Dimensions Collide: Destiny Bond

Chapter 238: All Over Again

“Celestia. I love you, but I don’t know that I ever want to go on vacation with you again.”“B-Briar! That wasn’t my fault!” the princess protested. “How did I know Cultists were going to be trying to kidnap me?”

“Cel, to be fair, that’s, like, the second time they’ve tried to kidnap you,” Destiny laughed. “Are you some kind of fairy tale princess?”

“Hmph. Then that would make you my knight in shining armour, wouldn’t it?” the princess pouted.

Destiny blushed, momentarily stunned at the expense of the group’s entertainment.

As expected, the group had survived the incident without much trouble. Prota hadn’t had to step in even a single time, and while there had been a couple of close calls, a combination of collaboration and good training resolved it without much issue. More than that, though, a second round of life-or-death combat had brought the group closer than ever.

All of them were beginning to develop a reputation within the school. It was just too easy to idolize them, given their accomplishments and prowess. Even among a school of the insanely talented, they stood out.

Each one of them excelled in their field. Each one was being tutored by a Mystic, or, in Prota’s case, a dragon.

But it was a little odd, from Anta’s perspective at least. In their past life, the group had excelled, but not to the point of admiration. Even nobles wouldn’t touch the commoners of the group, which was everyone but Destiny and Celestia. The younger students looked up to them, their peers respected them, and they were overall treated as celebrities.

Of everyone, Prota definitely received the lowest level of treatment. While she was regarded as someone strong, her anti-social nature and lack of any recent feats made her the least interesting of the group. After all, she still did very little during her Casting classes. She just sat there and stared, and since that meant she showed no growth, it also meant people were starting to forget what she was actually capable of. And since she was now in her third year, at least half the school hadn’t seen her take down a whole group of students at once.

But that didn’t matter to her.

As long as she had friends who stuck by her side, she couldn’t care less about what everyone thought about her. She’d gone through one lifetime of being harassed, attacked and bullied. While this was infinitely nicer, she also couldn’t forget that there were those who attacked her despite the fact that she’d done nothing to deserve such treatment.

But then again, there had been those who supported her during those times.

“...did you, you know, consider a less startling approach?”

This rebuke had come from Ryan, who was holding a fainted Lilith in his arms. This was a result of Anta having shown up out of nowhere, appearing in her ghostly form without warning.

“Well, this was more interesting,” Anta said with a mischievous grin. “Isn’t it?”

“...you know, if you weren’t technically Prota, I’d be really upset right now.”

In the end, though, introductions were sorted out and finished. Lilith was actually quite glad to have yet another friend, even if that friend was just a strange alternate version of a current friend. Ryan, too, eventually warmed up to the idea, even if he wasn’t initially all that pleased.

In this manner, the third year of Scholaris started off peacefully.

