John was bandaged up, lying very still in his bed. Prota was sitting worriedly next to him. However, despite all her worries, there was nothing she could do.
“Just leave him in bed for a few days,” the healer had said. “He’ll be all better by then.”
So, with nothing left to do, she was left alone with her thoughts. Her mind wandered back to the conversation John and Fate had on their way back.
“Hey, so what did you see in there?”
“...don’t worry about it.”
Fate nodded. “Do you know what that cave does? Kit told me this. It takes your weakest point and forces you to break through it. You’re not supposed to win easily. So… if something happened in there, don’t worry too much about it.”
“So the cave…”
“Yeah. Whoever, whatever you fought? It was some kind of barrier you couldn’t surpass. Something you would’ve never pushed past on your own.”
So if that was the case, who was that girl?
For Prota, the cave had strengthened her resolve, her fears. She was afraid of losing John. She was scared that she wasn’t good enough. She was scared of failing. The cave had helped her with that. Granted, the fears weren’t gone, but she was on the right path.
So then what kind of issues was John dealing with? Surely strength wasn’t the problem.
She thought about what she’d seen. John was using [Infinity] when she’d come in. That ability. How had he been forced into using it? She remembered the time she’d asked about him using his ability. Even if [Determination] wasn’t active, he had a multiplier of up to a thousand, right?
“It’s not that simple,” John explained. “My head starts to ache. It’s hard to deal with, so I really try to avoid using the ability unless I really have to. Even if my maximum multiplier gets extended, it doesn’t mean I’d just use max power carelessly.”
So just who was that girl? The girl that’d forced John to use [Infinity]?
“Her name was Amber.”
Prota’s thoughts stopped in their tracks. Had she imagined the words?
“She was… my sister, basically. Kind of like you.”
John didn’t move. His body was incapable of moving, but his tone suggested that he didn’t have the energy to move, either.
“Remember how I said I came from Earth? That’s true in two ways. There’s the Earth that [Writers] and [Readers] live on. But there was an Earth that was a [Story]. I was just like you. A [Character]. And… it all felt very real.”
His voice was empty, hollow. He didn’t want to remember, but he couldn’t forget.
“Life was ok. It was pretty shitty, actually, but there were people. They made it manageable. But then I found out. About [Plot], [Stories], [Readers], [Writers], [Characters], me… One thing led to another, and the world was destroyed. Completely. [Resets] wouldn’t work. So I was given a choice. ”
He started choking on his words.
“At that point in time, I had all my memories. But. I was given the choice to give them up to restore the world.” John said. His voice was hollow. “But I couldn’t return. I would be sent to another world. Given the choice to go on the hunt for my memories in exchange for… for what?”
There was a moment of silence. The air felt heavy.
“What I chose was obvious. But it’s fine. It’s fine. They don’t need me. I don’t need them. They’re… they’re not real. They’re just [Characters], right? So it’s fine.”
The story seemed to end there. Prota stared at John with trembling eyes.
“So… will John abandon me?”
“...what?”
“If John has a choice. Will John leave Prota, too? Since… Prota is just a [Character].”
Her voice, normally so flat and monotone, started cracking up.
“I-”
John stopped.
Was Prota just a [Character]?
What was she to him? He thought about it. If he was forced to go through that again. If he gained all his memories but lost Prota, what would he do? He hadn’t wanted to think about this, but it was being forced on him now. Maybe the trial wasn’t over. No, the trial was still ongoing. Would he abandon Prota? No, she was different, right? She was different. She knew. She reset with him. Things were different.
But were they really?
“I…”
He looked at Prota with a heavy heart, but was greeted with an unexpected sight. Her face was as passive as always, but her eyes were shining, brimming with tears that she was desperately fighting back.
Decide.
Fake? Was Prota fake? What did that mean in the first place? Was he real? She knew what he knew, right? So she was less of a [Character] than anyone else. But was that enough? Did that mean that Prota was truly someone “real” to him? If it came down to him or her, who would he choose?
“So march forward, and take care of those you have around you.”
“...would you really have been proud of me?”
Now that he thought about it, he’d never really decided. What he’d do with Prota, how he’d treat her, what to do with her, but the cave had forced him into a decision. Some things wouldn’t change. The world was fake. People were tools. Consequences were irrelevant.
Those were facts, not opinions. Right?
