(A New Distortion and A new fate awaits us. Let us see where the path takes us shall we?)
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Bold + Italics = Japanese Conversations
Distortion 48
Previously on Canon Distortion
Sora Minakaze and Guardian of the Azure, Epsilon-5 or Amy, had made their way towards the Ibukido Cauldron. Normally, Sora would have just tossed himself into said cauldron and hoped that he had returned back to his timeline but unfortunately Relius Clover decided to make his presence known and derail Sora from his simple task to ask philosophical questions to him and Amy. After some questions, Sora decided he was against Relius's Philosophy and attacked him at that moment.
And Now, The Continuation of Canon Distortion
The Cauldron of the 5th Hierarchical City of Ibukido. Surrounding this simple cauldron was a series of coffins, coffins that once housed once living Murakumo Units that failed to become a Murakumo unit. This once abandoned cauldron was seeing the longest amount of action that it had ever seen. And it was thanks to the individuals that were in the area at that moment, the sounds of their clash echoing throughout the whole area.
On one hand was Relius Clover and his assistant Ignis. Relius was simply walking, creating various mechanical creations manifest themselves on the ground acting as protection as bullets repelled off them. Ignis in the meantime charged at the person responsible with fervor as like the mechanical doll she was, she did not say a word as she lunged with her claws out with the intention of impaling the shooter right in their stomach.
The shooter, Sora Minakaze, immediately responded to this attempted stabbing by jumping over the attack, rolling his back on Ignis's massive frame as he placed his foot on Ignis's metal back to act as a support. Ignis turned her free arm to try and stab Sora at that moment but he did not think about the incoming claw and fired a shot, sending himself flying right towards Relius Clover as the masked man was forced to make a column of gears to create an obstacle between him and Sora, cutting away Sora's ability to just launch himself directly at his direction.
Sora was not disturbed by this development, using his quick thinking at that moment, he made a choice to shoot to the right, sending him flying to his left side, exposing Relius at that moment as he quickly switched his hand from his normal hand to the prototype Rev Arm, using that arm to soak in the recoil of the next shot, allowing Sora to return fire towards the masked man while preventing himself from being normally flung around by the recoil of his magnum.
A loud and audible ding was heard at that moment as Sora raised his head to see that his shot had connected, not with his target but an arm made of gears as Relius nodded his head upon seeing this. "Your reflexes are truly interesting, even without your powerful drive." Relius said as Sora ignored what he had just heard as he quickly holstered his gun to charge right at Relius, changing the arm to it's blade form to get in for close range combat at that moment.
Relius decided at that moment to not dodge but instead go on the offense himself, using his cape to hide a series of mechanical arms to barrage Sora's face with. Sora himself was not fazed by such attempts at close combat by the man and was in fact keeping up with his flurry of mechanical fists. He soon managed to slip by one of the final fists that barely grazed his face to slam Relius's belly with the pommel of the Rev Blade, causing Relius's breathe to leave him and recoil as Sora saw this as his chance to land a decisive blow on the man before things got worse.
Unfortunately at that very moment, Ignis returned to save her master, her claws clashing with Sora's blade as they slid past each other. This resulted in Sora's attack being delayed just a bit to allow Relius enough time to recover and step to the side as Sora's attack slammed on the ground he once stood. Sora raised his sword to a blocking position as Ignis used her claws to push Sora back, creating even more distance between the two.
Sora's eyes scanned the situation in front of him. Both Relius Clover and Ignis were powerful beings on their own right but because Ignis is nothing but a doll, she is able to perfectly follow a near single minded approach to protecting her master that a normal human being may have hesitated. Relius meanwhile would be able to just keep his distance and pick his opponent off slowly with a series of equipment he made from his own gears.
'To think that bastard has someone that acts as a perfect compliment to him, what a fucking nightmare.' Sora thought as he once again blocked another attack from Ignis. Ignis herself is just a mechanical being so doing any kind of damage to her would be meaningless. She would most likely just be summoned back by Relius and would be quickly fixed from all possible damage. At that moment, his mind wavered a bit from the battle in front of him and Relius tried to exploit that.
"Now Ignis!" Relius commanded, prompting Sora to raise his guard up at that moment, unsure what the man had planned. Ignis, acting upon the wish of her master descended upon Sora but instead of trying to attack him again, she went with a different approach. As Sora raised his arm up to block what he felt was going to be another attack, Ignis used that as her opportunity to grab Sora's arm at that moment.
Sora could feel the grip of this doll get tighter as Relius was quick to step in and raise his hand. Sora, alarmed by this action found the strength to break out of the tight grip Ignis had on her but before he could get away from the both of them, Relius was able to throw a mysterious liquid over Sora's face, the droplets landing on his exposed mouth at that moment. Sora was able to escape from the attack but soon felt a sudden coughing sensation as he tasted something bitter inside his mouth at that moment.
"The fuck did you try to do to me!?" Sora shouted as his body felt fine at first. But as soon as his eyes faced themselves directly with Relius he noticed something strange was happening. His eyes began to flare up, sting even as they burned trying to look at the man. "Nothing. Other than give you a little taste of what I have in mind as the true future." Relius simply said as Sora couldn't believe what he was hearing at that moment.
