Dimensions Collide: Destiny Bond

Chapter 219: The Power of God

Doctor’s body slowly melted away. Prota watched, satisfaction welling up inside of her as she sat down heavily.

Suddenly, her body locked up, immense pain shooting through her like a hot poison. She wouldn’t die. She could feel it.

But pain was something she hadn’t felt in quite some time. Not to this extent. Not to the point that she couldn’t handle it. She cried out, her voice blasting through the forest, but there was no one to hear her. No one to comfort her. Everyone that could’ve helped was frozen.

“Prota!” Anta yelled, appearing in her ghostly form. “Shit! The feedback- our body isn’t used to this power yet! Saving everyone used more energy than I meant to give you, so it took something else as a punishment… It was too much, it-”

Prota managed to hear those words in her suffering.

Too much.

Somehow, through the fog building up in her mind, she managed to regain just enough clarity to roll over and clutch at the grass beneath. She bit down, trying to bear with the pain.

“Just hold on! If you give up here, it’ll be for nothing! The world will stay frozen forever! Just stay conscious for a little longer!”

Just a little longer. She could do that.

The pain wasn’t too much.

It couldn’t be too much.

She’d resolved herself, already. If this was the cost to save everyone, if this was what it took, then she’d gladly bear it. Even if there was no one to watch. Even if no one knew of her sacrifice. Of her suffering.

She’d bear it all.

Already, Prota had gone through much. She’d come back from a world no one remembered. A world where she, and she alone, had experienced suffering no child should have gone through. And now, it was as if it had never happened. Technically, it hadn’t.

Anybody less suited for the role would have collapsed under the pressure.

But not Prota.

She’d gone through too much to give up here.

She crawled forward, dealing with the pain, her body spasming against her will, but it didn’t matter. It would fade eventually.

And once it did, it would all be worth it.

“We’re clear!”

Just like that, the pain vanished. As if it’d never been there in the first place. In its place, a sense of warmth began to spread through Prota, a sort of quiet power that was alien yet familiar at the same time.

For a brief moment, the world was quiet. Then, everything came rushing in. The wind began to blow. The branches rattled in the wind, the sounds of groaning audible from the five men on the ground.

Prota let out a deep sigh.

Everything was ok.

Everything had worked out.

“Prota,” Anta said quietly. “That’s [Deus Ex Machina]. That’s… the power we’re going up against. I have to admit, it’s not a very good showing of what this power is, but… well, we’ll get it.”

Prota nodded.

“Well, it looks like our core is bigger. That’ll be helpful,” Anta muttered. “Go on. Let’s wrap things up.”

The people around her slowly got up, seeming somewhat dazed. Well, that made sense. After all, they’d just died. Even if it wasn’t the same, Prota knew how disorienting it could be.

“...Prota?”

Destiny was the first to speak. He looked around, visibly confused.

“Where’s… where’s the enemy?”

“Dead.”

If anyone had been feeling groggy before, they most certainly weren’t now.

“Wait, hold on,” Breaker said.

Prota looked over at him. She’d only seen him for a brief moment, so she wasn’t quite sure how to deal with him. Well, that likely wasn’t important.

“You? You’re telling me you killed that monster?” he continued, not bothering to hide his doubt. “I’m sorry, but I don’t quite believe you. Unless you provide me with some proof-”

“Don’t care.”

Prota completely ignored the man and began to head into the dungeon.

“Destiny,” she said quietly. “Potion.”

“Yeah. But… Prota. What’s going on?”

“Killing Doctor. Not important. People to save,” Prota said simply. “Let’s go.”

She was about to head in when she stopped in her tracks.

“Actually. Destiny. Not good. Stay here. Give me potion.”

“Not good?” Destiny frowned.

Somehow, all thoughts of the fight had escaped everyone’s minds. Doctor was irrelevant. Prota was so confident that they had no choice but to follow her.

“Same as old lab,” Prota said simply. “You won’t like it.”

“I-”

Destiny paused. Prota looked at him, her face as blank as always. Still, the hero seemed to recognize that she was pitying him. Perhaps, in the few months they’d spent together, he’d learned to read her just a little better.

“No,” he said, slapping his cheeks. “I can handle it.”

“...ok.”

Prota turned to Albert, staring at him with that same, apathetic expression.

“Mister.”

“...what now?”

The guildmaster seemed a little reluctant to do anything. Well, he’d likely been through a hard fight. It made sense for him to be tired, resurrected or not.

“Inside… a lot of people missing their souls. A lot of people broken. Your town. Sort of. What… what do you want to do?”

“What were you going to do?”

“Give them mercy.”

Albert flinched at that. Had anyone else said it, he would’ve simply nodded, but Prota said it so matter-of-factly that it felt a little harsh.

