Dimensions Collide: Destiny Bond

Chapter 231: The Blacksmith

Prota was confused. She’d even been saving up her tokens for this moment in time. Knowing that John’s negotiation skills wouldn’t be available, she’d prepared accordingly, hoping to take her time with the problem.

But someone else had intervened.

No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t figure out how any of her actions had interfered with this line of events. Sure, there was the butterfly effect, but was it really this strong? Briar’s problems were something unrelated to [Deus Ex Machina] entirely, and had been a problem John simply wished to solve on his own.

“Hm… this one’s confusing me, too,” Anta muttered. “I don’t get it. What changed? We didn’t even interact with Briar all that much…”

Suddenly, Prota felt a shiver of fear run through her body. It wasn’t her own fear. It was Anta’s, felt so strongly that Prota felt it too.

“What if… what if it’s Diaboli?” she muttered.

“Diaboli?”

“She’s actually Celeste, right? Even if she doesn’t know where John is, she knows about John’s existence. She’s still preparing to fight him. Your existence is proof of that.”

“...me?”

“We were created to kill the hero in the event that he sided with John. Thus, Celeste knew about John before we existed. Our actions do not change that. They can’t change that fact, because it happened before we regressed. But if John is acting on his own, then she still needs to plan.”

“...but Celeste can’t find John?”

“Correct. But she also knows this world is a story. She knows Destiny is a [Protagonist]. And in this kind of story, a [Protagonist’s] companions are his strength. It wouldn’t be odd if she was trying to help out in some way or another.”

Prota nodded slowly, digesting the new information. Truth be told, she didn’t really get it, but seeing as it wasn’t affecting her all that much, it probably wasn’t that important. But as she was processing the information, she suddenly realized something.

“Anta,” she thought suddenly. “Diaboli… remembered [Resets]. Then right now-”

“Ah, good catch. Thankfully, you don’t need to worry about that.”

“...huh?”

“She got [Zeroed]. Her existence was erased.”

Prota held her head. They were getting back into confusing territory.

“Seriously, I explained this already… [Zero] is the ability to reduce something to a state of nothing. Something that’s [Zeroed] can’t be brought back by [Resets], and the world will try to rearrange itself to cover the holes its existence would have left. Diaboli was [Zeroed], but John used some power to remove his own memories and bring everyone who was [Zeroed] back. A [True Reset] without it really being a [True Reset].”

“True… reset?”

“You… you know what? No point in explaining. The point is, we are the only ones who remember the old world. As far as everyone else is concerned, it does not exist. There is no means of restoring it within this world.”

Prota nodded. There was no need to question that last line.

The term “within this world” was clear.

“If you’re that worried about Briar, though, there’s a really easy solution for that,” Anta laughed. “No point in worrying about something we can’t figure out, right?”

“What?”

