(A New Distortion, A new fate that is waiting to be shown towards all those that are involved. Let us see where it leads us.)

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Bold + Italics = Japanese Conversations

Distortion 46

Previously on Canon Distortion

Sora Minakaze, the mercenary Bullet and Amy, A guardian of the Azure, went to the 6th Hierarchical city of Ibukido on the request of professor Kokonoe and to finally return home in Sora's case. What they did not expect was to find both the Mad Dog Azrael and Colonol Relius Clover in the same location. While the Cauldron is their main goal, the obstacles placed in their way to stop them from doing so are nothing short of almost impossible but at this point, impossible may be something that Sora, Bullet and Amy may be used to at this point.

And Now, The continuation of Canon Distortion

The abandoned 6th Hierarchical city of Ibukido was seeing it's fair share of action in a long time. The sounds of silence were replaced with the sounds of old buildings crumbling due to either lack of proper maintenance and the violent actions that were occurring around them, causing the ground to give underneath them. Was this a once in a lifetime earthquake occurring? Or was this something more man made.

Whatever the world thought it would be when they rediscover these ruins later on, the truth is a lot simpler than what the speculation would bring. As Bullet weaved her head left and right to dodge a flurry of Azrael's punches as the walls behind her were smashed in the process, causing the rubble to scatter all around her as Bullet was doing everything in her power to not be killed in a singular strike as she raised her gauntlets to block her head, getting smashed through a wall in the process as she rolled on the ground to reduce the impact of the blow she felt.

"You're not bad." Azrael simply said, emerging out of the rubble as his eyes were focused on her. The way he gazed upon her was nothing more than how a predator would hunt their prey as Bullet wiped the blood on her lips when her gauntlets accidentally smacked her on her mouth. "And you truly are the monster people say you are. Mad dog." Bullet said as Azrael chuckled upon saying that. "What, are you trying to woo me or charm me perhaps?"

"As if I am interested in a wild animal like you." Bullet immediately retorted as Azrael chuckled upon hearing that as he grinned widely. "Indeed. So instead of useless small talk, why don't we let our fists do the talking instead!" Azrael said as energy began to charge on his foot as Bullet immediately understood that he was going to use another ridiculously strong attack against her at that moment as Azrael lunged forward, his foot ready to drive itself on her stomach as Bullet did a risky maneuver to dodge.

Instead of doing the obvious of rolling to the side or even ducking underneath, Bullet grabbed the leg that was coming her way. She obviously was not strong enough to overpower the mad dog in a straight fight but strength was not all muscle. Using Azrael's own sudden burst of speed, she quickly positioned Azrael's leg to be on her shoulder and instead did a normal judo toss that send him flying to another old building's wall, smashing it to pieces as Bullet held her shoulder.

She looked and saw the small smoke plume come out of her jacket as her eyes widened a bit at that. Azrael was already moving so fast that he risked setting her jacket on fire through sheer friction alone? And this was supposedly him at his weakest? "Hehe, You're not bad." Azrael said, emerging out of the rubble unscathed as his eyes were now staring at the badge that was on her jacket at that moment and his eyes raised at that moment.

"Are you part of a mercenary group by any chance?" Azrael said as Bullet flinched upon hearing that. "And what if I was?" Bullet simply said as Azrael simply grinned upon hearing that as he cracked his knuckles upon hearing that. "Well now, I hope you are just as good as the group of mercenaries I fought before." Azrael said as he lunged forward, energy now growing on his fist as Bullet barely dodged the attack, sensing that the same approach she used for his kick would not have been as effective.

"And what mercenaries are you talking about…" Bullet asked as her eyes remained focused on Azrael but she could feel her body tremble not from physical damage or mental weakness but something else entirely. "Well forgive me for saying this but it was a long time ago. But they had the same patch on their jackets that you are wearing right now. That black fist on a red shield." Azrael commented as his grin grew wider.

"But at least the fight they gave me was one of the better fights a bunch of weaklings can bring. Especially their captain." Azrael said as Bullet began to tighten her fist greatly as she resisted the urge to attack Azrael recklessly. "I can still hear their cries of pain and misery. Yet they still continued to keep fighting on and on. Truly they were a fine feast to have." Azrael finished as Bullet couldn't hold herself back at that comment as she charged right for Azrael, hands on fire as Azrael grinned.

