Mukashi Mukashi... (Closed)

[Gigaverse]

February 28th, Imperial Year 142
Shibatsue City, Higashinada Province

It was already evening by local standards. The sun was about to set. In a room of the hospital almost devoid of people, there were three teenagers.

First, Minamoto Hideki, in his bland, black shirt and trousers.

Second, Kuroneko, in black leather shirt and skirt, wearing a black cap.

And finally, Minamoto Yumiko on her wheelchair, with her hair tied up on the sides of her shoulders, dressed in patient's clothes.

"Is everyone here yet?", the Doctor said, coming into the room.

"Everyone, Doctor. Her entire family.", Hideki said, his eyes focused on his sister from behind his shining glasses.

"Entire family...?"

"Please, Doc. We would rather not talk about it.", Kuroneko said, her head held down, eyes looking on the ground.

"... if... her family is here, then perhaps we can begin our... session!", the Doctor said, trying to keep his voice as happy as possible.

"Are you ready for this, sis?"

"For what, Nii-san?"

"Walking again."

"... I... don't know. I was never prepared to not be able to walk in the first place."

Hideki's sad stare for her was all too frequent up until now. Whenever her mysterious disease was brought up, it seemed as if whatever happiness he had would be taken away in a flash.

"You will be walking again in no time, sis. Can you feel your legs?"

He pinched her thigh. She reacted slightly.

"Ahh...!"

"You can feel your legs again!", the Doctor said, "That's good! Now, can you see that wall on the other side of the room? It's a short distance, you can make it!"

"I'll... try."

Yumiko slowly stood up from the wheelchair by herself, but she immediately slipped on her feet and collapsed to the ground, forcing Hideki to back her up.

"Yumiko, are you alright?", he asked anxiously.

"I'm... fine, Nii-san! If I can just... stand up..."

The sun was beginning to set. Inside the room, light was slowly fading away.

Yumiko managed to stand up not-so-straight on her own legs. She then made a few more heavy steps, before she fell again.

"Is it too much for you, sis?", Hideki inquired.

"N... No! I said I'm fine! I... I can walk! I can walk!"

Hideki looked at her. She was there, on the ground, almost ready to cry. He gave her an immediate hug, putting his head on her shoulder and his words near her ears.

"You can walk, sis. You definitely can walk. Imagine yourself as a baby. What did you use to do back then... to walk?"

"I... don't..."

Something flashed through Yumiko's head, she paused for a few seconds, then resumed.

"I would... try to chase after my dear brother... trying to hug him..."

Hideki was surprised. His eyes were fixed on her cheeks.

"Sis... You remember that much?"

"Happy memories, Nii-san...!"

Yumiko managed to pull herself together. A faint smile appeared on her face.

"Please, Nii-san... Let me go, and I'll try my best!"

"Yumiko..."

She had managed to keep this trait of hers since long ago... The determination to accomplish the job.

I will help her. I must help her.

He let her go, and walked to the wall on the other side of the room. His hands reached out for her direction.

"Come her, Yumiko-chan. Hideki-nii will give you a big hug if you can come into my arms...!"

"Nii-san...!"

The girl was getting on her feet again. There were difficulties, but she could stand up.

The pace kept up until midnight, when the three teenagers got into the car to drive back to the estate.

In the end, Yumiko didn't get to the other side of the wall. She was tired out, and fell asleep on the floor.

"She tried her best. I'm proud of her.", Hideki said. With his sister sleeping on his lap, he stroked her hair affectionately.

"Our lives will get back on track soon enough, Kuroneko.", he told.

Then, his phone rang. He got a call - from Sakahara Shinji. He turned his phone up and answered it.

"Hello? Shinji?"

"Tomorrow is back to work again, kid. Make sure you show up."

His face covered in shadow, Hideki turned off the phone. Kuroneko looked at him, somewhat worried.

"What is it, Hideki?"

"Can you... stay at my place and take care of my sister for me tomorrow, Kuroneko? There is something I need to take care off."

[Gigaverse]

Date Unknown
Location Classified

"... you have entered a contract with me. You have already made a wish, so you have two wishes left. Call me whenever you feel like wishing!", the black sushi-looking blob with tiny red eyes and little flapping wings said. The girl she was telling it to looked at her with a smile.

"Thank you, Shi-chan!"

"Do your best, I gotta go!"

The being flew away, leaving the girl to stare as he disappeared into the night sky, under the moonlight.

... she appeared on a rooftop a while later, anthropomorphizing herself.

"The contract went about just great, Master! Perhaps your quota will be fulfilled after all!"

Another figure standing on the same rooftop, with a long blond ponytail and only one visible slit eye took a sip of coffee, then responded to her.

"You didn't interpret her wish literally, did you.", he asked.

"Not this time!"

"Hmph."

The figure looked at the other rooftops.

I wonder... how better is this new system..., he thought.

---

A few years had passed, and Nami became a fine woman. Surrounded by children, she became a mother. On the other hand, there was not an official marriage, thus, the Influence had been wondering the same question he always had, with an extra option: "wife".

They would usually visit the villages and cities. Friendly people would greet them, and especially the Influence. They would recognize him as the one who had been helping them evolve, to create more tools that would assist their lives. He, in return, was grateful that they had been providing him and Nami with vegetables for food.

Animals were everywhere; and everyone of them had been eating only grass and vegetables. The scenery was amazing. The Influence couldn't help but feel proud of what he became a part of.

Back at home, it was their daily time for breakfast.

"Nami-chan...! Here, say 'Ahh'!"

He had found interesting ways to address the young woman who had been with him for such a long time. He added everything he would behind her name, stopping at whatever he felt comfortable with.

"Ahhn~!"

Life was slow and comfortable for them and everyone. After the Greater Influence quartet, many more god-like beings were born, who contributed to the buildup of the world around them. Everything was no less than paradise.

"Father! The charcoal you required!"

He had a big family. He had a happy life. He couldn't ask for more.

But... the Influence had a bad feeling.

One day, he would stop by the river to wash his face. When he got his hands into the water, something came through his mind.

There was the image of him and Nami. She was badly burnt and hurt, with a baby approaching him, its body on fire. In the image, in his anger, he would slice the baby. He then stormed the underworld in search for her soul, and made the promise of not looking at her. He betrayed the promise, however, and was beyond flabbergasted when he found what state she was in. In despair, Nami would summon familiars to attack him. He ran away, sealing the entrance to the underworld. They would never see each other again. The image was something of a fortune-teller for the Influence.

"Why... Is this... truly my future?", the Influence asked himself. Once again, he had a strange feeling. It wasn't ecstasy. It seemed to be a feeling he wouldn't want to have, but he couldn't hold himself. His eyes watered, and his tears dropped into the water.

[Gigaverse]

His steps were lost. He was inside the all-too-familiar woods where his family had always obtained charcoal. Yet, that day, everything was strange for him. The image he saw kept repeating in his mind. He walked without knowing where he was going at all.

When it started raining, he found himself a cave. He went inside, sit down, his arms around his knees, his eyes staring without even knowing what it was staring at.

At that moment, a shadow came close to the Influence. It sat down, revealing itself to be the humanized form of hctneezT.

"hctneezT?"

"yeS, brotheR... as you can seE..., THE Love... of your life... will be... DEAD!"

"Have you come all the way into this cave just to tell me something I have already seen?"

"with us were born the concept of timE, brotheR... THIS KNOWLedge will give you the advantage... you can save heR...!"

"What am I supposed to do then?"

hctneezT pointed to the Influence's chest.

"there is darknesS in your hearT... there is also darknesS in heR hearT... if you want to save her... YOU must let the darknesS consume yoU, and let her conscience be freE...! ... trick her to touch... the riveR!!!"

"Dark... ness?"

He held his chest, shock having had consumed his face.

"strange namE, is it noT, brotheR? come and see us four when you are done, and we will help yoU...!"

"I... will remember that."

hctneezT disappeared, leaving the Influence alone in the cave, as rain continued to pour outside...

That night, when it stopped raining, the Influence came back home. Nami was waiting for him to come back. She was half-asleep, but she tried to keep herself from her sweet dreams in order to see him back.

"Goshujin-sama... You're late... today..."

"Come with me to the river, Nami."

He hastily brought her alongside him to the river where he saw the vision previously. They stopped by the river bank.

"Nami... can you... see us in the river...?"

"Y-Yes."

"Can you... touch the water?"

She slowly knelt down to look in the river. The water was clear, reflecting the starry sky above them.

"It's... so beautiful..."

When two of her fingers touched the surface of the water, however, she felt cold. Her head almost felt to the ground, but the Influence managed to catch her.

"Goshujin-sama..."

"I'm sorry for tricking you into doing this, Nami... I don't want you to suffer the fate that has been brought before us...!"

"I... I have seen everything just now... Nagi-san. I could be angry with you for betraying our promise... But I will not stop... having feelings for you. I... I love you..."

"I love you too, Nami!"

Something was happening. It seemed that... Nami was disappearing. In her place, a ball of light was forming and approaching the Influence. A ball consisting dominantly of white light, but also black light. Another such ball was also formed from the Influence - dominantly black, with a bit of white to it.

"Na- Nami?"

"We would have never expected the consequences of our doings... Right... Nagi-san?"

"Nami!"

He cried out for her, but she would still close her eyes. Her smile was still visible, until the last moment when she faded away completely...

"NAMI!!!"

His desperate cry came out as he tried to claw for her. But all in all, it was only a desperate cry, as she wasn't there any longer. The merger of the balls of light then came back to his chest, as he fell to the ground.

"No... This isn't happening... Is there any reason for me to go on...?!? What... WHAT HAVE I DONE?!?"

He slammed his fist on the ground, his teeth gritting. All of a sudden, he felt his strength waning out. He collapsed to the ground and fell unconscious.

[Gigaverse]

March 1st, Imperial Year 142
Shibatsue City, Higashinada Province

"A rebellion in North America?"

Hideki inquired, as if he didn't know what was already obvious before him.

"... and we must leave for North America as soon as possible?"

