A/N: I just realized that we are nearing the end of the story.... Wow, how time flies. I truly thank you for all the support <3 I also adjusted the character info in chapter 1.
~Yuki POV~
When Mei and I left the land of origin, we walked again through the abandoned station where we had met Raven. ,,Do you think Raven is all right?" I asked. ,,I'm sure she is. She is not someone who is careless," Mei answered. ,,I hope you're right.''
After we left the station we were back at the place where we parted from Kiana and Bronya. But Mei and I were alone. ,,It seems Bronya-chan was right. We've been going down a one-way road... So when we tried to go back the way we came, we entered a completely different path...'' said Mei. ,,So.... What do we do now? Should I use my Void Powers?'' ,,No, not yet. Save your strength Yuki-chan. Maybe we'll make it without it,'' Mei said and drew her katana as enemies appeared. I, on the other hand, drew my bow and aimed at the enemy further away. As soon as I released the arrow, it shot forward like a shooting star and hit the enemy, not leaving him. ,,Okay.... That might have been a little too strong...'' I muttered.
It was always amazing how many enemies followed after we defeated the current ones. As if they were endless. At least I didn't seem to be the only one who had some problems with her new powers. Mei had the same problem, even though she got it under control relatively quickly. With her last blow, Mei defeated the last standing enemy and even cut a crack in the room. ,,Wow....'' I gasped. ,,As expected, if a certain number of threads are shaken, the net will shake with them to reveal it's weakspot. Let's see what's hiding behind this crack.'' said Mei and I followed her. When Mei and I stepped out of the crack, Kiana and Bronya were standing in front of us.
,,Mei-Senpai! Yuki!!''
,,Mei Nee-san, Yuki Nee-san!''
,,Haha... Looks like I was correct.'' said Mei with a smile. ,,Kiana-chan, Bronya-chan, you two sensed that power too, like I'd thought.'' That was the reason why Mei didn't let me use my Void powers. She, and I a short time later, had sensed a strange power and just hoped that Kiana and Bronya would go there as well. ,,That power? So that wasn't you? Bronya and I thought that was the power of Origin... Wait Yuki, what happend to you?'' said Kiana, after she noticed my new appearance. ,,Well, Mei is not the only one with an upgrade. Herrscher of Fate, is at your service,'' I replied proudly. ,,Anyway, now that everyone is here, let's take stock of the situation.'' Bronya began. ,,So Mei-Senpai is...'' ,,The Herrscher of Thunder and the Herrscher of Origin... But it's only just a different name.'' she replied. ,,I still need time to work on my understanding of the authority of Origin. As for this feeling of being able to sever anything... It should just be a bonus from the authority of Origin. Unfortunately, I'm unable to obtain more information about the Herrscher of Finality and Cocoon.'' ,,Same for me, but... somehow i have the feeling that we are close.'' i added.
,,That's alright, it's within the doctor's expectations. Let's move our focus back to the Situation at hand. Mei Nee-san, if that force you mentioned earlier isn't the authority of Origin, then Bronya thinks it's very likely to be linked to the anomaly the Principal spoke of.'' said Bronya.
,,Anomaly?''
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After Bronya had explained to us what the anomalies were all about. Shortly after, Kiana was contacted by the doctors. ,,Hello? Hello? Do you hear me? Little ones on hold?''Senti's familiar voice spoke. ,,Senti!'' Kiana and I said joyfully. ,,Shh, not so loud. My head hurts.'' ,,Sorry. Are you alright?'' asked Kiana. ,,What could possibly happen to me? Alright, it's time to get to the real business. Get ready!'' ,,Don't tell me...'' Bronya began. ,,Yeah. You guys have already decided which one of you should step forward, right? Ne delays. We don't have much time.'' It was immediately clear to all of us what Senti meant. Her group and the doctors have finally found the cocoon of finality.