"Your vision of the true…!?" it was at that moment, when the burning sensation left his eyes that Sora was finally able to properly see again that he saw something that simply horrified him. Relius stood where Sora had seen where he was standing but Ignis was not beside him. Instead his eyes caught a glimpse of a person he never wants to see stand side by side the man he swore to never forgive as Relius merely stood up and recomposed himself.
"Yes, the true future. A future where humanity is not chained by a god of unimaginable strength… but instead a god I personally created." Ignis said as he soon was standing closer to the being, their shape undeniable as Sora shook his head several times, trying to deny what he saw in front of him. "And for that future to occur, I must obtain the finest material to form the most powerful detonator. That liquid you tasted is merely showing you what I have in mind." Relius said as Sora's desperate attempts to deny what was in front of him at that moment were simply in vain.
In front of him was Makoto Nanaya, not his Makoto Nanaya or a Makoto Nanaya but a Makoto Nanaya that was under his control. The life that was in her eyes looked gone and she was simply dressed in a light flowing dress that hid her entire body from eyesight. A hat accompanied her as her signature squirrel tail was seemingly gone, considered irrelevant in Relius's eyes as he desired only the parts that would make her the best detonator possible.
"Alas that vision of said version of the detonator died the moment Makoto Nanaya wiped herself from the timelines somehow… however one does still exist. Your Makoto Nanaya." Relius said as Sora's blood went cold upon hearing that. "Her experiences have shaped her to becoming the perfect detonator. All I need to do now is bring proof of your death to her when she reawakens and there will be no doubt that her soul will crumble from the weight of knowing that you are gone." Relius theorized, not even caring that he was traumatizing the man in front of him by showing him the woman he loved.
Sora, upon hearing such callous words, lost all sense of reason at that moment as he felt something in the back of his mind snap. Relius could hear a growl at that moment as he wondered where it could have come from. His thoughts were interrupted when he felt his face get grabbed and soon meet the ground, smashing his mask off entirely as Ignis was forced to act at that moment to make Sora release his grip on Relius at that moment to escape.
"Now...that was something I did not expect from you." Relius simply said as his eyes were now visible, brightly glowing magenta flowing out of his pupils as he got a glimpse of Sora's soul at that very moment and his eyes lit up in surprise. In his entire time viewing the soul of this man, the color of his soul as well as the direction it went remained constant but right now, the very image of the woman he loved being twisted into something he did not want her to become has done something interesting for his soul.
What was once a scattered soul, splitting in various directions except for one singular focus has now shifted to a singular direction pointing at that focus with the fervor one would expect from the devil himself. It was at that moment things began to click for Relius and the reason why Sora's soul behaved in such an erratic manner in the first place. As deep inside that scattered soul he could actually see another soul… and another, and another.
Soon he could see it, what he had thought was just a singular soul scattered with one singular anchor point was in truth, several souls all pointing towards the same goal, as if singing one chorus in harmony. Before Relius could even be left to ponder on what this actually meant for the soul in front of him, he sensed danger approach his way as Sora, like a crazed berserker attacked. Slamming his sword right onto Ignis's guard as his eyes saw Makoto raise her own arms to block, the dress acting as a shield of sorts to absorb the damage she would have taken.
Sora understood that what he was seeing was just an illusion but there was a part of him deep inside that did not want to severely harm the woman in front of him even though she is not the woman she was currently. He cannot simply and emotionally separate the woman in front of his vision right now with the woman he held dear in his heart. Deep down, he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief deep inside of him because that told him his feelings for Makoto remained and were not changing.
Relius could see Sora hesitate to swing his weight down on his attacks, trying to hold back as much of his strength as possible to not harm the illusion in front of him despite knowing that the Makoto Nanaya in front of him was nothing but an illusion placed upon Ignis at that moment. Yet at the same time he could see how his soul remained focused, unfazed by the illusion in front of him as Sora was looking beyond the simple obstacle that was placed in front of him to focus more on the man that was in front of him.
"Get out of the way." Sora said as he pointed his gun in front of Ignis as she tried to raise her hands up to guard only to realize that Sora never fired his gun, brazenly charging out of the way as Ignis was quick to give chase to the man she allowed to slip past her guard. Relius could feel several eyes gazing upon his own soul as Sora's eyes locked with his, not letting go of the prey he had gotten his sights on.
Ignis was about to reach her target with her claws, Makoto extending her reach by using her sleeves to extend out and try to strike Sora. It was at that moment Sora fired his gun yet again, forcing the fake Makoto to block the bullet as he launched himself right for Relius at that moment. "YOU'LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID YOU BASTARD!" Sora yelled as he had abandoned the prototype Rev Blade to get as close as he could.
Sora's wrath was palpable for all to feel, especially for Relius to see as his eyes continued to be greeted to the ever evolving sight of Sora's soul. The more he looked at his soul, the more intrigued he found himself becoming. Relius had to compose himself a few times to avoid a series of flurries Sora had swung, trying to strike him with the butt of the pistol on his forehead. But other than that, he cannot help but be fascinated by the development in front of him.
