Shin followed after the woman. Not that he had much of a choice. This place was completely unfamiliar to him and the woman knew that. He closed his eyes and tried to stretch his senses to see if there was anything familiar.
Almost immediately upon doing so, Shin almost felt himself buckle underneath the immense pressure of his surroundings. The air. The land. Even the little life that survived here was saturated in the overwhelming feeling of magical energy. His head began to pound as he struggled to reign in his senses. However, the feeling of pressure and pain suddenly vanished.
His vision began to return to normal as he looked up and saw Lotan eyeing him. Her eyes were slightly glowing.
"Magic flow in this world is erratic unlike in the universe you are familiar with. Some areas will be devoid of it and others will have enough magic power saturation to equal an entire pantheon of Gods. Here, in this universe, the physical Laws binding it are also broken so stay close to me until we make it to our destination. Otherwise, you will end up light years away on another planet or star or you might be a few meters ahead," Lotan explained.
"Just what kind of world is this?" Shin asked.
"Tohu is a prison. A prison that exists beyond the Gap to protect our world from meeting its untimely end. That is all you need to know for now," Lotan said as she pushed forward.
Shin took a sharp breath before following her. Come to think of it, I… I'm still alive but when I got here, the air almost killed me…
"Thank you," he said.
Lotan said nothing.
"I don't even know how I got here and who you are but you saved me," he continued.
"It's only natural. Ariel would be disappointed if her Contractor died so easily. And you are welcome. I would also be disappointed if I had to resurrect you after pulling you here from your Universe," Lotan said.
Pull me… here?
"You brought me here?" Shin asked, his wariness of the woman increasing by the second.
"Of course, how else do you think you got here? Only a Law can come here. This place exists beyond. Beyond everything. You can even call it the endpoint of existence. A place beyond the edge of space and time," Lotan said. "And don't fall behind. Remember what I said."
"What you sai-"
Shin blinked when he found himself walking upside down. Rather, the entire world had been turned on its head. The sudden flip made him nauseous but he managed to suppress the vomit. He looked down and saw the endless sky below him giving way to the void of space. He wondered how a cracked sky could house a countless number of stars.
"You said this place was a prison but who is this prison for?" Shin asked.
"Not who. What," Lotan corrected. Her gaze focused on the impossibly massive tree in the distance.
Shin followed her gaze as they stopped.
The mere sight of the tree made his brain physically ache. Its structure, its existence, the very concept of it was an idea his mind failed to comprehend. It was as if the mere sight of it was an assault on his senses.
"Don't stare at the Qliphoth for too long or your brain will melt." Lotan placed a hand over his eyes.
The burning sensation and aching pain died down.
"I'll use my Law to protect you from the Tree. It is our destination after all. Come. I know the way over there," Lotan said, making a right.
"W- Wait! I still don't understand what's going on! You kidnapped me from my world and brought me here to this prison! What do you want? And who the hell is Ariel-"
An ear-piercing screech caught their attention. Lotan narrowed her eyes and held her hand out, manifesting a sword. It was a single-edged, curved blade. It had a circular cross-guard and a black and red grip. Its pommel held a violet jewel and it crackled with immense raw power.
Shin's eyes immediately scanned the blade, however, rather than a weapon, he was met with a pitch-black glitch. It was as if all information in that space had been physically deleted.
"Shedim," Lotan said.
"She-what?" Shin asked.
"Ready yourself, Child," Lotan said, brandishing her blade.
The roar came closer and Shin spotted two beasts running toward them. No, he could not even refer to them as beasts. His eyes and brain struggled to understand what he was even looking at.
The beasts were an amalgam of different animals. The beast on the left had the head of a human, the body of a wolf, the wings of a dragonfly, and the tail of an alligator. Meanwhile, the beast on the right had a woman's body, the face of a bird, and the top half of the head was littered with eyes. On its breasts were mouths and its calves had jagged spines running down it.
Shin summoned Secace to his hand. What the hell are these things? he thought.
"They are Shedim. Beasts of Entropy. Be careful… they are not as fragile as they appear," Lotan warned.
"Not as fragile? Gee, you don't think I couldn't tell from seeing the Lovecraftian horror standing right in front of me?" Shin asked.