,,No problem, Herrscher of Sentience. We will do this together.'' spoke Bronya after a long silence. ,,..Ah?'' ,,Since Kevin can harness the power of Finality, who can say for sure that there can only be one Herrscher of Finality? As long as our conciousness is connected to each other, it should not matter how many people share the Herrscher authority.'' said Mei. ,,If it truly is necessary to concentrate everything on one person, then I will step up. But... we have always been a team. If possible, we hope to do it together.'' Kiana added. ,,...Sure, I don't mind either way. Sharing the authority or linking consciousness spaces... it makes no difference to the Herrscher of Sentience. So in brief, what exactly do you girls plan to do? Don't tell me you're going to spend an hour or two on deep fusion! The clock is ticking!'' shrugged Senti.
,,...That won't be necessary. From the experience we had recently, we only need to achieve a similar status to when we fought the Herrscher of Dominance. To be more specific, Kiana will be the bridge connecting everyone.'' explained Bronya. Herrscher of Dominance? Was that the one Mei fought while I stayed in the Elysian Realm? ,,Only this time, apart from the four of us, we need someone other than Fu Hua... We need you... Herrscher of Sentience.'' Kiana continued. ,,Hmph. Whatever. Ahem... As I said, time is ticking. Who'd be the first?'' ,,Heh... Other than the Herrscher of Origin, is there any better choice?'' Mei asked smiling and turned to Kiana. ,,Kiana-chan... hold this blade and close you eyes. Next, you only need to do what you wish. I'll take care of the rest.'' Bronya and I did the same as Mei and Kiana understood the nature of the Herrscher of the Truth and the Herrscher of Fate.
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Shortly after, we found ourselves back at the deserted subway station. ,,This place is...'' began Kiana. ,,The subway station?'' Mei continued. ,,Mei Nee-san, Yuki Nee-san, are you familiar with this place?'' ,,Didn't they just obtain their powers through this space? Sorry! There's no more privacy for you thoughts when the authority and the Herrscher of Sentience are bound together.'' said Senti. ,,Yeah, we did.'' I replied. ,,... Herrscher of Sentience, I can explain it myself.'' said Mei and crossed her arms.
,,This place should be related to me, or should I say, related to the Herrscher of Origin. Earlier, it was the Beacon, that led me and Yuki-chan here when we were pursuing the ''backdoor''. But what just happend to us was the complete opposite... It appeared on front of us on its own before we could investigate. Given that the Cocoon of Finality's signal has been exposed, this might mean that...'' ,,We, or someone among us, should be one step away from becoming the Herrscher of Finality.'' I continued. ,,Isn't it obvious? I just said that different Herrscher powers were coming from all directions. ...Raiden Mei, you really don't know?'' said Senti. ,,It's true, I don't know what the ''power of origin'' is referring to. I'm just acting in instinct... and the result is what you see.'' ,,But aren't thing going too smoothly? I thought we'd have to go through a lot more battles and find enemy Herrscher cores to gather the powers.'' asked Kiana.
,,I felt the same. But judging from the current situation... perhaps our understanding of Herrscher's nature is still seriously off.'' replied Bronya. ,,Wait... if that's true... Haven't we made a big mistake? Remember? Right at the beginning, we were all chasing after a certain energy. Now that I think about it, the energy that Mei-senpai and Yuki were chasing and we were chasing wasn't the same.'' ,,I don't think we made a mistake. I really can't describe it, but my instinct tells me that we are really close," I said.
Suddenly the others were gone and the place was shrouded in white mist. ,,Guys?'' ,,Don't move," I heard Senti say. ,,Yuki-chan, are you okay?" asked Mei, who I now heard as well. ,,Yeah.'' ,,What in the World happend?'' asked Kiana. ,,I don't know. If I have to guess... maybe the power of the Cocoon has already started to take effect. Are you still in the subway station from earlier?'' Mei speculated. ,,Yes.'' ,,That might mean that the Cocoon of Finality chose you on it's own, Kiana.'' said Bronya. ,,Hmm... But all that's here with me now is just fog. What do I do now?'' ,,Herrscher of Sentience, will you do us a favor?'' asked Mei. ,,Ha. I'll keep my end of the deal. Just say it.'' ,,Good. Now, I can still sense that the wills and powers of all Herrschers are gathering where Kiana is. I hope you can screen them... and remove any potentially dangerous parts.'' ,,This is like... asked me to fight the consciousness of several Herrschers on my own.''
