Present day, ten years after Chloe found me.
Far above the clouds, two figures in black robes hovered over the planet and looked down at Earth as if it were something left on a shelf too long.
"So this is Earth, huh?" the older one said at last. "Very... green."
His voice carried the sort of rough boredom reserved for men who had already decided they were unimpressed.
Beside him floated a younger man, stiff-backed and silent, his attention fixed on the world below.
The elder rolled a shoulder with a low, humourless chuckle. "Hardly any mana at all. Feels dead. Except for one. You feel it too, rookie?"
The younger man nodded once. "Yes, sir."
Before either of them could say more, another voice drifted across the sky.
Soft, distinctive, and calm enough to be insulting, "It's not often we get visitors. Sightseeing, are you?"
Both men turned sharply. A woman stood in the open air behind them as if standing in the sky were the most natural thing in the world. She was beautiful in a way that felt cold rather than inviting. Her face was serene, yet her crimson gaze felt like it pierced them physically.
Rested across her back was a massive pair of scissors, most definitely not the kind used for arts and crafts.
The older man's gaze flicked to the weapon, then back. "I ain't much of a betting man, but I'd wager you aren't from around here, missy."
Fire bloomed in his open palm. Not a mere spark or ordinary flames. A miniature sun, crackling and seething with heat.
The woman regarded it with cold indifference. "I am the protector of this planet," she said simply. "And I would recommend against doing anything rash."
For a second, the older man just stared. Then he laughed.
"Protector of this planet!?" He boomed, the words dripping with mockery, "Save that nonsense for somebody thick enough to believe it. We all know you're not here for this little ball of dirt. You're here for the same reason we are."
"By all means," she replied. "Tell me my deepest darkest secrets too."
The younger man swallowed. "Sir... that uniform... I think we should retreat and-"
The man snapped toward him so fast it almost looked like a twitch, "Shut your mouth, pretty boy. If it were up to me, I'd have burned you to ashes ages ago. Run if you'd like, but don't mistake me for a coward."
The younger man fell quiet at once.
That woman was no ordinary opponent.
She was a
Arbiter
.
Even among mages, that title carried weight. Arbiters were beings whose souls had been touched by Asterion, the God of All Creation. One mark in particular gave them away: the eye-shaped crest set into the back of the right hand.
They belonged to the Holy Order, an organization every bit as self-righteous as its name suggested. But for all their holier-than-thou attitude, they were the closest thing the universes had to heroes.
"Very well," the younger one muttered finally. If his superior insisted on fighting, then there was nothing he could do.
Suddenly, a silver shape tore across the sky behind them.
The man glanced sideways, squinting. "Hm? What's that supposed to be? Some kind of metal bird?"
It was an airplane, to be exact.
Inside the cockpit, a pilot narrowed his eyes at the impossible sight ahead, "What the
hell
is that...? Hey, you see that? I think... there's people out there?"
The co-pilot scoffed. "People? At this altitude?"
Three figures floated in the air directly in the aircraft's path.
The co-pilot squinted again. "...Well, fancy that. Those birds really do look like people."
Before they could react further, the airplane's nose slammed square into the man's outstretched hand and stopped dead.
The sound that followed was hideous, twisting steel, rupturing metal echoed all at once. The aircraft crumpled around his palm like paper crushed in a fist.
He grinned.
"What a rude little bastard."
His fingers tore into the metal as heat surged from his hand. Within seconds, the plane glowed red, then white.
The woman watched in silence, and the entire aircraft exploded.
Flame devoured it in a single roar, black smoke billowing across the sky. Shards of molten wreckage rained downward to the world below.
"Protector of this planet, was it?" He sneered.
His companion looked sick.
The woman remained expressionless, no sign of grief or anger toward the lives that were just lost, like they were merely pieces swept from a board.
"So that's your answer," She drew the massive scissors from her back.
The man smiled with wicked delight.
△▼△▼△▼△
"...Man, it's hot."
I wiped a small bead of sweat away from my forehead before continuing my mindless navigation to
the
best bakery around. Favourite of all time if I do say so myself.
Well, 'favourite' might be overstating it. One time I just stumbled across here and now I'm a regular customer. Caught in a cycle I just can't break.