"FLINT CUTTER!" Bullet yelled as she released a bigger wave of flame that danced at the ground right towards Azrael, Azrael did not bother trying to guard as he felt the wave of heat strike him. At that moment, Bullet suddenly grabbed him right at his neck and tossed him high into the air. He only lingered in the air for a little bit before his back felt the metal fist of Bullet smash right into his back and his jacket was grabbed at that same moment to have him be chucked towards the ground.

It was only half way before she fully released him from her throw that she readied her feet at that moment. Before she released him from her grasp, Bullet immediately stomped her foot right on his stomach and sent him flying towards the ground, crashing and creating a small crater on the old Ibukido road. Azrael could feel a sense of pain strike his body as he stood up from the attack not as fazed as someone who was sent crashing on the ground should be at that moment.

"I see that lit a fire in your spirit. Good. That means that this will not be as boring as it looked like it was going to be." Azrael said as his grin only grew as he decided to put in a bit more effort by digging his fingers on the concrete ground and ripped the asphalt off the ground, throwing it right at her face. Before it could reach her however, a blade cleanly sliced the remnants of the road that Azrael had tossed as the person responsible for doing so looked Bullet right at her eyes.

"Are you alright Bullet?" Sora quickly questioned, the Proto Rev Blade in hand as Bullet simply scoffed upon seeing him. "Took you long enough for you to get here. What took you so long?" Bullet questioned as Sora looked to the side for a bit before shaking his head. "That doesn't matter right now. We got to focus on taking this guy down before things get worse." Sora simply replied, hoping his words will get Bullet to focus on the bigger threat that is in front of them at that moment.

"I agree. Let's work together and take him down in this case." Bullet said as Azrael grinned. "I was wondering where you went Sora Minakaze. I hope you will give me more enter…" Before he could finish his sentence, Amy came soaring in the air, attempting to slice the man in half. Her blade was just about to touch his head when he grabbed her by her neck and stared at her right in the eye. "A three versus one? Now that is just unfair… for my feast!" Azrael said as he quickly tossed Amy to the group as his smile only grew wider.

"How can a man like him even exist." Amy said as Sora couldn't help but look at Amy at that moment. He did not know if Amy was actually serious about that statement she made or if she was just trying to play incognito once again. That was not important in this case as he needed to focus on the danger that was right in front of him. "Who knows, whatever the gods are thinking, they are crazy for letting a man exist in the first place." Bullet answered as Amy held back at the urge to just retort to that answer.

"Come on you guys. Are you all just going to talk with each other and do nothing? Or do you need me to come to you?" Azrael taunted as Sora realized something weird about the way Azrael described that. Since the girls quickly discussed the existence of Azrael, Azrael himself did not make an attempt in trying to attack them in the process. Sora wondered if this meant that there was a restriction placed upon him? A self restriction or one done by the people that had imprisoned him.

But before he could make any kind of suggestion, Bullet immediately charged after Azrael. Sora not wanting to leave Bullet by herself to deal with a monster, shoved his previous thoughts at the back of his head and went after her, transforming the Proto Rev Blade back to the Rev Arm to attach it on his stump. As he did so, he felt a discomfort surge throughout his body as he had to remind himself that this Rev Blade was never made for him and thus not properly tuned to his specs.

Regardless, he knew he was just going to deal with his current situation as Bullet threw the first punch right for Azrael's face. Sora used his two hands to plant himself on the ground and did a leg sweep. This attack from above and below prompted a proper defense from Azrael, first blocking Bullet's attack before jumping past Sora's leg. Azrael then attempted to stop on Sora's leg to break it but thanks to planting himself on the ground with two hands, Sora was able to quickly recover and prevent Azrael from doing what he was planning.

But Azrael was not done yet. To prevent Sora and Bullet from mounting any further assaults, he quickly gathered the ungodly red aura he normally produced and had it cloak itself around him, forming a shield to protect him and repel the two back as Amy jumped in at that moment to land her own strike on Azrael, directly landing a strike to his chest but the Aura acted like what seemed to be a shield and easily repelled the attack back as if it was nothing.