,,I won't force you if you can't do it. But Bronya-chan, Yuki-chan and I will still do our best to project our consciousnesses there and at least help Kiana stabilize the space. ,,Hey... you're not taking me seriously, are you? Dealing with the consciousnesses of some dead Herrschers? Even the ones alive like you guys can't stand up to me, okay?'' ,,Heh... that's the spirit.'' Bronya and I laughed. ,,But projecting you consciousness in this situation...wouldn't it be dangerous?'' asked Kiana. ,,Don't worry, we can handle it. You concentrate on your part, okay?" I said.
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After that, the connection to Kiana broke down and all we could do was wait. Lost in thought, I played with a small star in my hand which I had created. Yuki Nee-san, how do you do that?" Bronya asked me and pulled me out of my thoughts. ,,I don't know. I just do it.'' ,,That doesn't really seem like an ordinary Herrscher ability to me," Senti remarked. Right, the others don't know about my conversation with Elysia. ,,Maybe I can explain it, even if it sounds quite crazy.....''
After I finished telling about my origin, the others looked at me in surprise. ,,Yeah, that's how I reacted...'' I laughed nervously. ,,I didn't expect that, but that doesn't change anything about you, Yuki-chan.'' ,,How did you...?'' ,,It is literally written all over your face. You looked so nervous while you were telling it," said Senti. ,,Well, it's not every day that you become friends with a fallen star in human form, is it?'' ,,But that means your ability has nothing to do with your Herrscher authority. This could still be an benefit for us,'' Bronya thought. ,,Bronya-chan....'' ,,It's okay, Mei, I know how she means it. She is even right, having an ace up your sleeve is not a bad thing.''
It wasn't long after that that Mei, Bronya and I were drawn by an invisible force. ,,It looks like Kiana made it," I smiled. ,,Let's go then," said Mei. Together we went through the white door in front of us. ,,Good luck," I heard Senti say.When we arrived at Kiana's location, we were surrounded by stars and in front of us was a huge orb, almost an eye you could say. But what worried me a bit was that Kiana seemed so absent. ,,Everything okay?'' I asked and approached her. ,,Uh... Yes, everything is fine," she said quickly. Something was off...
,,Now then, since we have made it here and have been recognized by the cocoon. All that remains for us now is to win with style," Kiana said with a smile. ,,Of course. After all, we are just like Kevin, each representing our own era. Because of many coincidences... Compared with ordinary people, we have taken one step further and come to the spotlight. We did become Herrschers, but we are still human.'' added Mei. ,,And there is no way that we let Kevin decide the Fate of mankind. After all, the happiness hides in the unknown things.'' I smiled. ,,Humanity is a truth-seeking species. Every person grows in the search for truth. Yes. We make mistakes, and we take the wrong steps. But that's exactly where the human will shines-- If we make a mistake, we correct it. If we the take the wrong way, we turn around. Past sins cannot be undone... But as long as we are living in the present, we can build a future.''
,,Origin is an end... And Finality is a beginning.''
,,What we hold true may be proven false someday... But the persuit of truth never ends.''
,,Fate my be cruel.... but changing it is up to you alone. No one else has that right.''
,,This is not a game between Kevin and us. It's humanity's fight against fate.''
,,From the past...''
,,Through the present...''
,,Against fate...''
,,To... the future!''
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A friend of mine showed me this and now I can't unsee it:
The bad thing is, it also fits so well....