"There are no more lifeforms detected in the facility. I have successfully reached the Obsulyte reactor.", a cold, stable voice echoed via the comms.

"No more lifeforms? That was the last squad of them?", Drima wondered.

"..."

"Luna?"

"Yes...it was the last squad."

"Alright, I've alerted basically everyone and told them you're doing recon in Victoria Plains. The last one I have to forward this to is Alexandra...who I'm sure won't be happy to be awakened at this hour, after staying up until 3 a.m. again."

"Affirmative. I will be stationed and deactivate the reactor when instructed."

"Obsulyte reactors directly linked to Obsulyte deposits aren't dangerous to deactivate, nor do they give out radiation the same way uranium-based reactors would, so you'll be safe. After that, because of the distance between there and the Victoria Plains, you should have a 15-minute window to get going. Obsulyte redirects to the highest available source active when not being sapped by something else, and the main deposit is dead center in the plains. Expect to delay reaching everyone else and joining them in battle. I have...no idea what will happen, I've literally never had to deactivate and measure an Obsulyte reactors flow to an alternate natural source..."

"Understood.", she went on standby, plagued by the images her brain kept replaying, having to paint the floor red to reach the reactor room.

A strong slam of a door was then heard from Luna's side of the comms, prompting Drima to close the line immediately and turn around to face the intruder. As expected from what they had done moments prior, Isabella showed up with all the worst intentions.

"You Overseer-loving, treacherous bootlicker! Still high on that shit Makaro provides, huh?! What did you do?! Where are the gauntlets?!", she held Drima at gunpoint.

"Wait, let me explain! It was actually Luna-"

"Luna?! You're pinning this on Luna?!", she shot the gun, missing Drima by an inch, then proceeded to hold it with two hands and adjust her aim, "It's an anti Obsulyte gun you dick! I won't miss again, I swear to whatever god exists out there I won't!"

Everyone else was quick to gather around them as they heard the gun go off, being caught completely off guard by both Isabella's looks, as well as the dire situation at hand.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?", Dante stepped in.

Isabella pushed him away, "Back off! This son of a bitch destroyed mine and Hikari's Gate!"

"Hey, it wasn't yours to begin with!", Drima shouted back.

Yuno got weirded out, "Destroying a Gate? That's impossible."

"The gauntlets are destroyed, they physically no longer exist anywhere. Not in the aether where I can just snap them in, nowhere. Dante, go ahead, try to materialize Obsulyte weapons.", she looked at him.

He was surprised upon trying and failing to do something that mundane, "Hmm. I can't. Neither can I call out Mellistar."

"Hey, Izzy. How about you calm down first and tell us what is actually going on?", Tiki tried to negotiate.

"I'll blow his brains out before calming down, that's for sure! I can't switch with Hikari even!"

"Shut up and listen! The gauntlets were essentially a stolen property off of the Abnormal Space! Hikari told you most of everything, didn't she?!", Drima fearfully said.

"I know that, dumbass! She got the gauntlets after people started jacking up on Obsulyte from the rift! Now what did you do?!"

"Her words are up in the air, as per usual. But as far as the little stories she told you when I cornered her, they are all mostly true. She came into this world, had her love story, spliced everyone's DNA when trying to create 'perfect' humans, hence the half-breeds, and Turned, and all the rest. There are of course some details, but I won't bother you with those. I've been digging into books, and even the Holy Book lines up after what she said if we cross-reference. But I sure as hell ain't trusting that weasel."

"Dante, I think that's a bit much.", Terna warned him.

"Please, I've had to corner her how many times to get her to say things? Ignoring how she up and changed her entire narrative after I regained my memories, out of the things she said, she quickly tried to divert the subject. Don't worry, by the way, Mellistar already told me how you yet again 'Wanted to conceal the truth about Dirunon when you found out to protect my feelings', as you normally do. Even in the world's history, you wanted the best for everyone but still managed to only do harm. You really thought of me as Mellistar and tried to play some sort of screwed-up version of family? Wanted to keep the pie whole and the dog fed? Hmph. Screw her for even trying. I'm much more inclined to believe Drima than whatever she or you have to say.", he stepped beside her, placing himself between Drima and her.

"You annoying prick, I won't hesitate to-", Isabella turned the gun on Dante before getting interrupted.

"Try me. Unlike you, I've got nothing to lose. That said, since I'm playing meat-shield, I'll let Drima say his part first in this case. Do it, and quickly."

"Luna was part of a much larger project that aimed to make non-biological Obsulyte users that would be in control, with the main directive of humanity's protection and continuation. As such, because she was one of the few successful projects, she was heavily expanded upon and they created tailor-made upgrades for her and her internal frame. Look, I can let you guys speak with her, right now. The excuse is up and you can hear all she has to say.", he offered.

