Author Notes: Credits go to the following.
1.) DarkBetrayer
2.) MrQuestionMark
Fictions Mentioned:
Episode 9
OP Song:
Spy | "Who Can You Trust" Ivy Levan Music Video [HD] | 20th Century FOX
Insert Song: Start
ENDER LILIES | Mili - Harmonious (Extended, Slowed, Reverb) + Rain ambient
PART 1
Unknown
It was sometime before Touma Kamijou's identity was revealed to the world. Whenever he doesn't have anything else to do, there was one place he would go to with the help of his wristwatch's interdimensional function. It was also the same exact place where his wife would go too as well, whether with him or by herself whenever she doesn't have anything else to do. Another universe, specifically in a spot where his daughter's grave was.
He walks through each step with care as the wind blows free in his general direction, blowing the man's clothing. After a few steps, he finally stops by a certain grave. His daughter's grave.
This was a Kamijou Family Tradition at this point for both husband (Touma Kamijou) and wife (Rika Kamijou) to pay a visit to their daughter's grave ever since they found it with the help of the Doctor so many years ago. And since then, they always keep coming back here, never neglecting to pay a visit whenever the occasion of the opportunity presented itself.
From what Touma Kamijou noticed, the sun was rising, denoting that it was about 6 AM at this point.
And then, Touma did nothing except to remain silent. He never spoke a word. He simply looked at his daughter's grave without forming any vocal comments. He only lets his heart do all of the talking.
It had been so many years since he had lost his beloved daughter. He can still recall that snowy night of December. A time when the Kamijou Family's Christmas was soured.
''...Papa...Mama...''
Touma was currently biting his lip as he slowly kneels down. He forced himself to remain calm down, closing his eyes for a bit before opening them again. He can still hear the gunshot, feel the wound and the blood gushing out from his daughter. He can still hear her tired, painful voice moments before she died.
''...Papa...Mama...It's so cold...''
A haunting voice that made him remember the cold night. The last moments when he would speak with his brighter star. He clenches his fists, tightening them. His entire surroundings, the soft breezes that lightly touched his clothing, the cold touch on the marble walk that he stands on, the trees that were nearby, they all haunt him and never gave him comfort. It only gave him memories of his daughter, of how he used to spend time with her.
He remembers how she looked up to him...
''My papa is a hero, like a Kamen Rider or a Super Sentai, always protecting the weak and innocent, but also gives second chances to the guilty ones, no exceptions.''
She spoke that line with such confidence, such passion for someone of her age. She knew of course that her papa wasn't a perfect person. Unlike many children of her age, she wasn't very naive to whatever happened in the world. She knew of adult topics, ones that made himself and his wife concerned sometimes due to thinking of how their daughter had been growing up too fast for their liking. She can paint and draw beautiful art images. There were plenty of images that she painted, all of which were once in a few museums before the Doctor bought them all with the money he had got from his very large bank account. And since then, his daughter's art was seen by family, friends, acquaintances, people just passing by, and many others who were in the TARDIS.
Overall, she was very intelligent. It made him rather curious about how and where did Yukina Kamijou, his adopted daughter, getting these kinds of skills and knowledge. She had an air of maturity on her that reminded him of his wife. He didn't know whether to be worried or just let it go as simply natural. At that time, he couldn't force himself to go with the latter explanation, that everything was natural.
No matter how much he didn't like it, he cannot deny one thing.
He and his wife were still stuck in The Test of the Witches. There hasn't been any kind of tragedy yet. There has yet to be an ''Aha, gotcha'' moment where misfortune strikes like a sharp-edged snake bite that carries with it a poisonous venom. There were simply peaceful and mundane moments for the most part, that is if one didn't count all of the criminals that Touma Kamijou had rounded up as the local police detective, or the many crimes that he managed to solve which made hin the beloved hero of the time, which further substantiates the conviction of his daughter.
To his daughter, he was a superhero. A superhero, to her, was more than just someone capable of transforming into a man in armor, or someone who was flying a cape. To her, it was far more than just that. It was about someone, any single one, that can be a hero in his or her own right. A mature line of thought that amazed him.
Can't one save someone when you're simply just standing right there, nearby, at that very spot? In front of one's eyes where there are people that do not wish to cry that are crying? In front of your eyes where there are people that can only clench their teeth while struggling and cannot even say the simple words of ''please save me''?
That was more than enough for Touma Kamijou. And that was more than enough for Yukina Kamijou.
In fact, Yukina had become somewhat of a mixture between himself and his wife. Like Rika Kamijou, Yukina was an elegant young lady admired and loved by everyone. Not just that, but she even picked up her mother's child-like mannerisms like ''Nipaa'' or ''Mii'', having learned it from the mother herself as one of the first words that she had heard when she was a child when her mother was trying to get her to say her first words. He recalled shaking his head at that time with an exasperated smile. Like Touma Kamijou, she had a strong sense of justice, not wanting anyone to get hurt, and dreamed of everyone to keep smiling just as always.
...Yes, she was just so much like him and her mother.
It made him grimace as he breathed in and out.
Sometimes, he wished that his daughter was still here. It just wasn't fair, he thought sometimes. How come he and his wife were the only ones who survived the hell, when their daughter wasn't? His daughter's death, unlike him and his wife, was a permanent one that could not be undone.
