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Epilogue: New Moon

And so, the battle for the Multiverse had reached its conclusion. Who would have thought that all those years ago, the chance abduction of a small handful of people would be the start of all of this? But truth is stranger than fiction, it seems, and Alice Twilight was no stranger to that. The first victim of the horrid rituals known as Murder Games had moved on, that chance abduction giving her a chance of her own, one to start over and leave behind the heartache and bloodshed of the past. All that senseless fighting...and for what? A life cut short for the entertainment of others? Glorified gladiators. That's what they'd been.

Alice was not sorry to leave that life behind her, but every now and again she couldn't help but wonder: what of the others? Those in her world who couldn't get out. Who were trapped even still in that endless cycle of death and despair. And there was one in particular she lost sleep over. In that fught, they had spoken of love. Love...Alice had lost everyone she loved. She was there, that night, when the only love that lived stopped breathing forever. And perhaps that had made her ready to accept her fate that night she got the call about Travis. But now, this was a brand new Multiverse. Anything was possible...including a miracle.

And a miracle did come, one day. Once Alice was finally able to buy herself a television set she happened upon yet another tournament. A different one, hosted by a man named Cell. One where all involved were able to rise up and destroy him...something impossible in the UAA. But there was someone there Alice had known in passing. Another Assassin, Cloe Walsh. Ranked 23. She'd been sliced to ribbons weeks before Alice's last night in Santa Destroy, but here she was, alive and well and able to start over. If she was alive, and so far down the rankings, then could that mean...? It was a small sliver of hope, but Alice would take it either way. Fueled by the hope left in her after this final battle, she wrote a letter and sent it out, hoping it would reach the person she wanted it to. Please...let it reach her in time.

---

"Okay. Let's try this once more."

Sitting at her desk, the girl gripped her pen, looking at the page before her. Nine words. That's all she had so far. Just nine. But did it really matter? She was as good as dead, anyway. Only two people who had ever survived their battles with Travis Touchdown were schoolgirls, and that time was far past. No, this could very well be her own requiem she sings tonight.

She tapped the pen on the edge of the desk. "Once more...ahem. 'I, Margaret Moonlight, being of sound mind and body...' Um..." You know...sitting here, writing this will? Really made the young assassin realize just how fucked up all of this was. Who writes their will in their early twenties? How did she even get to this point? A tragic life ending so early. It would almost be poetic, if it wasn't truly happening.

Margaret sighed, setting her pen down. This could wait. There was only one person she'd bequeath anything to, but even then, how long would she have left? If Travis won, of course. If he lost, well...the possibility of the two of them facing each other... No. No way in hell was she going to think on that. Here, let's look at the mail. A letter had come for her today. It was a tidy little thing, and smelled like...pumpkins? How odd. But the handwriting. It was so familiar...could it be?

Heart racing, Margaret brought her finger to the back of the envelope, starting to open it. She only got one centimeter in. "Huh?" That was Margaret's last coherent thought before her mind grew clouded and her sight grew dark, and she collapsed onto the table, sound asleep and blissfully unaware of the man in the gasmask behind her. He made quick work of the scene, slinging the young woman over his shoulder and stuffing that letter into his pocket. With his free arm he hooked her weapon, Le Croissant du Ange, in his grip by the elbow, and made his way to the window, which opened and let the sleeping gas filter out of. Looking up to the empty night sky, he grinned crookedly under the mask.

"The very last of 'em...heh. It's time for the show to start."

---

To be continued in Rot and Rule...
 
~Blake Dormi Epilogue~
"Once More, Tragedy Encore"


For reasons that Blake Dormi could not answer for himself, he left for another journey. He knew that this meant that he wouldn't be able to spend time with those that he held near and dear to his heart, but this journey... he had to take it. He couldn't ignore it. He would've never known about this, but the scattered memories of his late sister Rin told him otherwise. It's been a month since the defeat of Revan, and it was only recently that these memories told him of another problem that needed to be dealt with. No matter the cost.

The Metaworld is a strange layer of reality, if you can call it that. My time being there feels quite surreal, but it only opened more issues that needed to be accounted for.

