Chapter Text
Destruction
Death
Wrongness
This destruction and death felt wrong…as this should not exist it surrounded the area in the city known as Kivotos. Once it was bright city full of academies, of ever ending youth, laughter and students enjoying life but now it lay in ruins. The sky was once blue now its pitch black, in the distance huge machines walked, gunshots, explosions could be heard in the distance, the giant machines still fighting a never-ending enemy.
Miraculously, in all of this destruction and ruins single train still moved, its train tracks unnoticed as in the world protected this single train, the only passenger on this train, still running in this ruined world was me. My body was cold, my limbs numb, my skin pale, I was dead all but in name but I still held on.
"I failed.”
“Even with everything I had, I failed. In the end, you were right." I thought the train bumped and sometimes wavered.
I felt so weak, everything hurt so much, I wanted cry , I wanted to die, everything felt wrong…my body, oh my body was dry but still it somehow bleed, even when my hearth, my lungs, my body stopped working, in the end I accepted it, all the pain, why I was still alive….it was all a punishment for my deeds.
Blood, the nectar of life…for the non-students of kivotos it was normal for them, you bleed when you get hurt, you bleed when you cut yourself, but for us students our halos protected us, healed us but that ended long ago…. I should not be surprised, it was already shed, in the days of the signing, in the days of a peaceful coexistence it was shed, I could still hear the screaming, I could still see the bodies, I could still smelt them. It began a bloody war, invaders, interlopers, victims try to conquer our sacred place, our paradise… in the end they lost. But it left scars, deep ones that time could not heal, innocents where lost a sacred law was broken “You shall not murder.” But murder they did.
We…no you, I did nothing, We were partners, meant to solve Kivotos' problems, to guide the students in their dreams, and give them hope. I should have listened to you. But I did not, blinded by mi own ego and own problems I forgot my own responsibilities.
I sinned; I was too arrogant, while you were too generous, listening to them, counseling them, bleed for them
While I was detached, far away in my ivory tower.
So far from the students
Away from the problems, I was immersed in my own world that I forgot there were others too.
I always got in your way…taking your time.
My colleagues, the General Student Council governing body of kivotos, its founding was to ensure peace, stability and order was in this city but instead it was full of snakes, lurking in the shadows waiting for the opportunity to strike. The love for credits, the love for power it took root in עץ חיים, corrupting its foundations, making the city suffer
Because of us, kivotos…no paradise got destroyed. In their arrogance my colleagues conspired to step foot on Babel…
I should have let you go…not wasting your time, I should have trusted you more, even with your “particular” choices.
I was worthless girl, too naïve for this paradise to see the rot that lay behind, the foes that wanted to corrupt it. I should have acted early, used my power but I did not and paradise suffered for it. What was the point of a president if I did not hear the complaints, if I did not support them, ignoring them
Letting them fall into despair, soak in their misery.
I let them be filled with terror I let myself be a puppet in a play for the amusing of some twisted people, I let those snakes coil around my neck.
I ignore their cries of help, their request, always putting more weight on your back, I'm sorry, Sensei. In the end, you were right.
Being an adult is hard. Being adult is full of responsibilities, of challenges, to face life, to never lose hope in the darkest times.
To never blink in the abyss that its life.
But I blinked and you did not.
While you did everything to help, I did nothing, while you bleed, I did nothing, while you over worked yourself, sometimes even not having credits to your name I did not do anything.
I put the weight of the world on your shoulders, you where our atlas.
But in the end you where human, and humans have a limit…Cracks started to appear, slowly spread, until that day occurred. Eden was invaded by foes, while we managed to drive them back, you were shoot. After that everything descended to hell. But do not worry, I will fix everything.
I will take responsibility. I figured out a way; I did it behind your back. I know you will object, but you always say an adult must take responsibility, so please let me amend my mistakes. Let me bring those happy times, their laughter, their smile, their hope. Let this worthless, good for nothing, of a human being, fix everything. Let my body, my soul, my very existence, be erased for this twisted, distorted fate to be changed.
Let the world forget the failure I was, let my existence never exist so that kivotos will not suffer my choices again.
So that our paradise may shine once again.
Let there be a miracle for this paradise Ah, its starting I feel it, my halo, slowly withering into nothing.
I could feel my existence slowly shattering, being molded into something else, my very soul being mold.
I was too weak, but I endured. Then, I felt it. A small smile appeared on my face. You were here, finally.
“... It had to come to this for me to realize that you were right all along...”
“...I know this is very shameless of me, but I must ask for your help. Sensei. You'll forget these words, but it won't matter.”
