The far side of the moon serves as the celestial trash bin for the Moon Cell, housing all that is unwanted and uncontrollable. Within this imaginary number space lies a realm of infinite possibilities, paradoxically filled with both potential and nothingness. It is a place where the boundaries between the real and unreal blur into conceivable yet contradictory notions.
If one were to observe from the outside, a spectrum of perspectives would unfold. To me, it might appear as a vibrant rainbow, while another observer might witness a different spectrum of colors. A third person, in turn, would experience yet another variation. Remarkably, all three perspectives coexist in a state of simultaneous truth and falsehood. This intricate duality defines the enigmatic nature of the far side of the moon.
I ran behind a dune, though in reality, it was an expanse of scrap code compressed into minuscule grains of sand for storage. It's all inconsequential—minor observations and false errors that the Moon Cell encounters every day. The surroundings resembled a white desert, punctuated only by distant crystalline structures. As I gazed at the sky, it appeared like an underwater scene, with clouds moving rhythmically, mirroring the ebb and flow of water. In the distance, lightning and thunder added a touch of drama, but from horizon to horizon, there was nothing but an endless desert of the useless and unwanted.
Makes sense why I'm here.
I waited until the vision subsided, then I sprinted. Archer should be approaching the dune by now. As he reached the top, I teleported the rings. They swirled around the bowman at breakneck speeds. Clenching my hands, they transformed into a miniature quasar, exploding in a golden light. I hurried behind a crystalline structure, feeling the rings return to my fingers. Knowing Archer, he should have dodged that attack.
I reclined against the crystal tree, my reflection appearing distorted in its trunk. With blonde cropped hair, electric blue eyes, and regal features, I appeared handsome by all accounts, except for a single flaw – if it could be called that – a scar on the side of my lip. I flinched at the sight, and the rings circled around me. For a moment, I thought it was Caster
He has my face.
Or more accurately I have his.
An arrow whizzes past a branch, Archer's moving. Another vision flashes, and I swiftly leap out of harm's way, sprinting as far from the tree as possible. It explodes in a cascade of crystal, and for a moment, I catch a glimpse of what could have been. These trees are observations of pruned timelines, insignificant, yet I couldn't deny their beauty.
In my mind's eye, I witnessed an underwater world, where life never reached the shore. I see unimaginable creatures, monsters, and beasts, a history of nations and dreams beneath the sea. All of it extinguished with a single arrow, their records obliterated, and their world forgotten forever. Shaking off the haunting visions, I run for my life, each step raising clouds of dust.
I foresee another vision: an arrow lodging itself in my throat, leading to a death by drowning in my own blood. Reacting swiftly, I dodge to the right, and the lethal arrow zooms past me.
Yet another vision unfolds. An arrow targets my legs, and I crumble to the ground as Archer finishes me off. In a nimble move, I leap into the air, allowing the arrow to harmlessly hit the sands below.
Then, a barrage of four, no, five arrows targets me – back, heart, head, lungs, and legs. Evading, I sprint to the left, executing a strategic roll on the ground. Those arrows miss, and that ominous future fades away.
Getting back on my feet, a vision engulfs me: Archer releases a low-quality phantasm, the sword piercing through my spine before exploding. Realizing evasion is impossible, I turn around. The rings circle my hands, forming a protective ring of gold. The barrier is ready just as Archer fires. His sword screams through the air until it reaches me. I catch it in my hands, it vibrates wildly. Struggling to maintain my grip, sweat dripping from my brow, I muster all my strength to hurl it into the air, where it detonates in a powerful explosion.
I huffed deep breaths before collapsing to my knees. What was I doing? Archer has a clear shot. Yet, I didn't see my own demise. The future remained as elusive as ever. Glancing at my would-be killer, I saw a red specter. His face concealed by a red cloak, wielding a large black bow. It could be none other than Nameless, the hero of Wrought Iron. In discarded futures, I had baited him into shooting Hrunting, Caladbolg, and other sword noble phantasms. There is no heroic spirit with that many phantasms but him, and someone else, but if it were that guy, I would be dead already.
I scanned immediate futures and they all end the same, the moment I move he unleashed his full might and I'm dead. I gulped, sweat dripped down my cheek, the tension was killing me. I swallowed my fear and decided to commit.
"Why are you doing this?" I say in a haste. Waiting for the moment he shoots his bow.
"You are a threat. I deal with threats." Archer's voice sounded strained but strong.
"But I never hurt anyone."
"It's not about what you did. It's what you can become."
I glimpse into another vision: Nameless draped in crimson, ruthlessly cutting down soldiers, dreamers, revolutionaries, idealists, and comrades—all in the pursuit of justice. He transcends mere humanity, embodying an idea in the flesh—he was both criminal and hero. In the end, he was apprehended, tried, and condemned to death. Never once did he express regret for his choices; if given the chance he would do it again.
"I…I never chose to become this."
"We never chose how we are made." He materializes Hrunting , a pitch black sword with coiling edges. The weapon of Beowulf, repurpose into an arrow. "That's the tragedy of it all."
I glimpse the future, a single path unfolding, but I have to be precise. He aligns the sword, its trajectory aimed straight for my eyes. If I'm too fast it will explode, too slow and it will shatter my skull. The instant it's released, it will move faster than my eyes can see—I have to trust my instincts.
Archer remains motionless for a moment, his bow steady.
"What are you waiting for?" I scoff.
He narrows his eyes then releases. It glows red, faster than my eyes can process.
Five, four, three—the future shifts.
Now!
The rings on my fingers emanate a brilliant glow. Tilting my head sideways, the sword barely grazes my shoulders. Swiftly, I seize the hilt of the sword mid-air with my hands. The Ten Rings of Solomon, among the most powerful mystic codes in the world. Possession of all ten grants complete control over all magecraft performed by mankind.
Hrunting is mine!
"[Seal of Solomon]!"
The sword glowed red. I knew this weapon was fake, but that didn't diminish its quality as an imitation. Flames appeared on the blade as I swung; I could feel the noble phantasm come to life. Archer was startled, but that quickly ceased. He wasn't going to hold back anymore.
The future turns, I deftly slice through half of the arrows shot at me, while the other half is destroyed by my rings dancing around me like fireflies. Archer fires more swords, and I run, explosions at my back, with the rings following me like shooting stars. Hrunting pulses in my grip, it craves blood.
Fine then.
I gesture at Archer, and my rings fly. They zoom toward him like a homing missile; the red Archer dodges and weaves, but he can't shake off my rings. This is my chance. Allowing Hrunting to guide me, the sword follows him like a hound sniffing out blood. Archer keeps shooting at me, deftly dodging my rings, but his aim falters, and the sword knows just where to strike. I'm closer now, almost within reach of his red cloak, worn out and covered in tears.
