Chapter Text
Five Days Earlier:
Yu Lin didn’t quite understand the situation he was in. As a volunteer, he had as much pride as any of the amphibious landing infantrymen around him. China was his home, mainland or otherwise, it didn’t really matter.
He was in favor of reunification with Taiwan. His division, and the rest of the army, spent hundreds upon thousands of hours training for this very moment. And yet, he was young.
He couldn’t understand why an agreement was out of the question. A treaty or something of the like. It wasn’t going to stop him or any one else from rushing out of that landing craft and onto the beach. They were all ready to die for their country. Many of them didn’t ponder it at all.
Yu would do the same, but he had to wonder if now was the right time. Now? In the middle of all these monsters, they wanted to go to war?
That was what most questioned. It was not that violence was the problem. It was the timing of said violence. A problem was most easiest to ignore when another issue took its place. Therein laid the justification of war.
Taiwan was small, and despite having the latest and greatest technology, alongside a dedicated defense force, it could not compare to the sheer manpower of China. No one could. It meant that China had significantly more Awakened humans.
Comparable to the invention of the Blitzkrieg Doctrine, the Awakened Doctrine utilized its most elite forces to break through enemy lines and encircle the opposing army.
It would not be the very first war between Awakened humans. Conflict was pretty much inevitable, but again, the problem of the Gates distracted humanity from its problem of internal wars.
Given that the rate of Awakenings could be related to the overall population, China’s Awakened strength would steamroll Taiwan and any outside aid they received. That was the justification.
“Sure, war isn’t a good thing, but if we do it now and just get it over with, we can deal with the real problems sooner.”
China’s propaganda department took that and ran away like Usain Bolt. It would be a “quick war.”
Over three decades, just about every country pushed that idea. Whether it was subtle or blatant, underfunded or with the government’s full support.
Industrial growth spurred the Great Powers to commit to World War 1. They wanted a chance to see how the factories contributed. The motorization of armies inspired the horrors of Nazi Germany and World War 2. Tanks made new and devastating strategies possible. Awakenings were just another moment of happenstance that the generals and warmongers were eager to play with. They finally had their chance. It was astonishing that they’d kept hold of their enthusiasm for annihilation for so long.
“Listen up!” Lu’s lieutenant roared into their comm system, over the crashing of the waves and the battles being fought by the Chinese navy to cover their invasion. “Countdown to Zen Beach landing - fifteen minutes!” Everyone checked their watches for the tenth time, ensuring they were synced. “Light resistance is expected, but even if it’s heavy, our objective needs to be completed within the same time frame! No time to waste! So move fast or let your fellow countryman on Dragon Beach down!”
Yu’s platoon was Awakened at B-Rank and interspersed with a few A-Ranks like himself. Their entire division was exclusively Awakened humans C-Rank or above. In other words, they were the “Panzer” Division, designed to roll over anything in front of them.
It meant that everyone unfortunate enough to land on Dragon Beach was a regular soldier. Just human meat to be thrown at the enemy as a distraction. But they would still be numerous enough to occupy most of the Taiwanese forces, giving Yu and his division more than enough time to take a port. China could then reinforce their troops and establish a foothold on Taiwan. From there, they’d merely repeat. Distract the enemy with lesser units, and have the Awakened achieve whatever objectives they needed to.
In the past, such warfare, referred to as Maneuver Warfare, required immense logistical support. Tanks needed fuel, spare parts, and ammo. The same was true of trucks providing those logistics. But with Awakened Soldiers, all they needed was some rations and a sharp Magical blade.
Magical guns were not cost efficient, and usually weren’t as effective. You didn’t need the most advanced rifle or bullet with the highest penetrating power. A C-Rank could rend open any metal shell with reasonable effort. A B-Rank could obliterate a fortification with a punch. They could tear apart enemy soldiers barehanded if need be, as long as they weren’t Awakened themselves. Many of them could run faster than trucks.
Equipped with extremely compact water filtration technology, and high-density rations, Yu could survive for well over two weeks without any logistical support. If you factored in scavenging in the wilderness or from existing Taiwanese supplies, logistics were practically a non-issue.
Speed, power, and a near immunity from logistical attrition. If another country couldn’t field enough Awakened manpower, these were insurmountable odds, and China was counting on it.
“As soon as we hit the beach, I wan-” An explosion cut off the platoon leader.
The landing craft ahead of them and to the right had struck a mine. The amphibious vehicle was scattered in all directions, fragments of metal even striking Yu. China had done some mine clearing as was protocol, but they needed speed. If a few sacrifices had to be made in the name of rapid conquest, so be it.
Of course, the mines themselves weren’t dangerous, they weren’t Magical, just standard mortal ordnance. However, as if to remind humanity of their place in her world, Gaia would not so easily let them be.
Awakened humans could still die of natural causes. Starvation, dehydration, disease and illness. There was also suffocation… and drowning.
Dragged into the depths by their heavy gear, or hooked by some part of their armored craft, the first casualties of the war were made. Taiwan, of all countries, would soon have the highest kill count of Awakened humans, all by drowning.
Plenty of the soldiers managed to avoid Mother Nature’s grasp and bravely continued the trek to shore by swimming under their own power.
Chinese vehicles continued to strike mines, causing the soldiers on each craft to prepare themselves. They ensured they weren’t attached to any part of the craft, and loosened the straps on their gear. If they hit a mine, they were much less likely to sink with-
FWOOM!
Yu’s vision was blinded by the rush of white foam. They hit a mine, and the water poured over them. He was underwater before he could think to take a breath. But Yu was young, he was strong, and he was familiar with the surf. Beaches made up his childhood. He knew the ocean, he respected it. His offering let him surface.
He gasped in fresh air and made note of the direction the landing vehicles were heading. Without a second of hesitation, he began freestyle stroking the same way. He didn’t take note of how far away he was, he just kept on going. So, he almost didn’t notice when he hit the rocky shore.
Crawling onto the “beach” he shakily took in his surroundings. There were explosions and gunfire, but nothing near him. He still had his sword, and his waterproof pack. Planes roared overhead. F-32s, Mirage 2100-9s, F-CK-7s, and more.
Yu was trained not to fear them. They were not Magical, just mortal. And yet, his heart pounded in retaliation to his training. It caused him to look up, and see a metal canister falling his way.
His experience told him to just move forwards. His body told him to take cover.