"Then try to do so Mr Minakaze, Allow me to continue seeing the wonders that soul of yours is showing me." Relius said as Sora couldn't help but feel a palpable anger grow within his heart as he now wanted to rip Relius apart. He did not hesitate when his attack missed to fire one of his final shots to quickly strike Relius's cheek with the metal of his barrel, causing blood to spill over his eyes and blind him for a bit.
Normally Sora would not have made such a reckless attack like he did but because of the anger he was feeling inside, he was not thinking as much as he should about what attacks he was doing each and every time. All he wanted to do was cause pain and suffering to this man for what he made him watch. It was then another thought came rushing to the back of his head at that very moment. 'Where the hell are you right now Amy?! I could seriously use your help right now!' Sora thought as he sensed danger coming for him at that moment as he ducked his head down to avoid it being separated from his head at that moment.
As soon as his eyes opened, he saw that the fake Makoto had just tried to sever his head off with a powerful punch as she raised her other hand in front of his eyes to send her fist right through his head. Upon seeing this, he reacted to this by raising the magnum to intercept said punch. A gun normally is not designed to be used as a shield but Sora was not picky about what qualifies as a weapon and what qualifies as a shield when his life is on the line.
This makeshift shield was enough to block the attack coming his way, allowing Sora to quickly redirect the attack past him and smash to the ground beside him. Sora then kicked the fake Makoto, Ignis away from him as he quickly reached to the Proto Rev Blade and grab it. It was at that moment he decided to separate from view, mainly to try and calm himself down and also recompose his mind at that moment.
It was at that moment he saw that he nearly died from a careless mistake that he realized he was letting his anger get to him at that moment. He needed to recompose himself quickly before he made another fatal mistake he cannot recover from. What was more important was where on Earth Amy was at that moment. Ever since he pried Relius away from her it seemed to be that she just vanished from the face of the earth.
It was then a thought crossed his mind, a thought he did not want to have at that moment. "Did...Did she leave me?" Sora said out loud as he sensed danger come his way as he transformed the Proto Rev Blade back to the Rev Arm at that moment to begin running. He cannot let his anger get to him, especially since Relius seemed to be using his anger to get a reaction out of him at that moment. To further pry into his soul, something he did not want him to do.
Yet he had little time to gather his thoughts as he saw a claw smash it's way beside the wall he had taken cover in. His mind continued to race after seeing that sight occur in front of him as he immediately lunged out of cover to see both Relius and the fake Makoto in his vision. Ignis, sensing the danger Sora presented, followed her base instinct and moved back to Relius to protect him from further attack. The moment she did this however Sora's teeth gritted in growing anger as the sight of Relius being even close to Makoto, a fake one even, made his hatred boil.
Sora was about to fire another shot before freezing, realizing that he was going to act on instinct yet again instead of using rational thought. He took cover on the wall again, taking cover on the wall that Ignis had pierced through so that her attack will go to the other wall instead, figuring he would hide behind the wall that kept him safe before. It was at that moment he began to reload his magnum, taking deep breaths to try and calm himself down.
'Calm down Sora...Calm down…' Sora thought as his mind was split between anger and focus. He was trying his best to not let his anger get the best of him but also not forget what Relius was trying to show him and why he should be angry at the first place. He wanted to be calm in the first place, but the sight that Relius showed him made that task almost impossible. If only made herself appear then maybe he would be able to regain some composure.
...So where in the hell was Amy at that moment…
That simple thought Sora had would be answered as Amy had not left her spot since she allowed Sora and Relius to clash against each other. Why was she simply paralyzed standing where she was? Did she had issues now helping Sora Minakaze? No she wanted to help him at that moment. So why didn't she just move to help the man before things got worse. If there was one thing that could be put into her mind at that moment, it was a thought.
"Es… You are here are you not?" Amy questioned as Es made herself manifest at that moment as Es stepped in front of Amy at that moment. "Did you call for me?" Es questioned as Amy held back the urge to immediately demand questions to Es but take a deep calm breath "Es… I wish to confirm something with you… please." Amy questioned as Es looked at her with a growing curiosity as she nodded her head upon hearing that strange question from her colleague.
Amy: I need to know… what ever happened to Father's body
Es: Pardon? Your father?
Amy: The professor, the one who was responsible for creating me and making me the person I am… I need to confirm something. Did the Master Unit… treat me as a Continuum Error before?
Es:… Yes. You were treated the same as a Continuum Error. That is why subsequent timelines have a different Epsilon-5 being created instead of you. To ensure you were able to serve your role as the guardian of the Azure, the Master Unit had to erase any trace of your past to ensure the timelines were not interrupted in any way.
Amy: So… that included my father?
Es: Your father's soul never returned to the Abyss, thus the Master Unit was unable to restore his data back to the timeline, so instead of being reborn in a new timeline, he instead was replaced completely from the timeline.
The very moment Amy heard that comment, Amy couldn't help but have her eyes widen in shock. "What do you mean my father was replaced!?" Amy said in shock as she held back the urge to grab Es at that moment, knowing that she was just telling her what the Master Unit knows. "It is like I said, Your father's soul never returned to the Abyss. The Abyss is crucial for the soul to enter because that is where the information the soul carried is then returned back for the next world cycle." Es explained as Amy nodded her head upon hearing that.
