Chapter 3
Apotheosis
The two of them were in a place of twilight; there was a small lake beside a meadow and darkness covered the earth. The shadow reassumed its first form and stayed still. They would be safe here, for the moment.
Neither of them spoke and Ragna thought about what he saw in the prediction. The Spirit, on the other hand, started to slowly remember what happened before. And, to boot, since all of this was occurring on a spiritual level, it would take Ragna a while to figure it all out when he woke up. He would most likely forget all of this even happened.
The Spirit thought carefully on how to proceed. It would be very easy to do a lot of things at this point. The corrosion effects have already damaged his soul, the Spirit could take advantage of that, but at the same time, the corrosion effects also left the Spirit in a dire state. It woke the Spirit up, though, so it guessed it should be thankful for that. But back to the question of the hour: now what?
The Spirit was now in enough control to do as it pleased, so it started by placing Ragna in a temporary coma.
"Sorry about this . . ." He said as Ragna collapsed to the ground, "Now . . ." The Spirit reached for the right arm that linked Ragna to the Spirit, "Analyzing damage effect . . . Begin Report," The Spirit wanted to see exactly how much damage was inflicted to both of them.
"Initializing Process. . . calculating . . . damage analysis . . ." The Spirit cringed. It was as bad as he imagined, if not worse.
"Searching for recommended action . . . isolation commencing . . . processing . . . overriding restriction release. Minimalizing damage. Restoration process at 1% and continuing," The Spirit sighed, "This will buy you some time, at any rate. I think it's time you wake up now."
/
Rachel watched Tsubaki leave, feeling her determination and frustration.
"And so we begin a new phase in this chaotic timeline. The Apotheosis has finally arrived – the final climax to this dreadful doggerel," She disappeared when no one was looking and hovered over a field beneath the Embryo. As she observed, she noticed Ragna entering the Embryo, following the guidance of a figure Rachel was surprised had interfered.
"I see. I shall leave his fate in your hands, for the time being. But I wonder, the more you scrape the surface of your dreaded powers, how much will you uncover? Is this your end, or is this simply another obstacle?" She closed her eyes, "No matter . . . I have more pressing matters to attend to. As the curtain falls, I am able to proceed to the next act. The time has come to reveal a few new actors, both familiar and yet, different from the ones of this Timeline. Another dimension exists parallel to this one, acting upon it to give it a fighting chance . . . It is time for me to receive them."
She quickly glanced at the Embryo before shifting space and appearing in her Quarters. She looked into the mirror, unable to see herself in the reflection.
"Hmph, it is a pain to do so in this manner, but I'm afraid I have no other choice," She approached the mirror and touched its surface. The mirror rippled and turned black, "Until a while ago, I was unable to peer into this particular world," She looked over her shoulder to see her faithful manservant, who politely let himself in.
"So, it is time then?"
"Yes. Whatever Terumi wanted to block from my sight, I shall see now."
"Which one is it, M'lady?"
"The one much different than all the others. The one which the Time Loop held no affect. The Initiator."
"I see. Mind if I gaze alongside you?" He approached her.
"I do not mind. Though, this might take some time."
"I'm well aware. But this will be beneficial for us both."
"I agree. Let us begin," She touched the mirror again and their vision was engulfed by what she wished to perceive.
The Alternate Universe
~Initiator~
Jin sat in his office as usual, studying over the paperwork before him. He made it his goal to come in early and complete his tasks before his Lieutenant arrived – not out of a sense of duty, but because there was some things he did not wish her to know.
He eyed the clock – it just turned 6:00 A.M. The night staff was leaving for the morning guard shift turnover. He was not even really required to be in his office until about 8:00 or so. That is when Tsubaki would greet him with a tired expression, worrying about his impulse to arrive so early and leave so late.
Jin yawned while opening his drawer to find a letter. It was from Kagura, heir to the Head of the Duodecim. He already guessed the contents of the letter – it had an official stamp to dodge suspicion, but Jin knew of a certain 'plan' of his. He felt uneasy not telling his Lieutenant of the plan, for fear that her allegiance to the Imperator was stronger than her own sense of Justice. Those in charge are just when the people they serve are a priority – Jin knew full well that the NOL was just a means to constrain them and keep a greater secret hidden.
Jin inquired a while ago as to whether or not he should inform Tsubaki of the upcoming events, but Kagura insisted on keeping it as low key as possible until the proper moment arrived. Not even Jin knew when that would be, but he followed Kagura's plan anyway.