"What kind of aura is that?!" Amy questioned as Azrael cracked his neck upon hearing this. "Oh this little aura of mine? Why it's just a little taste of my true power. You see, the restraints placed upon me struggle to keep me in check so I figured, why not use it." Azrael said as hearing the mad dog speak what seemed to be a logical mindset freaked out the people in the room. They cannot help but question the intelligence being presented to them at that moment and if it was made by a man who knew what he was talking about or if he was just speaking out of pure instinct.

Whatever the case was, the fact that the man was able to use the aura that struggled to contain his aura in as a power instead of a restriction showed that this man has fighting capabilities under his belt. Sora however did not care about what was happening as he knew it was just going to make him lose his focus of the bigger picture. It did not matter how Azrael fought, the important thing at the end of the day was that he was facing off against a dangerous foe and he needed to respect his power in order to not get crushed by it.

Sora pulled out his revolver and began to open fire. While he knew very well that Azrael could easily dodge his shots, he wanted to at least test how far his aura can protect him. Using the Rev Arm to hold the revolver, Sora no longer found himself from being flung all over the place, able to stand his ground as his shots went towards Azrael. As soon as he saw Azrael make manifest his aura, He immediately knew that he had to get out of the way, prompting Amy and Bullet to follow his lead, believing he had a hunch.

And this hunch was correct as suddenly, The aura captured the bullets Sora fired and immediately fired them back as red energy balls that were even quicker than the bullets were as if that was possible, destroying the landscape behind them as Sora gritted his teeth upon seeing that. "So you also have figured out a way to counter projectile usage huh." Sora said as he noticed that Azrael was not standing where he was but was instead now in front of him.

"To stop cowards from trying to play hide and seek with me. I have always preferred a much closer battle." Azrael said as his hand slammed itself on Sora's stomach, making him cough as he was launched a distance. He recovered quickly but then saw the mark that was now applied on his stomach as when his finger touched it, he felt a weakness suddenly take over him as Amy's eyes widened upon seeing that, able to recognise what had happened to Sora.

"Don't let Azrael hit you again at that spot!" Amy shouted as Sora himself was made aware of what had happened to him and based on the warning Amy had given him, he knew that should Azrael touch him at that spot, he was going to suffer massive damage in the process. Azrael, hearing Amy's warning, grinned as he approached Sora again, his hands looking like they were going to go for his weak spot. Sora, being aware he had a weak spot now hastily tried to block it only to realize that was what Azrael wanted at that moment.

Sora raised his normal arm at that moment, allowing Azrael's that was aimed for his exposed head to now slide across his normal arm as he did a masterful parry at that moment and deliver a counter palm strike to Azrael at that moment, causing Azrael to slide on the ground as he grinned at how quick Sora was to react to his true intention. "So you are able to tell my true intentions, Very good!" Azrael said as he moved in to continue his attacks on Sora only to sense another opponent come his way.

Azrael turned to face the new threat coming his way and it was Amy, this time using her sword to slash and create a small shock wave that struck Azrael. Azrael felt unfazed by the blow at first but then flinched as soon as he tried to unleash his own attack back to Amy. His eyes looked a bit confused by what had happened as Amy slashed at him again, Azrael dodging and now noticed what was actually happening at that moment.

It was brief but the air that Amy's blade slashed at briefly shook, then suddenly without warning a mini sonic boom occurred, blasting the air at various directions. This mini sonic boom was probably what caused Azrael to stagger and now that he saw what had caused it, he cannot help but grin a bit in amazement. "Nice trick you have. I think I will try it out myself!" Azrael said as he raised his hand up and did a karate chop that descended down on Amy's head.

Amy herself could see it coming and jumped away. But as she did so, Azrael's red Aura immediately emerged from his hand, leaping out of it and followed the arc it had created, forming something similar to her own sonic boom and was able to land a hit on her. Amy felt nothing at first but suddenly Azrael's aura erupted out of her and caused her to react the same way he did when her own attack landed. Amy's eyes widened upon feeling this sensation strike her.

"What? Are you surprised that an old dog like me can learn new tricks?" Azrael taunted as he felt a fist crash itself on his face as Bullet did not care for what he had said at that moment. "As if I care for the tricks a mere mad dog can do! A mad dog is nothing but a mad dog at the end of the day!" Bullet shouted as her gauntlet began to act and without warning, blasted a wave of fire right on his face that would have badly burned a person in the process but all it did against Azrael was force him to make his red aura manifest to protect him as he had a grin on his face.

