𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖔𝖘 & 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘺 (Re: Zero X Male reader)

4.6- Childhood's End

(Y/N): Your name

No last name...

(L/N): Last name (False)

Race: [DATA EXPUNGED]/God

Element(s): Quintessence/Arcane/Chaos/Yin

Age: 13.7B+ (18 Physically)

Normal Speech: Like this

Thoughts: *Like this*

Actions I can't be bothered to narrate: *Like this*

Whispers/Mutters: Like this

Shouting/Serious tone: Like this

Telepathy/Phone calls: <Like this>

Authorities

Type 4: An Authority gifted by Satella to the individual (Y/N) (L/N) for currently unknown reasons. Once dead, the individual will resurrect, and more accurately, their body is rewound to a state before the death occurred and damage was done. Once the individual has been brought back, they gain the ability to manipulate shadows, the most common use of this ability is shaping the shadows into hands, which one could easily mistake for the authority of sloth. The more time the user dies, the more hands they can create.

Limited time manipulation: An unnamed authority gifted to the individual (Y/N) (L/N) by Satella for currently unknown reasons. The individual can stop time. However, the amount seconds the individual can stop time varies depending on many how many times the individual has died. The longer the individual goes without dying, the number of seconds the user can keep time frozen decreases.

——————————————

Kolzreid: Prepare yourselves... Do not hold anything back. You will need to give it your all if you are to have a chance at victory. Now... Come... The Evil known as Kolzreid Zynthasius challenges you all to battle...

He held up his sword and pointed it towards the group.

Kolzreid: Are you prepared?...

A sword formed in the hands of Quetzalcoatl, a grin etched on her face.

Quetzalcoatl: Everyone, back me up. I'm going to start this with a bang~

She jumped up high and brought her sword down, Kolzreid raised his arm and blocked the strike of her sword.

He bushed her back and jump into the air.

Numerous blue portals manifested behind him, energy sparked around all of them, before multiple projectile weapons were fired from as them at Quetzalcoatl.

She raised her blade and began to parry all the weapons that shot towards her, before running at Kolzreid with an overjoyed look on her face.

She arrived at his location in no time, and began to swing her sword at him left and right. Each of her hits were blocked and countered by Kolzreid.

They continued to clash, until the last time she swung.

Kolzreid caught her sword in between his fingers, he pulled her forward and then delivered a gut punch to her stomach that sent her flying away.

Standing a distance away, the others watched the battle take place.

Ishtar:... She said to cover her... But she honestly just wanted to have a go at him by herself didn't she...? ( •_•)

Artoria: Yes, I do believe that to be the case...

Elysia: Ara Ara~

Quetzalcoatl landed on the ground and then immediately pushed forward towards Kolzreid at neck breaking speeds.

His sword vanished into red particles, and he destroyed her sword. Holding his hands with a provocative gesture.

The smile on her face grew wider as they exchanged blows with their fist.

After throwing a punch, Quetzalcoatl dodged by moving her head to the side, and grabbed Kolzreid's arm.

She tossed him into the air above and giggled.

After doing that, she jumped high into the air and wrapped her legs around his neck, she used her momentum to back flip and send Kolzreid spiralling into the ground.

Only, once Kolzreid got close enough, he spread his wings and glided away from the ground, soaring just above it and then lifting off higher above.

While he was up there, several blue portals appeared, and different types of staffs partially manifested from them.

The tips of the staff flowed many a different colour before firing different types of magic beams at Quetzalcoatl.

She dodged them all swiftly before jumping to close the distance between them, however-

Quetzalcoatl: Ara~?!

Chains had wrapped themselves around her leg, preventing her from ascending higher.

More chains appeared out of blue portals, and Quetzalcoatl found that the more she moved, the harder it became to do so. The chains themselves were tightening around her.

Kolzreid: Struggling is pointless, Quetzalcoatl. The more you move, the more they tighten, until eventually you are immobilised.

Despite being in what one would call a precarious situation, Quetzalcoatl was still smiling, in fact-

Ishtar:... Is she... Blushing...?

Artoria:... It would appear that way... ( o.o)

Kronos:...

Elysia: Ara. I didn't know she was into that kind of stuff~

Quetzalcoatl: Kol-sama~ You're really trying to get me worked up aren't you~? This is so fun! I'm looking forward to this~!

Kolzreid narrowed his eyes as he saw her arm begun to move slowly.

Quetzalcoatl: If the chains tighten the more I move, then all I need to do is break free before they have a chance to immobilise me properly~!

She tensed all her muscles and shattered the chains that bound her, she began falling to the ground, front flipping as she did so.

Once she made it to the ground, she bent her knee's and then shot off towards Kolzreid like a high speed projectile.

She made a fist and threw a punch right at his face. However, she did not feel flesh-

*CLANG*

Quetzalcoatl: ?

Her fist had made contact with... A Shield? Of sorts. It was very intricately designed, flames spewing from all points of it.

Quetzalcoatl jumped back and grinned.

Quetzalcoatl: Ara~? That actually hurt my fist a little, this seems to be something more than the trinkets you create and fire at will~

Elysia hummed for a few moments, and then made a fist and placed it in an open palm as she exclaimed.

Elysia: Ah!

Ishtar: ?

Elysia: If memory serves me correct! And it usually does, that shield is the very same Shield Nii-san used against Infernus's strongest attack millions of years ago. I can't believe he still had it.

Ishtar: Eh?! I-Infernus? The Primordial God of flames?! That snobby Golden Kings predecessor?! THAT Infernus?!

Elysia: Hai~ The very same one. Though I myself wasn't present for their battle. I do remember Kuraokami telling me about it. She described the battle in detail, she was quite traumatised by the incident.

Artoria: Kuraokami... Wasn't she among the Primordial Gods that fought against Kolzreid-sama?

Elysia: Haiii. But before Nii-san could unleash his final attack, she transported herself to safety, feeling that something was wrong as soon as she arrived. She used to feel guilty about it, but I believe she's past it now. It's been millions of years since then after all.

Ishtar: But if he's carrying a Shield with that kind of strength now...

Quetzalcoatl's grin — hearing all of this — began to grow wider.

Quetzalcoatl: I see... A shield that even the Primordial God of fire himself couldn't shatter. Ahh, I'm really starting to get fired up now.

She knelt to the ground and placed one arm on the ground. Her hand began to glow.

——————————————

Kronos: I recommend we take a step back, if she's going to use that, it'll be better from us the farther we are from her.

Ishtar: Honestly, the gall she has. She's really going at this alone, when Kol-sama has faced numerous opponents at once before and still triumphed?

Elysia: Knowing her, that's probably it. A final one on one fight  between her and Kolzreid before we start to take things seriously.

——————————————

Quetzalcoatl: The past is here... The present is here! The future is here!

She stood up and raised her hand, after opening her palm, a large yellow magic circle appeared over her head, and illuminated the crimson sea.

Quetzalcoatl: Come winds! Come lightning! When the morning star shines... Let all know the suns light reaches every corner of the Earth!!

From the centre of the magic circle, a fist sized ball of flames manifested and floated down to Quetzalcoatl.

With her open hand, she grabbed the ball of flames and allowed her fist to become enveloped and empowered by it.

She then pushed off the ground and ascended higher and higher.

Quetzalcoatl: PIEDRA!! DEL... SOL!!!!

*BOOM*

The "landscape" within the Sea had changed.

The ground had changed, and became a sea of molten lava.

There was a lot of dust and smoke that obscured the spectators view of the battlefield.

That wasn't for long though, soon after, Elysia waved her hand, and strong winds had formed to blow away that dust.

The result, not to much of anyone's surprise, Kolzreid was holding up his shield, which didn't even possess any dents on it.

Opposing him, Quetzalcoatl had her flame covered fist making contact with the shield. Of which, the flames were quickly extinguished.

However despite the obvious failure of her attempt, Quetzalcoatl had a smile on her face.

She stood up and withdrew her hand while shaking it.

Quetzalcoatl: Ahh, okay okay, I give. Wow, Kol-sama, you're just as strong as I remember, my fist still hurts you know~.

Kolzreid: Then, I assume it's okay to take things seriously now?

Quetzalcoatl: Hm?

Kolzreid's eyes flashed, and a light blue aura burst into life around him. They aura flared around him like a wild flame in strong winds, exerting pressure on all the other Apostles asides from Elysia.

Ishtar: Tch!

Artoria: This power surge...!

Ishtar: You mean to tell me he wasn't taking things the least but seriously while fighting Quetzalcoatl there? I know he's a Primordial God, but this is just ridiculous... Just what is this power?

Elysia: Of course. He wasn't taking it seriously at all. He easily understood Quetzalcoatl's intentions, and purposefully held back in order to give her an enjoyable fight. However... He did not use his original element, nor did he use the power of Chaos. This is where things truly begin.

Ishtar: Original element...

Artoria: Kolzreid Zynthasius. God of Creation, and Presider of Quintessence.

Elysia: I hope you're ready everyone, we'll be facing off against the same power used to create the Multiverse itself~!

Artoria: I can here to fulfil a purpose. I shall do so no matter what it takes.

Elysia: However... We can't really just waltz in without a plan, or we very well may die. Regardless of his own feelings on the matter, Nii-san is ready to kill us if he needs to.

Ishtar: That much is true, so then what do you suggest?

Elysia: A long and drawn out battle will only be in his favour. See him over there.

She gestured over to Kolzreid, who stood still, staring at them.

Elysia: He's allowing us to speak like this because frankly. We're outmatched even with all of us here. But still, this is a chance for all of us. If you can all unleash your strongest attacks against him, I'll see what I can do~.

Artoria: The way you say that seems as though you have something else in mind for yourself.

Elysia: Of course, it won't be enough to strike him down with just your strongest blows. The tree over there... All of you should travel towards it, then you will truly reach the centre of the multiverse.

Kronos: And what happens to us when we reach it?

Elysia giggled and winked playfully.

Elysia: You'll just have to wait and see~

Ishtar: Is this really the time to give cryptic answers?!

Elysia: Well, in any case. It's imperative for you all to make it to the tree if you're all serious about defeating him. While you all do that, I'll take him on.

Ishtar: You—?

Kronos: How much time will you be able to buy.

Elysia: Hehe, I may not look it, but I'm only second to him in power you know. I'm his younger twin sister, so I know how he fights the best~. If I go at full power, I could rival him for Hmm... Let's say... 13 minutes.

Ishtar: That's more than enough time to reach the tree. Perfect.

Artoria: We have our plan then...

Elysia: Hai, well, thirteen minutes seems like enough, but what happens after you make it to the tree... Well. Just go on.

Ishtar: Fine... Maanna!!!

The boat of heaven promptly materialised next to her, she then used it to take off towards the luminescent tree.

A white horse materialised next to Artoria, she hopped onto it and then used it to ride through the air after Ishtar, her holy Lance in hand to fend off any surprise attacks.

Kronos spread two large bag-like wings from his back and took off in the same direction.

——————————————

Quetzalcoatl: Hm?

She saw the other Apostles fly overhead in the direction of the tree, and tilted her head in curiosity.

Kolzreid:... I see... The tree... That's not a bad strategy... I assume that this was your idea, Elysia?

He eyed her as she calmly walked forward. In response to his question, she playfully stuck out her tongue and winked.

Elysia: Haiii! Guilty as charged. This was all my idea~.

She placed a hand on Quetzalcoatl's shoulder and gestured.

Elysia: You should follow them. Don't worry, I'll hold him off for you in the meantime.

Quetzalcoatl:... I'm not sure what's going on here, but Sì, I'll leave everything else to you, Ellie~.

She jumped into the air waved at Elysia with a smile on her face, she girl returned the gesture. Before Elysia faced her elder brother.

Elysia: Now then. Nii-san... Tell me what it is that you really want...

Kolzreid:... I possess no particular desires, I exist solely for the sake of helping Mother achieve what she desires.

Elysia:... Hm... But isn't that a boring way to live life~? You're causing all of this destruction, for mothers sake. However, what goes through your mind when you destroy innumerable innocents? Are you enraged with them? Or perhaps, do you carry out your actions with sorrow in your heart?

Kolzreid: I don't think of anything. When I accomplish my objective, the only thing I think about is the next place to begin to search, and or the next target for destructions. They get wiped out instantly, so there is no pain. There is nothing to dwell on after they are gone.

