Chapter 15: Mirror and Frozen Worlds [2]

[??? PoV]

Currently, on top of a skyscraper, somebody was observing many sides of the events transpiring around Tenguu City.

To say that how 'it' could do that was unknown to anybody but itself. Normally, 'it' wouldn't do such actions due to the restrictions 'it' placed on itself for the plans that 'it' had laid that have been going on for years to be monitored closely.

A very contradicting idea, which is a fact. Why bother putting up restrictions on itself? Isn't it kind of unreasonable considering that if 'it' didn't hold itself back, 'it' could technically do almost anything in this world! Yet, 'it' still threaded the hard way and bothered putting such unnecessary restrictions in the first place.

But everything has a limit. And one of those limits was broken due to the late interferences by that 'person'. So 'it' loosened its restrictions, even for a fraction as a sign of acknowledgment that that 'person' was giving.

So by letting such restrictions on itself loosen, 'it' succeeded in rerouting 'that person' to a mirror dimension.

"...."

Calling it a dimension would be a big stretch, but it serves the same purpose. Entrapping that person inside there would buy some time for 'him' to at least fulfill the first step towards 'his' goal.

Sealing Spirits was supposed to be 'his' original duty after all, not 'that person's' in the first place.

Even so, the time she had bought could be described as anything but short.

It would be only a matter of time before that 'person' breaks out of that small 'prison'.

Restrictions are still put up into place, and there was no plan on changing that up until the awaited moment when everything falls into place. As much as 'it' wants to directly make a move on that 'person' as soon as possible, revealing herself out in the open this early would be anything than detrimental.

A foolish choice?

Not really.

After all, those 'people' are observing here, much earlier than what 'it' expected. The ones who brought 'it' here into existence which led 'it' to meet the most special person of 'its' life, only to be robbed by the same people.

And surely, the cause of that was none other than that 'person'. That 'person' attracted those people here, which in the end limited the options available for 'it' for they might discover this special somebody—'him', and 'its' plans that are now bearing fruit slowly.

In the end, 'it' had been planned for around 3 decades already. 'It' wouldn't let the plan be ruined by the impatience 'it' was feeling on that 'person'. 'It' wouldn't after all repeat what happened back then, 'him' dying again was something that 'it' could never allow again.

Besides these, 'it' still has plenty of reasons in hand, and nonetheless, all of them lead to one conclusion in one way or another.

That's why 'it' only delayed that 'person'.

The time 'it' gave should be put to use.

And at this time, 'it' was sure that its little machinations would surely bear fruit for the long run.

"...."

Yes. This should surely work.

Besides, dealing with 'him' could be said as only a minor concern, unless drastic changes occur. Knowing that something else was more of a major concern—or threat, it couldn't be helped for 'it' to think so.

If anything, 'he'—Rei Ainsworth, was someone that doesn't make dangerous and unpredictable scenarios that would fail 'its' plan completely. At most, he would only delay the inevitable. That's why 'it' only weighs him as nothing but a second compared to the true threat to her plans.

Yes, for example, a gigantic pillar of flesh with rings of eyes that could bend the laws of reality that could likely rival 'it' would be a definition of a true threat.

With that, 'it' turned its back and vanished at a moment's notice. There's more work to be done.

At least here, however, everything is according to plan.

——

[Rei PoV]

"...[Spirit]"

Rei's voice couldn't be denied being described as shocked.

What are Spirits in this world specifically?

In specific terms, they are special life forms designated as especially disastrous, existing in the Neighboring World. Both their origin and existence reason is unclear. Whenever they would appear in this world, they trigger Spacequakes, causing great damage to the nearby area.

Spirits are extraordinary beings from different dimensions. Through their own will or not, it is unknown, but each time they come through to this world, they create a spacequake that is similar to a bomb explosion that destroys everything that it engulfs.

Each Spirit is unique in personality, power, and knowledge of the world...yet, this one before him has nothing like a personality whatsoever.

"No, you are different..." Rei mumbled on his own, observing the Spirit keenly once more as it started preparing its next assault.

Rei then remembered.

There was something wrong.

These Spirits aren't those that he usually knows. To point out a few things that would make them different from those that he normally knew, it was the fact that they seemed like mindless beasts attacking instinct added to the malicious auras surrounding them.

A Spirit with an unfiltered Qlipha Crystal.

That's what they have.

