3 3

'Soul, Shine.'

At my mantra, my system came to life, flooding with suppressed magic. A Magic System I created, used only by me. It blended elements of every fantasy book, anime, and movie that I'd ever seen, and quite a bit that I invented myself. All brought to life through the utterly broken system of Devils. I called my system The Dream, and its' practitioners the Dreamers. The best part about it, was that without the active influence of Gaia, I could hold the same spell for four seconds or forty years for the exact same cost.

So, with six trains of thought, all going at a thousand times normal speed, I was well on my way to finding the best course of action.

'…Now, if only I had a decent mana pool…'

Damn, there go 95% of my plans, right off the top.

Maybe I could do something with my new Power of Destruction?

'I'm going to be a Control Freak assassin-mage. So… what would be a compatible use? I don't have time for scalpels like Kabuto, or stored power like Tsunade. So… Chakra strings? I mean, Chakra in the Naruto-verse can be used to create so many Chakra strings that Sasori could use an entire army of human puppets, right?'

In one hand I created a Chakra string. It took minimal effort, as I had gone through a brief chuuni stage and had used Denial of Nothingness paired with countless Chakra strings to re-enact the entire Akatsuki arc. I got bored doing my grade-school level math, so sue me.

Now came the hard part. I created a thin tendril with a minor application of Power of Destruction. It quickly dispersed about a foot away from my body. I frowned, putting three of my Partitions into discovering exactly what limits my new Power had, and one into understanding how my father had used the Power as a long-range attack. The rest of me was thinking of how to get to Shirone.

'If this were my first life, I'd look for a map to discover where the territory is.' I paused. 'Upon further reflection, that's a terrible idea. Why on earth did I think it was a good idea to divide my intelligence by six?' I sighed, before deciding to do something arguably stupid.

))I know Nothing.((

Now, I know what you're thinking. Millicas, why on God's-ow, crap-green earth did you invoke part of an unknown Reality Marble. Well, my friend, that has a rather simple answer. I've already used this function once before, when I first entered this world. I'm just re-forging the connection.

'Where is the Nekoshou named Shirone?'

And something in the depths of my soul stirred, woken by my question.

Ş̵̖̞̭͎̮̯̳͍̫̌ͩ̽ͨͭ͝h̜̱̼͉̬͆͌ͦ͘͠e̴͆͛҉͕̮͍ ̵̧̩̖̗̗̎ͩi̸̶̩̎͗͆̍͢s̵̵̱͌ͪ ̸͉͇̌̑͒̍̀ͣ́͟ ̷̴̯̦͖̳͉̎̈́ͣ̒̆̚ ̸̼̟̠͙̹̒̇̔̿͂̒ͭ͐ ̣̝̫̲̠͈ͥ͋̀͗ ̜̹͎͙͍̤̰͈́ͥ̕ ̟͚̜̦͚̱ͯ́̽̅ͨͥ͟ ̻̖̍̈́ͭͭͩ͋ ̢̩̤͎̳̹̯̐̎̓̇ͯ̚͜͜ ̨͕͉̟̫̟͐̈́͡͠ ͒̀͛ͩ͋҉͓͇͓̦ ̴͎̼͋ͦ̍̍̉ͨ̕ ̝̳͔̪͙̞̼̤̃ ̶̘̠̩̹̺͈͓̻̄̋̑̂ͩ̉̌ͬͪ̀ ̸̨̼̳̲͕̰͇͈̤̦̄ͧ̃ ͔̘͖̾ ̢͇͈̦̙͉̲̗̃͋̑͢ ͇̖͖̟̩̰̘̤̅̃́ͭ̊̕ ̴̀̄͆ͬ̋ͫ̿ͩ͐҉͓̟ ̻̼͐̓͒̄ͧ̕ ̟̦ͨ́̇ ̨̼̠̗̻̯̃̊̾ ̭͍͓̘̰̯̜̯̗̔̏́̕ ̮̙̣͍ͩ͛͑̉ͩ̊̎̕

I sighed, not actually expecting a complete answer. It was worth a try, though.

An idea struck. I sighed again, gathered my power, and extended my senses. I could feel the world around me moving at 1/1000 the rate, from a fallen leaf to a moth fluttering towards a bare bulb. I closed my eyes, pushing aside my memories of the 'before' and 'after' events, in favor of the 'during'. Once more, I floated in the cosmos, looking into all that is or could be, seeing the Balance of the Void and the Reality. This time, however, I looked to creation, all of the brilliant lights and sounds aṅ̥̩̫̹̫̤̺ͧͤ͟d͒̑͏̣͓̙̻͓̪ͅ c͈͍͓̺͆o̸̤ͣͧͪͣ̈l̢͚̮̠̙̫̲̟͐͆oŗ̦̫͕̭̲̭̏͌s̗͓̩͇̓ͮ…

My mind reeled at the memory of that time, marveling all of its' terrible beauty and tragedy. Even if it was just a memory, my Marble seems to have preserved it perfectly. I had discovered this as an infant, looking for a way to block out my parents'… enthusiasm… in the bed beside my crib. I am many things; a voyeur is not one of them.

I closed my 'eyes' to everything but the lights, ignoring all else. And then, when I understood how to see them, I returned to reality. Lights danced around me, from the smallest spider to my father's enormous red corona.

'Now, show me.'