Trusting his animal instincts, Yu threw himself across the beach, and behind a concrete structure he didn’t recognize. It saved his life.
“Ugh…” Deafened by the shockwave, he couldn’t hear his own grunts.
When he tried to pull himself to his feet, he felt a sharp pain on his right arm. It shouldn’t have been possible, but it was bleeding.
There was a fragment stuck in his forearm, nearly reaching the bone. It was made of Magical Metals.
With his left hand, he switched frequencies to the entire division. “Mayday! Mayday! Enemy forces are using Magical modern armaments! I repeat! Awakened forces are not immune to standard munitions!”
Yu left the shard in place. He didn’t have medical supplies, and if he ripped it out, he could bleed to death. He was right-handed, but could still swing a sword with his left, so he pulled himself to his feet.
“How…? Russia?” He thought to himself.
But Russia was not the reason Taiwan could muster such defenses. They weren’t even Synthetic Shadows from Yaoyorozu. They were the Taiwanese’s own creation, predating the Russian integration of Magical Metals.
Taiwan’s population and landmass was smaller, meaning less Awakened Soldiers, but it also meant less Gates to worry about. With their highly profitable electronics industry, and favorable American relations, they had a lot of cash to spend on Magical materials.
They bought swords and shields, armor and accessories, all under the guise of fighting the Gates. But, in reality, they were breaking these Items down into small metal fragments. Not enough to disrupt the electronics of their vehicles, but enough to damage Awakened humans.
Packed into bombs with mechanical fuses, these Magical Metal shards were launched at high velocities upon impact.
Taiwan didn’t have the industrial military complex to make Magical Vehicles, so they went back to cruder implements that were far more reliable. And they worked like a charm.
Yu didn’t wait for a response, he merely put the pain and blood out of his mind, running at full power. A lone soldier would be much harder to hit from such a height, and so long as the artillery, missile systems, and bullets weren’t Magical, he’d be immune.
Thankfully for him, he was right. Taiwan only had the resources to equip their planes, making the most efficient use of the Magical attack capabilities they had access to. So even as missiles were launched from silos to tactically strike warships, beach landings, and more, Yu remained unharmed.
Taiwanese Soldiers would occasionally pop up from the flat terrain, relying on camouflage uniforms to make surprise attacks. When their bullets pinged off of Yu, they drew small Magic Knives. None of the Items were above C-Rank, and almost none of the soldiers themselves were Awakened. Yu cut through them, quite literally, with ease. His longsword outranged their knives, and his skin resisted their fierce attacks.
He was making steady progress, and additional forces from his division started to appear. Eventually he had time to stop at some cover where a Healer caught up with him. They didn’t bother being gentle or cautious as they tore the metal from his arm and closed the wound with Healing Magic. It was just another new aspect of Awakened War. If you couldn’t outright kill the enemy soldiers, there was a good chance they’d be completely healed and returned to the fight within minutes, if not seconds.
But that was when everything went wrong.
Yu advanced into a small urban area with whatever soldiers he could scrounge up from the haphazard landing, peeking around the buildings and infrastructure. As an A-Rank, he took charge. “Okay, I want Xao to…” His eyes scanned the forces he had. “Where’d Xao go?”
The soldiers lightly called out for the man, but he was silent.
“Fine, Jin, you-”
“Unfortunately, we do not have the permission of our Liege to kill. This will have to do.”
Before Yu could open his mouth and look for who was speaking, everything went black.
*******
Four-And-a-Half Days Later:
“Urgh…” Yu woke with a tremendous headache. It felt like his brain was on fire.
“Wasn’t sure you’d get up,” A voice said, pressing a cool cloth to his head.
Yu felt something enter his veins, and the pain dulled. Modern day painkillers were one hell of a boon. “What… Where…?”
“Hospital ship,” The doctor replied. “Bunch of you guys were found unconscious on the beaches. Either a blow to the head or some sort of debuff from an Orc.”
“Orc? Was there a Gate Break?” Yu heard a constant firing of cannons, an endless barrage of explosions.
“What? Oh, no, it was the Shadows.”
“Shadows? From that Japanese Hero?”
“Yep.” The doctor continued to rush around the ship’s interior, where hundreds of soldiers laid. “We made good progress for about 25 minutes, and then practically every landing was repelled. The Shadows started popping up, disabling vehicles, knocking people unconscious, taking them prisoner. But we think they didn’t have enough space for POWs, so they just left you guys on the shore.”
“ Every landing?”
“Yeah. Only the landing of China’s Stars is still in place, but even they’re holding position.” Yu almost couldn’t believe the words coming out of the doctor’s mouth. Liu Zhigang and the four other Stars were the best China had to offer. Nigh unkillable soldiers. “We had no choice. In the rare event we managed to hit the Shadows, they regenerated almost instantly.”
“My God…”
“Yeah…” A fellow soldier took up the explanation as the doctor busied himself with other patients. “And now our ballistic missiles are being intercepted by some Shadows in the sky. All we can do is a shore bombardment with cannons. The Shadows are holding the beaches and they’re not getting injured by any of it.”
The radio near them all buzzed to life, filling the room with fluent Chinese.
“It will not be a short walk. It will be a marathon. Don’t worry, I’ll prove myself, and unlike the leaders of today, I won’t do so via bloodshed.”
“What’s that?” Yu asked.
“The Shadow Monarch,” The soldier answered. “It’s being broadcasted on repeat and we can’t stop it. He’s been asserting himself as ‘Humanity’s Monarch.’” He scoffed, then thought for a moment. “Then again… it’s not like we can stop him. Not sure what the plan is now.”
“You. Go. Home.”
The voice reverberated through everyone’s inner ear in perfect Chinese, with exquisite clarity. It was Gravity Magic, replicating sound waves to speak to every Chinese soldier.
The sound of rending metal replaced the firing of cannons. For a moment, everything was eerily silent.
“You cannot win. There is no need for bloodshed. Go home, do not come back, and your lives will be spared. Do not test the Shadows.”
Above the coast of Taiwan, Izuku hovered. He reached out to every ship, every tank, every weapon he could find. Swords, and spears too. Magical implements. And he twisted them.
Barrels morphed into loops of metal, swords became dull and useless. Everything that could be used to harm others was mangled beyond repair.
“You have heard my promise. I’m not here to take anything away from you. I merely ask for your non-violence.” He let that sit as he flew to the north end of the island.
“It’s always something to do with an island,” Izuku bemoaned, secretly hoping to never see one again.