But when he looked at Prota, he couldn’t help but think differently. Real. What did that mean? Amber, at one point, had been real. They’d all been real. What would’ve happened if he’d never learned the truth? He’d probably have settled down. Relaxed. He could’ve had a normal life. A family. Friends.
He’d never have that again. But Prota was giving him a second chance at that. It wasn’t exactly the same thing, but…
John looked at Prota. He wanted to stay with her. But could he? In the end, he did what he did best. Put it off until he was forced to make a decision. He didn’t have to decide now. That could come another day.
“I… I don’t know.”
Prota stared at him, tears beginning to flow out of her eyes.
“That’s… it’s not a yes, Prota. I just… don’t know. I don’t know.”
Prota nodded halfheartedly, then buried her face in John’s chest. It took a lot of effort, but he put his hand on her head and patted it softly. He’d have to stop putting things off someday, but for now… it was all he could do.
~~~
“How? How was that possible?”
Kit shrugged. She was still in her fox form, but the little critter’s shoulders seemed to go up and down. She and Fate were also talking about Prota and John, albeit in a very different context.
“I’ve never seen something like that. In the first place, you shouldn’t be able to enter someone else’s trial. The mana should stop something like that. I’ve heard of people trying, but everyone’s said that it just sends them to a trial of their own.”
Fate sighed and leaned back. “But they came out together. So they were in the same trial, right?”
Kit hesitated. “Fate. If I tell you something, will your view of those two change?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
The little fox jumped off the bed and walked towards the door, not saying anything.
“Kit…”
“Will you treat me to something?”
“Like what?”
“Give me another one of those hard candies,” Kit grinned, licking her lips.
“You know I only have so many of those, right? I don’t think I can make any more in this town.”
“You wanna know or not?”
Kit just laughed, and Fate was forced to give in. Reaching into his cloak, he tossed a hard strawberry candy to Kit, who caught it midair and shoved it into her mouth.
“Mm… why didn’t we ever make any of these? Honestly, the more you tell me about Earth, the more I want to go there.”
Fate shuddered at the thought of Kit getting a hold of modern science. She was already enough of a menace with the magic that existed in this world.
“Alright. Answer the question. Why do you say that?”
Kit paused and looked at Fate. “Those two. You want them to be your companions, right?”
“Well… yeah. John is someone from Earth, and his intuition is incredible. Besides, I’d rather keep him close than let him… observe me or whatever. On the other hand, Prota is incredibly strong. Even more so than I might’ve thought since you’re the one acknowledging her. But besides that, I understand her. She reminds me of myself a long time ago.”
“So what I’m telling you is, if I tell you something, that might ruin your perception of them.”
Kit’s voice was unusually serious.
“Well, if it’s going to ruin my perception of them, shouldn’t I know about it?”
“...this could be taken in a variety of ways. So take the information as is, without anything else, ok?”
Fate nodded uneasily.
“Now, this is just my own theory. You know I used to be somewhat of a magic freak, right? Well, that involved studying the nature of mana. Now, mana is simply a form of energy. It might be something that powers every living thing, but ultimately, it’s energy. It makes up our universe.”
Kit paused.
“The cave is made of mana, an energy source. So… what if an even stronger energy is introduced?”
“It would… completely override the original energy. But what does that have to do with anything?”
Kit looked away, uneasy.
“Well, this is just my theory, but if two beings have the same wavelength of energy that’s completely foreign to mana… it might be possible for them to enter together.”
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“...what? But…”
“That’s why I didn’t want to tell you. Because as far as we know, the only other kind of energy that exists is demonic energy and draconic energy.”
“Then that would mean…”
“No. I know what both of those feel like.”
Fate looked at Kit.
“You… you do understand what you’re saying, right?”
Kit nodded solemnly. “This… is an entirely new kind of energy.”
~~~
“What the…”
Breaker stood in the middle of a blood soaked room, bodies sprawled around everywhere. Eyes, guts, limbs, brain fluid, all over the floors and walls, blood flowing like water into a drain in the center of the room.
“Isn’t it amazing?” Doctor giggled, appearing behind him. “What filth will do to survive.”
In the center of the room was a singular girl, shaking. Her body was coated with blood, but a weapon was nowhere to be found.
“So,” Doctor said, approaching the girl. “How was it?”