"That's it. Throw everything you got at me! I may just get a bit more serious if you guys prove to be more than just dead weights!" Azrael said as a grin began to grow on his face, the satisfaction he received on the combat he was receiving was truly palpable at this moment. Sora himself felt that fighting Azrael at his supposed weakest was already proving to be problematic. The fact that their best was actually encouraging him to get stronger was going to be a big problem.

"If this keeps up, Azrael will keep us from getting to the cauldron and the worst thing about that is that would leave the masked bastard enough time to do whatever he wants in there." Sora said as he said it to only Amy as Bullet forced Azrael back and chased after him at that moment. "So what do you want to do? Do you want to just leave things to Bullet and go to the cauldron now?" Amy questioned as Sora immediately shook his head upon hearing her suggestion.

"There's no way I am going to leave her. Not here and now." Sora said as he charged for Azrael, ignoring the seal that was still on his body as Azrael tossed Bullet to the side as he grinned and focused his gaze on Sora. Sora did not lose a beat as he grabbed the handle of the Proto Rev Arm and changed it to the Rev Blade at that moment. He then took one firm step on the floor in front of him and in one smooth motion, slashed right at Azrael as the man decided to let the attack land on him and could feel the steel touch his body.

Sora felt his blade immediately come to a stop as his eyes went towards the reason why his attack was stopped the way it was and it was then he noticed that his attack had been stopped by Azrael's sheer muscles flexing at that moment. Stopping at his shoulder but not going any deeper than the skin as Azrael had a grin on his face. "Come on. Don't hold back your power. I know you have way more power to spare for me!" Azrael shouted as Sora pulled his blade back, shocked by Azrael's blade stopping feat.

Sora felt the temptation to say something at that moment but decided against it. He did not need to waste his breath speaking words at that moment because they would be wasted on an animal like Azrael, a person who only focused on the battle in front of him and laugh off any comments about his life choices. Instead of speaking, Sora simply slashed again, prompting Azrael to dodge by jumping out of the way as Bullet came soaring in and tried to make him taste her flames as Azrael simply jumped even further.

Bullet herself was able to notice that Sora himself was not being himself. It was obvious from the way he was late to arrive to her aid that a lot was on his mind at that moment. He seemed to be helping her not because he needed numbers at the cauldron but more likely because he wanted to help her in general. She could guess that he wanted to go straight for the cauldron and leave her behind but something inside him would not let him do so.

But can she tell him that she was going to be alright and that she could handle Azrael alone? She knew that Sora knew that Bullet by herself stood no chance against the mad dog himself. She could tell him to go to the cauldron and then she would run away but with the way the ruins of Ibukido looked and just how much of Azrael's power was being shown to her, she doubted her chances of a clean escape with her life intact.

But that brief thought that was in her head left her opened as Amy had to tackle her to the side as Sora blocked a punch that was aimed for her head. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT BULLET!?" Sora yelled as Bullet simply nodded her head at that. Sora forced Azrael to another corner to face off by himself as Bullet was about to go with him only to feel herself being stopped as Amy looked at her in the eyes.

"Tell me… you can see the obvious thing in the room right?" Amy questioned as Bullet looked at her in surprise. "Don't look at me like that, I can tell with your eyes and the way you have been looking at the situation, you can see the obvious just like I do. Sora's heart isn't in this battle but at the cauldron that Azrael is going to prevent us from going to." Amy continued as Bullet looked down on the ground, focused on her hands as they slowly formed a fist.

"Don't think he has not gone to the cauldron because you are holding him back from doing so. You know the man truly sees a sense of kinship with you. He won't leave you behind for whatever reason." Amy said as Bullet nodded her head upon hearing Amy say those words to him. "But what do you want to do at this very moment? What does your heart tell you?" Amy questioned as Bullet looked at her in surprise as hearing that question stirred something in her heart at that moment as she looked at her hands, wondering what she wanted to do at that moment.

"I won't force you to make a choice right now… but just know your time to decide is not as plentiful as your search for the truth took." Amy said as she left Bullet to go help Sora at that moment as Bullet sat up straight and looked at her hands. What was she doing with herself right now? How could she be hesitating on making a choice like this. There are other cauldrons located all over the world but by the way Amy spoke, Sora was almost desperate in his desire to return back to his timeline.