Jin wrote out a reply to Kagura – he had meant to send this out the day before, but Tsubaki was around the entire day and as such he was not able to send out the reply.
After he finished the letter, he sealed it with his Family's Crest, and personally walked it out to the Front Desk. The person running the Lobby had a tired expression on her face, but smiled as she greeted the Major, "Good morning, Major Kisaragi. I see you're here as bright an early as ever. Well . . . minus the 'bright' part," she looked out the window to the gloomy overcast sky.
". . . Yes. Good morning. This letter needs to find itself in the hands of General Kagura Mutsuki as soon as possible. It is of the utmost importance and needs to be handled with care. If this letter is lost or captured by any unsuspecting enemy, there will be a major problem. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, sir. We go through this every time you and General Mutsuki mail each other. We will see to it that he receives this letter by nightfall. Is there anything else, Major?"
"No, that is all," Jin turned around and walked back toward his office. He had a lot on his mind and the ever-growing pile of documents on his desk only provoked his stress. He sorted through the documents – official NOL business he placed on one side; things he wanted to hide from Tsubaki he placed on the other. He would just have her see to the paper work when she arrived, giving him ample time to discern his more 'personal' readings.
It had been a few months since he and Kagura met in person – they still had to keep up with appearances, but Jin really needed to speak with him in person. He worried that using the NOL mail transportation would be risky, but he agreed it would be the safest way to send mail in the long run. No one would open the letters between two prominent members of the Duodecim unless they were criminals or higher in status than them. There weren't very many people higher in the food chain than Kagura and Jin felt that they avoided suspicion well.
He looked up at the clock again. It was only 6:30 – a blessing and a curse at the same time. How could time pass so slowly and yet so fast at the same time? He felt urgency wash over him as he hurried to finish the more important aspects of his research. He still needed to get through some of the 'Official' Documentations that Tsubaki didn't have clearance for. He had hoped to avoid causing suspicion in her the most.
(At 7:30 I should put these away and look over the other documents . . . Hm . . . what's this?) He found something interesting, and slid it on top of the stack. Kagura kept sending him suspicious funding transfers from the Intelligence Department that apparently lead to nowhere. Neither Jin nor Kagura could find out where the money trail led, though Jin had a few guesses.
He filed the document away, wanting to come back to that later if he found matching clues. He continued reading the other files, but nothing quite caught his attention. He acknowledge Kagura's suspicions about the Intelligence Department, but also could not find substantial proof. He did wonder how Kagura found out about the Intelligence Department in the first place . . . Even though they were on the same side, Kagura withheld a lot of information.
Then again, it wasn't like Jin was being completely honest, either. He had his reasons for snooping around, as degrading as it was. He continued filing away documents by priority – things he felt relevant he'd keep closer to the first document he found, others he stored outside of Tsubaki's view. He would carefully dispose of them later.
As he finished, he noted that he won against the clock. It was 7:10 and he had plenty of time to spare. Without another moment wasted, he looked over and signed documents for the NOL, hoping to finish before Tsubaki arrived.
As he scribbled his name for the hundredth time this morning, he heard a knock on the door. He glanced up again . . . 7:30? Who would be up this early?
"Major Kisaragi! One of your sisters are here," He sighed. He knew which sister. His family was large – well, he did not really consider all of them to be 'his family' but there was one girl in particular that he allowed near him.
"Yes, let her in," He sighed, grinding his teeth. A young green-eyed girl with long blonde hair entered. Her hair was tied to the side and was braided. It went down to her stomach like that. She wore school attire, although she did not go to the Military Academy on account of being sick all the time. She was brilliant, though, so their adoptive father trained her personally.
"Saya," Jin said, "What are you doing here, so far from home?"
"Father has already left. He won't be back for the rest of the month."
"You can't just come here . . . We've been over this before," She waved him off, "It's important. I figured this would be a good time to talk about . . . you know," She looked over her shoulder, attempting to see if anyone was eavesdropping through closed doors.
"I see. Have a seat," He said, "Keep your voice down. I don't want anyone to overhear us."
"I'm aware. I'll try to be brief before Tsubaki gets here," She folded her hands in her lap, "Are you certain about everything you've told me? Brother, the problems of the past are behind us, are you sure you want to be digging up trouble?"
"Not this again," Jin dropped his pen and looked at her, "We've been over this before, Saya."
"I understand your feelings, Jin. But . . . at the same time, I cannot relate. I don't even remember his face." Jin closed his eyes a moment. She was talking about something else, though not entirely unrelated. Still he had to refocus his thoughts.