Standing a distance away, a certain watcher from the future... Rather, from the present, had grit his teeth.

Instead of their usual blue, his eyes had turned red, dyed in a slowly growing and seemingly unrelenting infestation of rage and loathing.

Elysia sighed before responding.

Elysia: Hearing you say such things... It makes me sad... Nii-san...

Kolzreid: Sad?... For what reason are you sad? The people whose lives were lost in those events?

Elysia: No... I feel sad... For you...

Kolzreid: ?!

Elysia: Mortals view the Gods as all mighty, all knowing beings that exist to send divine providence to them from up above... However... That couldn't be farther from the truth. Yes, we possess power... But ultimately, we are living beings, just like them. And... Even a God such as you has a fatal flaw...

Kolzreid: ... What are you trying to say?

Elysia: Kolzreid.

Elysia's eyes began to glow, similarity to Kolzreid's, and a strange unknown power started to surge from within her.

Elysia: I'm fighting... Not just for the sake of the people all over the second Multiverse, but for you.

Kolzreid:... The power of Harmony...

Kolzreid narrowed his eyes.

Elysia: Despite us being twins, we both became prominent at using opposite powers.

Kolzreid: Yes... I took after mother, while you, father. Very well. We shall reenact the battle that took place wins ago... Chaos versus Harmony...

White X marks appeared on Kolzreid's eyes, and a crimson red aura flared to life around him.

A Grimoire manifested right next to him, it opened and flipped to a certain page. A handle surfaced from it, Kolzreid held onto and pulled it out, holding it out to the side in a battle ready position.

Primodial Broadsword

Elysia manifested a bow in her hands, and then soared towards him.

Crimson/black Chaos energy sparked around the primordial broadsword, despite that, the colour of the blade remained black, as it was still in the process of storing some Chaos energy within the blade itself.

Elysia was very light in her feet.

Of all the Apostles... No, the Primordial Gods as well, she was the fastest. As the Presider over light, it was only fitting.

Elysia zipped around him multiples times, from different angles.

Kolzreid, trying to sense her presence, narrowed his eyes. A beam of Chaos erupted from his blade as he swung it in the direction he could sense her.

There were explosions that followed in the wake of the beam, but... He had missed her.

Once... Twice... Now three times, it was futile. She had dodged them all.

And now...

She was had charged right for him.

Kolzreid swung his sword right in front of him, however, instead of taking the blast head on, Elysia front flipped over him and pulled back on the string of her bow.

She released it, and multiple projectile beams comprised of the power of Harmony cut through the air towards him.

It wouldn't have been a good idea to consistently take damage from it. After all, Harmony negated Chaos, and Chaos negated Harmony. The decisive factor between the two powers was which of the two wield era possessed more power, and as for right now, they were evenly matched, direct contact with the oppositions power for either of them, could be a fatal mistake.

Kolzreid immediately spun around and swung his sword, dispelling the beams that were headed for him.

He then leaned forward and took off at speeds that easily shattered the sound barrier.

He sent a horizontal slash at her, she back flipped in order to dodge.

While she was soaring through the air, an uncountable number of blue portals appeared around Kolzreid. Weapons of all kinds slowly manifested from them, before the weapons themselves suddenly changed colours. Going from silver to a mix of crimson and black, having the power of Chaos attributed to all of them.

Those weapons were suddenly launched towards Elysia who smiled confidently.

Her body began to glow, and then she immediately "disappeared" from her spot.

She had seemingly turned into a beam of light, and was leaving a pink trail as she swerved around each and every weapon that was moving towards her.

She manifested again in her usual form shortly after, holding her bow out and the string pulled as far back as what the bow would allow.

She had one eye closed as she charged her harmony attributed magic into the arrows.

She fired them, and every time one of her arrows made contact with one of the weapons, it turned dull and grey, before shattering.

The rest of the arrows she fired were all moving towards Kolzreid, whose eyes were narrowed in suspicion.

He quickly jumped back and spread his wings, taking to the crimson "skies" of this infinite realm.

His eyes widened when suddenly, he sensed a presence.

The place he had jumped to...

Elysia was already there, lying in wait.

She smirked as she released the string on her bow, a beam of white harmonic power firing off at him.

It then hit-

*BOOM*

——————————————

Ishtar:... Hm... I don't want to admit it... But I severely underestimated her... I know what she said... But... Hm.... I didn't think they would be this evenly matched. I mean... The battle has started and I can't see either of them move at all...

Quetzalcoatl: If the chance ever arises, I want to have a go at her myself~

Ishtar: You and your thirst for battle ( •_•)

——————————————

When the smoke and dust had finally cleared away, Kolzreid was revealed to have been unscathed.

At just the last second, he had created a shield made from Chaos power to protect himself.

But now, that shield had shattered. It was a one time protection against Elysia's attacks.

Kolzreid created many more portals, and from them, many Chaos attributed weapons, more than Elysia could even be able to count, had manifested.

Elysia: Ara Ara~... I sense some trouble aiming my way~.

All the weapons then suddenly surge, as they had even more Chaotic energy stored into the blades themselves.

And then they were launched.

Elysia had begun to dodge them, back flipping, firing arrows, swerving around some others.

While she was busy with the weapons, Elysia had noticed something.

Kolzreid was just standing still. Allowing all the numerous weapons to fire at her.

Elysia: Naruhodo~

Elysia grinned and flew away from portals, creating a barrier of harmonic energy that was temporarily holding off some of the blades.

Elysia: I see what you intend to do, unfortunately, I'm not going to allow that, Nii-san~.

She winked and blew a kiss, before taking aim with her bow.

However, she did not aim at Kolzreid, she had aimed at space above both of them.

Her bow had briefly changed shape as it filled with her power. And then, the arrow of energy was fired.

At the area the arrow was fired, a pink coloured dome surrounded the both of them. Trapping them both inside.

And then suddenly, from the walls of the dome, a beam of light fired towards Kolzreid.

He quickly moved out of the way, however when the beam made contact with the floor, it didn't dissipate, it bounced off the floor and then shot towards him again.

Unprepared for the rebound, the beam had hit him on his armour, causing him to wince just a little, and for cracks to form in his armour.

That wasn't the end of the onslaught, it wasn't just a single beam of light, there were multiple beams of light darting around the entire domain.

All weaponry that was firing out of the portals were being promptly shot and disintegrated by harmony attributed beams of light before they could fully manifest, giving Elysia some breathing room.

The light beams struck Kolzreid in multiple sections of his body, causing more and more cracks to appear in his armour faster than he could regenerate them.

While the did not pack much of a punch on their own, they were consistent, and repeatedly struck the same place.

However...

Kolzreid: Enough...

He tensed every muscle in his body and gripped his sword tighter. The blade finally changed colours, going from a dull black to an active red as it had reached its capacity for withholding Chaos energy. A contraption at the hilt also surfaced and opened as the sword activated and burst with overflowing energy.

Kolzreid: Begone.

Kolzreid said calmly, in an even tone, and with a single wave of his sword, the entire domain Elysia had created had shattered. The beams of light that were assaulting him at every angle had also been destroyed entirely, and Elysia herself had been blown away by the sudden burst of energy.

The radius of the explosion that followed was large enough that smoke had spread far enough close to where the other Apostles were located.

Laying down in what appeared to be red sand, Elysia had lay, battered and bruised, some parts of her clothes tattered.

There was red energy sparking over her body, the remnant energy from Kolzreid's attack.

Despite her state, Elysia only smiled and released a sigh.

Elysia: Ahhh... I was too late to stop his Primordial Burst...

Kolzreid: Stand, Elysia. I know you wouldn't be done in by something like that.

Elysia: Ara... To think you would even give me the opportunity to get back on my feet...

She giggled as she watched the Primordial Broadsword deactivate. The blade returned to black, and the contraption closed and buried itself deeper into the hilt.

Elysia: *Primordial Burst works by slowly gathering the power of Chaos that Kol generates into its blade throughout his battle. He's restricted on how much energy he can manifest in this state, but if he can hold out until the blade is charged, he can release all the energy held within as a counterattack... After he releases a burst, it takes time before he can charge it again to full capacity. Trying to defeat him before the next surge happens is asking a lot... I'L need to hold off until the others are ready...*

——————————————

Over with the other Apostles, they had just arrived at the trunk of the tree.

Ishtar: We've made it to the base... But just what were we supposed to do...

Kronos:... The tree that represents the second Multiverse. It's unknown what might occur if one were to make contact with it.

Ishtar: Hmm... Wait a moment... "Second"?

Kronos: Indeed. Did you think that were were alone?...

Ishtar:... There's more than one Multiverse... Hm?

Kronos: Yes. We are the second out of seven.

Artoria: Seven...?

Kronos: There used to be eight... But it no longer exists. That is of no importance at this moment... I am going in...

Kronos went and reached out his arm.

There was an immediate effect. Strange red veins found themselves on his arm, the veins travelled up his arm and to his neck and face.

Kronos: GRAAAGHH!!!!

There were flashes in his mind.

Artoria: Kronos?!

Quetzalcoatl: Are you okay?

Kronos: Ishtar...?!

Ishtar: Huh?

Kronos: No... You aren't... Ishtar... You are—

Artoria: Hnrghh!!

Ishtar: Artoria? You as well?!

Artoria recoiled from the immense pain she was feeling.

Ishtar: Just what did Elysia send us here for?!

Quetzalcoatl:... I'm not sure... But... I don't think she would send us here if she wasn't sure. Well then, here I go...

She placed her hand on the trunk of the tree. And also succumbed to the strange effects that both Kronos and Artoria were facing.

Ishtar: Ahh.... Dammit... All of this trouble... And for what?

She placed her hand on the trunk. And next she knew...

She blacked out—

——————————————

Elysia was soaring above Kolzreid, moving at speeds faster than light, and yet still, Kolzreid was not having as much trouble as he was keeping up with her.

He was adapting at an alarming pace.

Still, there were things she was able to do as long as she could continue to move faster than him.

The lives of those on Giltoria... This universe... This Multiverse eventually, relied upon the outcome of this battle.

She darted around Kolzreid, at certain intervals, she briefly fired some arrows at him before zipping away to find a different angle.

She grit her teeth and then took aim once more, firing and then taking off.

She did all this while also dodging occasional fire from the projectiles being constantly created by Kolzreid.

She then saw it, the moment she was waiting for. The Primordial Broadsword had charged up. The blade turned red and overflowed with rampant chaotic energy ready to be discharged to wreak havoc upon the battlefield.

Kolzreid lifted the sword up and readied himself.

There—

She quickly sped behind him and took aim.

Time seemed to slow down for her.

A nervous sweat being flung off from her forehead as she released the string.

The arrow shot towards Kolzreid, but it was once again not aimed at him directly, but his hands that were holding the sword.

His eyes narrowed, having an understanding of what she was going for.

He quickly charged the power of chaos into his left hand, but the arrow had already struck.

The collision knocked the sword out of his grasp, giving Elysia an opening.

She didn't let up and went in, but as soon as she did, her eyes widened in disbelief.

It seemed like the sword had not been knocked out of his palm, rather, before the impact, he intentionally had let go of his weapon, using his left hand — which had Chaos charged into it — to take most of the damage. As the sword spiralled away, he used his now free right hand to grab the handle of the sword.

As Elysia moved in front of him, he quickly spun around in a 360 motion and used his momentum to attempt to make a clean cut at Elysia's neck.

Elysia: ?!

Another time, it may have happened. But this time, it did not. Just when the sword was inches away from her neck, Kolzreid jumped back.

Just in time to avoid... Something... that came from above.

*BOOM*

*CRASH*

What was fired just now?...

Elysia quickly recovered, front flipping and landing on her feet, her hand in her chest as she caught her breath.

She blinked in surprise after seeing what she had seen.

There were weapons embedded in the ground.

These weapons were not created by Kolzreid, and there wasn't anyone else present who fought by launching weapons as projectiles either...

Was what she initially thought.

???: What a pathetic sight, O Goddess of Light. Are you not a Primordial Goddess? How could you allow yourself to be reduced to such a state.

A smile found its way on her face once more as she had realised who was speaking.

Hovering in the air above, multiple Golden portals were currently manifested behind a blonde, red-eyed individual.

???: It's become rather irksome watching you all squirm like insects against one measly foe. Yorokobe, Zasshu-domo, the King of Heroes in all his splendour shall grant you the honour of doing battle alongside him.

