Lizette was laying on a bed wondering what had just happened.
"So... I lost to Kenji... Makes sense... wait- Kenji? But isn't he dead...?" She wondered. It seemed like her being half-blood didn't help. She hadn't realized but she had started to forget about him the moment she found out that he was alive. Her being half blood only made the process slower but it wasn't for better as it made the entire process more mentally draining. Everything was being re-written in her mind and everything became foggy. It was as if some external power was working its way into her mind and delete all memories she had surrounding Kenji's death.
It was incomprehensible. It didn't make any sense to her but she could do nothing against it. The information was being actively deleted and soon she forgot again.
She forgot Kenji was alive. It was a losing battle for the ascendants. Kenji had already predicted that. One way or the other, they will lose against the heavens and it was a reality that simply couldn't be changed yet all the powerful beings moved with their own agenda.
A few minutes passed before a maid knocked on the door of the room Lizette was occupying.
"Miss, the number one of the ascendants is here." The maid announced before the captain walked into the room.
"Lost against him?" He asked.
"Barely... if I train a little more, we are more or less equals." Lizette's pride had been hurt. She lost to a man cosplaying as Kenji.
"I see. It seems as though the professor had his own plans." Captain said. "Alongside Charlotte and Eziekiel, the professor has gone to the Kalpvriksha. They have begun their new plan."
"Y-you mean... But isn't it too soon for that? We have barely fought once and they're already taking such a radical decision?!" Lizette cried.
"I'm afraid but the battle wasn't exactly small as you had to focus on one guy. In reality the outskirts of Grumania are completed pillaged. The battle only looked minute to you because you weren't in the active warzone. Even I only saw the aftermath and it was not something we can just ignore."
"How many casualties...?" Lizette was too afraid to ask.
"A more appropriate question is... did anyone even survive..." Captain responded. "The beastfolks army came with no leader. Even Kenji... I mean Kenji's clone didn't accompany them. They had just one thing in their mind... only through bloodshed could our sins be repaid. They didn't spare anyone... It's best to assume that Grumania has already fallen."
"B-but! Look outside! The capital is still perfectly intact. We can still fi-"
"Stop it, Lizette. It's all meaningless now." Captain walked up to the window. "I know how you feel. All of it is too much. I understand your pain all too well. Even I was unable to protect those I once cared for. But not right now... we have to face the reality. Three of the thirteen ascendants are dead. You also came close to dying as well. All of us have the same vision... to defeat the heavens and unify the beastfolks and humans in a world that treats them as equals and yet we are losing."
Lizette threw the bedside table at the captain who took the blow without blocking it. She was trying to keep things positive despite everything that was going on but captain's bitter truths destroyed whatever mental fortitude she had left.
"WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW!!" Lizette lashed out. "Nothing makes sense to me! I loved him! He was a friend and a brother to me... A family I so longed for..."
...
It was a bright sunny day with birds chirping. The city was bustling yet it couldn't drown the noises of the nature. Lizette was in her chamber when a retainer informed her of the new ascendant and how she was being demoted to the fifth position instead.
She quickly rushed to the throne room and all the ascendants were present, even the ones who kept themselves secluded.
"What is the meaning of this?! A random outsider can take my place?" Lizette lashed out.
The king raised his hand to stop her from speaking any further.
"He is Kenji. An outlander and the apostle of the Gods. Be grateful he sided with us." Charlotte informed her.
She clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. It was a decision made by his highness so no way she could counter it. She just had to accept her demotion but she had to see for herself just who this new guy was.
...
A few days had passed and Kenji was in his chamber with some unknown woman. Lizette knew she was a bad news as she could sense some strange powers from her but she still went into his chamber and greeted herself to him.
"O-oh..." Kenji quickly stood up and greeted her too. She smiled a bit looking at how clumsy he was. She could tell it was his first time being in position of power and he was struggling quite a lot.
