? POV
Found him.
A voice sounded across the empty space.
It walked away from the window, stepped onto the cobblestones, and went down a spiral staircase.
Its steps were slow, but gradually became faster and more impatient.
Found him.
Foooouuuuunnnd himmmm.
And, as if it hadn't spoken in many years, let out a cracking murmur.
Except, no one who heard it would be mistaken, it sounded absolutely delighted.
Hehehhehehehe...
Y/N POV
I dashed away as fast as I could when I saw more lights coming from the Watchtower, before activating Absolute Zero to put the time around me to a complete stop, halting any thermodynamical transfer of energy. When I turned back to the Watchtower, a single ray of light shot towards me and I prepared to wince in pain, but nothing came.
The bright burst of energy halted as soon as it entered the domain of Absolute Zero. Noticing this, I stepped forward to examine the single object, its Yang energy suddenly dissipating, which caused its true form to be exposed.
"A... needle?"
A needle coated in extremely concentrated Yang mana. That was what Hell's Snipe was.
Huh, guess that's a new discovery. Anyways, I don't want to freeze the entire desert over, so...
"E.M.M." Snapping my fingers, I activated the 'Absolute Defense Magic' that Subaru and Beatrice created. forming a barrier around where I travelled. I was able to move around since I activated the spell with my goggles as its activation point. E.M.M. only forbids the movement of the activation point, but somebody could move it around. The Hell's Snipes stopped taking effect against me, and I gave a slight smirk before suddenly I heard a cry from my right, and I saw one of Meili's Earth Sandworms, bisected by a Hell's Snipe, falling towards their carriage.
I was about to rush over until I noticed Capella punch the corpse away with her dragon fist, while Elsa shielded Meili. Seems like that their 'family bonding' is going quite well, so let's check on everyone else.
Since Capella and Elsa deployed themselves to the carriage with Anastasia and Emilia were, I shifted my focus to the capsule, which was doing fine by itself, flying in the sky. Sphinx just fended off a Hell's Snipe using a Yin Spell that diverted the trajectory of the needle, barely saving them.
This time, when I flew over to a place nearby the Sand Time Barrier, I saw Subaru and Beatrice atop Patrasche, riding towards the rendezvous point we agreed on. Within 2 minutes, we all managed to protect our respective group, and Subaru decided to unleash his second original spell.
"E.M.T.!"
A giant barrier took effect, and every single influence of magic disappeared. I can still feel my spirits and Witch Factors, but any trace of mana was gone. That included another Hell's Snipe that came straight at us, but when it passed through the barrier, it lost all momentum and dropped onto the ground just like what it had been before it was shot.
"Huh, so it's a needle." Julius commented as he got off the carriage to examine it, and Subaru did as well. I walked over to show them the other needle I managed to collect, but it's slightly frozen due to the effects of absolute zero.
"I'm guessing those are coated in the spell, and it's original state retains its form somehow using some complex spell algorithm..." Omega commented, sitting on top of the capsule while the rest of us looked relaxed. Subaru's E.M.T. spell is negating any effect of any further Hell's Snipes for now, so we don't have to constantly run away from death.
That is, until Beatrice let out a warning cry.
"Damn it, I suppose!"
"Huh?" I looked towards Beatrice in mild confusion.
"The distortion of space is invalidated by E · M · T!" She explained immediately as Subaru and Julius went back onto their respective mounts, and I suddenly had an ominous feeling as Subaru asked her about it.
"It's like you said, I suppose! The distortion here is similar to Betty's "door crossing" in that house. In other words, the distorted space will return to its original state!"
Oh shit. So when E.M.T. came into contact with the barrier, it was destroyed as long as the space it was affecting is affected by the spell...
WOOSH
FL-PING SHOOSH
Sounds entered my brain, ones that I completely did not recognize. Still under the effects of E.M.T., I couldn't use any magic or risk using an Authority. I felt the sands underneath me shift.
Oh no.
The world underneath me gave away, and I let out a scream as I fell inside. I saw Subaru struggling to latch onto Beatrice, while Omega saw my eyes and nodded before getting into the capsule.
To the world, the expedition team was swallowed up by the ferocious dunes of sand.
Silence.
Pure, dead silence.
That's what it felt like for a long time.
I was buried in the sand completely, except that I had a tiny air pocket right above my head, where I maintained my constant breathing and the creation of air molecules through my Authority. I'm still recovering from the effects of E.M.T., and the mana will take a while to replenish. But even if I did, unleashing one of my powerful spirits might bury me even deeper.