"May I ask why the excuse in the first place?", Dante got irritated.

"Because so much stuff surfaced that we have to realign everything yet again. A leading figure of the project apparently was Makaro, responsible for ripping matter off of the Quantum Irregularity, which should literally be impossible, and giving it to the monsters I used to call coworkers to work with! Now, as you all know, I am a Sentinel, I was under the control of the then Overseers, essentially how the monsters are, but-", he got interrupted.

"Hikari herself had little to do with that control.", Magi stepped in, "Firing guns at this hour sure doesn't make for a nice wake-up call.", she chugged her beer, "So, have you all calmed down enough for me to fill you in on what's probably about to happen? Because I have a very, very good idea of what that is."

"Said the woman with a beer at hand before sunrise.", Yuno folded his arms, "You're all quite lucky Terna put Lina back to bed before she dashed here. All of you are such great examples."

"Well, given who I was chatting with, this is more than justified. Your favorite Ana Golver, right now, is with Kikaro. Actual Kikaro. In Vardard out of all places."

Everyone was stunned by the development of this, realizing that one of their friends had indeed found themselves after the figure that was thought to antagonize them all.

Isabella lowered her gun, "She's with who?"

"You heard me. Same son of a bitch that used his powers to control me. Rather, what he called 'nature's powers'. The remainders of that 'nature's powers', dubbed Makaro by whoever was lucky enough to be alive, witness, and survive the First Collapse, are about to be thrown into the Victoria Plains in a bit."

"You're saying that we are about to fight a...god?", Terna wondered.

"Call them Overseers for simplicity's sake. But no. 'Makaro' is everywhere. I let this drag on to see both sides of the coin here, and Hikari as well as Kikaro were such idiots, just like the Trailblazers and Abyss Hunters. When our worlds were brought into Zero, us being chosen to serve the Overseers at the time, we had to undergo a passing through, you guessed it, the Quantum Irregularity. It's pure, untamed Obsulyte overflowed in us, granting us our insane powers, such as mine, which is to be able to sap your Obsulyte and use it to my advantage. That happened to me, Drima and Decanee who is now deceased. Izuko came to the continent way too late and struck a deal way after the First Collapse. But if anything, seeing Izuko in action only further proved a point this nerd over here tried to prove, without fully understanding. That whole 'Kikaro used his powers and named them Makaro, slowly losing control of them like those under his influence did.'. I did, however, enjoy some titles these mumbling morons made a religion out of, because 'Sentinel Of Hate' does sound pretty metal.", she then turned to face Drima, "Sentinel Of Treason, on the other hand, treated you horribly."

"That being that, as far as...your name again?", Drima looked at Enemy, ignoring Magi's comment.

"Isabella Aimori.", she coldly answered.

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"That name is so much more adorable than what I'd have thought it to be!", Terna commented.

"About time for a name change then.", Isabella got weirded out, putting away her gun while still standing at the door.

"Right. Hikari and Isabella, Dante to Mellistar, and any other things like that, came off of the same process of the Quantum Irregularity we had to face. When you get 'dipped' in there, you essentially gain extreme power, oftentimes enough to kill you as your body cannot physically contain them, instead evaporating you and turning you into the same matter that flows around there. Kikaro, in a bit to stop Hikari when she was molding, or I should say, remolding the world went there himself. He not only survived, he came back with what I now know was an ego like the aforementioned. The Quantum Irregularity literally split him in two, but not in the same way. He remained there for far longer...Makaro ended up as a discarded 'resource' he threw off of the Abnormal Space where he watched the world over. Shadowers. That's what Makaro is. Pure, raw, unfiltered Obsulyte that's been worked into a crisp, seeking out evermore power to keep itself alive, via ore deposits, or otherwise people who have Obsulyte running through them. That's what we will be facing, I'm almost certain. Only something like Makaro could go back to its 'home', the Quantum Irregularity, rip off that matter, and give it to the scientists."

"That makes no sense. Kikaro still is running the show, right?", Tiki wondered.

"No, he's not. Because my theory with Izuko was true. Kikaro lost all control of Makaro. As such, him giving up on it and letting it roll over to the point it has now, was the same condition as with Izuko. His power couldn't be contained in his body, and as such, he went mad. Seen it with Dante too...but Hikari, surprisingly, not. It is impossible to tell which part of a person manifested into another form, and with Dante having a symbiotic relationship with Mellistar, whereas Hikari and Isabella are their own entities, it gets further complicated."

