GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION!? HAPPY BELATED CHRISTMAS AND A NEW YEARS TO ALL WHO READ THIS CHAPTER! Now normally this would be where I would put in the, "A New Distortion!" tag but this time I am leaving my PS right up here. The reason? I have gotten pretty passionate for this chapter since it is the end of the year and I feel like making sure some stuff were closed up nicely to set up the next year's set of chapters. So yes, this is why the chapter took much longer to release, almost at the end of the year.
I hope you all don't mind the fact that this foreword is being used to explain stuff because normally the foreword part gets missed due to being at the end of the chapter. I am just leaving it here because I want you all to know that I am thankful for the support that you all have given to this story. I am thankful that you all continue to read about Blazblue even if some of you are not aware about the series or have a passing interest in it. I hope that you all enjoy this latest chapter and celebrate the new years with your friends and loved ones.
Also, the first chapter next year might shorter to compensate for the massive chapter that you all are about to read here. Mostly to give me some time to rest and relax. With that said, here is the 24th Distortion, read on and enjoy what happens next.
Bold = English Conversations
Bold + Italics = Japanese Conversations
Distortion 24
Hierarchical cities are well known for two main features, being built on the peak of massive mountains to avoid the ever growing threat that the Seithr below said cities provided and their lack of vegetation the higher you go up certain hierarchical cities. Why is this refresher course important to know? Not all hierarchical cities need to be built as high up as most people presume. All building your hierarchical city on top of the peak of taller mountains was provide a bigger barrier between the Seithr below and the populace living in said hierarchical cities.
Cities like the 1st free city of Otsu are proof of this concept. For cities like this, they often had dirt roads that connected them to each other. It was on a dirt path that was long trekked by the NOL approved messengers of the past where Makoto, Noel and Hunter were walking at that moment as the shade provided by the massive trees shielded them from whatever heat the sun could muster up towards their direction.
"Over here guys. We are getting close." Hunter said, waving his hand towards Noel and Makoto, beckoning for them to follow him. Hunter was taking the lead in showing the girls where he had found Draco. One of the few secrets he had kept hidden from everyone, including Noel. "You sure you went here when you were a kid and found Draco in the middle of a cave like you said you did?" Makoto asked, carefully stepping over a rock as Hunter stopped to grab Noel's hand as she tried to cross the same rock but it was just long enough for her to not just walk through..
"Well...I don't exactly remember where or how. But Draco does. He's the one who's helping me remember where I found him." Hunter explained as he pulled Noel over the gap and made sure her footing was secure. "And can you trust it? It's just a Nox Nyctores after all. We can't exactly hear anything from it" Noel said as Hunter scratched his head at that. "How do I put this… Me and Draco have been speaking for a while now. Well.. It's complicated." Hunter added making the girls tilt their head, feeling like they deserve a better explanation.
"Well you see, starting from when I was got the guy, he's always been trying to talk to me like how any other Nox would. And if you remember, I became whatever that thing was during the Black Rebellion and I pulled that thing the Black Lotus was going to use against us? Well after that, I started being able to hear him much clearer." Hunter explained as Makoto nodded her head at that, unable to help but fall back to her old habits as an intelligence officer and pay attention to what Hunter was saying.
"I did some reading about Nox Nyctoreses and while I barely found shit due to how secretive the way Nox Nyctoreses are made and the actual history about them is scare at best. One of the things I managed to find miraculously was how Nox Nyctoreses had a personality of their own to link with their owners better." Hunter explained as they continued to trek their way towards their intended destination. "I don't know why they decided to do that, but at least it's helping us now." Hunter added.
"Nox Nyctoreses communicating with their owners…" Makoto said as her eyes went to Noel and Bolverk that was on her hips. Makoto then looked up and down Noel's outfit for a bit before realizing that Noel was wearing something rather bold. Noel noticing her friend's gaze couldn't help but blush and pull down on her skirt a bit. "W-What are you looking at Makoto?" Noel questioned as Makoto quickly shook her head as she looked at Hunter who was looking at her, wondering what was happening.
"W-Well...I mean...I was just thinking about Bolverk but...Noel can you tell me why you chose to wear the outfit you are wearing?" Makoto quickly asked as this made both Noel and Hunter blush in embarrassment as the two looked at each other before shaking their heads rapidly. "H-Hunter said that this outfit looks good on me and so I figured I would keep wearing what I was wearing. And besides I couldn't wear my NOL uniform anymore because that was attracting too much attention." Noel explained as Makoto nodded her head on said explanation.
As Noel said that, Hunter was trying to hide a blush that was coming up his face. Makoto scratched her head wondering why she blurted that out as she decided to quickly correct course before things got awkward. "So about Bolverk. Does it talk to you the same way Draco does with Hunter?" Makoto quickly said as Hunter quickly cleared his throat, giving Makoto a wink of thanks for changing the topic back quickly. "Yeah Noellie. What about Bolverk? Can it talk to you the same way Draco can?" Hunter asked as Noel was calmed enough by that question to reach out for Bolverk which was holstered behind her back.
"Well...I can feel something from Bolverk. But talking to it? I think I have never heard Bolverk speak even once." Noel explained as Makoto couldn't help but find that detail interesting. "So Hunter can hear Draco speak to him… but Noel has not even heard Bolverk once? Does that mean all Nox Nyctoreses have different personalities or is Draco really that unique for a Nox Nyctores." Makoto said as she couldn't help but find what she was learning to be both interesting and needs more explanation.
"As much as this conversation would be fun to continue, we have arrived to our destination." Hunter said as soon the three were standing in front of a massive cave, dug right into a sheer cliff. "This looks like the cliff that you saw on the map that you asked the Otsu Four to give us Makoto. Hopefully we find what we need to make that thing you got on you whole again." Hunter said as Makoto simply nodded her head at that.
"Yeah, but I am not a blacksmith and I don't think it's going to be as easy as just sticking the two pieces back together with super glue or heating it up with Draco to forcibly weld it." Makoto said as Hunter shook his head. "We will fix the problems that come our way. Let's just be glad that the Otsu Four agreed to help us with this little side venture by distracting Kokonoe and giving us signal jammers so she can't just go tracking us by our ars magus signatures." Hunter explained as Noel nodded her head.
