Grigori Headquarters, Underworld

A glamorous woman garbed in a black and sexy secretary outfit walked in the hallway in a fast-paced manner while holding a pile of papers in her hands, her long purple hair tied in a ponytail fashion swung left and right in each step her high-heels made as her walnut brown eyes radiated a hardened yet somewhat bewildered gaze, especially when her rondures saw a very familiar door in front of her.

Arriving at the doorway, she stood in front of the entrance for a moment before knocking softly on it.

"Who is it?" came a voice at the other side of the door.

"Azazel, it's me."

"Oh, Penemue? Come in."

Hearing the invitation from the owner of the chamber, the woman now named Penemue slowly opened the door and entered the said room. The room, or should we say office, was quite elegant and high-class judging from the pieces of furniture and utensils displayed within. At the center of the room where a beautifully carved office desk was situated, a tall man appearing to be in his twenties with an average build, black hair, golden bangs and black goatee sitting on his chair while doing some paperwork.

"I hope I'm not troubling you." said the purple haired woman as she approached the man who was flipping some papers before stamping them here and there.

"Nah, I'm just doing my job as the Governor-General of the Fallen Angels though I hate paperwork." the man replied, still impressing the papers before him with a hint of disgust before glancing towards the female. "So how's your search for that man going Chief Secretary? Any development yet?"

Penemue discerned the underlying tone from that inquiry coming from her fellow researcher and portrayed a frown when she saw the grin on Azazel's face.

"It's not like what you think Azazel," Penemue replied with emphasis. "I'm just curious about his sickness as a researcher."

The woman refers to a certain brown man that was diagnosed with an incurable brain disease called Amnesia Syndrome - a disease that eats away the victim's memories eventually leading to his death - which got her intrigue. It was her first time hearing such illness and yet, what surprised her the most was that the patient who was guaranteed to die did recover miraculously.

In this regard, Penemue outlined this turn of events to Azazel who was also intrigued by this development. However, there were some facts that she kept to herself.

One was which the odd and unfamiliar presence that the patient was exuding the moment he woke up from his 10-year coma. If there was one word she could describe that feeling, it was ancient. As in old, primitive, prehistoric, foregone... for a human.

"Haha, I know, I know." laughed the man with golden bangs. "So any news yet?"

In his query, the purple-haired woman just shook her head in response.

"No, we haven't heard of him ever since he got out from the hospital. We even received a word that he hasn't yet contacted or even approached the government offices in Kyoto responsible for his living assistance." sighed Penemue, a hint of irritation in her tone. "I know that he's in Kyoto but I can't feel his presence within the entire region at all, as if, he disappeared without a trace."

"I see," Azazel said with understanding, his attention now already piqued by such revelation. "Are you sure he isn't a magician? Related to any supernatural faction perhaps?"

"Unfortunately, he isn't. I can assure you that."

"Hmm, how suspicious..." mumbled the Governor-General under his breath, his hand cupping his chin. "Since our miracle boy is already famous thanks to the media, I'm sure that we will find him in no time so just continue your search. By the way, what's that bundle of papers you're carrying?"

"Ah, this is what I came for," Penemue said with excitement as she handed the papers she was carrying to the man with black hair and golden bangs. "You better read this."

"Realization of a Perpetual Generator...?" Azazel read the title with a raised eyebrow.

For someone like Azazel who is a research fanatic himself, the title of the paper was quite attention-grabbing and appealing to the eyes. It has been a common goal for an energy-hungry society to look for ways, alternatives, and derivatives of energy source in order to function and sustain itself. One of this is the notion of creating a generator that will produce perpetual energy, which was considered as a "myth" by many. He was one of those who was adamant in creating such technology yet due to some complications posed by the concept itself, it was something he abandoned until a few more advancement in science can help him create such thing.

"Just read it, already." complained the woman impatiently.

Shrugging his shoulders, the Governor-General began to read the papers presented to him with scrutiny and slight skepticism. As minutes passed by, the leader of Grigori was immersed by the pieces of information presented within the paper changing his demeanor from a skeptical standpoint to a bewildered one, his mind being blown away by the data inscribed in his reading material.

He shot a stupefied look at the Chief Secretary who was looking at him with stars in her eyes and an excited glee on her lips.