Suddenly, a bright flare caught my attention. I turned, staring as one light began outshining the billions of others. My Marble once more became inactive. I ignored it, focusing on the brighter light.

Terrorterrorterrorterror runrunrunrun

A glimpse of a forest, something was chasing, had to run…

I jerked back, grimacing. Well, it certainly fit. I began weaving together the structure for one of my custom circles, ))Gates((, being sure to keep it off of the ground, so as to leave no trace.

I checked in with my Partitions, trying to see how far they'd gotten with studying the calculations for Power of Destruction. They seemed to have realized that the Power had to be constantly moving, unlike Chakra. Furthermore, I had to be in constant contact with it, otherwise it would destabilize immediately. I would have to create a long, thin strand and fold it, creating a stable loop. I mentally grimaced. That… would be incredibly wasteful. I was effectively doubling the cost of a strand every time I used it. Maybe when I was older and had more mana. The most I could make now would be a few strands, and I wouldn't be able to make them go very far. As I pondered the issue, my fourth Partition alerted me to a new discovery. Apparently, there was a telekinetic aspect hidden in the spell's matrix. As long as some part of me, including my mind, was in contact with it, it would remain completely stable. No matter what happened to it.

My grin once again reached shit-eating proportions. Each Memory Partition, when paired with maximum Thought Acceleration, could control well over a hundred 'wires' each.

I made certain to plug in my Marble, as it had the curious effect of making whatever spell I run through it harm only what I want it to. I could launch a fireball and hit a tree, yet only that tree would ever be harmed by my flames. All other trees would be untouched.

I saved the new Dream, or spell configuration, to my Marble.

'I am soooo calling this thing Nightmare.'

What? I did warn you of my chuuni tendencies.

Anyway, I pulled a bit of magic around myself, cloaking myself in a familiar, power level-specific illusion to make myself look older. Wouldn't do to have Shirone get scared of little ol' me. With my Ultimate Otaku Teacher disguise in place, and as many buffs as my mind could handle, I walked through the Gate.

Directly into the path of a fireball spell.

'Fuck my life.'

Now, I know what you're thinking. If you have access to limitless magic through Sorcery, then why don't you use it?

Answer: I can't. Not without completely destroying my Magic Circuits. Imagine focusing the entire ocean through a keyhole—the water will inevitably destroy the door, rather than slowly trickling through. Small problem, I'm the door in that metaphor. Even in Fate Kaleid, they had to use Kaliedosticks to limit their power intakes.

As such, I have to find an alternate solution. I tend to use Denial of Nothingness to create objects already full of mana. And when you can create infinite diamonds the size of ostrich eggs that are full to the brim with mana, the energy conversion ratio really isn't a problem.

The limit to Jewelcraft, as proven by the Tohsaka family magecraft, is that you can only set a jewel to cast one spell at one trigger, kind of like programming.

Hence why I had taken to sewing small jewels filled with enough energy to level a city into the seams of my favorite clothes.

Add The Dream in to the mix, and you've got the recipe for extremely complex Jewelcraft formations.

I've never crash-tested the formation in my current set of clothes, but there's no time like the present.

I didn't know where Shirone was, so I quickly checked the location of her silver Lifelight. I glimpsed it out of the corner of my eye, along the path the fireball would've been if I hadn't stepped in the way.

))Vector Redirection.((

Accelerator, eat your heart out.

Since Shirone was to my left, I Redirected the fireball to the right, back the way it came. Judging by the screams , I'm pretty sure I hit something.

'Whelp, there goes my one protection spell. I don't exactly have the time to replace the Jewels in the middle of the battlefield. As great as Denial of Nothingness is, it's permanent. If these jewels were Traced, I could dispel and replace them in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, I don't have the power pool to support my attempt at Tracing. I… did not think this through. Screw my Distortion, I want my common sense back!'

I whirled, looking for Shirone. With any luck, we could escape while the attackers were still on fire. 'There!' I made a dash for the terrified girl, grabbing her hand and running into the trees behind her. I blurred her into my illusion, masking our presence as best as I could. She stumbled along behind me, trying to keep up as best as she could.

'All right, so I just found her. Now I need to keep her alive. Come on, think! What can I do? With my current mana, I could support this illusion for fifteen minutes, tops. Less if I'm forced to do something flashy. If we're cornered, I can use Nightmare to kill them, but that would drain my pool ridiculously fast.

I'd have to stay still for a bit in order to cast Gate, and they're likely hot on our tail. I don't have the know-how to extinguish our Magic Signatures, else we could pull it off easily. I suppose I could send up a 'distress flare' for my father, but he would know it was me. As a last resort, I could make a football-shaped diamond, stuff it full of mana. and rig the power to go boom. I don't know how far I can throw it, so we might get caught in the explosion. Our only other choice is to run for home.'

I slowed, turning to the five-year-old beside me as she caught up to me. "Have you ever seen a giant red mansion around here?"

She nodded gasping for breath. Her cat ears -squee~- were swiveling, twitching at the slightest sound. She pointed a few degrees to the left of where I had been running. 'I'd better let her lead, I'd probably end up going in circles.'

I took a moment to envy her sense of direction, before gesturing with my free hand to let her go first. She nodded, changing course and moving ahead of me. I noticed that she still hadn't let go of my hand, however. We continued to run for a time, but thankfully my illusion seems to have worked. While we ran, I brainstormed ideas.