Hrunting pulses again, and the sword swings, cutting off a piece of Archer's cloak—a red rag large enough to cover his entire body. One of the rings finds its mark, exploding in a golden light on Archer's chest. He is flung backward, and I feel the ring return to my finger. Archer twirls in the air, regaining his balance, and shoots two arrows at me. I cut one and almost dodge the other, leaving a small cut on my cheek.
The battle intensifies, and I can hear my heart racing a mile a minute. I don't need to see the future to tell where this is going. He can't shoot phantasms; I'm too close to him now. He would be caught in the blast. If I keep pressuring him, get into melee range, then I win. I can feel Hrunting pulsing in agreement.
I don't know why, but a bloodthirsty feeling consumes me. I wonder if this is what the children of Mars feel. I press on, having him on the ropes until a vision dislodges me from my high. Archer is baiting me—I can see it, but Hrunting refuses to listen. The sword itself has a mind of its own; for a fake, it is surprisingly real. The sword controls my swings, its momentum pushing me forward. Two of my rings hit Archer, red scraps tearing from his cloak. He is hiding something under there; I don't know what it is, but it's dangerous. Hrunting edges me closer, the future becoming clearer and clearer. I am upon him, and my mind is conflicted. On one hand, the sword wants to press on; on the other, my intuition tells me to run. I don't know what to do.
The decision is made for me, and Hrunting swings down, straight for Archer's chest. I could almost see his face, a glint of metal under his cloak, then the vision hit—my head explodes.
"No!"
I lost control and all my rings detonated, they flung to the wayside and the future was averted. Sadly, I was caught in the explosion; all I saw was light as I was sent across the sands. My body smoked, covered in burns, and Hrunting escaped from my fingers, dematerializing. Trembling, I got up, but then my body glitched. This was unlike anything I had felt before—my very existence was being denied. I didn't feel pain, but everything felt numb. My memories were vanishing before me. A distant memory of my mother, my sister—they disappeared before my eyes.
"Where is-" My rings, I need my rings.
I commanded my rings to come to me; they glowed a faint gold in the desert. I jumped towards them, crawling on my stomach, digging up sand. Eight out of the ten, I could feel Caster's eyes behind me. I dared not look back. I can't.
I pull up number nine, the sand drips from my hands.
Now where is-
Archer stood there, holding the ring in his fingers, tempting me to take it.
"Please."
Archer grunts, the cloak hiding his face.
"I need it." I stood up running towards him. "I can't-" I fall, my left leg crumbles into golden dust. I could see golden particles escape from my body, I'm running out of time.
"You're dying."
"Please."
"Your spirit origin is damaged… No, it's something else. You're a fragment someone threw away."
"I need-" I could see an open book, its words slowly disappearing. Caster was there, watching it all. The past was slipping from my grip, the fifth cohort, names and deeds gone forever. At the end, I saw a little boy crying on the steps of a stone building, a great wolf hiding in the shadows. Caster walked up to the child, and the little boy stopped crying. They looked at each other; the wolf snarled in defiance. Caster's eyes, there wasn't anything human in them.
"No excuses." He told the boy.
The first command.
I see the future; the camp is reduced to ash. The great wolf beheaded, daemons prowling among the scraps. I witness Caster beneath a burning sky, a great crown on his brow, his monstrous companion ever beside him—the destroyer of Rome. Olympus falls, the gods torn down from the heavens. Gaea herself bleeds; her blood flows like a river, drunk by the daemons. In the center stands the architect, the Beast of Pity, the King of Demon Gods—a True Daemon, free from all humanity. He sees me, and the monstrous entity speaks.
"No excuses." He told me.
"By my command spell, I order you. Thou shalt not make excuses." The first words spoken by my master.
I felt a surge of energy and the ring glowed harshly in Archer's grip. My other rings circled around my arm; I had one chance. I shot a golden beam at Archer, stinging his hand, and in reflex, he dropped the ring.
Come to me!
The ring flew off mid-air into my hands. I could feel my existence being reinforced, memories flooding back. Bobby, Dakota, Gwen, Marcus—the laughs, the losses. The little boy smiled.
I stood up; the particles were gone, and I was whole again. My rings circled me in a golden light; all ten shone like stars. I couldn't fall today; there was so much work to be done.
I will stop Caster, if it's the last thing I do.
Archer prepared his bow, three arrows aimed right at me. I need to pressure him enough to throw Calaborg at me, it will be very tight and I will lose a limb. But I could see where this was headed—the future was muddled, but if I executed this perfectly, I could escape, barely. Then the future breaks again.
I jump backward before I am hit. A wave of sand sprouts between us, I ducked before I was bisected by a sword. Archer does the same, using his cloak to shield his face. As the sand falls, she emerges. With fox ears and a tail, in a schoolgirl's uniform. In her hand, a katana adorned in gold and red, with a hilt resembling a magatama necklace.
"Oi! Is this the place?" Her voice was both irritated and amused.
She faced me, her golden eyes smiling. With orange strawberry hair flowing down to her torso, a black tate-eboshi hat, a red hakama dress, and suikan, she looked like a cosplaying weirdo. Especially since I knew she wasn't wearing... Sometimes, I hate my clairvoyance skill.
She must be Saber.
"Hey!" She pointed her sword at me. "Is this the one?"
I spot a white-haired boy running in the distance, dressed in black. It must be tough for him in the desert heat. I can't hear what he's saying, but that grin on her face says it all. I threw my rings at her before running away. I didn't bother to look behind me; the explosions should have at least done some damage. My nerves calmed down when the rings teleported back to my fingers.
I foresee a future where I am skewered; I swiftly dodge to the left. A katana stabs the sand. In the next moment, another swing, and I dodge to the right, narrowly avoiding Saber's attempt to sever my head.
"Oi! You brat!" The Saber was swinging her sword wildly, her hair was trailing smoke. "You will pay for what you did to my hair!"
I see an arrow, I bend over backwards as it misses me and hits Saber. Archer was still taking potshots.
"Hey!? What's the big idea!?" The fox girl screamed as she cut another projectile.
The Archer didn't answer and kept shooting arrows. Some aimed at me while most aimed at her. She cut them all down while I could only dodge. I'm running out of stamina, I can't keep this up forever; I could barely keep up as it is using enchantment magecraft but a servant's speed is no joke. Fighting two servants at the same time will kill me, I have to turn them against each other. I searched the future for the right words to say.
"The-"
"That's it!"
Eventually, she grew annoyed and dashed towards Archer.
Huh, that was easier than I thought.
Well, I'm in the clear now, so I should be— The future changed abruptly, and I found myself tackled to the ground. It was the same boy from earlier, he's after my rings. He's using enhancement magecraft as well, but I learned combat in Camp Jupiter. Managing to pry him off, and pin him down, locking his arms behind his back. Shoving him onto his stomach with his face in the sand. I noticed the command spells on his hand; he was a master in the Moon Holy Grail War.
