(A New fate and the continuation of what is currently happening to Makoto Nanaya. What is going to happen next?)
Bold = English Conversations
Bold + Italics = Japanese Conversations
Fate 15
Previously on Canon Distortion…
Makoto Nanaya had taken the initiative to proceed ahead to try and meet up with Ragna the Bloodedge before something bad had happened to him. On her way to see if Ragna had made it safely she had the displeasure of meeting her former boss Hazama. While she was able to fight him for a little bit, nerves got the better of her at the worst moment. Before anything worse happened to her, she was brought over to a weird hellish landscape where she now has the displeasure of fighting a living legend, The Great Sage Nine herself…
And now, the continuation of Canon Distortion
Makoto Nanaya was in trouble. She was in the middle of trying to dodge fire balls, water waves and wind walls sent her way. The person causing all of the carnage she was currently trying to not get hit by? A person that the whole world had thought had long vanished after her role in the Dark War was done. "Come on now Balmung, You can do much better than you are right now." The Great Sage Nine said as she clapped her hands, prompting Makoto to see a giant flame portal manifest in front of of her.
Makoto at that moment could see clearly her body being flung backwards violently, telling her that what was coming next was going to be something massive as she instinctively formed a massive barrier in front of herself to protect her from what was going to hit her next, the barrier being stronger to ensure that whatever would hit her wouldn't easily smash through the barrier and hit her in the face.
Makoto was ready for a magical spell the likes the witch Nine would cast but she was not ready for a massive flaming red fist to emerge out of the portal, slamming it's fist on the barrier and sending Makoto flying regardless. Makoto's barrier was strong enough to stop damage but it shattered like glass regardless. 'So this is the power of the Great Sage herself… SHIT!' Makoto thought as she looked up to see Nine right above her at that moment.
The woman wore a confident smirk as she raised her foot and stepped down, forming a tornado right at her feet to slam right at Makoto's chest, causing the air in her lungs to escape as Makoto immediately used Balmung to recover from the impact, staggering to her feet as Nine simply wore a confident grin on her face. "So this is as much as you can muster from Balmung huh…" Nine questioned as Makoto simply groaned and stood her ground.
"Oh please, give me a break, I only just started using Balmung yesterday." Makoto said, not even lying as compared to Sora and his years of experience, she was barely able to grasp the basics she needed to know in order to use Balmung correctly. The fact that her bones were snapping back left and right with each use of Balmung was evidence of her expertise. Even with Sora's explanation the pain she felt was still real and it took quite a bit of inner strength to not faint from the excruciating pain.
"Only yesterday? Who cares how long one has used that lost Nox when it is as powerful as it is." Nine said as Makoto felt Balmung hit her again, telling her that danger was coming her way yet again. "As long as one has the sight that most individuals dream of having, it matters little your actual experience." Nine continued as she revealed in her hands what looked to be harmless seed towards Makoto.
Balmung immediately disproved that innocence by showing her legs being severed from her body as she immediately jumped into the air as high as she could the moment she saw Nine toss the seed towards the ground. As soon as the seed touched the ground, it immediately burrowed to the ground and violently exploded as a series of roots that chased after the squirrel beastkin as she remained in the air. Makoto didn't hesitate and immediately smashed the roots back down to the ground by using her astral fist.
That was enough to make Nine simply nod her head as she had expected Makoto to put up this much of a fight. "Good good. You are at least showing some proficiency. Let us see where your breaking point lies." Nine said as she held out her hand and allowed water to slowly swirl around her fingertips, firing a barrage of non lethal but very painful water bullets towards Makoto. Makoto at that moment began to run away, listening to the sound of water striking on the ground like a heavy rainfall.
Makoto could feel her mind being pushed to the brink of snapping. Each time she felt her body being pelted by the "rain drops" she could feel Balmung showing her the possibility of one of these droplets being a fatal one, piercing through her heart and ending her life at that moment. It was when that happened that Makoto had to react immediately, using Balmung to allow her to barely move out of the way, feeling the water spike pierce through her chest but not striking her heart in the process.
"Well sorry great sage! But I am not interested in keeping you interested or being your guinea pig!" Makoto yelled as she immediately threw a comet cannon through the rain droplets and landing a solid hit right on Nine's stomach. However that brief delight Makoto felt immediately vanished when she saw the great Sage retaliate by sending her way a ball of fire that prompted her to get out of the way before she was burned to a crisp. "Noted. Well now, why don't we try to increase the intensity a little, push the limits of Balmung just a little bit more." Nine said as Makoto hated the tone that she was hearing come from the voice of the great sage.