'Reinforcement? No, I'd outrun Shirone. Laser array? No, takes too long to set up, and there are too many ways it could go wrong. Reality Marble? I only know three lines in the aria, and they could do just about anything. Last time I used them, I couldn't see any real effect, and my Marble refused to work for months afterwards.'

I sighed. This wasn't getting anywhere. I glanced over at Shirone. "Hey, you, do you mind if I try something? It might help."

Now that we had some distance between us and the attackers, she seemed a whole lot calmer. She considered my words for a second, then responds, speaking for the first time. "As long as you keep running."

I nod, not that she can see me, and close my eyes in concentration.

"))I know Nothing.(("

I spoke clearly, and my Marble stirred to life.

"))Yet, understand Everything.(("

̪̣̺̣̗͙̦̔̎ͯ͗͒̋̑͜ͅ

W̜̜͚̫͉̯̗̄̄̌ͥ̀ͬ̕͜ḣ̥̪̦̭̼̻͈͙̜͘Y̫̼͙̿̕ ͈̝̙͓̼ͨͤ̋H̛̻̬̆̽͑̈́ͭ͗̑ͬ̀a̵̸̡̹͉̟͔͍ͧ͑̓ͨ̈̉ͤV̛̹͈̟̙͇̘̣̈́͑̌̅͊̌̕E̚͘͏̷̞̝̤̥̬͈̖̳ͅ ̢͓̘̍̅̅̄̕yͪ̓ͤ́́ͪ̅͋͏̯̤͉̮̹̫̪̀ͅo̓̈́̍ͨ̌̇̾̚҉͏͇̜͔͉̝̲̪͝ͅƯ̰̤͓̮̰̤̩̏̃ͨͨͫͬ̇̾ ̢͉̤̫͍̱̆͆̔̒͐͋̌͟C̰̥͚̓͑̾̀͞͞Ạ̞̭̙̳̎ͧ̀̚͟l̙͓͎̹ͪͤ̐̉l̨͕̝̭̅̍̓̓̀e̥͚̺͕͕͔͐̄͛̇͊ͪͥ͜D͂҉̷҉̱͉̳ ͎͍̗̤͎͓̯̝̳͛ͭ͌̏̉͡Û͇͎̙̲̒̒s̱̯͚̘̭̜͊̓͞?̻̤͕̙̼̫̲̩͈ͦ̆͛̓͛̎̾

̪̣̺̣̗͙̦̔̎ͯ͗͒̋̑͜ͅ

In response, I looked at Shirone. 'To protect her.'

At my words, my Marble seemed… satisfied.

V̤͕̖̣͓̱ͥ͂͠eͭ͏̵̰͖̬̜̖̟͎ȓ̸͔͈̬ͥ̾́́Ŷ̸͚̭̙͐ͨͧͪ͝ ̼̞͍̜ͭ̃ͩ͌̍W̛̙̳͍̤͕͌͞E̻̼̠̓͒̇͗̐͟͠ͅl͍̼̪͈̟͚̻̟ͭ͋̀͜l̯̭̗̱̰͚̰̄ͫ̇͐̽ͪ.̰̠̘͕̺̫̟͎̖͗̄̌ͧ́ͩ͑

͉͔ͧ̌̚͜

W̸̺̗̳̩͛̓ͥ͒̉̂͡ę̸͛̄ͬ͛̾ͥͯ҉̜̜͖̭̱ ̫̗͇̞̹̮̱̈́̏́̾̂́͘ͅW̠̖̠͚̦̗̬͉̮ͪͥ̌ͮ̋͋i̢̧̱͓͉̥̖̮̱͕ͣͦ́̇̌͊̚Ḷ̢̗̹̽͐̓̐̑̄̚͠͠Ļͦ͆̔̌҉͓̭̣̭̤̟ ̳̻̰͚ͥ̐F̵̧͖̱͇̩̼̤̱͆̍̈̓̇͛͜ị̶̭͈͇̣̪̬͌̈̆̀ͫ̓͌͆ͅG̸̱͍̗̖̟̣͚ͭͯ͌̓ͯ̏̈̈̚͡ͅh̸̰͍̱̭̻͇̲̬͑͑̅ͩͯ̎̆̄T̩͍͒̔̃ͣͮ̅̆͜.̢̣͖͕̙̤͉̥͌̃͂̎͌̌ͭ͞

The next line floated into my mind, unbidden.

"))And so, I shall chase the Dream.(("

The girl in front of me stumbled, seeming surprised by something. I ignored her odd reaction. She probably just sensed the World shifting through her Senjutsu, or something. I checked my mana pool, and cast a small fire spell. Nothing seemed to be any different. I released my hold on my illusion spell and most of my mental buffs, knowing that I couldn't hold them for much longer.

'Emiya always got a bonus on his Tracing, but he was a specialist. I don't have the faintest clue what mine does. Fortunately, even though three lines of aria is a bit of a mana dump, it can last indefinitely without Gaia's influence.'

We passed through a copse of trees… and then I saw them. A cluster of Lifelights up ahead. 'No wonder we didn't have anyone chasing us, they're launching an ambush!' I sighed heavily. 'Plan B it is, then.'

The bird draws back its' head to sharpen its' beak on the mountain…

'Soul, Shine.'

The spark that ensued shone through the entire mountain of diamond, setting it aglow in the night.