"Hmph, we don't have time for this. I can only stop time for so much in that world," she muttered.
"Here they come," Shin said.
The female beast let out a screech before charging at Shin. He narrowed his eyes. No organized movement. No pattern of thinking. It really is just a dumb animal! Shin dashed forward and slashed in a circular diagonal slash.
Rasen! he called out in his mind.
The beast was sliced in half as they passed each other. After a few seconds, it slowed to a stop before splitting apart.
"Not so bad after all," Shin said.
"Wait," Lotan said.
He turned to her, watching her effortlessly holding the wolf-like Shedim with one hand. The beast in her hand struggled and thrashed uselessly as a black energy began to spread through its body. Slowly, it began to crumble away in her hand to the point where not even its own ashes or dust remained. It had simply faded away into nothingness.
"Shedim must be destroyed completely or else they will-"
Two roars alerted them this time. Shin turned to see the Shedim he had sliced in half beginning to get up. Rather, instead of one Shedim, the two halves had become separate entities, growing limbs from the wounds Shin inflicted.
"Total destruction, huh? Alright, then. I have another move too," he said. Shin held his hand up, focusing divine energy into the palm of his hand. His eyes glowed blue.
Exterminate Ray!
The blue energy shot forth, engulfing the two charging beasts, and reducing them to ash. The beam traveled into the distance until Shin could no longer see it. He lowered his hand but kept Secace with him. He looked to Lotan, who was watching the events unfold.
"The Exterminate Ray. That spell was Vivian's spell, which she taught to Merlin and Morgana when King Arthur was unifying Camelot. And that Stigmata, it's hers, isn't it?" Lotan asked.
Shin remained silent.
"Come. Just a few more steps," Lotan said.
"Wait! A few more steps to wha-" His eyes widened when she took three steps forward and suddenly vanished. "Hey! Don't leave me alone here! Damnit!" he ran forward and found himself running into her.
He stumbled back and fell on his rear. He rubbed his nose, looking up at the woman in front of him. What the hell is she made of? I feel like I ran into a brick wall…
"Are you done?" Lotan asked.
"Hey, excuse me for suddenly panicking after my kidnapper vanished, leaving me alone in an alien universe," Shin said, getting up. He looked around and noticed they were no longer in the same place.
The land was even more fragmented than usual and below him was nothing but an endless space filled with shimmering nebulae and infant stars. In the air, around the broken land, several tetrahedrons orbited the sky. And in front of Shin lay the trunk of that impossibly massive tree. Its black trunk stretched endlessly into the sky and its branches covered the entire atmosphere, brushing against the fragments of the shattered sky. Its roots dug deep into the soil, reaching into the milky void below.
"You've brought me here to the Qliphoth Tree or whatever it's called. Now tell me why," Shin said, forgetting the fear the woman made him feel for a moment.
"Because you are Ariel's Contractor and you swore to defend her," Lotan answered. She took a few steps forward and stood to face the tree.
"Who the hell is Ariel?" Shin asked.
"You know her as Yaldabaoth," she replied, glancing over her shoulder. "As her mother, I had to know what kind of person you were and to my surprise, you and that girl are alike in so many ways."
Mother, this woman is that God's mother? Shin thought.
"Even your demeanor is like hers. Before it all happened. Before Elohim died," Lotan commented.
"Before…?" Shin asked. Elohim? As in the Biblical God, Elohim? The Law of Genesis herself?
"Mmm, Yaldabaoth was very much like you before her mother died. Before he died. Of course, now, all that girl can think about is hunting down and slaughtering the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse," she said.
"So… is this some sort of plea from her mom to get me to help her?" Shin asked.
"In a way, it is. Do you know what you are even protecting? Do you even know anything about the Laws?" Lotan asked.
His silence gave her the answer she needed. Lotan snapped her fingers and a vision assaulted Shin's mind.
His body was overcome with crippling terror as he bore witness to the being trapped within the tree. It was a horror beyond imagination. A titanic bestial shadow appeared before him. Its seven heads were bound by golden, starry chains to the ground. Its arms, from which he counted there were four, were impaled to the ground by massive black stakes while its hind legs were nailed to by golden spikes. Its seven tails, which were thicker than redwood trees, were bound by similar golden, starry chains and nailed by several pitch-black stakes.
