from his original location and suffered multiple cuts and bruises on his body by the debris that was created by the invisible explosion. His weapon was still with the avatar of death as he examined the spear curiously.

Even though the spear was thrice his size, the man was able to carry it around like it weighted as light as a feather.

"Ah… such a great craftsmanship from the one who made it, yet it was wasted on such a pathetic God like you."

The man lifted his right leg and stomp on the hilt of the spear with a loud thump, causing to break and cracks began spreading around the weapon. Just a light kick by the man with the black jacket was all it needed to completely destroy it. All was left was the small fragments of the God's spear.

Magatsu Izanagi tried to stand back up, but due to the large cuts on his leg and arms he could barely lift himself up an inch.

As the god-like warrior struggle to get his footing, the avatar of death slowly approached the God as metal chains rise up from his shadow and gather up the remains of the Shadows that were slain.

The metal chains combined all the remains of the Shadows to create a towering creature that had the shape of a knight with a dark shining amour. A claymore was also created to act as his main tool of destruction. The metal chains wrapped around its shoulders, parts of its chest and leg as a red and black aura surged around the monster.

The avatar of death used his leg to pin Magatsu Izanagi's head to the ground as the Shadow Knight swing around its sword in preparation of an attack.

"This is how you die, Magastu Izanagi. You are lucky that it is a quick and painless procedure, unlike your wife. Speaking of which, the Shadows are grouping to eat her again." A sadistic grin appeared on his face as he turned around to see a group of Shadows surrounding Izanami.

He then leaned towards the God to whisper into his ear. "I pray that you remember this day… that you know your mistake."

"…Because you are going to hell."

He said before ending his sentence with an evil laugh. He ordered the Shadow to kill the God as it pointed the tip of its claymore at Magatsu Izanagi's back before using all its strength to impale his body.

~Magatsu Izanagi's POV~

Just when everything was over…

Just when the blade impaled through my body…

Just when I thought I could not save Izanami…

The world around me froze in time and turned black and white...

A tarot card hovered in front of me… I felt its calm and soothing aura as I stared into it…

It was the Fate Arcana.

Suddenly, a faint voice was heard in the back of my head.

Thou art I, and I am thou…

Thou hast established a role to you…

Thus giving you eternal power of existence…

To help you become who you wanted to be…

The strong… The wise… The loyal servant that you are…

I am Mikoto-No-Itachi, the true god of creation and the Will of Fate

I am giving you one last chance…

As you said… this is your last resurrection.

My body began to shine in bright red as my wounds began to heal and a new found power awakened inside me. Voices were also heard all around me.

You are not going to let that son of bitch defeat you, don't you?

Come on, coward! Just stand up and fucking show them who's the boss! Preferably right now!

It was the voice of the soul whom I absorbed, Tohru Adachi. It is strange: he is encouraging me and taunting me at the same time.

Save her.

We should be saving her.

We are not supposed to let her die like this, right?

You love her, don't you?

It was a voice I did not recognize. It was soft and afraid… seems similar to what have become soon after Izanami died.

It was then at this moment where I found my answer… and my path. I had decided who I will follow in this life… and who I will save!

I am going to follow Itachi… I am going to ignore the laws of fate… I am going to save Izanami… and I am going to find and kill Izanagi!

I slowly reached out the tarot card and engulfed it with my hand before breaking it.

*Cue battle music: Bios – Guilty Crown*

~Narrator's POV~

A red shining light blinded the avatar of death and the Knight Shadow and stunning the other Shadows that were around Izanami.

In an instant, the surroundings turned black and white as multiple slashes came out of nowhere destroying the surrounding apartments, roads and Shadows before returning back to its original state.

The man with the black jacket was shocked as he quickly jumped away from the bright light. "What the…? Is this the doing of the Will of Fate?"

The Shadows that were not slain by the sudden attack all tried to hide in a corner as they shiver in fear. The red shining light finally died down and revealed Magatsu Izanagi… with a new appearance.

He had a large black cape around his shoulders that stretched down to his legs. He had dark armored plates attached to both of his arms and shoulders. White translucent bandages hovered around his shoulders and back and he had a small horn on the top of his mask. A metal elongated diamond-shaped chest piece shines with a dark red light with the word(神 )on it. The only thing that had not changed in his new form was the red and yellow veins around his body.

Thou art I, and I am Thou…

This is my path that I have chosen…

A better world that I shall create…

And to kill those who oppose me…

I am Magastu Izanagi, the apprentice of Fate!

The powerful god-like warrior let out a loud roar, mixture of anger and hatred that destroyed the Shadows that were terrorized in pieces.

"This is interesting…" The mysterious man chuckled softly. "If this is what you want, Will of Fate… I will happily play along with it."