“Wait, that’s not something you can just decide-”

“Mister. A lot of pain. Really bad place,” Prota said, shaking her head. “Most of them already gone. Not worth it. Only asked because… they have families. Friends. Better to bring them back? Or do I get rid of it?”

She was confused as to why Anta wasn’t explaining this, but the soul was being stubbornly silent. Thus, it seemed the responsibility fell on her to explain what was going on.

“...I’m coming with you.”

Prota sighed. She’d been through enough. At this point, Albert could have told her that he was going to kill her, and she wouldn’t have thought twice about it.

“Fine.” She turned to Bren. “Find Danjo.”

“S-sorry?”

“Danjo. Dwarf. Bring him here.”

“Ah… um. Alright, then.”

The atmosphere was so oddly calm that nobody really knew how to act. It seemed everyone was thinking the same thing.

There was no way it just ended like this.

Then again, they’d all been through their respective battles. They’d all dealt with their own struggles.

In a way, perhaps this ending was the best outcome they could reach. None of them had died. No one was left with serious injury or dismemberment.

Sometimes, boring endings were best. Not for entertainment.

But simply because continuing to live was one of the best gifts you could receive.

Bren ran off, Elfin following suit. Destiny spared the elf a glance, but Prota didn’t even bother looking back. She just headed straight into the dungeon, wandering down the spiralling dungeon. There were a few monsters, but at her current level, they were incredibly easy to deal with.

Albert could only watch in amazement. He had yet to see her fight properly, only ever seeing her prowess in spars, so this was something entirely new. More than that, though, her upgraded core allowed her to work a little more freely than before.

“...are you alright?” Destiny asked at some point.

Prota just nodded.

That was a lie, of course.

She wasn’t entirely well. This place was bringing back a lot of bad memories. A lot of emotional memories, too.

“I don’t give a fuck about any of that. Prota. Victory in chess is defined by capturing the king. Sure, maybe there’s a few comparisons. Stuff like sacrificing pawns? I do that all the time, both in chess and real life. But that’s not always the case. Real life, I mean. What if there’s no king to capture? Victory can be whatever you want it to be.”

Was this victory?

She didn’t know.

That remained to be seen. She closed her eyes, somewhat sensing the [Deus Ex Machina] energy residing within her. It had grown ever so slightly.

But was it enough?

“Prota,” she heard Albert say gently.

She hadn’t even noticed they’d reached the entrance to the lab.

“...nn. Enemies inside. Easy clean up.”

Pushing the door open confidently, she waltzed in, immediately taking out the few researchers that remained. They put up a fight, of course, but they were nothing a few Blossoms and Frozen Flames couldn’t take care of.

“Seriously, do you not understand how [Reset] works yet? We just keep trying until we can’t. This is a [Story], and for now, we have the power of [Plot Armour] on our side. How the hell are we supposed to lose?”

Why had John been so confident back then? In hindsight, why had he relied on a [Character] he’d only known for two years? He should’ve been far more doubtful. Far more cautious.

Why had he let himself get so close to her, when he must’ve known it would all fall apart in the end?

She didn’t regret anything. Sacrificing herself on numerous occasions, dying over and over, embracing the cold, hard sensation of death, it was all worth it.

But would John honestly say the same?

“Stop questioning it, idiot. You’re you. John is John. The two of you don’t need to think the same. If he regrets it… then he does. We can’t change him. But do you honestly think he was faking absolutely everything?”

Prota sighed, stopping in her tracks.

“Look around. Come back. Destroy… or not destroy.”

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She left without another word, leaving the other two alone. Behind her, she could hear the two talking in hushed tones, but she didn’t particularly care to hear what they were saying.

“Olivia’s not gonna be in the same room as before, you know.”

Prota flinched as Anta reminded her once again that the future had changed.

“...where?”

“I don’t know. You never checked the rest of the place. I remember everything that happened in your last life. I don’t remember anything you didn’t do. I’m not omniscient, you know.”

“...useless.”

“Wha- hey! Hey, hey, how many times did I help you already?! And you’re saying that now, just because of something I can’t control?”

Prota’s lips curved upward as she continued to wander around.

“You… I’m influencing you a little too much,” Anta grumbled. “Fine. Let’s go find her.”

They eventually found their way into the area where the kidnapped people were being held. The door was locked, so Prota was forced to bash it down, sending the door flying with a loud clang.

Immediately, she nearly regretted her decision. The place was terrible. Even though she was prepared, she nearly gagged upon being hit with the smell of decay and waste.

The place was nothing but bars and barren floor. Nothing to sleep on. Nothing to clean with. Just… bodies, corpses, and darkness. There had been loud sounds of wailing and pain, but that went silent immediately as soon as she walked in.

“...prepare yourself,” Anta said quietly.