For next few days Lizette personally taught him how to deal with the work and they started to bond over their collective hate for Professor. He was a man who experimented on just about anything he could get his hands on and more often than not, his experiments would lead to catastrophes and fill the entire palace with rotten smell of different organisms. It was curiosity mixed with absolutely no sense of ethics and morality that gave Professor an edge over the others. He was ranked higher than even some warriors because of his sheer amount of knowledge.
...
"Huh?" Lizette entered the canteen at night to see Kenji cooking by himself. "You do have servants for this, right?"
"They are from this world." He responded and handed her sushi.
"Hm?" She tried it and was surprised with how simple it tasted. "Quite... light, I would say. From your world?"
"Yes. My world... despite all the shortcoming, I loved a few things."
"Do you wish to ever go back?"
"Not really. I don't have anyone waiting for me." He responded. "My parents... they died right after I was born. I was essentially raised by nannies." He responded. It was an obvious lie but it would make it clear that topic about his parents is off the table right off the bat.
"I... I see. Must've been hard. I too was an orphan." She responded. "I'm a half blood. My dad was a beastfolk... orc, to be specific and my mom was a human."
"An orc?!" He thought about it. "Your dad's genes didn't even try."
"They did... all my strength comes from my dad's side." She responded.
"Oh? Interesting. So..."
"They met in the second war against beastfolks. Fell in love when my dad saved her from random dudes."
"DANG... Wait... wasn't that a few centuries ago?" He questioned.
"Right... but I was born quite late. I'm 350-ish years old actually." She answered.
"D-dang... In my world, its completely unheard of. I think some animals live up to that long... Do they...?" He thought about it but couldn't come up with an example. It made Lizette chuckle a bit.
Kenji was always quite nonchalant about things. It did at times come off as cutesy and other times frustrating.
"I hope you find someone here at least." She said.
"I do have a girlfriend... technically. I'm not sure if I'm still dating her or not. We haven't met in a few weeks." He said.
"A... a few weeks? Is that even possible to not meet with your lover for that long?" She sighed.
"I just kind of forget she exists... I mean not in a bad way... In a more... out of sight, out of mind kind of way."
"I don't think anyone could come up with a worse response. At this point saying you cheat on her is a better response..." She facepalmed.
"I don't know... I think it was too sudden." He responded.
"Hm? Care to explain?"
"Actually... I don't think either of us love each other. Back when we first came here, Kristine had lost her mind completely. I know she had some family issues. Her dad had some sort of serious illness but since I wasn't her friend, I'm not in on the details. All I know is that she was trying her best to the perfect student. And all her efforts were dumped down the drain when she got teleported here. It's just an assumption based on what she said to me that night, but... was it love or desperation... I can't tell. Losing her family, being stranded on a completely different planet with no way back, the fear of not being able to help her dad... She had to latch onto something... Maybe I was an easy target. And... I felt lonely too. So... the conclusion I reached is... our relationship is not of love but of desperation. We are desperate to find something. Love is something I couldn't understand. Leisha and Rosaline fighting over me and then turning against me... Maybe even they didn't love me. I was the apostle of the gods the believed in. Throughout my life... throughout all my relationships I felt like an object. And now it has become a second nature to me. But I still have to keep moving forward. Despite it all I still believe a better future awaits me."
"That's... not the justification I expected. I'm not sure I understand you entirely but... No... Maybe to a certain degree, I do relate to you." She patted his back. "chin up! We are a team so don't worry about being treated as an object here. We will forge a new path to a brand new world!"
...
Three dark figures standing a couple miles away, on the tip of a cliff, were watching a tree burning to ash. A tree that once dwarfed the entire surrounding with its golden aura. A monolith no one dared to come near was being burned to ashes as the wildlife ran for their life.
One of the three figures looked down at the ground as screams echoed throughout the land.
"Onwards to a new world." The professor spoke as Kalpavriksha burned to ashes.