"I understand that. Without the Abyss, the souls returning back to the world would keep their painful memories they had in life. The Abyss is there to keep their souls safe while the information is extracted to leave them a free slate. What I want to know is why on earth my Father's soul never made it to the Abyss in the first place!?" Amy said, finally snapping as Es looked calm despite the question being opposed to her quite forcibly.
"I was sure I asked for my father to be saved. So he should have been reborn in this timeline.. So why was he never brought back!?" Amy questioned, almost like a child not getting their favorite toy. In this case however, Amy was pretty justified in her question as she was sure her father would be saved when she asked for her wish. Relius Clover put the thought back into her mind as she couldn't help but wonder what really happened.
"… The reason why is because he was brought back to life." As soon as Amy heard that answer, her mind quickly began to race with several thoughts. Her father was actually brought back to life? Did that mean that her father was not restored back to the timeline because he was in fact reborn with all of the information that he had inside him remaining intact. Then that would mean that her father was never reborn in a new timeline because her father was reborn when she made that wish.
But what could have brought her father back from the dead?! She was sure that there was no such thing as Ars Magus being capable of reviving someone or even old magic, So if that was not the case… then could it be. "Es… I need to know, Father's previous data, does it still exist somewhere!" Amy questioned as Es closed her eyes, quick to ask the Master Unit about such thing. But before Es could receive her answer, she felt a ringing on her head as she held the back of her head at that moment.
"What...is…" Amy spoke before a sweat began to drip down the back of her neck. "It appears the Master Unit has granted you access to the professor's previous data that was saved before it was wiped out. It is incomplete but it should be enough to answer whatever question you have in mind." Es explained but Amy was not responding to her at that moment as she dug through the memories given to her and finally found what she wanted to find.
"No… No it can't be." Amy said, shock growing on her face. "The professor… when he was younger…" Amy said as the shock began to grow on her face as Es closed her eyes, deciding to look at the information on the professor as well to figure out what Amy had found that made her have such a shocked expression. As soon as she found it, Es held back the urge to say something at that moment as she knew that by pointing out what she found, it would be just stating the obvious at that point.
"...But…But how could such a thing even occur?.." Amy questioned, the anger leaving her body and now it was just confusion that was present on her face. She had so many questions present on her mind and she tried to break down her entire thought process at that moment. "Maybe… it was because of your wish." Es explained as Amy tried to not exaggerate her face at that moment. "But how could my wish do something like that… healing someone I can understand but a wish literally reviving someone from the dead? I cannot be the one hallucinating." Amy explained.
"Maybe change your point on view of that from revival to something else entirely." Es suggested as Amy wondered what that could have meant before realizing what Es meant at that moment. "You don't mean… But that doesn't make sense." Amy said as Es looked at her, wondering what she could mean at that moment but deciding against pressing for the answer at that moment, instead allowing Amy to process the thought she had given and deciding to say it out loud.
"Es… Are there any cases of a phenomena intervention… reverting someone's age to a younger time?" Amy said as Es pondered through such cases. "Yes there have been cases where Phenomena Intervention was used to rearrange the ages of people around to fit the master Unit's requirements. But most of those interventions occur after a timeline ends to ensure that inconsistencies do not exist in the process, allowing for a more proper flow in a timeline." Es explained
"If that is the case… What does that make Sora in this case." Amy said as Es once again remained quiet. "For the longest time, because he looked so different… I never really realized the similarities until that masked freak brought back that whole event back to my mind. Not to mention how the dreams that Sora had recently did not make sense to him." Amy said out loud, understanding that Es was better in just patiently listening to her instead of answering back her questions.
"But… If we factor in that my wish for father to be saved was granted… the question then becomes what actually granted that wish in the first place. For the longest time I've always thought it was the master unit who did so… but if she never got father's soul in the first place… then what actually happened that day." Amy questioned as Es decided now was a proper time for her to bring this up. "I personally believe the more important question in this case is if you are even able to fight against the man who raised you, even if they are a completely different person right now." Es said as Amy's eyes went wide upon hearing that.
"Fight...my father?" Amy said as Es decided now was a better time to continue. "As you are aware, Sora Minakaze is the key to freeing the sleep like state that Makoto Nanaya had managed to put herself under. However once we have freed her from such a state, it is the master unit's hope that we would have our best opportunity to erase the memory of Sora Minakaze from Makoto Nanaya at that point, allowing us to safely reset the timeline back to what it should be. This was the discussed plan."
Amy nodded her head upon hearing Es say that. Of course that was the original discussed plan. But the fact that her father's body had somehow been reborn into a completely different person and that person has a different personality altogether… she had thought she understood things when she learned the truth of the world but it turned out that she still had things that even she needed to learn but hearing Es say all of this now seemed surreal.
"As you are now in your current mental state, the Master Unit fears that your own desires and wishes will impede you in your duty to save the world from being torn apart." Es explained as unknown to her, what she had just said flew right past Amy's ear and out the other at that moment. All Amy could think at that moment was just how her father was potentially still alive and how Sora Minakaze may have been born from his body, as impossible as that sounded.