Prota lit a flame for light, and her heart dropped.

These could barely be called people.

Most of them had lost the light in their eyes. They couldn’t even focus on Prota, nor did they even acknowledge her presence. A few did, however, and scurried back, immediately fearful of her presence.

“Anta.”

Prota’s tone was strange.

“Save them. How much?”

“Prota-”

“How much?”

She wasn’t in the mood to argue.

“...we have enough.”

Anta answered truthfully, but she seemed incredibly reluctant.

“Do it.”

“Prota-”

“Do it!”

Her voice, normally so quiet and timid, rose to a shout, something that only ever happened during battle. It echoed through the corridors, the stone walls and floor bouncing her words over and over, slowly fading out.

“Prota, everything we worked for-”

“What’s the point? If we don’t do this… are we any better?”

These weren’t [Characters] to her.

These were people.

People who were broken. People who, like her, were suffering for no good reason. If someone had reached out just a little earlier… if someone had lent her a helping hand… would her life been as bad?

In her hands was the power of god.

What was stopping her from saving everyone? Why couldn’t she? Why shouldn’t she—

“Prota!”

Anta’s voice stunned her out of her spiralling thoughts.

“Just… think. You can… you can be a person. You can be a [Character]. But you can’t… you can’t be both.”

“...what?”

“Think. What are you going to do? Heal them? Recover their injuries? Bring back the dead?”

“But-”

“What about their trauma? Their suffering? Isn’t that why you warned Albert?”

“But I can-”

“Sure, we have the power of a [Writer]. We can make it so none of this ever happened. But is that what you want to do?”

Prota didn’t get it. What was so bad about that?

“It’s not wrong,” Anta said, her voice on the verge of tears. “But is this what you want?”

She still didn’t understand. If Anta was saying it wasn’t wrong to do, then what was stopping her?

“Prota. For you to save all these people… is to literally play god.”

“Yes. That’s what I-”

“Is that what you want?”

Prota froze. Something about the way Anta asked that question… was it?

“Put it this way,” Anta sighed. “If John… if John reset the world, stopped you from ever suffering, and made it so you could just forget everything and live a peaceful life, would you want that?”

“No. But then John wouldn’t-”

“John still exists. He still meets you. But in return… you don’t remember anything. You forget. He [Resets] without you, and you forget everything that happened in this life. Would you want that?”

Prota didn’t know what to say.

“These people… yes, you would be giving them a better life. Yes, you would be saving them. But is that them?”

It was starting to sink in. Anta didn’t need to say anymore.

If Prota went down this path, she would be acknowledging that she was a [Character]. That this world wasn’t real. For her to take control, she would have to first embrace the fact that “these people” didn’t exist, and that the greater good was all that mattered.

If she acknowledged this as reality, then rewriting everyone’s life was akin to killing them and reincarnating them into a better world. And while that was possible…

Did she deserve to play god?

“I…”

Prota didn’t know the answer to that question.

“If you still want it… do it. But understand that the more you use this power to change the world, the more aware of its nature you become.”

“But Doctor-”

“Doctor didn’t play by this world’s rules. So we needed to stand on his level to match him. This… is purely of this world. By doing this, you are declaring yourself to be above everyone else. Are you willing to do that?”

“I… Yes. I don’t care, Anta. I’m… I’m already different. So if I can do what I want, then… then I’ll do it. Victory. Not about being better. Not about being right. It’s about doing what I want. Right?”

There was a moment of silence, and for a second, Prota was afraid she’s somehow given an incorrect answer.

Then, Anta burst out laughing, roaring with joy.

“Right, right! We should live. That’s how it’s been, right?!” She continued to laugh, the noise heard by Prota and Prota alone. “That’s good. You’re determined to do this, aren’t you?”

“Nn.”

“Then, I’ll teach you a little secret. We can actually save most of our [DEM]. But it’ll require a lot of work on your end.”

“Work… on my end?”

“That’s right. You’ll have to go to each person, personally. You’ll have to reach into their minds and restore their soul personally. Not by erasing memories… but by comforting them. Not as a [Writer]. But as a [Character]. It’ll be a lot more work than rewriting how things went down. But I think that’s what you want, anyway, right?”

Prota looked over the countless cells in this dark, disgusting place.

To her surprise, a single tear fell down her cheek.

“...yes.”