I began the dangerous task of creating as many Nerve Circuits as I could. The agonizing feeling of having a red-hot rod of iron shoved up my spine caused me to release an involuntary whine. I created as many as I could bear, my vision turning white with pain. I stumbled along after Shirone, my already terrible footing made worse by the pain. Shirone stopped, turning to me in concern, but I waved her off. "Stay here," I told her. "I'll be back in a bit."

I held out an egg-sized garnet, my prototype SEP Field. I considered it a failure, because it only worked when the user didn't move. However, I refused to get rid of it, because everything is useful for something.

This particular piece had been painstakingly inlaid with a cluster of small diamonds. These diamonds contained a heavily modified teleportation spell that was keyed to my room. Upon activation, it would siphon a small amount of mana from the user to power a completely invisible Natural Energy absorption array. After the spell was fully powered, it would activate. I had intended for it to be a prototype for use on injured or exhausted comrades, when there wasn't enough time to get them to safety.

But even if it was a prototype, it had been tested thoroughly. Otherwise it would've never left my room. "This should keep you unnoticed, just feed it mana to activate it. If a red-haired man named Sirzechs comes by, give him the garnet and tell him that The Red Man gave it to you. Just remember to STAY STILL while you wait."

She looked like she was about to protest, but I cut her off. "They're waiting up there, armed to fight a high-ranked mage. I used an illusion spell when I first appeared, so they don't know that there is no high-class mage, just me. Worst-case, I can continue the illusion while I slip away."

She frowned, but thankfully didn't argue. "Are you sure you'll survive?"

I nodded. She took the garnet, and I ceased being able to focus on her. I turned away. 'She seemed… unusually attached to me, for someone she just met.' Shaking off unnecessary thoughts, I stepped forward. 'If I fall, they'll sense Shirone immediately.' I grimaced, bracing myself. When this was all finished, I probably wouldn't be able to use magic for weeks.

Once again, I slipped back to that time, where the Void and Creation contrasted perfectly. Nothing and something, two sides of the same coin. My vision of perfect Eternity. My Dream.

'DENIAL OF NOTHINGNESS'

Out of nothing, I created something.

A miracle of the universe, unable to be replicated by science.

A Sorcery.

I didn't need to reach for my Marble, it was already there, helping me along.

I filled my all of circuits to bursting, even my Nerve Circuits. When I could hold no more, I forcefully disconnected from the Dream. I poured my magic into a creating a more powerful form, Reinforcing it to the limit.

))Avatar.((

My newer, larger form exploded into movement, the ground buckling beneath the force of its' first steps. The spell was an empty shell, negating damage in exchange for an equivalent amount of mana. It was one of my three World-Class Dreams, based on my ideal of a True Dreamer. I created an Imaginary Axis to shift my body to, and forged an Avatar for myself to pilot. So long as I had the necessary magic to sustain it, I could theoretically keep it up indefinitely. I had taken inspiration from Susano'o in that regard. Unfortunately, like Susano'o, it drank up a ridiculous amount of power to use. Even this short use, especially with Reinforcement and mental buffs should put a sizable dent… in my… reserves…

Or not, actually. For some reason, I was running on a mostly full tank. It seemed that the drain was less than an eighth of what it was supposed to be.

'I'm just not going to think about that, right now. Leave it for when I'm not going to die. For now, though, I might as well go for broke.'

))Nightmare((

Opening all six Partitions, setting five of them to work on the individual threads, I continued driving my Avatar forward. I took note of the fourteen lights' individual locations, and moved up behind the brightest light. It took less than a second. With a single, atom-thin thread to the neck, and his head was no longer a part of his body. In the short time it took for the head to fall from his shoulders, my Avatar had dismembered two weaker lights and was headed to a third. Before anyone had reacted, I had downed a good third of what I now realized was a Peerage.

I had taken down five )Pawns( and a )Bishop(, when I was blindsided by a )Rook(. He, quite literally, hit with the force of a runaway train. My Avatar crashed through several dozen trees before stopping himself. 'On one hand, ow. On the other, it's nothing compared to creating Nerve Circuits.' I quickly checked the damage. 'Yippee for Reinforcement, that sheared off a good 75% of the damage!'

A third of my mana now depleted, I grimaced. This had to end, fast. Then, my thoughts caught up. 'Wait… I only noticed fourteen lights. Where are the other two? We were the only ones for quite some ways.' Then it hit me. 'Two missing. A )Bishop(, and a )King(. No wonder they're out for blood, this was Kuroka's peerage!'

I weighed my options. On one hand, getting the hell out of dodge was starting to sound really, really good. I had only managed to off the few I did due to shock factor. On the other, Shirone was probably still only a few hundred feet away, and the teleport array still had to charge.

I decided to try for one of the tricks I had up my sleeves. Dropping my Avatar, I formed two ))Shadow Clone(( variants and cast ))Illusion(( again to hide both me and my Shadow Clone companion. Unfortunately, it seemed that both techniques were still at full cost, but I didn't care too much at that moment. I needed a one-hit knockout, no matter the cost. I set four of my now-unused Partitions to keep the Illusion/Clone combo active, in order to free myself up for my next task.

I closed my eyes and concentrated, checking my surroundings with Life Sense, relying on the trees to give me a general idea of what I had to work with. I couldn't do it for long without passing out, but it was enough.

According to my brief glimpse, we were in a two-mile-deep, ten-mile-wide crater in the ground. The town Shirone had fled from was a-ways away from the edge, so I didn't have to worry about them.

