Interlude 1.5 (Part I)

(1st Saga - Greater Magius, The Balance)

I still haven’t forgotten the emotions that rushed through my head that day. The powerlessness of my own hands to control my own fate. The things I had lost.

And the vows I had made.

I will never forget them.

But as it stood right now, I still lacked the power to act. The power to reclaim what I was by righting a wrong of my past.

There were two things that I was certain of.

The first was that Koharu was currently ‘inactive’ within the scene of Orientalis.

Four weeks had passed since the resolution of our clash with Seraphim, and even more time had passed since my encounter with him. 

There was no way a being like him would be idly passing his time. Perhaps he was training as well– growing stronger before our next encounter. Or maybe he was acting in the shadows to further whatever goals led him to Hanakawa that day…

It didn’t matter what he was doing.

What mattered was that he wasn’t present right now. And that mattered because it meant I had time.

The second thing was that I needed to gather as much strength and as many allies as I could.

The next time I was going to face that guy, I’d be ready, and I wouldn’t be alone. 

As it stood now, there were far too many unfamiliar abilities in my possession, and it was clear there wasn’t much anybody else could do to help me learn how to understand them.

After defeating the other identities of Seraphim, Seika’s shard returned to its original owner, meaning I was now back down to the one that made up my body.

Within the past four weeks, my marks had also been steadily growing, albeit extremely slowly, traveling up my arm no more than a centimeter.

I’d worry about the consequences later on, but for now, this was a sign that Seraphim’s powers were still dormant within me.

Unfortunately, after dealing the final blow, I had been unable to communicate with the Seraphim residing within me. Without a doubt, his presence was faintly there, but for now, he was just beyond my reach.

Even so, without his aid, I still needed to master and control the corruption in my body. After all, I had made a promise to a certain someone…

Two weeks ago, Yukiko and Setsuya returned to their positions in the Central District, and just before they boarded their carriage, I pulled Yukiko aside.

Within the next two years, I’d make sure nobody would have to worry about me. Nobody would need to worry about saving me or protecting me.

These burdens I placed on myself existed for a reason, and I’d be the one to fulfill them.

For those reasons, while the reconstruction of Synoria Outlook was still ongoing, I now stood in the middle of nowhere. 

Or rather– a place Seika apparently called her home–

We left town the day after Yukiko and Setsuya left, walking east for nearly 4 hours through the forests before arriving at a massive clearing, almost perfectly circular in shape.

At the very center was a rather simple cabin, in which I had been staying since then.

That night, I wondered why Seika had chosen to live somewhere so isolated from the rest of Synoria.

My training began the next morning.

I was awoken as the first slivers of sunlight crept over the horizon.

Soon after, I stood out in that open field.

Seika’s training was one that could be considered simple. Not in its execution, but in its complexity.

There were no specific drills. No repetitive sets. There was only one task:

Fight until the day I could defeat Seika in unrestricted combat.

On the first day, I challenged her a total of 267 times. That day, I didn’t manage to land a single hit.

In the first week, we sparred a total of 1496 times. Of those bouts, my strikes were blocked and countered innumerable times.

However, I managed to graze my fist past her face just once.

I continued trying. I continued getting stronger. 

By the end of the second week, I could hold my own against her for just about 27 seconds on average.

My entire body ached, but that didn’t matter.

I was learning. How to dodge attacks stronger than my own. How to adapt to techniques more skilled than my own. And most importantly, how to make the greatest weapons of my opponents my own.

The first day of the third week. That was how far I had come.

I took my position on my preassigned stump.

I hadn’t realized it when arriving here, but none of this clearing was naturally formed.

Every tree that once stood here had been ripped or punched or completely annihilated from its spot, all being a part of Seika’s own training from years ago.

This was why she lived in such an isolated region.

I watched her take her usual place, exactly 100 paces from my own.

“We’re going to be doing something a little different today!” she declared, opening her hand towards the sky.

At the center of her palm, I glimpsed a brief flicker of mana.

“From here on out, stage 0 aura usage will be allowed!”

So this was what she was building up to.

I began allowing my mana to freely flow throughout my body.

“Now, let’s get started!”

Ding.

Neither of us moved.

We couldn’t. Not with the words that now hovered before our eyes accompanying that sound.

[ All preparations for World Zero’s system transfer have been completed ]

[ As of now, the World Zero System is no longer supported ]

[ Current users of the World Zero System will have their profiles reset and transferred ]

[ Previously obtained skills and abilities will be integrated under eligible < Titles > ]

[ Processing user’s feats and history… ]

There was a 10 second pause.

[ Your < Titles > have been determined ]

[ All inhabitants of World Zero are now being registered to the Manaflow System… ]

Another pause.

[ Congratulations! You are now a registered user of the Manaflow System ]

I glanced up and Seika’s eyes met mine. Judging by the look on her face, she was reading the exact same messages as I was.

[ Would you like to view your current profile? ]

We both spoke at the same time.

“Yes.”

[ Name: Kaito

Attribute: “Spirit”

< ??? Title | ??? ??? ??? >

< Legendary Title | Incarnation of Wind’s Creation >

< Epic Title | Harmony of the Chosen and Forsaken >

You are currently the Prelude to one backing god. ]

- Synoria, Snow Guild Headquarters

[ Congratulations! You are now a registered user of the Manaflow System ]

Setsuya sighed as he returned his gaze to the message before him.

He had tried various methods to make it disappear, including aggressively shooing it away with his hand and ignoring it for the past five minutes.

Clearly, it demanded attention. Or rather, the question below it did.

[ Would you like to view your current profile? ]

Through his research on World Zero’s history, Setsuya had grown quite well informed on the gods’ role in humanity’s history. At the same time, he was aware that the gods should’ve had no place in the current state of World Zero.

The system window hovering in his office clearly suggested otherwise.

On the lower floors of the Snow Guild Headquarters, guildmembers were frantically running about, trying to figure out what exactly these messages were. Some others, who had grasped the basics of accessing their information and stats, were busy comparing and showing off what accolades they had acquired.

“I still can’t believe that person was telling the truth all that time ago…” he muttered with a displeased scowl.

He looked away from the message and picked up one of the scattered books lying on his desk.

Suddenly, the door to his office burst open, and a hastily dressed Yukiko with uncombed hair rushed in.

“Do you see this thing too?!” she shouted, her arms waving around and wildly gesturing at the window beside her.

Both of them had already encountered the system to some extent before.

However, this was the first time they had come to talk to one another regarding its presence.

And most significantly, this was the first time the system had directly acknowledged them as users.

Setsuya nodded in response to his sister’s question and stood up, dropping the book in his hands back down.

“Go get properly dressed. If anything, this is a sign it’s time to move the Snow Guild into its next stage.”

Yukiko gulped and nodded before retreating from the room.

Now alone again, Setsuya approached one of the many windows that lined his office and pulled the curtain aside.

From up on the highest floor of the Snow Guild Headquarters, he couldn’t quite see the individual people down on the Central District’s streets. Even so, he could still imagine their reactions to the revelation of the system’s existence.

“It has to have been Kaito’s arrival… No, I can’t be certain yet… But still, it’s just as she said."

He tiredly rubbed his eyes.

"Hah... ‘World Zero will come to attract the gaze of the gods.’”