"Agreed, besides we agreed to help each other out with our problems. You told us what is going on with you so we will help you to the best of our abilities." Noel explained as Makoto couldn't help but look away a bit before scratching her head. She still couldn't help but feel like she didn't deserve friends like Noel and Hunter in the first place with how she felt for the past few months. "Thanks you guys. It really means a lot to me that you guys agreed to do this in the first place. I was kinda ready to try and do everything on my own." Makoto explained as Hunter walked up to her and patted her back.
"Trust me when I say this because I have past experience. Working by yourself often times doesn't go according to plan. Sometimes having an extra pair of hands does help with certain situations." Hunter said, clearly speaking from experience as Makoto smiled hearing that as they walked towards the cave itself, wondering where that singular piece of a weapon would be inside this massive cave as Hunter used Draco to create an orb of fire to float it towards the ceiling of the cave to create light.
The first thing everyone noted was how this cave seemed to be a normal cave. However when Makoto tried to step on the floor of the cave, she immediately felt the coarseness of the ground touch her feet as she bent down to inspect the ground below her. Her hand then touched the ground only to feel more ash as she inspected the walls and found the same ash present on the ground. "What's with all of this ash around here? It's like the cave is nothing but this ash." Makoto said as Hunter himself couldn't help but tilt his head.
"Strange...where did all of this ash come from." Hunter said as he approached the cave himself followed by Noel. The sand like ash caused their footing to sink a little as they stopped themselves just in time from sinking completely into the ground. "What could have caused this huge amount to appear in just this cave. The outside looked completely fine." Noel added as Makoto couldn't help but continue to think about what Noel said before realizing what this meant.
"Wait a minute, if this whole cave is basically ash at this point, then wouldn't this missing piece be somewhere within the ash?" Makoto expressed as Noel and Hunter's eyes widened hearing that. This whole cave, covered in what was white hot ash, was now hiding the broken piece of the weapon that they needed to fix and it was all sand basically. "T-Tell me that you have some sort of metal detector in that arm of yours Hunty?" Noel asked innocently, hoping that Hunter would have something like that in the mechanical arm that Kokonoe gave him.
"Unfortunately, I think Kokonoe didn't install a metal detector. Of all the things she could have asked her to have installed a metal detector would be the most useful thing to have right now." Hunter said, facepalming with said metal arm as Makoto simply sighed at that. "Then we just got to search with our bare hands. You guys look over here while I try to go deeper and see if I can find the missing blade… or just ground that is not covered by this sand like ash." Makoto suggested as Hunter nodded his head at that.
"Sure. Lets do that." Hunter said as he noticed the stare Noel was giving Makoto as Makoto shook her head. "Don't worry Noellie. I promise I won't run off on my own while we are searching for this thing." Makoto said, trying to reassure Noel that things would be fine. Noel paused for a moment before nodding her head. "I know we aren't in danger right now but just be careful. We don't know what lies in this cave for us." Noel explained as Makoto gave Noel a thumbs up before walking her way through the sea of ash that was in front of her.
"You comfortable letting her go on her own like that?" Hunter questioned as he could tell that was the reason why Noel had seemed so reluctant to let Makoto go off on her own. "I know she said that she wouldn't go far. I cannot help but worry that she would try to do things on her own again like she has been so far." Noel continued as Hunter gave her a quick hug and a kiss on the head as a way of offering Noel the reassurance that the decision she made was the right one.
"I understand that Makoto's still dealing with her own feelings with how she lost the person she loved. I just don't want her doing anything too reckless that we wouldn't be able to save her from." Noel said as Hunter continued to hug her in reassurance. "I understand your concern about all of it. I truly do. But in cases like this, we need to be careful about how we choose to interact with her. If we baby her too much, she might think we are trying to protect her from things she understands. If we don't give her the backup she needs, she will go back to thinking she will need to do everything again. It's about moderation and moderation is what we need to help her right now."
Noel smiled hearing that as she nodded her head to his words. "I guess you are right about that. I just hope that we are not too late in actually making a chance to Makoto's situation." Noel said as Hunter nodded his head. "Don't worry, you and me both are rightfully worried about that." Hunter said as he scratched his head, trying not think about what Draco had told him and focus more on trying to help Makoto with her own problem that may also help him with his own series of issues.
As Noel and Hunter gave Makoto the distance she needed, Makoto herself was thinking about how the past few months of her life have been. A few months ago, she was a bitter workaholic that was drinking as much as she could to fill in the void inside her. She had been separated from her friends for some time and while she didn't hate them, she didn't see them as well. Now here she was, having found out that the world had conspired to do everything in it's power to make her as miserable as possible.
First they start by removing her memories of her boyfriend. After that, they send her into an alternate timeline where a masked freak helped himself to her deepest thoughts and forced her to directly confront them. When she remembered the memories of said boyfriend thanks to said masked freak's digging, she was forced to watch as her boyfriend pushed her away from letting her see him fall in battle and get erased from the world anyways. She then spent the next few months doing her own thing while living with that bitterness that remained in her heart of while everyone of her friends got what they wanted or were advancing in their life in some way.
The only person she thinks could have had a shittier life than her would be Tsubaki but even it's not fair to compare her own shitty problems with the shitty problems her other friends were suffering. She had managed to come to terms with the fact that she may never be allowed to be truly happy but at the very least, if her friends could be happy that would be some consolation prize for her to accept. However right now, she was going to be selfish for once and chase after the happiness she felt she truly deserved at this very moment.
But first she needed to make this broken katana she had whole and then figuring out what she was supposed to do with it as soon she had a fully repaired blade instead of a broken piece of one. She took a deep breath as she continued on deeper in the cave, using her feet to sweep through the ash as if she felt something with her leg, she would know immediately. As the source of light got dimmer and dimmer the further away she got, Makoto made sure to keep her surroundings in check, keeping her eyes sharp for anything that would seem off place.
But the more and more she looked, the more she realized she was looking at a needle in a haystack situation. While it seemed that this cave was much smaller than it looked, in truth it was much bigger in reality as she knew not to panic about it but what if Hunter had lied about bringing her in here just to lay a trap for her? Makoto immediately realized the thought she had and slapped herself hard in the face for thinking such thoughts in the first place. These were her friends not some green haired shit faced bastard trying to do a 200 IQ play on her.