And this monochromatic world is like a mirror dimension that contains them...either created by 'her', or something entirely different.

That's why he couldn't understand why such a thing is existing right before him. Rei knows that he has caused enough change to what this world should be. He is a meddler that only disrupted things for his benefit.

Still, what he did wasn't enough to warrant absurd divergences and happenings such as this [Spirit].

Then it clicked in his mind.

Rei missed something.

'Where are those two...'

Those two are the associates of Chaldea, those who were like him who were not supposed to be in this world if not for some outside interferences or circumstances, but have a more direct goal and purpose.

It is to resolve something akin to a pseudo-singularity which doesn't make sense at all considering this world as it was. There were no Heroic Spirits, Holy Grails, and Demon God Pillars!

...or so he concluded. That's why they were stranded here for so long, they couldn't figure out what was the missing piece to the puzzle as to what they should fix here. And to be fair, he hasn't heard any news or contacts about these two lately.

But before thinking deeper about that subject, he had to deal with the problem right before him first.

"...you are probably the key to getting me out of this mirror dimension, aren't you?" Rei said, in speculation formed by every available information he had in his head.

As expected, the Spirit didn't answer. Instead, it made a barrage of condensed ice spikes come for him.

Swatting his fingers, the [Space] distorted and destroyed the incoming projectiles. At the next second, he already made his move.

He tried to direct his attack now to the Spirit, bending [Space] at point-blank range to easily rip the enemy off to shreds. A simple, yet deadly efficient way to finish the fight.

That is what should've been the sealing move to end this quickly once and for all.

However, that didn't happen.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH—!"

Before he could make a clean strike, a dreadful shriek, or more likely a deathly shockwave was shot at him from a distance.

Rei quickly warped away with a gate within that split second in reflex. The aftereffects still lingered as his head became dizzy with the sound even though he was indirectly hit.

There, he saw another Spirit clad in gray robes with a distinctive blindfold that covers its eyes.

"Another one?"

Rei blinked on the spot but quickly composed himself as he then located where his previous target was. And there he saw the Spirit with his own eyes.

Rei saw that he did 'destroy' the Spirit—incompletely that is. He wondered if the Astral Dress of that Spirit reduced the supposed damage he should've dealt which isn't weak at all.

Nearly the Spirit's left side of the body was obliterated—which was supposed to be the whole body in the first place for Rei had aimed that attack at its chest.

Yet the Spirit stands. It's as if losing a limb was nothing more like cutting a piece of excess to its body, but remaining nearly functional in the end.

And that wasn't the end of it.

"There's more...?" It only took a few seconds for him to realize that many of the said Spirits were popping one after another across all directions surrounding him.

"Ridiculous... such weird things happening one after another," he grumbled. "I have no time for this!"

That's right, Rei needs to get out of here fast, he thought as he grit his teeth. He knows Tohka and Tenka were waiting and would probably have something happening as well from where they are considering the place where he supposedly opened his Gate.

Rei believes that Tohka and Tenka together can handle their respective situations on the other side though. That's a sign of trust in their capabilities and as individuals that has a special place in his heart and mind.

That's why first and foremost, getting out here was the priority.

Breathing in... breathing out.

Rei closed his eyes for a second.

That second however was something that he needed to settle things down as he jotted everything necessary and available to take the horde of Spirits down.

And so he made his next move.

"Come, <Raguel>..."

Particles of light soon began to engulf his body which then began to burst into purple flames gradually forming a new form of Astral Dress around his body.

This time it was an 'incomplete'—no, optimized Astral Dress just like before. Similar to the one he donned when he fought Tenka weeks ago.

However, before he could reach completion, the Spirits began to unleash an onslaught of attacks ranging from fire blasts, frost spikes, sonic waves, and rays of light.

But that didn't stop Rei as he put up his barrier and hovered around the air to avoid the incoming attacks or block them by manipulating space itself. If anything, what his enemies are thinking right now was to possibly delay what he was doing.

It came as an instinct to the Spirits. Destroy or be destroyed. And of course, the answer was obvious.

After all the interruptions coming back and front of him, Rei didn't let go of his composure as he focused on what he was currently preparing.

"...[Alternative]..."

Instinctively letting out those words from his mouth, the space around him trembled. If only he could rip and open a Gate and get out of here immediately.

