Kenjiro's brain was a screaming vortex of pure, uncut humiliation. He pushed himself off the dusty cavern floor, his face so hot he was sure the cheap green wig was about to melt into his scalp. The hover-drone was still active, its unblinking red eye a silent, judgmental witness to his undignified landing, broadcasting his shame to thousands of viewers. Thinking fast, a desperate, ingrained instinct from his past life as an internet personality taking over, he scrambled to his feet. He struck a pose that was equal parts defiant and profoundly awkward, flashing a wobbly peace sign at the camera.

"T-that was supposed to happen!" he declared, his voice cracking slightly as he tried to project an aura of cool, calculated control. "It's a special... tactical landing!"

Just as the words, flimsy and pathetic, left his mouth, the Kobold Champion, which had been stumbling from his aerial assault, let out a furious, guttural roar. It reached into a pouch on its crude leather belt and pulled out a small, murky vial, uncorking it with its teeth and downing the contents in one go. A strange, sickly green aura began to pulse around its body. Its muscles swelled, its eyes began to glow with a new, ferocious intelligence, and the shallow wounds from Kenjiro's kicks sizzled and closed. This was new. This was wrong. In the first timeline, the beast had been a simple brute. This one had a potion.

The Kobold Champion, now more furious and powerful than ever, ignored the still-recovering Kenjiro. It let out another roar and charged, not at Bombom, but at the biggest threat on the battlefield: Gluteus Maximus. The giant knight, who had just pushed himself to his feet, barely had time to raise his shield before the champion slammed into him with the force of a runaway battering ram. The sound of the impact was a deafening, metallic shriek. Gluteus was sent flying, his massive, armored form tumbling through the air like a discarded toy before he crashed into the far wall of the cavern, a shower of rock and dust exploding around him.

"Gluteus!" Lyrielle screamed, her face pale with terror as she rushed to the knight's side, her hands already glowing with a desperate, healing light.

The Kobold Champion turned, its glowing green eyes locking onto its next target. Bombom. Kenjiro gulped, a cold knot of genuine fear tightening in his stomach. The script was gone. The timeline was broken. He was out of his depth. Alright, he thought, a grim resolve hardening his features as he looked inward, into the dark, familiar void of his own mind. Your turn.

His muscular shadow erupted from his back.

The beatdown was savage, brutal, and mercifully brief. The shadow didn't bother with finesse. It was a storm of pure, unadulterated rage, a relentless barrage of phantom fists that shattered the Kobold Champion's enhanced form into a shower of sparkling light and a pile of loot.

The chat, which had been in a state of panicked confusion at the sudden, violent turn of events, exploded into a frenzy that dwarfed all previous excitement.

LOL THIS SHADOW ACTS JUST LIKE MY MUM WHEN I DON'T DO THE DISHES

WHAT ELSE CAN THIS SHADOW DO?

A GOTH FEMBOY WITH A STAND?!

BOMBOM HAS AN ANCIENT POWER

Lyrielle, who had managed to stabilize the groaning Gluteus, scrambled to her feet, her staff shaking in her hands. She stared at the spot where the monster had been, then at the terrifying, muscular phantom that was now standing over the loot, its red eyes glowing with a cruel, triumphant light. "W-what... w-was that, Mr. Bombom?" she stammered, her legs trembling.

The shadow turned its head slightly, a confident, almost arrogant smirk playing on its phantom lips. It gave a single, satisfied nod before melting back into Kenjiro, who slumped forward, the sudden expenditure of power leaving him completely drained.

"It's... my Persona, or something," he panted, trying to catch his breath. "Long story."

They gathered the loot and, after making sure Gluteus was able to walk, they began the long, quiet journey back to the guild. The moment they stepped through the grand doors, a wave of cheers and applause erupted. The livestream had been a massive success, and the footage of his shadow's brutal, one-sided beatdown had already gone viral.

"Bombom, you're so strong!"

"Your shadow is so powerful!"

He ignored them, his mind focused on a single, urgent task. He saw Ryo standing by the reception counter, clapping slowly, a look of profound, calculating interest on his face. Bombom marched straight up to him. "So," he said, his voice a low, urgent whisper. "What about the deal with Seraphina?"

Ryo nodded, his usual teasing smirk returning. "She's here," he said. "Come."

He led Bombom to his office. Seraphina was standing by the large, ornate window, her back to them, staring out at the bustling city below. Kenjiro didn't waste time with pleasantries. He went straight to the point.

"I know about that eye thing," he declared, his voice firm. "I was sent here to destroy it."