But wait, someone would have probably thought. Couldn't someone have just travelled back in time to prevent the tragedy from happening?
Don't you think he hadn't tried? Touma Kamijou had tried that tactic. Do you know what happened? Yukina still died. It doesn't matter how or where or when. The death would have been worst than the last. And it did. And even with time travel, the original Yukina was still dead. She cannot be brought back. One consolation to this was that he is reassured that Yukina is as far from Kamui Kihara's reach as it is possible due to being in an afterlife whose exact location for him was still unknown, the one place that even Kamui cannot go unless he wants to be paid a visit from a higher authority and erased him from the timeline.
The mad scientist, like Touma Kamijou, has limited options. Kamui Kihara, despite his plans and ambitions, cannot just do whatever he likes in the Multiverse in the same way as in his native universe, and even in his universe, he is limited because of the major players that live there.
Kamui Kihara's Universe. ACMI Universe-000.
A lot of things have happened in that universe. There are many important reasons why Touma Kamijou had not at any point at this time directly visited this universe due to the hints about his own personal future that he did not need to know at this time. There is also the part where he tends to sometimes dream about whatever had happened in that universe, usually in flashes, whenever he tries to sleep. It was a pain in the butt sometimes. Most of the time, it's a blur. He cannot just recall everything at once.
Until now, Touma Kamijou had spent years trying to track down Kamui Kihara. Everywhere he go, all he found where nothing but fake personalities. He had yet to truly meet the original Kamui Kihara face-to-face, but he does know of his voice, and the available files that he had been given about him. His multiversal war against Kamui Kihara had been going on for a very long time. Even now, neither of them couldn't truly defeat the other. Neither never having the desire to totally end the other.
''Why would I kill you?'' Kamui spoke that one time. ''You? Of all Kamijou Toumas in existence, why do I have to kill you? Don't be so silly. You are by far the most interesting experimental test subject I have had the pleasure of knowing ever since I have discovered the existence of the Multiverse. Such A Certain Infinite Possibility, such uncertainties for the man considered and claimed to be A Certain Unknown Level 0. You are by far the more interesting among them all because of how you live your life. In spite of misfortunes and tragedies, no matter how many people you ended up losing, you still keep pressing on. You still have that drive to carry on even when everything all seems to be against you. That is what I like about you, Kamijou Touma. You are nothing like the Kamijou Touma of my world who carries on the ideal of smiles at the risk of sheer hypocrisy to the point of pushing one's love ones away, and neither are you like the few Kamijou Toumas that get trigger-happy whenever a villain shows up on their doorstep, and the list goes on, and on, and on.''
He recalls Kamui shaking his head.
''No, you're the Kamijou Touma that is just so unpredictable. You do not fit any of the common patterns that can be traced to the other Kamijou Toumas out there. You exist as your own independent entity, your own person, the man who had already gone through hell and back, the man who can never truly be broken because you already are...when I took your precious little daughter away. After that point, oh how much of a challenging opponent you have become. Even then, you never decided to kill out of revenge. Even then, you still held on to those morals of yours. It's why I like you above any other Kamijou Touma. You are the Kamijou Touma who has already surpassed any form of scientific conjecture on my part on how or what it took to bring suffering to anyone even worth the name of Kamijou Touma. Pain can hurt you, break every single bone of your body, and believe me and you, that already happened, but you have long since accepted it. The man who had lost...and yet still wins...''
He can still recall that mocking tone. One that he had heard a very long time ago. Tempting thoughts, he recalled, were trying to be forced unto his mind. Why not kill this pathetic psychopathic bastard and be done with it? He already knows that this bastard doesn't want to be saved, that this is what he truly and ultimately wants in the end, and that no one would really miss him. One of the main problems are that there is more than just one Kamui Kihara, so he may as well be considering killing an innocent victim that only became the way he is due to Kamui Kihara.
It is not so easy as to kill Kamui Kihara, especially when he knows that Kamui has multiple contingency plans that he had in place in the event of his death. He plans to stretch far ahead, at least two or three steps ahead from Touma's. In many cases, Kamui makes defensive countermeasures because he knows that Touma isn't bereft of powerful allies. But the same can be said of Kamui who have his own backers, his own allies, his own resources to spare.
Kamui Kihara wasn't even supposed to discover the Multiverse. He was never supposed to know about Touma Kamijou (ACMI Universe-Prime). And by chance and other factors, Kamui discovered it. Then his thoughts turn to pure drive and ambition. He wanted to know more about the Touma Kamijou (Prime) that is far too different from who he is familiar with. Just what is the man behind the multiple layers of masks that he wore? And the questions would result in the battles through space-time that were fought between Touma Kamijou (Prime) and Kamui Kihara.
The war is far from over. Touma is still waiting, just waiting for the next move to occur. He knows that Kamui would not want to draw attention to the bigger fish like Aleister Crowley (Prime) because he knew they could crush him if he tries to do anything drastic. Therefore, he, like Touma, is bidding his time. Like Touma, Kamui has all the time in the Multiverse. He can wait as far longer as he should.