And, in a somewhat expected manner, a few months later, a student disappeared.

~~~

Prota was summoned to Sofya’s office the very next day. The weather outside was unusually cheerful: sunny, with soft, smooth banks of snow covering the school grounds, and a still air that made the cold incredibly bearable.

Unfortunately, it seemed Prota would not be given the time to enjoy it.

“Prota. What do you know about this situation?”

It was Anta who answered, moving into the body immediately upon Sofya’s question.

“To be honest… not much,” she sighed, a somewhat conflicted expression falling on her face.

“I presume this is the result of the Butterfly Effect we spoke of?”

“In a way. Kinda, kinda not. See, in our last life, students started disappearing, but you were the reason behind it.”

Sofya’s eyes widened. “Me?”

“Yes. Don’t worry. From what we know, it wasn’t for anything dangerous. You simply needed test subjects to see if the powers you’d received would work. No one was harmed as a result of your actions.”

“I see…”

“But that’s where the whole Butterfly Effect kicks in. To be fair, though, we weren’t really the ones who caused it this time around, at least not directly. You never received a letter or a strange energy source, so there was no way of you interfering at all,” Anta said, pacing back and forth. “You see the problem, right? The same event. A different person.”

“And yet, you speak as if you have an idea.”

Anta sighed. “Well, yeah.”

“Is it…”

“Best if we aren’t too obvious about it,” Anta said, shaking her head. “The only problem is that we don’t know what the motivation is.”

“If I may ask… why is that an issue?” Sofya said slowly. “Not that I’m questioning you. It’s just that I don’t quite understand why we are waiting to take action if we are capable of doing so.”

Anta sighed. “It’s… it’s a little complicated. To put it in a way I’m able to explain it, there’s something like causality that fights back against unfair actions. We could, theoretically, go and stop this from happening now. But the problem is what comes after.”

“You are afraid of the potential backlash,” Sofya nodded. “I will not question this matter of causality, but I presume it is an unknown force?”

“Something like that.”

“Would that force happen to be the goddess? I was not aware that she could interfere in such a way, such a revelation would be…”

Sofya would have completed her sentence, but Anta’s expression was so unsettling that she couldn’t help but stop.

“You… you are not suggesting that there is something else, are you?”

“Let’s just call it a force of nature. Kinda like how mana is just something that exists, let’s say this causality thing is also something that just exists. Alright? I know you want to learn more, but trust me when I say it isn’t.”

“I see,” Sofya sighed. “Very well. Continue.”

“...can you put up, you know. Um.”

Sofya nodded silently, closing her eyes as her lips moved silently. Prota could feel the mana around them condense, forming a barrier that would allow neither sound nor mana in or out.

“Ok. Hikari might be suspicious if we leave this up too long, so let’s go quickly. What Prota and I know is that Hikari lost their child at some point to some sort of disease. They prayed to Celeste to cure this kid, but it didn’t work, so they got upset.”

“That… I see,” Sofya nodded. “While it is still a heinous act, I cannot say that I do not understand…”

“I’m not saying this so we can understand their motives in order to fight them better,” Anta sighed. “Whether or not you sympathise with the cat is irrelevant. This is only to explain their motive. What we need to figure out is their goal.”

“Their goal?”

“What they hope to achieve. Right now, neither I nor Prota can even begin to think of an idea. Before we act, we need to figure out what’s going on.”

“Then I can-”

“You. Will do nothing,” Anta said sternly.

“I can take the causality. If it will-”

“No! That’s not how it works!” Anta yelled angrily. “This isn’t a scenario where someone can sacrifice themselves. Causality just is, it doesn’t strike down like a force of god or something! This is a scenario where, if something goes wrong, the world itself takes a hit as a result. Just because you act does not mean you are the one punished. Do you understand? I am telling you all this because, in the worst case scenario, you may need to help. Otherwise, I will handle things. Understood?”

Sofya almost flinched at the child’s outburst. It was a ridiculous scenario, a mere human commanding a dragon, but then again, this wasn’t a normal human.

“I’m sorry,” Anta said quietly. “It’s just… too much is at stake, now. Too much is being risked for us to mess up here. If we go through all of this only for us to fail now…”

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“No, it is understandable. Child. You must be under a tremendous weight at the moment. I merely wish… that someday, that weight can be lifted.”

It was Prota, not Anta, who answered that question in the end.

“Nn.” She looked at Sofya with shining eyes, a faint smile on her face. “Friends… sometimes, heavier. But friends… are friends. Not about what’s harder. About what I want.”

“...how wise,” Sofya said with a smile. “As it should be. A joy shared is twice the joy. A burden shared is half the burden. Best of luck, Prota. Anta. May the goddess be with you.”

~~~

At a glance, Anta’s outburst was odd. She usually didn’t get frazzled by much. Concerned, maybe, or cautious, but never stressed.

The reason for said outburst, however, wasn’t all that odd if analyzed.

As Anta was Prota’s soul, the two’s thoughts were relatively in sync, and while they could disagree, they would likely think the same way when it came to important matters. Of course, Anta was far more cunning and logical than Prota was, but at the end of the day, their goals were the same.

And both were starting to realize that their goal known as “John” was rapidly approaching.

“What… have we done all this time?” Anta muttered nervously. “We’ve barely accomplished anything.”

“...took time to grow,” Prota pointed out. “Body… better, now. Core, bigger. Core biggest at lab, so it’s ok. And… meaning. We found meaning.”

Anta seemed to calm down a little at that, but she didn’t calm down entirely.

“I mean this in the kindest way possible, Prota, but most of that doesn’t mean anything. Yes, our body was trained to a proper point, but that’s the bare minimum we were meant to accomplish. And while it’s nice you found meaning, that doesn’t really help us. If meaning were all we needed, we would’ve won a long time ago, because I’ve always known what my purpose is.”

“...nn?”

“Protecting you. At the end of the day, you are my most important person. It helps that if you die, I die. But understanding what I want has never been the issue. That’s… kinda what we are as souls, you know?”

Prota tilted her head. What was Anta talking about?

“Did Zero never explain this? I guess he didn’t,” Anta sighed. “Prota, Zero and I are beings made of [DEM]. We’re not normal souls. There might be stories where people have sentient souls, but we don’t follow those rules. If I were to keep things brief, we’re like a completed mirror version of what you are.”

“Completed… mirror?”

Anta sighed again. “The rules are pretty loose. I don’t think there really are rules, actually. But think about Zero. He has all of John’s memories. At least, I think he does. He’s happy, and he really likes [Characters], but he can’t interact with them unless he talks to them. He has no powers on his own. John, on the other hand, avoids [Characters], and yet he’s a physical, walking entity in this world. He has incredible powers, but no memories, and he’s definitely not someone I would call happy.”

Prota nodded. She was beginning to understand where this was going.