Seraphina turned, her serene, beautiful face a mask of cool, polite confusion. "You?" she asked, her voice like ice. "You're just a Lily with a powerful shadow. I fail to see how the fate of the world rests on your slender shoulders." She looked at Ryo, a flicker of annoyance in her icy-blue eyes. "Is this why you called me? To listen to the delusions of your new pet?" She prepared to get up and leave.

"He will destroy everything!" Bombom insisted, his voice cracking with a desperate, frustrated urgency. "You must tell me something!"

She looked at him then, her gaze sweeping over his strange, gothic attire, and then her eyes locked onto the simple, silver amulet that hung around his neck. The Amulet of Concordance. Her composure shattered. "W-where did you get this?" she gasped, her voice barely a whisper.

"O-oh," Bombom stammered, taken aback by her sudden, intense reaction. "A weird mage gave it to me."

Her expression went serious, a dawning, horrified understanding in her eyes. "I know now," she whispered, her voice trembling, "the situation we are in..."

"S-so, what does it mean?" Bombom pressed.

She turned her back on him, her shoulders slumping with the weight of a terrible, ancient knowledge. "Merlin gave it to you, right?"

Bombom just nodded.

She let out a long, shuddering sigh. "So he trusts you," she said, her voice full of a weary, defeated resignation. "Then you will be coming with me." She turned back, her face a mask of grim resolve, and extended a hand. Bombom took it, a strange, electric tingle shooting up his arm as his skin made contact with hers. He blushed, a hot, uncontrollable wave of embarrassment washing over him. And then, in a blink of an eye, the world dissolved. They weren't turning into golden papers this time. They were simply gone.

They reappeared in a place of profound, silent sanctity. A grand, ancient church, its stone walls echoing with the whispers of a thousand forgotten prayers.

"Wait here," Seraphina commanded, her voice a low, urgent whisper. "And don't touch anything."

She walked through a small, unassuming door behind the main altar and was gone. Bombom waited. He waited for what felt like an eternity, the silence of the church pressing in on him, the weight of a thousand unanswered questions heavy on his mind. Thirty agonizing minutes later, the door opened, and she returned. And she was not alone.

The man who walked beside her was... impossible. He radiated a light, a pure, benevolent energy that was so powerful it was almost painful to look at. A simple crown of thorns rested on his head, and his eyes... his eyes held the gentle, ancient wisdom of the cosmos. On his arm, the number '00' glowed with a soft, golden light.

He looked at Bombom, and he smiled, a sound of pure, unconditional love that seemed to fill the very air around them. "You're not from this time, are you, my son?" 00 asked, his voice a soft, melodic chorus of a thousand harmonious whispers.

Bombom, his own voice caught in his throat, just shook his head.

00's smile widened. "Don't worry," he said, his voice a gentle, reassuring balm on Kenjiro's frayed soul. "I will be with you. You don't need to fight all alone. Take my hand."

Bombom reached out, his own hand trembling, and took the offered hand. The moment their fingers touched, the world exploded in a flash of pure, brilliant, all-consuming white light. His vision blurred, his senses were overwhelmed, and then... darkness.

He opened his eyes. He was on a cold, hard, and terrifyingly familiar shore. The air was thick with the smell of blood and the sound of battle. A burst of magical light exploded nearby, the heat of it washing over his face, making him flinch. He was back.

"A-are you okay?" DragonSlayer's voice was a sharp, grounding anchor in the chaos.

Bombom nodded, pushing himself to his feet. He looked around. The battle was still raging, a chaotic, desperate struggle against an unending tide of bone. But this time, something was different. From the rear of the allied army, a new wave of heroes was charging. A massive bolt of lightning arced over their heads. "HEY BOMBOM!" Taguro's voice was a cheerful, familiar sound in the din of war. He saw them all. 9fingers, Jairson, the bald man, Leroy, Flora, Kaito... they were all here, a chaotic, disorganized, but utterly glorious army of his friends, his allies, his family.

But the familiar, cold dread was returning, the rhythmic, otherworldly pulse of the Eye growing stronger, faster. His heart began to hammer against his ribs, his breath catching in his throat.

"H-hey Bombom, what's wrong?" DragonSlayer asked, his face pale with a dawning, terrified understanding.

"The eye..." Kenjiro whispered.

The necromancer on the bluff laughed, a high, triumphant sound. "BEHOLD!" his voice echoed in Kenjiro's mind.

The world exploded. He dropped to his knees, a scream of pure, unadulterated agony tearing from his throat as the Eye ripped its way from his back. It unfurled its six, magnificent, terrible wings and screamed its silent, reality-breaking language.

"Un Mals Med Veh Un Ur Gon Mals Fam Graph 12 7 9."