"You mean make my life a living hell." Makoto simply replied as Nine simply smiled to confirm Makoto's suspicions as she sighed before looking above to see a giant black cloudy mass float above her and that prompted Makoto to run right away as before she knew it, fire balls rained down from the clouds, threatening to engulf Makoto in flames if she did not step out of the way. She wanted to swear so badly but held her tongue back in exchange of focusing on the barrage coming her way.
'Dammit! She's not letting up!' Makoto thought as she couldn't help but feel a sense of frustration that she was unable to do much against the barrage of flames coming her way. While she could easily land powerful blows that would even shake up someone like the Great Sage Nine, that power meant little if she couldn't touch the woman and that was proving to be the greatest issue Makoto had to overcome.
'Alright Makoto. Figure out how to close the gap and lay down the hurt.' Makoto thought as she saw a gap she could exploit by charging towards Nine as the raining fireball continued to rain towards her. Makoto closed her eyes and focused on Balmung, letting it guide her through the storm ahead. She waited until the last moment for her chance to power through the danger in front of her. When the storm clouds parted, Makoto saw her chance, lunging forwards and finding her chance to escape the danger that Nine tried to throw her way.
With a pop and a step, Makoto immediately lunged for the sky, the air around her breaking as she swung a punch right for Nine's face at that moment. Nine herself responded by using wind magic to push herself away from the danger that Makoto had thrown her way. Makoto did not relent and tried to punch her again, receiving another gust of wind that she had to bob her head out of the way. This was not enough to deter Makoto as yet again, she tried to punch the great sage in her gut only for another gust of wind she needed to dodge mid air.
At that moment, Balmung kicked in and showed her what was going to happen next as Nine quickly held out her palm and blasted right at Makoto a massive gust of wind that threatened to send her flying towards the ground. Makoto could see it was going to be impossible to move in any meaningful manner through the air so she had to use Balmung in another way. Closing her eyes, she focused on the wind blowing right at her and simply focused on a timeline where that wind did not exist.
As soon as she felt the wind touch her body, Makoto closed her eyes and began to force her body through the wind. Nine knew very well that the force of the wind she had created would have been enough to tear through anybody dumb enough to try and overpower her winds with their own body but Balmung was clearly different. If it was as strong as it was, Makoto would be able to do what she was trying to do as Makoto screamed briefly, feeling the gale force winds tear at her skin before she managed to overpower the wind with the possibility she chose, slamming her fist right at Nine's cheek, sending her crashing back towards the infernal ground that she had clearly created.
Makoto nearly lost her footing when she touched the ground. She stumbled a bit before planting herself on the ground, assuming a fighting pose in the process. She was confident that her strike on Nine did damage but she did not want to lose focus and get caught off guard by another attack from Nine herself. Makoto soon saw the glint of something at the corner of her eye as she immediately formed a comet cannon, ready to strike it towards the glint but held back when she felt Balmung show her something that caused her to pause.
Nine herself waited for a response to come from Makoto Nanaya. She had sent out of her a magic mirror that if struck, would have caused pain to the person who had the audacity to try and shoot out a projectile, physical or magical towards her. The fact that her magic mirror had not responded to any kind of projectile striking it told her that Makoto had seen through her mirror's properties or more accurately, Balmung had just shown her that exact fate should she had tried to use any kind of projectile towards it.
"What a troublesome Nox Nyctores I had created…" Nine said as Nine looked up to see Makoto had just jumped above the mirror, soaring in the sky as she immediately threw her punch as hard as she could. "LIGHTNING ARROW!" Makoto shouted as she threw her punch as hard as she could, the air around it cutting so fast that it sounded like lightning. Nine simply smiled and instead of dodging, she used a few magical seals and easily created a barrier in front of Makoto.
Makoto's fist collided with the barrier and refused to budge. The power she felt as her fist barely cracked the barrier told her that the great sage was starting to take her more seriously now. "I admit, you are only the second user of Balmung I have bared witness to in my lifetime. It's only a miracle that I had somehow regained my memory of it thanks to that blue light." Nine said as Makoto became alarmed upon hearing her make that statement. "Yet another reason why the Master Unit deserves to be erased… don't you agree." Nine continued as Makoto felt the barrier simply push her back.