But the moment her mind thought of the fact that Sora Minakaze was born from the body of her father, a thought suddenly came rushing through her mind. Where on Earth was Sora at that moment and why she was just standing around doing nothing. "I...I'm Sorry Es, I will answer that question another time. But right now I need to get back to Sora right now and make sure he gets back to his timeline already." Amy said as she went rushing towards the last direction she saw Sora ran out.
As Amy disappeared from her vision, Es closed her eyes and focused a bit on her connection with the Master Unit. "Shall I consider Amy a volatile target and deem her fit for extermination?" Es questioned as she waited for a response from the Master Unit to confirm to her wishes. Es then raised her head in surprise as she decided to nod her head at that. "Understood, I will continue to observe the situation carefully and take over Amy's duties if she is deemed unfit for her task." Es said as she looked at the sight of Amy running away
...Wondering how this will end eventually…
SORA POV
Bad… This is very bad. The current situation in front of me was nothing short of horrible. Here I was, fighting for my life against two deadly opponents. One of them, Relius Clover, a now not masked freak who's eyes freak me the fuck out. How can someone's eyes glow the way they were to me right now. The other was supposed to be his mechanical assistant but because of what he sprayed into my eyes, all I can see right now is a version of Makoto I never ever want to see.
But regardless of who is in front of me right now, the only thing I needed to focus right now was that my life was currently in danger and if I chose to do nothing, I would simply die right here and now. But that was not all that was on my mind right now. Amy, the person who has been following me for some time now and one of the guardians of the Azure was nowhere to be seen and now I cannot help but wonder what is going on with her mind.
But I was not given a chance to think further about that as I felt a killing sensation come over me as I raised the Rev Arm to block what looked to be a massive sleeve swinging as fast as it could to try and sever my head completely. My eyes then glanced onto who was responsible and both a sinking feeling on my stomach and growing anger grew on my body as seeing the face of Makoto, lifeless and lacking any sort of expression on it just simply makes me feel sick.
Makoto, A woman I know that always had a face that could light anybody up the moment it came looking her way. A woman I am deeply proud to call my girlfriend. A woman that I have made suffer badly recently it seemed from all of the stories I have heard of her trying to get me back. Now all I can think about is how on Earth I am going to make it up to her for all the damage I have done to her over the years and what I should say.
But I cannot really think about what I should say as this fake Makoto was genuinely trying to kill me at that moment, swinging her massive sleeve covered arms right at my face, trying to take my head off at that moment. Without hesitating, I raised the Rev Arm to block again as the sluggishness of this prototype was coming back to me. Man I am really missing the Rev Arm of my timeline as using this prototype again really brings back the memories of how tiring it was to keep my arm raised to block all the time.
But I must try to push back all of these thoughts that I was currently having at the moment. All they were doing is just distracting me from the greater danger and that was Relius Clover trying to get a rise out of me by making me fight this fake Makoto who I know is in fact his crazy robotic assistant for what felt like a sick experiment in his head. I really don't want to give him that satisfaction but at the same time, My life is on the line and I need to protect it with everything I got here and now.
"What is the matter Mr Minakaze? You seem to be pretty winded right now." Relius taunted as I wondered if I should even say a word to him right now, give him the satisfaction of hearing the frustration of my voice. I couldn't even come up with a comeback as I changed the Rev Arm to the sword to block the attack coming my way and at the same time attack. The planned attack came as how I planned it but I felt a sense of hesitation strike me at that moment.
The moment my eyes locked on the fake Makoto, I felt my arm suddenly become heavy as I stopped myself just barely from taking her head off. As much as it pained me to do so in such a crucial situation, I can never do something as insane as take the head of the woman I love willingly. The only time I will do such a thing if she was in pain and she believed that dying would be the best thing for her. As much as I didn't want to do such a thing, I simply hated how I allowed my own emotions take over the way they did.
For now, I just got to focus on surviving as long as I can. At least until I can figure out how on Earth I was going to find Amy in this massive cauldron. At that moment, I felt the weight of Fake Makoto's sleeves strike my guard so hard I went flying. I tried to recover mid air but it was all for nothing as I went crashing near the cauldron area, the cauldron long closed as Relius approached me. "Truly a most fascinating subject, No wonder you were chosen to be a Continuum Error."
"Yeah, Easy enough for you to say. Why don't you try being the one who has to get erased and tell me if you enjoy being a Continuum Error." I said right back at Relius, reversing his comment back to him hoping he wouldn't appreciate such a thing being directed to him. But much to my own shock, he placed his finger on his chest. "Hmmm… to become a Continuum Error, that may grant me a degree of movement free from the Master Unit's gaze." Relius said as I couldn't believe this man. He was actually considering letting himself get destroyed just for his own goals.
As much as I hate the man from the bottom of my core… there was something very strangely respectable about his comment that I would normally respect but in this case, I greatly did not want to do such a thing right here and now. As the fake Makoto stood beside him at that moment. "So tell me, Mr Minakaze. How does your soul feel right now?" Relius questioned as I cannot help but be confused by this kind of comment.
"My soul? What the hell are you talking about? My soul's completely fine." I questioned. What the hell was I supposed to feel from a soul? A soul doesn't have traditional feelings I can feel from. "Oh? You cannot feel it yourself? The cry of anger your soul is making right now?" Relius explained as I didn't know how how to react to such a comment. "Are you trying to say you can tell what my soul is feeling right now? Don't give me that crap." I said as I cannot help but look at his eyes, their magenta glow almost piercing as I had to look away.