'Dammit Makoto Nanaya. These are your friends not Hazama here. Why of all people I could have forgotten the world decided that I should still remember my former number one shitty boss!' Makoto thought as she rubbed the temple of her head feverishly. Cursing herself for letting her mind wander the way it did most likely due to the boredom she was currently facing. The longer she took to find this thing, the more her mind was allowed to create these random thoughts that had the risk of seeding into her hear the seeds of distrust and paranoia which would eventually lead to her downfall. She hoped inside that someone or something would come her way to distract her from her thoughts.
As soon as she thought about a distraction, her foot struck something solid and made her tip over, face planting herself on the hard ground as she used Ars Magus to soften the impact. It was a good thing that Noel and Hunter were nowhere near her to listen to her fall the way she did as she picked herself up and looked ahead of her. The path ahead was getting even darker and thus she would either need to wait for Noel and Hunter to get to her so that Hunter would bring the source of light closer or she would have to choose to continue proceeding deeper with her own source of light.
Looking back behind her, Makoto debated on what was going to be the right option. "Keep moving ahead…" A voice spoke into her head as she shivered hearing that voice. It sounded like the voice of the girl she had been seeing recently and she had her reservations on following ghost like beings and their instructions. She was about to say something but then remembered the image she saw of Sora marching on his own, battered and bruised and took a deep breath as she decided to go on ahead without saying a word, using her phone as a makeshift flashlight to make her way through the darkness.
Soon the ash below her feet began to part, giving way to more solid ground as Makoto continued to make her way deeper in this supposedly small cave. Just how deep did this cave truly go for and did Hunter really walk through this whole place as a child? Maybe he did but there is also a chance that whatever made this cave network could have been the missing piece of the puzzle she needed to save Sora. With her thoughts and speculations on her mind, Makoto continued deeper into this mysterious cave.
As Makoto went deeper and deeper into this cave, her mind couldn't help but wonder what she will do next as soon as she made this weapon whole and formed the contract. What could she do with this weapon that she would be able to do with just her two bare hands. Makoto felt like she was grasping at straws at this point, like a lottery addict scratching tickets hoping that she would hit the big one and finally have the key she needs to get Sora out of the hell he was currently experiencing.
What would she do if this clue she had been pursuing turned out to be a dead end? Where would she go from there? Could she afford to keep running into dead ends like the way she was? When would this world's god for her into the current of reality and make her walk down the path that it deems to be perfect for her? These were the thoughts that weighed heavily on the back of her mind but she never lets them actually interfere with her resolve. Even if it takes her years, she was determined to finally be able to reach her way towards Sora regardless of the pain she must feel along the way.
It was at that moment, when her mind briefly drifted where Makoto lost her footing on the ground and began to slide down a massive cliff. Makoto curled herself up to reduce the chances of her being harmed in a serious manner as she managed to recover in time, panting a bit as she petted herself to make sure she was alive. "Geez Makoto. Way to be a fucking klutz today." Makoto said as she saw her phone and checked it, breathing a sigh of relief that her phone was not broken at that moment.
As soon as she checked her phone was alright and ensuring it was fine, she decided to put it away as she realized that natural sunlight was shining down, telling her that this cave must have either much larger than what Hunter had said or maybe there was more to this cave then what Hunter or even Draco had known about. All she know is that she had somehow managed to find a cliff that she had managed to fall through and now she had no way of reconnecting with Noel and Hunter now.
"Okay maybe I have wondered away too far from where I needed to be… Now how do I get back." Makoto said as without proper climbing equipment, she wouldn't be able to scale the wall in front of her in a safe manner that doesn't involve her getting hurt in any way. It was then she felt her senses tingle as she looked around, thinking that there was danger around her. Were there enemies inside this cave and was it wildlife or something else entirely. All Makoto knew was that she was currently in danger right now.
Makoto reached for the Rev Blade on her back, ready to use it to fend for herself but soon the danger seemed to pass, prompting her to relax a little. Not enough that she would completely believe she was away from danger but enough for her to know that she was safe for now. "Better check this area before I find a way back up to Noel and Hunter." Makoto said as she figured if she was going to be stuck here, she might as well use her time to search the area in the time being.
"Where am I even?" Makoto said, obviously knowing she was in the same cave she walked in with Noel and Hunter but couldn't help but wonder how a small cave could grow into something like this. Her eyes scanned all over the ground as she saw something that caught her eye. She decided to walk up towards where she spotted the object and was glad that this part of the cave was much brighter compared to the entrance.
As she got closer to the object in question, it was clear that what she was looking at was not a rock or a part of the floor. It must have been here for quite a long time exposed to the elements to gain the rusted look it had currently but here it was, the final piece of the weapon she needed to make whole. As she picked it up carefully, she couldn't help but examine it, feeling a sense of accomplishment that she was finally getting somewhere but carefully managing her expectation to not think the worst was over at that point.
'The rust on this blade is terrible, maybe we can scrape it off before trying to stick it back to the broken katana. But even then, it's been exposed to the outside for so long, will it even stick like I hope it would? And is it the missing piece I have to look for?' Makoto thought as she couldn't help but hold it up in the air and just stare at it. Here it was, the thing she was looking for and it was simply a rusted piece of metal that just happened to be found in this cave coincidentally. The possibilities were endless and if she had some way of confirming it, she would feel more certain on what plan she would make next.
But Makoto had to put those possibilities to the back of her head as she sensed danger that came her way. She dodged quickly as she felt a blast of wind surge past her, smashing on the cliff behind her as she gripped tightly the metal rusty blade while looking towards the impending danger in front of her, putting it inside her jacket as she realized who could have wielded such power as she was dreading the presence coming towards her.
"This is as far as you go now Makoto Nanaya." The voice spoke as Makoto took a deep breath and turned away from the destroyed cliff towards the person responsible for doing this. "Indeed it is… Amy." Makoto said as she stared at the culprit responsible, Amy as she descended down from the sky and landed on her feet, staring right at Makoto as her hands were already on her sword, ready to cut her down.
"So you accept your fate?" Amy questioned as Makoto shook her head. "Of course not. I am just saying what you think is going to happen. What really is going to happen is that I am going to beat you to make sure you stop following me like some goddamn stalker." Makoto said as she stabbed the Rev Blade on the ground and began to assume a fighting posture. She would have tried to talk with Amy but Amy herself was set in fully killing her without even giving her as much of a chance to say a word before she tried to murder her.