Perfect.

My clone seemed to realize the same, and began gathering Nature Chakra.

Besides Avatar, the other two World-Class Dreams were not only power-drinkers, but also took up quite a bit of time to pull off. I actually had to use arias for them, which spoke volumes about the control necessary to utilize them. The one I planned to use needed a thirteen-line aria paired with absolutely perfect control of several separate energies to even think of using it. Not to mention, even with the apparent reduction of cost my Reality Marble suddenly provided, this would leave me just above the amount of energy I needed to Gate home. Fortunately, if my calculations were correct, by the time I reached line seven, Shirone would be out of danger.

With this in mind, I set my fourth Partition to program my escape Gate on a blank gem. After a quick check on my other Partitions to ensure my enemies would be busy, I stretched out my hand, and began.

"))It all began in water.(("

An explosion shook the ground. I ignored it, delegating my last free Partition to helping me react to the situation. One of my Partitions helpfully informed me that the )Queen( of the Peerage had taken exception to my FEAR* tactics. She was now carpet-bombing the area around the illusion, while the clone hid.

"))It all returns to the water.(("

I shivered slightly. If even one of those explosions had been used on me, I would be down for the count.

"))In other words, water is life, and yet death.(("

'I am so glad I have Memory Partitions for this shit.'

"))The mother that bears us, and a devouring serpent.(("

'Without them, I would already have botched the spell.'

"))All things are in flux, and not even time can go against the current.(("

I began to wonder why I had to kill these people.

"))Like a boat tossed about on a great river, in the end it, too, is merely devoured.(("

A terrifyingly close explosion quickly reminded me. 'They would kill both me and Shirone in a heartbeat.'

"))Ah, cruel, uncertain providence.(("

I felt a brief flash of power, and smiled. At least that plan had worked. I didn't want to have to shove a World-Class spell through my marble when it was already halfway finished. Not only would that likely damage the spell matrix, I had no idea what having spoken three lines of my Reality Marble would do to the effects.

"))But that cruelty and uncertainty have already forgotten.(("

'For the rest of the spell, I'm going to need a lot more effort.'

"))The face of their most beloved mother.(("

I ceased paying attention to my surroundings, instead focusing on keeping my masterpiece in line.

"))I will become a dragon, opening my mouth, and devouring billions of lands.(("

My clone popped, sending me the raw Nature Chakra. I separated it in two, before feeding half slowly into the spell matrix.

"))An eternal void, never filling.((''

The other half, I converted to water-natured Chakra and used it to create a shell around my lovely art.

''))An eternal pleasure, never satiated.((''

I put the finishing touches on my spell's matrix, before collapsing it down into the shell and blending the two Chakras.

''))You must change, all things, and return to my maw.((''

I gave a final apology to the forest, before popping my Shadow Clone. I needed a minimum of five Partitions working in tandem to complete the spell.

"))LEVIATHAN((!"

I struck the ground, releasing my masterpiece and shattering the earth beneath my fist. Pure water exploded out of the place I struck, flowing endlessly around me. With barely a drop of mana left in me, I willed the waters to bring me to the surface.

Leviathan, also known as 'the waters that end all magic', is my only terrain-changing Dream. Leviathan is a spell that summons a magical sea that devours everything hostile to user, with the user being able to manipulate the water freely. Being made of Water Chakra, the sea will never go away after the spell is used.

While I had only ever practiced it in Mirror Worlds, I was still experienced enough with it to able to calculate the exact volume needed to fill the crater in less than a second. 'Gotta love Thought Acceleration.'

When the new sea eventually calmed, I gazed down into its' depths, noting all of the remaining Lifelights. After casually crushing the remaining enemies, I willed the sea to move all of the tiny lights, the animals, to somewhere safe. The sea moved at my command, spiriting them safely to the shore. Finally, I looked down to the submerged trees, using the sea as a focus for judicious use of ))Structural Grasp((. 'I wonder… could it be possible?'

̪̣̺̣̗͙̦̔̎ͯ͗͒̋̑͜ͅ

I̬̤̼͉̾ͬ̔̓̍͆͆ͪf͓̯̩̮̘̼̰̱͆̃͐ͦ̔͌̃ͣ ͚̣̻̔̈́ͭ̌͒͂Ṯ͎̭̱̫̘̩̳͚̇ͥͮͪ͗̇ḫ̠̻͇̗̤͈͉͍̈́͋A̜̰̤̤͍ͫ̈́t̺̪͕̿ͣ̃̿̍ͩ̓ ̱͎̖ͬ͂̂ͪi̳̗̲̗ͩ́ͬs̞̖̫͕̟͖̞̑̎̐̀̆͒͒ ̠̙̻̣͙̦͔̋̉̔̎͑W̰͖̙͇͈̯̍̈͂̑̉̈H̙͚̜͍̺̱̫͓ͣ͑ͧͣ̐͂̓̚a͇͈̰̼͙̭̭ͪ̑͆͆ͪT͔̻͉̯͈̹̉̾ ͉͙̤̝̦̣̼͇͆̂̉ͫ̅ͮͫ̓Y͓͇̭̘͎͐ͨ͆̃ͅo͙ͣ̏ͯu̘͉̤͔̣̯̜͉͛ͫ̀ ̟͍̣ͧ̀̃ͨ́̂͂̽̅Ẁ̭̻̑i͉̰̲̓S̺͇̩̉̒̅͛ͩ͆Ĥ͕̺̭̜̥̫̫ͧ́̽̑.̭̹͚̟̞̞͓ͫ̃̔͒ͅ

̪̣̺̣̗͙̦̔̎ͯ͗͒̋̑͜ͅ

'Wait, why would you help me? What do you care?'