"Where is your enthusiasm in all this?", S.S. asked.

"You aren't the one suitable to ask me that question.", Hideki said.

"You are coming, whether you like it or not."

Hideki frowned. He then tried to remember why he had gotten himself into all of that.

While he was the one most directly connected to the Throne by the point of its subversion, in reality, he wasn't Emperor. There wasn't any true Emperor. The actual post of Emperor was shared by three people:

Him,

A Chinese youth named "Liu Zhengshun",

And S.S. - the mysterious blond standing before him.

From the other two's perspectives, however, S.S. had the most authority among the three... at that moment.

"What if I say 'No'?"

S.S. then responded immediately; nothing but his mouth moving:

"Then I shall cut your only supplies to sustain the lives of you, your sister and your girl-friend."

Hideki startled. It was true. After all, this paramilitary career of his was all that was earning him a proper wage in the event of his family's demise. He wanted to punch S.S., but the knowledge that the man was stronger than him and that he needed the money prevented him from doing so. He gritted his teeth, and said with his anger suppressed:

"On one condition."

"Hmm?"

"If after three months, we do not reap any results, I would like to be able to return home."

S.S. stared down at Hideki, his expression having not changed at all.

"Granted."

"Ehh?"

"Come back and say your goodbyes to your sister. Tell her that you're on... a business trip. I'll make sure that she's taken care of."

"..."

---

"That's why... I must go for now, Yumiko-chan. Kuroneko-nee will take care of you. I promise, I will return after three months, okay?"

Hideki held his sister's chin. She looked at him, her eyes beginning to water.

"Nii-san... You have a job?"

"Of course, silly! How else do you think I could pay for your hospital fees?", Hideki said, rubbing his sister's head.

"Nii-san..."

From her wheelchair, she hugged him around his shoulders.

"Have a safe trip... and come back in time...!", she said with a soft distorted voice.

"I will."

He kissed on her forehead, and bid her goodbye.

I was with her two months, and I must leave her for three?!?, he thought in his head. His outward appearance to his sister was happy, but his anger had been suppressed ever since he received the order.

[Gigaverse]

Contains violence and blood. You have been warned.

January 1st, Imperial Year 143
Kaibouhama Imperial Residence

Gentle morning sunshine was always a good thing, especially right after a stormy night of pouring rains. Spring had come once again, as the birds flew around in the Residential Garden, finding a tree to make it their own home. The grass and the leaves were as green as ever. Everything was perfect for a trip outside in order to celebrate New Year's Eve.

Not that Minamoto Hideki cared.

He stood in the garden, motionless. His shining glasses hid his eyes away - they were kind of small in the first place. Coming from behind him was a couple: a tall youthful-looking man dressed in neat grey uniform, with long blond ponytail; and another young woman. They approached him, tapping lightly on his shoulders to catch his attention.

"Oh. You two going on a spring picnic?", Hideki asked with a dull voice.

"Yes. Don't you think that the scenery is beautiful?", the young woman replied with a big smile.

"... yes. I think... so."

"You look downed, Hideki.", the blond man asked casually.

"I'm... fine, S.S. You two go on your picnic. I'll stay... here."

"Have a nice day then, Hideki."

As the couple walked away, Hideki circled around and walked back into the hallways of the Residence.

---

Inside his own room, Hideki sat at a table, with a mirror directly in front of him. On the table were the scissors. His glasses were on a line with those scissors.

"May I come in, Hideki?"

The reflection was on the mirror. It was Kuroneko, whom he considered his best friend. She was not in her normal leather clothes, but rather, she was trying on some new cosplay costumes, probably to brighten the mood. It seemed even through he was directly looking at the mirror, his expression did not change that much at all.

"You look beautiful in that costume... Come inside."

She walked to his side, and sat on his bed's mattress. Her big pair of eyes was that of a concerned friend. She was worried that he wouldn't cheer up anytime soon.

"Hideki...", she tried to ask, but she was interrupted by Hideki's decisive asking.

"Kuroneko."

"Y-Yes?"

"Look in the mirror. What do you see?"

She stood up and walked to his side.

"I could see... the ugly me, and the bored you!", she tried to be as cheerful as possible. That didn't seem to have worked out at all.

"Wrong. You are not ugly, and I am not bored.

Let me ask you a second question, Kuroneko..."

He closed his eyes, dropped his glasses down on the table, and opened them.

It took Kuroneko a few seconds to realize what was utterly wrong about his face, from which she was beginning to become frightened of.

"Hideki, your..."

"Answer me truly, Kuroneko... What... do you see?"

She covered her mouth with her hands. She was focused on the mirror. She later mumbled:

"I... I... Your eyes, Hideki. They are... not violet."

"Are they that big...?", he finally began to smile. A sad smile.

He gave the mirror what seemed like a stare.

"What do you think... can I see?"

"Y... You?"

His smile was becoming wider. And even sadder.

"... Nothing, Kuroneko. Absolutely nothing."

He touched the mirror, and felt it with his fingers.

"But somehow... I know that you are here. I know that there is a mirror. I have an image. But all I can see is... blackness."

"Are you sure it's not... your hair?", the pink-haired girl jested around the idea of blackness, trying to salvage the situation.

"How does she... look like? The one with S.S...?", he said, slowly reaching for the scissors with the hand he used to feel the mirror.

"L... Like your sister..."

"Did you know... that the last images I see of my sister was... blurry? Not of tears... my eyes were slowly... losing their sight.", his hand was now on the scissors.

"That's not true, Hidek-"

"Do you believe that each eye... is a window to the soul?", his fingers were slowly grabbing the scissors.

"Y-Yes...", Kuroneko said, shaking. She didn't notice where his hands were at, but rather, his eyes.

"I can regenerate, right?"

"Huh?"

The surprise question caught her off-guard. With both hands grabbing the scissors, he violently thrust the the scissors simultaneously into both of his eyes.

"HIDEKI!"

"I MUST OPEN THESE WINDOWS!"

He let the scissors slipped out of his eye-sockets, blood splattering on the table and all over the scissors. It didn't take him long to thrust them back in again. Then he let the scissors slip for a second time. He repeated the process, continuously doing so with the most demented laugh one could have in such a scenario.

"IT'S TRUE, KURONEKO-CHAN! THEY CAN REGENERATE! THESE FUCKING WINDOWS KEEP CLOSING DOWN ON ME! AHAHA- HAHA- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"No more... Please... Hideki-kun... Stop...", Kuroneko curled up powerlessly below Hideki's chair. She wanted to do something for him. She just didn't know what.

After at least 10 more thrusts, Hideki stopped, the scissors still inside his eyes.

"Kuroneko... I... I don't feel like... I have a soul. I don't have a soul. I don't have... I don't... live... I'm not alive."

The last of his demented giggles were replaced by mumbles, hiccups and sobs as he held his head down on the table. He slipped the scissors out one last time, his eye-sockets completely closed while blood was still flowing out, giving the impression that he was crying blood. The scissors were on the floor, with blood all over. Kuroneko came and gave him a hug.

"Hideki... Please calm down..."

"Don't... hug me, Kuroneko."

She was surprised. His hands grabbed her arms, and removed them from his shoulders.

"The more intimate we truly are, the more both of us will be affected by the Curse I have placed upon myself.", Hideki said, his head held down, emphasizing on the word "Curse".

"A... Curse?"

"So... Kuroneko... Let's keep the zombie-and-magical-girl relationship between ourselves as professional as possible... Understood?", he turned to look back at her, his irises having regenerated with a blood red color, and his mouth making the most sinister of grins. Genuine tears were flowing from his eyes, but that didn't stop him from grinning.

"Hideki..."

"The Minamoto Hideki you know is dead.", he declared, sharply. He picked up the scissors below him, standing up straight in front of her.

"It seems... I have understood everything now, Kuroneko. I was born as the vessel to contain misery. A title I shall gladly accept with a new name...", he then cleaned the blood on the scissors with his tongue, and continued once he had finished: "How does 'Der Blutjäger' sound?"

Kuroneko frowned. Her eyes were finally tearing up.

"The Hideki I know... is stronger than this!"

She stormed out of the room, leaving him to stand alone inside. His face remained steadfastly serious, if a bit melancholic. He wore his glasses, and left the scissors where they were.

Three women I love the most died already, Kuroneko-chan. I must take the best course of action for all of us. Please, understand, and... don't come near me., he thought, his eyes focused on the scissors. They were not looking, he just knew they were there.

[Gigaverse]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8JLP0svprc

Unknown Time
Sakura no Miya

Am I heartless...? Why can't I feel anything...?

Sakahara Shinji wandered through the snows, his steps bewildered, his sight out-of-focus. The empty shrine saw no activity on that very day. No miko. No priest. No nothing. Only him and him alone, in the snows.

How many years have gone by? How old am I?

He looked up upon the sky. Thousands pure-white snowflakes passed through him, just as thousands of millennia have gone by. And for one moment, he tried to reach out for one of them, hoping to catch a grip of one, just one snowflake. But it slipped through his fingertips and became but a single droplet of water on his black long-coat. He retracted his hand, feeling empty inside. His face showed slight changes compared to his normal dourness.

He stepped to the large tree beside the lake. Winter had left it leafless and lifeless; with nothing on it but its trunk and its branches. The frozen lake cannot reflect the sad look of the old tree. Some said that the leaves were clothes, just as the years go by, a tree, like a person, would get new clothes and bloom new blossoms. To Shinji, however, it meant only that the tree had gone past a year of its life through being deciduous.

He felt through the tree trunks. He used to nostalgically remember the feeling of bonding with this tree so long ago. But he couldn't feel anything then. Not at that moment. He slowly looked back at the shrine. No matter how beautiful it was, he couldn't see through it.

I see. So have I truly lost the last of my feelings, and my existence have become meaningless to everything...

Cherry blossoms, snowflakes, trees... Everything seemed so short-lived to the giant. He held upon himself a bitter smile, one he had never borne in years.

How I admire the frailty of all things short-lived.