"I was truly hoping that you would let me end you peacefully but that is just wishful thinking at this point." Amy said as Makoto tensed up, tightening her fist as she flexed her prosthetic arm a few times before assuming a fighting position with it. "End me peacefully huh?.. you're speaking as if you are my personal reaper at this point. Why not tell me the truth then. Tell me what happened to Sora." Makoto said as Amy looked at Makoto when she said that.
"If I tell you what happened to Sora, will you let me do my duty?" Amy questioned as Makoto paused for a bit before shrugging. "That depends. How will I know what you're telling me is the truth and not just a trick to get me to kill myself willingly to serve your master's purposes." Makoto questioned as Amy paused hearing that. She could sense the caution Makoto was taking in regards to her words. Amy's silence told Makoto everything she needed to know as she tensed up her fist.
"You know, judging by how quiet you're being, it tells me that you have no response." Makoto said as Amy remained quiet. "Even if I told you the truth, you would just presume I was lying to you. So what is even the point?" Amy said as Makoto sighed. "That is true. Words often mean nothing. The only way to know if a person is truly speaking the truth is by the actions they take instead." Makoto said as Makoto began to bounce on the spot.
"So come on then. Let's not waste any more time than we already have." Makoto said as Amy nodded her head. Here they were, nobody else around to interfere with her duty. No Relius Clover or Tsubaki Yayoi to interfere in the middle of her duty. No need for her to pause time unnecessarily to try and kill Makoto. She could just do it here and now as the two waited for the other to act, not willing to act on their own accord.
'She's just waiting for me to make a move, to spring into action and try to make the first move.' Amy thought as Makoto was thinking something else entirely. Not focusing on what Amy was thinking but her own steps. 'I can't let her take control of the fight at any point. Compared to my strength with hers, if I let up at any moment, Amy will use that chance to eliminate me at that moment.' Makoto thought as she tensed up her fist and cocked her leg for a sudden burst of speed.
Without letting Amy any chance to think of a plan of attack, Makoto pounced, instantly covering the distance with a singular long dash, catching Amy off guard as she raised her sword up to guard Makoto's attack. It was at that moment she saw a glimpse of a fist coming from the top vision of her head as she was too late to guard the attack, getting struck in the process as she rolled on the ground. Amy shook her head as she saw what Makoto had just done to her.
In front of her was Makoto Nanaya but it wasn't just Makoto Nanaya by herself. Running beside and soaring in the air was also Makoto Nanaya's copies. This alarmed Amy as the fact that Makoto was able to move this quickly to create visual clones made her decide that she needed to use wide attacks that gave her good coverage, arching her back and swinging her sword to cleave through the ground clones before slashing at the air to cut the air clones, hoping that her attacks would land with the real Makoto Nanaya as she tried to close the distance.
Makoto however was one step ahead. Aware that Amy would swing her sword around to dispel the clones in an attempt to try and hit her, Makoto purposely hung back, stopping herself while letting her clones move forward as when Amy realized what Makoto had done, Makoto quickly stepped in, delivering a couple of quick jabs before a fast unseeing blow right at Amy's liver with the hopes it would cripple her enough for Makoto to deliver a clean blow to Amy's temple and knock her out.
Amy however was quick to respond to the threat in front of her, reflexively swinging her blade to sever off Makoto's arm. Luckily for Makoto, Amy's blade connected not with her remaining normal arm but the metal arm given to her by Caroline as Makoto ignored the attempt to sever her arm off and just swing her punch right for Amy. Amy's blow however had an effect, deflecting it away from her and right towards her shoulder, slamming right into it and causing Amy to tense a bit in pain as she used the additional leverage gained to throw Makoto off to the side.
Makoto then saw she was about to fall into a ledge as she quickly reached for the broken blade inside her tail and used it as a makeshift ice pick to stop herself in time to stop her from falling into the hole below her as she quickly pulled herself up before Amy could do anything such as knock off the broken katana off her hand and send her falling. Amy was unable to do that however she was able to quickly do a baseball slide, attempting to kick Makoto off her feet as she was trying to recover back to her feet.
Makoto's reflexes were fast enough to react to the danger being tossed her way by jumping high into the air and attempting to stab Amy with the broken katana. Even without the tip of the blade, if one thrusts hard enough, even a shattered blade can pierce flesh as Amy was quick to note the weapon in question. "Why… Why did that choose you." Amy questioned as Makoto immediately held her head in pain, feeling something rock her head.
'D-Dammit! Not now!' Makoto thought as Amy tried to use this as her opportunity to land the killing blow but Makoto recovered just in time to roll away from the danger being thrown her way. 'I will not fall to anything. Not right now!' With those words ringing in her mind, Makoto let out a loud scream and fought against the pain she was feeling at that moment. Her mind was ringing and her head was simply in pain but she couldn't afford to fall at this crucial moment. She was going to fight and fight she will do until she was nothing but dust.
Makoto threw a series of furious punches, Amy blocking with her sword as she felt the vibrations of each punch Makoto threw as Makoto charged a few impact punches along with her normal punches, forcing Amy to stay on the guard as she couldn't afford to attack at any moment from this furious barrage. Amy's eyes narrowed as she looked at her chance to disarm Makoto completely, hoping to slice off both of Makoto's arms to disarm her completely.
Makoto soon released the final impact punch of the barrage as Amy went flying in the air, able to tell that she was dealing with an even more powerful strike that the ones she had just absorbed. Makoto began to sway her body back and forth before charging forward, splitting herself into her clones once again as Amy kept her guard up. Deciding that trying to aggressively remove the clones did not work before, she decided to try something else instead.
'There has to be a tell, something that tells me which one is the real one.' Amy thought as her eyes glanced at each clone, trying to find details that Makoto may not be aware about her shadow clones that Amy could exploit. When she finds that weakness, she could hopefully use it to either discourage Makoto from using her clones any further or even better, hide her knowledge so that she can deliver a killing blow when Makoto would least expect it.
It was then she noticed something of a tell that Makoto had in her attacks as Makoto came down from the sky and landed another impact charged punch right down on Amy, blocking it this time with her sword as Makoto landed on the ground and swung an uppercut that Amy barely dodged, jumping away as she now knew how to tell if Makoto was going to be in the air or on the ground. The only variable left was if Makoto was on the ground, which Makoto would be charging towards her but taking her chances on Makoto still being in the air when she attacked.