"How did you even…" "Did you really think that the plans you and your friends made would have escaped the attention of my former 'Employer'?" Nine questioned as Makoto was even more confused by that statement. Makoto herself had not been really informed by what the others had done to get Tsubaki back but she knew the rough plan they had and what Sora had done to ruin all of that. She decided against saying anything that would suggest she had no clue.
"But judging from your level of shock in your words, it's kind of obvious that you were not included in those plans. Whether intentionally or unintentionally." Nine said as Makoto couldn't help but swear a bit upon Nine's realization. "Didn't even give me the chance to play a poker face. Damn you." Makoto said as Nine simply smiled at that statement. "And where's the fun in that cat and mouse game? There's no need for such things at the end of the day when all of that doesn't matter." Nine said as Makoto felt a familiar chill go down her back.
"Tell me… How do you feel? Knowing the truth of this world? How you are nothing but another cog in the machine that we all must endure?" Nine questioned as Makoto couldn't help but show confusion in her face when hearing that question. "Oh come on now, are you really going to play dumb with me or did that just happen to fly past your brain?" Nine questioned as Makoto immediately realized what Nine was trying to imply at that moment.
"Look I do not try to understand this whole stuff with the master unit and what they are capable of. All I know is that they deemed it necessary to remove Sora from the world and I cannot accept that." Makoto said as Nine nodded her head upon hearing that. "But at the same time I won't pretend that she's not doing what she's doing for a good reason. Maybe sacrificing the happiness of one person is fine if it makes 100 more happy." Makoto said as Nine was about to retort to that response.
"But at this point, I have just given up in accepting all of this nonsense thrown my way! I don't care about right or wrong! Good or evil! I only care that the people around me! Those I remember and those that I have forgotten are not being used as chess pieces in some elaborate game! And for that, I refuse to be anybody's puppet any longer!" Makoto shouted, expressing her feelings clearly towards Nine as Nine couldn't help but scowl a bit upon hearing that statement.
"So you refuse to be someone's puppet but choose to turn a blind eye towards what the master unit does so as long as she doesn't touch your precious world? What naivety!" Nine shouted as Makoto felt the chill coming down her back intensify as Makoto knew at that moment she was not going to be left off the hook that easily at that point. Makoto saw at that moment the Great Sage Nine begin to weave various elements of fire, water and wind in her hands.
"It's time someone taught you that half baked ideals like that are nothing but the words of fools and sheep!" Nine shouted as the elements fused to form a clock for Makoto to see. Makoto felt Balmung activate again at that moment but this time the vision she received was a truly terrifying one. "You must have seen what will happen to you again hmmm? Then please. DO TRY TO RESIST!" Nine shouted as the hands of the clock began to tick for Makoto to see.
'That clock. I cannot let it strike midnight!' Makoto thought as she began to give chase, realizing that Nine will probably try to escape from her grasp at the same time. And that hunch would prove correct as when Makoto managed to close the gap, Nine used water magic to create a wave that threatened to push Makoto back. As soon as Makoto felt the waters strike her, she immediately fought back but this simply prompted Nine to unleash more water her way.
Not wanting to end up drowning at the weight of the world, Makoto fought back, managing to swim up to the surface. But as soon as she did, a wave of fire came charging her way, forcing her to sink back down the water to avoid being burned to a crisp. This was the very power that Nine herself used in her fight against the Black Beast and Makoto knew that what she had received before was merely a taste. She was now going to be forced to devour a full course meal of the great sage Nine's magic as she saw Nine blow on the air, casting the spell she worked hard to weave while keeping Makoto distracted.
'Now what kind of magic is she…' before Makoto could even finish her train of thought, a strange sight was brought upon her. Right in front of her face seemed to be something a princess would find in a fairy tale, a flaming visage of a fairy whose red eyes stared at her. Makoto would have been in awe at what she was witnessing but she knew much better than to do such a thing at that moment as the fairy looked at her innocently before it's 'brows' furrowed at her direction.
"Oh shi…" Before Makoto could finish swearing, the flaming fairy immediately tried to ram itself right at her face, prompting her to weave her head away as the fairy began it's ruthless attack, intent on making sure Makoto's face would taste it's wrath. Makoto herself couldn't believe something as innocent as the fairy in front of her was being this angry with her. The great sage Nine really did knew how to make even the most innocent of creatures the angriest of them all.