“Even without your memories, you'll probably make the same decision under the same circumstances.”
“Which is why... what matters are the choices we make, not our past experiences. There are choices only you can make.”
“I've spoken of responsibility before.”
“I didn't truly understand it back then, but I do now. Adulthood, responsibility, obligation... and the choices you make that extend beyond those ideals. Even the meaning behind them. ... Sensei. “
“You're the one I trust. Only you can free us from this twisted, distorted fate... and find the choices that will lead us to a new reality. So, Sensei, please—
My voice stopped; no everything stopped. The train, the surroundings, even my breath. I was no longer sitting, my body was no longer weak, no it was not weak..i was nothing.
"Impressive work." A voice spoke to my left. I could hear slow footsteps. Who was it, why did he stop it "It... is generous. No. How do humans quantify such an expenditure... ah, yes... commendable, your sacrifice. Most... efficient." He spoke to my right
"But we can't let that happen. Your little action, a small wave in the grand ocean of the multiverse, would have done nothing, but somehow, you changed something."
Change... what change... I only wanted to bring us hope. To change our fate "And my employers are not... satisfied. Those chaotic waves interfered directly with our established arrangements. Arrangements that have been millennia in the making." Now I heard him in my left
"So we are mad. Quite mad. You see, normally, we would have simply erased this universe, a little dust in the ever-expanding cosmos. But while they wanted that, I saw an opportunity. So dear President, let us make a deal. A deal that will benefit us both."
Strength flooded back into my body, and I finally opened my eyes. In front of me was a man... no... it was no man. It was something wearing the skin of a man. He wore a blue suit and carried a briefcase in his hand.
His face... it was unsettling: pale, unreadable, his eyes fixated on my, unnerving, dead eyes like a fish. Looking down, I saw my uniform was still soaked in blood, but my injuries had vanished. Touching myself I couldn’t anything wrong with my body. Opening my mouth,
I spoke. "How. Who... what did you do?" I said, my voice sharp with anger, sadness and other emotions I did knew I existed "The clock is ticking, dear President."
"My name is not necessary. What I did is nothing but the consequence of your actions. Besides, this deal would benefit you since we weren't the only ones to feel this... While you did manage to change something, it came with a cost. Something worse is coming... as we speak, they are already making moves. Pawns are advancing, and slowly, your precious king is being surrounded." he said, walking around me, disappearing and reappearing at a window. Something worse... no... he's lying. But if it is true Can sensei defeat them
"Make a choice. I see opportunity, but my employees are quite... in human terms, quite bold in their actions. You wanted to change fate... you tempted it, and now you must choose. Will Kivotos live or will it disappear... like dust in the wind? Now choose, my dear President... no... Now choose, dear Arona," he said, appearing in front of me, extending his arm with an unnatural stillness. Our surroundings stood still, it became a empty void.
"Now choose, will you let your little city become another one of the machinations in their never-ending expansion or will you become an obstacle in their way? We're not asking for full cooperation. We just need you to be a nuisance to them. Until the day comes and our chosen man awakes."
I looked at it, and after an eternity, I had to decide. Was I going to really shake his hand? Did I even have a choice?
Looking outside, I saw the remains of the Sanctum Tower I saw Tanks, Geneha
A cross sticking out of a building, trinity
Various flags of the academies
Their final stronghold, now a cemetery
Bodies
And a red ever-present sky
I made my choice
I'm sorry, Sensei. But it seems my choices and my actions were wrong again. Please forgive this 'adult,' Sensei.
Please forgive me, Rin.
Please... forgive me... my students.
I shook his hand and the world changed
Sanctum Tower, fifth floor
Seven day since disappearance of the GSC President
11 am
Walking through the halls of the tower was Nanagami Rin, an officer of the General Student Council, friend of Arona now now acting vice president while the current GSC president appears, her steps carry heavy weight. The situation was becoming worse by the minute, riots, looting. where intensified on the streets and with the recent escape of the worse prisoners Kivotos has ever had the situation worsened.
The Sanctum Tower, once a symbol of order, was engulfed in chaos. Since the disappearance of the General Student Council President, things had spiraled. Paperwork piled up and couldn’t be approved without the President’s signature. Worse, critical infrastructure was being shut down. At first they manage to deal with these problems by using the vast resources the GSC had at its disposal. But then the problems started to appear all over the city and their manpower was thin enough.