2ND APOSTLE OF CHAOS, PRESIDER OVER FIRE- KING OF HEROES, GILGAMESH

Elysia: Ahh! Gil~ You came, I'm surprised.

Gilgamesh: T'was a mere whim. Consider this an act of magnanimity, Goddess of Light.

Kolzreid: Gilgamesh...

Gilgamesh: Hmph, you should be grateful, Kolzreid. You shall have the honour of meeting your end at mine own hands.

More weapons were fired from the Gate of Babylon, all of which, were either dodged and or parried by Kolzreid.

Ishtar: EHHHHH?!

The other Apostles had arrived back, only now being aware of what was going on.

Ishtar: What are you doing here?

Gilgamesh, not even bothering to turn around to face her, responded.

Gilgamesh: Hmph, does the King need a reason to pay a visit to a domain of his choosing?

Ishtar: Didn't you say you weren't going to do anything at all?!

Gilgamesh: Enough of that. Didn't you all take a short trip towards that tree because your measly strength could not hope to combat a God with power on this magnitude?

Ishtar: You say that, but if you want to fight him, you'll need to pay a visit there as well. ( •_•)

Gilgamesh: Fool, as if I would allow myself to be sullied with the power of a mad dog.

Ishtar:... Wait... You know wha-

Gilgamesh: Dodge.

Ishtar: Eh?!

He said nothing more, suddenly, Kolzreid appeared right in front of her, and delivered a strong gut punch to her abdomen that sent her rocketing away.

Ishtar: Dammit!

Ishtar coughed and sputtered as she  sat up, she had trouble breathing for a few moments, but had made a somewhat quick recovery. That said, repeated blows to the same spot would definitely put her out of commission if she weren't careful.

A white horse had stopped next to her.

Artoria: Are you alright, Ishtar?

Ishtar: Argh... Yeah... I can still go on... What good would I be if I were done in by just that?

Artoria: Very well.

She had gotten off of her horse and stepped forward.

Ishtar: Are we doing this now?...

Artoria: Yes... I trust you remember the plan?

Ishtar: Hai Hai... Don't hold anything back, right?

Artoria nod once before manifesting her lance.

Artoria: Sacred lance, removing restraints. Split the heavens and tether the earth, anchor the storm.

The coils around the lance began to unfurl and then they all shot up into the sky.

Artoria: O light, may you be released from the ends of the world. Rhongomyniad...

In the space above them, the coils all converged to make a colossal drill shaped spear tip the size of a sky scraper.

It descended upon the battlefield towards Kolzreid, whose pupils thinned at the sight.

He eyed the spear and then in and instant, a large blue portal manifested, a spear of the exact same size and appearance manifested on the ground and shot up to collide with the one coming from above.

They both cancelled each other out, and the explosion was strong enough for winds strong enough to knock away houses to form.

Artoria: He was able to recreate a perfect version— Tsk.

She held out her spear, causing the coils around it to start glowing and to unfurl around the spear once more.

The coils all then grew in length and size while soothing towards Kolzreid.

The Primordial God started running towards the coils, wielding his sword masterfully while cutting up any of the coils that were about to attack him.

On top of that, the weaponry that came from Gate of Babylon were still being fired at the same speed, increasing the workload. Forcing him to focus on defence instead of attack.

The coils started to spread like the roots of a tree, with more and more of them moving towards Kolzreid.

All of them were cut away and the speed in which it was happening was only increasing.

Artoria: Ishtar!

Ishtar: Hai Hai, I already know! Leave this to me!

She formed a spear in her hands and waved it to the side in front of her.

Ishtar: GATE OPEN!!

A large gate opened above them, revealing the stars of space, and then slowly, the planet Venus started to emerge coming through. Ishtar's eyes changed from red to gold.

Ishtar: This is everything I've got, the power and souls of myself and my predecessor!

She then threw her spear up to the celestial body, and then it began to shrink down and became small enough to hover behind the Boat of Heaven. It was loaded into Maanna's magazine and then formed an arrow shape.

Ishtar held up her arm and stuck out her index and thumb.

Alina: AN GAL TĀ KIGAL SHĒ!!!!!

She fired a dark pink blast of Magic energy down at the Primordial God. The tremors caused the sea itself to quake.

Quetzalcoatl: Since everyone is going all out, Onee-san will as well~.

A ball of flame sputtered to life in her palms. She brought the flames to her chest, and it became one with her.

Chaotic energy began to run rampant within Quetzalcoatl, her eyes changed to red, and she gained veins all over her body.

Quetzalcoatl: After all... Despite being an Apostle, I am divinity of a distant, mystic land! Primordial God of Giltoria... You are nothing to me!

She was enveloped in crimson red flames and she took off into the sky and neck breaking speeds.

Quetzalcoatl: Witness the power of our underworld, Xibalba, and the cataclysmic impact that annihilated countless lives!... I shall burn everything away, and become the comet that killed the earth!...

After making it a distance equivalent to distance between the Earths crust and Mesosphere, she started to come back down with her foot out, raging chaotic flames blazed around her as she descended.

Quetzalcoatl: ULTIMO...!! TOPE..!!... PATADAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kolzreid's Primordial Broadsword activated, and the energy that flowed from the blade began to surge.

He immediately swung his blade and allowed a beam of destructive Chaos energy raze everything in its path and clashing with Quetzalcoatl's charge.

Flashback

She opened her eyes. She was... In an unfamiliar place... However... For reasons unknown, she still felt... something... Familiar... It was more a sense of Dejavu.

???: Ufufufu~ So... You're supposed to be my successor, are you?

She quickly turned around, seeing an... Unfamiliar face.

Quetzalcoatl:... Who... Are you?...

???: Hmmm?... You came here, and don't even know that?... Tsk, I bet Elysia's involved. Fine then... my name, is Möbius~. Just call me Möbius.

Quetzalcoatl: Möbius?... As in... The Primordial Goddess?!

Möbius: It looks like I don't need to explain everything, perfect... Then let's make this brief, yes?... To be frank, none of you are a match for Onii-san, and yet you all still struggle so.

Quetzalcoatl:... Perhaps that is the case. However, even so, we must do what we can in order to stop him. Such an opportunity won't come again, so we're going to put our all into trying to defeat him. Even if it is a futile effort... Besides all that, giving my all without holding anything back... It's rather fun~.

Möbius:.... Hm...

She saw the smile on her face, and then smirked.

Möbius: Very well. Consider yourself lucky, you're connected the real version of me, that makes things easier to you. The others are connected to the vestiges of the now deceased Primordial Gods, receiving power from them will prove a more arduous task.

She raised her arm, as she did so, black/green liquid formed and enveloped Quetzalcoatl.

Möbius: I shall briefly grant you with my power. You shall receive the blessing of nature, rejoice, my successor. Struggle on as you will, I'm sure it will be entertaining for me either way.

Flashback End

She smiled to herself, having received Natures blessing, there was a certain increase in power, that came from her predecessor. Using her position as the Presider over nature, she was able to receive power from nature, whether it be animals, or from plants that have photosynthesised. Whether or not it would be enough... She was about to find out.

Quetzalcoatl: Burning fighting spirit... XIUHCOATL!!!

She lifted up her foot, and enveloped it in an ever stronger flame before striking it back down on the beam.

Quetzalcoatl: HUAAAAAAAARRGHHH!!!!!

Sue slowly began to push against the beam. And with her exerting herself, she got closer and closer to Kolzreid, until finally...

Quetzalcoatl: HUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRGHHH!!!!!

She broke through and managed to bring her foot down upon Kolzreid.

There were more tremors and more smoke obscuring their view.

Ishtar: Direct hit! She managed to push through! We got him!

Kronos:...

Elysia: Hmm... Ishtar...

Ishtar: What?... You saw and felt that too right? That heat? That power, I'm not sure how much power she was gifted by her predecessor, but it was the power of a Primordial God put up against another one. And it was a direct hit.

Elysia: Yes... But I've learned that when people frequently say things like that, it turns out that...

Artoria: Look...!

Some of the smoke began to clear once more, and to most their disbelief, Kolzreid... Was still standing.

However... His sword had been shattered, and his right arm had been incinerated.

Not like that mattered, since after a few moments, bones started growing at an extremely fast pace, followed by tendons, muscles, blood vessels, nerves, skin before armour covered it entirely.

Ishtar:.........

Gilgamesh: Well. He certainly lives up to the Moniker of the Strongest Primordial God, if nothing else. Ishtar, you just had to open your mouth.

Ishtar: I don't appreciate you placing the blame on me when the only thing you've done since you got here is fling the items in your treasury, as if that was going to stop KOLZREID.

Gilgamesh: Need I spell it out for you, Mongrel? This is why dealing with your kind is bothersome. My presence alone is enough to see us through to victory.

Ishtar:...... I was wondering what none sense you were going to spout next... But—

Quetzalcoatl: You two can bicker later... There's a problem.

Ishtar paused and looked over at Kolzreid.

Chaotic energy was building up in all locations of his body, and that power level was rising.

Ishtar: What is going on?! Shouldn't his power be dropping if nothing else?

Elysia:.... !!! He's going to use... That?...

Artoria: What is "that"?

Elysia: Hm... We may have even more to worry about now...

Kolzreid's eyes began to glow red, and his body started to increases in muscle mass.

Kolzreid: Very well... You were alL serious enough to call for help from out the Gods of the past. And to that... I shall respond in kind... Nega-Genesis... Deploying... 

The Chaos tide formed beneath him, his body slowly sank into it.

The ground started to shake.

Gilgamesh:...

Ishtar: What is it this time??

They were all -with the exception of Elysia - wondering what was happening...

And then they saw... It...

A crimson red horn rose up from the tide, and then four eyes as well as a horn, followed by the rest of the monstrously sized head had surfaced.

This was accompanied by the rest of this creatures body, having fully surfaced from the tide, it towered over them... Menacingly.

Ishtar: What on Earth?!

Elysia:... *You were this serious... Nii-san...?*

Kolzreid let out an ear splitting roar, which shook the entirety of the Crimson Sea of Primordia.

Quetzalcoatl: Just what... Is that?

Elysia: A Draconic Corpus...

Ishtar: Draconic Corpus?! Just like Mother...?! Wasn't she one of the only two that were able to enact self modification?!

Elysia: Nii-san also inherited that ability from Mother and Father, he was the only Primordial God to successfully use it, albeit with more difficulty than mother or father would have had. Which is why he's only ever used it once before...

Kronos: His power is growing to monstrous proportions... At this rate, he will truly become invincible.

Elysia:... Mother... Is... One of the greatest disasters rejected by Mortals and God... Shewing her titles as the Primordial Goddess and the like, she had fallen to the state of a Beast that carries the principal of Regression... And now... Similarly, Kolzreid... Is a Child of said Goddess, said the be the most loyal and most powerful of all of them... However he is a being that has never acted in self interest. He destroyed, not out of hatred or rage, but out of obligation. He led others, not out of a sense of pride, but because it was of Obligation. His refusal to exist for any purpose of his own is why he too has fallen... Primordial God of creation is no longer an applicable title for him... For he has now also become a Beast... A Beast that carries the principle of Sloth...

Kronos: A Beast of Sloth...

Ishtar: Is there any way at all to defeat this Beast?!

Gilgamesh: Nay. Nothing any of the Apostles could do right now could hope to injure him.

Ishtar: Say that after actually thinking about it! Weren't you the one bragging about our victory or something?!

She paused as the ground once again began to shake. The horn of the Draconic Beast began to glow and fill with power.

Quetzalcoatl: We need to do something quickly, I have a feeling that this next attack won't be something we can simply shrug off...!

Elysia: Kronos, I'm going to need your help...

Kronos: Hai...

Kronos and Elysia hovered forward in front of them.

Both of them raised their arms, forming a large magic circle while speaking in a language unrecognisable to the rest of them.

Beast:.... O' Resolute Child, Stand against he who stands at the Apex of Creation...

Ishtar: Any second now...!

Just as she had yelled, a transparent pink dome surrounded them all, in preparation for the attack.

After a few moments...

Beast: NAMMU... DURUANKI!!

The Beast had opened its jaws, and from it, a beam of Chaos erupted and shot wards them.

They were enveloped in the beam, being kept safe momentarily by Elysia and Kronos.

There were, however, cracks beginning to form in that shield, making Elysia and Kronos strain themselves.