Despite me nearly reaching the top of the world in terms of strength, I am but a simple human right now.
Pathetic, isn't it?
Maybe this is a good time to reflect.
What exactly have I done in the past 1 year and 2 months since I've arrived here?
I entered this world, and decided to commit thievery for money immediately. Could've done something else, but it was the most viable option at that point. I didn't have any connections with anyone, so going about a route of inventing would be catastrophic for me, at least in the beginning.
I saved Subaru from a loop.
I eventually learned how to better use my Authority of Deceit, and defeated a pack of mabeasts along with the protagonist. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I ended up fighting Roswaal for a promise of a soul-binding contract, but also the fact that I wanted to test my standing against the world's greatest human mage.
The results were disappointing. No, I don't mean Roswaal's weak. I was the disappointment. I won by all means, yes, but only because Roswaal held back. Even I almost failed to notice it, but he definitely did. Maybe it was because his mansion was nearby and he didn't want to go all out, or he thought I had potential to help in his plans. Either way, I gauged later that he wasn't even using 30% of his full power, or of his prowess shown by his ancestor, whose soul reincarnated itself into his current body.
With that, I vowed to get better at Magic, at least. I trained my physical body while I'm at it, and during the month between Arcs 2 and 3, I learned magic spells with Roswaal as well as some basic principles of magic that allowed me to construct spells from scratch. I also made advancement on the elements I could utilize, now completely shedding away the need for Water and Wind magic due to the fact that I could just manipulate the atoms.
I then made quite the entrance at the Royal Selection Ceremony, defeated Julius, the Rainbow Spirit Knight. I formed an alliance with Anastasia Hoshin, and then used that to form the subjugation alliance with Crusch Karsten. I strengthened the bond between Crusch and I using Fourier's unprecedented appearance in my dreams a long time ago, and we set off to defeat the White Whale. Managing to also mend the Astrea's family problems a little, I allowed our team to defeat the White Whale without the fall of Flugel's Tree. Later, when it came to discussing about what to do with the remains of the whale, I suggested that we cleave all the skin and meat off, leaving only the skeleton for it to remain as a national statue. I froze all the skin and meat using Absolute Zero, preserving it in a barrier fuelled by mana stones until I began researching its purposes.
Although I ensured Subaru's success on the Subjugation of the Sin Archbishop of Sloth and the Sloth Witch Factor going into Subaru, I ultimately failed to protect Rem and Crusch, perhaps my biggest mistake yet to date. Regulus' barrier was impenetrable and I was barely able to deal damage to him, while I factored out a crucial detail that allowed Gluttony to devour his meals.
I knew I wasn't strong enough, and I met the final spirit of my predecessor, where I then received two of the most powerful weapons in the world, Inen and Ryokyo. Then forming with a contract with the Witch of Greed and the Witches of Sin, I set off to prevent any tragedy within the fourth arc. I managed to recruit the Bowel Hunter and the Mabeast Ruler to our side, just like Subaru did in two of the IFs, and managed to absorb the Great Rabbit's spell algorithm by defeating a remnant group.
I left the Sanctuary along with Omega, who resurrected through the body of Ryuzu Shima, and the two assassins to find more people to join my group. Omega went to seek out the Colette and Palmyra by the river, while I rescued Sphinx from a dungeon in the Barielle territory and saved Yae Tenzen in a city to the east. With everyone on board, we marched into Flanders and contacted the Libra, before I made a deal with the Flanders' Underworld's bosses.
Later, I reunited with Felt and sparred with Reinhard, before leaving to complete my 11 month journey. I saved many villages from Witch Cult attacks and bandits, travelled all across Lugnica while making a name for myself and my Liberator's Battalion. I made friends in the Trading Association thanks to Ana and Russell Fellow, and I advanced my usage of the two authorities I had obtained thanks to Chid-chan.
After the trip was over, we advanced into the Water Gate City and began Arc 5, where the Royal Selection team duelled the Archbishops of the Witch Cult. With my battalion, we prevented any deaths in the city and freeing many from Sirius' authority's effects. Subaru and Reinhard won against Regulus, Priscilla and Liliana won against Sirius, Felt, Otto, Beatrice and I won against Lye, while Julius and Ricardo won against Roy. Al failed to defeat Capella, but with a little trick and ascension, I managed to defeat her and by some weird twist of fate, convinced her to join our side. To this day, I still consider that one of my greatest achievements.