"…But first, I will have to test how truly powerful your candidate is."

The avatar of Death ordered the Shadow Knight once again as it charged with the loud sound of chains rustling and with his amour buckling.

The newly formed Magatsu Izanagi stood and observed his oncoming opponent as he patiently waited for an opportunity.

This shadow… It seemed to be controlled rather than acting by itself.

The god-like warrior held out his hand in the air and called out his weapon from the heavens.

"Ame-no-nuboko!" (Translated as heavenly spear)

No matter… I shall end this once and for all.

Magatsu Izanagi side stepped to the right and dodged the oncoming swing of the Shadow Knight.

This shall do the trick… he thought as he appeared behind his opponent and stabbed the arms with his spear where the metal chains were. The mad monster stumbled and grunted in pain as it released its claymore and let it fall harmlessly to the ground.

With his golden eyes glaring bright red, a giant explosion of flames was formed, causing the giant shadow to fall with its right arm destroyed.

The god-like warrior then quickly jumped back to create distance between the Shadow Knight and him. As the towering shadow regain his footing and pick up his blade, it charged at Magatsu Izanagi once again.

A loud clash of metal blades connecting was heard as the God quickly blocked the oncoming large swing of the claymore with the holy spear, producing a big shockwave that broke the ground beneath them, testing both of the shadow and Magatsu Izanagi's endurance.

It is quite strong even without an arm… I must not underestimate it.

Suddenly, metal chains lurched out from the back of the giant shadow and wrapped around the holy spear. It forcefully took the weapon from the God and threw it aside, before swing its claymore at him once again. Fortunately, Magatsu Izanagi rolled forward and dodged the attack as the blade sink into the concrete ground.

Meanwhile, the avatar of Death watched the battle in front of him silently as he causally smoked a cigarette.

At this rate… he will win this battle. He thought as he took a puff from his cigarette.

I supposed I could reward him once he is done… he thought. The man turned his attention to the dying Izanami lying on the floor. He broke the metal chains that imprison her before taking out a tarot card. His clothes slowly turn white as he chanted softly a mysterious language that few would know.

He then point the tarot card towards the goddess before muttering, "May the gods of this world bless her and revive her…"

…Back to the battle…

*Cue Battle music: Attack on Titan Fight Theme*

The Shadow Knight suddenly moved much faster than before as it kept on swinging its claymore effortless with one hand and pursuing its opponent. However, Magatsu Izanagi seemed unfazed as he dodged sword swing after sword swing before finally catching the blade with both of his bare hands.

The god-like warrior charged electricity through the blade of the claymore and shocked the giant Shadow. It immediately let go of its weapon and stumbled backwards.

Seeing his opportunity, Magatsu Izanagi lifted up his cape revealing his black kamishimo and his dark red katana, Totsuka-no-Tsurugi.

In one quick motion, he unsheathed his katana and sliced off the other arm of the shadow knight. Now that his opponent is armless, it tried to attack the god with the metal chains that surround its body. But as the endless stream of giant metal chains lurched at Magatsu Izanagi, he effortlessly sliced and diced the metal chains to bits like butter before it could even reach him.

The god-like warrior took several steps back and reached out to grab Ame-no-nuboko that was stuck in the ground.

"This is the end of you! You will regret opposing me once you are dead!" He then let out an ear-deafening war cry as he pulled out the spear from the ground and threw it at the armless shadow's feet. Once the holy spear pieced the foot of the Shadow, it instantly let out a bright green light and a giant pillar of rapid winds was formed below its victim. In a blink of an eye, the shadow knight was thrown high up into the night sky.

Magatsu Izanagi's golden eye flared brightly as he jumped towards his opponent and pointed his katana at the shadow. With incredible speed and strength, the god-like warrior dashed through the Shadow Knight several times in the air while giving it a series of furious and powerful slashes.

He finally froze the broken and worn out shadow in an ice prison and kicked it down towards the ground, before teleporting to the location of his spear and grabbing it to deliver the final blow with a forceful upward stab.

The giant shadow was broken into many melting ice shards that fell all around the Reborn Warrior like rain. Hence, the battle was finally over.

"So weak…" he muttered as he stared at the empty space where it used to be.

~ '?' POV~

Hmm… Looks like I lost another Shadow today. No matter they are kind of replaceable since they are not actually mine; they are just controlled by my little pet here. But time is running out, I better move on and get the rest of the wondering Shadows out of here.

"So… it seems you have lived another day." I commented as I walked towards Magatsu Izanagi.

"You…" He rose up his spear in attempt to lunge at me when I held up my hand to stop him.

"If you want her back, you better cooperate with me." He immediately halted his movement as I saw that he realized that he still had his wife to worry about.