A tragic tale, I know.
The bell jingled as I stepped inside, greeted by the bakery's cool air and the smell of fresh bread.
"Ahh! Look who it is, can't get enough of our
well-distinguished
sausage rolls, can you?" Boomed the voice of an old man behind the counter.
It made me wince a little.
Well-distinguished,
right. A little grand for a pastry. But it was part of the charm, I supposed.
This man's name was Rom, owner of this modest bakery. Always this energetic for no reason.
"Just give me the sausage roll, old man."
He laughed like I'd told the funniest joke in the world. "If any other customer talked to me like that I'd throw them out!"
I wasn't really listening. The radio behind the counter was going on about "unexplained aerial disturbances" and flight diversions or whatever.
"...
Buuuuut
then again, you're practically keeping my business afloat with how often you come here."
Probably not far from the truth. This little bakery, despite the undeniable deliciousness of its offerings, flew under the radar. Wouldn't be surprised if one morning I walked past and found it boarded up, a sad "For Lease" sign swinging in the breeze.
He wrapped up a sausage roll in a small paper bag and sat it on the counter. "260 yen."
I stared.
He stared.
"...You increased the prices again."
"What, you think flour and electricity are free? I'm trying to survive here too, kid."
"It's Asura, by the way."
"Pshhhh..."
He stared with his arms folded as I sat the money on the counter and reached for the still-warm sausage roll, its scent promising satisfaction.
"A bit hypocritical, aren't you? Why the hell would I call you by that weird ass name when you ain't even bother calling me by mine?"
"―"
Okay, fair point. It actually reminded me that I'm on first name basis with some old dude at a random bakery. That was not a fact I wanted to dwell on.
"Well, that's different."
"How?"
"Because your name is Rom."
He blinked. "What kind of answer is that?"
"The honest kind," I continued, "It sounds like a name a lazy author came up with on the spot."
Rom looked utterly scandalised. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
I grinned and headed for the door.
"Thanks! I'll take that as a compliment."
"Tch! Bastard kid..." he murmured to himself, picking up a stray crumb from the counter as I left.
△▼△▼△▼△
Outside, I paced down the sun-drenched street as I ripped open the paper bag, pulling out the sausage roll and taking a bite so large gluttony would be frightened.
The familiar taste, an immediate hit of savoury sausage and perfectly flaky, slightly greasy pastry, filled my mouth. Was it comforting? Yes. Objectively, it was good. But
'well-distinguished'?
I chewed slowly, considering.
Maybe.
["Are those things even healthy?"]
Ah. Behold, the voice within my head.
["Jealous?"]
I replied with a smirk.
["Not in particular."]
Meet Asuri, my spiritual sister, for lack of a better term.
She's been here for as long as I could remember. And before you ask, no, not in the schizophrenic sense.
Obviously, she does not possess a physical body, hence the 'spiritual' part. Though she can make herself visible to others via Astral Projection, but only person she's shown herself to is our mom, who ended up with both of us like some sort of package deal. A fine package deal must I add.
Chloe was quick to accept that I wasn't a normal child when she took me in. Aside from the extra soul within my body, my physical stats are beyond what's humanly possible. And, regrettably, capable of using thought communication.
Chloe had forbidden that one immediately.
Never invade people's minds,
she said. Apparently, it was intrusive and perverted. Which, in hindsight, was fair criticism.
["Stop."]
Asuri said.
I swallowed.
["What?"]
["Something's... wrong."]
I looked around. Whole load of normal stuff going on.
Cars. Shops. Pedestrians. Summer heat.
But then I felt it, a tremor under foot. Then another. And another.
Each tremor was followed by loud, concussive shockwaves that tore at the very air ahead of me.
My eyes snapped toward two streaks of blurred motion, barreling straight at me.
["The fuck is that!?"]
["Move, jackass!"]
My legs did the work before I could think. A blinding spark erupted right in front of me as a cacophony of unpleasant screeching steel rang in my ears.
And then, the entire street just... disappeared.
The sturdy buildings that lined the street, pillars of concrete and glass, were instantaneously reduced to swirling dust.