The ravenette put the fine tuning into his tech cube to his desired destination, using a leftover crystal shard from Rin's remains as an anchor to that destination.

I thought that I only needed to deal with the Institute, but with this new scope given to me... it only made me realize that protecting the Multiverse as a whole... was a daunting task in itself.

With a single tap on the holographic console, Blake watched the two drones beginning to circulate around to generate a dimensional rip.

Lambdadelta speculated this with me in private... that... that the Metaworld had it's share of bad apples here and there. It wasn't that easy to declare that someone in there was conniving up a plan that would upset the balance, but... I figured that this was more deceptive than anyone would think of. If anything, the conclusion was made clear that we have to protect the observatory from the Metaworld... or at least those that are in absolute power in such a place...

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❝ Protect the observatory... That's my first step... ❞ Blake noted for himself as the drones managed to craft that dimensional rip with no problems. With his goal made clear to continue what his sister started, he stepped through the portal before him.

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A new surreal environment surrounded him on the other side. Vast space of nothingness stretched out before his eyes. There wasn't many notable landmarks in close vicinity, only a lone woman who wore an attire alike to a witch's.

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❝ Alright, that settles that... I should move on before someone unceremoniously shows up on me- ❞ She says to herself as if she's finished something of hers right then and there. Blake could tell that she hasn't noticed him yet, so better to reveal himself now before she takes this the wrong way.

❝ Uh... hey? I kinda just got here... ❞

❝ Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whaat! I wasn't expecting company this freaking fast!! ❞ She was immediately startled by Blake's greeting, jumping in place and taking a few moments to stare him down like a deer in headlights.

❝ Ahem, I mean, I was definitely expecting an arrival from the Witch of Miracles... but uh, you're not... you know, the actual Witch of Miracles, right? ❞ She clears her throat to build her composure back up, and then mentions a key piece of information.

❝ Well, I'm not a Witch of any kind, but I know who that was. Uh, my name is Blake Dormi, I guess the brother of the Witch of Miracles that you're talking about. ❞ The ravenette awkwardly introduced himself to the strange woman, who blinked at his words.

❝ Oh, guess that's a thing. In that case, I'll introduce myself in return, Blake. However, I can't state my real name because of safety reasons related to the Metaworld as a whole, sooo... we can stick with Kalu for now, okay? ❞

❝ That's fine with me. Though, you sound like you were thinking about being an informant for the Witch of Miracles, right? Stuff... happened before I got here, so I can safely say that I'm like... an unofficial successor? I don't understand this stuff too well, but I hope that makes sense. ❞ Blake figured to get straight to the point, being able to pick up on the fact that Kalu was working on something that lined up with Rin's memories.

❝ Huh, okay okay. That changes the whole plan a bit, but this should still work like Lambdadelta wanted it to. ❞ Kalu nodded in acknowledgement, crossing her arms as she levitated a bit to sit back in the air. ❝ Not a real fan of the exposition bit, but if I'm going to catch you up on this, guess I gotta. Just to run it through with you, the Metaworld's in a weird mess of bad right now. Probably because of recent events, some higher-up figures in the Metaworld's Senate think it's a wonderfully great idea to mess with the multiverse to some degree, which is totally not A-okay with everybody I would imagine. While good ol' Lambda is wrapped up to the point where she can't freely investigate the possible corruption in the Metaworld, she nudged me to help however I can. You see, I used to be a prominent Witch, but obviously, I'm... uh, exiled from the Metaworld entirely. This is only a space between the rest of the multiverse and the Metaworld, like a purgatory but not really. It's real confusing, I get it, but the whole point is, I still have some power as a Witch and I'm not tied down by those corrupted eyes. And after the super intensive work into their stinky Metaworld communications, I deduced that they really needed their observatory to actually manipulate the reality to some extent outside the Metaworld. ❞

❝ R-right, my sister figured that protecting the observatory was crucial somehow. Given from your explanation, it's like some facility that's the bridge between the Metaworld and the rest of the multiverse, right? ❞ Blake perked up at the mention of the "observatory," seeing that they were finally getting somewhere with this.