“It’s simple. We just have to go and check ourselves.”

~~~

Of course, a few things needed to be processed before they could jump into the action. As much as Prota might have wanted to do as she pleased, she was still held by the restraints known as rules.

Thankfully, the ones who had put them in place were willing to let her bend them just a bit.

“Skipping classes… I understand that you’re here for a purpose, but that’s a little much, don’t you think?” Sofya sighed.

Prota just stared.

“What did you say this was for?”

“Help friend. Cultists,” Prota explained. “Trying to steal weapon. Stop them.”

“...by any chance, the demon war isn’t about to begin, is it? Has the hero arrived, yet?”

Prota flinched. Had she not told them about Destiny? There was no way. With everything they’d explained, had they neglected to tell them that the hero was here?

Then, on second thought, perhaps it was best to keep his identity hidden. It wasn’t her place to reveal a secret that wasn’t hers. In a similar vein, she hadn’t told him that Celestia was Four, and she hadn’t told his family that he was the hero.

Right, in the end, it was best to leave decisions to the ones who should make them. Prota could reveal her own secrets, and there were plenty of those to share.

“Nn,” Prota nodded. “Demon war soon.”

“Hm… I see,” Sofya sighed. “I wonder, should I participate this-”

“No.”

Prota’s answer was swift and immediate. It wasn’t that she had thought of it, but Anta had been screaming so loudly that she couldn’t help but give the answer, to shut her soul up if nothing else.

“What? I… well, I suppose you have your reasons. If I wish to be involved, however… would you stop me?”

Prota could answer that one on her own.

“No.”

Sofya smiled. “I understand. Your request has been granted. Of course, you will still be required to use your tokens, but it seems you have those in abundance. I’ve been monitoring your grades. Despite your regression… or, perhaps, because of it? You’ve been showing quite the satisfactory performance in the more scholarly side of the school as well.”

Prota nodded. She couldn’t exactly say it was because John had taught her skills beyond what the average noble child learned, so she would just accept the compliment.

As she left, though, the conversation had placed a few thoughts in her mind.

The first thing that came to mind was just how advanced John’s original world was. Of course, he himself had likely accumulated knowledge over the worlds he’d visited, but from what he’d said, mathematics, reading and writing were standard.

“Um… well, not everywhere. But in a lot of places, education is a right.”

Once again, she found herself wondering just what these other worlds were like. If she were John, would she be willing to stay locked down into one world, sticking around just to save its existence?

“Don’t worry about that,” Anta sighed. “There’s no point in getting hung up on hypotheticals we won’t know the answer to.”

“Nn…”

Then, the next problem arose.

Why had Anta been so adamant about denying Sofya’s participation in the war?

“That one I can answer,” Anta said. “Prota. Do you remember what John said when Sofya died in our last life?”

“I… I can’t. Prota. I can’t revive her…”

“Nn.”

“He wanted to save her. You know that. And he’s done it for others. So why do you think he couldn’t?”

“...not enough [DEM]?”

“Correct! And why would Sofya require more [DEM] than, say, Olivia?”

Prota shook her head. She didn’t know the answer to that one.

“[DEM] is a power that involves directly affecting the [Story]. Even rewriting reality and new powers is simply a matter of changing the [Story]. The energy needed to change things depends on how much the [Story] itself changes. Think about it. How many times did we see Olivia do something of importance?”

Prota was starting to understand.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Sofya, on the other hand, is a dragon. Dragons do not have the same rules that Mystics do. They can cleanly interfere in mortal affairs, and simply choose not to because they have no interest in them. But Sofya is different. She cares for mortals. So, if she were to interfere in the war, wouldn’t that cause a huge uproar? The only Mystic meant to interfere is Kit, so what would happen if that fighting power doubles?”

“But then… why not now?” Prota wondered. “No [DEM]. So why is it bad?”

“You know how we’re always worried about taking shortcuts? Because it’s just gonna come back even worse?” Anta said. “Because of that. If there’s a force that can easily win the war, do you really think the [Author’s] just going to let that slide? I know we’re trying to ignore that person’s existence, but we have to be realistic from time to time.”

Right.

An unfair existence that could forcibly get rid of any lotteries Prota won. If she found a treasure chest, its contents would end up being a trap, just so she couldn’t get a random, unfair advantage.

On one hand, she had [Deus Ex Machina], a power that could push her further without any effort, but on the other hand was its wielder, who ensured work was needed anyway.

“Stupid [Author]...”

She was starting to get why John cursed that person so much.

“Anyway, it’s about time we got back to our original goal,” Anta said cheerfully. “Come on. Let’s go visit the dwarf kingdom again.”

~~~

For the first time, Prota found herself in an entirely new environment, all on her own. She felt a little out of place. The portal hub was busy, hundreds of people walking back and forth, all trying to get to their respective destinations.

The last time she’d been here, Briar had been around to guide her, and John had been with her as well. This time, she had no system to give her a map, nor did she have a guide to lead her.

Thankfully, she had a soul to tell her where to go.

“We should explore a little,” Anta said hopefully. “You know. Check some other stuff out.”

Unfortunately, the soul had a mind of its own, and that mind dictated that other things came first.

“...where?”

“I don’t know! Let’s look around.”

“Um…”

“Come on! It’s a nice place, and I’m sure they have good food. We have some money, right? Let’s go try something!”

Well, Prota wouldn’t say no to good food. Then, what was meant to be a recon mission turned into a sightseeing trip of the city.

Truthfully, she hadn’t gotten to see much of it the last time they’d been here. The trips had mainly consisted of running back and forth between the casino and Briar’s home. Now that she was looking around, however, it was quite the nice place.

Many of the homes were made in a similar fashion to Briar’s, although they seemed a little sturdier and well built. The design was a bit like that of the Ninetail’s clans homes, but seemed to be built with more metal and less nature.

Come to think of it, she had noticed these things before, as well. Perhaps there wasn’t much to see after all.

Still, she hopped from area to area, sampling the various snacks the stalls had to offer. There was a place that sold grilled meat on skewers, another that offered fishcakes on sticks in a warm, savory broth, and yet another that offered cold noodles and…

“...soy sauce?” Prota muttered.

“Here, dip them in this.”