He reached the beachhead in literal milliseconds, landing amongst his Shadows and Taiwanese soldiers. The Rogue Warriors knelt in reverence and so did some of the natives.
“Liu.”
“Izuku.”
The two National-Ranks approached each other, giving a simple greeting.
“I think you should go home,” Izuku said. “That sword of mine, the white one you saw inside the Gate on I-Island, it gave you false hope. It gave you the belief that you could win.”
“I still might be able to,” He said coyly.
“I said ‘false hope.’ Don’t be stupid.” Izuku spread his arms to encompass his army. “You really think you can win this? Go ahead, push me to that point. The more of you I kill, the stronger I’ll become. The more devastating your loss will be.”
Liu seemed to hesitate for a moment.
“Think of every man or woman behind you. They have family, friends, and partners. Do you really want to take them all away?”
“You can’t threaten me like that. Just a way to justify your own killing.” He said it calmly. It wasn’t madness like Star, just cold logic. “Threatening us back to the mainland. How does that not make you a dictator?”
“It would be my justification,” Izuku answered truthfully. “But you have the power to put it all to a stop. I’m asking you for peace.”
“I heard your declaration. Mainland China will remain mainland China.”
Izuku nodded. “It will. See, a single Earth government will need representatives. I’m not going to just oust every single politician in existence.”
“We have no guarantee of that. Only your word.”
Again Izuku agreed. “Yes. And I could flatten you all with a thought, but I’m talking instead. I could’ve slaughtered you all as you appeared on the beaches. You think Normandy was deadly? I had my soldiers return you, capture you, incapacitate you. I did that when killing you all would’ve been the easier choice.”
Liu took a step back, feeling Izuku’s aura, and the strength of his words. He faltered. “To let evil flourish, the only thing good men need to do is nothing… A peaceful coup is still a coup.”
“Sure,” Izuku said with a shrug. “That’s why I’m giving you a choice.” He took his own steps back, retreating through the sea of Shadows. “I cannot force this. I recognize that. It’s up to your own morality. You are your own man, correct? Or are you merely just a puppet of your government? Ask yourself… What is best for my fellow man? We National-Ranks represent the world, remember?”
The frontline returned to silence, and Izuku vanished to deal with another part of the warring world. China was, for now, stalled. Taiwan was safe for the time being and his Shadows would ensure it remained that way in his absence.
It left Liu to think.
It was an awkward place to leave things. The Shadows were under orders not to force the issue, the Taiwanese could not kill or repel Liu on their own, and the Chinese knew they could not proceed without heavy losses.
Liu was the equivalent of a Major General. He had the ability to make the call. The government wanted the issue to be pushed, because he told them he could make the occupation of Taiwan possible. They had that in their heads now. There was no reversing that, but he could stop it all. The people would listen to him, and not just because of hierarchy. He was their National Hero.
“For my fellow man… Damn you, Midoriya…”
“I can give it to you,” The man with steel skin prodded Liu. His words seemed to vibrate space itself, but only Liu could hear them. “I can give you a solution to him . That’s why you’ve stopped, because you think he’s unkillable. Give me the reins. I’ll do it.”
Liu took a deep breath… and turned on his heel, processing everything. He said nothing, so the frontline held for now.
“This is not free will,” The being said to Liu. “You said it yourself, this is not a choice that he’s giving you. He’s forcing it by playing on your emotions. We both know you have only your countrymen’s best interest at heart.”
“And yet… how are we different, if we’re taking the choice from Taiwan?” He asked himself, doubt creeping in. “We forced his hand, now he forces ours. The Shadows wouldn’t be here if we weren’t… Dammit…” He cursed again, unable to square away his thoughts.
When it came to the soldiers, they didn’t see it as having a choice. Their government willed it so, and so they would follow their training, and ignore the morals in their heart. But Liu and the rest of the Stars… they could do whatever they wanted. They had the chance to think freely, to ask their heart what was right.
Liu reached the command post, where the other Stars - One through Four - were waiting for their Fifth Star.
“Give us space,” Liu commanded, causing everyone else to scatter.
“I may be declared a traitor for this… but I think he’s right,” Star Four said after a brief moment of silence. “Regardless of morality, it’s obvious we can’t win.”
Stars One and Two exchanged worried glances. “And if our people end up as slaves, or worse, extinct, are we moral to give in?”
The Third Star was the only one yet to speak. As the youngest, she didn’t have the experience to make such an important call. She merely looked up to the man she’d always looked up to. The Fifth Star.
“The First and Second may be right,” The figure said. “If he turns to genocide, you leave nothing behind but ruins and suffering. Izuku Midoriya is weak . Inflict enough suffering on these people, and the Shadow Monarch will give in for their own sake.”
“Suffering… suffering that’s all you people ever talk about! What suffering is right?! Why does anyone need to suffer at all?!” He slammed his fist through the table they all stood around, startling his cohorts.
“Liu,” The Third Star finally said. “We don’t know him, you do. You went into a Gate together. You see someone’s true color in there. So… who is he?” She asked.
Liu balled his fists and closed his eyes, ignoring the chaos, ignoring the voices, ignoring his own faith in his people. “Who is he?”
“It’s okay for you to become what you want to be.”
Liu suddenly found himself back in that Gate, standing opposite Izuku. “What is this?”
“Your consciousness,” Izuku replied. “Your own Soul Pathway.”
“You’re not really here,” Liu realized.
Izuku shook his head, and took a seat on the roots that no longer existed. “You’re fighting a Monarch, a Higher Being. He’s trying to take control of you. This is your body’s way of resisting. Sort of like an immune system.”
“So why are you who appeared to me? Why not my mother, or my father, or my fellow soldier?”
The mirage of Izuku smirked in a way the real one never would. “Because you’ve never looked to any of them to ask the question: ‘what’s the right thing to do?’”
“But I looked to you ?”
“I guess so.” He shrugged. “I’m just a hallucination after all, a figment of your imagination.”
“So you’re gonna tell me it’s the right thing to do, to surrender. How do I know this isn’t some trick? A debuff?”
“Eh? I was never gonna tell you to surrender. That’s the last thing I want. We’re fighting a Monarch after all.”
“Then what are you telling me?!” Liu yelled. The scene changed to something impossible. “This isn’t my memory… Where are we?” A brief flash of a glowing pillar made of infinite strands of light danced through his mind.
“Humanity is more connected than you could possibly imagine.”