Makoto meanwhile was hoping her barrage of punches would force Amy to tire out and make a mistake but the patience she was showing told Makoto that she needed to change tactics. Her eyes landed on the Rev Blade as she knew she needed more firepower at this moment and after delivering another impact punch, she used the momentum she gained from Amy blocking and pushing her back to launch herself towards the Rev Blade. Amy however was not going to make it easy for Makoto to reach the Rev Blade as she intercepted Makoto's intended path and forced Makoto to block with a barrier Ars Magus when she swung down hard with her next sword attack.
"Do you really think that I would let you get this?!" Amy said as Makoto gritted her teeth at that. She had chosen to stab the Rev Blade on the ground so that she would be much lighter and punch faster. Now that she needed to get the Rev Blade, her decision to stab the blade on the ground was now biting her on the ass. Regardless, Makoto had made her decision and now had to live with it. "Of course you wouldn't I wouldn't be surprised if eventually you will just call for more of your friends to help you." Makoto said as out loud as she charged right for Amy once more.
Amy tried to create distance between Makoto and the Rev Blade by two ways. The first was just to stand in the way but the second was to take a deep breath and slashed at the air, creating a projectile that slowly moved it's way towards Makoto before suddenly accelerating when Makoto was about to step by the side, prompting her to immediately raise her guard up to protect herself. The sudden impact of said projectile was enough to send her flying back much to her surprise as she slid on the ground for a little bit.
Amy did not relent and slashed some more, creating more projectiles to charge towards Makoto. Makoto created a barrier to try and mitigate the effect the projectile's push back would have on her. While she was not getting pushed back as much, she could still feel the impact the projectiles were having on her, gritting her teeth at her inability to move forward. She knew if this kept up, she was going to lose ground, make a mistake and Amy would end her then and there.
'The way Amy is throwing her projectiles, it's definitely a feint for sure.' Makoto thought as she figured out what Amy was trying to do. She was trying to encourage Makoto to take to the skies and when she did, Amy would use that as her chance to finish Makoto off. Makoto had two options where she stood. Jump to the air and prepare to block what is coming next? Or do something even more risky that would be more fatal than the more predictable option? After assessing her options, she made her choice at that moment.
As soon as Amy stopped throwing her projectiles, Makoto immediately sprinted ahead, not hesitating a bit to charge like a maniac towards danger. Amy threw even more projectiles towards Makoto but instead of using a barrier to block, she began to dodge and weave right past the projectiles. Since they were basically slashes given physical form, Makoto could weave right past them to get closer. There was a downside to this as the projectiles began to speed up, forcing Makoto to react.
'Focus Makoto. Focus. Don't think about the projectiles, just let your body move.' Makoto thought as she decided to abandon all physical senses and just allowed her body to move on it's own. Each projectile that came towards her was training her. The speed, the angle, the size of the projectile. Makoto's body began to adapt to the volume of projectiles Amy was throwing at her and trying to overwhelm her with. Soon, Amy noticed that her projectiles were not having the effect they had the first time around.
'She's adapting, if that is the case, so must I.' Amy said as she slashed another projectile but Makoto noticed this one was remaining still. It didn't immediately charge towards her but stood in place, slowly turning as Makoto herself moved as it looked like it had been frozen in place, ready to launch at Amy's command. Makoto realized what it was trying to do but she could not do anything about it. All she can do is wait for it to launch and react.
Soon the projectile charged, almost at a breath's distance from her reaching the Rev Blade as Makoto could guess what Amy was trying to do. With such power being held back, Amy released the projectile, causing it to violently charge towards Makoto as she formed a barrier to direct the projectile towards the sky and finally grab the Rev Blade beside her and charged towards her foe with everything she had within her. Gripping the Rev Blade tightly, she revved it once to make it howl.
"ENHANCED GEAR!" The Rev Blade yelled as Makoto was ready to swing it down on Amy's head. But before it could reach Amy, another blade intercepted hers and caused a massive shockwave in the process as Makoto was pushed back hard, sent flying even as she crashed towards the ground. Dust blew her way as she quickly raised the Rev Blade up in a defensive posture, ready to block the attack coming her way.
Her instinct to guard came true as she immediately felt the presence of another foe coming her way, the Rev Blade connecting with another blade as Makoto's vision was finally cleared, allowing her to see what she needed to see. The small petite woman in front of her was holding a blade clearly bigger than her own body, her blue eyes staring right at her with a neutral expression. Her face made no attempt to show emotion as she stared right at Makoto without saying a word.
"What are you doing Es? I thought you said you were supposed to be guarding the door as the Master Unit beckons." Amy said in shock as Makoto herself was able to piece together who this person was as she remembered the person in question. This was the person that Sora faced at that massive door before Makoto was pushed back, her petite form belittled the power that held it as Makoto tightened her grip on the Rev Blade, feeling tense as Es approached her.
"Indeed, that was my duty. But the master unit had sent me here to ensure that the singularity anchoring our current situation to the Continuum Error was properly recorded for future events and reset the situation." Es explained as Makoto gritted her teeth, hearing the words of a machine carrying out their duty. Amy looked down a bit before shaking her head. "Is it truly necessary to do such a thing? Can't we not just say it was just a once in a lifetime thing and be done with it?" Amy questioned.
Es: That is what I asked the Master Unit… but she has deemed it necessary. To ensure that we do not repeat the mistakes of the future.
Makoto: Repeat the mistakes of the future huh… so me meeting Sora is a mistake?
Es: To the master unit, yes. She had carefully chosen the people who were to be Continuum Errors to be those of little significance, people whose disappearances would do little to affect the timeline. The very fact that you still stubbornly cling onto the memories of such an Error is abnormal in the system.
Makoto:…
Amy: Es please stop. There's no need for us to explain anything to her. She's going to forget about everything she knows. The truth of the world, how it is really made. To even the truth of the Continuum Errors. We just need to do our part as guardians of the Azure and ensure the proper procedure is followed.
"Proper procedure huh…" Makoto muttered as this caught both Amy and Es's attentions. Makoto quickly transformed the Rev Blade from it's blade form to it's arm form in response to Es's words. "Then it's only proper that I fight until I have nothing left in the tank am I right?" Makoto said, further puzzling the two as Makoto began to tense up her posture. She couldn't help but begin to remember the first time she ever fought against Sora back at the academy, that time being when it was his first day and she had been picked to be his opponent.