This was the same sauce John had given her to dip dumplings in. Come to think of it, he’d always complained about not having proper ingredients, but maybe he just hadn’t searched well enough.

Before she even realized it, the sun was beginning to set. She’d been having too much fun. In itself, it wasn’t a bad thing, but they hadn’t gotten any work done.

“Well, let’s go. Come on, I’ll take over for this part.”

A blue eyed, blue haired girl walked in, and out came a similar looking girl, just with red replacing the blue.

“Where was it… right, this way,” Anta muttered.

They headed toward a more rundown area. Prota remembered this. In hindsight, it was odd that such a great blacksmith was living in such humble conditions, but then again, it wasn’t the most odd thing she’d seen.

However, once she was in the area itself, she had no clue as to which house was the correct one. It was a good thing Anta was the one who was walking, because she would’ve been completely lost otherwise.

“Here we are,” she said quietly.

Night was falling. The portal hub was always open, but she might get questions if they returned after hours. Students wandered the campus freely, and it wasn’t like it was against the rules, but it would be a little suspicious if a student who didn’t know much about the world returned in the dead of night.

Hopefully, Briar’s grandfather would at least recommend them an inn to stay in.

“Hello?” Anta called out, knocking on the door. “Anybody home?”

For a moment, there was silence. If she listened carefully, Anta could hear the quiet shuffling of feet on a wooden floor.

“Who is it?”

That familiar voice. It was him.

“Sir? I’m a friend of Briar’s,” Anta called out. “Would you mind opening the door?”

“A friend of Briar’s, you say?”

The door swung open slightly, revealing a semi-cautious Zuko. However, upon seeing Anta, he relaxed a little. It was clear he was being cautious of some kind of threat, so Anta’s small form likely reassured his worries.

“Ah. Welcome, welcome. But… shouldn’t you be at school?”

“May I come in?”

Zuko seemed conflicted, but ultimately, he did open the door to let Prota inside.

“What are you doing here? Did Briar send you?”

“No,” Anta said, shaking her head.

She took off her shoes and sat crosslegged at the table. Zuko mirrored her reluctantly, still seemingly cautious of her presence.

“By any chance, are you having trouble with the owner of Hackpino casino?”

“You-”

“I’m sorry if that was a provocation. That’s not what I meant.”

Anta was taking care to be at least a little respectful. This was a man John had shown respect to, unprompted. He hadn’t done such a thing, even to the king of a country, which meant that he simply held this old man in high regard.

At the very least, Anta and Prota could serve to do the same.

“Then what are you here for? It doesn’t seem that you are a mere student.”

“That is correct,” Anta nodded. “I am a prophet.”

“A- a prophet?”

“I would appreciate if you didn’t ask for the details. I wasn’t lying. I am truly Briar’s friend. But she also doesn’t know about this.”

“I… I see. Then why go out of your way? Why are you, a child, interfering with an adult’s issue?”

“Does one’s age need to be above a certain number to help others out? If I am capable of helping you, then why shouldn’t I do it? And, if nothing else… think of it as me helping Briar. Not you. Because if you suffer, so does she.”

“I-”

“You’re going to tell me that an issue like this isn’t my problem. Maybe it’s not. But have you considered that you’re harming those around you? By trying to be selfless, have you considered that maybe you are simply being selfish?”

Zuko opened his mouth. Then closed it.

Even John hadn’t managed to silence Zuko this quickly.

The only reason Anta could argue the point so well was because Prota was often of a similar mindset. Both tried to sacrifice themselves in an attempt to save others from harm, but ultimately, such actions could end up hurting those around more than they helped. Prota had recently come to that realization.

So it wouldn’t be too hard to convince Zuko, either.

“I see. But what can you, a mere student, do? Even if you are aware of the problem, solving it-”

“Your brother is being pressured by those of the Demon Cult,” Anta explained calmly. “He is attempting to frame it as his own choice in order to give you a way out. In that regard, perhaps the two of you aren’t too different.”

“Ryu? But-”

“His daughter is being held hostage. Does that explain it?”

“His daughter. Of course,” Zuko sighed. “Then yes, I understand the situation. But knowledge is useless without the means to take advantage of it. What will you do? As much as you’ve approached me, I cannot be of assistance. And I have already tasked someone with investigating the issue.”

“...you have? Right, you have,” Anta said slowly.

“Was this not something you’ve seen in your prophecy?”

The old man, who’d accepted the fact that Anta was a prophet so easily, now seemed to be doubting the statement.

“Truthfully, no,” Anta said, frowning. “Has this man delivered any results?”