The girl didn’t respond. No, she couldn’t respond.
“Ugh,” Doctor grunted. “No good. She won’t do anything.”
“...” Breaker continued to stare at the room. He’d done some things in his life, but this…
“Was it not enough? Usually, this breaks the mind. I even had them bond together for three months… to think she would keep her mind, even after slaughtering her friends,” Doctor said, shaking his head. “It’s amazing, what people will do when they’re pushed to their limits. Will they lose their minds? Turn into something else? How exciting!”
He ran his hands through his hair, an ecstatic look on his face.
“Well, I’ll be taking her out of here. Breaker, call in a crew to collect the body parts. I’ll need them for later.”
“For later? You’re not…”
“Of course I’m still making them!” Doctor said with glee. “They’re the best of all my toys. And besides, when you mix a bit of all their souls…”
Breaker felt a shiver run down his spine. He knew why he was working with this man, but…
“Living beings are filth, Breaker,” Doctor said as he left the room. “They exist to be used and experimented on, so people like us can grow even stronger. It’s our right. If they break, nothing of value is lost.”
“...sure.”
Doctor turned back. “Oh, but you must’ve come in here for a reason. What’s up?”
“They took the bait. They should find our dungeon within the next year, if everything goes well.”
“How long has it been since that Fate boy came to this town?”
“Two months, sir. We should wrap this up within ten months.”
“It’ll be spring again… the sign of a new life. How poetic. You may leave.”
Doctor giggled to himself quietly in the center of the blood soaked room, the laughs slowly getting louder and louder as the broken girl quietly watched.
~~~
The next day, Fate went to check up on John, who was still hospitalized.
“What, did you come to laugh at me or something?” he grumbled.
“Why would I laugh at you?”
“...never mind.”
Fate put a basket of fruit on John’s bedstand while Kit hopped off Fate’s shoulders and landed softly on the bed. She grabbed an apple from the basket and started nibbling away.
“Hey, Kit.” Fate said quietly. “Can you put up the mirage magic over this place?”
The fox frowned at Fate before going into her human form.
“Really, just as I was enjoying a treat…”
She closed her eyes and took a breath. There was a warm pulse that spread throughout the room, and Kit opened her eyes again.
“Knock yourselves out.”
She went back to her fox form and picked up her apple, then trotted over to Prota and continued to snack on her treat with Prota’s lap as her resting place. Unable to resist, Prota put her hands on Kit’s back and began to pet her. Surprisingly, Kit began to purr.
“Foxes purr?”
“Um… I wouldn’t know. I guess they can.”
“...are they even feline?”
Fate looked at John. “You really want to discuss whether or not foxes can purr? I’d bet Kit is doing it regardless of whether foxes can actually purr or not.”
John cursed under his breath. “Damn. You win again, [Author].”
Fate sighed and started cutting up an apple. His small hands were quick, with the precision of a surgeon, but he wasn’t focused on the fruit.
“John. Do you trust me?”
“Well, yeah.”
“No, really. You’re still hiding so much. How can we trust each other if you still have so many secrets?”
John closed his eyes and sighed. “Fate. It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s because it’s better for you not to know.”
“I can take it.”
“Have you told your parents that you’re from another world?”
“That’s- that’s different.”
“Yeah? How?”
“It would hurt them. It’s not like I distrust them, it’s just that…”
Fate’s voice trailed off as he realized he was just proving John’s point.
“Right?”
“Since when did you care for me so much?” Fate said with a dry laugh.
“Well, it’s not really you in particular. Look, I’m not trying to hide anything. But some things are really just better unknown. Ignorance is bliss and all that.”
[So Prota’s special?]
[Shut up. That was unavoidable]
Fate sighed. “You’re telling the truth, huh?”
“What, still don’t trust me?”
“Not really.”
John laughed. “You’re honest, at least.”
“How could anyone trust you? Look at how you act, John,” Fate said. “You’re just so mysterious. Your motives, your past, everything. Even if we were the best of friends, how could I trust someone I know so little about? Especially when it’s someone who knows all my secrets.”
John nodded. “That’s a good point. That doesn’t change the fact that I trust you.”
“...” Fate seemed to be thinking about something.
After a few minutes, it seemed that he’d come to a decision. He placed his hands on his mask and pressed something, causing it to come off. He shook his hair loose to reveal a young but handsome face, save for a singular scar running down the right eye. It was clear he would grow up to be quite the charmer, and even now there were signs of maturity.