Sora himself was dealing with his own problems at the time and recounting them right now would be an embarrassment but the one thing that remained in her mind to this day was how Sora despite what he was dealing with at the time was able to adapt to the situation in front of him not with a serious and grim face but with confidence. At least that was what it seemed to be for her but seeing Sora get back up time and time again and adapting to what she did was engrained to her memory, her body.
Even if the world tried to erase him completely from her head. Even if she struggled to remember what he looked like other than his white hair. Even if she could barely remember what his eyes looked like. The world and it's god can never erase the impact he had on her life. Regardless of what life tried to throw at her way, she will continue to keep on fighting, fight against what she considered is the world's greatest injustice. Even if it is stacked against her, she will fight with her held up high.
"Finally. The time to be whole has arrived." The voice questioned as Makoto froze hearing that. Es, sensing a change in the air used that as her chance to attack as Makoto was quick to attach the Rev Arm to her prosthetic arm and used it to block Es's attack. The size of the weapon combined with Makoto's brief second distraction were enough to send her flying into the air, dropping the broken katana and the broken shard of the blade from her person and causing them to slide next to each other.
Both Amy and Es noticed the items that flew out of Makoto's person and their eyes widened. "Is that what I think it is?" Es questioned, no surprise coming out of her voice as Amy simply nodded her head. Suddenly the rust from the last remaining piece began to crumble away. If crumbling was the right word to describe what was being witnessed as Makoto slowly recovered to see the sight herself. "What's going on?" Makoto questioned to herself.
"Once again, I ask of you, Makoto Nanaya." The voice said, loud and clear for Makoto to hear as she looked around for a bit before seeing the white haired woman from her recent dreams appear in front of her in a mirage, her naked body standing in front of her as she approached Makoto. "Do you accept this burden? The burden of making us whole?" The woman questioned as Makoto felt an even stronger headache overcome her as Es wasted no time moving in for the fatal blow.
Before she could do so however something stopped her way. It wasn't the presence of another human being or nature itself but the broken katana and blade as they quickly formed a protective dome that completely encased Makoto Nanaya inside it. "What is happening!?" Amy asked, clearly alarmed by what she was witnessing as Es calmly analyzed the phenomenon in front of her. "A bounded field? Strange though, I did not sense any signs of Ars Magus being used to deploy such a field nor the presence of Seithr in the air." Es said as Makoto herself was unaware she was in a bounded field, her senses slowly dying around her until she could only see the woman in front of her.
"What is this burden?" Makoto questioned as she felt like she could finally ask this person the question she had been meaning to ask. It was as if she finally had the chance to speak to the specter of the person in front of her. The woman did not say her answer immediately as she remained quiet but her eyes told a story of a thousand words. "The burden you must bear… is the erasure of every singular possibility you once had. The burden of a Continuum Error." The woman spoke as Makoto froze hearing that.
"A...Continuum Error…" Makoto stuttered, unable to believe what she had heard. "You will claim the lives of every single possibility you could have ever had in your life. Your past...your present...and your future. You will only live for the current moment you breathe and the moment the flame of your life burns out, you will be erased from existence, like a flower that has fully bloomed and withers when winter approaches." The voice continued as Makoto couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"In exchange however, you will gain what you seek. The ability to seek the path you want. To seize it with your own two hands with nobody able to rip the yolk of fate from you. The erasure of your existence when you perish for the ability to seize one's own fate. This is what I offer with my contract." The woman concluded as Makoto had to take her time to process what she had heard. A Continuum Error, a person who is completely erased from existence. In other words, the same as Sora was currently.
Es and Amy in the meantime were wasting no time trying to destroy the bounded field that the blade had created. The both of them swung their massive weapons right at the barrier, easily forming cracks in the field before smashing it completely. Before they could act however, the bounded field simply remanifested itself quicker than it could be destroyed, prompting a change of tactic from both Es and Amy as Amy jumped to the back and began to charge up Seithr right into her blade.
"So what will it be? Accept the fate this world has given to you? Or grasp a brand new fate you create with your two hands? Not dictated by the whims of anybody but yourself. Burn brightly the only life you will ever get and be forgotten afterwards?" The voice questioned louder as Es continued to shatter the boundary field more and more and the boundary field stubborn refusing to go down. As the boundary field was smashed yet again, Es was able to notice a strange phenomenon happen in front of her.
As the broken blade continued to create a bounded field, Es could see a line begin to form between Makoto and the broken blade. This was clearly a contract being formed in Es's eyes. "I….I…" Makoto said as she felt tense. Her heart was beating rapidly as here it was. The contract had been laid and the rules of what she needed to do to fulfill them were given to her. All she had to do was accept the rules and she will be given a chance to save Sora with her own two hands.
"I accept this contract." Makoto said, firm determination in her face as Amy finally finished charging up a series of projectiles, all waiting to be unleashed as Es destroyed the broken sword's attempt to defend Makoto, grabbing it before it could form another bounded field and giving Amy the chance to unleash it. "Surge forth, Sword rain!" Amy yelled as the projectiles released, surging right for Makoto at rapid speed and without a bounded field to protect her, Makoto was forced to take the impact and screamed out in pain.
As she descended towards the ground, Makoto held out her prosthetic hand to try and stop herself from crashing and falling towards the abyss. When she did, she could see how mangled it looked as it was about to rip away from it's joint. Deciding that it was better to just sacrifice it over trying to keep it, Makoto immediately ripped the Rev Arm off her prosthetic arm, ripping the prosthetic arm along with it as Makoto changed it back to it's blade form to stop herself from falling as she pulled herself up to the surface.
"Fuck..." Makoto simply swore as she could feel the blood leaving her body. That last attack was going to be fatal but something akin to divine intervention mitigated the damage she would have suffered. Regardless of what state she was in, Makoto's life was currently in danger. One more attack, any attack and it will be fatal. Amy knew this and moved in right towards Makoto's direction, sword ready to slice Makoto's head off and end her life immediately.
"The contract is signed. Grasp it. The world and desire that you wish to claim." The voice said as Es felt the broken katana that she held begin to phase through her hand, preventing her from being able to grasp it as the last broken piece of the katana quickly rushed towards it's partner, finally making it whole as Es did not bother trying to close her eyes as she instinctively gripped her massive claymore sword and swung it down on the reforged weapon, hoping to destroy it now that it was whole.