But the sight before him was unbelievable.

It was incredible. It was... the one thing he loved the most. The one thing he had never stopped finding. The beautiful image of her... but with long, flowing white hair; not the smooth, silky black that he once remembered.

"I... Izanami?"

"Please don't call me by formal names, Izanagi-san."

For one moment, his empty heart was filled to the brim again. He, the one who went by only two initials, S.S., the one who didn't have any real name to truly begin with, had found something he had never caught hold of for far too long. And it was not just happiness.

Emotions. Everything running through his mind. His expression, a confusion of joy, shock, sadness and fear. But he felt one thing for certain: Love.

The black-clad figure would not lie to his feelings no longer. He ran to the figure of his beloved, standing beside the tree trunk. As he closed in on her, he gave her an embrace. An embrace facilitated by his emotions, and not his desire to comfort others, buried behind a thick, constant mask of stern gloominess.

"... is that you? Is it truly you? ... am I truly giving you the embrace that I have held back for so long?"

"Of course I am... Or at least... Only you can see and feel me now. I am only the image of a soul."

He let go of her, but his hands refused to leave her shoulders.

"Because I am seeing images?", he asked.

"Please give yourself a rest...", she requested. Her hand touched his left chess, and she looked up to him. His affectionate right eye were immersed in an unspoken sorrow. The scar on his left side ran through his eye-patch. For her, he had battled through so many obstacles. He refused to give up for even one second. Eons past, and he was still doing so; only, with a colder spirit than she could have ever imagined.

"Your soul... It is more frozen than the winter that surrounds us."

"... I..."

He looked to the scenery. Only then did he felt something frigid running through his skins. It definitely wasn't the snow. He didn't notice that his hair was turning silver, and his exposed right eye became a beautiful indigo, in place of the dark, purplish blue it always had.

"You could still appear...", he said, "and for the first time... I know this is not an image created by one of my enemies. ... how...?"

She pointed to the center-left of his chest.

"It is because you have a beating heart right here."

"... I am not human. My beating heart is but a mechanism to imitate their merest functions."

"Is that so? Is having a heart so bad?"

She held his hand, and let it touch her ample chest. Her heart... her beating heart. Albeit she was only a soul.

"... somehow... it's synchronizing.", he said.

"It is your heartbeat.

Every day, every moment, I continue to live on in your cold heart, forced to see your condition worsening. You, from a man with a big heart and a gentle smile, you have refused to care for humanity, who you have believed to become bad beyond redemption. You pushed people to their limits... You completely forgot what your true goal was."

"My true goal...!?"

His stance became firmer, and he held her, their eyes meeting those of each other.

"I have never forgotten what it was. My personality may have changed, I may not be the same as I used to always be... But I remember what I must do! For millions of repetitions, for each thousands of years, and for the long millennia that followed, I placed an objective at the top of my list, and that is to meet you again, to see you live happily in place of me, who has become a rotten corpse and a monster! I am not afraid of living through all of those years again, but I am frightened... of the thought that you cannot have the happy life you always dreamed of... the happy life that you wanted for everyone including yourself..."

The more he spoke, the more evident his emotions were. He frowned, a frown not of disappointment, but of the person who shows great care for the one he held dearest.

"... seeing you, being able to care for me after all those years... is already a bliss, Izanagi-san.

But, I ask of you..."

She hugged him.

"Please, don't leave the people out there alone... As you seek happiness for me, you have completely forgotten their grief..."

He stared straight into the tree trunk, wordless.

The truth is always hurtful, isn't it?

"This is my last request before I go... Izanagi-san, do not cast them aside anymore... Take care of everyone from now on and forever..."

Before him, everything went white. He was fully aware that he didn't become unconscious. His right hand held his face. Water was exiting the corners of his eyes. Through the openings of his eye-patch, droplets of water streamed. It was something he did after ages of suspending everything inside him.

Tears of anger. The anger at himself. The anger at realizing that he disappointed the greatest of his loved ones.

These tears... they're flowing. Am I at my limit? Can't I hold anything back any longer?

He gritted his teeth, his black-gloved left hand holding to the tree where she had just stood. He had no one to blame but himself.

Suddenly, there was the sound of something falling into the snow.

The blond-haired giant turned his head around. For some reason, there was a little girl, with vulpine features to her, clad in little more than a thin white blanket and some rag. Her short white hair was all messed up, and she seemed too tired out, having collapsed to the ground, perhaps due to malnutrition. Her fluffy, white-colored fox tail did not move, indicating that she was in a very bad condition.

He stared at her, his right hand still holding his cheeks and forehead. A few seconds later, he came to her, his iris in a shining red color. He checked her breath and her pulse. They were slow. Materializing a much thicker blanket for her, he prepared a mix of soup on the spot with his power, and covered the immediate place in a field to prevent more snow from falling onto the poor little lady.

"Hey, you."

"... huh?"

"Here. Eat up."

The girl slowly raised herself up again, covered in the blanket he just gave her. He held up his usual stern face once again, as he gave her the first spoon of the newly-created soup. She managed to drink the liquid. He then gave her a second spoon. She just held the bowl itself and drank its entirety.

"What's your name?", he asked her, his cold voice exiting like nothing happened.

"I... I don't have a name... Mister.", she replied, "... my mommy's gone."

"Is that so?

... say, if I grant you three wishes, what would you do with them?", he asked, slightly looking away.

"Three... wishes?", she asked.

"Yes. Three."

"... can you bring my mommy back?"

"... do you want another bowl of soup?", he changed topic, the apparently dull monotone of his voice remaining unchanged.

I will uphold that promise, Izanami. Until you have returned. Until the end of time.

A gentle smile appeared on his scarred face.

[Mefpan]

Templar Mainframe VR Environment, Time Unknown

One foot after another, each step with great care as she walked along the road. Underneath her boots, the ground vibrated, emitting a soft hum as ever-so-tiny shockwaves of energy surged through it, causing it to light up blue in sync with her steps as she moved on. It shouldn't be too far, now - not that it mattered much, with each action in this virtual world she walked taking only a fraction of time in reality, so she had plenty of time, all things considered.

To her left in a silent alleyway, no matter why these even existed in what could very well be made a 'perfect' city, a figure lunged at her, trying to stab her what could very well pass for a knife with enough imagination. She didn't bother trying to avoid the figure, instead spinning towards it, tearing the knife out of its hands and slamming her fist into her would-be assailant's face with enough force to turn their virtual avatar into sparkling white electron dust, the remains of it disintegrating soon afterwards - that was probably another person booted out of their VR uplink for now - every now and then you'd get these kinds of douchebags who'd just try to kill random people in the VR environment to piss them off.

She kept on walking, twirling a newly acquired virtual knife between her avatar's fingers, admiring the exceptional codemanship with which it was introduced into the system - she suspected there was a new AI on the server specializing in such things, but that wasn't her concern right now. Just around this corner and...she could already see the building emblazoned with the Wings of Freedom, Blue Wing crossed by White Wing. Frakkin' finally. She walked up to the entrance where she noticed the AI in front of the entrance - he - yes, interestingly, he - wore the same kind of crossed wings-emblazoned cloak as the one she'd encountered yesterday, but it actually was a different one...well, it shouldn't surprise her too much, considering the

"Ah, hello User KRYGVOLITION. How may I help you tod-"

"Trost District, normal version. No shenanigans with protecting a bot moving to plug up holes. Maximum player number, see to it that it gets filled - you're free to handle five hundred thousand credits from my account as incentive, to be split up between the top fifty performers, myself excluded, obviously; highest difficulty, no time limit. Enable Survey Corps and Garrison positions for player choice. Incognito mode. Custom equipment: No maneuver gear, claymore type sword. Personal handicap: Enable pain simulation, 500% intensity."

"I am obliged to warn you that pain simulation of that degree is liable to cause massive damage to the human nervous system and th-"

"Acknowledged."

"Well then, it's not my business what you're up to. Starting the simulation now..."

---

Trost District, approx. thirty minutes after breach

Welcome to the first and last line of defense for the fate of humanity, KRYGVOLITION. Incognito mode active. Generated Alias: RIFUL.
RIFUL has logged in.
RIFUL has joined the game.
Player Count: 510/512.

She opened her eyes. Just a few steps in front of her, smooth stone abruptly disappeared in a steep drop into the burning city below. Even from up here, the lumbering forms of Titans were very easy to spot. From up here, she spotted at least three Crawlers and a good number of Regulars, though she spotted several that she'd noted down as potential Aberrants already.

That assessment done, she turned around to face the other players - as per usual, they were split up in two groups - Survey Corps and Garrison; she noted the inaccuracy again, but for the sake of performance the Garrison was generally expected to stay on the walls and man the guns placed there. Yeah, like that was going to happen. From what she could see, the Survey-to-Garrison ratio was 9-1, which made her grimace. Bloody jokers being blinded by the promise of cash. Oh well, it'd make the experience more authentic.

ESTHER has logged in.
ESTHER has joined the game.
Player Count: 511/512.

Another player, a brown-haired female with almost glowing blue eyes materialized on the side of the Survey block, then turned around and sighed.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me. Guys, just so you know - even if you are after the prize money, always remember that the Garrison can also rack up impressive scores. The fuck are you, a herd of proverbial lemmings?"

RIFUL(Krygvolition) came to the conclusion that there was one player apart from her who knew what she was doing.

"Listen to this girl, for she speaks wise words. Okay, everyone of you kill-hungry morons with a K/D average worse than 2.5 should decide to join the Garrison instead - remember that you get score for supporting actions as well. Make use of that, for god's sake."

ULTRATIOREGUM has logged in.
ULTRATIOREGUM has joined the game.
Player Count: 512/512.
Server full.

"'sup, comrades."

A 'ding' on the Garrison side indicated that a new player had joined them. He gave a quick salute before joining the fifty-or-so Garrison members.

Someone in the Survey Corps stepped forward, a scowl on his face. RIFUL(Krygvolition) and ESTHER both cringed even before the person opened its mouth to speak.