"Oh but that is what I am saying at this moment Mr Minakaze, the color of your soul, it glows in a manner not normally befitting of a normal human soul." Relius explained as I was trying to register everything I was listening on that moment. A normal human soul? What is he trying to imply at that moment. "But to think that such a soul can be grown from such a being… The soul is truly a most fascinating thing." Relius continued as my brain tried to register what I was hearing at that moment.
"Do you not feel it, the difference your soul has from the norm?" Relius explained as I held the top of my head upon hearing such a comment. I couldn't really believe what I was hearing at that moment… nor did I want to at that moment. "What does this have to do with me? So what if my soul is special, my soul is my own." I said back as Relius frowned a bit before I could feel his piercing gaze upon me once again.
"Are you trying to tell me you have never noticed anything abnormal? Something on the likes of experiencing memories you shouldn't or power that you never have used before.?" Relius questioned as it was upon hearing such comments directed my way I cannot help but feel a sense of shock come over me. Memories of a person I shouldn't have? Power I have never used before. Sure recently I have been experiencing the memories of Amy's father and there was at least 2 occasions I have used a power that was different from my own but what does that have to do with my soul.
"So you have…" Relius said as I raised the Rev Blade in an attacking stance, ready for him to unleash another attack at that moment. "Hehehe. It seems I was wrong to dismiss you so easily all those years ago… Sora Minakaze." Relius said as I cannot help but scoff upon hearing that. "Is that all you got to say, After all you did to me you are just saying that?" I replied, not hiding the scorn my voice had at that moment.
"Ahhh I do apologize. You see, originally your soul was such a weak insignificant thing. Even after seeing your interactions with that clone. Your soul failed to mature in any meaningful way. All interacting with her did was help develop your soul from the fetus it was to a more normal being." Relius explained as I couldn't help but become confused upon hearing the word clone. "What… what hell do you mean by clone?" I questioned as Relius looked at me back.
"Oh. The pink haired girl that you called your big sister." Relius explained as at that moment, any hostile intention my body felt at that moment almost left me at that moment. My mind cannot help but register what I had just heard. Alice… Big sis… was a clone? "Ah but clone may be a bit too specific. I chose to try and create a copy of the Great Sage nine back in her youth, but alas, she had none of the memory of the original and thus I decided to repurpose her into something else. A shame really." Relius continued as a ringing came over my ears at that moment.
Alice… Big sis… was a clone of some sorts… a clone of the great sage nine? I mean… her pink hair would have screamed Six Hero, Great Sage Nine, but at the same time… a clone? I could feel my breathing increase at that moment as I struggled to register all of the information being trusted my way as I couldn't believe what I had just heard at that moment. Relius's words at that moment were flying past my head as I instinctively placed my hand on my chest while still gripping the Rev Blade as tightly as I could.
"...but she did prove a good catalyst in your growth as a person. So I suppose even as a failed clone she was able to be useful even if she was defective at the end." My ears caught wind of that as without even a hint of hesitation, I charged. How dare he speak about Alice...Big sis like that. This cold hearted empty shell of a man. How dare he try to speak about my loved ones as if they were just pawns of his system. HOW DARE HE!
I swung my blade right down on his head, feeling the blade connect with the sleeved arm of the fake Makoto as I felt my blood boil in several ways. I don't care what this faker tries to do, I cannot forgive this man for what he had just said. HOW DARE HE SPEAK OF ALICE THE WAY HE DID! As if my blade was much lighter than before, I managed to easily slice the sleeved arm of the fake Makoto off, ignoring the "Blood" that spilled all over the ground and a bit on my feet as I felt another piece of metal connect with the Rev Blade at that moment.
"Such strength, your soul's true form is beginning to take shape in front of my." "SHUT THE HELL UP YOU FREAK! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!" My voice shouted. I don't care about what he is saying at that moment, his words mean nothing to me. His reasoning doesn't matter one bit. I don't care about what secrets he had kept hidden. I just want him fucking dead now. Dead and fucking gone from my sight!
My blade began to push past the metal as soon my blade slashed right through the piece of metal placed in front of me to act as a defensive material. Damn, I did not feel the bastard's flesh on my blade. He must have dodged while I tried to slice through the metal. There's no point in trying to deal with all of the obstacles in front of me. I just need to kill this bastard. That way he doesn't hurt anybody else I care for, now and in the future!
"GET OVER HERE! YOU MASKED FREAK!" I yelled, my voice hurting from all of the shouting I was doing. The only thing to do is kill this bastard. Fuck trying to go through the cauldron right now, fuck this whole thing with Continuum Errors and Master Units. I am going to do the world a big favor and make sure this man never sees the light of the end of the tunnel! He doesn't deserve to live in this world, all he deserves is to lay dead on the ground like the fucking dog he was!
If I had to choose between keeping the mad dog Azrael or this masked freak alive. Both deserve to die at the end of the day but unlike the Mad Dog, this mad man shows no god damn remorse for the lives that he plays with. He doesn't deserve any kind of life at all, he deserves to be placed in a special space in hell. So where in the hell is this man and when can I swing my sword to this mad man's neck?