"What… What is that thing?" Shin asked, taking a slight step back.
"That is Entropy. The goal of the Horsemen. You could very well call it the Apocalypse," she said, eyeing the beast before them.
"But what… exactly is it? You gave me a name for that thing but what does it have to do with the Horsemen?" Shin asked.
Lotan sighed. "That part of history has been forgotten by the world as well. Very well, allow me to enlighten you. In order for you to understand, I must tell you about Laws and their relationship to Entropy," she said.
Lotan turned to face Shin, locking him in place with her cold gaze. She held her hand out and a series of golden lines drew a floating gold cube. The cube spun lazily above the palm of her hand and began to pulsate slightly.
"In the time before Man, the Gods were an infantile race, establishing themselves in the world. Building their place and relations amongst the other living beings that shared this world with them. Laws were not something that was known by the Gods and those that possessed them such as the Infinite Dragon God and the Beast of Entropy were regarded as Ascendants," she began.
Lotan flicked her wrist and the cube manifested a projection of a bygone era. The image was that of a bygone civilization and the various gods who used their powers along with the image of a black-haired girl sitting in a starry landscape and a black shadow residing in the depths of the void.
"Seeking the answers to their own existence and to fulfill their individual desires, seven deities set out and became bound by fate and circumstance," she said.
The image of seven gods, most of whom Shin did not recognize, appeared before him. Though, he was able to recognize Brahma.
"El." The image of a white-haired man in dark clothing glowed. His blue eyes held a paralyzing gaze and even if it was just an image, his imposing stature conveyed the transcendent power Shin knew he possessed.
"Asherah." The image of a pink-haired woman in white clothing and with pink eyes glowed. Her visage was strikingly similar to that of Yaldabaoth's save for the hair color and eyes. She was inhumanly beautiful to the point where he felt his heart skip a beat just by looking at her.
"Brahma." Brahma's image glowed briefly.
"Ananke." The image of a young blonde girl, who looked to be in her teens, glowed. Her mischievous red eyes made Shin feel uncomfortable and he could spot various strange accessories on her flowing pink dress and pink beret.
"Nuwa." The image of a grey-haired woman dressed in a traditional black and white Chinese dress with a teal sash and long flowing sleeves glowed. Her strict gaze was different from that of El's, yet it was still intimidating all the same.
So this is Mom's old Sponsor, he thought.
"Ymir." Lotan caused the image of a blue-haired man with dark skin to glow briefly. One of his eyes was covered by an eyepatch and he wore a blue fur coat. His blue eyes twinkled with mirth and Shin felt as if the image was staring right through him.
"And Viracocha," she finished. Virachocha's image glowed. It was that of a man with long dark hair, dressed in dark robes. His gaze was like that of a dead fish, possessing deep black eyes that seemed to hold the knowledge of all the world within them.
"The Seven Great Gods," she said. "But two of the members are different from what you know. Athena and Dagda have replaced Ymir and Asherah. Ymir was killed by Odin, Villi, and Ve in the distant past through the use of guile and trickery while Asherah died long ago after giving birth to the Biblical God, Elohim. But I digress…
"These Seven, who went on their journeys alone, became bound together by Fate and Circumstance. They, whose goal was to understand the reason for their own existence, possessed powerful cravings and desires, seeking to achieve their goals even if it wore down their very being. And in the end, they managed to transcend and manifest a Law.
"Those are what Ascendants are. Beings whose desire to attain their goal resonates so deeply with Existence that they can resonate with metaphysical ideas and become a Law. Thus, the power of a Law becomes the underlying idea of all phenomena and becomes a boundless existence akin to a living cosmos.
"Origin. Eternity. Karma. Absolute. Sentience. Life. Change. And… Genesis,' she held the golden cube before her. She held up her other hand and manifested a black cube. "And Nihility."