“I want you to see my face when I tell you this. I want to tell this to you as me. No mask.”
He seemed rather serious, but he was stalling out something that John already knew.
“What, that you’re the hero?”
“...can you stop doing that?” Fate sighed, visibly annoyed. “Kit, shut up. It’s not that funny.”
Apparently, the fox was laughing at him.
Fate turned back to John. “Yes. The goddess of this world chose me to defeat the demon king. So… I guess I’ll do that. If you’re companions with me, you’ll have to come along. Well… what am I saying? That was your goal all along, right?”
“Hey, I didn’t know you were the hero. I just guessed. But yeah, that was the point.”
“I hate that you’re telling the truth when you say that.”
“Hey, isn’t that a little broken? That you can just use your lie detector whenever?”
“...”
“What, you can’t?”
Fate’s handsome face twisted into an evil grin.
“Oh, so there are some things you don’t know?”
“What did I- ah, shit.”
Fate cackled. “Finally! A one up on you! You don’t know how good that feels!”
“Yeah, yeah, shut up,” John grumbled.
Fate handed John the plate of apples, cleanly cut and peeled. He looked at John as if he was expecting something. John sighed as he lifted a piece of apple to his mouth.
“You want something in return, right?”
Fate nodded. “Well, it would be nice.”
“So, what do you want?”
“Just one question. If you think it’s harmful, tell me, and I’ll just ask something else.”
John closed his eyes for a moment, then sighed. “Fine. Ask away.”
Fate took a deep breath in. “You. You have some kind of foreign energy, right? Both you and Prota.”
“...wow. Gold trophy for you.”
“I didn’t ask you that question to hear you praise me.”
John nodded. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll tell you. But, hey. How did you get to that conclusion?”
“Well, it wasn’t me, it was Kit. See, both you and Prota came out of the portal at the same time. That’s not supposed to happen. Trials are supposed to be taken individually. So Kit theorized that if a more powerful energy enters, then it’ll take over and form a new kind of room. If two beings are synched up to that, then… well, you get into the same trial.”
“Huh? But isn’t mana also energy? Isn’t everyone synched up to that?”
“No,” Fate said, shaking his head. “Everyone’s wavelength is a little different. It’s what makes some spells unique to some people and also what allows for affinities. I could explain, but it doesn’t look like you want a lecture on mana right now.”
John nodded. “Yeah, thanks. Something as simple as that huh… well, yeah. Honestly, maybe I should’ve been more careful about it.”
“Then what is it?”
“Can’t tell you that.”
“Because…?”
“Well, it’s a little complex. I can tell you that it’s a foreign energy unique to me. Got it?”
John’s voice, normally so light and free, was now so bitter that Fate didn’t question it.
“Oh, by the way. Kit will be pleased to know that Prota used that Blossom of Ice spell in my trial. She did it pretty well, too.”
“Huh? What? Do you even understand how clear her mind has to be to do something like that in battle?”
Kit popped back into her human form, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Huh? It has nothing to do with magic skill?”
Kit turned to John. “No, not really. See, magic is just people controlling mana in the way they want it. In short, they’re reshaping the world in their image. Now, of course, as mortals, it’s impossible for us to do anything like that on a large scale, but magic is simply taking mana and using it to do whatever we want.”
She tapped her head. “In that case, what would limit someone’s magic?”
“The amount of mana they can handle… and how strong their mentality is,” John said. He understood where this was going.
“Exactly. While the power of a spell is dictated by how much mana you put into it, the quality of a spell is dictated by how clear your mind is.”
John looked at Prota, who’d fallen asleep.
“So her mind is…”
“Yes, very clear. Well, maybe not, but she clearly has something to focus on. Something to push her forwards.”
Fate got up and turned to leave. “By the way, you better get healed up soon. You need to get to B rank as soon as possible.”
“Huh? B rank? Why? I mean, I was aiming for it anyways, but…”
“Didn’t Albert tell you? They found evidence pointing to what we’ve been looking into. We think the group is hidden in a dungeon somewhere, but to go in…”
“Can’t he just make us B rank?”
Fate shrugged as he put on his mask. “Dunno. Ask him, he’s the boss. I’m just the messenger. Come on, Kit.”