Isn't this a wonderful world we live in? A world full of prejudice, warfare and mysticism that is created just to kill us all off. If you ask me, I rather prefer living in a world where you can do anything without killing each other. But there is no such thing as a 'world without death and killing'. Even if we tried to prevent ourselves from killing each other, we will eventually end up killing each other anyway.
But there are some exceptions. For example, let's say a mother kills her child because of abuse, rape or whatever reason she had. And then a guy kills the mother because he couldn't accept the fact that the mother killed his beloved daughter. There are still murderers out there and there are still victims out there.
But let's think deeper, let's say that the victim kills the murderer. Now, what do you think happens? You may think that the victim would be seen as a hero. But what if the victim turns out to be a horrible person? What if the victim ends up killing even more people? Wouldn't that mean that the victim becomes a criminal instead?
We call those people villains nowadays, and we call those people heroes. This is where the concept of good and evil comes from.
-A Mystical Divergence-
...as we call it...
March 26, 2065 [https://img.wattpad.com/8c82ad0c3ad06bda4012e901f3d18a484816e211/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f55753537784c62454d304b3343773d3d2d313334363531343430372e313736323763646536333263633338313930363435333230373631382e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
March 26, 2065
POV: Natsuha Inose
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I haven't been able to sleep for 3 days. Normally I'm able to sleep like a log, but something has been barring me from getting any shuteye. My talk with Esthic, in which he agreed to turn me into a Magician by making me complete three trials that will test my strength and mentality.
These 3, long, excruciating days... I've been thinking on how to complete those trials and what kind of trials it will be. What will Esthic make me do? Will he order me to kill someone, or will he order me to do something more? Start a war perhaps, fight my own city, fight my own friends?
I'm such a pathetic freak. What dark thoughts am I thinking of? Why am I spiraling downwards towards darkness? The thing is, I've already spiraled into darkness. I've killed one of my best friends. I will never be forgiven for that. I'm sure all of my friends think of me as some murderer now, that I'm someone that they loathe, someone that never deserves their respect. And maybe they're right. Maybe they are justified in hating me. But if they knew everything, they would understand, wouldn't they? I'm not asking for too much, aren't I? I just want my friends to know that I never meant to kill my best friend. It wasn't my fault, right?
When Esthic warped me back to the place where I called his name, the guards of the U.C.I.S found me and brought me back to Heaven's Fall. They beat me up hard and jailed me in my own room where Nazuki tried to break me out of. It's all just a silly game at this point. Ultia just likes to play games. Games where she gets all the satisfaction out of, and the other players are victims in her twisted game.
Trying to ascend me to the first ever Class 11 SPEC would not utterly destroy me, it would also bring about the destruction of the other side, which is the Magic side. That's what Ultia is after. She wants to see the destruction of the Magic side, the destruction of the UCMR, and the destruction of the world itself. But what did Esthic say about her?
- - "SPECs are the main root of the problem that this world will face. "Alice Ultia is the one that will bring upon Last Impact on the world, and we cannot allow that to happen." - -
Those sentences repeat in my head like a broken record. What does it mean? What is Last Impact? Is there so much to Alice Ultia what I don't know about? What is Esthic trying to achieve? But the most important question of all...
Why did he save me?
Eight could've pretty much killed me, and he did. He did kill me. Esthic told me that I died but I also didn't at the same time. It's all very complicated, but what I do know is that I finally know what death feels like, and what it looks like. And I never want to experience that ever again. It's still unbelievable that I actually died, that I was killed by someone who came to me, offering help. It was all justified though... I was failing him- No. I already failed him long ago. I had one fucking job and I failed at that. I should've just listened to him and stopped being such an impulsive bitch, but no! I had to be selfish and stubborn. I had to be the stupidest person on Earth. And now I'm paying for it. I'm paying for my mistakes.
"FUCK!" I punched the wall so hard that it formed a dent on it. I couldn't handle it anymore. I just wanted to cry, to release my feelings, but I know that I can't, not if I want to pass those trials that Esthic has prepared for me. I have to be strong. I have to fight through it. I have to endure.