"As if in response to their existence, Entropy began to accelerate, manifesting itself in this world. An entity, a Law, whose sole purpose is to push reality to its end, began rampaging across the world. Gods died en masse. Life was on the verge of being eradicated. It was an all-powerful enemy that could not be defeated by the powers of the Gods nor could the Law of Infinity suppress it on her own."
The image of a massive jet-black snake fighting alongside countless beings, slinging dragon fire, and various magical attacks at a massive shadowy entity.
"The Seven banded together and fought with all their might but in the end, the best they could do was seal it at a cost. Asherah used her Law of Origin to fragment Entropy, reducing its power and allowing the others to seal it away. And those fragments became their own Laws. I'm sure you know them well, considering that you have met two of them," Lotan finished.
"No way…" Shin said. "Akeno is…"
A fragment of that thing? No, there's no way. There's just no way… but if everything she says is true, will Akeno…? Shin thought. He shook his head. No, Akeno is not like them. She's still Akeno and will always be Akeno…
"Denying it will only make it worse. She made the same mistake once centuries ago and you're merely following down the same path she did. And now…" she took a step toward Shin.
Lotan was cut off when a green wave of energy sliced through the air. She immediately jumped into the air, avoiding the wave as it sliced through the ground. Her blue-violet eyes caught a glimpse of a green blur flying in her direction.
"So you came…"
Shin turned to see a green comet collide with Lotan. The entire world shook from the force of the blow and the massive tree in front of them trembled slightly. Fissures formed in the ground and Shin began to run, using Shinsoku to jump from fragment to fragment to keep from falling into the starry abyss below.
He landed with a roll and turned to see a figure being violently thrown away. The figure landed in front of him, rubbing his mouth.
"Lord Brahma!" Shin gasped in surprise.
"Hey, kid. Sorry, I'm late. I'm here to get you out of here," Brahma said. He smiled with his usual closed-eyed expression. He straightened himself and held his hand out, causing a myriad of leaves to manifest before him.
"Law of Karma…"
Shin turned to see Lotan levitating in the air. A massive violet halo manifested behind her and her eyes glowed ominously. Red lightning crackled around her sword, causing black lines to begin spreading across the air. He could feel her oppressive aura growing more and more intense. The entire world began to quake and tremble as the ground opened and mountain formations in the distance began to crumble. Lightning raced across the sky and crashed down in different locations around them while the wind began to pick up in intensity.
"Sorry, Lotan, but I gotta take this boy off your hands," Brahma said, waving off her rising power as if it were nothing.
"I have business with the boy. I will send him back when I'm finished," Lotan said.
She held her hand out, freezing both of them in place.
Brahma clicked his tongue. She deleted our ability to move…, he thought. She's grown stronger. Far stronger than she was 500 years ago. And… he eyed the golden cube orbiting Lotan. The Ruache Ha-Kodesh is with her as well. If I drag this fight any longer, the boy will die.
The leaves around him glowed before converging on the two.
"As if I would let you reverse it, Law of Karma," Lotan said.
She held her hand out and the golden cube flew into it, shifting forms into a flaming greatsword. The orange flames of the sword surged around the blade and its black hilt as the four gems on the sword glowed. She swiped the blade, slicing through the world and Brahma.
"Lord Brahma!" Shin yelled.
However, the two were surprised when Brahma dispersed into a shower of leaves.
Lotan narrowed her eyes before turning around, manifesting a red barrier in time to block a punch from Brahma. Her eyes glowed slightly as she threw her hand forward.
In an instant, Brahma's left half was blown away, reduced to black dust. The Great God jumped back.
"...," Lotan eyed him carefully, watching as glowing green leaves swirled around his wound, restoring it completely.
"I almost died there. But I really do need to take the boy, Black Dragon," Brahma said.
"Like I said, I'll send him back myself."
"Kidnapping is a crime. I hope you know that and my Contractor would be very sad and go on a murder spree if he was gone for a few minutes longer so…"
The sound of thunder and flames resonated throughout the world. The leaves around Brahma swirled as he raised his hand in the manner of knocking a bow. He pulled his arm back, causing a massive incomprehensible swirl of divine power to manifest within it. Without a word, Brahma released the divine arrow, causing it to fly at impossible speeds toward Lotan. No, it did not even cross the distance. It merely appeared in front of her.