"Don't lose focus Mr Minakaze… unless you wish for your head to go off it's shoulder." As soon as I heard the sound of that voice, I immediately raised the Rev Blade behind me to block the attack completely, letting it skate past my back and deflected it perfectly away from me as in a swift motion, I slashed at the person behind me. Liquid spilled on my face as I felt it splash over my eyes and blind me.
"GGRRRKKK!" I wiped my eyes as I felt the burning sensation of warm liquid all over my face. Was this blood on my face or something else entirely. My eyes cannot see shit right now and I need to defend myself from further attacks before things get even worse. God dammit Sora, you're starting to lose your grip on your anger. If you keep this up, you are going to end up as a dead body and I don't need to be a dead body, not right now.
At that moment, I felt a bit thankful for the liquid being sprayed on my face because I could feel my anger slowly simmer down as I wiped the liquid off my face with the cloth on my coat. As soon as I did that, my vision returned as I looked to see Relius right in front of my face, my eyes widening as before I could even attempt anything, I felt a metallic arm strike me at my stomach, making me cough severely as I flew off the ground and rolled all over in the process.
"Is this all you can muster right now Mr Minakaze? Are you truly this limited?" Relius questioned. Limited? Easy enough for him to say. I am not the one who is currently fighting without half of his own kit on him right now. Not that I was going to actually tell him that because that would be a waste of my time to tell him. I simply panted heavily, making sure to catch my breath with each pant as I did not want to say anything else at that moment.
"So this is all you can bring right now… if only I had more ways of creating stimulation in you right now." Relius continued as I glared right at his direction, the image of Fake Makoto now vanishing and I can now properly see the image of the metal doll that always followed him everywhere. "You know what man… Fuck you." I simply said with venom, not even bothering to waste my time spitting him as I brazenly tried to stand up in front of him only to feel my feet give up below me.
"As much as I would like to do ask you ask, I have goals that I must achieve, goals that involve making sure that I get what I desire." Relius said as I panted heavily, trying to stand myself back up again. "So for the sake of forming the perfect Detonator, die like your beloved before you." Relius said as I was able to stand up thanks to stabbing the Rev blade on the ground but I felt a sense of tiredness take over me as I was unable to move out of the way at that moment.
Fuck… that mechanical doll is coming at me with that ball of energy in her hand. I need to get out of the way before it touches me but my body simply refuses to do as I asked it to and I just felt my body instead give out below me, keeping me grounded as a result. Fuck Fuck Fuck. I cannot die here. I cannot die here. I refuse to die in a place like this without getting back to Makoto. I refuse to die without seeing Makoto once…
"LOOK OUT! FATHER!" Before I could turn my head towards the sound of the voice, I felt my whole body get pushed to the side, sending me flying as I saw briefly a person get absorbed into the ball of energy instead of me, saving me from what would have most likely been a fatal blow as a massive explosive wave happened in front of my eyes, the pain and agony I heard immediately gave me back some of the strength I had lost to go towards the source of the voice, only to see in horror who had just done that.
"AMY!?" I said as I ran towards her, quickly picking her up in my arms as I could feel how weak she had suddenly become. "Ahhh… You...You are alright." Amy said as I shook my head in confusion. "What are you doing Amy?! Aren't you supposed to be doing your job as one of the guardians of the Azure? That was probably your best chance to have me get killed?!" I questioned as while I was grateful for her saving me at that moment, I was also questioning why at the last moment she decided to change her mind on fulfilling her duty.
"I...I didn't want to see you die… not like that…" Amy explained as I could tell there was more in those eyes of her that she was not telling me at that moment. "Remember how...you said you were experiencing... the dreams of my father? And how... you didn't know…. why you were getting... those dreams?" Amy questioned as I nodded my head at that moment, my voice leaving me at that moment.
"The reason why you were able to experience the life of my father… is simply because the body you have right now… Is my father's." Amy's words at that moment… just left me both stunned and confused. What did she mean by that. "Sora...Minakaze… You truly are not aware of what you actually are aren't you?" Amy questioned as I paused for a moment before nodding my head. "I knew it… You...more specifically the soul you have, was drawn to my father's body and made it your own."
The more Amy spoke, the more she started to make less sense towards me. "Think about it Sora Minakaze… Think about...the life you have lived so far… and what your past was like." Amy said before she began to cough blood. "Ahhh… It looks like that attack was truly fatal. At this point, I don't think I am going to make it." Amy said as my eyes widened upon hearing that. "Then ask the Master Unit to bring you back to let you recover. You can do that at least right?!" I questioned.
"I… do not think she will save me. Especially after seeing me save you the way I did." Amy said as she coughed even more. "I will most likely… just die right here… and my soul will return to the Azure as a result. Sorry I won't be able to indulge you and your request to fight me." Amy continued as I decided to shake my head greatly and try to silence her by hugging her as tightly as I could. "Just shut up Amy… There's no need for you to talk the way you are right now." I said.
"...I know… but at the same time… You know it yourself, I am not long for this world…" Amy's words pained me with each and every word she spoke. I cannot believe what I was hearing right now and also how she saved me when this whole time, she had been trying to kill me. Even if she learned all of this information about me, she didn't seem like she was going to stray from her duty until this very moment.