Instead of having the intended effect Es wanted, it zoomed right past her, rushing towards Makoto as Amy sensed danger being thrown her way and dodged like how a normal person would. She was quick to recover and see what happened next. She had thought Makoto would grab the weapon as soon as it came towards her but instead it seemed that the weapon itself had pierced Makoto right at her chest, where her heart would be as Makoto's eyes went blank almost immediately.
Makoto immediately coughed out blood, her feet struggling to stay upright as she tightened her grip on the Rev Blade. Her eyes immediately widened and her pupils began to dilate as Makoto looked like she was struggling to stay alive. She would have screamed in pain if she could but even the act of opening her mouth proved to be too painful as Amy and Es thought that this was just the same reaction the severed tail of a lizard would have, twitching and trying to imitate life itself.
But before they could do anything about the body. Makoto suddenly began to cough heavily, heaving out even more blood as she began to scream in agony, her eyes trembling in pain as she could feel her entire body being made to twist and turn in ways that were not meant for any being to form. Es and Amy slowly walked back as black mass began to emerge from the katana itself, slowly being absorbed into Makoto's body as her own blood began to go from red to pure black.
"That black ooze… Es!" Amy shouted as Amy was alarmed by what she was witnessing. "The same substance currently encasing the Error." Es said calmly as Makoto was slowly encased in the same black orb. Amy lunged forward, ready to attack before Makoto was fully covered in the black mass but the black mass reacted and protected her almost immediately from the danger thrown her way. Es and Amy were left helpless to watch as the black mass fully encased itself around Makoto Nanaya.
"MAKOTO!" A voice shouted as Es and Amy realized who those voices could belong to. Es closed her eyes, pondering what they should do about their current situation before receiving her orders. "Amy, we must leave now. The master unit is reporting the black mass is reacting." Es said as Amy was shocked to hear that, realizing what that could mean. "B-But what about Makoto Nanaya!?" Amy questioned loudly as Es waited for more instructions.
"The master unit's will is absolute. We are to return immediately." Es explained as Amy looked back at the situation in front of her before nodding reluctantly. As much as she would like to resolve the situation here, if the Black mass that holds The Continuum Error, Sora were to leak and break out, that would be their chance to finish Sora off and complete the reset. With haste, both Es and Amy left, leaving Noel and Hunter to find just the growing black mass in front of them.
"W-What is that!?" Noel asked, clearly alarmed as Hunter himself was going to ask that very same question only to feel his guts suddenly start to churn. A sickening sensation began to swim over him as he couldn't help but ask what on Earth was happening to him. It was then he felt a burning sensation grow within him as an unexplained hatred began to grow. 'That black mass, this sensation of vengeance I feel… You...You!' The voice of Draco bellowed as Hunter held Draco by the hilt.
"Calm yourself Draco. What's that Black mass?" Hunter quickly asked, using the connection Nox Nyctoreses have with their masters. Speaking loud enough for Noel to realize what he was doing. "What, what is Draco saying." Noel quickly questioned as Hunter paid attention to every word that Draco had to say before freezing on the spot. The look of horror and dread on his face was enough to tell Noel what he heard was bad as he slowly turned to face Noel, with only a few words to utter from his mouth.
...That thing...That thing has Makoto…
MAKOTO POV
….Heavy...I just feel...so heavy. I guess I am in the middle of dying...again. God I am truly a magnet for the god of death. Nearly dying once was not enough for me, I have to be put to the state of near death again, this time not by some green haired asshole but by a flying sword that just decided to impale me right at my chest. My hand reached out to touch the massive gaping hole on my chest as I couldn't believe that I am in this state of being again.
Maybe it's because I have died once already, but this time I truly am aware that I am in the middle of dying. All I can see around me is just pure darkness. No amount of light greeted my eyes as I just felt the weight of the world around me. I can't even tell if my vision is there or not, all I know is that I am dying right now and I truly hope that I am dying not because those two struck me with a fatal blow and I am currently making my way towards the after life as we speak to be reborn or whatever.
Regardless of what is causing me to cross the line of life and death again, I can't see shit and I have no clue as to what is happening to me right now. All I can try to do is attempt to move this broken body of mine, even if it's pointless to do so. If I am capable of thinking right now, I should at least try to move by my own power. "To think your soul would be this powerful… truly you are the one." That woman said as I tried to look around to find her.
"For so long, she has slumbered, with your powerful soul and undying will, she will reawaken… and bring with her the ability to grant your desires." The woman continued as I felt my hand get grasped before the world of black around me vanished, becoming a world of pure white as I felt solid ground hit my feet once again. "Now… Makoto Nanaya. Serving as the key that releases the chains that bind her down to her exile, release your soul. Let it roam free from your body."
Release my soul? Easy enough for you to say, I am not a damn ghost or anything like that! "You wish to see him again do you not. The one you call Sora Minakaze. Your body as it is right now won't allow you to survive, shed it off, release the shackles of your mortal coil and let your soul run free." The woman continued as I decided to take what she had said and closed my eyes. Shed my mortal body huh? In words that make more sense to me, she wants me to picture myself becoming free from what the world is trying to make me become, stop being one of her actors and just be myself.
This is it, regardless of what happens to me next, I will embrace the path I will take. I slowly began to walk forward, feeling my body become lighter and lighter with each step that I took. I didn't care what happened to me next, Whether my body burns up and I become nothing but ash and smoke or my souls drifts away completely. I was willing to take any risk thrown my way, all for the selfish goal of being able to be with Sora when I open my eyes the next time.
"What's going to happen to me?" the voice of a girl questioned as I turned around and my eyes widened to see who it was. She was wearing an orange tank top and small pants and had a large bushy squirrel tail and it was clear who I was talking to. "What you're doing is erasing the past you once had for your own selfish desires. What's going to happen to little old me?" Young me asked as I took a small deep breath and looked at her right in the eye.
"What's going to happen is that you're going to keep on living in my memories. I cannot depend on memories of the past to change my path." I said as I looked at my young little self. "And what about me? The future you could have had if you had chosen the path given to you by the Master Unit?" An older voice questioned as I turned to see what I presume to be an older version of me, some wrinkles present at her face and her hair slowly turning white from old age as she walked on a cane supporting her back and her orange formal dress.
"Sure, the future the Master unit could have given me might have been great. But possibilities of the future don't mean I should bend myself over the back for a future I may never see with my own eyes or in my own life." I said firmly towards the me of the past and the me of the future. Regardless of what they try to say to change my mind, I am resolute in my path to keep on walking to save Sora.