“Yet, despite those differences, they’re largely the same. They speak the same. They think the same. They argue the same, act the same for the most part, so on and so forth. They’re still the same person. We’re pretty similar. I fight. You cast. I talk, and you don’t. I’m definitely a lot more reckless than you are, but despite that, you don’t like making complicated plans when it comes to battle. That’s the mirror side.”

“Then… complete?”

“I understand your powers. Maybe I can’t use them, but I understand them. I know things you don’t know, because ■■■■■■■■- ah, I can’t say that. Hm. Well, that makes sense.”

Prota nodded. Right, it actually made a lot of sense when she thought about it. Like Anta said, it seemed there weren’t any hard rules regarding the existence of souls created with [DEM], but it was still a logical train of thought.

“Alright. Back to my original point. Prota. I know what I want. But you don’t.”

“I-”

“No. Think about it. You’re still figuring that out. Prota, it’s great that you’re understanding yourself now, but you need to direct that understanding somewhere.”

Right. In the end, their goal was rapidly approaching.

Prota could say she’d succeeded in her goal of living. She’d experienced things she’d never even imagined, explored lands purely to see the vast world she lived in, bonded with friends in a way she hadn’t known was possible, all to simply live. To see life for what it was.

But all of that was pointless if she didn’t steel her resolve. Just seeing John once had shaken her.

Would she truly be able to fight him properly?

If she didn’t figure out what she truly wanted out of all this, would she end things in the way she wished?

“I’m just saying, things… well, they might get messy from here on out.”

Prota’s eyes widened.

“See, we’re not doing anything interesting right now,” Anta sighed. “As much as we might be having an interesting time, ultimately, from a [Story] perspective, it’s a little slow. We’re too strong. There’s no struggle. There’s no trying to get stronger. Not to say there aren’t stories like that, but our life definitely isn’t that kind of life. At a certain point, the [Author] might just pull something to switch things up.”

“But, Anta said causing-”

“Causality. And no. That was an excuse, not the actual truth. John explained this. Or, at least, I think he did. The [Author] has rules, but really, those rules are suggestions. There is nothing that forces them to follow anything. The only thing they’re bound by is how well they want the [Story] to be written, but nothing dictates the [Story] must be written well. And, at the end of the day, our actions aren’t making this a good [Story].”

“Then…”

“Right. If something needs changing… well, we’ve seen reality bend before. It’s not like it can’t happen again. My point is, we need to be ready. I highly doubt we’re going to be waiting another seven years. Like we’ve been thinking, it’s definitely two. Maybe even less.”

Prota felt her heart grow heavy.

In two years, a choice would have to be made.

A choice that would be irreversible.

A choice that would be entirely her own.

It was a heavy burden to bear. But there was no other choice. There was no way out. Even death was not a release, for that in itself was a choice.

“We might have to start ignoring the [Author], Prota,” Anta said, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Even if… well, even if that means things get hard.”

“Hard?”

“...Prota.”

Anta’s tone was suddenly dark.

“Do you think you can save everyone?”

“If-”

“The answer was no.”

Prota suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. This was so incredibly different from her other conversations with either John or Anta. She’d never been shot down so quickly.

“I hate to say it, but you’re not John. The power we’re using is limited. We’re using [DEM] as a [Character], and that’s incredibly inefficient. But we aren’t [Writers]. We don’t have the means to manipulate reality the way John can.”

That didn’t make any sense. Prota had seen others manipulate reality, to a sense. Why couldn’t she?

“You’re thinking too narrowly,” Anta laughed dryly. “You’re thinking of creating matter. Incredible magic. World defying attacks. That’s… that’s not enough. Diaboli got close. The only reason she won was because John used [DEM] on things he didn’t need to. You don’t understand what he’s capable of. Do you remember when he turned young, and nobody questioned it?”

Prota nodded.

“That’s just the surface. There is more to it. A lot more. We ■■■■■■■■- I see. Regardless, Prota. We’re not John. We don’t have the ability to defy the [Author]. Maybe this will is our own, maybe it’s not. I’d lean toward not, considering how the [Story] has gone so far. But actively changing the [Author’s] mind is limited to John at the moment. If the [Author] decides someone is dead… they’re dead.”

“What do you-”

“If we can’t save someone, I’m just telling you. We can’t save them.”

“But why tell me now?”

Anta sighed. “I don’t know if it’s going to happen. But if it does, my point is that you can’t let it get to you. You have to remember what it is you’re aiming for.”

Prota felt uncomfortable, but at the end of the day, Anta was likely giving her good advice.