Visions flood me, I see a boy and a bell. A burning house, a girl's smile, a hospital, the war and then her… My master.
"You!" I restrained him harder. "What does she want! Why are you here!"
He was quiet, then I twisted his arm and he screamed in pain.
"Tell me!" My hands glowed gold as I touched the back of his head. Despite being human, I possessed the powers of a servant. In this realm of data, everything could be manipulated. If I have too, I will pry the information from his head. A vision hit me, I saw two swords slashed at my arms. I leaped away from the kid, the swords only lightly touched my shirt.
"Kazu-kun! Get away from my boyfriend!" "Not-ah. Boyfriend."
Saber guards her master, glaring daggers at me. It felt like I was staring into the eyes of Lupa, a wild beast with human intelligence. This servant wasn't human. I see another vision, I witnessed her fight a warrior and the love and tragedy that followed. She cried as the warrior cut her down, all she wanted was his love. I stepped back, that was too much information.
"Saber, use your first noble phantasm," the boy huffed. The fox girl smiled, in a vision I saw hundreds of swords suspended in the air.
"As if I'll let you!" My rings circled in front of me. It was time to activate my noble phantasm.
"[Lord, experience the-" I flinched; I made a mistake by looking in her eyes, they mesmerized me. The mystic eyes of enchantment. I couldn't attack her, couldn't look away from her. Was she always this beautiful?
"Written work, If one unties a pillow by its string, be known far and wide, Daitouren." She spoke an aria, but it was futile for me. I couldn't take advantage of it. I couldn't move; I couldn't even use my rings. Her eyes must be from a divine power. But did I even want to?
"Many clouds shall rise and cover the skies like roof tiles and evil spirits shall swarm, spearing the sparrow." A golden blade flies into the air, it multiplied into hundreds of circling swords.
I can see myself being stabbed hundreds of times, I didn't even dodge, I may as well be a sitting duck. But then I saw another, the future is never set in stone. Unlike the past, the future feels like murky water; you can't see anything, only vague impressions from your mind. It's easy to misinterpret. In the other I see a great light engulf everything, but is that true or a figment of my imagination?
"Sword of Transcendent Wisdom and Knowledge Daishintou." All the swords aimed at me. I wanted to scream, I wanted to run. "Love Blast. [Heavenly Demon Rain]!" The swords fell, like raindrops in a sunset. Despite it all, it was beautiful. If this is the end, then maybe it wasn't a bad way to die. Then a shooting star comes between us, a spiral arrow that twists the air. It explodes midway, all the swords ricochet away, it was the great light from my vision.
The enchantment breaks and I can move my body. It felt like waking from a dream, my eyes were still cloudy. But I can't stop here, I reinforced my legs, the magic circuits glowed as I ran away. When the light died Saber was the first to react.
"Hey! What's your problem Archer!? I almost had him!"
"Saber, After him!" Her master commanded.
"Tch!" What she did next defied convention. She was airborne, not exactly flying, but hopping on her two floating swords. Each sword rotated forward with each step. I had no idea how she was doing that, but with her speed there's no way she can catch-
Her master did something, his command spells sparked red.
A codecast!
Specialized magecraft used by spiritron hackers; in this world of data, with the right skills, you can manipulate anything, even servants. She was gaining speed, and I couldn't even think before she was on top of me. She jumped off her sword and dive-bombed me. I couldn't react; there was no time to defend. I would have died if Archer hadn't hit her with Hrunting. The arrow pierced through her stomach; she coughed blood, exploded, and the fox girl flung to the wayside, leaving a smoking trail. But I couldn't call him my savior; after all, another arrow slashed my shoulder, and I fell backward on the sand.
"Who's side are you on?" I said through clenched teeth.
The red specter didn't say anything, he drew another arrow.
Oh come on.
I felt another codecast activate, Saber was back on her feet.
Oh come on!
Anticipating the attack, I rolled to the side. Her katana grazed me by a hair's breadth, slashing sand into the air. In response Archer shot four arrows, two for each of us. I manipulated one of my rings, sending it precisely between the arrows. The ring detonated, obliterating two of the arrows in a burst of golden light.
"[Blessing of Wisdom, Shoutouren]!"
Saber cut both in one swing, eyes fixed on me. I avoided eye contact, I will not fall for her enchantment again. She easily sliced through all the arrows Archer threw at her, revealing a skill level quite different from her earlier demeanor. In fact, she felt much colder than before; that fiery personality of hers disappeared. Studying briefly, she seemed to debate my threat level before turning towards Archer. I don't know whether to be offended or relieved. But this gave me time, I needed to escape, not just from this area but from this entire trash bin.
I don't remember how I got here. I just wanted to get away from where I was, as far and fast as possible. And I landed here, then Archer showed up.
Now that I think about it, how did they even get here?
Saber and Archer entered into a game of cat and mouse. She chases and he runs, constantly shooting arrows at her, dodging or deflecting them all. She couldn't give him enough room to use his phantasms, the moment he made some distance she quickly closed the sped across the desert, their battle making a cloud of dust. Arrows flying everywhere, none of them hit their target, she would automatically know where they are and strike or dodge. It was some form of clairvoyance, or a calculating skill.
Her sword turned into water and lashed out like a whip, but Archer dodged every strike like a game of double dutch. Then she threw two spinning swords at him like frisbees, but he jumped between them, narrowly avoiding being cut at the head and legs. When that didn't work she went into melee range, I couldn't see anything now, everything was a whirlwind of blades and red. I couldn't even picture myself fighting in these battles, I would die in the first four seconds.
I looked to the side and I saw her master. He was kneeling on the ground, his servant must be performing hell on his reserves. This is my chance.
I sprinted towards him, but a vision made me stop mid-way. One of Saber's swords almost slashed me in two, it spins like a boomerang passing me, flying back to the battle. A warning, but should I heed it? She's a bit preoccupied, and I doubt I can face her in this state. Turning her attention to me might be worse. The future doesn't provide any answers; it's all a murky mess. I didn't know what to do.
I hear a gunshot from the battle, Saber screams as she grips her shoulders. A red stain graces the sand, all her swords fall.
"Saber!" Her master yelled, preparing another codecast.
I stopped that from happening, one of my rings flew towards the boy. It detonated next to his face, propelling him to the sand.
"Kazu-kun! Why you—Arrgghhh!" She wailed in pain, collapsing onto the desert. Something emerged in my visions, something I dreaded seeing again. I watched in horror as Saber screamed, a sword erupting from her body. In my vision, I saw a world of swords—a red haze of clockwork and blood—all condensed into a single bullet. Saber retched blood as her body blossomed into a steel flower. It emerged from her slowly at first, then exploded outward. Red ichor rained in the desert, and I fought the urge to vomit.