"So, what do you think!?"

"This is revolutionary!" Azazel exclaimed with excitement. "A generator that uses a Philosopher's Stone as a power source in order to produce perpetual energy... Penemue, where did you get this!?"

"I got it on the internet," Penemue replied. "A few days ago, some anonymous person published this on the net including very elaborate, sophisticated, and detailed instructions on how to create such energy system using current technology. It even has the details on how to manufacture a photonic crystal or a Philosopher's Stone! And before you say that this a hoax, each government in the human world also received a copy of this research in their network. Crafting something like this is plausible, I know that you know that Azazel."

"Yes it is indeed plausible but I have to wonder if the author of this work is a magician," Azazel stated, looking at the paper in front of him as if it was a piece of artifact. "I'm pretty sure that the various magician associations even Mephisto's will flipped out when they see this. Heh, even Ajuka will go nuts with this information."

Penemue have to agree with her leader's sentiments. If there were individuals who pursuit more in creating or crafting a Philosopher's Stone then it would be the magicians themselves. Now that someone has disclosed the mechanics or procedures how to create one, surely each Magic Associations will be on the race on crafting such legendary item.

"Ooh! Now I'm excited!" the man exclaimed joyfully as he stood up from his seat.

"Where are you going?"

"Where else? I won't let the Grigori to be left behind in the race!"

Grinning to himself with excitement, Governor-General Azazel immediately went to his personal laboratory with the thesis paper at hand.

Now left alone in the room, Penemue couldn't resist visualizing the face of the "genius" that created such work.

XXX

Kyoto, Japan

"Achoo!"

Hakuno couldn't help but sneeze when he felt a ticklish feeling in his nose. Regaining back his composure, the 27-year old brown haired man assorting an orange mechanic jumpsuit continued back on his work. It has been five days since he released the information about the Photonic Drive and photonic crystals, including the procedures on how to manufacture them and just like he expected from what he saw from the television in the past days, the opinions of the populace were divided.

Some called it a hoax or a bluff while the other half were very enthusiastic about creating such. Of course, manufacturing the necessary equipment for parts of the Photonic Furnace/Drive needs money but the man was very sure of himself that humanity could build one, especially those of the First World countries.

As for the supernatural world, Hakuno was very positive that they were in a ruckus right now having a race of some sorts between themselves in order to replicate his work. As much as he wanted to join in that regard, doing so will only demolish the morale and spirits from the other side considering that what he was building right now was quite ridiculous, crazy, and diabolical to the standards of the inhabitants of this world.

He was just only building an exoskeleton frame for an 8-meter tall robot in his basement (which he renovated by the way), using the knowledge that he got from "peering" into one of the technological advanced parallel worlds using his Mystic Eyes, God Eye.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

If one would ask why he was making such endeavor, Hakuno would surely answer that he a lot of free time in his hands. Another thing is that he wanted to venture into outer space. While it may be logical to build a spaceship for that matter, the lad decided to go and create a robot instead. Besides, despite his age, the brown-haired man was very a die-hard fan of robots and mecha, especially those who were capable of atmospheric and space flight.

Of course, there is an underlying reason for this something that he was only aware of.

"Just a few twist here..." Hakuno spoke between breaths while he wrenched a few bolts in place on the frame that looked like a giant femur.

In order to craft such gargantuan robotic frame, tons of materials were needed. Where he find these materials was something that he only knows, however. There were some parts that were missing but Hakuno knows that it would take a lot of time to complete this undertaking of a project.

For the past 4 days, the 27-year old man had already accomplished a lot of things. During the first and second day, he crafted several Mystic Codes ranging from garments, ornaments, and down straight to weapons like a rapier or a gun. Mystic Codes are by definition, support equipment and weapons used by a magic practitioner, They can be also referred to as magic tools and magical artifacts. During the third and fourth day, the man designed a hoverbike utilizing a properly measured photonic furnace as its power source from an old wrecked and rusty motorbike that he found while renovating the building. He also managed to create a Codecast spell that can be used as a dimensional storage device, similar to those mechanics from certain RPGs.

Obviously, he was very pleased with the outcome especially with the hoverbike although using it in public would stir up some commotions.