̪̣̺̣̗͙̦̔̎ͯ͗͒̋̑͜ͅ

̱̬̜̫ͯ̌̄ͯI̭̺̰͚̅̒̌t̟͇̺̻͇̾̎ͫ́͋̊̚ ̝̫͌̓̾ͩ̍ͤͭͪS̝̳̫̥͛ȟ͔̜͉̠̰̂͆ͣͯ͌̒A͔̿̅͆ͤ̈l̯̭ͭͨ̾̾͒ͤ̌̚l̰̞̎̈́͆ͫ̓̏͊̓ ̗̥͇́̀̅b̫̹̰̼͍̖̺ͬ̆̾̃̑̿ͅE̦̯̩̮̯̗͔̥̳̔ͫ̄̐͋ͧ̋͐ ̺̱̱̬̱́ͨȍ͈͎̪̳̻̞̤͆̑͛ͤŰ̖̻͖͗r͍̰̣͕̻̣̙͙͂̐͆̏͋͛̀̐ ͓͎̤̲̞̹̳ͮ͂̊̒ͬ͌ͨ ̙̬̿͌ͯͩ̈ͮ̐ͥ̇L̹̳͛ͥ̋ͬå̖̘̖̤̞͌ͅS͓͙̬̭̱ͥ̂̂͒́Ṯ͓͇ͦͨ̿ͫ͂̈̅ ̻̯̙̀ͨM̖͇̖̬͉̤̭̥̌͗ͭA͓̓̃̀ͭͬr̰̟̖̰͔̩̚k͓̻͉̖ͧͯͧ̓ ͙͈͉̯͐̀ͥ̓u̺͔͓̭̙̮̤ͫ̉̋͋̀ͬ͑p͚̼͔̤͔̪͍̗̈̈͛̏ͅŌ͉͂ͥͯ͆̎͋n̠̞̯͍̮̣͌̒͐́ͫ ̜̳̜̱̪̑́̑̽̽ͦ̈T͙̰̽ͬḣ̳̝͓̜̱͖͂͛̄͆͛I̤̾s̘͉͍̑̃ ̥ͪ̈́̀W̰͚̦͋ͬ͆̇o̤͓̒̐R͎͙̞̣ͮ̓̏̾ͨ̎L̯͍̤̺̘̺̠̔̎d̯̬̔ͥ.̬͖̥̤̝͈̠̌ͨ̐͑

̺͍̳̰̜̩̓̄͋͌̇͑

͚̪̺̌͗̌Ã̖̜̭̹̥͈̹̙̄̽ ̖͈͇̦̜̭̒̅͋̑͗̎͒Ḽ̲͈̼̹̗̞̖͚͋̊̒̓ͯ̃o̠ͨ̔͒̓S͙͎͚̺̬͓͖̠̈ͮ̓̈ͭͅṮ̻̑ͯͣ̐̈́̚ ͎̦͖͕̱͔̠̞̈̎̎̆G̜͙͉͉̗͊i̥̼̥͕̗̞ͥͧF̬̻̱̱̈́͐͋t̖͙ͦͫ,̥̲̈́̆̏̀ ̻̙͔̻͖̭̲̉ͯ͆F̩̪͕͎̙͛͋̍r̠̳͑̓O͔̪̹̪͙̖͎̙̥̊̾̅͌̿̌M͍͙̥͓̜ͮ͗̆ͮ̅͆̈ ͖̫̗͎̮̐ͭ̍̊t̝͑H̺͍ͯ̌ͬe̤̯̓̎̏̐ͩ̚ ̗̭̩̘̪̼͊ͅL̪̬ͧ̽̇̔̄͑ͬ̃ͣỌ̪͈ͧ͐ͩͦͧͧS̬̦̥͖̾͊ͦͧ̍ͮT͍͍̭͈̠̜̞̜ͮ̍ͬ̎ ͓̬̤̣͇̦ͫͬ͊ͣͦ̂ͫ̽ͅO͓̩͙̖̱̪̿͊ͬ̋͂̽ͥ̓N͇̼͔̝̳̤̤̗͇ͤ̇E̩͒͂̏͛̎S̘̞̟̯̣͚̞ͬ̄̌

͙̬̭̱̜̍̓ͩ̚

͍̰͉̠̋̀̈͗̆̈́͐

͙̟ͯṬ͚̤ͣ͆̀ͅH͙̠̯͚̣̜̝͈̱̓ͬE̗͍͍͚̹̓ͥ̎̚̚ ͍͎̲̳̓̈T͙̦̙̱ͮ̈́ͭ̾͗̋ͥR̠̅̅̂̊̈ͧͪE̠ͨ̿͑͂ͥͫͭ͆E̻̥̲̼͈͙̲ͬͫͯͪͫ̈ͦ̄ ̺͓͇̂̈͆̀͆̀ͮ̏ͅÔ̙̟̯̤̐͒̿̓̓͑ͫF̥̝̦ͪ̒ͭ̓̌ͬ̔̆ ̱̘̱͉͖̪̥͂̾͛̒̂̿̚ K͇͓̼͎̗ͦ͗̽̈́N͕̱̩͚̝̋̾̋̒O̩̯̭͖ͮ͛͊͆ͅẀ̦̼̗̖̭̭ͯ̋ͭͯͯ̒̋L̞̙̯̰̓͑E͇̳͚̖̻͔̖̭̖̓ͮ͑́͒͐̑͌D͖̭̪̬͚͉̰ͦ̉̊ͨ͒̓ͣG̬͚ͥ̃ͣ͗͂̌̊̚Ė̮̖̙͉̗ͪͬ͐̒̅̚,̲͖̳̜̟̣̋̀́ͣ