Lotan instinctively raised her hand, forming an iridescent violet barrier. She clenched her jaw as she held back a massive flaming projectile. "The Brahmastra…, do you think this will hold me forever, Law of Karma!?" Lotan yelled.
"It will hold you long enough. Come on, Shin," Brahma said, landing next to Shin.
"Boy! Do you think she will stay sane!?" Lotan screamed.
Shin looked up at the woman, who was holding back the weapon.
"That girl… she will fall like he did! Even Ariel was not capable of preventing him from falling, what will make you different!? That girl! The Queen of Conquet will take everything you love!" Lotan yelled.
"No, Akeno is different. She won't fall. I'll… no, we will make sure she doesn't! I won't allow you to kill her because of what she is!" Shin yelled.
Brahma glanced between the two before inhaling sharply. "Come on, kid." Leaves rose and flew around them, swirling rapidly and inwardly until they vanished in a flash of green light.
"Kch… foolish child…" Lotan let loose a black aura from her body, engulfing the arrow completely. The aura then rapidly contracted, retreating into her body. She looked down at her hand, seeing slight burn marks upon them before clenching her fist.
"No matter, even if you oppose me, I will fulfill my promise to her. No matter how many of you I have to cut down to get to the Queen of Conquest," Lotan said.
As if in response to her resolve, the entire world shook violently.
Shin fell to the ground, disoriented from the sudden teleportation. He dry-heaved, feeling a constant wave of nausea.
"Shin!"
"Onii!"
He wearily looked up and was engulfed in a hug from two people. Shin smiled and wrapped his arms around a worried Asia and Akane, who tightened their embrace when they felt him return the hug.
"He's fine. Just caught up in a little kidnapping," Brahma said, wiping some burn marks off his clothes.
Akane pulled away and bowed deeply in front of Brahma. "Thank you, Lord Brahma. If you hadn't intervened-"
"It's no problem. I am your Sponsor. It is my job to help you… and besides, I don't agree with Lotan's methods of keeping Entropy in check even if they are… effective," Brahma said.
"Lotan…? That Lotan?"
Shin looked up to see his parents walking up to them. His mother rushed forward and wrapped him in a tight hug while his father stood in front of Brahma with a disturbed look on his face.
"What the hell does the Black Dragon want with our son?" Rowan asked.
"You'll have to ask him but from what I can get, she was trying to get him to join her side," Brahma said.
"Join her… side?" Akane asked.
"To eliminate the Horsemen, meaning that…"
"Onii has to kill Akeno," Asia said.
Brahma nodded.
"I… I don't want to kill Akeno. Akeno is my friend. I can't do that to her. She's not like the others. She's not going to turn… right?" Shin asked, looking to his parents and older sister for reassurance.
Akane remained silent while Akari bit her lip.
Rowan pushed up his glasses and sighed. "We don't know. There has never been a case of the Horsemen retaining their humanity after awakening. The Himejima girl is the first I know of and we're monitoring her closely."
Shin clenched his fist.
"That's not true…," he said, standing up. Shin repeated his words once more upon seeing the confused faces of his family members and the Great God. "Lotan said that… there was one person who managed to remain sane, if only for a little bit."
Brahma closed his eyes and crossed his arms. He took in a sharp intake of air before letting out a heavy sigh.
"Mmm? What's with that sigh? Do you know who he's talking about?" Akane asked, elbowing the Great God in the ribs.
Brahma jerked back, rubbing his side. "Oi… and, I think I do. I need to confirm it first but in order to do that, I need to get into the Church… which is something I'll do later. I need to go and inform the others."
"The others?" Shin asked.
"The other Great Gods. I tried to do so back when the first sign of War's movements were detected back then but… things happened and I had to sidetrack that. Really pissed Nuwa off. She showed up at the venue and no one was there," Brahma said, shrugging.
Akane pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance at Brahma's antics.
"In any case, I will keep you updated on this." He turned around and began to walk away from the family. Leaves swirled around his entire body, however, before he left, he stopped in his tracks and glanced over his shoulder.