To become a Magician, means a stable, good future waiting for me. A future in which my sister will be with me. To remain a SPEC means a dark future ahead of me. I will still be experimented on by Ultia, I might become a much darker version of my current self, killing everyone who stands in my path, while Ultia keeps on experimenting, experimenting and eventually torturing me mentally and physically until the point that I finally reach the unobtainable Class 11... and die.
...
Both futures are dark, and I'm already standing on the divergence point. But I already have made my decision, so what the fuck am I so afraid of? I will not give up. I will not stop. I will go through the three trials that Esthic has prepared for me. I will save my sister. I will become a Magician.
I will kill Ultia and save the whole city.
March 26, 2065 [https://img.wattpad.com/8c82ad0c3ad06bda4012e901f3d18a484816e211/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f55753537784c62454d304b3343773d3d2d313334363531343430372e313736323763646536333263633338313930363435333230373631382e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
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March 23, 2065
A few minutes after Nazuki Mihara's death.
POV: Andrei Feng
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Andrei struggled to leave the vast front garden of Heaven's Fall as he was carrying one of his late best friends on his arms. His arms were coated with the blood of his friend, dripping on the ground while he himself was bleeding because of his own wounds.
"Don't... let... go..."
Heavy footsteps resounded through the hallways of Heaven's Fall. The sound of footsteps followed him as he made his way towards the infirmary. The guards of Heaven's Fall started to surround them. 5 guards... 10 guards... atleast 20 guards surrounded him, hoping to seize him and bring him to Heaven's Fall custody, where he can spend the rest of his life in the confines of not just the tower... but at the hands of Alice Ultia.
"This is all my fault... if only I was there sooner. I could have stopped Natsuha... Nazuki wouldn't have died..."
He kept on walking, the guards were gaining on him. He didn't care if they got him, he didn't care if they brought him back to the confinement of Heaven's Fall, all he cared about was burying Nazuki, save his other friends... and to save the one he loved.
"ANDREI FENG!"
The main guard yelled, standing in front of him. "You are hereby arrested for violating the 16th Penal Code, Article 26, Chapter 57 of the Charter of Ultima City!"
He stopped in his tracks, staring directly at the soul of this main guard, his eyes devoid of any light. No one could stay and act so monotone as him in this moment. The life of this guard meant nothing to him. He could kill them if he had to. That's what he was thinking. If killing was the way to save Natsuha and his friends, then that was the way to go.
"DROP THE CORPSE ON THE GROUND AND PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACK! IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY, YOU WILL BE KILLED!"
The other guards surrounded Andrei, with their Anti-SPEC weapons aiming at him. He didn't move. He was only a few meters away from the exit of the front garden. He glared at the guard as the guard stared at Andrei with the same lifeless stare. His A.F.R started to manifest as he was ready to fight. He held Nazuki's lifeless body tightly and slid his foot a few meters back.
The guards would make the first move. "FIRE!" The main guard yelled, shooting their guns. But...
Andrei was unharmed. The bullets moved past him and didn't hit him at all. The guards were all pushed to the path behind him, some of them having broken bones and some of them mutilated beyond repair. Andrei looked at the guards in surprise, staring at the bloody bodies that were in front of him. He didn't know what just happened, but he knew one thing. He had to get out of here.
As he turned around, he would see the last person he wanted to see. It was the menace, the most popular SPEC in Ultima City... The First-Ranked.
"Divo Aoyami!"
Andrei yelled, as he slowly walked backwards, his hands still holding Nazuki. Divo stood in front of him, his face emotionless. He started to walk towards Andrei, not even showing signs of surprise or anything. Andrei stared at Divo for a few seconds, before Divo would say something to Andrei.
"Tsk. Are you crying?" The First-Ranked said. Something that Andrei would've never expected him to say in this situation.
"You had the balls to break into the tower but you come out crying. Pathetic." He said in a taunting and degrading manner. Andrei was still tensed up and on guard, expecting Divo Aoyami to attack him and kill him in the blink of an eye... but he didn't. Instead, he sat down on some bench and tapped the empty spot next to him. "Sit with me."