The atmosphere groaned and twisted as a violent maelstrom tore outward, shredding everything in its path.
Instinctively, I threw my arms up like a shield, powerless against the onslaught.
"W—What the fuck is going
onnnnn?!"
I yelled, my cheeks flapping wildly against the sheer force of the high-pressured winds.
Then, just as suddenly, the winds died abruptly.
Dust rolled through the street in thick grey waves. I coughed, blinking through it, and slowly the world came back into view. Or... whatever was left of it.
The shops were gone and the road was split open, cars crushed flat under broken slabs of concrete, smoke rising from places that shouldn't have been smoking.
And in the middle of all that destruction, there was one untouched circle of pavement.
The one I was standing on.
I looked down at my sausage roll. Then at the ruined city around me. "...Did that old man drug my food?"
["That's your conclusion?"]
["What else? Either I'm high or this is all real."]
["Hey look, there's a hand poking out of that rubble over there."]
["Let's think positively, thanks."]
Realistically, there were no positive thoughts to be had. Because speaking of Rom, his bakery wasn't far from here, and unless he secretly was a wizard, there's a good chance he's dead.
Just as I turned around, something... yanked me off the ground. The world twisted into colour. Sky, light, clouds, motion, everything blurred together so violently I couldn't even tell which way was up.
"Ghkk-!"
["Asura!"]
Partially regaining my vision, I noticed the strange lack of solid ground beneath my feet...
Huh...? Where's the ground?
Clouds. Clouds were under me.
...That doesn't seem right.
A moment later, solid ground returned beneath my feet, stumbling forward as I nearly fell.
I was standing on a cliff.
Far below stretched a city I'd never seen before. The sun hung low in the sky, painting everything gold. The air was calm. Quiet. Almost insultingly normal after what I had just witnessed.
Only my ruined hair suggested I hadn't lost my mind completely.
Then I saw her.
A girl stood a short distance behind me like she'd been there the whole time.
I took a step back on reflex, misplacing my foot off the edge of the cliff.
"Guh-!?"
Before I could fall, a slender hand shot out and clamped onto the collar of my uniform.
With a flick of her wrist, a motion so casual it defied all logic and physics, she effortlessly, and carelessly, threw me over her head like I weighed nothing.
However, life prepared me for such situations. With my naturally gifted athleticism, I spun in the air and landed somewhat roughly on the grass. Far from elegant, but better than a broken neck.
["Be careful,"]
Asuri warned.
["She's dangerous."]
["That's your first clue?"]
["Asshole."]
Slowly, cautiously, I pushed myself up from the grass, eyes fixed on the girl standing before me.
"Judging by how easily you threw me," I said, "You're like me...?"
She cast a deep, crimson glance at me.
She stood a little taller than average, with waist-length black hair so dark it seemed to drink in the light around it. Her features were delicate enough to seem unreal, but there was nothing soft about her expression. Her gaze was sharp, cold, and completely unwelcoming.
A small red ribbon had been woven into one side of her bangs, a tiny splash of colour against the darkness.
Unfortunately, she was carrying a giant glowing pair of scissors, which in my opinion, lowered the romance potential significantly.
"M-maybe not like me, then...?"
"Like you?" she said softly. "Perhaps."
That was an impressively unhelpful answer.
["The position of the sun has changed... we must be ages away from Japan. Did she carry us all the way over here in such a short time?"]
["How am I supposed to know-"]
["That's correct."]
Both Asuri and I went quiet. That's new.
["H-how are you doing that?"]
I thought at her.
["This ain't some three-way phone call, you know!"]
["Thought communication is a common ability among mages."]
she replied.
["Though I suppose you wouldn't know that, considering there aren't mages on this planet."]
["That somehow makes it worse."]
["You're... some kind of alien, then?"]
Asuri said cautiously.
She crossed her arms and tilted her head.
["You could say that."]
Fascinating.
["All right, enough of this. Who are you, and why did you bring me here specifically?"]
["I'd love to explain, but I'm a little busy."]
A point of light flared in the sky behind me.
I whipped around.
At first, it looked like a star burning too close to the world. Then it grew, brightening with horrifying speed until the landscape itself seemed to fade beneath its radiance.