"Shin, be careful. There are three major players out there right now. War. The Ouroboros Dragon. And now… the Black Dragon. I'd advise you to be more careful, even at school. You never know what can happen," Brahma warned.
With those words, the leaves began to swirl even faster, closing in on his form and causing Brahma to vanish in a flash of green light.
"Do you have everything?"
Shin looked up from his phone and saw his father walking toward the van with two roller bags in hand. He pocketed his phone and took one of the bags from his father. The two men went to the back of the van and loaded their luggage.
"Are you still thinking about what happened?" Rowan asked as he closed the back of the van.
"Yeah. I keep thinking about what she said. About the Horsemen. About Akeno. She's… She's not going to turn, is she?" Shin asked.
"Only time will tell. So far, from what I heard, the girl seems to be stable. But that means now, especially if Lotan knows about her, then surely War knows about her as well," Rowan said.
"Is that… Is that how you and Mom found out Akeno was the White Horseman too?" Shin asked.
Rowan nodded. "We've known… for quite some time that the White Horseman was with Rias Gremory…"
"What…?" Shin's eyes widened upon hearing his father's words.
"We just never made a move because of two reasons. The first is that getting to her would mean having to go through the Four Satans and even if your mother and I are strong, I doubt we can successfully barrel our way through the Underworld unharmed and even succeed in our goal. Second is that… she was just a child back then-"
"Wait, wait, wait, you knew?" Shin asked.
"Yeah, ever since that mega typhoon almost destroyed Japan. Your Mom and I went to assist the Shinto Gods in stopping it but by the time we got there, Amaterasu had vanished and was presumed dead and Akeno was laying at the center of a ruined city," he replied.
"Did… Did you tell Akeno's parents?" Shin asked.
"No, they knew. Azazel had been feeding Yaldabaoth information at the time and Yaldabaoth came to kill Akeno before she could awaken. Of course, it was just a matter of the wrong time and the wrong place. Shuri was fatally injured defending Akeno from the other members of the Himejima while Baraqiel went out to stop his older sister from arriving. And… the rest is history," Rowan said, leaning against the van.
"So… how do you know all of this, exactly?" he said, giving his father a piercing stare.
"The Seven Stars keep tabs on everything, including where and when a Horseman might awaken. Of course, we're not perfect but we manage to stop them every time before Death even awakens. It has been 500 years since Death awakened," Rowan said.
"I see…," Shin said.
"So. About Lotan, what are you going to do?" his father asked.
"Isn't it obvious? I have to get stronger now. Yaldabaoth and Lotan are after Akeno and there's a good chance the Red Horseman will be too. I won't let them get to her," Shin said.
"Well, if you're gonna fight Yam's daughter just to save your girlfriend, then your old man'll help you out. After all, I'm familiar with that pantheon," Rowan said, puffing his chest proudly.
"You… are? W-Wait a minute! Akeno's not my girlfriend!" Shin said. His face turned red upon hearing his father's words. Why did people think that he and Akeno were dating? They were just really good friends. That was it. Shin nodded inwardly, reassuring himself of the belief.
Besides… he thought.
"Didn't I tell you when you were a kid? Other than being druids, my family was full of archeologists. People who liked exploring ruins and stuff. … Wait, why am I telling you this? You've been to my office. You've seen my degree sitting on the wall," Rowan said.
"Yeah! I have but I never thought you knew the Canaanite Gods… barely anyone knows them," Shin said.
"Kid, I have too much history with Yam not to know her. Crazy water bitch," Rowan said.
A honk came from the van, alerting the father-son duo.
"Well, looks like your Mom's ready to go home. Come on," Rowan said.
Shin nodded and followed his father to the front of the van. As he was about to open the door to enter, he felt a hand grab his shoulder. Shin turned to see Kureha standing behind him with a smile on her face.
"Well, this is it, huh?" Kureha said.
"Yeah, at least until next year," Shin said.
"Until next year? You're really hoping it's going to be next year," she replied.
"Huh? What are you-"
"Mom told me to keep it a surprise. Anyway, Onii, good luck. I heard about… all of it from Mom and your parents. I'll try to get there as fast as I can," Kureha said.
"As fast as you can-"
"Shin! Come on!"