Liu’s vision doubled, and then overlaid. He saw two bedrooms at the same time, he saw two sets of parents watching their child run around, pretending to be a Hero. One was him, and one was a boy with green hair.
“”What do you want to be when you grow up?”” The sets of parents asked.
““A Hero!””
“Then just remember one thing. Heroes make the world a better place, so that more people can smile.”
Liu’s vision returned, and he stared at the smashed table.
“So?” The steely figure asked. “What is your answer?”
*******
25 years ago, there was a child born in Turkey. There was, inexorably, nothing special about him, nothing at all. But like most children his age and generation, he grew up hearing stories about the palace buried in the ice.
“Something was here before.” They all heard that sentence and the world opened up to them.
Suddenly, every myth, every tale in human history, was possible. There were treasures in the ground. There were dangers and excitement all around.
The child was abandoned, time and time again. His parents left him to others, those others left him to fend for himself, and whatever friends he made ultimately abandoned him. At one point, he grew so lonely that even his name was a fleeting memory. His only remaining identity came from the discovery he made at 12 years old.
Wandering, alone and hungry, he stumbled across a cave. Much like himself, the cave was nothing special. It was merely a hollowed out piece of stone. The treasure resting inside of it made no difference.
The child could call it whatever fantastic name he wanted, but despite housing what many knew as the Ark of the Covenant, the cave was still just a cave.
The Divine treasures, now in his possession, made him a National-Rank. It was something only a few people had. The boy knew that. He could’ve had anything. Yet he still had no name, no friends, and no family.
He no longer went hungry, able to hunt like a God. But he was a God with no known existence. A King, without a people to rule. The people of Turkey were not his, and he was not theirs.
But one day, he learned from that golden box that some called an Ark, that the world was ending. He always knew it was an inevitability, of course. He only lived on because he knew not how to go beyond that realm.
And so, the box offered him a choice in exchange for the return of the celestial treasures. A name, or death.
In death, he would be a God without pain, suffering, with a kingdom to rule. Whatever he wished. But he would still be a God without a name.
So the boy returned the celestial treasures, aside from one, the chestplate that protected his heart. Not just from spears or swords, but from pain, emotional or otherwise. He asked for a name, and took a seat in front of the box.
The box accepted his offering, and vanished. The boy still did not have a name, but for once, he had faith in the thing that abandoned him. Even as he starved in that cave, he remained at peace… because he saw a Rabbit of the Moon reaching out to him, and offering a name.
She would be the only one to witness his full story, carved into the rock of the cave. And per his request, it would remain hers alone. Her own abandonment filled his heart with longing for what she now had, but he refused the jealousy blossoming as he passed.
He only ever needed for one person to know him. He traded the most impressive wealth in the world for just two words.
“Arise, Solomon.”
Rumi Usagiyama was not the Shadow Monarch. She was not the Empress. She shouldn’t have been able to speak those words, and she never would again. But looking down on them, Ashborn obeyed their small wish.
Stumbling upon the cave, just as a young man once had, Rumi found herself lost in the carvings, only to stumble upon his decayed corpse. She spoke Izuku’s command phrase only out of desire to be the same kind of guiding reaper as he was.
So the boy, soaked in endless energy befitting the Gods, rose up from his slumber and saw the armor on her legs. It was the same sort of Divine treasure he still wore on his chest. In fact, it had once been his, returned to the box and sent to the moon where it awaited its next owner.
Was it fate or chance that brought her down there? No one could really answer. War was not a given, and that was the only reason Rumi found that place at all. Then again, what was the chance of the girl who ended up on the moon finding this very cave?
That was the mystery of NULL and ABSOLUTE. Universal Chaos and Order, fate and chance, co-existing in a world where only one should be allowed. A paradox that created infinite energy, fueling the very contradictory existence it inhabited.
Whatever the case, it reminded Solomon of the nature he lived alongside throughout his life. Of the things that supported him when no one else would. Things that weren’t supposed to support him, much like how Rumi’s Soul and Izuku’s Soul were incompatible according to Raia. Yet here they were together.
The supposed blueprint of Souls being counteracted by the chaos of passion. NULL fighting ABSOLUTE inside Rumi herself. It created something new, something without an Architect or System.
*******
[Skill: The Beastly Empress]
- Job Specific Skill
- Cost: The more severe the transformation, the more painful it will be and the more drastic the User’s emotions will become.
- Description: The User is a conduit for anything animalistic and can shapeshift accordingly, able to stack an endless amount of modifications without any Mana limitations. The initial transformation can be quite painful and the more animalistic the User becomes, the less control of their emotions they’ll have.
*******
“We both felt left behind…” Solomon said quietly. “But you’ve found your path, alongside others. You found somewhere you belong. I’d like to witness it.”
His reason for rising up in Rumi’s name was shockingly simple, but she knew just how much it meant in the grand scheme of things. Even with siblings back home, she felt like she had no one who truly understood her or walked alongside her, until Izuku.
[Beastly Shadows 1/1]
[This limit cannot be exceeded by anything, including Apex Skills, Job-Specific Skills, and/or Items of any Ranking.]
*******
[Solomon, King of Nothing Lvl. 1 - Grand-Marshal Grade]
Species: Homo Superioris
Skills: Nullify Command, Nature Regent, Beastly Regent
*******
Rumi quickly read over the System notice for the first time. She’d never seen it before, so this was a new experience. But she knew she had to get back to action, there was a war going on after all.
Nullify Command was exactly what it sounded like, disrupting any command a military leader had over its troops, sowing chaos. Nature Regent allowed Solomon to gain strength the more fauna and flora was around him. Beastly Regent was similar to Beastly Empress in that it granted slight shapeshifting abilities.
Solomon took the chestplate from his decayed body, handing it to Rumi.
“Why?” She asked.
“Because it is asking for you,” He said as if it explained everything.
Suddenly, the armor split into segments, flying around Rumi and fitting to her physique, shaping itself accordingly, just as her leg armor had done on the moon.
*******
[Item: Lunar Impact]
- Item Class: Divine
- Item Type: Leg Armor
- Stats: +500 Attack, +200 Agility
- Gem Slots: 0
- Description: Immense increase to the User’s lower body strength. Grants immunity to environmental hazards, such as a non-hospitable atmosphere. Divine Items are linked to the User’s Soul, making them nigh-indestructible so long as the User lives and impossible to be stolen.