Even if he knew what he was doing was going to be a death sentence. Even if he knew that there was no chance jumping into a cauldron would actually return him home. Ever since she met the man, she could sense a sense of desperation from him. As if he was fearing that his time may be running out and if he did not act upon this chance it may be lost. Yet despite the rather serious implications of doing something dumb as jumping into a cauldron, He had decided to help her fight off a monster instead.

That deeply touched Bullet inside as she felt like she was being treated less like a chess piece and more like a true comrade in arms yet also left her in a deep predicament. As Bullet continued to ponder on how she should handle her current situation, Sora was busy fending off against the might of the Mad Dog, the man throwing his fists like they were bombs as unfortunately he felt one of those fists graze his shoulder, triggering another weak point to form as he took several steps back to properly reassess the situation that he had been placed into.

Azrael: You know...for a man who has lost a limb and has to compensate with a foreign weapon such as yours. You are strong

Sora:… What's with this all of the sudden? I thought you were the type to hate people who talked while they fight.

Azrael:Indeed I am… but for this one time, I just felt like speak what was on my mind and let it be heard before I crush you under the palm of my hand.

Sora: Crush me huh? Well Sorry for you I have no interests in being crushed under your hand. I got something I need to live for

Azrael: Something you need to live for huh… are you afraid of dying?

The moment Sora heard those words, he couldn't help but close his eyes and ponder on that question for a bit before answering. "I am less afraid of dying but rather cannot afford to die. Not right now. I have something I need to fight for." Sora simply said as Azrael couldn't help but scoff upon hearing that. "A woman I am presuming? What nonsense." Azrael said as Sora shook his head. "Nonsense to you yes but at the same time, a great source of power to some people don't you agree." Sora questioned back as Azrael scoffed.

"Now tell me… why aren't you attacking me? You would have done so if you could." Sora said as Azrael shook his head upon hearing that. "A restriction placed on me by the people who try to control me. I cannot attack anybody unless they attack me first. A truly useless restriction for me." Azrael said as Sora nodded his head upon hearing that as Azrael's eyes met Sora at that moment. "So what are you going to do? Leave me here unsatisfied?" Azrael questioned.

That would be a legitimate tactic for Sora to use but there was something bugging him. "Why tell me about your weakness? Don't you think I would not do what you say I would do? Leave you alone and not attack you?" Sora questioned as Azrael simply grinned upon hearing that. "It's because I can smell it in you. The urge to fight." Azrael said as Sora couldn't help but become lost upon hearing that.

"You say you fight for something important and that is true. But humans don't just fight for simple reason alone. You have spent your entire life fighting and don't know anything else… do you." Azrael said as Sora was shocked to hear such a thing be directed towards him at that moment. "You try to find other aspirations, you try to become something that you are not but you cannot deny it. The battle lust that is long engraved to your very soul." Azrael continued as Sora couldn't help but begin to think about Azrael's words from hearing that.

Sure over the years he was not randomly fighting people the way Azrael would have but at the same time, it did not really change the fact that on the back of his mind, the constant need to be prepared, the constant urge for war remained deep inside his heart. This is something he had made sure he got better at managing but it seemed that no matter the problem, the solution always forced itself to be more fighting and thus, the fighting would never stop not even once.

Yet instead of trying to go for a more peaceful path, Sora always found himself going for the more violent path, often resulting in him fighting more often than not. Hell just thinking about how he has dealt with the past few situations and how he was simply choosing the option of war wherever he could in order to get to his home as soon as possible. He may be a more peaceful person and not kill as frequently as he did back as a mercenary but the path he takes is not that of a saint.

"Trust me when I say this. A man like you who only knows how to fight can only see fighting as his solution. Just think about it for a second tell me what you think would happen if you just left me." Azrael questioned as Sora knew better than to listen to the mad dog and his seemingly random ramblings but yet at the same time, the mad dog does make a point. What was he actually going to do once he left Azrael alone? What was his mind going to think as soon as he left Azrael alone to go and let Bullet and Amy know about this.