"Then what about the present, where you are nothing but a walking husk, chasing after your own desires without considering your own place in the world?" The final voice questioned when I turned around to see me, a bloody mess covered in my own blood, missing an arm and a hole on my chest. "Tell me. How can you even hope to meet Sora when you look like this." The final me questioned as she approached me, looking at me right in the eyes as her eyes looked like all of the life in them was drained out of her.
I didn't say something immediately. Maybe if I was still my old self, I would have said something like, "When life has a will, you will have your way." or "Life is full of lemonades but that is up to us to make it such." But this was different. I understood what she meant by her choice of words. Can I really face Sora looking the way I do now? I can tell him I am fine but when he sees the scars my very body bears can I truly tell him I did everything in my power to stand by his side… to stand by everyone's side.
"Whoever said that this is what I must look like." I said firmly, approaching the battered and bruised bloody mess in front of me. "My path...My story will not be determined by what I look like right now. I may resemble a battered mess, hell I might be dead already. But I refuse to stop moving, not when it is in front of me." I said as I looked at all three version of myself in front of me, my heart truly settled.
"I will not let the past chain me down, I will not let my doubts of the future cloud what I want and I will not let the present stop me in any way. I am Makoto Nanaya and I am resolved to keep on moving towards the future I want. Not one created by the people who want to use me for their own devices or what the god of this world envisions." I declared, raising my fist up to the sky with a guts pose, putting the whole weight of my soul into those very words as I looked back at where my selves were and there were already gone.
"Those are good words to hear. You truly are fit to wield the power to make your own fate." Another voice said as I turned to the source of the voice, I felt a massive wave of wind strike me at that moment as I struggled to stay on my feet. "Now show me… show the world… what you truly desire." The voice beckoned as I felt like a weight had been lifted off my back my vision of the world began to change again as I slowly saw the person I had been feverishly chasing after.
From a distance, you could never fail to notice that white hair that had a bit of a blonde tip at the end, that body engraved with scars from the various fights he had to go through, his missing arm that if he were to stand in front of me would be a perfect mirror to the arm that I myself was now missing. Geez, how could I… the world ever forget someone who looks as recognizable as he does. I slowly walked ahead towards this person, the blur that was in my head becoming more and more clear the closer I got.
"How could I ever forget about someone who's the biggest idiot I know...Sora." I said softly as I was now right at his chest, Sora's chest. Placing my face on it, I could feel it moving up and down, heaving like it was breathing as I looked up myself to look at Sora's face. The fog in my mind was completely gone, nothing hiding it away from me as I could see his blind right eye and his yellow left eye shining and staring right at me.
"I'm sorry it took me so long for me to find a way to bring you back… It must be painful for you to see me struggle the way I have." I added as I felt Sora hug me close to him, the clothes on my body slowly vanishing as my naked breasts pushed themselves right on his chest. Ahhh, this warmth, this feeling. I must have forgotten more about Sora then what I had remembered because I never recalled hugging him to feel this good.
"But you are still fighting out there, fighting to get back to me. Trying to reach my destination. Just like how I struggled to reach you." I finished as I closed my eyes and began to focus. The image in my head was becoming more and more clear as I saw it, the future I truly wanted. A future not given to me by some person playing god that thinks they know what I want in life. A future that I chose for myself regardless of the pain and suffering it took for me to get where I am.
"So let the sound of my voice...let my wishes reach wherever you are. Let my desire to reunite with you be the light that reunites us with each other. And when we do reunite. Let us embrace the way we are right now. Two lovers who wish to be with each other's embrace." I finished as I felt my body become even lighter. Like a feather that was about to fly away as I did not hesitate to let the feeling inside me swim freely as I closed my eyes. Words then ringed into my mind, words that were begging to be said as I did not hesitate to say them.
...Hear it… the wish my soul truly desires… Anima Voluntatis… Balmung.
"A...To...Ma...To…" A voice cried out as I felt a sense of heaviness take over me. I can't feel any inch of my body as I was not even able to move my head. "Wa...Up...Lea….U...Li…" God their voice sounds so far away. If there are people calling out to me, then that means that I must somehow still be alive right now. That's good to know...I should try to say something to reassure the person questioning me that I still had a pulse in me but it seems that I just don't have the strength to say anything.
My breathing feels light...uneven even. I can barely keep track of where I am or if I am going to die at any moment yet the last time I was nearly dead I thought that was it for me and yet I was still saved by him at the end of the day. He saved me… Sora saved me… so I will place my faith in that… I will place my faith that Sora will find where I am… and with his own two hands save me from this darkness I feel like I am going to fall back into.
"So...You are the one chosen huh…" A voice called out to me. A voice I didn't know at all. I would try to say something but the words were just not coming out now. "Rest for now… I need you alive for me to be whole. Balmung…" Balmung? Did he just call me Balmung?.. that was the name that I was made to say, so how did he know about it? "It does not matter, without your core you won't make me whole...make us whole… that is why you must live… live and reunite with your body so me and my master be one ourselves." The voice spoke once again.
I'm sorry my man… I just don't get what is this thing you got with me? I'm a woman who's about to fade to black at any moment and may never wake up again. Your words mean little to me right now. Regardless of whatever is talking to me, I should probably fall back to sleep again. Sora's coming soon and I want to make sure that when I do wake up, it's with a smile on my face. I have spent so long fighting, trying my best, searching for solutions to bring him back and now, even though I don't know what is happening next, I feel like Sora's coming back.
I wonder what should I tell him? Should I tell him about the first few months I spent in Otsu? How I had to struggle and fight to make sure that the Otsu Four were still in power? What about Caroline and her feverish work on ensuring the Rev System was at it's best for him? What about Hunter and Noel who now know about the fact that he was made to be non existent? There's so much I need to tell him yet I don't have the words needed to say them. Oh well, I should probably just focus on getting my rest now.
Speaking of rest… my head...it's becoming quiet now. Huh...it feels so heavy right now...my body, it barely is aware that I am about to fall asleep now. Hehe… I have been pushing myself to the brink these past few months. I do deserve the slumber being given to me. The voices I heard are now sounding so far away… like they don't exist anymore… If… if you can hear this Sora...I just want to say something that I must make sure you hear…
...I shall now pass on… the torch that you worked hard to keep alight… and wait patiently for the day we will meet again…