She just hoped it would never come to fruition.

~~~

The next week, another student went missing. Unlike Prota’s last life, the students missing seemed to have no connection in any form. While Sofya had chosen students who wouldn’t easily be noticed, especially for a few days at a time, the ones who’d vanished this time around were much more obvious.

This, in turn, caused an uproar. The school immediately went into a quarantine in order to figure out what was going on in time. Of course, Sofya was vaguely aware of the situation, but it seemed she’d heeded Anta’s warning well.

Then, to return that good faith, Prota would need to handle the situation accordingly.

“Who’s there?” Destiny’s voice called out as Prota knocked at the door.

She stood there calmly, waiting to be let in, so she was a little surprised when the hero threw the door open with his sword in hand, golden aura coating the blade.

“...God Slaying Sword, for me?” she said, a little disappointed. “Mister Lupin teaching well?”

“Wha- Prota,” Destiny sighed. “It’s you. How’d you leave your dorm?”

“...walked?”

“No, I meant- ugh. Why are you here?”

Without another word, Prota walked in, shutting the door behind her. Looking around, she saw Danjo cowering in the corner, holding a small tinkering hammer in his hands.

“Ugh. Get up, idiot,” Anta grumbled, floating out of Prota’s body. “It’s just us.”

“P-Prota,” Danjo said, recovering somewhat. “Anta. It’s just you two. Oh, thank the goddess. I thought maybe I was going to get taken.”

“With Destiny here?” Anta laughed. “Fat chance.”

“Enough,” Destiny sighed. “You didn’t come here during a time like this just to chat. What do you want to discuss?”

“Prota,” Anta nodded.

She closed her eyes and focused. The idea of a barrier was a little difficult, given that she’d only experienced it a few times, but she vaguely understood the concept. By accumulating mana, she could force it to grow denser, creating an invisible wall of sorts. It wasn’t thick enough to gain form or block physical objects, but it would be difficult for other forms of mana to get through. It couldn’t quite stop a spell, but any spell that relayed information would likely get blocked.

A few minutes later, it was complete. It was a little shaky, but it would have to do.

“What did you just do?” Destiny frowned.

“Barrier,” Prota said simply. “No one can listen.”

“Wha- how?! That’s not normal, you know!”

Roughly, Prota explained. It wasn’t a very good explanation, given her choppy form of speech, but ultimately, it was enough information. Of course, Anta could have explained as well, but it seemed everyone present understood the mechanics.

“You really can just use any kind of magic, can’t you?” Danjo said, breathless. “Amazing… To think the properties of mana can be manipulated like that…”

“Alright. What is it you have to say?” Destiny said, somewhat used to Prota’s capabilities.

“Kidnapper. Hikari,” Prota explained.

“Wha- the professor?!” Danjo almost yelled.

“Nn.”

“I presume this happened in your last life,” Destiny said thoughtfully. “Then the information is solid?”

“Nn.”

“...and you want us to fight them?” The hero shook his head. “I know we’ve done a lot, but that feels a little extreme. Prota. We’ve fought cultists, but a Mystic is another question entirely. I know you’ve sparred against Kit, but… well, no.”

“Wha- Destiny?” Danjo exclaimed. “Surely you’re not thinking of, you know…”

“Me? No,” Destiny said, laughing lightly. “Well… that’s a question for another time. What I meant, though, was that for Prota, it just might not be that unreasonable.”

It was fair for Danjo to be confused. He didn’t know about Prota’s final goal, nor did he know much about her resurrection. He knew she was strong, but the extent of her strength was knowledge unknown to him. And to any normal person, even one unusually talented, the idea of going up against a god should be absolutely ridiculous.

But on the other hand, in another life, Danjo had gone up against what was effectively a god. Perhaps not in name. But in power, such a statement couldn’t be questioned.

He just didn’t know it.

“Prota,” Destiny sighed. “What are you going to do?”

She just stared. The answer was pretty obvious.

“Do… do you need help?”

“This time. No,” Prota said quietly. “...dangerous. Would be sad if you died.”

“Then, next question. Are you going to stop me?”

Prota shook her head, but there was a somewhat sad look in her eyes as she did so.

“Do you want to stop me?”

In response, Prota opened her mouth, but no words came out. In the end, she closed it without saying anything.

“That’s a tricky question to answer,” Anta sighed.

Destiny almost jumped. It seemed he’d forgotten the soul was still present.

“What do you mean?” he said cautiously.

“What she means is that this is a tough opponent. She wouldn’t have told you anything if your death was guaranteed. But right now, we can’t guarantee your safety. Neither I nor Prota currently have the power to do things one-handedly, which means protecting anyone who comes along will be hard.”

“Wait, then in your last life, how did you-”

“We had someone who was more than capable of killing Mystics,” Anta said quietly. “Don’t look too hard into it, alright? The point is, that was that, and this is this. Do what you will. Just think about it, alright?”

Destiny sighed. “Very well. Is that the only reason you came?”

Prota shook her head and pointed at Danjo. “Him.”

“M-me?” Danjo stammered.

“Nn. Need a favour.”

“Well… what kind of favour?”

“Make me something. Just in case.”