Firstly, he feared that both women would not believe what he was saying to be the truth. They would think that Sora was just making stuff up. He knew Bullet and Amy were smarter than that but at the same time, that sense of irrationality bit him on the back of his head. And even if they believed him and they left Azrael alone, his mind now began to think about the fact that someone could just stumble upon the Mad Dog and out of fear may accidentally open fire upon him, lifting the restriction and thus endangering their lives.

The lives of people he did not know and would never see did not matter at all to Sora but at the same time just the thought of that possibly happening made Sora suddenly sour on the idea of just leaving Azrael not dealt with. At least in a manner that would be unsatisfactory to him. Seeing Sora come to this conclusion on his own made Azrael smile a bit as he began to approach. "That's right, you are a rational human being and have considered everything that would happen should you just leave me… and that rational of yours says you cannot afford to leave me unattended if you wish to protect the people that are here now." Azrael said.

At that moment, Amy came soaring in the air, slashing right at Azrael as he weaved to the left. A grin was present on his face as he immediately launched a punch right at her direction, forcing her to block as her blade struggled to not snap at the strength of his punch as she crashed right onto Sora as Azrael grinned upon seeing the fight in this little girl. He did not bother wasting his time with further talk as he charged at the two.

"What are you doing Sora!? We got to fight!" Amy said as Sora shook his head and was soon picked back up on his feet as Amy noticed the expression that Sora had and it was one of confusion as Amy tched at that moment and wanted to slap him back to his senses but Sora cleared his throat. "Sorry about that Amy. Just had a lot going through my mind is all." Sora explained as Amy sighed upon hearing that but she did not bother scolding the man in front of her for doing so as there was clearly more important matters in front of them other than Sora being not himself.

"Come you two! Let us enjoy each other! And feast on each other's bones!" Azrael yelled as Sora raised his Rev Blade to block another barrage of attacks from the mad dog himself. But before the attack could land, a huge wave of heat struck the area around them and blew all the people in the area at various directions. Azrael was blown far back and found himself facing in front of a wall of flame as he attempted to touch it and felt it's heat.

Meanwhile Sora and Amy found themselves blown towards the entrance of the cauldron as the heat itself was hot enough to melt the remaining bits of steel that exposed the entrance and caused the entrance to finally collapse as steel sheets and beams collapsed on the sheer weight of the trying to hold a massive gaping hole for so long getting to it. Sora out of instinct used his body to shield Amy from any debris, stabbing the Rev Blade to act as a makeshift shield as Sora's mind wondered what could have caused that mass of heat that pushed them into this hole, but more important was the fact that they were separated from Bullet.

"I'm sorry mad dog, but they have more important things to do than deal with a wild animal like you." Bullet said as she stood in front of the now collapsed entrance as Sora pieced together what she had done. "What the… Bullet what are you doing!?" Sora yelled as he tried to clear away some of the metal rubber that had blocked his way only to feel the growing heat that came out of it slightly burn his hand in the process.

"Letting you go on ahead. You need to get going Sora." Bullet said as Sora's eyes widened upon hearing her say that. "You've got something that you need to do. Go and do it already and let me handle the mad dog!" Bullet continued as Sora's mouth was left open as he tried to digest everything that he had just heard. "I know that the mad dog is not a foe to be taken lightly with and that if I am to face him alone I am more than likely asking for my own death sentence but I am doing this because I want to." Bullet explained as the voice of Bullet sounded shaky, confirming to Sora that Bullet was doing this partially out of fear.

"So go on already! You got someone waiting for you back at your timeline don't you! There's no need for you to waste time trying to solve the problems of this timeline when you already have your own set of issues to deal with in your timeline!" Bullet said as Sora slowly closed his mouth and eyes. Tears wanted to emerge but he calmed himself from doing so as he knew that she was right in saying so. Now was not the time for tears but to keep moving forward.

"… Don't you dare die on me now Bullet. Not after all you said." Sora said as he pulled out the Rev Blade from the ground and reformed it into it's prototype arm form to use it again. He simply walked past Amy at that moment as she approached the rubble able to sense that Bullet was still there. "...Heh, I don't plan on dying. Not right now at least." Bullet said as Amy wanted to give Bullet her thanks for opening the way for Sora but then decided there was no need to do such thing as Bullet decided to do what she did on her own free will and her telling about Sora's plight played no part in her decision.