Makoto continued to dodge the flying danger that was in front of her, making sure the fairy couldn't easily rip her head out with it's tiny hands. As she did, her eyes were drawn towards the ticking clock as it ticked halfway towards midnight. At that moment, Makoto knew she needed to deal with the great sage Nine and the fairy was just only standing in her way. The fairy continued it's persistent annoyance but Makoto was eventually able to find a gap in the fairy's attack to dodge out of the way and go after Nine at that moment.
The fairy tried to chase after Makoto to cut her off from her master but Makoto was just faster, leaving the fairy in her dust as she charged ahead. Nine noticed this and simply began to back away from the danger that was coming towards her. She did not seem disturbed by the threat her foe was presenting her and remained rather calm. Makoto then threw a combination punch that Nine was able to dodge. That immediately gave Makoto a clue as to how the spell Nine was casting currently worked.
'She cannot afford to be touched in any way… in that case!' Makoto immediately rushed forward and readied her next punch. This obviously prompted Nine to dodge out of the way but as soon as she did so, Makoto made her move and reached out, grabbing the back of Nine's neck as the clock immediately dissipated at that moment. Nine was surprised to see what has happened to her spell as she realized that Makoto had managed to deduce the nature of the spell by just her simple dodging.
"I am impressed… let's see if you can do it again." Nine said as immediately she waved her hands to send a crashing wave of water above Makoto's head in order to try and crush her with the weight of water. Makoto instinctively dodged out of the way as she was beginning to piece together some aspects of the spells Nine was weaving at that moment. Nine must be going easy on her because she was clearly using the basic elements of water, wind and fire in order to weave her spells.
'So two waters and a fire created that pixie. That may not be accurate but that can be a clue as to how she weaves spells during battle.' Makoto thought as she decided to not think further about what she had just thought of but kept it at the back of her mind. Nine herself realized that Makoto was beginning to piece together how she liked to weave spells in battle and smiled at how quick she was piecing together the way The Great Sage Nine fights.
"Impressive… let us see how much more you can impress me." Nine said as Makoto couldn't help but feel a wave of pressure blow her way, literally in this case as Nine used wind magic to push Makoto out of the way. Before Makoto could try and close the gap Nine had created she was surprised by what Nine did next. Instead of trying to create distance from Makoto, she swore that Nine was in fact closing the distance, charging towards Makoto with flames igniting all around her.
"CRIMSON RAIDER!" Nine shouted as before Makoto could say another word, an explosion occurred in front of her face, blowing her back as a massive ball of flame struck Makoto and sent her flying as a result. Makoto was simply caught off guard by this as she felt her body roll on the ground as she heard the familiar sound of a clock count down in her ear. 'Oh no not again. But now that I know how that spell works I can…'
Before Makoto could even finish that train of thought, looking above her head prompted her to protect herself from another impending threat. A flaming portal had formed above her head and Nine had formed a similar flaming portal with her arm ready to punch through it. "NAVY PRESSURE!" Nine yelled as she punched down the portal, her fist phasing through the entire thing as above Makoto came a massive red living fist down her head.
"FUCK!" Makoto shouted as she formed a barrier immediately out of instinct as she felt the weight of the punch land right on top of her head. Had she not created the barrier this fist would have pancaked her to the ground, at the very least it was now simply causing her knees to buckle and what feels like the weight of the world being shoved down on her arms. She could barely sustain the barrier as her eyes caught a glimpse of the clock and saw the clock quickly count down.
'Oh not that shit again.' Makoto thought as she finally found the strength to push the massive arm back, allowing her the chance to try and charge towards Nine at that moment. Nine however was not going to fall for the same mistake again as she slammed her fist down another portal and above Makoto's head, another portal formed and prompted Makoto to form another barrier to block the incoming fist as the original fist had already retreated back to try and squish Makoto yet again.
This time, instead of trying to take a hit directly from the fist, Makoto instead used the barrier she created to instead parry the blow, letting the fist slide down the barrier and smash the ground next to her instead as she had deflected the attack in such a way that it allowed her continue her chase towards the magus without being obstructed by the giant fist itself. Makoto's eyes caught a glimpse of the time ticking down for her and she did not like how she only what seemed to be 3 more seconds towards midnight left to stop and she knew Nine was going to stop her in her tracks.
'I just need to touch her, if only once…' Makoto thought as she ran closer and closer towards Nine, hoping to achieve what she did just a few minutes ago again as Nine this time was ready for the danger that was being presented her way. Instead of waiting for Makoto to get closer, she was instead going to not let Makoto think of getting closer in the first place as she began to actively retreat, not letting Makoto have any chance of closing the gap.