❝ Yeah, the observatory, as they call it, does act like a bridge, but I wouldn't say it's a facility like an electrical plant or a bank. In fact, I shouldn't be calling the observatory an "it." Putting confusion aside, I would say that this is more of an observer than an observatory. Obviously a single Witch from the Metaworld doesn't have all the focus to record everything that goes on with the multiverse, even if they were really really trying. That's what the observer is for, to record everything that goes on with the multiverse, and by recording everything in their observing sight, they can manipulate reality much greater than any other Witch imaginable. Plus, the observer doesn't have any sense of self, making them a perfect bridge to mess with the multiverse as planned by the corrupt Witches. That is... until I caught wind of how the observer mysteriously disappeared from the Metaworld recently, and rumored to have gained a sense of self at the same time. Whatever actually happened, it's thrown the prominent Witches of the Metaworld's Senate into a hot mess, and that means we can use this opportunity to get to the observer first and protect them fully! And that's where we come in! ❞ Kalu further clarified once Blake brought the point up.

❝ You're making it sound like we can find the observer at all. ❞

❝ Yup, we can! It's easier said than done, however. I've gotten my hands on something that leaves an intertwined connection to the observer in question. Getting it wasn't easy, sneaking into the Metaworld and all, but this is it. ❞ Kalu reaches into her pockets to fetch an oddly shaped stone fragment from the looks of it. Even if he wasn't well-versed with magic, he could tell that it left an intimidating mystifying power behind.

❝ You can take it, by the way. It can serve as a beacon to the next fragment, and well, it should eventually lead you toward where the observer could be. I would be on searching for the observer duty, but I have to keep tabs on the Metaworld to see what they do and we can't let them figure out what we're up to, you know? ❞

❝ That sounds like a plan. ❞ Blake mused at what Kalu put out for their plan, then narrowing his eyes, ❝ How do I know that you're not just leading me on? How do I know that I can trust you? ❞

❝ That... I can't exactly give away too much or else I'm putting myself in danger too. What I can tell you, though, is that it's a good thing you followed through with your sister's footsteps. Going from the talk that she's... gone now, we wouldn't have anyone else available to enact on this initiative to prevent the multiverse from being in danger again. Sure, it doesn't sound that convincing, but I know that even if I wasn't in the picture, you would still piece together that this observatory, this observer, was extremely important toward what happens in the future, right? ❞ The exiled Witch sighed as she didn't have much in the way of gaining trust, leaving it up to him to decide that.

❝ Hm, it's not like me to immediately trust someone I haven't met before, but you did hand over something that... my sister's memories see as related to the observer. For now, I'll go off on my own to search for the observer... and you do your... thing on keeping the Metaworld Witches from catching wind of this. If I get caught up with another Witch on my way, then I can safely say that I can't trust you. Is that fair, Kalu? ❞ Blake thought out loud, and then came to his conclusion on the matter with a neutral stance. Scanning the stone fragment with his tech cube, he registered a signal that he could follow the next possible fragment.

❝ That's fair. That'll be our trust test before we can declare a partnership working together! And I see you're ready to set off on the search already? ❞

❝ Yeah. I think with my arsenal, the fragments alone are good enough to make my move. I have a long way ahead of me, so I'll be heading out now... from what these memories are telling me, I'm on the right track. So, until next time we run into each other, Kalu. ❞

❝ Until next time, Blake! Be careful out there! ❞ Kalu waved him off as he proceeded to leave through a newly crafted portal, waiting until the portal itself closed up completely. Left alone in the space in-between the multiverse's reality and the Metaworld, the exiled Witch only stood there as the only light source of the area began to waver, signifying that it was time for her to leave this space for now.

❝ Now it's time for me to make my leave for real this time... I'm sure that stone fragment is enough to trace the steps of the observer. ❞ She spoke to herself as she prepared to warp away from the area.

❝ Now... I should check out this other place of interest... a world... that revolves never more. ❞

Then she was gone from this isolated space.
 
Touma Kamijou: Epilogue - A Certain Normal World

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"Well, are we all ready to get back home then?" A certain spiky-haired boy inquired to the others around him, gathered together once again. He had enjoyed his vacation away from home long enough, but all was well that ends well. He had nothing more to do out here now that the threat of the Revanchist was vanquished forever, and the only loose ends that ought to have been tied were those in his own home world.