̻͓͔͔͎͉͈̅͌̆͐

̘̯̯̺̬̪̗̦ͦ̅́͑ͮ̈́̒̿̓̋͒ͅͅͅ

̪̣̄͊ͯ̑ͭͫ ̲̽͋͌ͫ̅̀̈T̜̙͚ͧ͂o̹̮͚̘̾̈͐̎͆ͦ ̗͓̙ͯ̏̂̀ͣ̃ ̭̼̠̮͚̝̱͚ͥ̈́ͦ̐̿͂́͋Ṣ̭̙̖̻̣̤̑ͪ͑t̰̪̝̖̙̰ͫͭA̗̖͈̝͖ͭ̈͒n̪̝̹̞ͦ̏̋d͈̥̣̔ͭ̅̉̿̑ ͍͎̯̩̥̈͌ͩ̎ͣf͖͕͑ͥ̓O̯̻̞̗͇̲ͩ͑ͭ̀ͧͮ͗̚r͙̩̱̪͙͓̯͉͔̄͌̃̔͑̒̚ ̘́ͣ̉a͎̳̰̗͖͖͙͎̥ͬ̃͌ͮͭ̚L̠̪̹̱̩͕̗ͣL̤̬̟̻̼̭̲̬̇͐ͯ̇̈́̍ ̗̲̠̯͚̺̻͉́̃Ḙ̪̤̪̖̼̣̗̬͂͐̾ͮ̒t̰̰͎ͧ̎͑͒͗̏e̙̠̦͎̲̽͒ͭ͋Ř͇͔̪͍̞̟͑ñ̳̬̳ͦͮ̀ͅI͍̩̟͖͈͕͐̉͌̽͛̃t̖̤͕͙̹͕̜̣ͣ͒͆̿̽ͬy̲͇͈͕͋̔̐ͣ̀̉ͥ.̱͓̜̟̼̙̺̜̂̓ͭͨͩ͂̅̈́̚

̪̣̺̣̗͙̦̔̎ͯ͗͒̋̑͜ͅ

'And… why are you asking me to make that?

̪̣̺̣̗͙̦̔̎ͯ͗͒̋̑͜ͅ

Î͉̥̦̫̟̜̟̘̓ͨ̇̅t̫̘̳͐͒̑ͮͪ̇ͯ͊ ̻̣͂ͮ̓͐ĭ͙͕͚̝̭̼̿ͅͅS̖͎̥ͬͥ ̭̟̱͍͍̙͍͔̜̓̃O̹͇̜ͩ͑ͥͯͧ̚ṳ̖̬̘̭̇́Ṛ̣̫̺͖̣̓ͥ̚ ̪̗̬̰͕̂̓P̤͖͍̤̩̯͍̀̂ͅr̜̗̩̝̖ͬ̈ͅI͚͊ͭ̓̄͆c̤̳͈͉̹̏ͩ͛͐̈́̐ͅE̖͎̘͑̒ͅ.̼͓͕̞̝̂͊̾̊̉͐ͮ́

̙̜͕͊̍̓

̯͚͔͛̎͌ͦ̾͗͗̽

̭͔̤̝̫͓̯ͦ̂̀̅ͅͅT̗̩̦̮̹̖̉ͬ̇ͯ̏̉h̻̟̜̯̦̍͋̔̐̃̊̒E̱͉̩̯̽̏̈́ͫ̌ ̠̭͖ͧ͌ͣ̓̄ͪ̽̒ͤP̗̳̝͓̱̯͚͛̏͆ͬ̈́ͧ̓̂r̬͍ͧ̓͒́̒͂i̞̣̤͍̰̋ͬͅC̭͙̰̄̊͆ͬ̋̉ͅE̟̫̫̯̯͖̒͆͊̈́ͣ̚ ̮̄͛ͬ̏ͅF̥̹̹͍̤̖̲͍ͯ̓̚ö͖̲̱̼̪́͐Ṛ̮͙̩̞̃ͮͅ ͎͈̆ͩ͑̿̽O̬ͪ̎͆̉̃ͤu̟͕͚̮͇̫͕̱͆ͪͩͅṛ̼̺͖͓͙͇ͯ̿̄̇̆͊̎ ̱͔͚̹ͯA͉̎̍̀ͤͦ̚̚I͖͚͔͉͕̣ͪ̅̅̽̌̄̒̚ͅď̜̦͇͔̣̀͐̃̿͌ͬ.͓̺͋ͤ̊̓ͬ̆̒ͧ̈́

̦̞͍̹̇̑̌

'Aid? What aid?'