The timer ticked ever so closer to midnight and this prompted desperation in Makoto's end as she threw herself towards Nine with reckless abandon. She was not going to let Nine finish her spell no matter the cost as she dashed in even quicker, creating duplicates of herself in the process that caught Nine by surprise. 'Now she produces clones for me to fight against? How intriguing.' Nine thought as she knew the perfect response to such a thing.
Once again Nine created a portal in front of her as Makoto thought it was going to be another flaming fist crashing down on her head. The good thing is that even if she chose that option, she would only be able to hit at least two out of the three copies and the one she wouldn't hit would be her still charging towards Nine at that moment. All she needed was just a few more steps and she would be able to reach out and touch Nine at that moment with any part of her body.
"MAUVETTE ROAR!" As soon as Makoto heard Nine shout that out, she immediately saw Nine attempt to deliver a kick to her jaw as the massive fist that had struck her twice was now emerging out of the ground, attempting to hit Makoto and her copies with one massive strike. Makoto knew she had no time to stop and guard the attack so instead she was going to have to speed up and try to get past Nine before her attack could land.
The heat went right past Makoto's cheek, the blazing heat that Nine was capable of producing making Makoto sweat while Nine was simply cool and unwavering. Nine herself was ready for Makoto to try and attack her as she brought down her leg to smash her heel on Makoto's head. However her heel only felt air as she turned around to see that Makoto had focused on trying to slip behind her guard instead of attacking directly. "GOT YOU!" Makoto yelled as she threw a quick jab to try and tap Nine in the stomach as that was the shortest range she needed to meet to touch the Great Sage Nine.
Nine briefly looked stunned by the series of events in front of her. Makoto had thought that she had managed to find the gap she needed to land the hit to stop the clock as she felt a brief swelling of confidence hit her as she was confident that her blow was going to strike. But as soon as she felt that confidence it was ripped out of her heart as Nine immediately used wind magic to push her just enough that her punch cleanly missed, hitting only air.
"Zero" Nine said as Makoto immediately felt the vision Balmung had given her about what was going to happen to her next happen as Nine pushed Makoto further back with more wind as the clock struck midnight. Makoto immediately knew that offense was not an option at that moment and immediately formed the strongest barrier she could muster at that moment for the storm ahead. As soon as Makoto formed the barrier, she braced herself as at first, it seemed that nothing was going to happen to her at that moment.
As soon as her mind thought of that, she felt something briefly touch her her barrier at that moment. When she looked up, she saw that something dark had just touched her barrier. Before she could even think about what this dark spot meant, she immediately felt even more dark spots touch her barrier before like a torrential rainfall on an umbrella, Makoto immediately felt her barrier get pelted by the darkness all around her.
If she had not created this barrier for herself, she would have been utterly eviscerated by the darkness around her at that moment, her vision of the outside world was simply drowned out by the barrage and her barrier barely held on. If it broke while this darkness continued to pummel her she would simply be killed by the darkness's savage viciousness. 'I know you have never been good at Ars Magus… But for once in your life, you got to be strong Makoto! Stay Strong!' Makoto thought as she screamed as loud as she could, feeling the strain of the barrier hit her fingertips as even her prosthetic felt the strain of maintaining the barrier hit her.
She fell down to one knee as she could only wonder how much longer she must endure this pain she was feeling. The weight of the world was pressed all over her and her barrier had several cracks on it. She simply gritted her teeth and endured before finally, silence as she looked around to see the same fiery world around her as she slowly stood up. Makoto felt winded as she dispersed the barrier, her arms feeling weak and temporarily unable to assume a fighting stance.
"I admit, you survived longer than I had thought." Nine complimented before Makoto could feel a sharp tinging pain come on the side of her ribs at that moment. "Unfortunately it was not long enough." Nine continued as Makoto smashed her back towards the rubble of a former building. The kick itself wouldn't have been enough to take her out of commission but the exhaustion she had to endure from the overwhelming darkness was enough to exhaust her to the point she was left vulnerable to a simple attack from Nine herself.
"Bitch…" Makoto swore as she could feel the pain echo all around her. She managed to find the strength to stand up but to hold up her hands to fight, her normal arm was not responding to her wish but at the very least, the prosthetic was fine to do so. "Do you want to give up?" Nine questioned as Makoto shook her head at that. "Too stubborn to give up now. I did throw away everything so why would I do anything different now?" Makoto questioned as she heard a simple hmph come out of Nine's voice.