"7h3 fuck 4r3 y0u 54y1n6, n00b? 1 c4n 533 y0ur 57475 - 7h3y d0n\'7 3x157. y0u\'r3 4 bl00dy n3wb13 4nd y0u\'r3 61v1n6 u5 0rd3r5?

637 0ff 7h3 53rv3r; 7h15 15n\'7 y0ur 5h0w 4nd y0u d0n\'7 h4v3 4 ch4nc3 1n h3ll 0f 63771n6 7h3 pr1z3 m0n3y."

The player nicknamed ESTHER walked towards the player, roughly bumping into them and revealing that her avatar was a good head larger than theirs. She used the advantage to loom over them.

"Noob. You're a real joker, Mr. 0.08 K/D; get your ass into the Garrison or die like the rest."

The new Garrison member just nodded absent-mindedly.

"Ah, another flame war, this early on in the game. Is not good for camaraderie."

Starting game...

"h3y, fuck y0u, b17ch. 17\'5 n07 my f4ul7 1f 4lm057 4ll p30pl3 1 pl4y w17h 4r3 fuck1n6 r374rd5!"

In a swift movement, RIFUL(Krygvolition) stepped forward, grabbed the offending player's grappling hooks, lifted him up and threw him off the wall leaving him to scream pitifully all the way down, watching with some fascination as the cord in his maneuver gear unraveled on his way down. She braced herself for the sudden pull that would come once it reached the maximum. The stone underneath her actually cracked a little when the cord ran out, but she stood firm. The guy's screams became more frantic as he noticed a Crawler, probably a 7 meter class, thundering across the road just to get him.

His screams ended abruptly, replaced by the noise of wet crunching and two small detonations that were likely his gas canisters being bitten through.

"Anyone else feel like bitching about plans? I want to see the fucking cannons manned this game. If you feel like being an asshole, steer clear of me and you're bait. Speaking of which, I should use this jackasses' noble sacrifice."

She leapt down the wall, fifty meters of air seperating her from her kill as she braced the massive claymore like a lance.

---

Trost District Walls

ESTHER whistled in appreciation. She was about to have done the same thing as well, except perhaps the kamikaze wall dive. The distraction was hardly distracting enough, if her eyes served her right. The Titan had turned its eyes upwards and jumped into RIFUL's direction and swallowed her whole. Welp, so much for th-

She was suddenly showered in gore as the Crawler exploded into tiny giblets, a lethal whirlstorm of gleaming steel emerging from the remnants of what used to be a Titan. So that's why that player went for a huge-ass claymore as opposed to a set of two blades.

Not wishing to be outshone, ESTHER followed suit with a jump off the wall. Behind her, other players took that as their cue to jump into the fray as well with a number of battle cries.

---

Trost District Gun Battieries

ULTRATIOREGUM cranked the cannon around and fired, blowing clean through a distant Titan's neck, causing it to slump down and decompose in quick order. He smiled.

"The last argument of kings, fuckers."

---

Trost District Streets

RIFUL(Krygvolition) broke into a run down the street as she hit the ground. Scored first blood, closely followed by some guy in the Garrison as far as she could tell. The people with maneuver gear were being faster than she was, for obvious reasons, but this generally meant they were also faster in steering their incompetent hides into a waiting Titan's jaws. The game stat window noted at least a quarter of the Survey Corps group as gone already. Oh, well. To be expected.

She looked up and spotted a 14 meter class behind one of the buildings. Boot applied to door, she stormed into the building and up the stairs. It didn't really take long for the monster to notice her, given the boost to Titan perception on the hardest difficulty level and soon enough the wall just in front of her was punched through by a grossly oversized fist. There was the shortcut she needed. A quick turn around the ruined wall, onto the arm, running along the arm, leap to avoid the predictable bite, aaaaaaaaand cleave the neck in two.

Just as she wrenched her sword free, something soared past her. A quick glance confirmed that it was the player named ESTHER, complete with three pieces of Titan neck strapped to her belt. Wait a moment. Three?!

Oh, this would SO not stand.

---

Trost District Gun Battieries

ULTRATIOREGUM let his arm drop and the other player-manned wall guns let loose a thunderous volley of cannon fire. Another few titans simply disintegrated under massed fire moments before a brown-haired Survey Corps player could get close enough to shred it.

Sure, this was pretty close to his real job, but hell if there weren't more interesting things to blow up in this game. His heart grew and he began to sing his divisions's march. It did not take long for the rest of the Garrison to join in and even less time for him to realize just how popular this game was among his colleagues.

---

Trost District Streets"Ура

RIFUL(Krygvolition) snarled as she slammed the pommel of her blade against the Titan's teeth, shattering them completely before splitting its head apart with an overhead swing that cleanly split its neck in two, hacking through a Titan's sole weak point. At this point it was getting annoying to have to break out of every other Titan's innards, but she'd caught up with ESTHER again, who was now pining for 4 meter class Titan, quite tiny by comparison to the others but still twice as large as she was. Using her sword for leverage, she jumped at the Titan that was too focused on ESTHER to notice her and plunged her blade into its neck.

A moment later, ESTHER swung around to destroy the very same piece of neck she'd just speared. Her crazed grin turned into a disappointed frown. RIFUL(Krygvolition) scowled.

Then neither of them continued with their exchange of facial expressions as their avatars were both cruelly snuffed out by another indiscriminate artillery barrage from the Garrison.

---

Trost District Gun Battieries

ULTRATIOREGUM cracked a wide smile as the game helpfully supplied that the Survey Corps team had been completely wiped out by Titans or their own carelessness. When the dust of their latest barrage settled, he noted that only a few Titans were left standing.

Well, 'standing' was a lie. What remained alive was broken and battered on the ground. If the game environment were persistent and the Titans intelligent, they would probably tell dread-filled stories of the Battle of Trostgrad, where their entire Sixth Army was annihilated by the Hammer of the Proletariat.

He drew his swords and stepped closer to the edge of the wall. ULTRATIOREGUM shouted, and so did his colleagues.

"FФЯ THЗ MФTHЭЯLДИD! Урааааааааааааааааааа!"

And so, elements of the 5th tank destroyer artillery division charged into what remained of the City of Trost.

(And this...this is probably why I should never write things on sleep deprivation.)

[Horizont]

FIRST-TIME SYSTEM BOOTUP PROTOCOL ACTIVATED
CATALOGING COMPONENTS...
20 COMPONENTS FOUND
354 COMPONENTS FOUND
5365487 COMPONENTS FOUND
...ALL COMPONENTS FOUND!
UPLOADING SOFTWARE BASE: ETC- 10 HOURS

The scientist/programmer/engineer/something sighed and leaned back at his computer desk. He cursed mentally before taking a sip from a cup of coffee that was so strong it would have caused any normal human to spit it out but that had become necessary in his situation. Behind the computer screen, at the center of the room, there was a wide glass tube which reached from the floor to the ceiling, surrounded by some kind of generators- large devices, each with a large bronze-coloured rectangular panel facing towards the center of the room, thick wires strewn across the room, leading from the walls to the devices and to the tube. At the bottom of the tube, there was some kind of strange mass- primarily light grey in colour, although with a grainy texture to it. From the ceiling, something like a radio transmitter had descended on a long pole, which was presumably relaying commands wirelessly.

On the wall behind him was some kind of very large notice board, many technical drawings pinned up on it, mostly of mysterious components. He would not sit here for ten hours, he reasoned. Somebody, during that space of time, would have to come take over for him.

He hoped.

---

FIRST-TIME SYSTEM BOOTUP PROTOCOL ACTIVATED
CATALOGING COMPONENTS...
20 COMPONENTS FOUND
354 COMPONENTS FOUND
5365487 COMPONENTS FOUND
...ALL COMPONENTS FOUND!
UPLOADING SOFTWARE BASE: ETC- 10 HOURS
...25% COMPLETE
...50% COMPLETE
...74% COMPLETE
...99% COMPLETE
...PERFORMING FINAL CHECKS
...DONE!
TESTING BASE RESPONSE PROTOCOLS: IN PROGRESS
...DONE {2HRS;14MINS;5SECS}!
UPLOADING INTELLIGENCE: ETC- 340 HOURS
...10% COMPLETE
...40% COMPLETE
...56% COMPLETE
...80% COMPLETE
...90% COMPLETE
ERROR: REVERTING TO LAST WORKING STATE
REVERT COMPLETE {3HRS;2MINS;40SECS}!
UPLOADING INTELLIGENCE: ETC- 340 HOURS
...15% COMPLETE
...35% COMPLETE
...50% COMPLETE
...78% COMPLETE
...98% COMPLETE
...DONE!

---

At last, after four weeks, the process was complete. The strange mass still looked the same, but it was far from that now. Having received an intelligence taken from a human girl, modified so that it could function properly when running on this, it could think for itself. It saw. It felt. With a little reshaping, it could speak. It moved. It was a marvelous achievement and the scientists stood around it and they congratulated themselves on their creation and they planned how they would celebrate and about how the leadership would be much impressed.

So enthralled were they that they did not see the mass slowly disappearing: evaporating into the air. A tiny hole appeared in the very top of the tube- perhaps a milometer across, and impossible to notice.

One of the scientists rubbed his eye, and apologetically explained that he was not in fact crying with joy but that a speck of dust had landed in his eye. And then- he lunged at the person immediately before him, going for the throat, before picking up the screaming man by the feet and swinging him around, slamming him into the glass tube, which smashed. Alarms blared. The strange mass had almost completely disappeared now, and the man who had been thrown into the tube stopped screaming and, ignoring the wounds, picked himself up and charged at another man. In the air all around them, what looked like... bullets appeared, out of merely thin air, before shooting forwards at ludicrous velocity towards all those present and cleansing the room of all living creatures.