Looking at it made my skull ache.
"Agh... what the hell even is that...?"
It solidified, coalescing into a single, massive flaming beam, hurling right toward us.
One second she was standing there, the next she was in front of me with those scissors already swinging.
Space tore open. That was the only way I could describe it.
A purple rift split the air before us, like reality itself had been cut and pulled apart. Yet somehow it was calm, almost tranquil.
The incoming beam slammed into it-
-and vanished.
...That's it?
A second rift opened high above us.
The beam shot out of it and blasted upward into the heavens, punching a perfectly circular hole through the clouds before disappearing into the upper atmosphere.
Darkness briefly washed over the land beneath the shadow of the disrupted sky, then the light returned.
I just stared.
If magic was real…
Could I do that too?
Before I could ask, she glanced back at me.
"Stay put here, there's something I must take care of."
"Huh? Hold on a second-!"
She vanished in an instant. The cliff side where she once stood crumbled underneath the sheer pressure of her speed.
My gaze shot up into the sky where she flew, only to be met with a scene of pure chaos that transcended beyond common sense.
My eyes tried to follow, but frankly, I could barely see a thing.
The girl was trading blows with what looked to be a cloaked figure, blows so powerful that the air rippled outward.
However, even a helpless bystander like me could tell that she held the upper hand. She dodged each incoming attack with effortless grace, parrying precisely and delivering swift counter attacks.
As far as I'm concerned, it almost seemed like she was toying with her opponent, or dragging it out for whatever reason...
Searing beams of fire sliced through the air in every direction, the cliff edge beneath my feet was starting to give me a sense of impending danger. The rock face, already weakened from the girl's leap, was beginning to split, hairline fractures appearing with every shockwave.
["Hey, hey, hey! This cliff is about to collapse, what do I do!?"]
["To your left, looks sturdier over there!"]
Asuri shouted.
Make haste, make haste!
I sprinted across the shaking ground, leaping over cracks and broken stone with far more speed than any normal human should've possessed.
A second later, the section I'd been standing on sheared away from the cliff and plunged into the abyss below.
I want to go home.
A blast of fire screamed past me so close I felt the heat scrape across my skin.
It shot toward the distant city, and the world turned white.
"Oh," I said.
That single stray attack carried the force of a meteor.
The city vanished into a blossom of fire, light swallowing everything. A shockwave followed, roaring back toward the cliff with murderous speed.
"Ohoho, that's very bad!"
["Brace yourself!"]
It felt completely useless, but I did anyway.
The shockwave hit, and the cliff exploded, the very ground beneath me blasted into shards, hurling me skyward like a ragdoll.
"Help meeeee!!!" I shouted, a pathetic plea, but totally justified under the circumstances.
Before I could join the falling debris, an arm hooked around my waist and hauled me through the air.
The girl flew with me tucked under one arm as if carrying a bag she'd forgotten she had, weaving through the airborne rubble with casual precision.
"H-hey, hold me tighter! Your grip's too loose, you know!?"
"My apologies. Is this better?"
Her grip tightened a tad bit too much and my internal organs filed an immediate complaint.
"Gaaahh!!?!?! Too tight,
too tight!!
"
She relinquished her grip on me slightly, finally allowing some oxygen to enter my lungs.
My gaze shifted to the destruction below. Replacing the city, was a gigantic smoky crater, its centre still radiating a white-hot glow from the blast's residue.
"That city didn't happen to have
people
living in there, did it!?"
"Naturally. But our immediate concerns are elsewhere."
That snapped me out of my stupidity. This wasn't some game, genuine lives were at stake here!
She came to a halt, hovering in the air as she observed her surroundings. The debris from the cliff were now floating silently in the sky, as if suspended in some invisible cosmic current.
Above, her adversary, had his arm raised.
"You sure do run around a lot, woman!" he shouted. "Makes a man think you aren't taking him seriously!"
His features were distorted with a manic grin. He was clearly a man of pride, one that hates being underestimated.
"It's interesting you should say that. You haven't been taking me seriously either."
The man's cackle vibrated through the air. "Can't risk messing up that pretty face. I'd much rather take you in as my wife!"