Both men, Touma Kamijou and Kamui Kihara, are very long-lived individuals who had seen their fair share of conflict, drama, and tragedy. Two old men, in younger bodies, that to most people never seem to age, but for themselves and for those who know of them, they are as old as they come. Two old men who never got tired of hunting the other down. It was a play of cat and mouse. The question would be who is the cat and who is the mouse?
Touma Kamijou was simply quiet. He didn't need to utter a single word. He simply wanted to stay kneeling in front of his daughter's grave. He only looks at the tombstone with his own two eyes.
And then, he noticed something. No, someone. He can hear a pair of footsteps walking towards his location. There was no one in the cemetery at this time. Only him. That leaves this other person coming here.
But Touma Kamijou didn't seem too worried, only showing a grim expression. He recognized this person who was coming. He was a young man, somewhere around fifteen years of age. He was wearing the winter uniform of A Certain High School consisting of a dark-colored jacket and pants, along with a white shirt. He had blonde hair and unnaturally orange eyes.
Jason Kagere.
He was from another alternate universe, designated as ACMI Universe-001. He was...not someone that Touma Kamijou would take lightly. If he were to compare, he's like Tsuchimikado and Aogami, even more so with Tsuchimikado. In fact, in the world Jason comes from, he's an old friend of his versions of Tsuchimikado, Aogami, and another version of him who is native to Jason's universe.
What was unique about this person was that because of something that happened in the past, one that no one casually talks about due to the tragedy, is that he can use magic and esper abilities simultaneously. Now, underneath the facade of someone who seems to act like a cheerful and carefree idiot lies a very smart and dangerous person. He acts cocky, but even that is merely on the surface of what it seems. He is the type of person who would not kill...unless he can somehow rationalize it.
If there is someone that Touma Kamijou knows to be morally grey to the point of unpredictability, it would be Jason Kagere. He doesn't think of Jason as a bad person per se, just a person with morally greyish actions and intentions. But he doesn't fully trust the young man either because of that. Nevertheless, both Touma Kamijou and Jason Kagere are common allies against one man, Kamui Kihara, and they have been doing their part from their end of their local multiverse to try to halt the bastard's plans, whether in their respective universes or other universes relating to Touma Kamijou.
Jason Kagere was of course yet another player in the Multiverse War Between Touma Kamijou and Kamui Kihara.
''Yo!'' he casually raised his right hand a bit, almost too casually. ''How have you been, Kami?''
Touma could only turn to Jason with a blank expression, if only because of the nickname that he knows how much history comes behind Jason Kagere's universe, if only from the hints he had gotten through various means. ''What are you doing here, Jason?''
''Ouch, direct to the point I see. That's quite cold of you, Kami,'' Jason only spoke with humor, never losing his smile. ''Considering that Corpse Party fiasco that we both got involved in, I would think that you would have at least been a bit cool towards me.''
Touma didn't say anything. He simply turned away and looked at his daughter's grave and remained silent. After a minute of silence, Jason finally relents.
''Alright, alright, I'll tell you why I'm here,'' Jason would grab something from his pocket and would raise it to Touma. It looked like a black flash drive. Jason's expression turned serious. ''Take this. You may need it a lot more than I do.''
Touma would look at the flash drive and slowly raise his hand to take it. He examines it briefly before putting it in his pocket.
''Oh, and you won't need to be quite overprotective of your man, Sister,'' Jason simply raised his hands jokingly, smiling with humor as he noticed a black-white habit nun with black hair and heterochromatic eyes, one that he was also familiar with. ''Sheesh, to think that there would be an older version of the girl that I know that is quite the stalker.''
''At least you have the common decency to not address me by another name, and you would know of what I speak,'' Sister Seraphim smiled subtly while walking towards Touma, with both hands behind her back.
''Hey, I don't have a death wish alright. I don't wanna be pissing off the multiverse cop, especially a hot one at that,'' Jason said before eventually turning around and started walking, raising his right hand in casual goodbye. ''Well, I'll leave you two lovebirds to catch up.''
''Jason,'' Touma called out, causing Jason to turn around. ''This flash drive, this relates to Kamui, doesn't it? It also relates to myself and a few specific versions of me out there in the Multiverse that Kamui has his current line of sights on?''
Jason didn't answer for a bit. Eventually, with a serious expression that was cold as ice, he said. ''Yeah, it's about that bastard alright. That and a lot of things that you need to know. It hasn't really happened yet, but I don't want to take the risk of that bastard being anywhere near my universe and targeting my Kamijou Touma. My universe already has too many problems to deal with.''
''Like Eve,'' Touma said with a grim expression, recalling a certain someone in passing.
''Yeah, her,'' Jason made a sideways glance. ''Don't worry about her. I, my Kamijou, and the others would take care of that one. You on the other hand have more problems to deal with so Eve is just a local problem at this point in the grand scheme of things.''
''Nevertheless, if you or the others in your world need some help, know that I'm just a universe away,'' Touma said with a serious, reassuring tone.
Jason simply remained silent. ''Yeah, thanks for that offer, Kami. Best I get going, wouldn't want to trigger that hot sister's maternal instincts on me after all?''
And then, Jason would begin to walk away, leaving Touma and Sister Seraphim to themselves. Touma only breathes a heavy sigh before noticing how he is currently being embraced by Sister Seraphim.