"Just...Just promise me one thing Sora Minakaze." Amy said as I felt her grip on life slowly slip past me as I gripped her hand tightly at that moment. "Please… take care of the body… Father gave you…. That body… My wish for father… is the only thing...I truly...care for…" As she said those words, the life at her breath finally left her as I just felt her suddenly become heavy in my arms. A sickening, familiar feeling for me as grief began to swell inside me uncontrollably.
"Amy…" I simply said. I cannot believe what was going on right now. Amy… the girl I thought was a ghost my entire life, especially back at the Academy. The girl that only a few months ago revealed herself to be some agent for the god that determines how you live/die in the world and finally a person that tried to kill me. She was now dead in my arms and somewhere… beyond my chest, the fact I saw her dead in front of me right now was causing me deep untold grief.
"What a shame… A guardian of the Azure sacrificed her life to save you." A voice coldly spoke, his chilling words piercing through the grief I felt at that moment. "But what an interesting reaction her death has brought towards your soul. I must thank her for providing me such a reaction." That voice continued as tears began to stream down my eyes, the grief nearly overwhelming as I stood in front of that voice.
...My anger clear to be felt…
As Relius Clover spoke his words, his eyes were gazing upon the sight of the soul in front of him. Sora Minakaze's soul remained the same, particularly focused on his direction but an interesting development had occurred. Sora's soul gazed right back at him, as if the soul itself… had a soul beyond that, gazing from the abyss, with a near piercing glare. Then that gaze became even more intense with several more eyes glaring his way.
"How dare you speak of her like that… You Masked Freak…" Sora said as Relius noticed the stump of Sora's arm begin to leak out what seemed to be Seithr. It was at that moment he felt something open behind him as he turned to see what seemed to be an impossible sight. The Ibukido Cauldron, currently closed and awaiting it's purpose, was slowly opening it's gates before him. He had not given the order for the cauldron to open it's gates yet here they were, opening their gates in response to something.
But the next sight that he saw amazed him even further. What he saw emerge out of the gate was not the usual flow of Seithr that is associated with the cauldron but souls. Several tiny, insignificant souls came surging out of the cauldron, all of them making their way towards the stump of Sora's arm as much to Relius's further amazement, those souls willingly began to merge themselves to Sora's own soul, making the gaze he felt become much more prominent as the soul of the recently deceased Amy left her body.
But instead of returning towards the Azure like how most souls would do so, Relius Clover instead saw the soul of the deceased guardian of the Azure instead drift itself towards Sora instead, her soul becoming one with the man's. The very sight of a developed Murakumo Unit's soul being absorbed by what should be an insignificant soul, let alone a sea of souls doing so told Relius Clover about Sora Minakaze's true identity.
"So… that is your true Identity." Relius Clover said as he then felt an instant blood lust come his way as he quickly ordered Ignis to protect him, Ignis raising her massive arms to block the incoming attack. Ignis would have blocked said attack if it were not for the fact that a ghost like claw arm phased itself past the doll, slamming it's fist right at Relius's chest, causing him to slide as Ignis quickly retreated once again to protect her master as Relius gazed upon the individual known as Sora Minakaze.
He could now see it. A sea of souls accumulated and forming what looked to be an arm on Sora's stump. That arm took on the shape of a clawed beast, black in mass as it looked more ghost like rather than a solid piece of flesh. Sora's eyes were also different, both eyes were bearing one color, not the blind eye and brilliant yellow eye he normally had but instead, both eyes were now glowing the color of Azure green, their gaze focused upon him at that moment.
"Relius Clover… You are a person I can never let live." Sora said, both anger and grief was present in his voice as Relius felt a chill come down his back. He cannot believe such a presence was condensed down to a small individual. Yet this was also a chance that Relius could not pass up upon. He needed to take in as much of the information that was going to be delivered to him as soon as possible, not just for the sake of his detonator project but also any future products he had in his mind.
...As the grief of one individual… becomes a strength that both will get to experience...
GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION!? HOW IS EVERYONE DOING ON THIS FINE DAY!? AND YES, THIS IS THE FINAL CHAPTER OF THE YEAR! Energetic start aside, I am truly still shocked that the 12 months of the year passed by so quickly yet again. What has happened in the meantime? Well, nothing much other than finally deciding to go and visit family and also dealing with laptop troubles again.
You see, My laptop's other hinge, after I had gone through the effort of repairing the original broken hinge with Epoxy decided to commit hinge sudoku and popped out. As a result, this last chapter of 2022 is being written by my new Laptop which is a great way for me to practice writing on this laptop. For my old laptop. Thank you for your loyal service for the past few years and I hope this new laptop is the same old workhorse that old laptop was.
SO WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT!? WHAT WILL BE THE CONCLUSION OF THE FIGHT BETWEEN SORA MINAKAZE AND RELIUS CLOVER!? WILL MORE BLOOD BE SPILLED OR WILL THE BLOODSHED FINALLY COME TO AN END!? AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO SORA THE MOMENT HE DECIDES TO TAKE THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS THAT GATE!? Now yes, a cliffhanger at the end of the year may such, I promise you that the next chapter will come soon enough.