Luckily, they had managed to blame the malfunctions on the weather and local thugs. Next they started suppressing the local news, they were able to control the expected panic. But somehow, somebody had started a rumor on Momotalk. The GSC never interfered in social media since that would be a abuse of their power but the situation by now was critical, they need to quill the fire before it could ingulf the whole city so they deleted the post but unluckily it was reposted by another account. so after some debating they blocked the account and made sure to restrict any account that repost it, they made sure those students where not influencers or important figure at first since they wanted it let to have a quiet death.
But then another account would be made and post the rumor again, so it repeated itself,. Slowly it ramped up until it was a nightmare to manage it, soon it was being reposted everywhere, even normal citizens were reposting it and soon people were talking about it. By now important figure such as, The pandemonium society official account started to repost it and question the GSC main account in Momotalk, after that other Student Council main accounts started to repost it. Then students started to crowd the Sanctum tower to question us.
In the third day delinquents started to act, feeling bolder with her presumed disappearance, looting, destruction of property and thievery and other crimes were reported in the first hours. At first Valkyrie managed to contain them, but slowly their actions escalated and their weaponry too, prison breaks where reported and somehow they managed to get more powerful weapons, more higher caliber weaponry and some RPG, soon they started to stockpile weaponry by looting guns stores and some private company warehouses.
Then the full might of the Valkyries academy was unleashed. At first they managed to quell this chaos but the unthinkable happened. By the fourth day something worse happened the mast dangerous prisoners manage to escape, one of them Wakamo the fox of calamity started to Gatter delinquents under her banner, taking control of several streets and neighborhoods, putting them under chaos and looting, quickly they contacted the STR to help but those damn students refuse, that the GSC was overstepping on their power they said, that they only listened to the president. They deployed only in their local areas never lending hand.
Those arrogant fools, Rin knew the president should have putted restriction on them, their numbers where vast and they were fanatical loyal to the president. They even threatened a mutiny if the president was not found in the coming days. More infuriating somebody was also making rumors that the GSC was having a power struggle whiting itself, that the president was put out of action because of it. That left for some questioning from the academies, soon the GSC found itself in its own destruction. But the academies were having their own problems.
The border between Geneha and Trinity was already having several skirmishes, and some students were settling some grudges, last she heard one of the leaders, a girl called Mika was taking part in a raid. While in Geneha there was a struggle between its two factions to quell and to stop their students’ action on the border. In some cases students from these groups also clashed.
Milleniun was worse, its neutral status was well known but their leader insight did not help. They use the opportunity to deploy its own forces keeping at their territory, these were mostly drones, and some automatons she never saw before. Even the private corporations where at it the more prominent one being Kaiser with its PMC down the streets protecting stores and whole neighborhoods for a price.
Now it was the seven day, and things were worse. Explosions could be heard all around the city, and choppers and drones were flying constantly. In the lobby, representatives from academy clubs were already questioning the President’s disappearance and their authority. Already there were academies acting on their own and not answering any GSC orders of request. There where even some smaller academies taking some territory, to in their words “safeguard the citizens from the delinquents”. Little by little the GSC authority was wavering and if not stopped soon they could be shadowed of itself.
Looking at the paperwork in her hands, she frowned. Emergency protocols for the immediate use of emergency funds for the hiring of nearby PMC and security guards and for the emergency construction of security automatons in the thousands, and the official declaration of the SRT Academy’s closure, merging them with the Valkyrie Police School. These were extreme measures, but they had to be done. If the city was to survive, they would bear the burden of these choices, even if they earned the hatred of the entire student populace.
Getting close to her office, she felt a peculiar chill—a sense of wrongness. Picking up her pistol, she slowly looked around. The hall was empty, as everyone was providing support to the guards and available Valkyrie units tasked with securing the Sanctum Tower. Approaching her office, she hugged the wall, put the documents on the floor, and placed her now-free hand on the doorknob.
It was open.
She distinctly remembered that they always had to lock it when they left. Taking a deep breath, she made sure her pistol was loaded. Then, she kicked the door off its hinges and stormed into the room, pistol raised.
There was nobody there.
Holstering her pistol, she went to the floor, retrieved the documents, and placed them on her desk.
"The stress is getting to me," she murmured, rubbing her temples. "I really need some good, earned rest."
Looking at the documents on the desk, Rin just sighed. She was going to take a small nap. As soon as she was seated in her chair, her phone rang. Annoyed, she answered. It seems that the world did want her to rest.
“What?” she said angrily, her halo flashing red.
“Um... Officer Rin, your presence is needed in the lobby,” a meek voice said., it must be some of the staff that where left.
“Can’t it wait?” Rin said while getting up and looking outside, she could see explosions and smoke in the distance, she grimace.