*******
[Item: Protection of the Covenant]
- Item Class: Divine
- Item Type: Chestplate
- Stats: +300 Agility, +150 Strength
- Gem Slots: 0
- Description: The User’s Vitality Stat is proportional to their Agility Stat. Grants immunity to mental attacks. Divine Items are linked to the User’s Soul, making them nigh-indestructible so long as the User lives and impossible to be stolen.
*******
“Well… this is a surprise to be sure.”
Solomon and Rumi spun around to see claw marks in the air, as if someone had torn through space. Which… was exactly what happened. There was an extremely buff man, with scars along his body decorated with the remains of many various species. Rumi was pretty sure his boots were made from skulls of some kind, cracked and molded into the shape he needed them to be.
[The Monarch of Beastly Fangs, Waruk]
“Shit…” Rumi instinctively muttered.
The man smirked, looking reminiscent of Thomas Andre in that moment. “I never thought I’d have a Queen. I figured that would be a one-off with the Shadow Empress.”
“I’m not your Queen,” She said, getting ready to fight.
Waruk fumbled his next step, as if the shock was too great to bear. “Hmm… Empresses only seem to exist as a reflection of a Higher Being. You reflect my own status, you exist because of me, no?” It wasn’t a possessive question, it was naive, almost innocent.
In fact, he felt young to Rumi, like Quaresha’s little brother. Whereas she was sadistic and cunning, and Baran had depth to his goals, Waruk was like… a child having grown up in the wilderness. There was an edge to him, a danger. He didn’t grasp most of the concepts that existed in society or mortals, but that didn’t mean he was harmless.
“Do you know Ashborn?” He said, pointing to Solomon.
“I know of him.”
“Ah,” Waruk looked saddened by that. “I was hoping to see him one more time. We left things so terribly in our last encounter.”
“You… were the one to betray him, sneak attack him, right?”
Waruk nodded. “I thought of him as a brother, so I was really upset when the others told me about the plan-” He stopped himself mid-dialogue, a realization striking him. “If you’re not my Empress, then I suppose I shouldn’t trust you with these things. My siblings would be mad.”
“Or maybe I am-”
“No,” He interrupted. “I’m not that stupid, you just told me you weren’t. Clearly you want to take advantage of it.”
“So you’re saying you’re afraid?”
He tilted his head. “Why would I be?”
“Well, if you’re holding back info, it means you think I have a chance of escaping you.”
“Ah!” He chuckled. “Of course! That’s the thrill of a serious hunt,” He replied. “If I didn’t think you had a chance, I wouldn’t have approached you like this. It wouldn’t be fun.”
“Fun?”
“Yeah…” He sighed and threw aside caution. “I know that my existence won’t be needed once my siblings prevail. When the new universe is made, us Higher Beings will only stand in the way of free will.”
“Then why go along with that plan?” Rumi asked.
“Because they’re my siblings! And I understand where they’re coming from, I’m one of them, after all. I merely want to enjoy whatever hunt this universe will offer me before I need to kill myself.”
“What?”
“Oh? Did you not know that? Most of us Monarchs were planning on committing suicide once the new universe was formed. It’s only right. Otherwise we’d all be hypocrites. Gods have no place in this world or the next.” Waruk was remarkably calm for his talk of suicide. Then again, that was consistent with those who resolved to kill themselves.
“So…” Rumi felt the stress of battle fade for a second, as she dragged a finger across her throat, “Why not just do it now? Leave the rest of us be?”
“Well obviously we need to make sure the universe is in the proper state before we leave it be.”
“How is that different from removing free will?”
“Interesting point!” He acknowledged. “The philosophy is more my siblings’ speciality. I only exist to hunt.”
Rumi and Solomon exchanged glances, as if asking each other silently, “Is he for real?”
“Well, I can’t dispel that one since it’s already out,” Waruk said, pointing to Solomon. “But I’ll settle for hunting you two, and this.” He snapped his fingers.
[Waruk has sealed Gates and Shadows.]
“Would you feel okay adding us to the list?”
Baruka and Arcka danced along the walls of the cave, their Shadows blending into the storyboard of Solomon’s life. A growl added to their introduction, and Tank rose up behind Waruk.
“Should I feel threatened that three lesser life forms are added to the hunt?” Again, it was not meant to be threatening. It was a genuine question.
“You may not recognize Baruka or Tank, but your brother was my tormentor,” Arcka bit back.
“Ah yes, Stellian’s attempt at the ultimate, Elite Soldiers. And the Rulers attempt to control Chaotics without turning them into Lux. You are the experiments of Higher Beings, but that does not make you worthy of the hunt.”
“But your experimentation made us what we are now… and what we are, is capable of accepting new Souls.”
There was no uniform answer as to what beings could accept new Souls and what couldn’t. Many of Izuku’s classmates seemed unsuitable, but someone like Tokoyami was ripe with potential. When it came to Tank, Arcka, and Baruka, they were just as capable of evolution.
600 Lux Souls, 200 for each Shadow. It was a costly price, but even across the world, Izuku felt their mortality peeking through. They wanted a piece of a Higher Being. Here he was, rambling about free will, having taken theirs away long ago. Even if Tank and Baruka were not harmed directly by him, the feeling was one and the same.
As it turned out, the only thing they were missing to fulfill their true potential was a chance. Higher Beings had never spared them the cost they asked to be truly elite units. Souls were hoarded.
[Baruka, Elf Baron of Frost - Colonel Grade, has evolved into Baruka, Lord of Frost - Lord Grade]
[Arcka - Colonel Grade, has evolved into Arcka, Lord of Tenebris - Lord Grade]
[Tank, Leader of the Polarus - Captain Grade, has evolved into Tank, Lord of the Polarus - Grand-Marshal Grade]
[Kanidaru’s Blessing has been removed from Baruka and integrated into Apex Skill: Ashborn, the Monarch of Shadows.]
*******
[Baruka, Lord of Frost - Lord Grade]
Species: Polraus Sylvanis
Skills: Shadow Blizzard
*******
[Arcka, Lord of Tenebris - Lord Grade]
Species: Tenebris Evious
Skills: Unnatural Enhancement, Reinforced Body, Crystalline Biology
*******
[Tank, Lord of the Polarus - Grand-Marshal Grade]
Species: Ursidae Glacie
Skills: Alpha, Endless Winter, Polar Howitzer
*******
Suddenly, three of Izuku’s weaker Shadows became his strongest. Even Igris was a little miffed at being pushed down the rungs of strength by comparison. But he’d get his own chance later.