But nothing is always that easy, is it? Such a thing wasn't an available option to use for he tried it already and failed. In short, he was trapped here, but only temporarily in his speculation.

"...The Fifth Degree; <Virtues>"

The flames then slowly morphed as it modified the Astral Dress as revealed its new form.

There wasn't much different from what his Astral Dress looked like. The obsidian-colored armor added themes of purple and gold were still there and the three pairs of metallic wings as well present compared to the optimization that he made back then.

However, this time his 'sword' disappeared from his grasp. Rei, instinctively knew that it was part of the results of the optimization he did.

"Oh <Lances of Judgement>, manifest and smite thy enemies!" Rei declared instinctively, as he raised his hands in the air.

'Lances' that resembled what his pillar-like blasters looked like began to appear out of thin air. Within just a few seconds, the 'lances' that were continuously increasing in number spread outnumbering to several dozens.

Suddenly his body stiffened.

'[<F4@gm3ñ5 9f Çhā9ß: -#:2:@@((22@8$!3]'

It was that again.

Encrypted words which sounded none other than a mess echoed throughout his mind. The contents of the words it conveyed were indecipherable and it brought his thought process a pause.

This was the second time.

Mulling over this for so long wasn't something that he should do now though. His enemies won't wait for such things to be finished. This isn't like those anime whatsoever where the villain waits for the protagonist to finish his inner monologue.

Rei opened a gate now directing to give him the upper ground—well, he was in the air in the first place so that statement couldn't be anything but a joke, but his point still stands.

Rei was several meters above the sky between his enemies. Rei swiftly counted every target in his sights. Finishing that, the 'lances' that numbered dozens were now aimed below.

And so he commanded.

"<Raguel>: [Retribution]"

————

[<Fragment of Chaos>: Fragment No. 969, [Mimic]-{Foundation}]

....

[<Fragment of Chaos>: Partial Breakthrough has been successful]

....

[<Fragment of Chaos>: <Quasi-Chaos Element>—{Sephira Crystal} and <Quasi-Chaos Element>—{Qlipha Crystal} has been detected! Commencing [Resonance] on both targets]

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[<Fragment of Chaos>: <Quasi-Chaos Element>—{Sephira Crystal} and <Quasi-Chaos Element>—{Qlipha Crystal} connection is unstable]

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[<Fragment of Chaos>: [Search]— Alternative Ways...]

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[<Fragment of Chaos>: [Search]—Alternative Ways have been found!]

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[<Fragment of Chaos>: [Resonance] has been implemented on <Anchor 1> and <Anchor 2>]

....

....

....

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[<Fragment of Chaos>: [Resonance] on <Anchor 1> and <Anchor 2> has been successful!]

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[<Fragment of Chaos>: [Resonance] successful! Speeding up attributes for unlocking [Authority] and [Divinity] extraction]

.....

[<Fragment of Chaos>: Authority—1st Seal Unlocking in progress; 15.1% complete]

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[<Fragment of Chaos>: [Divinity] extraction in progress; 29.1% complete]

.....

.....

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[<Fragment of Chaos>: Interference shall be postponed until the Host's next breakthrough]

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[A/N: Hello guys, it's me again with the sporadic update as usual. Maybe some of ya forgot this already about the Fragment of Chaos thing which information is still in the dark for Rei himself, though some bits of it were revealed already.

To be honest, I am having a happy time writing this fic so far. This hobby brought me good times and such and now I am having problems continuing the story.

That's right. I am having writer's block and the fact that the normal life and stuff before the pandemic are slowly coming back which means IRL responsibilities are in order, hence giving reason to the very late and even shorter chapters of late.

Let's say the story has many tangled stuff all over here and there. As time passes, I realized that this story is subpar at best. Added the complications such as the power scaling of our OC—Rei here, his backgrounds, Chaldea's reasons, and the should-be changes in the plot because of his interference and the interactions.

Also, don't worry. I will put this on a hiatus (probably) after finishing Kurumi's arc which should be next of this arc so that I could take a break. It's just, the only way to fix all this tangled mess was a rewrite which I fear that would lead this story to be dropped completely either due to the lack of motivation or something else.

Now now, I know some of you are thinking I am dropping this already. And no, I won't, at least not until I finish Kurumi's arc which is next after this.

Anyways, this note is already long as it is. Imma end this here. With that said guys, see ya in the next update. Ciao~]