What was left of Saber was a red mass of steel and blades. Like an explosion frozen in time, it would have been beautiful if I didn't know how it was made.
"H-How.." Nameless couldn't do this. From what I know of him, he would never commit such brutality. He was supposed to be a hero of justice.
Archer walked towards me, resembling more of a grim reaper now. His cloak concealed his face, shrouding his entire body in darkness. As he dropped his bow, it faded before even reaching the ground. That was when another vision entered my mind.
"You're not Nameless."
He pulled down his hood, and I saw a monster. A man whose ideals had been pushed to the limit, one who had crossed the thin line that separates good from evil. I witnessed a man slaughtering both the innocent and guilty. Their screams, their cries haunt me. Nothing deterred him—the elderly, women, children, the lame, the blind, the injured, the disabled. Whether they were good or bad didn't matter to him. I saw him point a gun at a woman, tears streaming down her eyes, her trembling hands holding a gun. She loved him, treating him like her own child, yet he pulled the trigger, to him she was just another obstacle. Thousands more perished by his hands, and in the end, he was paraded as a hero, but he lived as a monster—a bloodthirsty murderer, an emotionless tool of slaughter.
He is what Nameless could have been, an alter.
He aimed a weapon at me, a fusion of a blade and gun. The man's skin was cracking with gold, his complexion dark, and his hair white. There was nothing alive behind his eyes—just a golden blur, like reflective water, void of any life.
"How?... Why are you here?"
He didn't say anything.
"I atleast have a right to know!"
"... You're a threat, I deal with threats."
"If you kill me he'll win!"
"I was never going to kill you." He aimed at my legs, and the horrors unfolded. A world of pure darkness consumed my vision; I would go mad. Forming a barrier with my rings, he fired. Catching the bullet mid-air, I suspended it with my barrier, the force pushing me away. It felt like pushing against a bus; I clenched my teeth as the muscles in my arms screamed in pain. The bullet emitted red lightning as I struggled to hold it.
I can't sustain it!
He shot more and the barrier cracked, I panicked. I see a future where I explode into a flurry of swords.
"[Seal of Solomon]!"
My rings glowed, the bullets disappeared and I let out a large sigh; I almost died there. Now that I think about it, all his magecraft can be completely nullified by me, it was made by human hands after all. I have a fighting chance against him, he can't hurt me. My rings encircled me like planets, with me as their sun. I smirked and Archer scowled.
The man took his two guns and merged them together, they twisted into a double bladed scythe. Before I could think, he moved, his body was like a red blur, his cloak trailing in the after image. I used my clairvoyance to dodge the attack, his scythe spins over my face.
"[Seal-ack!" He elbows me in the stomach and kicks my face. Despite seeing the attack coming, he moves too fast for me to react. Collapsing back onto the sand, in a vision I see him cut off my limbs. I ordered my rings to fly towards his scythe, halting it mid-swing. Rolling to the side, I evade Archer's follow-up swing. He twirls the weapon, and the second blade is upon me. I reinforce my hands; the magic circuits glow as I stand to grab the blade. Despite my hands reinforced harder than steel, I still bleed; his blade is razor-sharp. But I have control now.
"[Seal of Solomon]."
My rings glow, and now I owned his blade. However, I hadn't counted on Archer still holding it. Trying to fight him for it would be a losing battle, so I chose to vanish it. The scythe dematerialized, and in response, Archer punched me in the face. If I hadn't reinforced myself, I might have lost all my teeth, but that didn't stop the pain. I saw stars for a second before a vision of a blade filled my sight. He materialized a gun-blade, I ducked before he could take my head off.
Projection magecraft. Archer's speciality.
No matter how many times I destroy his weapons, he can create more. To prove my point he summoned another gun, he slash both like blades. I could barely dodge as he sliced and diced, using reinforcement on my legs, I sped out of there. Archer retaliated with bullets.
"[Seal of Solomon]."
The bullets disappeared an inch from my skin. I flung my rings at him, urging them to explode. Archer shot them all down, each bullet triggering a blast prematurely. We almost reached a stalemate; I couldn't hurt him, and he couldn't touch me, except for one problem—I'm running out of mana. This would be different if I had a master, but my own left me; forced to use my own reserves, I'm tiring out. The urge to sleep is strong, I wanted to fall on the ground and sleep.
At best, I could only utilize two noble phantasms. Yet, even peering into the future incurs a mana cost, and with the reinforcements, the rings, and the actual combat, I find myself at a disadvantage. I believe Archer is well aware of this; if he intended to keep me alive, he wouldn't have executed all those instant-death attacks. He wanted to deplete my mana, it would be easier to capture me. It's only when Saber arrived that his plans took an unexpected turn.
"So, what now, Archer?" We circled each other, his guns aimed at me. I couldn't stop the sweat on my brow; I'm huffing deep breaths. This could be the tipping point, but I see no way out. Should I risk looking into the future? That would take mana and I can't outrun Archer. In a straight battle, I will certainly lose. Deciding to risk it, I could feel the mana penalty affecting me—it must be because I'm so close to exhaustion. In the vision, a few minutes from now, give or take, Archer will be limp on the ground. I don't see how though; my vision was interrupted.
He attacked first, firing his gun, and I had no choice but to dodge. Two bullets hit my left arm; I narrowly avoided the shot to my heart. Archer rushed at me, and I didn't reinforce my legs—I had a plan. He was right in front of me, his gun-blade ready to slash. Saving all my mana for this moment, my rings circled around me.
"[Lord, experience the joy of life]!"
All the rings glowed in an explosion of golden light. Archer was point-blank when they shot ten golden beams of energy. The force pushed the man back, hurling him across the horizon. I made sure to prolong this as much as possible. The beams heated the landscape, leaving trails of scorching sand and igniting golden fires everywhere they touched. It lasted only for a minute before the light died, and then I was completely drained. I gambled everything on that one attack; the exhaustion was enough to bring me to my knees.
A minute passed, and Archer hasn't shown up. I used this time to cradle my arm, picking out the bullets from my wound. If I were a normal servant, it would have healed by itself, but sadly I need to use magecraft, which I can't. The pain was unbearable, then the mana exhaustion kicked in. I could barely see straight, there was a ringing in my ear; I was so close to passing out.
"Impressive." I was kicked to the ground.
Archer stood behind me, his face against the sea-like sky.
"I didn't think you still had so much." With his foot he flipped me over, his gun pointed at my face. "But you should be out of mana by now."
"Wait!" I had to stall, grasping at anything for a few more precious minutes. "You still didn't-
Archer pushed his foot on my chest, the pain intensified. I tried to pry him off but he was too strong.
"I think I will start with the arms." He raised the weapon, its blades shimmered against the sky.