“Then let’s get to it.”

~~~

For the next two months, Prota remained in that laboratory. Destiny occasionally came to keep her company, which was nice, but she had a job to do.

There were dozens of people in this lab. From what Anta had said, there was nothing she could do about those who were already dead, but those who had lost the will to live, and those who still wished to escape… they could still be restored.

It wasn’t perfect. But Prota didn’t want to recreate the world in her image. That was going too far. She just wanted to save those she could save. She didn’t want another world where everything simply fell apart.

Even if it meant making her own journey harder, it would be worth it.

And if she could spit in the [Author’s] face, then that was a wonderful bonus as well.

Otherwise, things were progressing smoothly. Olivia was rescued, healed, and reunited with Danjo. The dwarf lacked a few skills, but somehow, he was convinced to go to Scholaris anyway. That was the only real roadbump Anta had been worried about, so with that out of the way, it seemed everything else would progress smoothly.

Elfin, reportedly, had confessed to his crimes and was locked up with Breaker, but the two would definitely come back later on. Destiny was still training with the guildmaster in free time, improving his skills as well. Prota was glad to hear that things were going well without her.

Hopefully, things would stay that way.

The time spent in the lab was quite useful as well. Using small bits of [Deus Ex Machina] energy was good for training. Similar to how she had gotten a feel for mana, she needed to acclimate herself to this new power source.

As Anta had said, Soul Steal wasn’t a power of this world.

It was the ability to steal “energy.”

While it was a unique and special energy, ultimately, [Deus Ex Machina] energy was still energy.

That meant that Prota just needed to get used to it.

Then, using an energy that wasn’t mana in this type of scenario was perfect. There was no risk of dying in combat, and it was working toward a goal she wished for. She wasn’t sure if it was working perfectly, of course, but if it was beyond her control, then so be it.

Then, at the end of the two months, she finally emerged after treating the last prisoner. Stretching, she looked around, then wandered the lab one last time.

It was quiet. Any dead bodies had already been taken out, and the place had been somewhat cleaned up. Albert had sent teams in to extract anything of use, so the lab was just an empty building, now.

Finally, she found herself in the room John had been held in her last life. She looked at it carefully. She could still see Doctor. John. Olivia. Destiny, Kit, Danjo.

Their dead bodies. Over and over.

“We stopped that from happening,” Anta said quietly. “So chin up. You did good.”

“I… I did good. Right.”

A sense of peace welled up in Prota’s heart.

She did good.

Nobody knew of her sacrifice. Nobody knew of her power. She’d likely continue to get treated as a child. The people wouldn’t hail her as some kind of god or deity.

But that had never been her goal to begin with.

She started the slow trek out of the lab, emerging from the crack in the wall to experience the fresh air for the first time in a while. That would be nice. Fresh air. A cool breeze—well, it would be a cold breeze now, wouldn’t it? It was a new year. Spring would soon roll around. There was Scholaris to think about. She should ask Destiny for a ticket.

Prota’s mind was filled with such random thoughts as she walked out. She’d fully expected a peaceful, quiet walk home, but—

“Thank you!”

There was a loud roar of cheering as a crowd of people stood in the forest, rosy cheeks and bright smiles everywhere. Quite a few people were sobbing, others jumping up and down, unable to contain their excitement.

“Wha- ah- I-”

Prota was nearly overwhelmed with the number of people surrounding her. What was going on?

Everything was answered as Destiny drew near.

“Don’t worry. I told them you don’t want to get close,” he said under his breath. “But you’ve sacrificed a lot. It’s… it’s only right that you’re shown gratitude, at least. So for now, enjoy it. Alright? Even if glory isn’t your thing… look at them.”

Prota did so. She looked at the countless faces, looking at each and every one.

Each was a person. A person with a life. Family. Friends.

Each life was a story.

A story that could be told.

Just because there was nobody to listen to it didn’t mean it was any less of a story.

Because every story had an audience of at least one person.

Themselves.

“You did this. I know you said you’re not a hero… but look at them. All these people. You saved them. So even if the praise isn’t what you want, be proud of yourself, Prota. Be proud.”

Prota blinked. A tear fell down her cheek. Then another. And another. She blinked again, surprised. Why was she crying? She wasn’t sad. She was just…

“Just cry,” Anta said smugly. “We earned it. Let’s take a break, Prota. Maybe we didn’t save the world. But we saved a village. That’s a pretty good first step, isn’t it?”

Prota burst into tears, a faint smile forming on her lips.

That was right.

She did this.

Perhaps she wasn’t a [Writer] in the sense that John was. Perhaps this world was real to her.

But in her own way, she would write.

Write an ending she desired.

Not as a [Writer].

But as a [Character].

And that, in the moment, was victory.

~~~

A few months later, the town’s activity died down. Destiny and Prota had moved back to Lunaris, leaving all the excitement and chaos behind.

Then, in that quiet, a new figure walked into town. Dressed mostly in black, he attracted little attention save for the long, red scarf trailing behind him.

“It wasn’t there,” he said quietly.

There was a moment of silence.

“What do you mean, you can’t account for everything? I thought you knew everything already.”

Again, he went silent, as if talking to someone unseen.

“...fine. I guess we’ll keep looking then.”