"Where is she?!" He shouted angrily as he was still furious for what I did to her earlier. Well… It was not really my fault that she was in my way, was it? I wasted no time telling him as I pointed behind me, where Izanami was lying unconscious on the ground.

As I watched the God rush towards her side, I held out my waist to check the time on my watch. Great… 5 minutes left to the end of the Dark Hour. This is the moment that I hate the most… since there is no fun watching the Shadows return to their original resting place. …No blood, no eaten body parts, new placement of bodies and so on. Yes, I have a fetish for blood.

…But that's what you will get when you have been working in this job of mine since the creation of the world.

With a heavy sigh of disappointment, I raised my pistol and shot the air above me. All the surrounding wondering Shadows began to groan in annoyance as they all started to march slowly back to the Junes Department store.

"I... What should I say to you?" A soft mutter was heard behind me as I put back my gun into the gun holder.

Without turning behind to face Magatsu Izanagi, I decided to give him a stern warning. It was necessary as he is now the confirmed apprentice of Fate; we both know what we are capable of, how persistent we are and how easily I can kill anyone that gets in my way…

"Magatsu Izanagi, you should know that I am just doing my job… You and Izanami are just lucky that the Will of Fate is by your side this time. I could have killed you right then and there regardless of who you are. …So, I am giving this last warning. If you ever cross paths with me ever again, I will make sure you will never see your wife ever again. …Not even a piece of soul will be left for you to grieve on."

"I…" he hesitated for a moment, before giving me a direct answer "I understand…" he replied with a stutter, a clear indication that he was intimated by me and that he didn't want what happened tonight to repeat again.

As my sliver-black watch beeped loudly to indicate the end of the dark hour, I turned around to face the God as the dark sky and ruin land faded away. The last thing that I saw was Magatsu Izanagi holding the Goddess close to his chest protectively, before vanishing into thin air.

A voice from his mind was heard in mine as I stared in the empty space.

I will take care of you… my love.

I felt disgusted as I slowly walked towards the Junes Department store. Love… can be such an evil curse brought upon men and women. There is really no such thing as true love. Greed… Jealousy… Dishonesty… Ignorance… these traits of mankind will forever keep a long lasting love from ever happening, only a simple illusion created by the mind. Once all things fail, death is the only option to end all the despair made by this 'love'.

I never expected you to go easily on them. I thought you were more… strict than this.

I stopped walking towards my destination as I heard a faint unfamiliar voice in the back of my mind.

I visualized an elderly man with the same exact clothes as mine but they were in white instead of black. He wore a sliver scarf that covered his face and a white top hat.

You certainly know how to annoy me at the worst of times, huh? I voiced my thought back.

He stood there silently as if he was waiting for an answer… an answer that at times I refused to believe. But it is the truth…

You should know why I did that, right…? Why bother asking from me when you knew that answer ever since you kneel down begging for a second chance… for him?

There was a moment of silence as the cold night breeze blew against me, causing my black jacket to be lifted up slightly.

I just wanted to hear from you… He replied.

…A pathetic response. Why would it matter? Nothing will be gained from it.

I will give you the answer when the Heavens meet the Earth… As for now, get the hell of my sight.

In an instant, the white figure disappeared from my mind completely, without saying anything else.

As you continued to watch through the large black hole that was showing the journey that was about unfold upon this world, you leaned back into your seat… feeling exhausted.

You were having trouble trying to absorb the events that happened in your curious, knowledge-hungry mind of yours. But at the same time, you can't help but wonder…

What are the events that occurred which lead to the death of the residents of the velvet room?

Why…? Why did they have to be killed?

As you closed your eyes and sighed deeply in wonder, a voice was heard in front of you.

"Ah… A question from you. An interesting question indeed…" The mysterious red-hooded entity muttered as it stroked its imaginary beard.

It slowly raised its head to face you. Even though you could not see its face, you can tell… he is looks just as curious as you.

"Shall we search for the answer…?" it suggested before giving a small chuckle.

A tarot card suddenly appeared out of nowhere right in front of your face.

As you reached out to it and examined the card, you noticed some strange characteristics about it.

Instead of the usual high quality and colorful picture of the arcana, it was all black and white. It also appeared to be damaged as cracks and small imperfections like rough edges were all around it.

As you held it away from you to get a clearer view, you realized it looked like the empress arcana.

…A broken and wrecked version of empress arcana.

Is it because she is dead? You thought silently to yourself.

The mysterious entity plucked the tarot card out of your hands and held it towards to the black hole above you and it.

"Let's us observe… the avatar of power's, Margaret's final moments…"


I would like to thank KeyToUnivers (A writing partner of mine, I am proud to call him that) for helping me to edit this long awaited work. Hopefully the chapter would not take as long as this one. So pls read, rate and review!