“As of now, no. He has reported that he’s managed to enter the Yakuza’s ranks and is steadily climbing up in order to try and figure out what is going on, but such a task takes time.”

“How- how are you paying him?”

“A weapon,” Zuko sighed. “I promised him a sword. I have worked him far more than I should, but he does not seem to care.”

Anta nodded. “I see. Hm… this changes things.”

“In what way?”

“Well, I was going to try and deal with the cultists myself. There are a few places I can go in. Additionally, if you come with me, we could talk with Ryu to try and figure things out. However, this variable changes things,” Anta muttered.

“I- I’m sorry, but would you mind saying that again? You plan on dealing with things yourself?”

Anta looked up in surprise. “Well, sure.”

“But-”

“Looks are deceiving. Do people assume you’re an excellent blacksmith if they don’t know who you are?”

“...it seems age is not a cure for foolishness,” Zuko said, bowing his head. “I apologize.”

“It’s fine,” Anta said, shaking her head. “I get it a lot. But I do want to help you. Just as you are selfish… so am I. Don’t think of this as favours or debts. It’s just two people doing what they want.”

“I see. Briar has made some good friends,” Zuko said, finally smiling. “Thank you…”

“Prota,” Anta said. “I am Prota Char.”

“Prota. What a nice name. Thank you, Prota.”

“Briar speaks highly of you,” Anta said with a kind smile. “It would be a sin not to help you.”

“Hm… but it is growing late. Will you be heading back to school? I wasn’t aware Scholaris let their students depart during the school season.”

“Um. Special privileges,” Anta said. “Don’t worry about it. The headmaster is already aware, so I’ll be fine. That being said… do you know an inn or something I can stay at?”

“Stay here,” Zuko insisted. “It’s not much, but the streets aren’t always safe at night. Not that you would be in danger, but it is no place for a child.”

Anta nodded, waiting for Zuko to prepare some bedding.

“What did Zuko mean?” Prota said in her mind. “Dangerous?”

“Eh… don’t worry about it,” Anta said, a little embarrassed. “Even if we’re not exactly kids, I don’t think you’re exactly an adult, either…”

“Adult?”

“Just forget about it, ok?”

Soon, Zuko came back with some cushions, which were laid out on the ground easily. It wasn’t exactly a bed, but upon looking around, it seemed that beds weren’t a thing to begin with.

“Then, good night, Prota,” Zuko said, picking up a lantern.

“Wait. One last question. The man who’s helping you. What… who is he?”

“Hm… well, I don’t know that I should share that,” Zuko said, stroking his beard. “He asked that I don’t share his name. As much as I appreciate your help, I won’t betray the trust of someone else who reached out as well.”

“Then, can you at least describe what he looks like?” Anta said, suddenly worried. “You know. In case we run into him at the casino.”

“Hm… I can’t say much about his face. He was rather average in that regard. He had messy black hair, as well as… ah, yes, that’s right. The first time I met him, he had some strange clothing on. A cloak that didn’t quite reach his legs. A shirt made of some strange material. I asked him if I could analyze the clothing, but he wouldn’t let me touch it. What am I saying? That doesn’t help. I haven’t seen him in those clothes in quite some time.”

Anta froze up.

“Uh. By any chance. Was he wearing a long, red scarf? Even though it was warm out?”

“Why, yes! Do you know who he was? Quite the strange man, although he was rather polite. In his own blunt, straightforward way.”

“I… no, I don’t believe we know him. What was your request, exactly?”

Zuko frowned. “Well, I asked him to look into Ryu’s situation for me. And… I asked that he did not touch any of Ryu’s men. I know my brother takes pride in his empire. As much as he was targeting me, I did not feel the need to fight back with violence.”

“And he accepted?”

“Yes. He promised he would not take a life. And I believe he hasn’t. After all, the visits I get from the Yakuza have not been violent in nature. No reports of any attacks.”

Anta tried to calm her beating heart.

“I see. Thank you.”

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Anta’s head whipped around.

“Hello?” Zuko frowned. “So many visitors. Who is it?”

“Old man? It’s me. Thought there’s something I should let you know.”

Zuko nodded, shuffling forward. Anta couldn’t stop the pounding of her heart. Both she and Prota could hear the rushing of blood in their head.

Three years.

Three years of what?

What would they do?

The door swung open.

“Hello.”

Beyond Zuko was a man. He wasn’t wearing the familiar scarf or hoodie. But that didn’t matter.

Prota would never forget this individual, no matter how long she lived.

Zuko nodded politely, unaware of Prota’s struggle.

“Quarta. Is everything going well?”