"Pa-Please da-don't."
Archer closed his eyes and released a deep sigh. His arm began its descent, and I felt my own breath leave me. I closed my eyes as I heard the swing, bracing for the pain. But it never came, I could feel droplets drip on my cheek. When I opened my eyes I was greeted with a sword tip inches from my face. The blood dripped down Archer's chest, he was impaled by a katana.
"Wa-What?" Archer coughs up blood, his eyes as round as dishes.
In a fraction of a second the katana slid out of his body and he was kicked to the side. He was limp on the sands, his body not moving. That sword pierced straight through his heart, his spirit origin must be damaged.
"Now." Saber's voice turned cold, her body draped in red, blood dripping everywhere, even her hair a deep crimson. She grabbed me by the collart, her bloody hands staining my purple Camp Jupiter t-shirt. Lifting me up, her blade at my neck, poised to slice.
"Wait." Her master said, walking casually toward the servant.
"Hmm? What is it, Kazu-kun?" She spoke softly, like a preppy schoolgirl; it was difficult to connect that voice with her bloody appearance.
"Change of plans. She wants him." Dread began to settle in; if she is who I think he means, it could be worse than death.
"Oh! Maybe we can ask for another command spell!" She was gleed, and her master sighed.
"Wait, don't-" Saber hit me with the blunt of her sword. Everything started to go dark and with mana exhaustion, I passed out.
Caster and I sat in the backseat, a little boy playing with a toy dinosaur between us in his car seat. I looked out the window and I saw vineyards and fields, green mountains and a blue sky. A mother and daughter were at the front, arguing. The mother was beautiful, with blonde poofy hair and blue eyes; the daughter was charming, had straight black hair and blue electric eyes. The car came to a stop at a park. The mother exited first, followed by the daughter who went back to pick up the boy. She kissed him on his brow before they all left.
I glanced at Caster; his face betrayed no emotion. Following suit, he exited the car, leaving me alone. Sitting there in silence, I couldn't help but question why I was there. My legs trembled, and my arms shook. Unable to endure the stillness any longer, I bolted out of the car.
Caster was gone, but the family remained. The mother gestured towards a stone house, and her daughter reacted with a tight hold on the boy. Eventually, she relented and handed the child to her mother. She walked away, I never saw her face, my heart ached.
I watched as the mother walked to the house, she placed the boy on the stone steps.
"I'll be back, just wait for me." She smiled with tears in her eyes.
The boy didn't understand; he cried for her to stay. She shook her head and left the boy, offering a final farewell before vanishing. The little boy wept on the stone steps, calling for his mother to return. He cried and cried but no one came. A great wolf watched from the shadows, peering out of the darkness. She looked at me, in her eyes there was nothing but pity.
"Remember." Caster stood next to me.
The second command.
Solomon, the great king, sat on his throne while his country burned. Corruption and decay ravaged the land, his people were dying. Despite possessing the power and wisdom to intervene, to heal wounds and save his people, I watched in horror as he did nothing. He let it all crumble. Near his end, Solomon instructed me to watch, to witness mankind forever.
I saw hell. I witnessed mankind strive for betterment only to fail through their own faults. Men committed evil upon themselves – injustice, slaughter, pain, hate, war, discrimination, greed, exploitation, depravity, cruelty, corruption, abuse, betrayal, ignorance, and more. So much more.
I witnessed a mother begging for her child's life, only for both to be killed. A king slain by his own brother, driven by greed and lust. A tyrant enslaving his own people. Scholars put to death for rejecting religious dogma. A great war claiming thousands of lives and enslaving many. A family pleading for the life of their bedridden father. Children paraded to their deaths. The screams of the masses, demanding the death of an innocent man. A coliseum where men and women are forced to fight for entertainment. People ripped from their families and turned into slaves. A king indulging while his people starve. A woman forced to drink poison. The fall of a mighty kingdom at the hands of a despot. Half a city consumed by flame.
It was too much. I cried. Forced to watch this madness, helpless and overwhelmed.
Man was an enemy to man. I couldn't comprehend why humanity was so imperfect.
I see a great war before me, demi-gods against demi-gods. Brother against brother, sister against sister. Monsters great and terrible tearing humans apart. The lord of time is sundered and a hero is slain. I see the rise of the Earth and the death of a friend. I see the fall of a god and the snip of a scissor.
Then I saw it, my death. My last word was.
"Remember!"
"By my command spell, I order you once more. Remember all those that failed you." The second words spoken by my master.
I woke up on hardwood, feeling the texture on my elbows as I pulled myself up. The room was lit by artificial light. As I stood up, I noticed how weird this place was. I was on a table, the furniture seemed disproportionately far away – dressers, shelves, and what appeared to be a shrine area, resembling a modern Japanese home. But everything was gigantic, I stood on a table the size of a football field. It felt like I was a doll in a giant room.
I was greeted by a voice from behind, a haunting "Hello, thief." I turned around to face a colossal figure. Towering above me, she had short purple hair adorned with a yellow ribbon, wearing a green kimono with a frilly collar. Her eyes, a bright yellow-green, held a seemingly smiling expression, as she rested her head on her hands. If not for her towering size, she would have looked like a little girl.
This was my master. I tried to activate my clairvoyance skill but I saw nothing.
"Welcome to Bug Space," she declared, reaching for me with her gigantic hand. Attempting to flee, I found myself pinned down on her finger. The weight was overwhelming, I couldn't move.
"I took the liberty of healing you. It would be awful if you died so soon." She trapped me between her index and thumb, bringing me uncomfortably close to her face. Her fingers rubbed against my head, any moment she could pop me like a balloon."What do you want?" I shouted, but my plea was met with her frown, and suddenly, I was dropped onto her tongue. The experience was a mix of darkness and agony. Eventually, she spat me out, leaving me gasping for air, covered in her saliva.
"What I want is simple." She smacked me with her finger, and I rolled to the side. "I could have won the war, an instant victory. But you..." She snarled, and as I struggled to stand, her index finger punted me to the ground, the impact feeling like my organs were being crushed.
"You ruined everything." She picked me up by my legs, the blood rushing to my head. "Now I have to interact with you useless bugs even more! Do you have any idea what it's like to be around insects!?" Her screaming made my ears , she juggled me between her palms, I wanted to throw up.
"I never thought I could hate anyone as much as Senpai . One miracle after another, Jason-kun. What are the odds?" She wore a fake smile, and eventually, she dropped me on the table, causing me to momentarily black out.
"Well, I guess it isn't all bad. I get to stay with my king a bit longer." I struggled to lift my arms, summoning all my willpower to crawl.
My rings circled me. "[Lord-"
Her fingers smacked me to the ground.