With so much work to do, Hakuno Kishinami continued to immerse himself in his work.

XXX

The first day of February finally came to Gion.

Garbed in his usual getup; a checkered polo shirt, a pair of blue jeans and white sneakers, Hakuno Kishinami strolled within the confines of the beautiful Southern Higashiyama. He had been holed up in his "project" for more than 12 days that he decided to take a breather, seeing another scenery to his eyes other than the four corners of his basement and some metallic parts and scraps coming from his project.

Gion is a district within the city of Kyoto developed in front of the famous Gion Shrine, also known as Yasaka Shrine by the locals. The district was built to accommodate the needs of travelers and visitors to the shrine. As far as he was aware of, in this month of the year a huge amount of people; tourist and locals from other parts of Japan, visit this district for the upcoming Setsubun Festival which will be held tomorrow. It is a festival that marks the beginning of spring according to the old lunar calendar in Japan.

Because it marks a new beginning, the locals would throw roasted soybeans out the door of their houses while shouting "Devils out! Good luck in!" as a sign or custom of casting out old bad things and invite new good things. People also commonly eat one roasted soybean for each year of their life, plus another for good luck in the coming year.

As kabuki drama became popular on the Gion district's western edges, more sophisticated forms of entertainment were developed for the theater-goers, and so today Gion is known as Kyoto's most famous geisha district. Packed with bars, restaurants, and traditional teahouses, Gion is at it's most atmospheric in the early evening when the lanterns are lit and apprentice geisha will flit about the back streets on their way to their appointments. However, there is also a lot to see here during the day.

And that's what Hakuno had been doing all morning, enjoying the daytime walking tour with other other tourists and Japanese locals. During the tour session, the bespectacled man became instantly famous when one of the child tourists recognized him as the "miracle boy" from the news, and before he knew it, a lot of people wrestled him in their arms so they could take pictures of him. Even the tourist guide came for the ride.

With all the overwhelming attention solely focusing on him, he had to immediately flee from them and that's what he did right there.

"Hey, are you sure he went that way?"

"Of course! We need to hurry!"

"Wait for us our "Miracle Boy"!"

With all the ruckus he had induced that morning, the 27-year old man had decided to lie low and find a secluded place for himself just to avoid any unwanted attention. He had to do it though, for there were some shady characters began appearing all around Gion when a tourist uploaded his picture along with the captions "Miracle Boy in Gion!" in his social media account.

Luckily for him though, he found a secluded place away from the eyes of many.

With a newly bought ascot hat on top of his head and an opened newspaper covering his upper torso, Hakuno stay still on the wooden bench he was currently occupying as he let his pursuers passed him on purpose. As the silhouette of the three people fades on to the horizon, he finally laid the newspaper he used as a cover and let out a comfortable sigh.

"Why "Miracle Boy" of all things?" he complained under his exasperated breath.

He didn't get it all, though. Would the epithet refer to someone who is capable of miracles instead of someone who received a miracle? As of he is now, he could technically create miracles but that was beside the point. Deciding on dismissing such trivial thoughts from his mind, Hakuno rested his neck comfortably against the upper part of the bench rest and looked up at the sky.

For some strange reason, he felt like there were something off around his surroundings. While he can't pinpoint what exactly it was, his gut was telling him that there was some disturbance hanging and permeating in the air. And another thing, was Kyoto supposed to be the stronghold of the Youkai faction? He didn't see or feel even a single one of them around Gion starting earlier.

"Hm?" he confusedly mused as his spectacle protected brown orbs notice something strange in the sky.

"That's..."

At first glance, it wasn't noticeable but with a closer inspection one could discern a small hole in the sky, its inside were painted in a darker variation of the normal blue color of the firmament while its circumference is outlined in bluish purple radiance. He had an inkling what that thing was and his assumption was right when he observed the gape above him slowly growing in size as it tries to siphon the mana permeating into the environment at a slow paced.

"A Singularity?" Hakuno muttered to himself, slightly disturbed at the supernatural occurrence revealed in front of him.

From what he saw within the Moon Cell's archives in the past, a Singularity is an unobservable region that does not exist within a World's recorded history. It's as if a hole has opened up within the timeline, a hole that is separate from the regular temporal axis. They were circumstances that can manifest a Singularity, however, Hakuno felt that this one was different and sinister.