…

…

No reply. 'Thank the Root for Reality Marbles.' I thought sarcastically as I connected to the Dream, 'How else would we get our cryptic quests for unknown power?' Deciding to get to work before I passed out, I again used the sea as a focus. I ))Altered(( the trees with my Chakra, teaching them to draw on the Corrupt Chakra around them to sustain themselves. I then drew the individual trees together, twisting them together and fusing them. I fed them with the veritable ocean of Corrupt Chakra that I took from my surroundings. As long as it wasn't touching me or my wounded Circuits, I was safe. As such, I was free to use as much Corrupt Chakra as I wished.

I used the sea to guide their growth, the bases of individual trees becoming roots as the tops reached for the center, growing at a rapid rate. They all reached the middle, and grew upwards. At a slight prompting from my Marble, I made the trunk hollow in the middle of the trunk, weaving the trees outwards until I reached the top. Then, I allowed the individual trees to separate once more, growing out in a vague circle that stopped shy of the boundaries of the crater. I then made every single tree burst into full bloom simultaneously, from the pines, to the willows, to the Sakura trees. It now fed on Corrupted Chakra, and exuded Nature Chakra. As such, it would never shed its' leaves, and it would constantly send out a calming presence to all races. 'Who knows, with the amount of Corruption that thing has to eat here in hell, it might even become sentient one day.'

At the prompting of my Marble, I stretched out my hand and used a combination of ))Alteration(( and Denial of Nothingness to craft the tree into an exact replica of… something, right down to the inscription on the door. I don't know where the Marble got the blueprint for it, and I don't care.

My task complete, I ignored the satisfied feeling my Marble sent and disconnected from the Dream. I unraveled my Reality Marble, returning it to its default state. Then, with shot Magic Circuits, a strained magical core, and not a drop of mana left in me, I finally used my Gate gem.

I practically collapsed out of the Gate, right in front of Souji Okita. My father's ))Knight(( watched in slight concern as I got up and brushed myself off, picking twigs off of my shirt. "What happened to you?"

I gave a world-weary sigh. "I got lost."

Nothing else needed to be said. Father's entire Peerage was aware of my talent for getting lost. Souji himself had once had to make a trip to Mexico to fetch me when I went to find a bathroom unescorted. It was an accident, I swear to God. -gah, dammit!-

Honestly, if that damn emu hadn't run away, I would never have wandered onto that airplane. And don't even get me started on that Sweedish Mafia. I shuddered. 'I still occasionally get nightmares about mimes chasing me with eggbeaters because of them.'

Souji eyed me with concern, "Any injuries?"

I nodded. "Blew out my magical core while trying to get home."

'Well… I suppose technically that's what happened…'

He nodded, stepped aside and allowed me to pass. "I'll inform your father.'

I nodded tiredly and stepped into what looked, for all the world, like a normal person's bedroom. Nothing lavish or gaudy for me, no siree. I made sure of it.

In fact, this small room was once a broom closet. Every time they had tried to stick me into some huge echoing room, I'd always grab a blanket and pillow, and start wandering towards the nearest broom closet. Due to my tendency to get lost in the most spectacular of ways, I kept losing more and more sleep. Eventually, someone got the hint that I hated big rooms and decided to clean out a broom closet near my original bedroom.

Having realized that I was picky about where I slept, I was given permission to ask for absolutely anything I wanted in my new bedroom. I asked the commoners among the serving staff if any of them had a spare desk, bed, large bookshelf, or lamp. Sure enough, I was given used, low-quality goods that were somewhat dinged up. My parents were skeptical at first, but they quickly stopped complaining when I started getting a decent sleep.

I turned to my queen-sized bed in the corner, noticing that Shirone had seemingly fallen asleep while she waited. Too tired and sore to care, I flopped into the other side of the bed and fell asleep.

In my dream, I see a wonderous place.

))I know Nothing.((

))Yet, I understand Everything.((

))And so, I shall chase the Dream.((

This place, where all experiences of the many are catalogued and remembered, is the one true gift allowed the dead.

))I soothe the restless((

))And console the weary((

This place, tied to both Creation and Void, was realized through Eternal 'Dreams' and Infinite 'Memories'.

))A fading memory,((

))A living memorial, ((

))The lost ones take form.((

This place, created by the realization of Balance, was incarnated through destruction, formed through heroism, and perfected through hope.

))Exiting afterlife's bastion,((

))They are reborn in their wonderland.((

This place, born at the end of time, manifests a million memories, weapons, and legends, with which the fallen overwhelm and crush all who dare intrude this realm of selfish wishes.

))We stand with the Infinite,((

))As We weep for the Dream.((

This place, isolated from time and causality, will inevitably fall should it fail to serve the role of 'bastion' of protection from the hatred and despair of the outside realms.

))Fight with me, Oh ye lost ones.((

))Free the broken ones,((

))Create peace between giants.((

However, so long as it stood to protect another, its' people would fight ten thousand demons, die ten thousand deaths.

))For which we fight,((

))This Eternal freedom,((

So long as but a single man stood up for their dreams…

))Dreams of the Fallen.((

This kingdom would stand forever.

I woke slowly, savoring the memory of that beautiful kingdom. I felt… complete, somehow. Like I had just been given vision after a life of blindness.

I stretched… and froze. It would appear I had a cat on my chest. A rather large one. After a quick glance at the clock on my desk, I learned that the sun probably hadn't even risen yet. I sighed and closed my eyes, deciding to try and explore my newly unlocked Reality Marble while I waited. I relaxed, and fell into my soul.