When this was done, something left the bodies of the men, and the bullets evaporated into a mist too, and the rest of the matter came together in the center of the room, and it began to form a shape. First it was some kind of smooth grey pole, but it began to change quickly- the outside changed to become white, except the very top, while the inside became flesh-coloured, and shaped itself into the body of a girl, and then the white exterior shaped itself around it, assuming the texture of fabric. A brown growth formed on the top, becoming longer as it reached higher and higher, before turning into little individual strands and falling, coming to rest on a head/shoulders/back that had now fully formed. The figure opened her eyes, and there were only empty sockets behind her eyelids, but surely enough, eyes soon formed- bright blue eyes.

She examined this new body, feeling it, running her hair between her fingers. It felt much the same as she remember it to, but- there was something different. Only very subtly, but she noticed it. An anger overcame her.

She told them she wanted to die! Die! Leave this earth! Not be reborn as this!

Revenge would be had. Perhaps she could still taste sweetness. There were voices in the corridor- voices of soldiers. She reached her hand towards one of the devices, and the hand detached from her body, turning into a grey mass, flying towards the device and then engulfing it, turning it into more grey goo. Part of it once again reassembled as a bare arm around which clothing again formed, and the new grey goo... formed into some kind of giant weapon, with around ten rotary barrels that should be too heavy for even the strongest human to lift. She walked towards it, and picked it up easily, it itself being comprised of nanorobots now.

The first of the soldiers entered and flew backwards, his body filled with holes. A grenade was thrown in. A piece of her hair turned into grey matter once again and enveloped the grenade, after which it hurled it outside towards the soldiers again. There was a blast- but not the blast of a regular grenade. The walls around her crumbled in a gigantic shockwave, a blinding light before her. Her body evaporated and let itself be carried with the wind as all radiation detectors in the area practically exploded.

---

She soared above the African savanna, having generated her body once again, using the extra nanoforms to fly: they formed two large heli-rotors which extended from her back, as well as what seemed to be a scramjet mounted above them. There were also little wings which grew from her lower legs, facing outwards- there was a great array of weapons mounted on them: bombs, missile pods, and two large-caliber cannons on the tips of the wings. She spotted a target- what seemed to be a Luftwaffe base. It would do for revenge.

She swooped, aware that the radar had detected her. Anti-air defenses opened up at her, and she was met with an absolute bullet hell of cannon shells, flak, machine-gun rounds, and missiles. She rolled quickly and slid to one side then the other to avoid them. There were aircraft lined up on one of the aprons. She flew low, strafing the ground crew with her cannons as they tried to run, dropping the bombs, then pulling up steeply. There were enormous explosions underneath her. The two heli-rotors had tilted to allow her to hover in an upright position so that she could observe what was happening below. Several of the ground crew had escaped serious harm, and she looked at them and grinned, releasing an invisible swarm of tiny robots.

---

The installation continued to burn late into the night. They had been attacked by what one could only describe as- zombies! Men had lost their minds and had attacked their comrades, who had joined their ranks! The air- the aircraft came to life! They had strafed the base and, when there was nothing more, had dived into the airfield- without pilots!

A large detachment of heavily-armed men had arrived late at night, when everything was quiet. The last received message said that their attacked had flown eastwards, but there was no sign of it returning.

A scientist clad in a sealed suit, carrying a heavy rifle, inspected one of the corpses and noticed something very peculiar. He was not a biologist, instead specializing in engineering and programming, but he knew what it was.

"S-sir? There's no doubt. Project Carlene wasn't destroyed in that mysterious nuclear blast. This was her doing. I ran tests exposing biological matter to prototype nanobots... it must be her."

The commander bit his lip and cursed under his breath.

"...I'll get a message to high command. In the meantime, lieutenant, I'm putting you in charge of the effort to recover her- understood?"

"Yes, sir. We'll do our best, sir!"

[Gigaverse]

Zephyr blew across the yard. She, the wavy fair-haired little girl, sits in the corner, her eyes watering. There were a few weak sniffs that she seemingly tried to hold back, but to no avail. Her eyes focused on a neatly-wrapped lollipop, placed between her two hands. The girl's eyes looked as deep as the starry skies. Her feline ears hung low. She sat in the freezing cold, sneezing at times, but refused to go anywhere inside.

Her small hands felt the lollipop. On occasions, she had placed it on her lips, perhaps wanting to eat it. However, she shook her head, denying herself the sweet prize, and returned to staring at it. At that moment, the girl was perpetually on the verge of tears.

"Oh? Why are you here in this frigid weather?"

Under the gloomy skies, came a tall figure in the distance; his voice lowered. "Does this not worry your mother?", the man came close to her, his own blond hair touching the ground along with the jet-black long-coat he was wearing.

"R- Rorripop?", she asked, directing the lollipop at his direction.

"Ah. Thanks, but I don't think I need it.", he said with an awkward voice.

"N- No rorripop?", she said. Her voice was supposedly squeaky, but the sad tone that came along made it seem much more feeble than it should.

"My... you seem downed. What's wrong?"

All she could do was to lower her head, hiding her eyes behind her beautiful hair. At this point, it was impossible for her to hold back the flow of tears anymore. Her sobs became increasingly apparent, much to the dismay of the blond-haired man.

"D- Da! Why do you have to cry?", he inquired.

"E... I... I only want... friends...", she replied in between hiccups, her voice distorted by the sobbing.

"My pardon?", he asked again. It was impossible for him to hear what she was saying.

"E... I...

... Can I... has..."

Reddish shades appeared on her face, before she fell to the snow, unconscious, breathing heavily.

"You poor thing...", he said, running towards her, picking her up and carrying her in his arms. It did not seem to be such a difficult task for him. He then brought her to a warmer place...

[Gigaverse]

"Mashimaro Hanami, 5 years old...? That's a strange name.

Eh, wake up. Have you felt any better?"

"Fuweeeh..."

Panting for half a minute, the girl finally regained somewhat full consciousness. She rose, as the blond-haired man gave her a cup of hot chocolate.

"Anii-tan... I want the rorripop..."

"Nii-sama doesn't have any lollipops now... I'll find more for you."

"I... OK..."

"Gotta go make you something to eat. You're from the orphanage nearby, aye?", he said, preparing something for her at that immediate spot.

"N-Nyoro... n..."

"Oh. ... I'm... sorry..."

"Rorripop..."

Even after he told her that he had no lollipop, she still made sad little murmurs about it.

"Sakahara Shinji; my name. Is yours Mashimaro Hanami?"

"Mm... mmm..."

"Eat up now, Hanami-chan.", he made her a bowl of porridge. "Remember, don't stand in the midst of snow next time around, or you'll catch a col-"

She sneezed, blowing some of the porridge on the spoon he was giving her away.

"Blow here."

Hanami blew her nose, then Shinji wiped it for her.

"What were you doing in the snow...? You could have gotten yourself kidnapped!"

"Nyah..."

Once again, she sat there, her eyes watering.

"I... I only want to tell you to be more careful next time..."

"... f... friends..."

"Friends?"

Piecing together her continuously repeating "Rorripop" line and her "Friends" quote, he slowly began to understand something.

"Yo... You were saving the lollipop for a friend..."

"S... She's..."

She sneezed again. Shinji ran his hand through her hairs and patted her back.

"She?"

"I... I has this friend at school... I like her! I want to give her the rorripop... but it... lost..."

"Hey now... I'll buy you-"

"It is the only one I has..."

He shut himself up at that, and listened to her.

"I make friends with her... I hug her... I save enough money to buy her the rorripop... but then...

... she... she ignores me... I try to get her attention... but she says she hates me... I meet this boy in class, I say I want to be friends... but he says I'm smelly... he doesn't think I am a girl..."

"You made them angry?"

"Nyada...

Anii-tan... they ignore me... they don't want to be friends with me... nobody wants to be friends with me... I... I only want some friends... What is wrong with making friends...?"

"No. You're not wrong."

He embraced the small little girl, his figure dwarfing hers many times. Once again, he ran his hands though her hair gently.

"You will get yourself some good friends. It may not be now, but I will help you. OK?"

"H... Huh?"

"One day, you'll grow to become a fine lady with plenty of friends. That, I guarantee."

"A... Anii-tan..."

She squeaked a little bit more, before her own tiny hands hugged him.

And for once, negligence was no longer a problem for her.

[Horizont]

---

Somwehere outside Allenstein, Ostpreußen, 1937

---

Something large rumbled through the dense forest, something large and heavy and dark grey. A group of officers stood nearby, watching it slowly move. A woman with medium-long blond hair stood at the head of this group, clad in a brown trenchcoat as well as a brown peaked cap, holding a cane behind her back.

The vehicle stopped at the edge of a clearing, a dense cloud of smoke pouring forth from its exhaust as the engine momentarily roared, dissatisfied. At the other end of the clearing, at a range of perhaps 400 meters, there was another small Panzer, which one would identify as a Panzerkampfwagen I. In the heavy vehicle's turret was mounted not a cannon as per usual, but rather something like a large projector lens along with an array of polished lenses mounted in front of it that could be raised from and lowered into its way at will. The panzer's commander, his head in the open cupola, wore a pair of black goggles which he lowered over his eyes. The assembled group put similar goggles on their heads in anticipation of what was to come.

"Fire!"

A beam of brilliant blinding light tore through the clearing with a shrill high-pitched noise and then a pulsing wail, towards the unfortunate Panzer I. It continued for around five seconds, after which there was a mighty explosion which shook the earth and blew the leaves on the trees around, and the beam was cut off, the wailing and whirring noises gradually dwindling gown to nothing. Those assembled removed their goggles, and led by the woman, proceeded towards the wreckage of the panzer. Another woman, one with short-ish blonde hair and blue eyes, inspected the wreckage carefully, taking care not to actually make skin contact with it; it was still immensely hot, red-hot, and merely being too near it was made almost unbearable by the infrared radiation.

"I think the beam melted through the tank's side armour, even at that angle of thirty degrees.... The beam seems to have struck one of the engine's cylinders and melted it, leading to the explosion. This could probably melt through anything..."

"Excellent, Rommel. Your cooperation with the research and development departments seems to have indeed paid off."

She turned to one of the men.