''Don't talk,'' she said with a reassuring tone. ''Just...let me stay like this, please.''
Touma only nodded, appreciating the friendly company. Sister Seraphim was simply crouching down and patting Touma's head gently in a motherly fashion, maintaining silence in the grave of a lost loved one.
Insert Song: End
Insert Song: Start
[Corpse Party] Blood Drive OST - A Different World
PART 2
DCMK Universe-Prime
DCMK Universe-Prime.
It was another Earth in another universe. This Earth is far from normal when it comes to comparing it with ACMI Universe-Prime, Touma Kamijou's own universe, considering that the veil of secrecy of anything unnatural or otherwise that could not be explained by science, or at least the science that humans currently understand it as it is an ever-developing concept.
No, this world is, if anything, a literal fantasy kitchen sink.
What does that mean?
It means that literally anything weird and out of the norm that you could think of seems to all be gathered around in this one universe. Said universe is actually a very complex one, with its billions upon billions upon billions of dimensions and realms all connected to the mainline universe. Gods, monsters, demons, angels, aliens, espers, time travellers, sliders, extradimensional beings, monster girls, and many others seem to all gather and exist in this one universe and are the literal norm that humanity had gotten used to over a very long time period, and the experiences that came with it. Concepts considered in the realm of science fiction like artificial intelligences, the development of superpowers, and so forth. On the supernatural side of things, you'd have one haunted house here and another shady website there that sends people to hell (the last part of which Kamijou's old friend, Shinichi Kudo, also known as Conan Edogawa, had to deal with as Night Baron).
So much stuff has happened in this place that Kamijou had wondered just how it survived for this long.
But then, Kamijou thought that his universe was strange in its own way considering that there are things like the current division of the world between the magic side and the science side. And it was of course the work of none other than the man who founded Academy City, all for one of the main purposes. For the sake of developing Touma Kamijou's Thelema.
Aleister Crowley.
This was the man that made the tragedies of Academy City possible, if only for the sake of his plans to destroy Magic itself, the Magic of ACMI Universe-Prime due for many reasons singled out into one common goal, one mired of a revenger's tragedy, one that Kamijou can...painfully relate too all too well due to experiencing a very similar thing in relation to the daughter that he loved with all of his heart, and one that he lost at the hand of a madman who was the bane of his existence.
Success and failure did not matter. No matter the result when the die is cast, that magician would turn it into the trigger needed to advance down his path. Deciding that it was useless to think about it would only turn you into a puppet, but suspecting that everything had meaning would mean restricting yourself for no good reason.
Aleister Crowley had a single reason for doing what he does best or for worst.
The phenomenon of the collisions between Phases and the Sparks that were being created as a result of when every time a magician uses magic, he cuts out various laws from other Phases (Worlds) that are outside the Sefirot (Human World) and then imposes them on the limited space, thus creating a complete world with its own unique laws within which various supernatural phenomena are possible. There is also the filtering of alien laws, as no one will pray to a Christian God while next to a Buddha statue. But the problem is that such rough treatment of the Phase distorts it, causing it to clash with other Phases.
The result of this is the so-called Sparks or Splashes. These are phenomena that could not become miracles, but even so, they can distort causality and probabilities. Sparks affect everything from lottery results to people's deaths, this is what people in ACMI Universe-Prime, whether they know it or not, call fate and misfortune.
Imagine Breaker, the right hand that Touma Kamijou wields, represents a spiritual attack, due to which it does not exist in the usual sense, but since it dispels all kinds of supernatural, it also dispels itself, which manifests in finding a physical shell, and also dispels these distortions of causality and fate due to which it was considered in the past century before his time to be the greatest artifact of what was once the largest and most powerful magic cabal called the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (Latin: Ordo Hermeticus Aurorae Aureae), because thanks to it the Golden Mages could safely use magic without fear of retribution in the future.
But then, one man, Aleister Crowley, had destroyed that magic cabal, and made use of its greatest artifact for a time before eventually being lost to him. Magic and its potent side effects had taken his daughter's life for no real reason and torn his family bonds asunder…and the world was willing to accept such tragedies as no more than cruel coincidences that could not be helped. He wished to strike back against that world, so that "human" made the wickedest move available to him.
Kamijou had wondered...how can he find any way, anything at all, to convince the ''human'' to let go of his pursuit for vengeance. He remembered the Doctor one time, while not discouraging the idea but rather encouraging him to find some way, any way, would let out a whisper of warning. That was a time when the Doctor had another face, in his tenth incarnation.
Flashback
ACMI Universe-Prime
The Doctor, in his tenth incarnation, wearing a white lab coat and a blue suit with red pinstripes underneath, was sitting beside a young twelve-year-old Touma Kamijou who had been busy studying the writings of Aleister Crowley and the lore of Thelema. Kamijou's eyes look into the brownish old eyes of the Lord of Time who gave him a warning, with a grim expression present to his face.
''I would highly encourage you to pursue whatever you think may find a way to convince Aleister to at least step his goals aside. The path to non-violence and negotiations is always a plus in my book. However...I should warn you regarding one simple thing that may prove to be a challenge to your task to try to understand the man whose life and works you are now currently reading.''