“Um... no... it’s an emergency. And your attention is quickly needed” the voice insisted while in the background she could her some screaming.
“Alright... I’m going down.” Quickly, she hung up and started walking to the elevator. It slowly descended to the lobby. When it reached the lobby she walked out, looking around she saw that everybody was crowding around something…even the guards that where assign for lookout joined them, annoyed Rin when to scold them. As she got close to the group she started to get anxious, her brew became sweaty. As she got close she began to hear whispers.
“Is she breathing”
Who could have done this”
“She finally appeared”
“That’s…blood”
“The president”
That last one made her stomach drop
“No” she though as she quickened her pace, shoving anybody in her away earning some glares and yells but she ignored them…as she got close her hear started to beath faster…a mob of blue hair was all she can see
“NO, NO, NO,NO, NO, NO, NO” she whispered
Finally, she manages to get through the crowd…and it was she fear…right in the middle in a puddle of her own blood was her best friend… Arona. She was being attended by various Remedial knights and some Emergency Medicine club members, their hands bloody their faces pale but filled with determination
She was shaking, her knees felt weak, she wanted to faint, to vomit but she needed to be strong…for them for her. Soon a hand was put on her shoulder, looking to her right she looked at it was Kaya, her once always close eyes now open full of worry as she looks at her, she leaned close to her ear and whispered.
“Rin.. I knew it’s hard to see Arona like this, but we need you…the representatives are still waiting for you in a separated room…along with a new guest…he was who brought her here and he has a card for you, they are in room 04” she said as she gave me a quick grip on my shoulder, while she gave me a small smile, looking at the crow her face became serious.
“Alright everyone…go back to your places….we will make sure the president its taken care off, guards back to your post we don’t want to be attacked right now do we, communicators get me a lie directly to STR academy tell them to move their asses that their uncooperativeness but in danger the president and put me in contact with kaiser…where going to need more support.” She yelled making the crowd move quickly.
Wiping some tears from her eyes she walked to room, before entering it I cleaned my tears, fixed my uniform and opened the door. Inside there were the student councils’ representatives. Yuuka the representative from millennium, Chinatsu from Prefect team one of the two factions on Geneha, Hasumi from trinity and Suzumi from the vigilante crew a non-official club from what she heard.
All of them where quiet she was expecting some shouting of questioning, but form what she saw outside form the state of the president anybody could be shocked. Blood, something that was only seen in dire situation, happened in Kivotos, sure students fought but they always even delinquents made sure they only knocked themselves out, if somebody was buried on ruble or run down they made sure they were alright and put them in a safe place. Kivotos gunfights were normal, but they are never fetal. But it seems that for the first time they all, including her saw a person close to dying.
Coughing she spoke, my voice a little rough from the crying
“Estimated representatives thank you for coming and I hope your all fine, the president, being taken care off and with her reappearance things will become more to normal gain. Until she regains coconscious and gets better I will be in charge.” I said while looking at them
“Now, kaya told me there was somebody else here, a he,” I spoke
They all looked in a direction, following it I was left speechless. In the far corner to my left was a man, a human man, no dog or cat not robot, not even a demi-human but a human, like Yuuka. He wore a black bullet proof vest, it was quite thick, it even had a neck guard. Under it I saw he had a white shirt; he had cargo pants and some boots. Un his head he had a military cap. A pistol was hanging on his side. But more surprisingly that he had no halo, knowing this I quickly but the safety on my pistol and looked around to make sure he could be safe, even if we were in the tower I had to make sure.
He wasn’t alone, on his sides there stood two guards, they had distinctive white armor, larger neck guard, and unique helmet with eye-like domes. The weapons were unlike something she have seen, not even those expo Millenium did once a year she saw such weaponry. At first she thought they were automatons because of their stillness but if you look closely you could see their chest move.
Soon the man spoke taking me out of my trance
“Good evening…I presume your Rin, Arona spoke of you a lot” he said in a friendly manner. Getting up he walked to me his guards followed him.
“It is a honor to meet you Rin…now I know you have some questions, I to have mine but now the situation its outside your control. We need to contain the infection, cauterize the area and let Stabilization teams recapture these sectors.”
Cautarize, infection…these terms let me confuse, I wasn’t the only one, Chinatsu Yuuka and Hifumi looked at him strange only Suzumi looked at him serious.
“We must act now…later we can introduce ourselves. The future of kivotos..no…your daily life is at stake. So, I ask you dear representatives…Rin. Let us together save this city” he said extending his arm to me
After several minutes I grasped his arm. Later I can have some answers. Later iw ould know what happend to Arona.