"Don't tell me that someone messed up with this World's Quantum-Time Lock?"

A Quantum-Time Lock or Spiritron Record Anchoring Band, to describe, is a "universal" event iterated at regular intervals within a domain for the purpose of anchoring "the average expression of phenomena and occurrences" as immutable absolutes within a confirmed History. It implies the culling and management of Adjacent Worlds, also known as Parallel Worlds.

Any history that has been secured as a Time-Lock or Anchoring Band become as an existence impervious to interference from the past and future; events or phenomena that exist within the purview of the anchoring band are utterly immovable. Hypothetically, if one were to move to a chronological position in the past of an "anchoring band" to the end of modifying history, as time progresses unto the Time-Lock, history would be forcibly corrected (forcibly restored) to its state of the record. However, it is potentially possible that by some immense undertaking, the course of the History of the World could be fundamentally denied by the successful revocation (destruction) of a "Quantum Time-Lock" - but even by this method, that which is denied is restricted to "the History of the World (confirmed History) that falls subsequent to the anchoring band.".

The appearance of the hole in the sky only means that several major confirmed History of this World Line had already been nullified simultaneously.

Clicking his tongue, Hakuno dismissed his eyeglasses while activating his Mystic Eyes of Omniscience God Eye, turning his regular brown rondures into radiating blue orbs with a wonderful rainbow-colored shimmerings dancing around his pupil while staring at the manifesting Singularity above him. A various influx of data flowed into his mind as he tried to peer on the many turning points or events of the World's history that were eradicated.

A sense of understanding dawned on him when he finally gained the knowledge of the individuals responsible for such undertaking and he couldn't help himself but grimace.

A part of him blamed himself on the current happening. If he hadn't worn the Mystic Eye Killers, he would've seen all of this distortions with his God Eye before it happened although in exchange he would suffer a mental fallout due to the strain of using said Mystic Eyes which can't be willfully deactivated in the first place. Certainly, the eyepiece was there to help him mitigate the stress and huge amounts of junk data entering his human mind.

"Huh... so you resort to doing that, Qlippoth?" he sighed, clipping his Mystic Eye Killers on the neckline of his white undershirt.

Hakuno had grasped so much about this world the moment he arrived here. Aside from its history, he also learned of those who were very adamant in upsetting the current status quo of the world. One such entity is Qlippoth, an organization under the leadership of one Rizevim Livan Lucifer who is the son of the late Morning Star, Lucifer.

If there is one word that he could describe the child of Lucifer, it would be the word "ambitious". He also learned that the son of Lucifer has managed to have contact and reached an accord from a being of another universe through unknown means. To make it worse, Rizevim had managed to draw several powerful and influential personalities from different pantheons under his banner.

Something big is definitely coming because of this drastic development, and it won't just take place in this World Line.

"You have no idea what you just have got yourself and this world into."

As the Singularity began sneakily absorbed the Mana of the World, the vessel of the Moon Cell had already devised a plan how to stop this madness that Qlippoth had instigated. He would need to travel back in the past in order to correct the anomalies and restore the proper flow of the World's timeline, and he would start first at the first Singularity that appeared within the temporal axis...

...The Singularity that appeared in this same place 181 years in the past; Codename: Singularity Foxtail.

It was the Singularity that caused the massive extinction of the Youkai race which would explain why Hakuno can't detect any Youkai in the area the moment he arrived in South Higashiyama.

Standing up from the wooden bench, the brown-haired man first checked his surroundings. Deducing that the area was clear of people and supernatural creatures, Kishinami Hakuno gazed his rondures that were brimming in a radiance of multitude colors up in the sky while drawing something within the vast library of the Moon Cell's archives. Something that would allow him to travel in the past without any repercussions or fallout on his behalf.

In a split second, he found what he was looking for. While the expertise that he had found within the Moon Cell's archives belongs to someone else, more specifically someone known as the Old Man of the Jewels, the brown-haired lad had no choice but to use it. A huge amount of magical energy began to accumulate around his frame as he began to use the specified skill.

And without any warning, Kishinami Hakuno vanished in a speck of dust as he traveled a hundred and eighty-one years into the past.