"The things he can do, if only you could see it. It would make you scream." She giggled in delight, her face blushing like a little girl. "So many of those useless bugs, splat, splat, splat, splat. Hahahahaha!"
The dread in my heart deepened, realizing that her bugs must mean...
"Why?" I blurted out, taking deep breaths.
"Hmmmmm? What did you say, Jason-kun?"
"Why!?" I screamed, the rage and shock escaping my throat.
"Why not?"
"They're people! Human beings with friends and families, people who care about them. They did nothing to you!"
My former master tilted her head, her eyes appeared bored.
"Exactly, they're humans. They don't deserve to exist. You remember, don't you? What humans do to each other."
Horrors flooded my memories, causing the color to drain from my face. The giant across from me smiled, her head resting on her hands as she stared at me sideways.
"You get it, don't you? What my king does is mercy. You humans do much crueler things to each other." Her words felt like whispers in my ear.
"Even so… That doesn't give you the right to do-" She flicked me with her finger, and I bounced away on the table, gasping while cradling my stomach.
"I have every right." She used her index finger to pet me, the touch was surprisingly gentle.
"You silly bugs wouldn't understand. Like my king, I don't hate humans."
I couldn't believe that was anything but a bold-faced lie.
"Really, I don't. I am the alter-ego of affection. I just don't see the point in them. I mean, look at you." She picked me up again, cradling me in her fingers. On the back of her hand I saw the faded command spells, a broken circle.
"You're all imperfect, like a broken mirror. And you know what we do with broken things." She brought me closer to her eye, and it felt like I was staring at a sea of green and gold. My reflection shimmered in her iris.
"We throw them away." And with that, she dropped me.
I screamed as the air rushed around me.
Wait! I could still do something.
Using my rings I rotated them around my body, I activated my barrier and I started to slow down. If I use my phantasm I can propel myself and-
My master clapped her hands. I was crushed between two palms.
"None of that. I hate gnats almost as much as I hate ants," she declared. Slowly, she opened her hands, and blood dripped from my mouth as I slid down to the center of her palms. She smiled, her hands raised in a gesture that resembled begging, except I was the currency.
"Ohhh. Look at you, you're all tired out." The giant gently placed me on the table, and every movement sent a sharp pain through my body. It felt like most of my bones were broken.
"No. No. No. It's too soon." With a tap of her finger, I felt mana surging within me, mending my broken bones and healing my wounds. I could finally breathe, and I turned around to activate my-
She flicked me again, and I bounced on the table.
"You don't get it do you?"
She subjected me to relentless torment — squashing me beneath her foot, juggling me in the air, dousing me with insect repellent, drowning me in tea, chewing on me, using me as a paper football, hitting me with a fly swatter, striking me with a slipper, throwing the book at me, rubbing me against sandpaper, and tossing me around like a mere ball. Each action left me battered and broken, a pitiful plaything in her giant hands.
When I stop moving or breathing she would heal me, and the cycle starts all over again.
In a fleeting moment of respite, I managed to escape her grasp and sprinted towards the window. My plan was to break through and find my way out. Activating my rings, I prepared to unleash my noble phantasm to create an exit. But as I did, I was met with an unsettling sight — there was nothing beyond the window, just an empty expanse of white stretching endlessly across the horizon.
"Wa-What?" My rings returned to my fingers, my shoulders dropped.
"This room is within an imaginary number space. Even if you could escape you would wander for all eternity." She enclosed me in her hands then walked back to the table.
My will began to break, I trembled in fear behind the table leg, desperately trying to hide from her colossal presence. None of my noble phantasms can harm her — not even the [Seal of Solomon]. Everything within this surreal space was crafted by the Moon Cell, untouched by human hands or wielded by a human. Trapped and defenseless, I couldn't escape, and there was nowhere to hide. Her giant head rested on the floor, her eyes fixated on me, intensifying the feeling of dread.
"Adorable."
She reached me and I couldn't escape.
It felt like an eternity of pain and misery; eventually, I just stopped. I stopped running, stopped fighting—what could I do at this point? No one knows I'm here, and how could anyone rescue me? I don't even know how I got here.
"What's going on? Why aren't you moving?" She studied me, I lay on the table, my back against the hardwood. I was staring at the ceiling, I didn't want to look at her.
"Did you give up?"
"..."
"Hmmmmm. No. No. You're taking the fun out of this." She sounded frustrated.
"..."
"Do you remember your name?"
"..."
"Does it matter any more?"
"..."
"Well said." She raised her fist, its looming shadow enveloping me. "When you breathe your last, my king will reclaim his rings, paving the way for his ascension into a True Daemon." Her voice was excited. "Liberated from all his humanity—I mean you..." She paused, savoring the moment. "No last words? I won't revive you this time."
I remained silent.
"Farewell, False Caster."
The fist finally falls and smashes to the table. It cracks the wood bringing splinters into the air, the table breaks in half falling to the floor.
"And a end to this fucking war." She says silently.
"I couldn't agree more." A familiar voice jolted me, prompting me to open my eyes. I found myself dangling over a ledge, my shirt being firmly gripped from behind.
What?
In the edge of my vision, a red cloak floated—it was tattered and worn out.
It couldn't be…
I lifted my gaze to see Archer, standing on the shelves. I was suspended from his right hand, perilously close to the edge. If he let go, I would plummet to my death.
"You!" She screamed.
Archer swiftly retrieved a glowing object—an external codecast. Crushing it in his hands, he initiated a program, and a purple glow enveloped us.
"Archimedes dog!" She sprinted toward us, her hands reaching out. Archer, undeterred, tucked me under his arm like a sack of potatoes. The giant was closing in, but Archer remained unfazed. I screamed as her hand nearly seized us, but it was too late, and she grasped at empty air.
I saw a stream of code as we flew through the Moon Cell's data. I didn't know much about the thing, only that it was a supercomputer the world had never seen and could never recreate. Its power was so immense that it could record every detail of Earth down to the atom, across multiple timelines. Within the datascape was another universe altogether; it possessed the ability to recreate people, events, cities, timelines, and even entire worlds.
"Where are we-"
"Shut up." Archer drifted to a bright light and I could feel my clairvoyance skill activate. I was overwhelmed, like a dam finally breaking, it blinded me.
I found myself in Camp Jupiter, weary after hours of intense training. Wiping off my sweat with a towel, I lowered my blade and leaned against the wall. As the last one present, the hour was growing late. Despite usually adhering to a tight schedule, lately, I had become a bit lax. Dakota's comment about me "finally slipping" echoed in my mind, although I knew he was merely using it as an excuse to urge me to lift the kool-aid ban. Having it once or twice a day was acceptable, but nearly drowning oneself in a barrel was undoubtedly pushing the limits.