"General, I wish for a conversion to be designed for all armoured vehicles currently in service, and those in development, that will allow them to mount the Mk.I Schwere Lasergewehr. I furthemore wish for a Leichte Lasergewehr to be developed for use by infantry, light vehicles, and aircraft. And lastly, I want a study to be conducted on the practicality of mounting a dramatically upscaled version of this weapon system in bomber aircraft, aimed downwards."

"Jawohl, meine Führerin. I shall see it is done at once."

The man hurried away.

---

It is now two years since the former Führer of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, Herr Adolf Hitler, met his end on the sidewalk below the Reichskanzlei's windows. In his place a new Führerin now stands: Generalfeldmarschallin und Führerin Adalwolfa von Kaiserberg. Under her auspices, several highly secret initiatives and projects had been authorized, and she has her own intentions as to what would be done with the Reich.

First on the agenda was its reorganization as she saw fit. The major organizations - the SS, the Gestapo, the Wehrmacht, and so forth - would stay in existence; but she intended to transform this country for the sake of optimal efficiency. It would wholly adhere to her perception of the ideal fascist state and society. Discipline would prevail. Deviants would be destroyed for society's and ideology's and efficiency's sake. Unfavourable elements - capitalism, conservatism, communism - would be struck down; she would indeed see to that, she had the willpower to see it through, she promised herself she would. She could unite the peopple behind this struggle. There will be one will.

Second on the agenda was to regain Germany's lost territories. To allow her nation to stay humiliated would be to tear up her ideals. An alliance would be reached with the fascists in Italy; they were after all brothers and sisters, united in fascist, authoritarian, militaristic struggle. Poland and France would be disgraced instead. Prussia and Elsaß-Lothringen were to be Germany's, if only for the sake of fueling irredentism and nationalism as a driving force if nothing else.

The Reich had been gearing up for war for a long time. Her recent programmes would certainly aid the war effort, though they could not be deployed on a wide scale before the war began; she knew that.

---

The drums beat savagely, hundreds of them. Feet stomped in synchronization, thousands of them. Black polished helmets shone in unison, a thousand of them facing the glorious sun. She stood before them on a raised podium, a block of hard white stone. Behind her were the banners bearing the black angular cross. Her right arm rested comfortably in front of her on the top of her cane. Besides her stood a man dressed in a fascist uniform, Il Duce himself, and on her other side, a man with black hair and a black moustache, the 6th Baronet of Ancoats.

The men looked impressed with what they had seen on their visit; at the moment, the trio were busy talking, discussing the intricate points of fascist ideology and the similarities and (though there was a much smaller number of them) differences between their individual viewpoints. They agreed on a whole plethora of matters: the total involvement of the state in all matters, the decadence of the capitalist state, the benefits of a new order, the abhorrence of communism and reactionism alike, the need for better conditions for the workers, that the fascists of the world would need to stand in unity, and that classism and sexism were both a disgrace. If Italy stood beside her in a war, she promised it Italian irredentist lands and to drop German claims on the Tyrol. Likewise, if Britain entered into a war with them and they emerged victorious, Mosley would be granted control over the entire British Isles and they would be allowed to be sovereign.

Stuka bombers flew low overhead, creating a wind on the ground; she braved it and enjoyed it. The warmachine of the fascists was incredible. For the capitalists and communists, 'Fatherland' or 'Motherland' was no more than a mere word; but the fascists knew what it meant and they were prepared to fight and die for it.

[Horizont]

---

9th March 1938

---

"General, I assume you have the report on the situation with Austria for me- correct?"

Adalwolfa struck him with a question the instant that his foot moved through the door.

"J-Ja, meine Führerin."

The general saluted firmly, clicking his heels, and briskly handed her a thin folder as she stood over a large table with a map of Austria laid out on it, with military divisions represented by makers of varying colour. Her cane was again behind her back, held by one rigid arm.

"I see... they still consider themselves the 'better Germans', do they? Oh, this Schuschnigg... I cannot stand him!"

She gently but quickly turned the page, and then silently shut the folder, apparently seeing no use in reading further.

"A plebiscite! A plebiscite! That desparate bastard!" She roared with laughter. "Oh, he believes that a referendum shall save him and his beloved 'Austria'! He has already made so many concessions to us, and he believes he can save himself now! The dog running with its tail between its legs thinks it can withstand the one chasing it, forgetting why it began to run!"

Her amusement vented, her mood became more calculating.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have four days to prevent this situation from occuring. He has attempted to dismantle the one-party state and to set the minimum voting age to 24- it is obvious that he believes that the younger elements of his population are indeed leaning towards us. For now, general, declare that Germany will not accept the referendum.

You are also to contact the Austrian Nazis and inform them that they are to attempt to seize power- if this attempt succeeds, we have won; if it fails, Schuschnigg will no doubt attempt to suppress them, and then we may use that as a reason to stage an invasion."

---

12th March 1938

---

A large formation of armour rolled across the border, masked by forest. It skirted along the edge of the interior of the forest, watching for enemy units. The whole operation seemed exceptionally well-coordinated, and it was, for the Führerin had taken great care in ensuring that her generals planned everything most intimately, and woe betide those failed or were negligent or careless.

Although the referendum had not gone ahead, Schuschnigg had refused to surrender his position and seemed determined to make a 'last stand'. Very well, then- he shall have it his way. Let him make a glorious last stand.

"Attention, all panzers! Enemy infantry formation sighted! All panzers, follow my lead! Prepare the machine-guns!"

Isla's Panzer II swerved to the right, charging at the enemy from amongst the trees, machine-guns blazing. More and more of them appeared from amongst the trees, mowing the men down with the efficiency with which a lawnmower cuts grass. The panzers drove in a spearhead amongst the retreating men, running many down and firing their weapons at point-blank range. Smoke and cries filled the air, along with the rumbling of engines and the regular rat-tat-tat of machine-guns. Everything was utterly chaotic... and then, the smoke cleared, leaving only the panzers standing.

"Panzergruppe... good work. Enemy formation neutralized. Proceed with the advance towards Linz as planned."

---

"...Meanwhile our armies have entered Innsbruck and Linz, meeting only minimal resistance."

A man explained the latest news from the front, moving divisions around the map. The Führerin seemed a little impressed, though her face showed no sign of this, instead retaining its usual form which reminded the general to be careful- though tiny details in her bodily language, in the way she moved and the way she stood, seemed to give it away.

"Close air support, operating from Bavaria, has been successful in suppressing enemy movement for the most part... a few divisions have penetrated to Austria's southern border, severing Innsbruck's connection to Vienna. Vienna itself has seen bombardment by squadrons based in northern Bavaria."

"Ah, exc-"

"Meine Führerin!"

A man burst into the room, out of breath from running, holding a folder in his hand.

"Ah, excellent; increase the intensity of the bombing. Consolidate our position in central Austria and destroy the forces trapped in the west."

"Mein-"

"From Linz, attempt to secure the north to gain a position to strike at Vienna."

"M-"

"HIMMELHERRGOTT, WHAT?!"

She spun around with the speed of a whip, in a split-second becoming white with venom and fury.

"WHAT IS IT THAT YOU SO URGENTLY HAVE TO INTERRUPT ME - ME - FOR?!"

The man took a step backwards as she loomed over him.

"SPEAK! SAY WHAT IT IS YOU HAVE TO SAY! SPEAK WITHIN FIVE SECONDS! I ORDER YOU! ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! FIVE!"

The man received a kick to the stomach, which sent him flying into the door. (Un)pleasant sounds were heard, and she picked up the man by his collar and threw him into the wall outside, slamming the door shut.

After this, she calmly picked up the folder he dropped and walked back towards the table where the generals looked on with some astonishment.

"So yes, general, please, see to it those orders are relayed."

She said to him, once again in a normal voice, as if nothing had happened. While the man went away to find a telephone, she carefully opened the folder and read from it.

"Oh... General! Cancel that!"

The man rushed back to the table.

"They have surrendered. Completely. "

Unusually, her eyes lit up and she smiled, putting the folder down gently.

"Relay that to the troops, general, please. Somebody, prepare my car; I will be journeying to Vienna."

---

Somewhere in the German countryside

---

"Fire!"

A dozen men, stood in a neat line and clad in identical black uniforms, discharged their rifles into targets some distance away. A grey-uniformed man walked closer to the targets and inspected them. He was clad in the Wehrmacht's grey uniform, neat and complex; the other men were clad in simple black uniforms with only belts as decoration. They were, of course, the uniforms of the British Union of Fascists.

"Very good!"

He shouted.

"Reload!"

The men did as they were ordered. The officer stood back.

"Fire!"

Fire, reload, fire, reload, fire once more. Little by little the men improved their aim, and once they were prepared, they would return home to their Isles and lie in wait.

---

---

Two-Year Plan for the Suppression of Dissent, Enforcement of Authority, Indoctrination, and Eventual Integration of the Austrian Lands

---

Article I. 'Austrian' as a nationality is to be disestablished, by means of classifying referring to a person as 'Austrian' or anything else with that meaning, as a criminal activity under Article 56 of the Criminal Code- verbal propaganda against the German State.

Article II. The borders of the provinces of Austria shall remain as they are, but they are to be integrated into the German Reich and they are to be treated in exactly the same manner as German provinces, except for what is defined in this document.

Article III. All Austrian governmental institutions are to be disestablished and their remnants are to be integrated into the German institution that is most appropriate.

Article IV. Henceforth, the German Legal and Criminal Codes are to exclusively apply in all Austrian territories.

Article V. The Gestapo is to increase the scope of its operations in Austria and is to pursue anybody they believe to be working against us with all the effort that they can.

Article VI. All Austrian businesses and corporations are to be immediately nationalized as to prevent them leaving; they are then to be merged into existing German businesses.

Article VII. The borders that the Austrian lands share with foreign nations are to be closed, except for the border with Italy.

...

Article XVI. This document is to expire on the 12th of March, 1940, unless formally extended, upon which Austria will be considered a full part of the German Reich and treated purely as such.