Waruk let out a growling laugh. “I’ve killed Lords before. But I suppose that makes you worthy of a hunt after all.”
“Fuck being worthy in your eyes!” Rumi shouted, waiting not a second longer to swing her leg at Waruk’s head. But as everyone charged in, the Monarch only needed to speak.
“N-Type Manifestation: The Hunt at the End of the World.”
Everything went black.
*******
“Is there a particular reason I got America?” Kaina asked, looking to Phantom, who was managing the intelligence network of the Shadows at that very moment.
“No ostensible reason, my Lady. However, your grasp of the English language is perhaps the most fluent, and America has the highest number of ranged Heroes. Who better to combat them than the greatest marksman we know?”
“Flattering…” She grumbled, looking out on the absolute carnage of Florida.
“Perhaps… we should merely decimate the territory?”
Kaina scoffed. “If only that was an acceptable strategy.”
“Yes, that is something that irks me about our Liege. We are the perfect assassins, yet we never get to put that to use.”
Kaina sighed. “Yeah I know, I feel the same sometimes,” She ran across the air at superhuman speeds. “In pretty much all of my past lives, I was a soldier, a killer.”
“So why not do so now? Do you feel our Liege’s reprisal?”
“Of course not,” She replied within an instant. “He’d never act so high and mighty. He’s told all of us, multiple times, that our decisions matter the most to him. Not in what we choose to do, merely that we do what we think is right. He gave us a blank ledger, and he always will. Although, if I were to destroy an entire state, then it might be different. But if I killed someone for good reason and explained it to him, do you know what he’d say?”
Phantom looked at her quizzically, or rather, he imparted a sense of curiosity. He didn’t have much of a face. “Good job?”
Kaina laughed. “No, he’d say ‘I’m sorry you had to do that.’ And then he’d hug me and tell me everything would be okay…”
“For what purpose?”
“I don’t like killing, none of us do. He knows that, and he knows his wives are more willing to kill than he is. He accepted that part of us ahead of time because he knows he can’t hold humanity, of all species, to the same standards he has for himself. And that’s the point, he only holds himself to that standard. He expects some level of decency from others, but he’s not surprised when something goes wrong.” Kaina smirked at Phantom. “He’s not nearly as naive as you think.”
“So it would seem…” He replied. “He’s more of a genius at manipulation than I thought…”
“Excuse me?”
“Well… you are the only one in my Liege’s harem who was destined to be with him. Your Soul’s were matching as the Synthetic Lord put it. He gives you permission to kill, never staining his own hands, but comforting you as you attempt to wash yours.”
Kaina winced. “Okay, first of all, that’s not our rule about killing. He’s not the Monarch of Death for no reason!” Kaina’s voice raised, and she halted in midair to approach the Shadow threateningly. “He’s been closer to it than anyone, and he understands that when the choice presents itself, it is remarkably difficult to choose your life over anothers. He wouldn’t damn us for saving ourselves. He wants us to know that, no matter what he thinks, no matter how averse to killing someone he is, he’d never force that on us!” She spat. “Do not treat him like he is just some puppetmaster, some evil man trying to pull the strings! He is desperately holding together what is good and what is righteous inside of himself! He wants nothing more than to be a good person,” She suddenly muttered quietly. “I’ve spent eight lifetimes with him. What about you?”
“I…”
“Do not ever… EVER make that mistake in front of me again. I won’t tolerate it, and Izuku won’t keep you around just cause you’re strong.”
“I… I see. It is my mistake, my Lady,” He kneeled in submission. “Although, I must ask… Is Beru exempt of such crimes as well?”
Kaina scoffed. “Beru says the things he does because he’s young. His sparse existence and knowledge was confined to an island of monsters who were eating each other to survive. And he has developed at an impressive pace. He makes glib remarks about eating people because he doesn’t know the actual weight behind the threat. Have you watched him with Kei?”
“I have not. But, I was raised in a different environment as well. What’s to say I’m not free to be so glib?”
“Because you are far more intelligent than Beru. You should know to be careful of what you say.” Kaina shook her head and walked away, talking over her shoulder. “He watches over Kei, not just as a protector, but almost like a little brother. In this existence, he doesn’t have to resort to eating his siblings. He can watch television with her, and laugh, and play. For a creature who knows only Death, he learned the value of life much faster than you.”
“I… Hmm…” Phantom tried to speak, but for the first time in both his life and undead life, he was at a loss for words. So, he did the only thing he could, he told a story of his own.
“I was born on Planet Mars,” He said. “I was a slave from my very conception. Without free will from before I was born.”
“Mars, but…” Kaina quickly remembered that Adam White had described Phantom as, ‘an assassin from another dimension.’
“And I watched as the few men with the guts to fight rose up. I saw our Liege.”
“An alternate version of Izuku…” Kaina surmised.
“I was inspired to fight, to kill, for my own freedom. So I became…” He gritted his teeth, as if he didn’t want to admit it. “I became the second best, right behind the Empress… but she wasn't the Empress…” He grumbled in annoyance at the disconnect between alternate realities.
“You are, aren’t you? You’re human?”
Phantom nodded. “I molded myself into something unimaginable. More machine than man, and I still couldn’t surpass anyone around me… And then I was here. The people who kept me as slaves, they looked like this,” He spread his arms, gesturing not just to a single state, but America itself. “So I flew into a rage, killing whatever I could get my hands on. Then I was dead… and the man who brought me back was the man who inspired me to fight at all. I don’t know if I see that same tenacity. He’s the same person, but not…”
“I see…” Kaina parroted back at him. “Well, multiple timelines were possible… I suppose alternate realities aren't really all that different. But I get it now, why you said those things. You wanted Izuku to be some evil genius, a warlord, a cruel man. So you looked for things that did not exist.”
“Yes… because I find my own kind so repulsive I would drive them extinct if I were just given the chance. Izuku Midoriya could be so much more than… this place… this heap of dirt… these insects.”
Kaina chuckled. “Ya know, the right thing to do would be to apologize for what you said?” Phantom didn’t speak, nor did Kaina want him to. She merely wanted him to think. “But… I don’t entirely disagree. He’s always been better than the rest of… ‘them,” She said, referring to humanity. “I’ve known that in every lifetime. That’s why I always fell for him… because at first, he’s just an annoying naive idiot with a savior complex. Time goes on and suddenly,” she laughed at herself, “that ‘naive idiot’ has made you a better person.” She stifled tears. “My hands are soaked with blood, from this timeline to the last. I end up shooting people to survive. I try to disconnect from it all, pretend that they deserve to be shot, to be put down. I met him and I remember why I shot those people to begin with. It’s to live, not to suffer on, and make the world worse for having made me.