"I don't remember any of it," She said softly, "So I can't understand . . . not really, but I do know this; we have a life here, like this. Why would you throw it away?" Jin did not answer her, but merely said, "You should study," He picked up his pen without looking in her direction. She watched him a moment. He was tense, obviously thinking about the past she could not recall.
She reached into her hand bag and began to read the History Book in her bag.
"Does Tsubaki know?" She asked, changing the subject since she was unable to focus on the book.
"No."
"Are you going to tell her?"
"Doubt it."
"Are you sure that is wise?"
"Saya . . ." Jin glanced at her again. Their eyes met and he felt uneasy for a moment, "You know, you don't have to apart of any of this. You can continue your studies in peace while I go and . . . complete what I think is necessary. You don't have to agree with me on everything, you know? But please . . . PLEASE don't get in my way."
"And lose both of my brothers?" She answered without skipping a beat, "I don't want that." Jin rolled the pen in his hand, thinking. It was too damn early to be having this argument.
"If you go and do this, what if you're caught? What if you're killed? Then I'd be alone."
"Guilt tripping me, Saya? Do you really think that's going to work?"
"No, but . . . it's true. I don't want to lose you because you can't let go of the past," she sighed, "Can you think about the future for a change?"
"As far as I know, any future I have was purchased at a steep price. Saya, please, let's discuss this another time. Tsubaki will be here soon, anyway."
"Trust me, we will continue this."
"Of that, I have no doubt," He replied with a chuckle. He glanced up at the time. Tsubaki would be arriving in a short while. He finished the last few documents before sealing them and placing them in the folder for outgoing mail.
He exhaled loudly as the last of the important, classified documents were completed.
"That sounded impressive," Saya laughed, "Would you like me to pick up some breakfast?"
"No, I'm fine. I'll just wait for Tsubaki and walk to the café with her."
"Ah, such a lovely couple you two would make," She teased.
"This is a professional environment. I would ne – "
"Oh, brother. You are such an idiot," she shook her head. Why did men have to be so ignorant? "Whatever," she shrugged, "I guess I can't be hanging around while you're out of office, so I'll let myself out when you go. Do you want to meet for lunch?"
"Does lunch come with an extra side of scolding?"
"Only if you ask for it," She winked.
"That isn't very reassuring. But sure, Tsubaki would probably love to catch up."
"Ah, using Tsubaki as the human meat shield to my nagging and scolding. Way to dodge another argument, brother. I see past your deception."
"Deception? What do you take me for? I would never use my Lieutenant in such a way."
"I take you for a fool, but I suppose I could take you as my brother and call it a day." She was quick in this game, Jin gave her that much.
"Speaking of Tsubaki . . . it isn't like her to be late," He noted, realizing that the time was 10 past 8. Normally she would be arriving about 7:45 and yet . . .
"That is odd, isn't it?" Saya agreed, "I wonder what has her tied up?"
"Everyone has their off days, I guess. But still, this IS Tsubaki we're talking about . . ." Jin trailed off, remembering the Academy days and how reliable Tsubaki had always been.
"Should we be worried?"
"Not yet. If she isn't here within the next five minutes, I'll go up to the Lobby. I guess you'll have to come with me. I'm really not supposed to have visitors while working, anyway." He reminded her again.
"Hah! Nah, they've half come to expect me at this point! I should just have my own key," She laughed, "Besides, you can sign off on my sheet that I'm gaining 'valuable' insight from one of the most influential heroes our world has ever seen!" 'Hero'. Right, that title. He cringed a little, but Saya did not notice.
"Right. Well, as long as it's for your studies and not so you can goof off."
"Me? Goof off!? Why, never!" She feigned innocence.
"Now who's being deceptive?" Jin glanced at the clock, getting nervous. Suddenly the door opened and in stepped a beautiful young red-headed woman.
"I apologize for my tardiness, Major. I was approached by one of the Intelligence Department's messengers on my way into work and was promptly debriefed. I was to hand this over to you immediately. . . . Ah! Saya, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."
"N-no, I'm sorry. Was I supposed to hear any of that? I'll just step out a moment – " Jin took the papers from Tsubaki's hand to review them, his eyes narrowing at the mention of the Intelligence Department.
"Sir, it seems that . . . with your permission, I am to assist Captain Hazama of the Intelligence Department in his mission to hunt down a criminal said to be headed towards Kagutsuchi and is attempting to destroy an NOL branch. There is more about that in the report."