The Doctor continued further.
''Edward Alexander Crowley is a man of many things, a man of many accomplishments that overlay with both success and failure, but even with all of this, he is not a good man, Touma. He's a man that, even before losing his daughter, had hated the thought and idea of God with a passion, having developed and cultivated it since his misfortunate childhood where he was mocked by the children of his age and the adults, especially his parents, would shake their heads and would try to discipline him to act proper. It only made him question the idea of a benevolent God that sets the stage for his eventual ascent into becoming the man who would become perhaps the greatest magician in the 20th Century, but would also be the mockery of the side of magic. His goal is set firmly, even if I have managed to drive the devil back with his leash with appropriate words of negotiation, knowing that I cannot trust him to keep his word to the letter.''
''I have been watching his movements for a very long time even before we met, Touma, from several different faces and bodies that I have had throughout the centuries, and I have seen the face of the man who would stop at nothing to achieve his goal, and noteworthy was the moment he took the magic name: Beast666. To a magician, a magic name is everything to them. It defines their entire life's goals and sets them on their predetermined path, for good or for ill. Their magic organizations and cabals are nothing more than a booster used to realize that magic name that they have chosen. If the magician can use them, he or she will honor them and swear loyalty to them, but if they will not carry out that role, he or she will grow disillusioned and mercilessly cut themselves from them. Aleister Crowley did the latter. He slaughtered through the Golden Dawn, the magic cabal that he was associated with for a long time, killing every last member down, and he used your right hand as an aid to do it.''
''...!'' Kamijou's expression turn to one of sheer silent horror as he slowly raised his right hand without uttering a word.
The right hand that he would use to smash the illusions of others and make smiles possible, even to those deemed beyond redemption...was a weapon that was once used in a way that could indirectly do harm to others. He was already aware of such a thing. He wasn't naïve. He should know more than anyone at this point, especially with how long he had lived and the horrors that he had seen.
The Doctor continued.
''None matters more in the face of the magic name, even when it concerns the lives of others. Even in my long hour negotiations with him, even showing him proof that there was no further need to worry about what he may fear, of the subtle side effect that magic had caused to this world, and the fact that unlike before, there are other ways to resolve the issues that he had grappled with for over a century. Even when I appealed to his better man, all I saw of course was that Aleister had realized the one error that he had done. By manipulating people so ruthlessly, by becoming the villain himself, I would tell to his face that he has become the very thing that fate is, becoming the fate that he so loathed more than anything, becoming the very thing he swore to destroy. At that point, I can see a genuine side of him agreeing that the sanctity of life must never be infringed upon, but I do not see, in any future, of Aleister stopping his goals until he has destroyed the entire concept of magic and every phase that produces the sparks that manipulate causality and destiny.''
''I have no doubt that even now, every time that I would turn my back and not look, he is working behind the scenes. He has not yet given up. So...even when you can relate to Aleister, even understand him and his pain, you should know that he is a very stubborn man, making use of both success and failure, to achieve his desired end.''
''...Then,'' Kamijou tried to mutter something, but fell short.
How does one convince a determined and self-proclaimed wickedest man in the world with no preconceived illusions to break to be convinced of stopping further tragedy on his own terms?
There was no easy answer. This was the man that created an entire city all for Touma Kamijou. He set the pieces for the stage. He designed the stage and let the pieces dance to their own tune so that they can dance along with his. The goal of the Aeon of Horus.
In Aleister's mind, ''good'' and ''evil'' are terms of limitation for realizing one's true Thelema, one based on your actions and judgment rather than on the various systems of morality influenced by the Aeon of Osiris (Christianity and others).
In a sense, Aleister Crowley is considered a Champion of Free Will.
But this free will? How far is this free will going to permit itself? How far would it go to realize its own actions? Whether good or evil matters not so long as one is following one's free will. But is that a way to live with oneself?
Kamijou can see things simply without further complicating things. Just because one has free will, does not make one have the absolute right to do whatever one wants, whether if it was ''good'' or ''evil'' according to the free will of the individual. If that were the case, then what of the smiles, of the purity of the ones who lived and breathe without darkness, of those that follow a code or a set of rules that bind them which made them wiser more than most?
He had seen people committing good deeds. He had seen people committing evil deeds. They all arise out of their will, from their free choice. No one forced them into such positions. They chose it, even with the contextual circumstances.
In Kamijou's mind, this debate is less about good vs evil and more on how far the free will of the person is to be considered in terms of good and evil, on whether they are interchangeable depending on the situation one finds himself in.
Yes, Touma Kamijou, at some part of him, felt that there was a time, not his specific time but someone else's time, that his ''morality'' as he called it is not so simple. He was concerned about this feeling only because of the implications that may result from it.
What he sees from the surface, rising like a hydra, were complex layers of hypocrisy and selfishness. He spouts something about this person here and there, but he cannot commit to such a notion of what he is saying, only using the opportunity to blindside the opponent and not mean what he wants to say. His personality, his ideals, his entire being, changed to fit the circumstances, to achieve what needs to be achieved, the goal that is set for the sake of bringing the problem down...with nothing except his right hand.
But that can't be it.
Kamijou should know. He had experienced very long periods of time during the hellish nightmare that he found himself in long before, of a time when Imagine Breaker, his only weapon against the supernatural, was stripped from him.