Elysia: This is proving... To be much more of a challenge... Than I anticipated!

Kronos: Hnrghhh!!! We can't... Hold it... Much... Longer...!

Ishtar: Then... If that's the case... Take all my remaining power...! Push back against him!

Ishtar placed a hand on Elysia's shoulder, and nodded resolutely.

Quetzalcoatl: Me too... Take it all.

Artoria: Even if it but a minuscule of power... If it well lessen the burden by even little, then you should take it.

Artoria also diverted all her remaining power towards the two.

The cracks that had formed in the shield had managed to fade away, but the Beast was still far from done.

The beam finally dissipated, however, as soon as that was done, it began to growl and swayed it's enormous tail towards them.

Ishtar: Ahhh... This is going to hurt...

*BAM*

The tail stirred up the sand beneath their feet and made them all airborne. Unfortunately, for the other Apostles - asides from a certain jackass of a Golden King that had chosen to spectate most of the time - they were out of this fight, depleted of all of their power, with no strength left to withstand another attack from the Beast.

The only one left, was Elysia.

She stared up at the beast and narrowed her eyes. 

Beast: Gods of Chaos, is that all your resolve amounts to?... It seems that this has become a fight with no particular significance. Futureless beings... Allow me to end your suffering.

All four of the Beast's eyes shone, it growled as the Chaos tide underneath it began to bubble.

Two gates opened, and Demonic Beasts of all shapes and sizes poured out, their target was the last Primordial God that was still trying to make a stand.

The ones that could fly all immediately began to soar towards Elysia, whose body began to glow.

She began to fly around the Sea, avoiding some of the Demonic Beasts while also using her bow to fire at several others.

However, despite how it may have seemed, she was also slowly nearing her own limit.

Demonic Beast: WRYYYYYYY!!!!

*STAB*

The Demonic beast that had begun to screech was killed by a sword that was inexplicably launched into the head of the beast.

The other beasts looked up and saw golden portals launching weapons as high speed projectiles.

Seeing this, Elysia smiled.

Elysia: Thank you, Gil~.

Gilgamesh: Hmph... Die, you repugnant and abominable beasts.

He increased the number of portals of the Gate of Babylon, and began firing even more weapons at the beasts.

This, along with Elysia also firing at many of them with homing arrows.

She landed and raised her bow above her head, pulling back on the string and firing an arrow up into the space above her.

A pink dome was formed, and she had managed to trap several more beasts in there with her.

Several beams of harmony attributed lights had bounced around the dome, quickly mowing down the numbers of the Demonic beasts.

As soon as they were all destroyed, the dome disappeared.

However, a soon as that had happened, a beam of Chaotic energy rained down on her from above.

She quickly jumped away and aimed her bow, only to be relentlessly assaulted by many different beams of Chaos coming from other Demonic Beasts.

She quickly held up her arm and formed a shield that was made of a strong crystal.

Enduring the beams that were fired at her, she quickly landed on the ground again.

Just before they could reach her, several weapons rained down on them, annihilating them.

She took a second to catch her breath and then took aim at the large Beast looking over them.

However, another beam of chaotic origins had been fired at her.

Her eyes widened as she quickly pulled back on the string of her bow.

Charging up even more of her power in order to counter it.

However, it wasn't enough.

She was caught in the attack, her bow shattered, and her left arm had and right leg had disintegrated.

After the attack let up, chaotic energy sparked around Elysia's body, she was immobilised.

She suddenly felt a large claw wrap around her.

The Beast now had her in it's clutches. It lifted her up to its height and stared at her. Gradually squeezing her, there were snapping sounds, which were her bones breaking all over. She coughed blood.

Beast: Elysia. Be grateful that I'm taking pity on you. There is no need for you to suffer in your last moments... Fade away to nonexistence in the infinite void outside this multi-macrocosm.

Cracks appeared in the very fabric of reality.

A hole had opened up inside the sea of Primordia.

But it did not lead back to reality... The opposite in fact... It was a tear in the very multiverse itself. Leading the void that existed outside it.

Beast: Farewell... Sister.

The Beasts claws released Elysia, and she was immediately pulled into the void. The tear in the Multiverse repairing itself quickly.

A few moments afterwards, the Beast turned its attention to the blonde King that was endlessly raining down all sorts of weapons upon Demonic Beasts that got near him or the other collapsed Apostles.

Beast: King of heroes. Why do you still fight? This battle... Has long since been over.

Gilgamesh: Hmph... This battle... Already over?... Who decided that, Zasshu.

The Beast narrowed all four of its eyes... Suddenly... It felt something... Odd...

At the Imaginary Tree...

There was something odd about it... But the Beast could not identify it...

——————————————

Elysia's body had already stopped existing. Next was her consciousness...

She was drifting away... the last fragments of her consciousness remained, that and her source... About to cease existence forever...

But...

"Elysia..."

Something was reaching out to her...

"Elysia..."

She had regained consciousness...

That voice... It... Was... Her own?

She could see a figure in front of her... It looked... Identical to her... Perhaps... It was her? Another aspect perhaps?...

"Are you going to let your story end here?..."

Elysia:.....

"You are... The Ray of light that shines brightly in this multiverse... And you have a role to play... The one you must save is the Beast of Sloth."

Elysia:...

She had regained her sense of self, here in this void. She dared not question how... But...

Elysia: I suppose she's right... Isn't she?... Or I suppose I should say I'm right... I'd hate to disappoint Nii-san... But... Hm... If I'm going to meet my end... I'd rather it be a beautiful one... An end that was Grand and Spectacular... Fading away into an afterthought like this... Would be a lonely way to go out. Isn't that right... My dear sister...

She reached her arm out...

There was someone... Reaching out to her...

???: ???

???: Hai... Ellie Nee-san... Your time has not come yet... So return to us... Please save Onii-san...

She held onto Elysia's hand and brought her up. Elysia's fragmented consciousness, as well as her body had been restored by the unidentified entity.

But as soon as she appeared, she was gone.

Elysia:...

Möbius:... Unsurprisingly... you still have to get everyone aboard.

Elysia looked down and noticed that Möbius was sitting below her, twirling her hair with an unreadable smirk.

Möbiu: Hmph... That's why I find you so annoying... Elysia.

Her body began to glow green, it then transformed into a green ball of light and flew towards Elysia.

Elysia giggled before flying away.

Elysia: Fufu~ But I can tell you aren't really bothered in the slightest.

As she flew, the vestige of a certain hot headed Primordial God flew above her.

Infernus: Burn it all, Incinerate everything to ashes!!

Kuraokami: No matter what, you must press on forward, your resolve must be as unwavering as the permafrost.

Another Primordial God flew over her, Lights coloured both red and light blue found their way to Elysia.

Elysia:... Ara~?

She noticed a small ethereal butterfly flying besides her, she also felt a gentle breeze blowing around her.

Aponia: This time... The Gods will have to embrace their final destiny.

More butterflies flew alongside her, and guided her path back into the crimson sea.

——————————————

The Beast continued to stare at the Imaginary Tree, it was now glowing a multitude of colours...

And soon, it was wrapped a multicoloured aura. A beam shot out from it and into the space above it.

A smirk found its way to Gilgamesh's face, and all four eyes of the Beast widened.

The vestiges of all the Primordial Gods, as well as Elysia had manifested above the tree.

Hemera: This is something that has never been seen before, right?

Ozyucus: Hopefully, the events that take place here, will lead to the creation of a better future for the those that come after.

Noctis: This day shall mark the end of the Age of Gods. The fate of the world shall be decided by the mortals that inhabit it.

Elysia smiled and walked past the blue haired woman that had first reached out to her.

???: Are you ready? Ellie?

Elysia giggled and began to float above them.

Elysia: Of course~!

She fired an arrow, at the battlefield, which created a dome that trapped all the demonic beasts present on the battlefield.

Beams of light formed and tore through every single one of them relentlessly.

Soon after, a multicoloured light started to emanate from Elysia.

A flower had formed around her, and as it began to bloom, Elysia, who was at the centre, manifested born anew.

APOSTLE OF HARMONY, PRESIDER OVER LIGHT/EGO- ELYSIA

She hovered in the sky above the Beast, with several multicoloured lights surrounding her.

The Beast narrowed its eyes and began to roar. Several more gates opened, allowing more Demonic Beasts to fly into the Sea and towards Elysia.

A multitude of them were dealt with by weapons that were launched from the Gate of Babylon. The majority of them still made it past and headed straight for Elysia.

Elysia blew a kiss, and all the lights around her begun to spin around her in a circle formation.

A multicoloured harmony attributed beam of light then shot out and enveloped all of the Demonic Beasts heading for her.

Those Demonic Beasts were all disintegrated, and the beam of light split apart into 14 arrows of light, that headed towards the Beast in a similar fashion to homing missiles.

The Beast growled, it's horn began to glow a bright crimson colour, and soon after a Beam of Chaotic energy shot out from its mouth.

Beast: NAMMU... DURUANKI!!

However, the 14 arrows had easily destroyed the power that had composed the beam, and continued forward to the Beast.

Elysia: Onii-san... Did you know?... Despite what happened eons ago... None of them bear you any ill will. I'm going to honour their wishes and put an end to this, so I'll be going all out now if you don't mind.

The arrows had made contact with the Beast, and all of them had been impaled the it's flesh in several places, making it stagger and shriek.

Elysia raised her arm above her head, and then a stained glass mural depicting herself had manifested behind her.

That glass had shattered, when a Titan comprised of her own energy had walked through it.

This Titan mimicked her movements, as though they were connected.

Elysia created a bow and arrow out of pure energy and aimed at the beast, the energy Titan behind her did the same.

Before she fired, an image of all the Apostles of Chaos, both old and new flashed in her mind.

And then, she released the arrow. As she did so, so did the Titan, and two arrows of Harmony had fired towards the Beast.

The Draconic Beast, which still had the 14 arrows impaled in its flesh, had white energy sparking all over his body, it found it quite hard to move, and there were white cracks appearing all over its body.

It looked up, and the fierce look in its eyes had gone away.

Beast:... Well played... Elysia... You are the victor of this battle...

The two arrows merged midair, and then landed right in the Beast of Sloth's chest.

*BOOOOM*

The explosion that followed was enough to blind anyone that was present.

Through the smoke, the unconscious body of Kolzreid fell to the ground.

—————————————

Gilgamesh:... Such is the End that I saw in my dreams. How fitting...

Kolzreid awoke... Noticing first that there was a soft sensation under his head.

Kolzreid:....

Elysia: You finally awake now?

Kolzreid:... Hm...

His head was on the lap of his sister, who had greeted him with a beautiful smile.

Kolzreid:... You've done it... You managed to defeat the evil Beast of Sloth... It was a total defeat...

Elysia:... No... I don't see it as a battle of Good Vs Evil... Rather, a clash of ideals between two gods... Well... As these two Gods were siblings... Hm, perhaps a sibling squabble?...

Kolzreid:...

Elysia: Kolzreid... You're slothful... Very very Slothful in fact...

Kolzreid:...

Elysia: Not once have you ever done something that you truly wanted to do... Everything you've done... Was because it was something you felt was needed to be done. You'd do it regardless of how you truly felt about it... Or rather, you had no true feelings about anything you did, because you regard your own feelings as unimportant.

Kolzreid: That is natural... For the wishes of the Child do not matter when a parent is involved. An individual must do all that they can for their parents. It is their duty... It was my duty... Mothers grief... While I could not understand it, I did not need to. I would help her achieve what she wanted, without question.

Elysia:... That's wrong... Kol... As far as parents and their children are involved... Eventually, a parent needs to let their children go. And a Child, must learn to grow up and make their own decisions... They must travel down the path they carved with their own hands. Otherwise, they cannot grow and develop. And that is why you are slothful, Kol. You became dependant on mother. Without Mother, you would have no reason to exist. You had no goals, no particular purpose, no drive, so you resigned everything to her. 

Kolzreid:....

Elysia: Perhaps. Had you learned to spread your wings a little earlier, you could have experienced the joys of life, and would have learned to see things in a different perspective to your own. But... Unfortunately... There was nothing that you've done for yourself...

Kolzreid:... Incorrect... There was one... One thing that I did... Of my own choice...

Elysia: Hm?

Kolzreid:... Kevin... and Ai...

Elysia: Ahh... Yes... Kolzreid... Tell me... Why did you have those two?... And... How did they make you feel?