"Yes, I suppose so. After all, it is high time you showed me the appeal of this so-called normal world that you fought so fervently to protect, human," the fairy-sized Othinus said, perched atop Touma's shoulder with her legs crossed.

"It's not all that great. At first glance, at least," Fiamma of the Right breathed out, resting his hands on his hips. "But perhaps you may find something amusing in this small world that would convince you to call it home as well."

"It has to! If it can fit even just one multiverse-shaking mastermind, what's one more?" Ollerus said teasingly, nudging Fiamma's side briefly, despite the judgmental glare that the other magician gave. Giving a discomforted cough, the blonde man spoke again. "Anyway, I just hope Silvia hasn't missed me too much. I can only imagine I'm in for an earful once I get back..."

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"At least one of us is looking forward to be reunited with their little lady," Accelerator grunted. During his stay in Avalon following his haphazard summoning to the battle for the fate of the multiverse, the pale young man often came off as restless, even in the most joyous and restful of times. Despite his words here, it definitely seemed like he was the most anxious to return home, to the people waiting for him back home. It might have been around a month for them all, but it was still strange to him to imagine that from their perspective, they'd probably have been gone for less than a week at most.

Then again, no stranger than learning the deeper, intricate details of the wider multiverse. He was no stranger to the weird shit that Touma found himself embroiled with, least of all the existence of magic in his own world, but this was a bit much.

This was all Tsuchimikado's fault somehow, probably.

"Right, well, let's just get this over with," Fiamma of the Right cleared his throat. His right hand glowing red, the magician called upon the residual power of the Right Hand of the Crimson Moon to conjure a spatial portal, vrring into life just like he had done many times before in the Othinus Incident.

And with that, one by one, they all stepped in, safely returning to their home world.

...

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Judging from the position of the sun, it was probably late afternoon, the onset of evening. Considering that the majority of Academy City's population was students, it was likely that a good chunk of them were already on their way to their dorms if they weren't home already, and all things considered, it was fortunate that their return to the world seemed to go unnoticed.

Wiping his brow, Touma stretched out his arms. "Phew! Feels good to be back home! It almost feels like I've been gone forever!" He exclaimed, happy to be back finally.

"Yeah, yeah, just pipe down already. The sooner I can forget about multiverse bullshit, the better," Accelerator grunted, rubbing the side of his head briefly. Life in this world was harrowing as it was. Mixing the affairs of other worlds into it was bound to cause nothing but add even more trouble to the mix.

"Yes. Let us hope that's the end of that for all of us," Ollerus chuckled lightly, before--

BOOM!

The earth shook, and a fiery explosion was seen rising in the distance. There was trouble afoot. Someone looking to make a scene. A rogue magician? An Esper off the shits? Who could say?

"Hmm. I wonder if that's Thor, waiting for us here to collect," Fiamma of the Right chuckled in a lackadaisical manner, as though thoroughly unimpressed by the explosion's magnitude, gesturing toward Othinus, still perched atop Touma's shoulder.

"Ugh, whatever. Guess we better check it out," Accelerator shook his head. The days of peace were ill-suited for the Number One, so he may as well get his hands bloody to make whoever dared disturb this peaceful day pay. With a casual display of his power, Accelerator kicked off the ground, adjusting the vector of gravity so that he was able to leap several meters in the air, creating a crater in the ground as he did so, as though he was flying now toward the source of the explosion.

"Yes. Believe it or not, perhaps the celebration of our return to normal has already started," Fiamma breathed, before beginning to take off toward the explosion with Ollerus beside him, leaving only Touma by himself with Othinus.

"Well? We'd better get a move on and look into it. Are you so used to these kinds of things that you don't even care about them, human?" The tiny Magic God said, looking up at Touma, who could only smile endearingly.

"Aah, something like that. There's always something going on in this city, after all," Touma chuckled, and with that, made a mad dash toward the explosion as well.

And so, that was the end of a certain chapter of the multiverse. People would leave the spotlight, just as people would come to make their mark upon the multiverse.

The new era had come.

 
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