And that came at a price. Too many times, he died. His reliance on Imagine Breaker would prove to be a weakness that needed to be purged. One by one, little by little, he would let go of his need for it. He only had his mind, his heart, and his soul to carry on. And carry on, he shall.
''...I will be the opposite,'' Kamijou spoke with a steeled resolve that spoke of an echoing haunted past. His twelve-year-old appearance was far from the eyes of a man, of a Wanderer that had traversed countless worlds and become the savior of so many.
He would be The Understander, The Man Between the Lines of Morality and Certainty.
There are categories that most people use. Categories of "good" (things they try to do as often as possible), "bad" (things they try to avoid as much as possible), and "necessary evil" (things that they do only in specific circumstances, and otherwise avoid) - this is called "means-based morality". And then, there are categories that have "actions advancing the plan", "actions contradictory to the plan" and "actions not contradictory to the plan" - this is called "ends-based morality".
The mentality of ''heroes'' and ''villains''.
He will choose to act as the mediator in every situation, understanding of both circumstances, but always keeping in mind of the mark.
That he is Touma Kamijou.
With or without Imagine Breaker.
The Doctor smiled like a proud father, patting Kamijou on the shoulder. ''You already are.''
Present Time
In DCMK Earth-Prime's Japan, sometime in the early morning, there is a place called Beika Ward, a ward in the city of Tokyo. It's roughly located in the upper western part of Tokyo Bay. Known for at least two main districts, Beika and Haido, and towns like Toriya, Okuho, Rizen, Kenbashi, Sutan, and Buroku. It's one of the largest wards in the Greater Tokyo Area.
And of course, this is the hometown of The Dark Knight himself, Night Baron.
"...You know you three..." Kamijou was the first to speak up.
"Hm?" Shokuhou, Kumokawa, and Mitsuari paid attention.
"I have said from the call line that I would be visiting my sister somewhere in Beika, but I actually have another reason that I have in mind, and it's so that I would need to check up on her, even though I know she can handle herself just perfectly fine when trouble comes her way," Kamijou explained.
"Oh, we already figured that out, kouhai," Kumokawa made an understanding expression. "From what we gathered from everyone we know, your identity has been exposed on several other Earths as well, including this one. So people have a general knowledge of who you are now and what you can do."
"And that's not really a good thing either since I have plenty of enemies on this Earth too, and that would of course include my best friend's enemies on that list just by being associated with him. Well, I am already well known in DCMK Universe-Prime and others as Captain Nippon, but as Kamijou Touma, that's a new one," Kamijou spoke with a grim expression.
Touma Kamijou was talking about the enemies that his best friend, Shinichi Kudo, also known as Conan Edogawa, either as himself or as Night Baron, had come up against in his daily superhero career. Aside from him, Night Baron is also known in the urban legends of Academy City as this mysterious Dark Knight who was sometimes spotted along with A Certain Unknown Level 0. What made the rumor ridiculous to swallow of course for a lot of people was that this person was described as a child, no older than six or seven, wearing a magician's suit and top hat with dark blue colors.
Of course, many people wouldn't believe that an actual child has the capability of what he can do, and it reminded him of the time back in 2007 when Kamijou and Night Baron had gone up against Albert Wesker, one of his old enemies on the list of enemies.
Now, the fact is that Touma Kamijou's car has currently changed color from green and white to yellow and black in its layout which is part of the camouflage mode that was turned on. It looked more like a modified Fifth Generation Camaro, and the plate number was now different. The plate number would be "ベイカ 204" on the top and from the bottom would be "乙姫 41-10". It was a pretty useful function that would allow him to hide his car's identity, and by extension, his identity.
Kamijou would park his car somewhere on a street corner in one of Beika's suburban areas. It was a simple suburban house, one that didn't look bigger on the outside, but is actually a lot bigger on the inside. It had about two floors each. There was a gate nearby that had the words "Shinozaki" placed on the front wall to the right side.
He smiled. This was the house where his sister now currently lived. Kamijou thought that it was a good thing that his sister had managed to buy back her old house again. In fact, the house was a place where his sister had lived for a long disclosed period of time, somewhere in her thirties up to her elderly fifties.
"Well, we're here," Kamijou muttered with a smile as he begins to open the door of his car after getting the key out. He and the rest of his Angels would exit the car. Kamijou ranged the doorbell and a buzzing sound was heard.
And then...
''Onii-chan!''
There was the sound of a young woman in her early twenties, wearing casual attire consisting of a blue jacket, greyish shirt, pink skirt, long black socks, and white shoes. Her expression was one of excitement, hastily opening the gate and letting her out. Then she embraced Kamijou softly, with the latter returning it in kind with a smile and an embrace of his own.
She was Sachiko Shinozaki (White), as free as any human being. Yes, since after the Corpse Party Incident, Sachiko Shinozaki (White) had managed to return to a more mortal existence, alive and well. Her newly built body had been reinvigorated with newfound life.
But what about Sachiko Shinozaki (Red)?
That's...another story for another time...
Suffice it to say that she had finally found peace after so long of an infinite hell cycle that trapped her in Heavenly Host.