"Why you?" He asked, reading the report thoroughly, "Surely the Intelligence Department can handle their own missions."
"They seem to be . . . understaffed lately. Apparently I was well-recommended as someone who could be 'reliable'. I'm not entirely sure where this information is coming from, either, but regardless they are lacking in man power."
'SS-Class Criminal. Unknown Background / Origins. Wears a Red Jacket and carries a Large Sword.' (Who is this guy?) Jin thought to himself, turning the page over to the unofficial sketch, (Woah, is this guy ugly . . . So, he targets NOL Branches. I wonder, for what purpose?)
"Does this guy have a name?" Jin asked, not really caring.
"Only something crude that the citizens have dubbed him. 'Bloodedge' or something equally vulgar."
"And they want to send you after him?" Jin raised his eyebrow, remembering hearing something about this a while ago, "Tsubaki . . . I don't know about this one," He had a strong feeling against this.
"I can handle myself. Besides, my orders are to obtain Intel on him, not to approach. I am not to engage in combat with this assailant." He tapped his finger on the desk, looking over the very little known facts on this man. The fact the NOL has branded him with an SS-Class Criminal status only made him want to keep Tsubaki as far away from that mess as possible.
"It would be difficult for me to appeal this one, wouldn't it?" Jin asked, mostly to himself.
"With him approaching quickly, I doubt it. Major, I promise I won't let anything happen to me out in the field. You and I both know this comes with the job, as well. My role in this mission is very low key, I won't be in any danger."
"That promise is binding, Tsubaki. You better come back in one piece. If anyone hurts you, I will cut them down personally."
"Understood! . . . Thank you, Jin."
"Don't thank me yet. You might regret this, you know." (Or I might come to regret this). He signed off on her mission, though he wholeheartedly opposed it. She accepted the document and left. Saya re-entered the room and immediately noticed how tense Jin became.
"Saya, go home. I won't be having lunch with you," He stood up, "I'm going to have a little talk with someone. Don't expect me to be home for a while, I might be going on a trip."
"Did something happen?"
"I can't tell you, even if I wanted to. Don't trouble yourself too much. We will argue back and forth when I get back."
"O-Okay. Be careful, Brother," Saya picked up her bag and left Jin. He went to go discuss this mission with his Captain to request that he follow along as backup, just in case . . . He would have to have a secretory maintain the office, but all of the sensitive documents were locked away, and only he had the key to that particular cabinet.
/
Saya was eavesdropping the entire time. She overheard the exchange between her brother and Tsubaki and had a good guess as to what her brother planned on doing. He was more than likely going to Kagutsuchi to make sure Tsubaki was safe.
Saya hurried to the public port to buy a ticket – she was concerned as well, but unlike her brother, didn't need special permission to leave the area. With her adoptive father gone for the month and the other siblings barely noticing her coming and going, she figured she could get away with not showing up for a couple of days.
When she boarded, she found a quiet spot to sit and window watched. She wanted to overcome her sickness by keeping active – it's when she sat still that she noticed her body aching. Jin was going to be so mad at her when he found out that she went to Kagutsuchi instead of returning to the Kisaragi home like she was instructed.
When the window did nothing to alleviate her sickness, Saya opened her book and tried to focus on her studies. At least she could keep herself distracted from her illness by doing something equally grueling.
(History of the world . . . What a boring subject . . .) She cracked open the book and half-heartedly read the contents.
/
Rachel, who was peering from a distant world, saw the words inside the book.
" . . . As I suspected . . ."
"That world is truly different than ours, isn't it?" Valkenhayn agreed.
The first page started in the year 2100, the year the Black Beast first appeared in the world they now live in. Though in this book, there was no mention of such a creature – instead a world devastating war took its place. Ironically enough, the Black Beast managed to bring the world together in order to save what little people survived. Without the Beast, the world still tore itself apart. Factions formed, the countries were forced to ally themselves together and face each other in a worldwide catastrophic battle.
"Year 2100 – a fixed point in any timeline. The world was meant to be destroyed, regardless of any intervention. Terumi wished to hide this from us . . . why?" Rachel closed her eyes, stumped, "What is it about that particular point in time? What brought about this war? . . . Shall we proceed? We will find nothing out whilst simply twiddling our thumbs."
She knew of this world, but only managed to find glimpses of it and only when her enemies were distracted. There was something hidden in there, but what could it be?
There was at least one version of Saya who Izanami couldn't get her hands on, that much was clear.
She retouched the surface of the mirror and began to peer once again.