Moments before the Convergence
Theocracy of Ishtar
"Wait..."
Anathasia's gaze slowly shifted toward Roselia, who was standing a few steps ahead of us, eyes still fixed on the pillar of light in the distance.
"Rania asked you to watch over that Archive..."
She tilted her head slightly, arms crossing.
"...and you still let a student in?"
Roselia stiffened.
Her gaze didn't move from the light.
"Well... that's-"
"Aunt Roselia said she wanted to see what would happen next," Grace chimed in casually. "So she let that Reina girl go in whenever she wanted."
Roselia's head snapped toward her. But Grace was already gone. Only a faint afterimage of her waving hand lingered where she stood.
"Grace-!"
"No, no," Anathasia cut in, stepping forward and placing a hand on Roselia's shoulder. "Let's talk about your curiosity first."
I stayed where I was, letting out a quiet sigh as my eyes drifted back to the pillar of light.
Behind me-
muffled sounds.
Cloth shifting.
A few... concerning noises.
I didn't bother turning around.
A little while later, the pillar began to thin.
The light slowly faded until it disappeared completely.
"Looks like it's done now-"
I glanced over.
Roselia's kimono was in complete disarray.
Her hair slightly messy.
Meanwhile, Anathasia stood beside her, casually dusting off her hands like she just finished a routine task.
"...What did you even do?"
"I just disciplined her a little."
"Another Demiurge being born isn't even necessarily a bad thing, is it?? Miss Veridielle??" Roselia shot back, clearly annoyed as she tried to fix her sleeves.
Anathasia scoffed lightly.
"Go check on Grace."
Roselia froze.
"...I'm not done fixing my kimono yet-"
"Just do it."
"Ngh..."
She tugged at one of her detached sleeves, grumbling under her breath.
"...Why me..."
A second later, her form dissolved-
vanishing completely.
Silence settled over the station.
Only the distant sounds of people moving about remained. I crossed my arms and glanced at Anathasia.
"So... does that mean this Image now has two Demiurges? Both able to act?"
She nodded, her own arms still folded.
A finger tapped lightly against her sleeve as she stared into the distance.
"An exception... yeah."
A pause.
"And we've been hanging around here way too much."
She exhaled quietly.
"Our authorities overlap... and that starts affecting the internal structure of the Image itself."
I hummed, stepping forward until I was standing just behind her.
"Sounds complicated."
"I know," she muttered. "It literally just sounds like a bunch of buzzwords stacked together."
A small laugh slipped out of me.
My hand reached out, gently brushing through her hair. A few strands slipped between my fingers as I absentmindedly brought them closer-
A quick breath in.
"...Yeah. It does."
She didn't respond, and instead leaned back against me. Her weight settling naturally. The faint tap of her shoe against the platform echoed softly.
And for a while, we just stayed like that.
As people slowly began to leave the station, a quiet settled over the platform.
After a moment, she finally spoke.
"Let's check on them."
"Sounds good."
With that, our forms dissolved into thin air.
-
The next second, we reappeared right beside Rania.
She was watching Roselia, who stood between Grace and the blonde, newly ascended Reina... I think that was her name.
"What's going on?"
Rania nearly jumped at our sudden appearance before letting out a long breath, placing a hand over her chest.
"Miss Anathasia, Sir Kyle... please don't just appear beside me like that."
She inhaled sharply, then steadied herself.
"Sorry..."
"It's fine, Miss Anathasia," she replied, turning back toward Roselia, who still had her arms slightly outstretched between the two girls.
"As for what's going on..."
Rania glanced off to the side, then lowered her gaze as she continued.
"How should I put this... Grace wanted to greet Reina, but she delivered it exactly like how Roselia does when she's scheming something."
Our brows furrowed.
"Meaning?"
"In a somewhat condescending manner, Miss Anathasia."
"She took it as a threat," Rania added, folding her arms as she briefly glanced at the standoff before looking away again.
"And here we are..."
Anathasia and I both looked toward Roselia, who was now trying to talk to the red-haired boy behind Reina. While he, in turn, was trying to hold Reina back, especially with how ready she looked to lunge at Grace.
Our attention shifted.
Grace, on the other hand...
...was just smiling at Reina.
For some reason.