''It's good to see you here,'' Sachiko spoke with excitement. ''In fact, you should definitely not miss this event that is now about to take place.''
Yes, there is yet another reason why Touma Kamijou would come to DCMK Universe-Prime. He would attend a cultural festival that would take place at a school called Kisaragi Academy. A lot of people that he knew are going to be there. And of course, he would like to see his old friends again. The eight students and the one teacher who helped him out during the Corpse Party Incident.
PART 3
Unknown
Somewhere in the Multiverse, there is a location in time and space, another dimension far, far away, to be cliche. A dimension that is a cluster or mixture of many dimensions all forming into one of such complexity. It was as if reality was warped to form this twisted domain now cutting itself off completely, forming a sort of barrier around it. This place was a literal barren wasteland, with rocky terrain and enormous crystals sprouting from the ground.
From here, there was a large castle overlooking the horizon.
And from its balcony, there was someone standing and watching the view. It was...someone who didn't appear human. It was an all-dark figure with red hollow-filled circles, with a black western hat and trenchcoat. His hands were placed on his back.
''We did as you had asked.''
There was the voice of a man, speaking in a professional, cold tone. He was wearing a black business suit, all of it black except for the white shirt. He has black hair with a bang that covers his left eye, meaning you can only really see his right, which is blue. His entire body from the neck down is covered in bandages. He also always carries a sword with him but never really uses it, instead focusing on the guns he keeps on his person.
His name was Orion Phoenix.
Accompanied alongside him was a woman with long hair, grey with white streaks and black tips. One of the more prominent things about her was her ahoge which moves according to her emotions. One needs to mention however that because of the...lack of assets, it is to the extent that if she wore a dress or shorts, one cannot be able to tell of her gender unless you have a keen eye for details. She also had blue eyes. She wears casual clothing, plus wearing leather gloves that have metal plates in the knuckles.
Her name is Faith Townsend.
The figure's red eyes were not changing, but just the mere glance was enough to put the young woman's ahoge straight in intimidation while the man didn't change his stone-cold expression.
''Excellent,'' the figure subtly praised with a simple nod. ''Even now, Albert Wesker's logical assessment of you two was not without precedent. The payment has already been transferred into your bank accounts. You both can check for yourselves. Until the next business proposition I supposed.''
Orion simply nodded. But Faith wasn't done as she wanted to ask something.
''...Umm, Mr. GameOver, if I may be so bold to ask, but what purpose does it serve for dear Kamijou-chan to have his identity to be exposed for literally everybody to know?''
''An excellent question, Ms. Townsend,'' the figure—GameOver simply answered while turning his back to the balcony. ''The boy needs a bit of a push. Simply remaining in the shadows would do him no good in the long run. His identity being exposed would provide him with more opportunities to solve his problems, and thus, prepare for the crisis that lay ahead. You had already been provided of a hint of that crisis if I recall when you two ended up somewhere in Heavenly Host.''
''...''
Both Faith and Orion twitched in their own way as they both look at each other.
Of course, the Corpse Party Incident. How can they forget about something like that? It was like someone had the bright idea to bring all of the nasties and send them to one single location whose instability would cause a lot of headaches among the various multiverse law enforcements. They also ended up in that shitshow via one of the rifts that carried them over there and it was still a pain in the ass to remember, still recalling the time they had to fight and run against giant monsters straight out of a horror movie, which was not fun.
''I would suggest that you two would prepare as well,'' GameOver forewarned as his eyes turned red. ''The days may come when both hero and villain and everything in between would have to set aside their differences for one common cause. And that relates to the DARKNESS that is just slumbering from His prison.''
PART 4
Unknown
And from somewhere in the Multiverse...
There were armed men, wearing sophisticated red-black armor. There were modified AK-47s all gathered in many corners for many of the men to pick up. There was the sound of gunfire, probably due to many of them firing at the various targetting ranges and performing simple tests that range from breaching and clearing the area of hostiles to check fire on which to pick.
There was one particular person who was sitting on a particular bench nearby, with a sharp-edged combat knife that has the words ''Fortune Cookie'' written on both sides. He was not like the other soldiers, lacking any armor. Instead, he was wearing a brown jacket, with white lines found in the center of the shirt. He also wears grey pants, white socks, and white Nike shoes.
He was a young Chinese man with black hair and brown narrowed eyes, muttering.
''May fortune favor the foolish,'' he said as he would throw the knife straight toward a picture. It strikes at the head of the person from the picture, a picture showing Touma Kamijou. The young man stared with interest at the picture, smiling subtly. ''Isn't that right...god of pestilence?''
For the interdimensional terrorist organization, Fortune's Favor, an enemy of Touma Kamijou's past, would come back to haunt him again.
If there is one thing that would haunt Touma Kamijou even now, it's the fact that because of the nature of the Multiverse, there are like-minded individuals and those who even now cursed Touma Kamijou in any universe.
Before the timeline of ACMI Universe-Prime had changed, let's go back to the concept of such a thing, of a god of pesitlence.
"They called you a god of pestilence."
Touya Kamijou said this looking as if he might bite off his own tongue. As a father, he actually had to say that fact to his own son. Touya revealed a regretful expression.