With a flourish, she signed the document, happy with her work, and handed it to her aide; he would take the necessary steps to ensure it was applied.

[Gigaverse]

He opened his eyes, slowly and tiredly. He gave a few blinks, not wanting to be awakened. It was a beautiful morning, as always. And his mood was not especially good... as it always had been. Dwelling into his slumber was all he wanted.

"Father, wake up! Rise and shine!!!"

Whoever that voice belonged to, she almost flipped him. He then pushed himself into a seated position, before scolding her:

"For my sake, Ami, could you please leave me alone?!"

"Uweeh... you're so harsh...", she responded, backing off from him.

"Ignore her, dear sister, father had always been harsh. Here, let's eat.", a blond-haired young man approached them with a bowl of rice. Silently, another young woman approached them, as the young man gave her a bowl.

"Yes."

His tired expression never left his face; but, nevertheless, a smile still managed to blossom behind his beard. These youths were what helped him retain his happiness. The nice community that surrounded them also contributed.

"Here, you two. Say 'Ahhh...'."

"Ahhh..."

Outside, however, there was an explosion. It took away a chunk of the hut they were staying in.

"WHAT WAS THAT?"

The bearded individual darted quickly outside to see what was happening. If only what was upon the sky wasn't something he wasn't all too familiarized with.

"Father?"

"No... This cannot be happening...

NO... NOOOOOOOOOOO-"

---

Four years had passed since the start of the Holy War of Angels, also known as War in Heaven or War of Ragnarok. Large parts of demons, humans and angels alike were wiped out. Few survived the horrible cataclysm that descended upon them without warning; and those that did struggled. Knowledge was lost, and the Gods strove to maintain what little Order there was to the doomed state of the world. Salvation seemed impossible at that moment.

In a shocked state, he and his son's back was turned to each other, as the once powerful Greatest Influence/Primordial Creator as he became known as was all but a shelved title. Then, his works were undone, and something else rose in rebellion against him. They, who brought devastation to rise as the dominant powers of all realms of existence. They came forth, the Greater Influence.

"Father... why... why the hell must they commit this treachery...?"

"If only I have a clue..."

He then realized. It was all his fault. His credulity, his lack of vigilance... It dawned upon him that those he loved the most were gone because of everything he did.

"Forgive me, son..."

"What, father?"

From nowhere, a gigantic claw pierced through the youthful male, impaling where his heart was. Lifted in midair, he looked upon the red skies, his face in utter trauma. Down below, his eyes glued on the claw that went through the heart of whom he called "son", the bearded man had lost everything.

He was the only remaining god-like being who was opposing the quartet of Greater Influence.

He. Had. Lost.

Everything.

---

"So... you have won now, False Gods... You have proven that your Influence is far greater than any of us could ever hope to exert..."

Tied to a wooden cross, the entire scenery around the Greatest Influence was set ablaze.

"You made me realize how much of a senile old fool I am... by forever degrading me... and undoing all of my greatest achievements..."

The fire started to climb everywhere around him. The intense heat made him burn at such a quick rate, his skin darkened in a matter of seconds. But it seemed he did not care about the pain. He cackled.

"But this is not the end, you traitors."

His outer appearance began to melt. His form started to resemble more of a monster than a middle-aged human male as he previously did. His voice was distorted. It echoed.

"I will return."

His slanted eyes expressed extreme anger, as they stared at a sad pair of eyes looking at his direction.

"In place of her... I shall stay in Yomi...

I shall lord over the dead and the living alike...

SO THAT ONE DAY, I CAN COME BACK AS YOUR DEATHS! REMEMBER ME, TREACHEROUS QUARTET!"

The flames engulfed everything; and no longer was he observable. It was not him that turned into ashes, despite the fire. It was everything that had to do with him. They had gone into history, as forever forgotten.

[Gigaverse]

He opened his eyes, slowly and tiredly. He gave a few blinks, not wanting to be awakened.

Everything seemed so dark and hazy around him. He moved his hand to see where he was. It took him long enough, but he woke up in time. He found himself atop a pile of rotting flesh, much to his chagrin. But he couldn't care less about the situation he found himself in any longer. He knew he had willed himself to wake up. But there was that: he didn't know what he got himself into. Was the world he was awakened in devoid of life, or teeming with it, but beyond whatever he could have observed?

He looked at himself. Legs, arms, a body. Whatever to make him look like a man. He used his hand to check his chin. There used to be a beard since when he first took on the form of a human, but it didn't seem to be there any longer. His face felt cleanly shaved.

He slid down the massive piles of flesh he was resting on, and walked to a nearby river. He was, supposedly, inside a cave. But then again, the flow of the water, the way everything was positioned...

Perhaps it was the place where the first of his undoings took place.

He shook his head, dismissing the notion of thinking about such a deed after just waking up, and looked into the river. He looked... impossibly young - at least, when compared to the middle-aged form he used to have.

A distorted smile appeared upon his face, as he stood up and walked, reaching the outside of the cave.

The more he walked, the darker it became. He didn't see. But he cared not for those petty details. Until he found light again, he was already in some form of clothing.

Everything was blurry at best, but the air would be typical of any noon, as he could tell. Upon the sky, there was the sun - which was obvious, if not because it was darkly clouded out. Everywhere around, he saw mostly mountains, not a hint of grass. No nothing. No life.

So everything had met its end before I could act., he disappointingly thought to himself.

"Hey! You there!", an excited voice cried out to him.

"Huh?"

He turned his head to the direction of the voice. A fairly good-looking young man approached him with a camera.

"Are you... the Cave Monster?"

"What Cave Monster?"

"The one large visceral blob that's inside the cave you just walked out of!"

He then just remembered. He was, indeed, lying on top of... that thing. Then again, if he recalled correctly, that "Monster" was... him.

"No, I don't think so."

"What a shame... Say, what are you doing with these... rags?"

The young tourist pointed his index finger to him; again, much to his chagrin.

"Have nobody taught you to point using all of your fingers? Your whole hand?"

"No?"

"... Nevertheless, are you the only one around here?"

"Around HERE, then yes. If you want to find a town or city, though, I can lead you there."

Not waiting for the response from the "Caveman", the "Tourist" grabbed his hand and ran quickly as though he had found something precious that he lost for so long.

"Call me Minamoto Hideki. Nice to meet you, Caveman!"

The young man winked to the "Caveman". That annoyed him somewhat, but then, perhaps it was a sign that there was happiness. There was life.

There was hope.

[Gigaverse]

"WELCOME TO MY HOME, CAVEMAN!!!"

The energetic Tourist with the Camera - Minamoto Hideki - burst the door open with his hands. A woman and a teenage girl turned to his direction.

"Nii-chan! What took you so long?!? And... who's that?"

"'TIS THE CAVE MONSTER."

"Fueeeeeeeeeeeh? Really?"

The girl skipped a few steps to the black-haired "Caveman" and greeted him.

"NICE TO MEET YOU, CAVEMAN!"

"For the last time... MY NAME IS NOT CAVEMAN."

"Well, you seem fairly intelligent or sapient. What's your name then?"

"I am-"

He paused halfway.

To think of it, he didn't know whether they were agents of his greatest enemies, the Greater Influence. Thus, just to be sure...

"I..."

"You don't have a name?"

"I don't..."

"It seems he has a memory loss, son.", the woman holding the basket of fruits said.

"... this is a rare case, if I remember correctly from what I have read.

Perhaps he isn't the Cave Monster..."

"Nii-chan you Baka! Check your sources next time!", the teenage girl said.

"I know. Geez.

Poor you, Cave- I mean... Um... How should I call you now?"

They all looked at each other in confusion. Then, suddenly, Hideki came up with an idea.

"I know! Let's call you... Izanagi!"

"What?", yet again, the "Caveman" was flabbergasted.

"The Inviter? Does that not sound good?", Hideki asked.

"Baka Onii-chan... Always coming up with lame names...", the girl murmured.

"I dare you to make something better!", her brother taunted.

"Sakahara Shinji! Does that not sound more like a name?"

"Erm...

You win this round. Alright, brother, your name shall we... Sakahara, Shinji. Sakahara is the family name - family comes first. Shinji will be your temporary name until you remember who you are."

"I guess."

"Oh! I forgot to introduce myself...", the girl said, "How rude of myself, eheehee... I'm Minamoto Yumiko."

"And the woman holding the basket is my mother. She's Minamoto-"

"I'M HOME!"

Another man, mature-looking but not middle-aged, and roughly the height of "Sakahara Shinji", burst in, holding all kinds of different boxes.

"Papa!", Yumiko said, darting out to give her father a tight hug.

"And who's this interesting fella, children?"

"This man lost memory, Papa. We need to take him home and wait until he remembers."

"Is that so? I WELCOME YOU, FRIEND! THE MINAMOTO HOUSEHOLD WELCOMES YOU!"

His hand patted the shoulder of the "Caveman", as he gave a somewhat grateful look.

His life was taking a new turn for the better, he guessed.

[Gigaverse]

It had been six months or so since he came to the Minamoto family. And yet, he still had yet to "regain his memories". For, in reality, it was his plan all along. He was well aware that his identity was a danger in this world. In that time, he knew god-like beings were "proven scientifically impossible" in the world he was in, and he also suspected that the human form he had was a puppet that was let go free by the Greater Influence... if he wouldn't rebel against them. On the other hand, the people seemed easily convertible to the faith in a God. In six months, he had thousands working under him. The hour of rebellion against the unjust tyranny imposed by the Greater Influence had come.

"Shinji? Are you doing well?", Hideki asked.

"Yes.", Shinji responded.

"May I talk to you about something?"

"What... shall we do after this rebellion?"

The young man's stare in Shinji's eyes were as if they were aiming straight for his soul.

"You don't have an idea, do you...

I feel bad about this. There is no point in rebellion, if these gods were real. We cannot win."

"What are you saying? OF COURSE WE WILL WIN. THERE IS NO CHANCE THAT SUCH A MASS I HAVE GATHERED WOULD NOT EMERGE VICTORIOUS AGAINST THEM.", he said, reassuringly.