The two turned to see Ravel sticking her head out of the window. She had a half-glare on her face. "We're gonna leave without you!"
Shin sighed and turned back to Kureha. "Tell me later when I get home, okay?"
"Are you even going to be online?" Kureha asked.
"I will. Just send it over Line," Shin said.
"Fine. Anyway, be careful… Onii," Kureha said.
Shin nodded and the two bumped fists before he boarded the van.
Shin leaned back in his seat as the van started. He was seated next to his older sister and Riser, while Asia and Ravel sat in the back. Ran slept in Asia's lap while Vivi dissociated herself into water particles, resting as a smaller version of herself in a jar in Ravel's hands. His parents were seated at the front and he heard his father press the horn as they waved goodbye to the village.
He looked out the window to see his aunt, grandparents, and Kureha waving goodbye.
"Finally, we're going home," Akane said. "I have to study and finish summer homework."
"That's right. Akane, do you have a date set?" Akari asked, looking in the rearview mirror.
"Yeah, I already applied for the entrance exam. Luckily, Kuoh's an escalator school so I can still go to the same campus, just in a different part," she said.
"No, not that. The wedding," Rowan said.
Akane's face turned red and she shook her head. She fingered the golden band on her left ring finger.
"Oi, Riser, remember what we talked about," Shin said. "If you ever break Onee's heart-"
"Yeah, I know. Asia threatened me too before we left," he said, shivering at the memory of Asia's hollow green eyes peering into his soul.
"Asia, Shin, stop it. Riser won't do that. If he does, then I guess the Phenex House will have one less family member," Akane said, holding her fiance's hand.
Shin smiled as he leaned his head against the chair, tuning his sister and Riser out as they began to flirt next to him. "Hey Dad, can you turn on the radio?" he asked.
"Mmm? Sure," Rowan said. He pressed the button, turning the radio on.
As the news came on, Shin looked mindlessly out the window as the van drove down the road. The mountain scenery of Serikawa Village passed by rapidly and the words of the news anchor floated into his ears.
"And for some breaking news, the United States has just announced that the granddaughter of President Bison is indeed taking a semester abroad in Romania. Ms. Bison, which was previously rumored to have been in an exchange program, has confirmed that she will be attending Babes-Bolyai University for one semester this year as part of an attempt to strengthen US-Romanian Relations. We have some words from Ms. Bison regarding the nature of her decision to enroll in a Romanian Exchange Program from an interview with BBC."
"Ms. Tala, why did you decide on Romania and not somewhere like the UK or Japan?"
"Well, I've always been fascinated by the mysticism of Romania so I was thinking of taking a semester at their Academy of Law. Hopefully, with this, the United States and Romania can foster better relations. I do have one thing to say to the people of Romania. I hope my staying there can help us better understand each other so that we can welcome the coming dawn together."
Lotan
The Great Black Dragon who resides within a place beyond time and space.
She represents the Black Chaos of the Abyss.
There is no need to retell the legends of the past. Her loss and incalculable suffering have led her to the resolve she has in the era of now. And as such, it is no longer about her own choice, nor about life or death. By loading her own life into the chamber as those before her have done, she strives to be the one that delivers the world from [Entropy].
Be it by the swing of the Blade of Nihility or by the burning embrace of Genesis.
And that's a wrap for the Summer Arc. I hope you enjoyed that... 20 chapter arc. I hope you all enjoyed this arc to some degree. From Shin beginning to move on from his past trauma and feelings of inadequacy to Asia being accepted into a new family and a racist cult gets defeated! The next arc will be back in Kuoh and we can see Issei again! Yaay! For everyone asking about whether or not Issei will get a Law, well, you'll have to wait. There are some changes to Issei that are different from canon regarding Ophis and Great Red but reassured, I will give Issei something! Ophis won't appear for a while despite being mentioned multiple times already as the Law of Infinity.
But so far, there is a list of the known Ascendants:
-El
-Asherah
-Brahma
-Athena
-Ananke
-Nuwa
-Dagda
-Ymir
-Viracocha
-Elohim
-Lotan
-Ophis
-The Four Horsemen
Anyway, see you all in a few months or something.