Both of us recoiled at once.
W-what's with this pervcrted geezer?
["Is he a pedophile or what?"]
Asuri muttered.
"I'll pass," the girl said flatly.
"So be it!" He roared, clapping his hand together with a loud, thunderous crack.
The smile on his face grew ever more sinister in the face of rejection. I had no idea he could look creepier but today is filled with surprises.
At his command, the floating rubble from the obliterated cliff obeyed. Shards slammed together, fusing into a single, molten sphere, glowing like a newborn star above him.
"He's not planning on
throwing
that thing at us, is he!?"
"Most likely."
He swung his arm, and the burning mass began to descend.
"D-do something!" I stammered, eyeing our impending doom.
"It'll just take a moment."
Without any explanation, or even a word of warning for that matter, she tossed me upward behind her.
...
...
...
"Are you trying to kill me!?"
She raised her weapon high above her head in the face of the attack, the glowing blades shimmered even brighter as she swung it down in an arc, releasing a slash of distorted colour that tore through the air and met the descending mass head-on.
The molten boulder parted, silent and seamless, as if the universe itself had decided it should be cut in two. Though its force didn't stop there, it continued its trajectory toward the man.
"What!?"
He twisted aside, barely saving himself, but his left arm came off at the shoulder in a spray of blood.
His scream rang across the air. "Graagh! You... you
bitch!
"
The curse was a roar of pain and pure, unadulterated rage, a sound that tore from his throat and echoed across the vast chasm.
The girl who was completely indifferent to his anger, caught me by my ankle as I dangled helplessly upside down. The two halves of the meteor-like attack fell from either side of us, its momentum was severely decreased from the girl's counterattack, crashing onto the surface almost gently compared to the previous attack.
All this unnatural movement was making my stomach churn.
"Eughh... I think I'm gonna be sick..."
"I'll drop you."
"Please don't..."
The man grunted, clenching his hand around his cleanly severed shoulder, the bleeding wasn't going to stop anytime soon. Then, because apparently these people are absolute maniacs, he shoved fire directly into the wound to cauterise it.
When he finally lowered his hand, the bleeding had stopped. His shoulder was a charred mess, and yet his face looked worse.
Dripping from head to toe in sweat, his eyes met the scissor-like weapon. The man was incandescent with hatred, literally. He was literally glowing.
"Just what is that thing...? It's on par with a General's Soul Weapon. No, maybe even greater... This is infuriating!"
It appeared getting done in by a petite looking girl does irreparable damage on one's ego in the realm of mages. Hell, I'd probably be pissed too had I been in his position.
The girl and I slowly hovered down to the surface, dropping me on the ground like a sack of rice. How rude.
The man, meanwhile, was still going at it.
"How... How utterly humiliating...!" he roared. "Me, bested by a
filthy
woman who carries a ridiculous pair of scissors!? I won't stand for this outrage! I'll make sure you pay for this, by blasting you, that cursed boy, and this entire planet, into oblivion――!"
As he thrust his remaining arm outward, flames spiralled into existence around his palm.
The air dried instantly.
Breathing became difficult.
"That doesn't look good at all."
"You needn't worry. There's nothing he can do against me."
Holy hell, talk about bad ass. I'd applause her confidence if it didn't feel like I was standing in front of a furnace right now.
The flames danced viciously within the man's palm; we watched as its hue transitioned from a vibrant red to blue, and finally, to an ominous, deep purple.
A wicked smile split his face as he shot his hand down, the flames in his palm coiling tightly into a spiral, prepared to be unleashed.
"Cannon of Ra!"
A named attack!? That's so damn cool―!
A malevolent beam of royal-purple flame blasted through the air, even my untrained substandard eyes could tell that this was on a different category of destruction as the other ones.
With a soft exhale, the girl casually tossed her weapon into the air, it spiralled upward, a graceful, metallic dance against the backdrop of the swirling purple beam.
She wound her leg back, much like how football players get into position to launch the ball to cover large distances.
What kind of stance is that? I'm no mage expert, but what exactly is the connection here?
The scissors spun and twirled into the air, until eventually falling, the tip of the blade perfectly aligned with the heart of the incoming attack.