Emopa... Emopa... EMOPA!
"Gah!" Emopa woke up, breathing heavily as everyone surrounded his bed.
"What happened, dude? You were out for a whole week!" Ulrich said, leaning against the wall.
"Yeah, dude, a good amount of us thought you died." Vatel said jokingly as Emopa rubbed his head.
"M-my bad," Emopa said, getting out of bed.
Everyone moved outside as Emopa stepped out. "We heard what you did. Termin told us everything. You got the guild to AAA+ rank, and we appreciate that, man." Mareth said as Emopa chuckled.
"Thanks..." Emopa said, thinking about what he could've done differently. Should he have used Skarlok as well? What about the spider? There were so many things he could've done differently that would've given him the edge.
"So, we did a bit of talking, and we've all decided we were going to visit Mono in the Solar Empire. Which is west of here, about a few months journey. We wanted your opinion on it." Static said.
"Well, didn't he say we'd have to find a teleportation mage? Or at least someone who can utilize portals?" He asked, not really wanting to spend the next few months traveling.
"Fox did some asking around, and it turns out the nearest Portal Hub is about two weeks from here. So it's going to be a journey nonetheless." Static patted Emopa's shoulder.
"So! What do you say?" Fox asked, tilting her head.
"Yeah. Sure, we can head there. It beats doing it by a few months." He chuckled.
"Let me come with you guys!" Termin called out, running to them. His clothes had changed.
He wore a black trench coat with a dark green shirt. He wore black slacks and classy shoes. Overall, the outfit didn't seem to have too much effort put into it.
"I've been meaning to go, since I'm switching stations and all." He said, smiling.
"I don't think—" Mara was about to talk, but Ulrich cut her off.
"Sure! We've got room for one more." He said, everyone seemingly agreeing except Mara.
"Great, thanks. I really appreciate it." Termin said, grinning from ear to ear.
Everyone waited for carriages to come by, a few eventually stopping.
Everyone split themselves off into groups and set course for the Portal Hub.
"So, Termin... Are you an Otherworlder?" Emopa asked, "Not sure if that's the correct terminology, but y'know."
Termin leaned back. "You could say that. In a way I am, but I've been wanting to live a simple and quiet life."
"After basically spying on all the kingdoms?" Emopa raised a brow, Termin putting on the same old grin.
"Alright, alright. Might've lied about that part, but still, it's desired." He said, tilting his head. "As for you, Mr. Kagehara, you seem to have some questions of your own."
"I do, actually." I'm seeing that mana is quite a rarity here; is that just here?" Vatel asked.
"Ah, interesting question! Yes, mana is a system of power here, and it is quite rare. However, there are multiple systems of power in existence." Termin said, looking out the window.
"Such as?" Emopa raised a brow.
"Ke, a kind of life force that's mainly found in martial artists. I don't know the specifics, but apparently they're sometimes inconsistent with how the function." Termin looked back at them.
"You also have Sources, which are present outside of every reality and timeline. They grant something called Autonomous Blessings. Which are abilities granted to a person." Termin was about to say more but decided against it.
"What makes a source then?" Vatel asked, getting interested in this conversation.
"I know of their existence, not their creation." Termin said, ready to end the conversation.
The carriage soon fell silent; only the faint sound is the carriage being pulled.
As they travelled, the sun began to set and the carriages stopped. They set up camp, at which point everyone was already tired.
Termin went scouting the area, but as he was doing so, he felt someone appear behind him. "What is it?"
"Who are you really?" The Father asked, appearing in Emopa's body.
"Ah, you're not Emopa. Is that you, old pal?" Termin began to grin.
"Don't talk to me like you know me." The Father said, about to draw out Emopa's odachi.
"Whoa now, Mitorna, I wouldn't do that if I were you." Termin's voice began to distort and began to sound like it was coming from a radio.
"That voice... And no one knows my name except for a few..." Mitorna narrowed his eyes, but then they widened.
He heard an audible Geiger counter, as if radiation was creeping around the area. He saw a halo begin to form over Termin's head. A bright green halo that dripped with liquified radiation.
Termin's pupils began to turn into the symbols for radioactivity.
"Bingo! You know me so well, Mitorna, after all..." Termin began to grin.
"I am the future that all inevitably face."
The future of self-annihilation, Atom, The Nuclear God.
"Emopa will know this, by the way." Mitorna chuckled, starting to relinquish control of his body, but immediately, Atom grabbed him by the neck and pinned him against a tree.
"You're willing to compromise this entire universe over a greeting? Wipe his memories of this interaction." Atom said, the grip on his neck tightening.
Mitorna struggled to breathe, but he nodded, getting dropped to the ground.
"Besides, we're gods, Mitorna. I'm rogue; you're neutral. We don't feel anything toward people. Act like it." Atom returned to normal, looking how he did before.
Mitorna stayed silent, wiping Emopa's memories and relinquishing control.
Emopa looked around and rubbed his head. "Termin? What's up?"
"Oh, nothing, pal!" He smiled, helping him to his feet. "I was just scouting. Ready to clock out?"
"You bet, man." Emopa said, chuckling a little as they went back to the group.
Meanwhile, as Vatel slept, he had a dream. He stood in a large field filled with yellow flowers that glowed in the dusk. There was a bright white moon hanging overhead, really close to the world he was on.
The stars and their variety of colors shone brightly. Sitting in the field was Yu, just staring at the sky.
"Yu?" Vatel tilted his head, starting to walk toward him.
Yu turned to his direction, his eyes lighting up. "Sir!" He said excitedly as he got up and ran to Vatel, pulling him in a tight hug.
"Hey there, kiddo... How ya been?" Vatel asked as the guilt seemed evident in his voice.
"I've been fine! The spirit world and your weapon's world are quite nice!" Yu smiled at him.
"Huh?" Vatel seemed a little confused, Yu sighing in response.
"It's alright. Basically, I live in the Spirit world, and I can observe things with my spirit! I'm pretty sure that Static guy can see me too." Yu said, rubbing his chin.
"Look, kid... I'm sorry, I... I should've been more careful." Vatel said, mentally beating himself up.
"It's okay. I'm happy still. We can still fight together; I just can't carry your weapons. Not that you'll need them anymore." Yu let go of Vatel as he raised a brow.
"What do you mean?" Vatel tilted his head.
"I asked around the Spirit World about what it meant to be put in a weapon, and they said I became part of an Anima Weapon. It's like an unbreakable weapon, and if the bond is strong enough, or if the user or entity is strong enough, it can gain an ability." Yu smiled at Vatel, who blinked.
"That's... nice." Vatel smiled, having some relief that his weapon wouldn't break if he swung it again.
"Well, I'm going back to the Spirit World; I'll see ya! Just call me if you need me!" Yu said, fading away as Vatel smiled slightly.
"Alright, kid."
Everyone began to wake up as a new day arose.