"Why?" Andrei said, keeping his guard up and standing still. "Sit the fuck down." Divo repeated. Andrei sighed, leaving Nazuki's dead body on the ground next to the bench and slowly walked towards it before sitting down next to him. "Andrei Feng, wasn't it?" He asked.
"Yeah, I was supposed to save my friends and a little kid, but I got interrupted by the guards and my friends... they-"
"I know what happened. That whining fool is still in there." Divo said. Andrei just stared at the ground, not saying a single thing. Divo kept talking though. "Jian Feng. She's dead, isn't she?" Andrei just stayed silent, nodding his head while looking at him with fear and confusion.
"She used to train me back when I was a kid, trying to get the grasp of my power. And for years, we trained together until I was strong enough. Training me everyday with such determination. I respect your sister a lot, and I can see that you are like her in some way." He said in a soft yet bashful voice. "She was brave enough to train and fight me everyday, not even scared of what I could do. She was one of the only few that didn't fear me at all... The only other one being Mother."
"... You had the chance to kill me... You still have that chance. You can kill me right here, right now... Why aren't you?" Andrei asked with fear in his voice.
"Because." He looked at him. "Like I said. You are like your sister, brave and calculating... but you're dumb. Infiltrating Mother's place is the dumbest thing someone can do. And if someone was to try something as dumb as that, they would have to face me." He smirked.
"..."
"But... I'm not going to kill you, nor hand you in. I still hold a certain level of respect for you because of your sister. Handing you in and seeing you in the confines of my Mother will only stain the respect that I have for your sister." He stood up from the bench, looking at him.
"..." Andrei was quiet as a rock.
"You have the entire city against you now. The best thing you can do is lay low... or leave the city. Though, I would choose the latter. It would be the wisest option to just leave." He said, walking away from him to the tower.
All Andrei could to was watch him leave. He couldn't believe what he just heard. He was actually thankful that Divo didn't kill him... But why didn't he kill him? Why did he spare his life? Is he telling the truth when he said he had respect for him? He couldn't even process the events that happened in just a few minutes, it was like a dream. He sighed, walking towards the body of Nazuki that was on the ground.
"..." He did as Divo instructed him to do, leaving the front garden and laying low until he was out of the city limits. He couldn't afford to die or fail. If he does, then Natsuha and his other friends could meet the same fate as Nazuki...
It wasn't his fault though, was it? He would say it wasn't. He couldn't even look at her face right now without feeling the pain and the sadness he had. He kept on walking through the streets, people looking at him in fear and surprise. It was all just too much for him right now. He kept walking through the forest, finding a good place to bury Nazuki and say his goodbyes.
After finding a good place to bury Nazuki, he started digging the ground and burying her body inside it. This took a while, as the rain started to pour down heavily on him. He continued digging, sighing, trying his best to bury her with his bare hands and not using the shovel he brought with him. Once he was done, he left the shovel and sat down. The injuries started worsening his health, the bleeding starting to become internal and put his organs in danger. He had a high chance of dying here, right now.
As he sat there, thinking of the things that led him to this moment, a shadow came to view and hovered above him, staring at him. He slowly looked up, not believing what he saw. "... What the..." He muttered, the shadow descending in front of him, revealing itself to be some sort of deity. It wore a black hooded robe, with it's face being covered by it's 12 eyes, all blinking at the same time. Andrei stood up in awe, fearing the entity in front of him. "Andrei Feng." The entity said, in a soothing yet mysterious tone.
"I'm here to offer you my help." It said, Andrei backing away slowly while the entity continued speaking. "You need power, right? You want to save the one you love?" The entity asked. Andrei just stared at him. "Don't worry, my friend. I have the ability to give you powers like no other."
"... Who are you?..."
Andrei asked, the rain pouring on him even more. The being looked back at Andrei with evil, yet kind looking eyes. It's 12 eyes blinking at him as a response to his question.
"I have many names, my friend."
"But for this world..."
"I am Esthic."