Kolzreid:... I was curious... About the emotion called... love... Perhaps I wanted to understand the way Mother felt towards me... And her other children... Hm... In the end... I don't believe that I was able to understand it fully... However... Knowing what was coming... I wanted them to both be as far away from this place as possible...

Elysia: Why?

Kolzreid: I want them to find their own happiness... Away from the worlds where the Gods were prominent...

Elysia giggled to herself.

Elysia: Kol... That right there... Is something you did, out of love for your Children...

Kolzreid:... ?

Elysia: Ara Ara Ma~ You really aren't Self-aware at all, are you?... Well... That's fine...

Kolzreid: I... Loved my children?...

Elysia: What will you do now, Kol? Will you go back to Giltoria to stop mother?

Kolzreid:... No... That job lies with you. Elysia... There were two billion...

Elysia: Huh?

Kolzreid:... Two billion, five hundred four million, five hundred eighty-six thousand, nine hundred and sixty-four different outcomes for this battle... And of them... There was only one in which you all ended up victorious...

Elysia: Ah... Your Clairvoyance to see into the past and the future...

Kolzreid:... I had been seeing this vision over and over again, not understand how I could possibly be defeated. Out of all possibilities, this possibility is what had bothered for years. However... I now understand... Regardless of how many possibilities there were... The reason I had been defeated... Was because I chose this outcome.

Elysia:... You chose to be defeated?...

Kolzreid: No... It was more as though. I accepted my inevitable defeat... I was led here to this very moment through my own Clairvoyance... The time of Kolzreid Zynthasius has come to an end...

Elysia's eyes widened a little.

Elysia: Kol...

Kolzreid: I've existed for far too long... It's about time for me to disappear...

Elysia: ...

Kolzreid: You were right... There was nothing in this life that I ever did for myself... I was truly slothful... But... One... The one wish I had was fulfilled... Raising Children of my own... The same way Mother raised us... The fact that I did indeed love them both... Is what makes me all the more certain... I truly have no lingering feelings or regrets... Elysia.

A few tears had begun to form in her eyes.

Kolzreid slowly lifted his arm and wiped them.

Kolzreid:... There's no need to shed tears for someone like me... Elysia... Regardless of this outcome. I don't apologise nor do I regret anything that I have done in this life of mine. I truly am cold and unfeeling Beast, aren't I?

Gilgamesh: You are a King.

Kolzreid looked up and saw Gilgamesh walk towards them. His arms folded.

Gilgamesh: The Mark of a King is to be more whimsical than any other. Be it good... Be it evil, A king must live according to their own law. The law that they themselves set down as rulers. To live by one's owns law is the epitome of Kingship. Kolzreid, to the very end, you were a King. And I the King io heroes, acknowledge you as such.

Elysia gasped as she felt the hand that was on her face... Disappear...

She looked down and saw Kolzreid's body glowing gold. His hand had become transparent and intangible.

Elysia: Kolzreid...!

Kolzreid:... Tell me something... Elysia... What you said earlier... Did you truly mean that?

Elysia: Yes... Yes I did... Onii-san... I love you... All the others love you... Which is why we had to make you realise... So I'm glad... I'm really glad I was able to have this talk with you... Nii-san... But please... Don't go away...

She had held onto his other hand and leaned her head down, allowing her tears to fall freely.

Gilgamesh saw something very peculiar... Kolzreid... Was smiling...

Kolzreid: Elysia...

She looked up, and saw him smile for her.

Kolzreid:... I do not have enough experience to determine this for sure. However... I will say it anyway... Elysia... I love too...

Elysia: Brother...

She held him close as she cried.

Kolzreid:... Though this may be the end of my own story... It is also the beginning... Of a new one...

His body continued to fade away, but his voice could still be heard.

Kolzreid: Take care of the next Kolzreid... Show him the Beaty of the world, that I failed to see... Those are my final wishes...

Kolzreid Zynthasius had passed away, with a smile on his face, filled not with regrets or other lingering feelings. But with happiness. It was the first and last time he would ever experience happiness in his life.

Gold dust flew away from Elysia, and over to the Imaginary tree. Kolzreid's vestige becoming a part of it, just like his fellow Primordial Gods before him.

The one who had been observing everything, watched with clenched fists, and tears in his eyes.

"Live your life free. Unshackled by the actions of the one who came before you........ (Y/N)."

He heard a voice in his head and turned... There was no one else... It was definitely Kolzreid's voice... But he didn't know where it was coming from.

His were wide, he saw a blue light emerge from one of the branches of the tree, that light floated slowly over to Elysia, who held her arms out...

Gilgamesh:... Hou?

Elysia: !

She light shaped itself into a humanoid shape, it also possessed small horns, a small scaly tail, and small bat-like wings.

It was a baby... The baby had white hair, soft and pale skin... But... Their eyes... Instead of red... They were blue.

They quickly fell asleep in Elysia's arms. She looked down and smiled at the baby.

Elysia:.... Welcome to the world... Kolzreid....

Gilgamesh: An interesting decision, taken by the root of the existence.

Elysia: Reincarnation... However... While he may be a God... He has lost his divinity...

Gilgamesh: I see. Hmph. Interesting... I see no need to remain here any longer, I'll leave you to take care of the rest, Apostle of Harmony.

Elysia: Ah..

She raised her free arm, but Gilgamesh had already departed from the Sea of Primordia.

Elysia pouted and sighed.

Elysia: Mou... How rude... He was much more pleasant as a Child.

She looked back down at the baby in her arms.

Elysia:... Hm... There's only a few things left to do... Stopping Mother won't be easy... But perhaps all I need to do... Hm... Sealing her... Perhaps...? Hm... I'll worry about that later... First I need to get everyone else back where they belong.

——————————————

The world around him soon went dark...

(Y/N) didn't have the words to say anything. Right now, there were an amalgamation of different emotions within, all bubbling up into a Chaotic outburst of energy.

But then suddenly... He felt himself get pulled away... He recognised this feeling... He was actually being transported elsewhere.

At least... His astral body was...

He found himself elsewhere... The Witch that was with him... Was no longer present...

After taking in his surroundings, he understood why... For this was a was a place that only certain individuals could go to.

The Sea of Primordia.

(Y/N):... Why am I back here again?....

There was no response from anyone. He was alone...

But... There was a sight that he hadn't seen when he had come here the other times.

The Imaginary Tree... Representative of the Multiverse in which they all lived.

He walked over to it and stared up at it, gazing at all of the leaves attached to all the diverging branches.

(Y/N): All of those are different universes Huh?.... I wonder how many of them I've been to... And how many I've destroyed...

He turned around and looked down at his hands... His memories were fuzzy... And they also had gaps... It made sense, since Quinella had erased a portion of it...

He sat down and leaned against the trunk of the tree. Which was noticeably larger than when he saw it in the memories.

(Y/N): The hell am I supposed to do?... I'm relapsing dammit... This is too much... Why did I have to be shown this now if all times for fuck sake...

He buried his head in his knees and recalled what he had heard.

"Live your life free. Unshackled by the actions of the one who came before you........ (Y/N)."

(Y/N): So what... I'm supposed to just forget everything that he did happened?... He expects me to forget the fact that I only exist because he had simply given up on life...?... If he had made a different choice... I wouldn't even be here...

???: That isn't the case...

(Y/N)'s eyes widened... He wasn't expecting company... It wasn't anyone he knew personally...

No... Technically... He should know them. And he does... Only because of the fact that he's been able to look through moments of the past...

He slowly looked up... And he saw her... Kolzreid's younger sister...

(Y/N): Elysia...

Elysia:... Ara... So you know of me then... Did Morgan tell you about me by any chance?... Or... Did you regain your ability to look through time...

(Y/N):...

Elysia sighed, while still retaining a small smile on her face, she stood next to where Kolzreid was sitting.

Elysia:... This is the first time I've seen you since you were a baby... I wish you'd be a little more welcoming to your little sis~.

(Y/N): I'm not... You're not my little sister... The person you considered your older brother is gone... I know already who he was... I know what he did... I know it all now...

Elysia: I see... So that's why you came here... The moment you touched the tree... I felt a familiar presence and came as soon as I could...

...

...

(Y/N): Why did you keep me alive?

Elysia: Pardon?

(Y/N): I'm not your older brother. I don't know you, and you don't know me... Why did you keep me alive... Wouldn't this multiverse have fared better without me... Or am I something of a replacement for him?... I wonder...

Elysia:... Hm... Well, you're certainly as Melancholic as he was... But... You're right... I don't know you... However. Since when is that a reason to not do the right thing?

(Y/N): What?

Elysia: Did you really expect me to just throw a baby out into the vacuum of space? Not even Kol would think to do something like that...

(Y/N): Yeah... I suppose not... But... At this point I don't care if my way if thinking is logical or not... I really don't care... The way I feel right now... Tsk... I don't know... I simply don't know what to do... I can't look at that guy and just accept everything he did... He didn't even have any personal reasons for doing it... He essentially just did it for the sake of doing it. He was a slave to his own nonexistent ideals... How could I not detest him... How could I accept him?

Elysia:... Hm... What name do you go by now?...

(Y/N):... ?.... Hm... A friend of mine gave me the name (Y/N)...

Elysia: (Y/N)... Hm... Yes. I like that name. (Y/N)... Well then. Since you were reborn, I am technically now your big sister~.

(Y/N): I don't remember agreeing to th—

Elysia: Hai~ And now, listen to what Onee-san has to say~!... (Y/N)... Stop avoiding running away from the truth...

(Y/N):... What?...

Elysia: You say you detest Kolzreid... But... Isn't the one that you really hate so much... yourself?

(Y/N) immediately broke off eye contact with Elysia, looking down while clutching his head.

(Y/N): No... You're wrong... I... I'm different from him... It's him I despise... I have to...

Elysia: There you go again... Denying it to yourself...

(Y/N): I have to!... Because of I don't... Who am I?

Elysia: Simple... You're (Y/N).

(Y/N): And who the hell is he?... The stand in for the Slothful God that gave up on life?... A repulsive Dragonoid with the inability to keep himself from harming others?... An Alter Ego for a mass murderer?... How the hell could I in my right mind ever go around masquerading as him?

Elysia: (Y/N)... You are mistaken...

(Y/N): What?...

Elysia:... No one is telling you to become Kolzreid... Nii-sama... Nii-sama is gone now... You are in fact, someone different from him... However... The Ego... Is a portion of the personality. Experienced as the "self" or "I", there is and can only be one true Ego. But what of AlterEgos? Are they separate from the MainEgo? In truth, the answer is no... The only thing that extinguishes one Ego from another, is experience. The Ego is in contact with the external world through perception... It is thanks to the ability to perceive, that people can have different experiences.

(Y/N):...

He had fallen silent... Listening to her as he stared out into the crimson void.

Elysia: An AlterEgo is just a part of one person that has perceived and experienced the world differently from the Main Ego, and thus, the way that AlterEgo chooses to react and behave differs from the first.When speaking of which is the real Ego and which is false... Well, there is no such thing. Both Egos are different possible aspects of one individual... No Egos perception and experiences take precedence over another. So there is no need to agonise and grieve over choosing an identity...
There is no need to choose a side. Egos are akin to branches on a tree. Both Egos have the same Origin, but as they grow, they reach out in different directions and take on many a shape based on certain growing conditions, until they reach their eventual finality. If you're having trouble deciding who to be, then why not just be both?

(Y/N):... Both?

Elysia: There is no reason for the experiences and perception of Kolzreid to oppress the perception and experiences of (Y/N). You possess the same origin, you're both the first son of Tiamat, that will never change even when the curtain falls on your story, accepting that simple fact, that aspect of you is the first step to loving yourself (Y/N).

(Y/N):... But how... How am I supposed to love myself if the only thing on my mind is all those atrocities he caused...

Elysia: Well... No one said it would be easy. But think about this, (Y/N)... All those people who met their end to Kolzreid... And to (Y/N)... Are they still around today?

(Y/N):... Well... No... But...

Elysia:... And... Are the spirits of those people haunting you every night? Do they constantly scream your name and demand for your life as recompense for theirs?

(Y/N): No......

Elysia: Then there's no issue~.

(Y/N): But tons of innocent people who didn't deserve to die died...

Elysia: Okay... But they still did... You lamenting your lack of control or Kolzreid's actions isn't going to bring them back, is it?