But this time, there was an answer. A brilliant, golden light, brighter than a thousand suns, descended from the heavens, striking the Eye with a force that made the very world tremble. A new voice, a chorus of a thousand harmonious whispers, echoed in the silent space where the Eye's scream had been.

"Un Mals Med Veh Un Ur Gon Mals Fam Graph 22 20 21."

00 had arrived. He descended from the sky, a being of pure, benevolent light, and with a casual, almost gentle wave of his hand, he conjured a cage of shimmering, golden bars around the screaming, thrashing cosmic entity, trapping it as easily as one would cage a wild animal.

At the same moment, a portal of pure darkness ripped itself into existence on the battlefield, and 03 stepped out. He let out a soft "tsk" of pure, unadulterated annoyance. "It seems everything is in order here," he said, his voice a flat, unimpressed monotone.

00 just nodded. He took the caged Eye with him and ascended back into the heavens, vanishing in a final, brilliant flash of golden light.

The entire battlefield was silent, a sea of stunned, disbelieving faces. Even the two necromancers were dumbfounded, their minds unable to process the sheer, overwhelming scale of the power they had just witnessed.

03 walked over to Bombom. "So you met 00..."

"Y-yes," Bombom stammered. "But-"

03 cut him off, placing a single, cool finger on his lips. "Whatever the deal is, it's between you and him."

Bombom just nodded, his mind a whirlwind of confusion. The battlefield erupted in a single, unified, joyous roar of celebration. He dropped to his knees, the wound on his back already beginning to heal as 03 caught him, holding him steady, Lyrielle's gentle, healing magic washing over him from a distance.

The two necromancers, their minds finally rebooting, looked at each other, their faces masks of pure, unadulterated fury. "W-WHAT?!" the skull-masked one shrieked. "HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO DO THAT?! THAT WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!"

"You are lucky you have one of the cosmic gods helping you," the other one sneered, his synthesized voice dripping with a bitter, resentful venom. "Or this world would have ended the moment the Eye awakened."

"You are here by mere luck," the first one laughed, a high, unhinged sound. "You were supposed to be on another dimension. A piece, a pawn, in a much grander game. But-"

"But I will hit your face so hard you will need at least three plastic surgeries," Bombom said, his voice a low, cold growl, his own strength returning with a fierce, vengeful fire.

"This one will be your demise, Bombom," the skull-masked necromancer cackled. He threw the broken, black wing into the air, and the portal of pure, unadulterated darkness ripped itself into existence. The being of broken divinity, the alternate 03, stepped out.

03 let out another soft "tsk" as he saw his dark counterpart emerge.

The mysterious man turned his burning, red eyes on the two necromancers and smiled a slow, cruel, and utterly terrifying smile. "Who dares to call me?" he asked, his voice a chilling echo of 03's. "Another world to destroy?" He looked at the real 03, and a slow, malicious smirk spread across his face. "Oh," he purred. "I know you. You're me... but weak."

"You couldn't maintain your balance," 03 replied, his voice a flat, unimpressed monotone. "It says everything about you."

The alternate 03's face twisted into a snarl of pure, incandescent rage. "THEY TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!" he screamed, his voice a raw, primal sound of pure, soul-shattering grief. He sniffed the air, his rage momentarily forgotten, replaced by a greedy, predatory hunger. "So much better than that destroyed world."

"It was fun destroying everything and everyone?" 03 asked, his voice still flat, but with an undercurrent of something that might have been sadness.

The alternate 03 licked his lips. "Yes," he purred. "It was delicious." A shadow, sharp and swift as a guillotine, shot out from his feet, piercing the lesser, porcelain-masked necromancer through the chest. The man's blood, dark and thick, began to flow towards the alternate 03, drawn by an unseen, unholy force. "Blood is the soul coin," he whispered, as his hand transformed into a mass of writhing shadows and devoured the dying necromancer whole.

"Don't let him drain your blood," 03 said, his gaze fixed on Bombom.

"T-that's kinda impossible at this point," DragonSlayer gasped, his face pale with a new, dawning terror. "I couldn't even see his attack."

Gluteus smirked, his usual, boisterous confidence returning. "Time to destroy the enemy," he boomed.

The remaining necromancer, the one with the skull-mask and the Ouroboros symbol, saw the tide turning. He slowly created a portal of writhing, skeletal hands and, with a final, hateful glare, vanished from the scene.

Bombom gulped, looking from the terrifying, blood-drinking alternate 03 to his own, calm, and infuriatingly nonchalant counterpart. "Do we even have a chance against him?"

"Yes," 03 said, his voice a simple, unwavering statement of fact. "He's stronger, but he's weak mentally. I was just like him before..."

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