"I don't know how this will go, Shinji.

... Promise me that we will be victorious. Make a pledge. A Contract with me."

He was somewhat taken back by the words of the young man that, for so long, seemed like such a silly idiot. The person he dearly wanted to free the most was the woman of his dreams; who he had accidentally tricked into eternal slumber, only to preserve her beauty and conscience, in exchange for his eternal sacrifice and fall.

Nevertheless, Hideki was a friend. He blinked slowly, then...

"You shall have that Contract, Hideki. With all my power..."

---

It all repeated again. Fire engulfed the world. Bodies lied everywhere in pools of blood. Only him was left standing to observe the scene. His eyes were wide opened, his hands wanting to scratch his face off for the shame and inability of him to uphold his promises or be accomplished with his grandest scheme.

He walked while breathing heavily. In one of those burning pools of blood, he found something he did not want to look at.

The four members of the Minamoto household. Laying immobile. However, it seemed...

Minamoto Hideki was moving.

He reached his hand out to his little sister, who wore the most beautiful dress there was. Slowly suffocating and choking on his own blood, the tainted young man grabbed her hand, tears filling his eyes to the brim.

"This... Argh... is this... This contract...

Sak- Sakahara... Shinji... Heh... Argh... Remember this. This... the extinction... of humanity...

This... is only... the beginning."

Eventually, his grasp on her hand loosened, as he stopped breathing. His eyes were half-closed, directed at the face of his sister as though he was looking at it.

NO... WHY...

WHY IS IT THAT...

It was Shinji's turn to feel hard to breathe. He grabbed his throat, and knelt to the ground. Over the horizon, something great loomed above the rebellious and deceptively-young man. He held his head higher. Those were three of the four figures that he swore vengeance against.

"You...

YOU WON THIS ROUND, TRAITORS. BUT HAVE YOU HEARD THE BOY? THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING!"

His hand grabbed into thin air. Using power none have seen before, space and time was distorted, and changed. He felt... he was leaving his own human form. He was leaving behind a lost world. For then, he was only capable of that change.

Where am I heading? What kind of world will it be? Will there be success if I... try...?

What... am I doing?

[Gigaverse]

He opened his eyes, slowly. He then gave a few blinks.

It took him only one minute to be fully awakened. Like last time, he slid down the massive piles of flesh to stand on his own feet. He then noticed that he was already clothed properly, just as he was... "a few moments ago". That wouldn't be a correct statement, because he had just rewritten everything.

Objects, events... They were no longer the same. Even though his power was restricted almost to nothingness, he was still capable of doing that... without having the attention from the Greater Influence; at the cost of him having to "recharge" to gain enough energy and pull that again.

I cannot be hasty. Everything must be planned out carefully if I am to be victorious.

He walked outside to the emptiness again. Only mountains and the skies, without life. The shape of the terrain seemed to have changed and become more turbulent, though. Minamoto Hideki was also nowhere to be seen.

Through his memory, he walked to the city where Hideki previously lived. To the house where the Minamoto family was supposed to reside in. When he got there, everything was empty.

He isn't here...

"Today, the inauguration of President Minamoto Hideki has..."

His name on the TV broadcast nearby suddenly got him. He rushed to see what was it on about.

Entering the bar, Shinji took a seat and ordered a drink.

I must take this chance and convert people to my cause...

As the bartender approached, he closed in on her.

"Ma'am, if I told you I was God, would you believe me?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself and flirt with me, big boy. You look like a virgin who could use some more help."

Virgin? The usual answer would have been I'd volunteer to be your bride... This world seems to have changed. I need somebody else to confirm it.

He asked a random man:

"Brother, if I was God, would President Hideki give up power?"

"Are you gay? You look girly. Piss off."

What?

A state of shock invaded Shinji's mind. He learned the lesson that the people were no longer gullible - the hard way.

Perhaps... I will have to find my way to reach President Hideki after all., he planned.

He walked out of the bar. From there, all he saw was difficulties. Being him, however, he wouldn't give up.

[Gigaverse]

"As per the contract, Shinji... You've been the most loyal guard I've ever had for the last five years. But it seemed... everything is about to end, aye?"

"My pleasure, Mister President."

That moment came again, when a new rebellion against the "Gods" was in place.

"Right now, nothing matters anymore, right?", President Hideki said with a sad voice and melancholic tone.

"Humanity is at stake, Mister President. It is only natural that we forget all about what would happen to our privileges and focus on our goal of destroying the traitorous 'Gods' and restoring order."

Of course, not without liberating the conscience of my loved ones.

After half a decade spent with the President, Shinji picked up more information about the world he had to face. He studied much, and knew that political, economic and military powers were what mattered most in a human world that, as he perceived, was slowly decaying. Of course, the power bestowed by his contract, and the power he could accumulate, also mattered.

"You're right.

... though, right now, at this moment, I still have one regret left...", Hideki admitted.

The black-haired Shinji blinked, then he smiled as a way to keep the President calm.

"Everything will be fine, Mister President. Trust me."

---

"Trust you... YOU TOLD ME TO TRUST YOU... WHY... WHY IS IT THAT MY SISTER IS DEAD?!?"

Kneeling before the dead body of a teenage girl - no other than Yumiko, the young President grabbed her hand, not wanting to believe what had just happened; seeing his sister die before his very eye. Near her own body, two others - presumably their parents - lied, also dead.

Shinji could feel a very bad energy coming out of Hideki. He backed off.

"You never said anything about your sister in our contract before, if I remember correctly.", he said, tentatively waiting for a response.

"DO I LOOK LIKE I CARE ANY LONGER?

... SCREW HUMANITY. I DON'T NEED PRESIDENCY. I DON'T NEED TO BECOME YOUNGEST POLITICIAN OR PRESIDENT EVER...

GIVE ME BACK MY SISTER."

The waves of malicious energy didn't contain itself inside Hideki anymore. They burst, as the young man's form was slowly disfigured and rotted away, leaving in its wake a gigantic, faceless monster.

"So this is the nature of my contract, huh...?

... I'm sorry, I just cannot let this tragedy proceed. Until we meet again, Minamoto Hideki."

His hand grabbing into thin air, he violently pulled everything, as time and space moved once more, to an unknown date beyond his observation...

[Gigaverse]

What have I been doing...? What was my goal, in the last two trials? Was it really... for my loved ones... or myself?

... I... I don't understand these feelings... Human emotions are so complicated...

He walked along the hallway, while his head was constantly burdened.

Damn it... My mind... What am I supposed to do?

Walking into a classroom, he looked as the students stood up. He walked to the teacher's table, and sat down.

"Sit down, please. Well then, shall we begin with today's lessons..."

---

In the day, Sakahara Shinji was a renowned Maths teacher at a local academy, who was probably well on his way to become the best teacher in the nation.

At night, however, he worked out regularly and trained with all different types of firearms and blades, without fail.

He knew Minamoto Hideki was in his school, but he did not choose him. Instead, his selection for contracting was with Nakamura Takeshi - an acquaintance of Hideki, and his own class' student.

Through his student, he had managed to convince some of the more curious elements of the academy to his side. He also prepared them for the inevitable.

One year after their graduation day, he announced shocking news that he would resign from teaching altogether, much to the dismay of parents and teachers alike.

After which point, he focused solely on gathering an arsenal and a small army. He was ready to go through it, once again. It was such that his black hair turned to silver within a decade; despite the face that remained unchanged by time.

---

"We are sorry, Chief; you believe too much in us... It's just... we don't have the courage."

"WHAT?"

A decade of arming himself for that very date, when the False Gods would descend upon the world; and the cowards who called themselves his "loyal followers" suddenly chickened out. He was utterly disgusted. He readied his fist, wanting to punch every one of them. But then again, he wouldn't waste his time.

"Flee then. And die like the pests you are. I have no need for the likes of you."

He shook his fist, while his other hand held an assault rifle. When the troops already ran away, there was only Takeshi - his student, who was standing with him, side by side, his own weapon readied.

"Guess there's only you and me against the end, Sensei.", Takeshi said.

"..."

In a shocked state, Shinji nevertheless followed his student, to another battle that he had no hope in...

---

"TELL ME... WHEN DID THEY HIRE HIM AGAIN?"

They couldn't deny it. The monster that used to be Minamoto Hideki was powerful. While Shinji might have had it better than his student, to say what he got was light in comparison was an overstatement. It was only because of his stamina and agility that he lasted much longer in his human form.

"I wouldn't know...", Shinji said.

"LOOK!"

Takeshi pointed down to the city that could be observed from their battle site. Everything was being devastated. The Wrath of the False Gods had, once again, struck on the world that dared to rebel against them.

Suddenly, a pincer-like object violently pierced through the chest of the student. All was too quick for any of them to react.

"Ta- Takeshi!"

"It seemed that humanity was fated to become doomed, Sensei... We cannot be saved, look at our rotten state... Please, save your family... your love... only you... can... restore..."

With not much energy left, the life of Nakamura Takeshi quickly expired before the eyes of his former teacher. In anger, he span the wheels of time and space, without giving a thought as to what kind of world would he arrive in.

---

Enough of this.

Enough of relying in everyone.

Only myself can bring about desired effects, from now on, and forevermore.

This, shall be when I promise to myself.

I will keep my vigilance. I will learn to adapt. I WILL acquire the necessary skills to withstand all challenges that would come before me.

I must not let the little parts of my emotions get the best of me. No favor, fear, weakness or mercy. Death is unavoidable. The cost for everything will be high. But that is the price I will pay. No longer should trivial matters be catered to.

I swear, even if I have to die like a normal human, that I would destroy them, and bring back hope."

The blond-haired, indigo-eyed titanic male walked outside, and looked upon the thick fog that blurred all trace of sunlight beyond the point where he stood.

From this moment, I am neither an Influence or a Human.

I am S.S., and nothing stands in the way of my wrath.

Nothing.

And thus opened the aeons that would seem like eternity for a being that existed outside the definition of space-time...

-ACCESS TERMINATED-