"Do you understand, Touma? Ever since you were born, you held misfortune. That is why you were called that. But do you understand, Touma? It wasn't just benign children's mocking." Touya gritted his teeth. "Even fully grown adults called you that. There was no reason. There was no cause for it. Just because you held misfortune, they called you that."
The expression vanished from Touya's face. It wasn't joy, and it wasn't happiness. There was simply nothing there.
"The children believed that just by having you around, others gained misfortune. Because they believed that, they would throw rocks at you just because they saw you. The adults didn't even stop it. When they saw your wounds, Touma, they wouldn't feel sorry—in fact, they ridiculed you. They would goad you on, asking why you hadn't suffered even worse wounds."
When one looks closer, one could not figure out the emotion behind the impassive words that Touya Kamijou had spoken. That was probably the point. All those emotions twisting and turning inside him, so strong that he couldn't suppress them. He thought it was a display of his feeling that he absolutely did not want to show them to his son.
"If you went away, the misfortune would go away, too. Children believed that rumor and distanced themselves from you. Even the adults believed the story. Do you remember, Touma? You were once even chased around by a man with a debt and stabbed with a kitchen knife. The people at the television station who heard about it made it the pretext for a supernatural-themed episode and showed your face on camera, without asking permission, and treated you like some kind of monster!"
The world dyed in orange was like a blazing inferno of hell. The single man could do nothing within those flames but stand there with a frozen look.
"That's also the reason I sent you to Academy City. I was scared. Not about fortune, or misfortune, or whatever. I was scared of reality—where people would believe in that and commit violent acts against you like it was the obvious thing to do." Touya's face didn't change one bit as he continued his lament. "I was scared. It seemed like that superstition would eventually kill you for real, Touma. That's why I wanted to send you to a world where superstitions didn't exist."
So Touya had even severed a bond with a family member. He wanted to protect his child, even if it meant their family couldn't be together.
"But even on the cutting edge of science, you still came to be treated as having misfortune. I could tell just from the letters you sent. Though it seems like the malicious acts of violence weren't happening." He smiled. "I couldn't be satisfied with just that. I wanted to destroy your misfortune itself. But that was a wish that wouldn't be granted, either using common sense or the latest scientific methods."
And still…even though he knew it couldn't be granted… Touya Kamijou never, ever wanted to give up.
And now...
''Hmm.''
There was a person that was watching this on a computer screen, indicating that the present conversation between Touya Kamijou and Touma Kamijou from an erased pre-Time War past is recorded and being watched by an associate of Sister Seraphim Mysterium. His name was Richard Phillips Feynman. And this man was not human. Rather, he is an advanced cybernetically enhanced organism called a Reviewer—Series-800, created to act as a protector of Touma Kamijou (Prime) from threats that have now set his sight on him from afar.
One of them, who Feynman predicted to be a potential present threat, was Fortune's Favor, an interdimensional terrorist organization whose one of his main goals are simple. Eliminate Touma Kamijou, deeming him a misfortune of the local multiverse and beyond. But make no mistake, they aren't that generic. They have other plans in mind, plans that in their mind are for the sake of peace and security and order in their local multiverse, and they will do whatever means necessary to achieve it, no matter how much of a twist that is.
Unknown
And from somewhere in the Multiverse...
A certain artificial intelligence was quietly planning something.
SAINT DATABASE:
CALCULATIONS CONFIRMED. MULTIPLE AVAILABLE RECORDS HAVE INDICATED THE PRIMARY TARGET'S IDENTITY HAS BEEN EXPOSED AND COMPROMISED.
TOUMA KAMIJOU (IU COORDINATES: ACMI UNIVERSE-PRIME). THREAT LEVEL DESIGNATION: ALPHA 102004
DISPATCH ASSASSIN: EDITOR (SERIES-900).
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:
INFILTRATE ACADEMY CITY.
PERFORM SILENT OBSERVATIONS.
ASSESS THE DARK SIDE OF ACADEMY CITY.
NON-ENGAGEMENT IS HIGHLY ADVISED IN LIGHT OF THE POTENTIAL THREAT: ALEISTER CROWLEY (IU COORDINATES: ACMI UNIVERSE-PRIME).
SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: (OPTIONABLE)
IF THE POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITY HAS PRESENTED ITSELF, OFFICIAL ORDERS ARE APPROVED AND ARE TO BE CARRIED OUT TO THE LETTER. ELIMINATE TOUMA KAMIJOU. BY STEALTH AND THROUGH INDIRECT MEANS IS PREFERABLE.
Insert Song: End
ED Song:
Thunderball (Main Title) · Tom Jones · John Barry
Incarnation(s)/Regeneration(s) of the Doctor:
The Tenth Doctor - A: David Tennant
Main Companion Protagonists:
Touma Kamijou - VA: Atsushi Abe
New Characters:
Sachiko Shinozaki (White) - VA: Ikue Ōtani
Jason Kagere (A Certain Infinite Possibility/ACMI Universe-001)
Kamui Kihara (A Certain Unknown Level 0/ACMI Universe-000)
Orion Phoenix (A Certain Unknown Level 0/ACMI Universe-000)
Faith Townsend (A Certain Unknown Level 0/ACMI Universe-000)
GameOver - A: Tom Cavanagh