"It's getting late anyway. I have to be in the fifth by—"
Someone emerged from the shadows, half of his face still veiled in darkness. A figure with blonde hair and blue eyes, the unmistakable features of an Apollo descendant. He wore the purple T-shirt of Camp Jupiter, a toga draped over it. The crunching noise of his sandals against the gravel echoed in the quiet surroundings. Our interactions had been minimal; he belonged to the first cohort while I belonged to the fifth. More significantly, he held the position of Augur—the one tasked with interpreting the will of the gods. His ability to see into the future gave him considerable influence.
"Augur Octavian," I knelt as was customary.
"Do not bow, son of Jupiter, for it is a most joyous day. The gods have spoken!" He declared with such reverence that he seemed to soar on the words.
What?
"Stand! Stand!" He lifted me up, hands on my shoulders, locking eyes with me intensely. His gaze seemed to hold a mix of happiness and manic energy.
This is strange. From what I heard, the Augur isn't this... touchy.
"The gods have given me a message! It involves you, Jason Grace!"
Huh?
"When the six servants are summoned, the last shall rise as king! And the gods have chosen you! The final servant. The one who shall be king!"
I don't... I don't know how to respond to that.
The gods don't really interfere much in my life. Despite being the son of Jupiter, I never met the god. The only god I interact with on a regular basis is Lupa. And the thing about being king is a bit weird, even if I was a king in the United States, we did away with monarchies years ago. Would I be king of the camp? Maybe an island, that would be more believable.
"I don't-Is this a prophecy?"
"Not a prophecy but a command. The gods have commanded me to crown you king!"
This is…..Is this a joke? From what I know Octavian isn't known for his sense of humor; honestly I didn't think he had one.
"Come! You must come with me!" He hurried me along to the exit, patting my back.
"Wait, this is going too fast."
"Destiny waits for no one!"
I don't know why I followed him. Octavian was surprisingly enthusiastic; from a distance, he always appeared dour. I began to suspect this might be someone in disguise. While there were monsters that could shapeshift, Lupa would never allow one into camp under her watch. Besides, the tunnels were guarded day and night, the night shifts were the worst.
"We're here."
Octavian led us to the woods, crossing the Little Tiber straight to the Oakland Hills. We were at the borders outside camp. Initially, I thought he would take us to Temple Hill, but now things seemed sketchy. We stood in front of a forest; night had fallen, and darkness had enveloped the surroundings. Octavian was about to walk in, but I pulled on his arm. When he turned around, his face reflected intense rage, a level of anger I had never seen before. Then, as quickly as it appeared, it vanished, and he adopted a neutral expression.
"We shouldn't go in there."
"Destiny awaits."
"But the rules…"
The Augur scoffed. "Rules are for lesser men. Only the cattle follow rules. Besides, I know you, son of Jupiter."
I was confused.
"I saw the look in your eyes. You too are bound by your role. I know you want to escape, to free yourself from fate. This is the way."
I remained silent for a few moments, pondering his words.
"Fate can't be stopped."
"And who decided that?"
"The….gods?"
Octavian made a wide smile. "The gods can't control fate any more than they can control themselves."
That should have been hubris or maybe sacrilegious, but it came from the Augur himself, the voice of the gods. All my life, I had been told the gods were forever, but did I believe it? I was never pious; I just did what I was told. Eventually, I stopped asking questions.
Octavian studied me, as though he were delving into the depths of my soul, as if he saw something not even I knew.
"But it's not my place to dictate your actions. Thus, I'm presenting you with a choice."
That was the nail in the coffin. His smile, his mannerisms; I don't know much about the Augur, but as an individual, he would never utter those words. This was not Octavian.
"Who are you?" My question lingered in the air.
"I represent your greatest 'what if.' The path ahead offers a chance to escape your fate—away from all the expectations, rules, and control. Jason Grace, the son of Jupiter; it all fades away. Alternatively, you can return and continue down the familiar path behind you. But bear in mind, you'll always look back on this moment for the rest of your life and always be reminded of what if."
We were both silent, the tension was so strong I could cut it.
"And how do you know that?"
"Because you're human." He said it like he wasn't one.
I didn't know what to do; I had so many questions. What happened to the real Octavian? Who was he? Is this a trick? How did he get into camp? Why does he sound so… Logic and protocol dictated that I should run, return to camp, and report what happened. However, a subtle voice in the back of my mind whispered something different—something my heart yearned for. It was something I had always desired but could never attain.
What I did could be the stupidest thing I have ever done.
He led me into a clearing, the trees looked like they were cut down, a couple of stumps were here and there. At the center was a large circle made of chalk, a pentagram at its center with symbols of the moon, stars, sun, roman, greek, and other languages I didn't understand.
"What's this?"
"A formality." He waved his hand to reveal a flower. In front of the circle was a potted plant, I knew its greek name, Galanthus.
"With this we can begin." His eyes glowed a haunting blue, with a flick of his wrist, black cloth with red stripes erupted from the circle. They grabbed me by the arms dragging me to the center.
"What are you doing!"
"Stay still for just a moment longer." He took a dagger and cut his palms, squeezed that blood on the white flower. It glowed, shifting from a pale white to a vibrant green and then to a bright crimson red. Red lightning sparked from the flower, exploding into a crimson light. I shut my eyes as a terrible roar emanated from the light, as if the very fabric of the world was screaming in pain.
When I opened them I saw a little girl. She floated down until her slippers touched the grass. She had short purple hair, a yellow ribbon and wore a green dress? She opened her hands and a golden light escaped from it. Octavian's eyes widened, his mouth turned into a hungry grin.
"To the birth of our king."
I struggled against my restraints, I tried to summon lightning or wind but the cloth was draining me.
This was a mistake! Why did I come here!?
She showed me the golden light, ten stars danced around it. Despite the circumstances I was captivated, I couldn't help but think it beautiful.
The circle started to glow and I panicked. More and more of that black cloth restrained me, until I couldn't move at all. Red lightning erupted from the symbols, growing in power with the gold.
The golden light flies from her hands and into me. I scream as lights and visions flash through my mind. I witness the rise of a kingdom, a thousand years passing in a matter of seconds. The creation of the grails, the collapse of human history, singularities, monsters, demons, and him—a lone human who, by all rights, should have been killed thousands of times over. I see him perform the impossible, breaking down my plans one by one. Eventually, he confronts me in my domain. It's absolute madness; how could a single human accomplish so much? What drives him? What hope, what ideals? What right does he have to stop me?
It ends with a shield to my chest. I overestimated him, all because of a simple human desire. I truly don't understand humanity.
The cloth releases me, and I fall to the grass. My body pulses; it's burning, and I can't contain the energy within me. It feels like I'm going to explode.