Yes, I’ve killed people,” She muttered. “Some of them were even decent people. But if you can’t see why life has meaning, then how could you ever build something atop all the dead bodies you’ve stacked up? Do you think that the Izuku you knew, will go on to do what is necessary, free his people, start a new society, and genocide anything else? I assure you, no matter the universe, you do not know Izuku Midoriya as well as you thought.”
Silence elapsed between them for several minutes. There was nothing more to be said. Phantom, compared to the other Shadows, seemed radical, but he had no intention of getting in Izuku’s way. No Shadow would ever oppose their Monarch, regardless of beliefs.
“We’re here,” Phantom reported as they reached the north end of the state.
“Ahem… Well, we might not be able to kill all these insects, but we can take some out of play.”
“I thought our Liege’s goal was not to usurp?”
“Usurp by way of killing, and forcefully taking from the world’s existing leaders. But we all agreed that some bad actors deserve to be removed from the war. Especially considering that a Higher Being could be involved in their deeds. Do you think that’s hypocritical?”
“Not at all,” Phantom replied genuinely. “I was simply concerned that it might cause him grief later down the line. He is a worrisome one.”
“Agreed,” Kaina said mirthfully, her arm morphing into that of a draconic barrel. Her pupils became slits and golden in color.
“The faltering remains of Florida’s Air Force have detected your surge of energy. Approximately 45 minutes to intercept.”
“Are they of any concern?”
“No, just pests. The majority of their airforce is already occupied, hence the slow response time. I don’t want to disobey my Liege and destroy them, nor do I want them to interrupt your focus.”
Kaina nodded. “Target one, Maya-”
“Why are you dictating? Can you not just… do it? I was the one who helped gather this intel.”
She avoided meeting Phantom’s gaze. “When I was… in the ‘business’ I made thorough reports on all of my targets, lethal or non-lethal.
“Very well.”
“Target one, Maya Richards, corporate-”
“Corporate? Are we-”
“Seriously? You gonna interrupt me every time?”
Phantom froze in place. “I just…”
Kaina huffed. “I get it, you’re human, but unlike Igris you haven’t had the time to process it all. Forget the dictation. She organized an uptick in the military industrial complex. She armed both sides in advance for a hefty payout. And she’s got a lot more where that came from.” Kaina pulled the trigger and from her arm shot a bullet with such velocity that it traveled over 900 miles, in just a second.
It pierced any physical defenses the Pentagon could muster and slammed right into Maya as she gave her spiel. But it didn’t kill her. In fact, it didn’t even pierce the skin aside from a tiny needle prick.
“It’s a variation of the Eternal Slumber, packed into a bullet-shaped delivery method,” Kaina explained. “Unique enough to not be cured by the mass produced pills, but less dangerous than the original and with our own secret formula to wake her whenever we want.”
“Now that, I am a fan of.”
Usually, war hogs tended to play both sides of a conflict. Profit was the goal, not actually propping up a victor. With Maya, it was different. She prepared everything well in advance, like she knew a civil war was coming.
Phantom nodded along. “I may just see the fun in dictation. Do go on.”
“I thought you knew them all?”
“Well yes, but… I can see the fun in going over my own handiwork now.”
Kaina rolled her eyes. “Miles Ingram, high-ranking general in D.C.’s military. The most likely to advocate for nuclear weapon usage.” Another blast. “Kara Brine, inflaming D.C.’s politicians to push the war even further. Richard Bromley… some random guy who’s gotten access to several important databases and is sending them somewhere… There’s no way that’s not a Higher Being plant, right?”
“He was flagged as 99% likely,” Phantom pointed out. “Unclear how he received such access without proper clearance.”
There were… perhaps disturbingly, dozens upon dozens more. In fact, if they hadn’t drawn a line, there would be literal thousands. But like Andrew mentioned, you couldn’t just remove all of an existing government. It would only lead to more chaos. So they had to narrow their field to the ones most likely to be Higher Being pawns, or just psychopaths with a hard-on for more war.
The slightly more sane ones would be left behind, still with a mess to clean up, but without as many bad actors. If anything, the ones who got put to sleep for a little while were the lucky ones. They’d wake up after everything winded down.
Even then, America was still the worst off. Their mental health crisis, political and economic schisms, and gun ownership was an incalculable disaster. Even the nations in full-blown war were better off. The people had definitive governments and nations to rally behind. In America, there was no trusting anyone, not anymore. It was NULL at its worst. Pure chaos.
*******
“Initial engagements are going well,” Deep Blue reported to Izuku from their command center. “I believe-”
“What in the fucking hell is this?!” An angry voice said behind Izuku.
“Bakugo? How’d you get up here?” He replied. “I know you can fly using explosions, but I didn’t think you could get into space without-”
“I asked the Shadows, they let me teleport using that dragon thing!”
“Ouroboros, yeah, he’s-”
“What the fuck is wrong with you?!”
“Me?” Izuku almost took a step back, reminding himself that his childhood bully couldn’t hurt him anymore. “What’s the matter with you?! We just became friends again and-”
“And you go and start a fucking world war! Go on declaring humanity as your own!”
“I didn’t start anything!” Izuku yelled back, the Shadows tensing up inside of the orbital command room, one created by the Weavers. “Ya know, I really thought you changed. I thought you were making an effort. Paltry and surface-level, but it meant something!”
“You think you get to just own humanity?! That’s not your call to make!” Bakugo strolled right up to him, purposefully ignorant to the danger. “You wanna talk ‘paltry?’ You’re still the same scared kid! A wimp who finally got his hands on power and decided to use it!”
Izuku’s face twisted into such an ugly mess that his Shadows almost felt scared. “I consulted world leaders, scientists, experts, and my whole family!” He tried to still his mind and push out the last two sentences Bakugo yelled at him.
“Well, as your friend, I would’ve liked to be consulted too! So I could tell you what a fucking mistake this all is!”
Everything was silent for a good thirty seconds as Izuku stood there silently. And then, he laughed. He bent over in mirth, giggling hysterically at the blonde. “Oh… oh man… phew…”
“What’s so fucking funny?!”