"I wish you good health Bullet. And may we meet someday once again." Amy simply said before taking her leave, knowing very well what is to be the fate of this world and deciding against saying anything further that would be seen by the master unit as becoming attached. As Bullet heard the footsteps go further away from her, she turned her attention back to Azrael as she made the bravest face she could at that moment.

"Looks like your prey has been separated from you and you only have me to play with. What will you ever do." Bullet taunted as Azrael brushed away the wisps of flame that had touched him before he approached her with a small grin on his face. "Nothing. Nothing at all. But judging from the way the flames separated us, you were the one responsible for separating me from what I felt was going to be my greatest dinner. Does that mean you are willing to pay for the costs to make up for it?" Azrael questioned as Bullet shook her head.

"...As if I plan on letting you…" Bullet said as she held her fists up, ready to fight

As Sora and Bullet walked deeper to the centre of the cauldron, there was a lot of things running through the minds of Sora Minakaze. He cannot help but be in deep thought as the series of events that had unfolded in front of him were not the event he had hoped they would be. Amy saw the look that was on his face and decided to remain quiet at that moment as Sora himself felt no mood to talk to anybody, at least for the next few minutes.

Everything had happened so fast. From fighting against Azrael to being pushed back to Bullet deciding to essentially throw her life to open the way for Sora to get to his final destination. While he wanted to head to the cauldron, the way he did so left a very sour taste in his mouth as his mind continued to race with what if's and what he could do's but they all reached a similar point. Power, he needed more power than he had at the moment.

He looked at his normal hand as he couldn't help but feel powerless in a way. Ever since he reawakened he has felt a sense of frustration that his Drive had not come to him, especially now. He may not have depended on it like some people would but to him, that drive, the ability to see into the future even if it was brief was everything to him. It was how he built his whole fighting style around and now that was taken away from him he was beginning to realise just how much of his power was tied to the way he used that drive.

So now the questions comes, when that power comes back, should it even come back in the first place. Will he depend on it like he did before? Or will he need to shift his perspective on how he uses it. Because as things are they way right now, the more they stay the same the more a person stagnates. "Sora… About Bullet…" Amy said as Sora stopped walked at that moment as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath at that moment.

"...It's alright Amy… I understand. This Bullet… she is just a part of this timeline. A timeline I didn't belong in the first place. All because I am an Error at the end of the day. Even if I do return to my timeline, there is no way to say that I will be able to meet her again." Sora said as he opened his eyes and looked at Amy directly. "So let us be on our way to the cauldron, to where Relius is probably waiting for us at this very moment." Sora said

It was a that moment, When Sora said those words and then left she could see the true pain that was in his eyes. Though his voice had no shakiness and was in fact dignified and calm in tone, his eyes, the way his brilliant yellow left and his blind white right were swelling red, as if holding back the tears he wanted to shed at that moment but didn't as Sora walked his way towards the cauldron, his stride bearing the weight of many things as Amy stood back a bit and watched as he bravely marched on to the cauldron.

As Sora continued to make his way to the cauldron, determined to settle things and return home to where his dearly beloved is for more than one reason. Amy watched the man silently walk towards what seemed to be his doom, not with despair or hopelessness but the opposite, hope. At that moment, Amy felt a strange sensation on her chest swell up inside her as her mind thought of many things but there was only one prominent thing that remained on the tip of her tongue.

...Was this what it felt to be sad inside?..

GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION!? HOW IS EVERYONE DOING ON THIS FINE DAY!? Well, we approach the final month of the year once again. Truly this is a weird time every time it comes around. I don't know if I will ever get used to it and I have been living for as long as I have been. All I can say right now is that I hope that I will be able to finish writing this story that I wish to tell before my time comes and I hope that the next year is not going to be my last.

SO WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT!? WITH THE PATH LAID IN FRONT OF HIM, HOW WILL SORA PROCEED GOING FORWARD!? WILL HE MAKE IT TO WHERE HE NEEDS TO BE OR STUMBLE AT THE FINAL STEP!? AND WHAT ABOUT AMY!? WILL SHE CONTINUE HER DUTY AS THE GUARDIAN OF THE AZURE OR WILL SOMETHING ELSE HAPPEN TO CHANGE EVERYTHING AS WE KNOW IT!? Let the next distortion pave the way for all to see.