(Y/N):....

Elysia: If people fell to depression and begun to lament every time they made a mistake. The world would be a very different place. People would never get anywhere at all...

(Y/N):...... So... You're just saying... To forget about them...?

Elysia: Yes. Have you ever heard the phrase... "Forgive and Forget". Those people aren't alive to forgive you, but that also means they can't be angry at you either. So it's up to you to forgive yourself, (Y/N). Acknowledge that you and Kolzreid are one in the same, but don't let that decide the course of your life... You are (Y/N). A version of Kolzreid that was taught what love meant, a version that was shown love, and is learning to reciprocate it. A version of Kolzreid that learned how to value and cherish the lives of others. (Y/N)... You aren't evil. The very fact that you felt remorse for your actions proves that. But, these were not feelings intended for to be felt forever. These feelings arise in order to get someone to reflect upon their actions. Once they've acknowledged their wrongdoings, they can move on... They have to move on.

(Y/N) continued to stare for a few moments...

Elysia: This might be presumptuous of me... But...

He suddenly felt himself get embraced.

(Y/N): You're...

Elysia: You're alright... Just let Onee-san pamper you for a few moments...

He was tired...

He was very tired...

He has spent more time than he cares to remember hating himself...

It was apparently so bad he had to have his memory wiped before he destroyed his own mind entirely...

Too much of the past... For him to memorise...

Too many words remained... For him to read through the lines...

The ebb and flow of the crowd flood the world and paradise... Along the path of time.

——————————————

He momentarily slipped into unconsciousness... He had been so stressed that he had exhausted himself.

He remembered...

He remembered it all...

He remembered meeting Anastacia...

He remembered losing her...

He remembered the grief and rage he felt that day...

He remembered falling into unconsciousness... He had nightmares for a long time after that.

He remembered the warmth of the sister that woke him from his slumber.

He remembered the orphaned children he helped to take care of at the church.

"My name's Asta! Nice to meet ya! "

"I-I'm... I'm Yuno... Nice... To meet you..."

He remembered the battles he had fought alongside his friend's, for the sake of those he had cared about...

He remembered the first time his spirit had first manifested from his Grimoire...

The first thing she did when she saw him was cry and pull him into a hug... She cried for a long time...

"Thank goodness... I'm glad... I'm really really glad... Kol..."

He remembered the next time he saw the creature... The God known as Harmony...

How powerless he was against it...

Travelling through the multiverse in order to escape its clutches.

He remembered fighting on a planet, to save the individuals from otherworldly invaders.

"What's the matter?... Can't find your parents?..."

She nod at him.

"Hm... Well then. Stick with me for the time being. If you tell me what they look like, I'll help you look for them."

He smiled and pat her in the head. Knowing full well what may have happened to her parents that day, but he chose to smile for her sake.

The words of the girl that spoke in defence of him... An alien... with no hesitation whatsoever.

"He fought a fire dragon single-handedly and came back alive, the first thing you should do is praise him. Also, you said that one-fourth of the refugees died. That's incorrect. (L/N) had managed to save three fourths of them, who he is and where he comes from is irrelevant. If you can't even understand that, the soldiers of this country must have a very hard time. He accomplished something that no one else was able to do... That is my answer to your stupid question. Do you understand, little girl?"

She really did not care who she was speaking to... She spoke her mind freely, without regard for any potential consequences.

At the time... He wondered why she would do something for someone like him...

Perhaps he knew... But was too caught up in self-loathing to acknowledge...

(Y/N)'s P.O.V

Why did I do so much for the people I cared about?... Because I didn't want to lose them... Because I didn't want to be hated... Despite the fact that I hated myself... I didn't want people to hate me... Half of it was also because I viewed it as penance for the lives stolen by my actions...

And now here I am... Nella would probably be disappointed... After I told her I would try... I relapsed... I never truly gave it an effort...

I couldn't... But...

If it truly is okay for me to forgive myself and let go... Then... I...

I opened my eyes... There were more tears in my eyes...

I was still being held by Elysia...

I moved my head and sat up.

(Y/N):... Thank you...

Elysia: Feel better?

(Y/N):....

I looked back down at my hands.

(Y/N): Meh... I'll be honest... I'm... Not alright... I haven't been alright for a long time... And I used to think I had no right to complain about my own problems like this... But I... *Sighs* Just keep getting slaps to the face...

"It's okay to love yourself... No matter what anyone may say or think... When you fight, don't just fight for the sake of others... Fight for your own sake. The people who care about you don't want to see you in constant pain."

(Y/N):... I heard her... But I didn't listen... Tsk...

I take a deep breath in and then let it back out... I suppose I need to stop beating around the dam bush...

This shit has thrown me in so many loops...

I stand up and hold my hand out to Elysia.

(Y/N): I'll just say this... Immortality... Sucks total ass. Coming back from death is fine... But living forever?... Ugh... The thought of it alone drives me mad...

Elysia: You bounced back easier than I thought you would.

(Y/N): Bounced back? I haven't bounced, not at all... There's still too much that needs to be done before I can say I bounced back... I'm just changing my demeanour. Perhaps that'll give me a more... pleasant outlook on things... It might seem like it's easy for me to do this. But no... Honestly, all I want to do right now is go crazy, shoot beams of Chaos at my past self until I'm satisfied. All sorts of things... But there's no point wasting energy getting worked up... So I'm just... ... Getting over it... I suppose...

The way she speaks is really starting to rub off on me, I suppose.

Elysia giggled as I scratched the back of my head.

(Y/N): I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but I have to leave this place... I have things I need to sort out. But I'll say this once again... Um... Hm... Thank you... Uh... Elysia...

She shook her head and raised her finger.

Elysia: Uh uh, call me "Onee-san"~

(Y/N): I'm technically older than you...

She began pouting at me.

Elysia: Mou, Small stuff like that doesn't matter, just say it!

(Y/N):... You're acting like Mother...

Elysia: I am my mothers daughter after all~.

(Y/N): Fine... Hmm... Onee-san... Happ— Oof!

She quickly embraced me in another hug with a smile on her face. I got the answer before I even asked...

Elysia: You are more than welcome, my adorable little brother~.

This... Felt weird... Mostly because I assumed myself to be an only child, and a woman I only met today has started calling herself my older sister...

But...

It wasn't a bad feeling... At all...

(Y/N):... I'll be heading out then... Ellie...

I said to her before I vanished, last I saw before fully getting transported out was her looked beyond elated.

I felt myself get pulled back across the multiverse, and then back into my body.

I was suddenly surrounded by nothing but darkness. That darkness lasted for only but a moment...

A few moments later, I saw Carmilla standing in front of me.

She was as timid as she was from before we viewed my old memories.

Narrator's P.O.V

Carmilla:........

(Y/N):.....

Carmilla:.... A-Are you... O-Okay...?... I d-didn't want to... Make you...

(Y/N): I get it... It was something I was running away from... A truth I didn't want to face... But... I realise what you were trying to do.

His eyes flashed blue for a few moments... After that, they returned to normal... His eyes were wide for a few moments, but he shook his head to snap himself out of his trance.

(Y/N): Ahh... You've really had it rough... Haven't you...?

Carmilla:... H-Huh?

(Y/N): I'm pretty sure... I saw you... Burning... But... You're in front of me... So... Uh...

Carmilla: ... Y-You...

(Y/N): Clairvoyance...?... I was able to see your past... And... Now that makes me understand you a little more... Carmilla... You are like me. You don't desire to love another, nor do you desire to be loved.

Carmilla's eyes widened a little, and she no longer averted her eyes, she stared directly at him.

(Y/N): I don't know about you. But... You know... For me, it was just fear... And also the fact that I didn't think I deserved to be love... Being told that someone loved me just added to the pressure I put on myself. So... I'm going to have to change that... Not sure what's stopping you other than the fact that you're dead... But hey, I just learned to not let things in the key dictate the rest of my life. So... Uh... You should probably change your outlook on that as well.

Carmilla:.... No... Love is important... But...

(Y/N): Don't feed me any crap. You're a hypocrite dammit. Then again, you're a witch, let me not forget that...

He shook his head and sighed.

(Y/N): Back to the topic at hand... I know well who I am... Who I always have been. I am Kolzreid Zynthasius... The Selfless wielder of Flames... The same Kolzreid that decided to wipe out multiple universes millions of years ago. However... I am also (Y/N) (L/N), a man that helps others, simply because he can... That is who I am...

Carmilla nod her head slowly. He then heard a voice that wasn't hers sound in her head.

"Well done, Kolzreid~"

He blinked and saw Carmilla's body begin to fade away.

——————————————

After he blinked... He found himself in a white void... And standing not to far from him...

(Y/N): Ahhh... There's my favourite Witch of Greed... Who loves to go AWOL halfway through a trial...

He spoke in a tone that displayed his obvious sarcasm. At this, Echidna smirked.

Echidna: Now now, In my defence. Carmilla was quite adamant about taking that part of your trial.

(Y/N): Hm... Really? That Witch... Adamant?...

Echidna: I know it may seem hard to believe based on the first impression she leaves. But yes, I am telling you the truth.

(Y/N): Huh... the more you know... Welp. She was a very selfish Witch, I'll tell you that. But still... She did help me... So... Please give her my thanks.

Echidna: Ara, no gratitude for yours truly~?

(Y/N): No.

Echidna: Ahh, that stings, Kolzreid-kun~.

(Y/N): I'm sure it does. Anyway, it's (Y/N).

Echidna: By your logic earlier, you are both, so I believe I can refer to you in any which way~

(Y/N): Mmm... Do what you want... So... Uh... I passed the trial right?

Echidna: Yes, you have indeed.

(Y/N): I see... So wait... Does that mean the barrier around the Sanctuary—

Echidna: I know what you are going to ask, and no. There are three different trials one must take before the sanctuary can be successfully liberated.

(Y/N): 👁️👄👁️.................. Why?...

Echidna: Did you really think it would be that easy, Kolzreid?

(Y/N):... You call that easy?

Echidna: Yes. I do.

(Y/N): Bi— You know what yeah, I can't be bothered. So what's the next couple of trials about? Do I have more inner demons I'm not confronting or something?

Echidna: Putting aside how mentally damaged you were, you have resolved the biggest issue that was a cause for concern. There are some unresolved matters, but they can — fortunately — be resolved in much easier way. You won't need to worry about any other trials.

(Y/N): Yeah thank god... Myself...? Whatever... I'm not sure exactly how much time passed, but I feel like I've been doing that trial for months dammit it...

Echidna: That is understandable. You did go through quiet ordeal, it felt like I was watching a movie~ I was almost brought to tears at several points~

(Y/N): Stop the cap you sociopath.

Echidna giggled, as though she found something truly amusing.

Echidna: Well. I shouldn't take up much more of your time... After all... There isn't much of it left... And I do have other trials to oversee...

(Y/N): What do you mean by "Isn't much of it left".

She smiled and said...

Echidna: You'll understand when you wake up...

Echidna's body started fading away, and without questioning anything, (Y/N) scratched his head inquisitively.

(Y/N): Why do people have to be so cryptic... Well, whatever, she said when I wake up, right?... Okay...

He closed his eyes, preparing for his awakening.

——————————————

(Y/N)'s eyes snapped open, he quickly sat up and started coughing, and then he began breathing quite heavily.

(Y/N): Jesus, I felt like I just woke up from a fever dream... I'm glad that shits over...

???: You're awake... I was beginning to get worried...

(Y/N)'s jaw almost dropped. He turned his head around, and come to think of it, despite being on the floor, his head felt a soft sensation underneath it.

(Y/N):.... Nella...

Quinella: Did you have a nice rest~?... Or... I suppose you wouldn't have.

He ordinarily would have been happy to see her... ordinarily. But right now...

(Y/N): Nella... What's happening to your body... Why... Is... Why are you vanishing?!

Parts of her body was turning transparent, slowly, but surely.

Quinella:... Simple... You're witnessing the death of a Spirit...

(Y/N): Death?! What?! No! Wait... Hold on! Wh-What do you mean by that?!

Quinella:... It means what I said... (Y/N)-kun... I had to make a sacrifice... In order for you to pass your trial...

(Y/N)'s eyes grew wide... Of all the things that could have happened next... This... He was NOT prepared for this...

(Y/N): Th-Then... The reason you broke our contract?!