"Once again, Balmung saved you by showing you the kind of attack I was going to do. But what of it? You are going to die at the end of the day because Balmung only shows you a future, there's only so much you can do to actually change it." Nine said as Makoto panted and nodded her head. "Yeah that much is true. But it's still all things I can change by my own hands." Makoto said as this intrigued Nine but she knew that now was the time to end this fight.
"I admit, you have been rather entertaining, but it's time I closed this fight right here and now." Nine said as she formed a portal right in front of Makoto's face, ready to deliver a finishing blow to her face as Makoto simply scoffed at that and looked at Nine in the face. "You know… I do agree with that statement." Makoto said as Nine couldn't help but be amused by the confidence this woman had even with the fist that was going to take her down right in front of her face.
"Goodbye Balmung!" Nine shouted as she punched right into a small portal in front of her, causing a massive fist to emerge out of the portal, ready to deck Makoto in the face. Makoto herself knew that fighting against her former shitty boss and now the greatest mage to ever touch the world would have taken the sails out of her wind. However she knew someone very well that had no issues fighting multiple people at the same time and like that person, she was not going to give up anytime soon.
As the gigantic fist came rushing towards her, Makoto focused on the image of what she would be doing at that moment to something else entirely. Clenching her prosthetic hand as tightly as possible, Balmung gave her the image of something she could do as Nine was sure that there was nothing that Makoto could do in order to counter what she was going to do her. But in a blink of her eyes, she saw the scene become from Makoto about to take the hit from her strike to a gigantic astral fist manifesting in front of her and smashing to her own attack.
"Don't you dare count me out just yet!" Makoto yelled as Nine was impressed by the woman's fighting spirit but she knew this was nothing but the final desperate strike from a woman who has nothing left. "And what makes you think…" Before she could finish her sentence, she saw something that she never thought she would bear witness to in her life ever again. Two massive heads exploded out of the ground and came charging towards Nine, forcing her to pull back her attack which in turn caused the astral fist to overpower and force it's way towards her, prompting her to form a defensive barrier of flames to protect herself.
"That thing… How…" Nine said to herself as Makoto couldn't help but smile upon seeing what had come to provide her backup. "What took you so long? I could have only held out for so long." Makoto said as a pair of footsteps were heard approaching from behind. "Sorry, it took me a while to figure out where you had gone to and longer to figure out how to get here." the voice said as Nine was alarmed to hear the newcomer's voice come her way.
"How did you even break through my phantom field?!" Nine demanded as the new voice simply looked at the woman in front of them without any fear being present in their heart. "It's simple really, I just followed where all the fighting had taken place and found myself here." Sora said as Makoto couldn't help but smirk a little hearing that comment. "But hey. I did say I will always be by your side, no matter where you are." the person said as the attacks finished their onslaught, kicking up a massive amount of dust that surrounded the area before settling down, revealing who was responsible for what they did.
The Great Sage Nine saw a man with white hair stand in front of Makoto. At first her mind went immediately towards the white haired man she had met 100 years ago but she immediately dismissed that thought as she saw that this person had an arm that was simply a black mass. They also did not wear the man's iconic red jacket as this person was a completely new person that was in front of her but more importantly, his nature was clear to her eyes. "Who are you? And why do you have Black Beasts around you?" Nine questioned as the man simply turned to face her, keeping a rather calm face as he responded to her question.
"My name's Sora Minakaze, and I am Anima Voluntatis, Balmung."
GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION!? HOW YOU ALL ARE DOING!? Well now, the final month of the year approaches us again. As I get older, I find myself getting more and more attuned to the fact that the end of the year approaches and I get older. It must help that I am born around December so that end of the year feeling is stronger for me. I hope that you all enjoyed the year 2023 has brought to all of us and 2024 will give us even more good times.
SO WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT FOR OUR HEROES!? HOW WILL SORA MINAKAZE FARE AGAINST THE GREAT SAGE NINE!? WILL HE SURVIVE THIS ENCOUNTER WITH THE WOMAN OR WILL HIS TIES TO THE BLACK BEAST PROMPT THE WOMAN TO SIMPLY ERADICATE HIM FROM ALL EXISTENCE!? All this and more will be found out as we approach the final month of the year 2023.