“Ah, you are,” Izuku responded, turning his back on Bakugo. “You were my friend. I was ready to start over and be friends again, but it’s just like you to assume you had the right to every decision I made after you said two words. You arrogantly judge violence when violence is all you’ve ever thought about. So, go fuck yourself.”
“Ohhhh!” Bakugo mimed fear. “Looks like all that talk about being the bigger man and just wanting to move forward was a lie! I knew it was all bullshit! All that talk about your feelings crap is so annoying! I was drunk when I apologized anyways!”
“Oh, everything was bullshit? So, you’re not making friends with Kirishima, Mina, you don’t feel attracted to Itsuka Kendo…” Izuku kinda shrugged as Bakugo stumbled over the mental hurdle.
“Okay, not everything ! But those guys also aren’t trying to take over the fucking planet!”
Izuku sighed. “The girls… Kei included, told me to expect this from you. I didn’t want to believe them. After everything I heard, everything I saw, I thought you could change. I was ready for it. I was being the bigger man, I was throwing aside every single thing you’ve ever done to me, because unlike you, it burns. In my stomach, that hatred, it’s a vat of acid. I was going to pour it all out for you. Instead, I’m just going to dump it in some ditch and forget you ever existed.” He laughed again. “That’s why I’m laughing! I can finally leave you behind me! I have changed. Old me would come running right back to you. But now I’m not alone. I’m not holding on to whatever scant things I have left of the past. I didn’t consult you because in my heart, I truly knew I couldn’t trust you. We’re just not meant to be friends. That feels like failure, like I’ve done everything right and still stumbled before the finishing line. But I think I can accept failure… it’s just been a while since I felt it so strongly…”
“Right, I’m just supposed to act all calm and cool whilst you go to war with the whole damn planet! It’s always my fault!” He sarcastically and venomously spit. “You don’t know what’s best for me or anyone else!”
“You never listen…” Izuku shook his head. “You don’t see anything beyond what’s immediately visible. Did you really think that violence was the answer? Did you really think that, as long as you went inside Gates and killed a bunch of things, the world would be fixed? Hero Society is broken… most societies are broken…”
“It’s not Cosmic Madness,” Deep Blue mentally relayed, having scanned the screaming boy.
“You don’t get to come to me and insult me anymore. Act like it’s my fault I don’t like it.”
“See? Just the same weak kid! Too afraid to handle any criticism! I’m blunt, deal with it! And the blunt truth is that you’ve lost it!”
“No, I won’t just deal with it. Everyone around you has spent their entire lives dealing with you. Not the other way around. You came to terms with why you’re always angry, why you’re always such an asshole, but you never actually recognized what you did wrong. You’re a blatant hypocrite, because you can’t see that the blunt truth is that you’re an asshole. That’s who you are, and you don’t even have a nice excuse for it. You weren’t abused as a child, like Brandon. You weren’t groomed for something horrific like Yaoyorozu. You don’t have decades of suffering like Kaina or Rumi. You didn’t lose both parents like Kei and so many others. And you weren’t looked down on because you were weak. We all have demons, but you’re the only one who decided to let his demons attack others.” Izuku finally turned his head, only to barely glance at Bakugo. “Okay… Brandon might be an asshole, but he does it to achieve something. It’s manipulative, which is why I thought he might have been right about you in Catalina. I thought he made a breakthrough. What he really showed is that, regardless of the way you’re treated, with kiddie gloves or not, you’re a narcissist who can’t see past anything but his own perfection and everyone else’s faults. You don’t even do it to accomplish something, to get what you want or to convince someone of something. You’re just an ass.”
“I don’t give-” He suddenly went silent, grasping at his throat. He wasn’t choking, he just wasn’t making noise.
“I’ve stilled your vocal chords with Magic,” Izuku explained. “Because you need to hear this from me. All you’ve ever wanted to do is fight and kill and fight some more. But the second I decide to stand up for something, you criticize the violence, even though I didn’t start the violence to begin with. And, in case you hadn’t noticed, I haven’t killed anyone. You are the problem with this world, Katsuki Bakugo. Emblematic of humanity as a whole. You pick and choose when and what works for you, and when someone offers a solution, you don’t like it, because it’s far easier to hate than to work towards something better. You want to hate. People like you are in places of power, or they put someone like them in a leadership position they should never have acquired. Do you really think that a ‘Hero society’ will fix things? Do you think people having this level of power without any control is better?” He could sense the next question from Bakugo. “I get it, I get it. If I do it, then I’m no better, huh? I have safeguards in place, people who will warn me if things start being taken too far. Unlike you, I’ll actually listen.” He let go of the Magic.
“And they won’t be able to stop you…” Bakugo threateningly remarked.
“Then you seriously underestimate my family and my Shadows. Igris has orders to kill me if I break any of the rules we’ve set, including a rule to never follow an order to remove the rules. It’s a very long explanation, that I won’t waste on you. But I’m not stupid. As soon as we committed to this goal, we created an entire network of failsafes. I think Batman would be proud. I’ve devised at least 27 separate ways to put a stop to whatever it is I may be doing wrong. Destroying one method does not compromise the other..” He pulled out the Empress’s Blade, wondering what sort of effect ‘Hope’ would have on Bakugo. “You’ve endlessly prattled on about how useless I am, but now I’m too powerful and influential to be doing these things without being evil? Make up your mind.”
“I have ! You were a weak kid all your life, you got power, it went to your head, and you’re doing something really bad!”
“You don’t even have the full story.” Izuku scoffed and shook his head. “All that work… for nothing… Then again, I’m not all that unfamiliar with failure. I’ll have to apologize to the girls for dragging this on. They’ve been so supportive, even though they saw this coming and I refused to. No matter how much power I have, I know… that some things can’t be repaired. You’re a lost cause, but I won’t give up on the world.”
Izuku cocked his head to the side as Deep Blue spoke to him. “Well, it appears that a Monarch has surfaced. Gotta go stop the war he started, but you’ll still think of me as the Villain I suppose. Everyone’s Hero is someone else’s Villain.” He vanished into the Shadows without another word.
At the same time, Deep Blue grabbed Bakugo by the throat and flung him like a ragdoll back into the portal he came through, and back onto Earth. There, the massive teleporting dragon uncurled, and got real close to Bakugo. “Come near my Liege or his family again, and we will kill you.” Then Ouroboros too vanished.