[...She looks exactly like a ragebaiter...] Anathasia muttered.
I turned to her immediately.
"Seriously...?"
She casually lifted a hand, pointing at Grace before turning her head toward me.
"I mean... just look at that smug face..."
"Exactly like yours, yes."
"That folding of her arms-"
"Also like yours."
I shook my head, letting out a quiet sigh.
"You were worried about her turning out like Roselia... but she clearly takes after you."
The squint in Anathasia's eyes softened, replaced by something that looked a lot like pride as she kept watching the scene unfold.
"Really now...?"
I just shook my head again, letting my gaze drift toward the students standing a short distance away, all of them watching just as intently.
And still-
Grace stood there, arms crossed, the edge of her lips slightly tilted.
...She's playing her...
My eyes wandered further.
The hills and plains around us were now covered in blooming flowers that hadn't existed a year ago. Even with how dry the soil used to be, something like this should've been impossible-
...and yet, they bloomed anyway.
All while faint particles of light continued to fall from above.
As I shifted my gaze back to them, my eyes settled on the dagger in Reina's hand. A sharp sensation shot through my arm at the sight of it.
Before I could even think, my body moved first.
I stepped forward, gently brushing Roselia aside as I grabbed the blade itself, pulling it cleanly out of Reina's grip.
"That's enough."
The moment the words left my mouth, Reina's eyes met mine-
then she flinched.
Her body staggered backward before collapsing into the red-haired boy's arms.
"Sir Kyle!"
"Kyle!"
"Dad?!"
As I turned, a hand immediately snatched the dagger from mine.
A sharp yank followed as Anathasia grabbed my wrist, turning my palm over to check it.
Grace stared at my hand, her eyes wide.
I opened my mouth-
"Sorry-"
SLAP!
The impact snapped my head to the side.
Warmth spread across my cheek as the force settled in.
Slowly, I turned back.
Anathasia stood in front of me, her breathing uneven. Grace hovered just behind her, hands clasped tightly together, worry written all over her face.
I tried again-
"Sorry-"
"Shut up!"
She cut me off instantly.
Her grip tightened.
"What the hell were you thinking?!"
At that moment, our eyes met.
But what I saw wasn't anger.
Far from it.
It was-
fear.
Raw. Unpracticed... fear.
The kind that made her body tremble, her fingers digging tighter into my arm.
My gaze drifted.
It landed on the dagger Roselia was holding, now crumbling into dust.
But when I looked at her face, her elegance from earlier had completely fallen apart.
What remained was something closer to terror.
"Look at me, you idiot."
Her voice snapped me back.
My eyes returned to hers.
They shimmered.
"I know nothing can ever touch you..."
Her voice wavered, just slightly.
"...but don't you dare use that as an excuse to put yourself in danger."
"Grace was-"
"I said shut up."
Her grip tightened again.
"I don't care what your excuses are."
Her other hand shot up, grabbing my collar.
"You have a family, Kyle."
Her voice dropped.
"You have a wife. Daughters."
A tear slipped down her cheek.
Something in my chest tightened instantly as I watched it fall.
"Don't you dare think it's fine to throw your life away just because nothing can harm you."
Silence.
Only then did I notice it. The world around us. Faintly fraying at the edges before pulling itself back together.
...So that's why Roselia looked like that.
My gaze lowered slightly as I gave her a small nod.
Maybe... I really was starting to think I was invincible...
Silence settled over the hills and plains around us.
From the corner of my eye, I caught a few students stumbling back in horror as everything slowly stabilized. Rania remained rooted in place, her body stiff-
while Grace...
looked like she was on the verge of tears.
I paused.
Then shook my head lightly and lifted my gaze back to Anathasia.
Her eyes were still shimmering. The tension in her jaw hadn't eased either.
That was... insanely stupid of me...
A sudden urge to laugh bubbled up, slipping out as a quiet snicker.
Anathasia's expression hardened instantly.
"What's so funny about being a dumb idiot, huh?"
Her grip returned to my collar, pulling me slightly closer.
"It's not like that," I said, raising my hands in surrender as a soft sigh left me. "I just realized how stupid I was being."
She stilled.
Then frowned before letting go of me.
"Damn right you are," she scoffed, still glaring. "Don't do that again."