Quinella: (Y/N)-kun... I wanted to tell you something that I had been hiding for a while... Even in your current incarnation, you are well over a thousand years old...

(Y/N):.... Huh?

Quienalla: I mentioned that I had to erase some of your memories about certain last events regarding you... I never told you just how much memories I had taken from you. Hundreds of years are missing from your memories... You've been to more worlds than you know... You've lost people more times than you know... You've saved people, more times than you know.

(Y/N): I don't care about all that! What does that have to do with you dying?!

Quinella: Those memories of yours... The ones necessary for you to overcome your past. I was the very thing keeping you from fully remembering your life as Kolzreid. The moment you awoke from your crystal prison on Giltoria over a thousand years ago, you had no recollection of who you were or where you came from. You were like a newborn who operated on animalistic instincts. However, it was too dangerous at the time for you to remember what happened five thousand years earlier, there was a danger off the same thing happening again, so your memory was wiped clean... No... Rather... I stored them within me... Your memories became engrained in me, to ensure that you could never remember them... Until... The time was right... And now... In order to allow you to properly undergo these trials... You needed the memories that would allow you to view them in the first place... And so... I had to make the decision...

(Y/N): This is shit you tell me before hand! But then you just went all silent again!

Quinella: I was taking the time to mentally prepare myself for this goodbye. Besides, you would have opposed the idea, so I had no choice but to keep silent.

(Y/N): Of course I would have! How could I in my right mind permit something like this?! Dammit... Just when I was finally starting to...

He allowed her to lean her head on his shoulder and spoke.

(Y/N):.... Nella... I learned the entirety of my past.... And I accepted it... I want to make my own apology... When you told me to love myself... I guess I heard you, but didn't listen to you... It was hard... But... I promise you that I'll try harder from here on out...

Quinella smiled as she took (Y/N)'a into her own.

Quinella: Is that so?.... Then good... My efforts didn't go to waste. I'm happy... Really happy...

(Y/N):...... Yeah...

Quinella: But... There's still something you must do, correct?

(Y/N): I need to have a talk with a certain someone... I have some questions for her... And a chat is long overdue anyway...

Quinella: I see... Hm...

She noticed more and more of her body fading away. She smiled at closed her eyes.

Quinella: (Y/N)... May I as you a small favour...?

(Y/N): Yeah... Sure... Anything...

Quinella: Please... Take care... Of Ayaka, the same way you took care of... Ai and Kevin...

He blinked a few times, remembering the past spent with children as a different person. He could finally remember on his own... The past...

A tear fell down his cheek.

(Y/N): You bet I will... You were there even back then... Thank you... I'll make sure to take good care... Of our daughter...

Quinellla: Thank you...

(Y/N):... Quinella...

He lifted up her chin and gazed into her eyes, she gazed into his.

(Y/N): I heard you many times before, but would always avert myself from saying or doing anything... Sorry it took over 5000 years to do this...

Quinella: What do you—

She was silenced by a kiss to her lips, his arm was wrapped around her whole body, and didn't let go, not even for a moment.

After a few moments of silence, he parted and smiled.

(Y/N): Quinella... I love you...

Quinella: E-Eh?!

(Y/N): I feel like I've always felt this way... But I didn't feel like I had any right to feel that way about anyone... But I know now... If one needed a right to possess feelings for someone... Heh... Subaru wouldn't even be here.

A tear dropped from her eye. She was speechless...

(Y/N): Looks like the cats got your tongue... Well... In this case... It's more like a Dragon~.

He chuckled to himself and placed his forehead against her own.

Quinella: Baka... If you say things like that... I'll start to regret all of this...

(Y/N): But it's true.

Quinella: It can't be true... This all has to be some sort of dream... Right... You didn't actually say that you loved me... Did you?

(Y/N): This isn't a dream. I said it, and I'll say it again... Quinella... I love you... Thank you for loving me all this time... Thank you for sticking by your incorrigible master for all this time... For hundreds of years... Thank you...

More tears began to form in her eyes, and began to gush out uncontrollably, like a waterfall.

Quinella: I thought I'd only ever hear you say those words in my dreams... But... It's actually happening... It's becoming a reality... You actually said that you loved me...

(Y/N): I should be the one crying here... I'm the one who went through my own personal hell and back just to come here and say this... But... I won't cry... Not this time. I'll show you a smile, a smile that'll remain in your memory even after your gone... To show you how much I appreciate you and everything you've done for me.

Quinella: (Y/N)... Thank you for being you... I'm glad that the person that I fell for... That the person I waited for, for thousands of years... Was you...

(Y/N) continued to hold onto her, right until the last bit of her faded away. After she vanished, (Y/N) buried his hands in his face.

(Y/N): There's nothing to be thankful to me for... It's alright to cry now... Right?

Soon after, tears gushed and fell from his eyes, and fell onto the cold hard stone floor.

——————————————

He had cried for a long time... He cried and cried... And then he finally stopped. He was smiling again.

(Y/N): Really... Thank you... Nella... For sticking by a person like me...

He felt something underneath his clothes... It was his pendant...

It was pulsating...

(Y/N): Hm?

Echidna: <I'd hate to interrupt your solitude... But judging by your words earlier, there is still one last loose end left to tie, is there not?>

(Y/N):.... Yeah... Yeah there is...

(Y/N) lifted his hand and placed it on his pendant. He felt odd once more... Buy this feeling as something he had become accustomed to, with moving back and forth between the Sea of Primordia via his astral body and such.

After blinking... He found himself in the castle of dreams... Once again, he saw Eh—

Wait this wasn't right- Wait a moment.

(Y/N): M-Mother?!

Tiamat: Aaahhh!!!

She had quickly embraced him in a teary hug, holding his head tightly against her chest and not letting go.

(Y/N): Mfff... Mooom.... getting.... hard to breathe...

Tiamat: Aaah!

She slowly released his head and sang apologetically. (Y/N) smiled and placed his hand at the sides of her face, wiping her tears.

Echidna: She was watching you know... And it was easy to tell how worried she was... I thought I'd go deaf from her singing...

(Y/N): Is that so...

She was probably watching the whole time. He'd worried her again.

(Y/N): Sorry... I probably scared you... But... I do believe to have sorted myself out a little.

Tiamat: Aaaah...

(Y/N): No... Not exactly... To say I'm okay would be a lie... Heh, life right now ain't Daijobu... But regardless of that... I will be okay...

Tiamat: Ahhh...

(Y/N): What changed?... Uh... Well. I was slapped to the face... In a metaphorical and literally sense. The first time, I still hadn't really listened to what I was told... The second time... When I spoke with... Elysia... I relented... I chose to actually think about what she was saying... And... Yeah... She's right... I'm the same Kolzreid from back then... But no matter what happens, even having received my memories back of those times... I'm always just going to be me.

Tiamat: Ahhhh~!

She sang joyously, tears still falling from her eyes, but... She was happy. She was very happy. So happy that she couldn't resist smothering him in another hug. She was clingy like that...

Echidna: Have you found your answer?

His response...

(Y/N): That's hard to say... We've gone through all of this... But, as I said before... there are still some things I need to sort out...

Echidna: That vague response is the most I will get out of you for now, I suppose~.

(Y/N): Yeah, you keep on acting smug, dam Witch... But... Hm... Bantering aside... Thank you... All of you. No matter what you had on your mind, you helped me, and that's something deserving of my thanks...

Echidna has a surprised look on her face momentarily, before smiling once more, and looking behind her.

Echidna: See, I told you~, Kolzreid isn't the type to hold grudges over something like that.

(Y/N): Hm?

He looked over and saw Carmilla hiding behind Echidna, looking anywhere but at him.

Carmilla: B-But... Still... He went through... A-A lot of pain...

(Y/N): Ah! There you are. Milla-chan~.

He walked over to her and raised his hand, seeing this, she flinched and covered her head.

She was awaiting some pain... But that pain never came... Instead... There was now a hand on her head...

Carmilla: Eh?

(Y/N): I wanted to thank you personally. But you just up and vanished on me.

He thoroughly pet her head with a grin on his face.

Carmilla: Y-You... Aren't angry?

(Y/N):... No?... Well I do, for the record, think you were quite selfish back there. But it's because of that selfishness that I was able to see the love directed at me... And also the love I had within myself... You allowed me to see the people I needed to see, you allowed me to hear the voices I needed to hear. So for that, I'm thankful... But...

Carmilla: B-But....?

(Y/N): Yeah, you're going to be seeing a lot more of me. I really don't like he fact that a hypocrite was the one to make realise all of this... So what you did for me... I'll do for you...

Carmilla:..... H-Huh?...

(Y/N): You heard me. I'll make you realise that love ain't so bad... I'll make it so that the trauma that happened to you in the past no longer controls you.

Carmilla: ... That's impossible...

(Y/N): Oh we'll see about that, little miss witch of lust... Well. I'm mostly doing this out of spite, gotta let me get back at you for all of that. I am apparently well known for my chaRIZZma~

...

...

...

(Y/N): No good?...

The people present were silent.

(Y/N): You know, your silence hurts my self confidence even more than words would...

Echidna: Yet another term that I am not familiar with... I'll have to do some digging around later. Have you decided what you will do... And where you will go from now?

(Y/N): Hm...

He paused. And after a few moments of silence. He smirked.

(Y/N): Well... The only thing I can do are the things that I am able to do. That's a no brainier, right?... Unorthodox though her birth may be, I've got a daughter now... I've got no experience in that department... Well... Technically I do? But... I'll do my best... That's the least I could do... To thank her, and honour her wishes. Besides all that... After everything you all showed me... I'm even more certain now.

There were more moments of silence. He adopted a solemn look on his face. It didn't last long... He soon regained the grin on his face, and continued forward. His three onlookers...

No... Unbeknownst to him, he had four more onlookers, watching over him.

He walked... And had continued walking... Until he had vanished from sight entirely.

——————————————

People change...

And when they are ready to begin the next chapter of their lives... They tie up any loose ends...

He was walking through a crowded street. It was bustling with people left and right.

???: Just like you're doing right now?

As he walked, he had passed a a woman that had vivid sky-blue eyes, and long gleaming golden hair was tied into a messy ponytail on the left side of her head.

???: You may have learned to accept to yourself and what you may have done... But don't become complacent... No matter what happens, you mustn't let yourself get hurt!

She pointed at him with a tear in her eye.

???: Because if you do... I'm going to do become really really mad! And then I'll do everything in my power to heal you! Even if you die, you won't escape! Understand?

He walked... And had continued walking...

The person watching over him had soon disappeared from view.

——————————————

He was sitting on a Subway train, there were people on this train as well. He sat on a seat next to a to a group of friends that were speaking amongst themselves.

Suddenly though... There was a young girl who looked around ten years of age.

She had large round red eyes that brimmed with curiosity and short messy deep-green hair. Her skin was dark and her face possessed an adorability expected in a girl of her age.

Contrary to her true nature, she evoked images of youth, innocence, and purity to those that met her.

???: Are you (N/N)*?!

*Nickname

???: I've wanted to meet you for a while now!... You've seen yourself as sinner for hundreds of years now right?! Wow... You've been to tons of places, I would love to have been able to do that too! I'm jealous...

...

The child happily skipped around his seat, with an innocent smile on her face.

???: But. You're all better now right?! You may have done some bad things! But you saved lots and lots of of people! There's no way you could be an evil person (N/N)!!

There was an exasperated sigh nearby.

???#2: Leave the poor child... *sigh*... Alone... *sigh* I'm sure he knows... *sigh* already....

There was an empty row of seats located in the opposite side of the seats that (Y/N) was sitting on.

On one of those seats — sitting with her legs crossed, her head resting on her fist while her arm was on an arm rest — was a beautiful yet languid woman that looked to be in her mid-twenties. She had absurdly long, unkempt, purplish-red hair that went down to her toes. She was dressed in a sultry outfit that was primarily black and complimented her voluptuous and feminine physique rather perfectly.

???#2: There's no need... *sigh* to go over things... *sigh* that have already been... *sigh* put to rest... We're better off... *sigh* leaving him be... *sigh* he deserves to rest.........

She paused for quiet a while, realising an even heavier sigh before containing.

???#2: After his long journey...

(Y/N) stood up and walked over to the doors of the train, as it pulled up to the station.

???: Well then, bye bye, (N/N)!!!!

The bubbly child waved good naturedly at (Y/N), before fading away, just like the one she was with.