I transferred Theresia and Kurgan's souls to the newly constructed realm for souls, the Necropolis, and set off towards Picoutatte to clear up a plot foretold by the Book of Wisdom 2.0. I encountered the Schlizirkel, a mysterious organization mentioned by Solace in his flashback. I foiled their plan and revived Valgren, before taking him on as my familiar. I then arrived in Kararagi, where I befriended Halibel and resolved the issue relating to the Great Spirit of Wind, Zarestia. I also helped Reize and Capella sort of 'make up', but that was mostly their own thing.
And now I'm in the Augria Sand Dunes, the most dangerous area on this entire continent that anyone could possibly set foot in.
I've accomplished a lot, haven't I?
And it's time to move on. Time to continue towards my next goal.
Struggling with the last bits of mana that I could absorb, I enhanced my arms with El Akra before I began to dig through the sand slowly. Bayanga and Cahya scouted out the area around me by constantly using wave echolocation, while Alchemis kept my body temperature stable. Suddenly, I felt the mana run out, and the sand collapsed onto my hair as I crawled slowly forward.
No! The air is getting covered!
More sand fell on me as it filled the air pocket, then my nose, and my mouth. I choked, gasping on the last bits of air as my spirits screamed in distress.
no...
No...
NO!
Authorities, do your job!
Listening to my immediate command, the Witch Factor of Pride hastily activated and extinguished all the sand within the domain, including the ones that fell into my body.
"Authority of Deceit... Hydrate me."
My throat was cleaned as I absorbed water into my skin and gulped it down my throat, swallowing upon the sweet taste of the basic liquid.
"I'm not stopping. It's... near. I feel it."
I continued towards the direction the Book foretold, feeling the power of that dreadful miasma once more. I dug through the sand with my bare hands, since the mana has yet to fully return, and I'm spending every last drop to keep myself alive.
"Authority of Wrath... clear everything in front of me."
The red beam of light shot out and obliterated the rubble, only to rupture my veins and cause the sand to collapse. Hastily, I fixed the arteries and veins that bursted before crossing my fingers as the Authority of Greed protected me from the falling sand.
"It's there..."
I crawled forwards, desperate to both survive and get to my destination. It's by pure chance that I landed here, so I should make use of it. Surrounded by sand on all sides, I continued onwards, only to run out of strength as the El Akra spell wore off.
Shit!
More sand fell upon the barrier created by the Authority of Greed, which has 5 seconds left. Any longer would cause my heart to take damage. I hurriedly called upon my last Authority, for if I didn't, my legs would be buried in the sand and we can forget about moving.
"Authority of Sloth, get me OUT!"
At the last word, my Unseen Hands seemed to have grabbed onto something solid, and I created a tiny barrier of steel in front of me as it threw me forwards like a slingshot. Deactivating the Authority of Greed, I felt the pressure on my heart loosen before I was shot out into a cave, and for the first time in an hour, I breathed natural air.
But I cannot stop.
I regained mana by the second now, since their were many particles floating around here. I advanced into the tunnel until I arrived at the intersection where I recognized: a left and right path. The left path emitted no sense of danger, but the right path was a full blast of miasma.
"Right it is." I said as I limped towards the tunnel, my mana and body still recovering from my previous experience. I took one step after another, steadily reaching and walking forwards until I felt the miasma strengthen itself, and I took a blast of it to the face before I negated it due to the protection of my Authority.
"You can't harm me. I'm literally made of your foul odour by this point!" I yelled into the darkness.
No one's stopping me.
No one gets in the way of my goals.
I'm there. I'm reaching there. Almost there.
When the Witch Factors gave a slight tug and I saw the most ominous gate possibly ever constructed in front of me, I let out a sigh of relief and laughed.
"I... did... it..."
Catching my breath, I straightened my back and filled myself with mana. It's funny seeing how minutes ago I was just on the verge of death by suffocation, but I continued and moved on through the obstacles, demolishing them one by one.
At this moment, I made a vow. I vowed to never give up.
Because as long as I never give up, there will always be hope.
As long as there's hope, I could advance.
As long as I can advance, I could ascend.
And if I could ascend, I could achieve.
And when I do achieve...
Stabilizing my footing, I let my spirits out as they took their posts beside me, and I stepped towards the Doors of Sin.
...I finalize my purpose in this world.