"Good, thanks for trying your best to make me not want to shoot you in the head thinking of you as a traitor. Now answer the part where you destroyed our Gate.", Isabella insisted.

"Luna did it first thing upon awakening in her new frame. According to her, the spatial expansion pause behind Zero was caused because of Hikari reaping a part of the Abnormal Space, molding it into the gauntlets, and making a fake gate to control matter at a very poor state. I'm saying 'poor state' because compared to Luna, all she could summon was transparent weapons, just like Dante's. But she on the other hand just created a perfect fit of an outfit that requires no power feeding to stay phased in, and fully functioning ion cannons. That is true material manifestation."

"Then where would that put Cecilia at? Because she never had the same condition as me, I don't think.", Dante pondered.

"Cecilia was one of the first few randomly chosen to receive Obsulyte by stepping into the Quantum Irregularity. Essentially, when a rift was caused by Cecilia after she actually came across and used the Key Of The Gate, an Obsulyte-related accident was caused, And Hikari entered what was considered the Abnormal Space. While the thing was supposed to close, probably because of Hikari entering, she ended up leaving the crack open for others to enter too and then creating and taking the gauntlets in her care. Those gauntlets actively allowed her to control and form the matter of this world. But the byproduct of that crack, before it was sealed, was that humans were able to cross there, normal ones, without any innate given Obsulyte abilities, unlike how Kikaro meticulously chose those who had it in them like me and the others. Her powers were crazy, like with yours, kid.", Magi sipped her beer, "Along came the Valkyries after those who managed to survive the ride, which mind you, was few and far between than those who actually went in. Later down the line...hmm. I think a case could be made that she carried Mellistar, Dante then, with her after entering the Abnormal Space with his DNA, a lot of blood, on her hands. Or maybe even him as an entire whole. But in any case, the army that in the end was chosen by both sides were: us alongside Kikaro, his amalgamations created by 'Makaro', and the rest of everyone with Hikari."

Drima realized, "Makaro edged them to recreate Valkyries but under his control. That's why he used them. The genocide in Victoria happened because one of Makaro's last chances to erase humanity had been compromised, and using the landscape after the Great War...that was a genius plan."

Magi nodded, "Kikaro always disapproved of Hikari's temperament with the world, and all he wanted was for her to stop playing with everything as if they were BUILD bricks. Hence the breaking point that ended up on That Day, after the First Collapse. Make's sense why Makaro would essentially mirror his wishes when he went his own way and infested the place with Shadowers, now Corrupted."

Drima fearfully realized, "That Day...the War Of Gods..."

"Not like Hikari was in the wrong. Obsulyte users existed regardless as a minority, since the world depended on it and funneled it en masse through the Quantum Irregularity and Abnormal Space. But to go that far to how she did, true fear must've been in that girl's mind.", Magi sighed, "Doesn't matter. Whatever happened, happened. Bitching about it isn't going to solve anything."

"So the Quantum Irregularity can cause the exact same thing that Hikari was able to do when she got those gauntlets, Splice DNA to create a half-breed. But not just DNA splicing.", Tiki thought, "But she never once managed to actually manifest or redirect organic matter. Which, considering she could do before, must also mean that Luna was able to destroy the Gate so fast and so easily, because the Gate was a temporary fake that kept running out of power."

"Still makes no sense. Hikari is a part of me, and I spent a ton of time in the Quantum Irregularity, not mere moments. Unless...when I was drowning in that matter sea, she actually was the one to pull me out and save me? No...there's no mistaking that I was destroyed and reborn in the Quantum Irregularity. I remember falling into the Hadron collider back in Canada, then waking up in that bottomless hell...Hikari and I are...we are two things into one?", Isabella doubted her own existence.

"Universes also possess timelines, right? What are the chances the Abnormal Space, The Void, and Quantum Irregularity all screw up with that too?", Dante asked.

"One hundred percent.", Drima added.

"I'm starting to get something then, out of the basics. Obsulyte forced you two together, that thing in the Quantum Irregularity. The same way that it merged me with Mellistar and the same way it separated part of Kikaro into his own thing. But here's the key factor, we were all compatible. As in: DNA compatible, world compatible, and found in the same space compatible. Meaning that Cecilia carried Dante of the past with her, and he clicked on me when I was inevitably born into my world and matched him. So what Luna did and said was true, Mellistar and Hikari are discardable inconstants that drag Zero down. Only one can permanently exist...that's why Mellistar phases in my body and you swap with Hikari, why we were able to summon them in such a way behind our backs in battle, with perfect sync, and why we can't do it anymore. Luna fixed that inconsistency."