The doors opened, and (Y/N) left the train.

He walked...

And had continued walking...

His reflection that was on the door window, however, had remained. The eyes that were in the reflection had changed from blue to red.

The reflection gave a small smile.

Reflection: You've done well... Kolzreid...

The reflection promptly disappeared.

——————————————

(Y/N) was free falling through the air. But he wasn't in any danger. No... He was just fine.

He spread his wings and allowed himself to slowly float down to a village.

???: I've been watching you... every step of the way... My mouth was watering... I believe you'd be quite delicious to eat!... Do you like eating?

There was another there with him as he walked through the village.

She had shoulder length ashen hair which she had tied in two tails. Her appearance was that of a preteen. She was dressed in a pitch-black straitjacket which she wore over her white clothing.

Both of her eyes were completely covered by a blindfold, wrapped to cross over the center of her face, and for some reason, she was chained to a black coffin which that was standing vertically thanks to the eight crab-like legs that it had.

???: But... You know what I won't eat you... After all, Given more time, you'll become an even more delectable snack~!... Just thinking about where you will go and what you will do makes it hard to contain my excitement and my hunger...

The legs of the coffin were continuously stamping on the ground.

(Y/N) walked... And had continued walking.

Up until the one that was with him had vanished from sight.

——————————————

He was still walking through the village.

There was a commotion near a building that he walked past.

There was another version of (Y/N) there. And with him was a boy of short stature with an exceptionally muscular build, a tall boy with a lean build, gold eyes, and messy black hair, as well as a bunch of children.

The short man was screaming something about marriage, and the other (Y/N) gave him a punch to the head while lecturing him, while the children and black haired boy all laughed.

——————————————

He walked... And had continued walking.

There was another version of him.

This version was with a man that was wearing military uniform.

Both him and the person next to him seemed to be elated about something, and the both of them were looking at something on his phone.

There were other people with him. They were all inside of a vehicle.

On his lap, sat a girl that looked around 13 years old, had long flowing black hair with a black ribbon as a hair ornament, and wore clothes that made her appear to many as a gothic lolita.

She was looking at his phone with curiosity.

Looking over his shoulder were two girls, one was a beautiful blond elf with blue eyes, she wore a white short-sleeved shirt which left her stomach exposed. She also had thin blue jeans which didn't completely cover her legs as well as red shoes.

The last was a blue-haired girl with blue eyes. She wore a green dress, with a blue tabard on top, and also held a staff.

She looked even more intrigued by what (Y/N) was holding and looking at in his hands.

——————————————

He walked. And had continued to walk...

Along the long path of memories...

He had walked right past many different (Y/N)'s, that existed in many different worlds over the course of a hundreds, to a thousand years.

It had been a long and lonely journey.

All those years. He suffered all alone... It was what he deserved after all... Right?... Isolation.

No...

That isn't right... ... That isn't right at all...

He wasn't alone... She had been there for him the entire time...

Even though she was no longer going to be there for him... He had to move forward.

She wasn't gone... Not in the true sense... A piece of her still remained... Regardless of how she tried to make it seem... That was the real reason for her birth... She had been planning that the entire time...

So even though she could no longer be here...

He wouldn't grieve...

He wouldn't cry...

He agonised time and time again...

Who am I?...

Why do I exist?...

???: (Y/N)!!!

His eyes widened... The sound of a familiar voice...

He turned around... He was now in a white void.

He saw every one of his friends... At the front of that group was the family in the church he had first made after leaving Giltoria... And right behind them were the members of the squad that he was in... They were followed by everyone else that had he met on his long journey.

All those people were there with him... And they all gave him a reassuring smile.

That told him all that he needed to know.

He had been through a lot. However, through that pain and hardship, came growth. Maturity and acceptance, now filled the space in his heart that was reserved for self loathing and hatred.

He hated to admit it... But they had opened his eyes to the truth. If not for them... He would have continued on in that state... Until he destroyed himself...

That would he bad... That would make her cry... He had no intention on letting her feel any more heartache from watching him.

He was treading on a new path...

"Who am I?"

"Why do I exist?"

Those two questions plagued his mind no longer.

For if he does not know who he is... Then he will make an identity for himself.

"I am (Y/N) (L/N)..."

If he does not have a reason for existing. Then he will give himself a reason.

"I exist... to help others... Perhaps not a the expense of myself... But, it is something I like to do. It is something I want to do. Bringing smiles to those I care about by doing what I can... If one disapproves, they can fuck right off..."

He had received a new calling... Rather, he gave himself a new calling.

No longer was he the destroyer.

He walked.

He continued walking.

——————————————

It was snowing... The place he was walking was steep. The ice didn't help things.

He got by by transforming parts of his body to match those of a dragon...

But still... He was cold... He was alone... He didn't know who he was... He didn't know where he came from... He had nothing...

But he wandered throughout the land.

He had misstepped and slipped on the ice.

He slid down the slope on his front side...

It was so cold... It was bitter... It was very hard... Was there any point in continuing forward?... He might as well have just died in the cold there... Alone with no body to care for him.

"That's wrong..."

There was... A sound he couldn't identify...

He pushed his head up, and saw someone kneeling in front of him.

They had strange clothes on their body. He had white hair... Blue eyes just like he did...

But his hair was shorter, it wasn't as long and messy as his was.

That person smiled at him... And wiped the snow off of his messy hair.

He stood up and reached his arm out.

The bestial man stared up at one who was standing opposite to him.

He hesitantly reached out his clawed hand, and used it to help himself up.

After standing up, he wiped the snow off of his body.

For some reason... He felt... Familiar with this person... But didn't know why... It wasn't like he knew how to speak to ask him any questions either.

That person gave him a firm nod, and he mirrored the gesture. That's right... He couldn't give in here. Maybe there was nothing waiting ahead of him... But he wouldn't know until he saw for himself.

He walked past the boy that helped him up. He looked up at the moon before trodding on forward.

His onlooker... The one that would come after him, watched with a smile, before going in the opposite direction.

He walked... And he continued walking.

Through the white void.

This time, he wasn't alone.

Eventually, his surroundings became unstable. What he was about to do could be consider he epitome of madness in this day and age. But that was okay with him.

"..."

He stood before her.

Seeing her now. His entire life in this world flashed before his eyes.

Once again, that pain and hardship filled every crevice of his mind...

He flinched. But... No longer felt reserved. It was as though... Someone were with him in spirit... That presence alone, gave him the confidence.

"How long has it been since I've arrived this world?"

...

"Now that I think of it... I don't think it was my choice to come here in the first place..."

...

"Well... This right here... It was definitely fate... Fate, that brought me here now... Yeah... It was quite ironic, given the reason he was even given that ability."

...

"So... You and me... Without any disruptions from the outside..."

He could feel it. Everything he had gone through... It was all for this moment... It was now time...

"I've wanted to meet with you properly for a long time... And you... It was very faint... But I could also sense you desperately fighting to reach out to me..."

He clenched his fists tightly.

"I'm... A level headed person... Or at least I consider myself to be... Most of the time..."

With a newfound resolution, he held his clenched fist up to his chest and looked up at the person opposing him.

He had known for a long time... He was nothing if not observant.

He had pieced it together a while ago... But he chose to deny it...

But there was no turning back now...

He had accepted it now. And despite knowing for quite some time already, he got a proper look at their face for the first time.

No longer was she veiled by the shadows of alienation and denial.

"I think we should have ourselves a really long chat... What say you... Witch of Envy... Satella?!"

He gazed at her for the first time... And whistled.

(Y/N): Wow... Really is the spitting image of her. But she looks way more depressed than Emilia ever could. So... You're the last Witch, right?... The one who "supposedly" killed all the other witches, created the mabeasts and screwed this world beyond belief?... Well, I know some of those "rumours" are exaggerated... Satella... I'm somewhat aware of your circumstances.  The docile way you're behaving now, versus the yandere Subaru obsessed version you were... You too... Have an AlrerEgo don't you?...

Satella:...

(Y/N): Yeah... I figured as much...

He sighed and folded his arms.

(Y/N): I'm not going to blame you for the shit that other you put us through. However... I do know that you aren't totally unaware of what's been going on, right? So I want to know... Why?... I can understand Subaru I guess, but why did you give me "Type 4"?...

Satella:.... Kolzreid... Please... Live...

(Y/N):... Wha-?

Satella:... I want you... To live... Kolzreid... You suffered... You grieved... You raged... And you wailed... Mother has been with you the entire time... It hurts her... If you died... She would be sad... The world would be destroyed... So... Please live... Please be happy... Kolzreid.

(Y/N): Th-That's all?!... Really?... Didn't you want me to be Subaru's meat shield or something? I mean, I've been resurrecting over and over...

Satella: No... I simply want you to live... So you can be happy with those that you love. I love mother... And I love what Mother loves... Kolzreid... That means that I also have love for you...

(Y/N):... Uh... Hmm... I know you probably mean the same type of love between family members... But... Umm... Even then... I still feel a little weird... I dunno, I guess I was expecting you to reveal some malevolent, grand plan that you had for me or something... I apologise for misjudging your character... I guess people really do have you all wrong...

(Y/N) sat down with legs crossed. And then he pat the ground next to him, Satella's eyes widened underneath her veil a little.

Satella: ?

(Y/N): What you waitin for, A handwritten invitation? Take a seat.

Satella:... You aren't afraid?

(Y/N) scratched his head bashfully.

(Y/N): My memories are coming back to me... So I know that I've seen much worse than the witch of Envy... That's all really... So c'mon...

Satella did as asked and walked closer, she then sat next to him seiza style.

(Y/N):... Hm... Well. I'll start by saying this... Thank you... Now that I know what your intentions are, I suppose all the emotions I had before regarding you have changed completely. So... Yeah, thanks for that...

Satella looked a little bewildered, but she soon looked at the ground and smiled.

Satella: You have no need to thank me for anything... I was simply repaying the kindness mother has shown me.

(Y/N): Even still. Thank you. I've been through a whole lot of pain because of this ability and because I came to this world. However, I was also able to help more people... To save more people because of it.

Satella:... You're welcome....

(Y/N):... Yeah... My conscience is all clear now... I feel much better than before... Though... I know the reality is that we're only just getting started... The Sanctuary... Emilia... Roswaal... Everything related to that... But... I'll cross those bridges when I get to them.

Satella placed a hand on his head, and began to let him.

Satella: Kolzreid... You really are a good boy...

(Y/N) smirked and closed his eyes, indulging in the feeling of having his head pat.

Satella: Kolzreid... Please don't forget... There are people who care about you... When you're hurt... They'll be hurt... So take care of yourself... And... Love yourself.

(Y/N) kept the smirk on his face and said nothing. But that silence was enough for the her. The Dragon and the Witch chose to spend the remainder of their time in silence. They were both comfortable in each others presence. So they both sat together until it was time for (Y/N) to return...

Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched over. She watched with heartfelt joy at her children that had spoken to each other... Her children that were open about their true feelings... Her children that cared for each other... Her children that were spending their time together, to her, there was no greater joy in the world as a mother.

She spent her time reminiscing on all of the good times her son had spent with the people he cared about. His new life so far... Had truly been one amazing journey...

——————————————

Childhood's End

——————————————

——————————————

(A/N): *Just fucking dies* Ugh... I've done it... I'VE FUCKING DONE IT! I'GE COMPLETED HIS FUCKING CHARACTER ARC! HUARGHHHHH!!!!

Ah... Well. Uh... I find it so weird. I started writing chapter 4.5 a few months ago... Yeah, it took me a few months to write 18.5K words...

See that wouldn't be so unusual in and of itself... If it wasn't for the fact that I wrote this 20.1K worded chapter in two days 👁️👄👁️

And this chapter was only a last minute decision after I decided I wasn't gonna be able to keep everything in one chapter. But hey! That just means more reading time for you all, so enjoy yourselves.

I'm sure y'all have your questions. Go ahead and ask if you have any... I'll probably answer? Maybe...

Im mostly just nerve-wracked, many people compliment my work and that in and of itself is my payment and motivation to write more. But when I do some OG content like this, I wonder if I've made it entertaining and emotional enough for people with (what I consider) my mediocre writing abilities.

S'why I love reading you guys' comments, some of them be funny, some of them put a smile on my face, and all of them make me glad that I decided to start writing on Wattpad three years ago...

Thank you all for reading, have a nice day...

Themanofculture loggin off~