"He's unstable!" Octavian panics. I can barely see what's going on. It's as if my mind has finally opened—I can see the future, the past, the present. I can see through time. I could see the fates, they spin wheels of blue thread. I was at the center, I saw them take up their scissors, about to snip a golden thread. My rings float around me, their golden light flickers on and off. I see beyond this world, beyond the sky, the stars, into the stream of data, a computer made of crystal.
"He's going to die!"
The girl just smiles and speaks for the first time. She showed her hand, her proof as master, the command spells glowed a bright crimson.
"By my command spell, I order you. Thou shalt not make excuses."
My mind blanked.
"By my command spell, I order you once more. Remember all those that failed you."
I saw everything—the faults and the horrors. I even witnessed my own death. Tears streamed down my face as I desperately cradled my head. It was too much; I'm just eleven years old, I could feel my old self breaking away and dying. All I could envision was a relentlessly dark future. I was consumed by terror—of death, the future, the unknown, and fate. The weight of it all pressed down on me, a suffocating burden no child should bear. I never asked for any of this. And that's why, in the depths of my desperation...
"By my final command spell." She took out a dark light and the future changed. "Thou shall purify yourself in the Umbral Star."
That's why I didn't resist the final command. I didn't know what it was, but I saw what it could do. It could make me strong, strong enough to confront the unknown, challenge the future, defy fate, and even defeat death. I screamed as the fires burned me, as if my very soul was being consumed by the flames. I cried out, I screamed, desperate for the pain to cease. My mind was breaking, and I heard a crack that sounded like the very Earth was sundered. Then my vision split. The scissors break on the golden thread.
When I came to, I was staring at myself lying on the grass, too weak to move. In front of me stood another version of me, adorned in my purple Camp Jupiter shirt and shorts. He commanded the lightning, winds, and storm as if they were mere extensions of his will. Meanwhile, I lay there unable to feel it, cut off from the sky, with the lightning that once danced under my skin gone.
Octavian and my master were bowing before him.
"Your majesty." "Your majesty."
The version of me standing before them was emotionless. I attempted to reach out to him, and that was when I noticed the golden particles escape from my body. I'm glitching, I couldn't feel my legs, and my back was nearly gone. The Jason before me turned to face me, his expression blank, devoid of any humanity behind his eyes. The ten rings floated above him like a halo, a circlet of stars—a crown of immortality.
I see the future, the war won with the power of the ten rings, and... I couldn't fathom it—the boundless horror he will unleash. It would mean the extinction of mankind, not only in this world but in many others. His wish is the worst possible, devoid of any human logic or empathy, the actions of a True Daemon.
"C-Caster…" I whisper, my body is almost gone.
He did nothing; I don't think he could care even if he tried—that's just how he is. We were both Jason Grace; he is the divine aspect, possessing all my supernatural strengths, the power as the demigod of Jupiter, while I am the human half—something he threw away.
Once I disappear, he will become a True Daemon, and nothing will stop him—not the gods, not death, not fate. In a way, I got my wish. I was almost gone, with only my memories left. I could not let him win; despite everything, I am still Jason Grace, a hero.
And I am also Caster, so that also means, the rings belong to me. The rings fly from his head to my hands. I could feel my strength returning, the rings completing me, preventing me from disappearing. My master was the first to move but it was too late, she came here through magecraft and all magecraft is mine to control.
"[Seal of Solomon]!"
With the last of my strength, I stole the rings and fled far, far away to the outer reaches of this world, to the far side of the moon.
The clairvoyance hit me like a truck. I didn't want to relive any of that again. My mind was groggy, I needed a moment to regain my bearings, before Archer dropped me to the ground.
"Be a little gentler next time?" I quipped.
"There is no next time," his voice, tired and angry, replied. Gripping his chest where his heart should be, it seemed he hadn't completely healed yet. I backed off until I hit a tree, and pink petals fell on my knees. Glancing around, I realized we were on a brick road surrounded by flowering trees. At the end stood a red archway connected to a wooden bridge, under a night sky filled with falling pink flower petals. Sakura—they had a name.
I stood up, using the tree as support. I still hadn't gotten over what happened in Bug Space. My body was still adjusting, and every time a petal approached, I flinched away in reflex.
"Thank you, Archer," I huffed between deep breaths. "So, what now?"
"Now, I complete my mission," he stated, cocking his guns. My rings floated protectively around me. He approached, and I readied my noble phantasms.
"You break me out just to kill me."
"I never said I would kill you."
I walked backward, following the road. "What will you do then?"
"You're a threat, alive or dead," he declared, leveling his guns at me. "I will lock you away."
I glimpsed a future, trapped in a dark hole—the zero dark, where my master stole a piece of the Umbral Star.
"That won't stop him! Even without the rings, he will destroy my world!"
"I care little for your world." He fired a bullet, and I dodged, finding clairvoyance less demanding than the [Seal of Solomon].
"It was a mistake, created on the whims of a rogue AI."
He shot another; I barely dodged it, creating a small cut on my cheek. I ran, taking cover behind a tree.
"That doesn't mean they're not real."
"It's inconsequential. Once the Moon Cell resets, your world will be the first to be erased."
His bullets punched through the tree bark. I ran to another, dodging bullets all the way. If this goes on, I'll run out of mana again. I need to stop Archer for good.
"Not if I win this war!"
Archer scoffed, clicking his tongue. "Unlikely." He rushed towards me, gun-blades cutting through the trees. I ran, it was a game of chase, where he was the hunter and I was the prey. Hiding behind trees and rocks, I need to conserve my mana. Almost all the offensive phantasms I have a high mana cost, and I doubted any were strong enough for a one-hit kill.
I saw two bullets racing towards me. I ran until I hit an invisible wall.
What on earth!?
I was trapped; I had to use the seal. Unless…
With my rings, I created a barrier, deflecting the bullets. None of these were Archer's phantasms, so it should be-
I felt the cold steel of his gun against my back. On reflex, I activated the [Seal of Solomon]. In an instant, Archer delivered a swift kick, sending me airborne. Another powerful kick followed, propelling me out of the forest and onto the road. As I attempted to rise, Archer loomed above me, his gun poised and ready. The future seemed bleak until it shattered.
Archer skillfully defended himself as a silver knight unleashed a slash. Blocking the sword with both guns, he was forced backward.
"Scoundrel, to attack a child!" the knight thundered, his stance ready to fight again. The knight, with hair like spun gold and white armor gleaming like silver, wielded a sword ablaze with the sun's radiance and heat. In my sight, he stood as a champion, a true hero, a knight of the round table.
"Are you alright?" a voice inquired from behind. I turned to see a young boy in a red suit, his hair a lustrous gold, and his eyes a vibrant emerald green. A king, forged through years of eugenics, trained extensively in academics, statecraft, magecraft, and spiritron hacking. The very stars align to herald his existence. If anyone were fit to be king, it would be him.
"Leonardo B. Harwey." My mouth moved on its own.