Isabella was dumbfounded, "We merged with...ourselves? No, that can't be right, if that's the case, then Hikari is...she can't be! Hikari was brought onto Zero and is the constant of Zero!"

"What if she was created by you? Remember, Kikaro split with his raw Obsulyte, which an Overseer can very well do.", Tiki added, "Assuming Drima and Magi got like this with a few seconds, you marinating for so long in that hellhole could very well give you enough power to split into two. Or three. Hikari didn't infect the world with her DNA, everything was here. She only played around with it and tried to perfect it. When Kikaro won after all those Overseers tried to have their bite in the First Collapse, from what I know...that must mean he too, was dipped into the Quantum Irregularity when he arrived. Because Zero has direct access to all three states and all three domains. That's why we are a chokepoint. And get this. Terna, Isabella, and Alexandra are all talking nonsense, right? Greece, Germany, Canada...Zero is not just Zero. Because exactly what happened to you, as Dante said, happened to this world. It slotted itself in with similar, compatible worlds from different possible timelines. That's why, despite some inconsistencies from other factors, it all clicked together. That's why the landscape, if we were to take a map from every world and put it on top of each other, would line up. Holy shit!", Tiki snapped her fingers, "I just had the greatest eurika moment of my life! Zero, based on the timeline merge of a few statistically improbable, dying universes, started with a historical baseline of the old modern times, got stuck at those times because of constant wars from thousands of years of worrying about each world's separate survival, before reaching the advancements of today!"

"Good god, these things are so hard to get sometimes. But I guess...that does make sense. It honestly does!", Terna got on board with Tiki's explanation.

"The Quantum Irregularity, along with everything else is weird. So are the laws of the universe...universes. But keep this in mind, Isabella: the gauntlets had to go. It was an illegitimate Gate, just like Mellistar's weapon that exists right now, which came before the other rift that ejected weapons in the Day Of Starfall did.", Drima repeated and tried to get her to understand.

Isabella calmed down, "But...then what's left? Because that weapon was crucial to also operating Cecilia's Gate. Without at least feeding it pure Obsulyte to activate it to an extent, it's no more useful than a normal weapon. And with what we're about to fight, without it, I can only start questioning how normal Obsulyte conductive weapons will do. This is not a simple task, I've faced Kikari, Makaro- whatever, before. This will be hell to go through...", she got worried.

"You're not being thrown into the beast's mouth, Izzy! We're with you!", Terna cheered her up.

"Yay...please don't call me Izzy.", she rubbed her forehead, getting completely weirded out.

"But you're so cute looking with this too! A cute nickname for a cute girl like you is fitting, right?"

"Your attempts of cheering me up honestly make things so much worse."

Magi ignored Terna's piercing optimism briefly, "How much longer have we got? Because the beast is about to be unleashed, and you know Makaro ain't stepping down without a fight.", she asked Drima.

"One switch flip away, but not that long. We have between a nuclear explosion or a massive beast fight. But time is of the essence also, since the circuit on the Obsulyte reactor Luna is at right now is about to burn. Better not take risks. This will be the biggest fight we've ever fought."

"I guess we're not going to Greece again then...oh, Galatea.", Terna sighed, "Sorry, kind of getting those two mixed."

"You're worried about a vacation right now?", Yuno asked.

"Had we gone there to seek that Abyss Hunter member, or anyone of that matter that we know were powerful Obsulyte users, maybe it could've proven useful? That said, if I could just meet up with that Serena that's wondering The Void again, maybe ask her something more specific too."

"I mean, we really don't have a choice now. We're slotted in since it got to this point. Gate or no Gate, Hikari and Isabella themselves, along with all of us are exceptional Obsulyte users to begin with. And adding the military into the mix will only make it better. But an Overseer class threat is still a big one.", Tiki prepared herself.

Dante slowly took away Isabella's gun, "That said, we've got work to do. Everyone should gear up and we will go party up with the military of Gardard afterwards. And you...Isabella? I want to talk to you, personally."

"Talk about an early and interesting highlight.", Isabella shrugged, calming down enough to be able to converse with someone.

"Ah, shit.", Tiki got worried.

"Like grown adults, without bullshit.", Dante added, to soothe her rising worries.

"Alright, I'll leave you guys and try to get Lina to wake up and calm down. Her birthday is tomorrow, and you know she will go crazy the day before. I'll meet you in the same outfit as before for this battle too. Sorry, but I hadn't had the time to do anything about that with such little time between deployments...", Terna silently said.

"I'll be there for that, don't worry. No, let's all suit up...man, isn't it early for that.", Tiki went along with Terna, doing her morning stretches on the way.