"What the hell happened in there?" Fate exclaimed as the two came out.

Prota had recovered somewhat with mana recovery, but John was still very much beat up. His scarf was acting as a sling, and his clothes were torn everywhere. Without [Infinity] active, he couldn't even move himself.

John spared Fate a glance. "Nothing to worry about."

Despite his words, he didn't look like he was in a very good state. His face was the most concerning of all. Usually, people came out of the cave feeling triumphant, but John's face was blank, as if he'd just lost the most precious thing in the world.

"Are you gonna stare at me, or are you gonna help me get back home?" John glared.

"Ah, right! Come on, let's get going," Fate said. "Oh, but before that…"

He reached into his cloak and pulled out a glass vial with red liquid inside.

"Here, drink this. You'll feel better in a bit."

"You're throwing these around like they're expendable," John mumbled.

"I have a good backer."

"Who's your backer, the goddamn king?"

Fate coughed.

"Seriously? Your backer is the king?" John said, sitting up a little more.

There was an awkward silence before Fate spoke once more.

"Hey. By the way, I think it's about time to formalize it. I still have a lot of questions, mind you, but… John. I thought it over. This might not be the best time, but…"

Fate's golden eyes pierced into John's.

"Let's do it. Be companions, that is."

John stared at the hand stretched out to him. He would've been overjoyed a few hours ago, but now, he just stared.

"So march forward, and take care of those you have around you."

He slowly looked up.

"How'd you decide this?"

"Well, the past few weeks have been, well, interesting. John. I don't really know who you are. I still have a lot of questions. I'm not gonna lie, I didn't think you were a good guy when we first met. But… my opinion's changed just a bit."

"That's all you've got? You're gonna gamble on something like that?"

Fate shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm not naive enough to trust you entirely. There's still lots to learn about you, but for now…"

Fate locked eyes with John.

"Don't make me say it a third time. John Quarta. Let's be companions."

Fate extended his hand and waited.

John tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. He reached up and grasped Fate's hand firmly, shaking it to secure the deal.

"Hah. Took you long enough."

~~~

John was bandaged up, lying very still in his bed. Prota was sitting worriedly next to him, but despite all her worries, there was nothing she could do.

"Just leave him in bed for a few days," the healer had said. "He'll be all better by then."

He'd violently protested since he felt better after drinking the potion, but Fate had convinced the nurses to ensure he was back to full health.

So, with nothing left to do, Prota was left alone with her thoughts. Her mind wandered back to the conversation John and Fate had had on their way back.

"Hey, it's not my place to pry, but… well, what did you see in there?"

"...don't worry about it."

Fate nodded, seemingly sympathetic.

"Do you know what that cave does? Kit told me this. It takes your weakest point and forces you to break through it. You're not supposed to win easily. So… if something happened in there, don't worry too much about it."

"So whatever I fought-"

"Yeah. Whoever, whatever you fought? It was some kind of barrier you couldn't surpass. Something you would've never pushed past on your own."

Prota's opponent had been John. Someone she believed to be incredibly powerful, someone she would never normally be able to defeat.

For Prota, the cave had strengthened her resolve. She was scared of losing John. She was scared that she wasn't good enough. She was scared of failing. The cave had helped her with that. Granted, the fears weren't gone, but she was on the right path. The cave had helped with that.

So what kind of issues was John facing? Was it a matter of strength? Was it related to his fears? The fact that she'd seen him using [Infinity] upon entering the portal was more than enough to let her know that it was a fight he'd needed to take seriously. Despite being able to use his power without [Determination], he despised using it.

"It's not that simple. My head starts to ache. It's annoying. I'd rather not use the ability unless I absolutely have to. Besides, one thousand times isn't as much as you might think. It's easier to avoid using the ability."

That had been his explanation, and for the most part, it made sense. It also explained why he didn't use it very often.

So who was that girl? The girl that'd forced John to use [Infinity]? The girl that'd unlocked something in John, as if forcing him to recall a memory he'd long since forgotten? She'd never seen such a look in his eyes. Emptiness was not always the same as brokenness, and while Prota had long since known that John was broken, he had yet to really display it.

Just who was she?

"Her name was Amber," John said quietly.

Prota froze. Had she been thinking out loud?

"She was like a sister to me. That's a lie. Actually, no, it isn't. I don't know. She was a really good friend."

John didn't move. Not because he couldn't, but simply because he lacked the will to do so.

"Remember how I said I came from Earth? That's true in two ways. There's the Earth that [Writers] and [Readers] live on. But there was an Earth that was a [Story]. I was just like you. A [Character]. There was a long period of time where I didn't know any of this [Story] crap."

His voice took on a wistful tone. Why had he forgotten about this for so long? How had he suppressed his memory of his old life like this? He had no recollection of doing such a thing.

Well, it didn't matter now.

"Life was ok. Well, ok, it wasn't that great, but… well, it wasn't that bad, actually. But then I found out. About [Plot], [Stories], [Readers], [Writers], [Characters], me… one thing led to another, and the world was destroyed. Not just the world. Everything."

Prota cocked her head to the side. Everything? What did that even mean?

"Matter, space, sound, everything. Concepts, laws of physics, space-time itself, gone. Just an empty void, nothing left. [Resets] wouldn't work. Well- no, that's too complicated. Anyway. I was given a choice."

He started choking on his words.

"At that point in time, I had all my memories. Almost all of them. I had just gotten them back after hunting for them for years. But. I was given the choice to give them up to restore the world. But I couldn't return. I would be sent to another world. Given the choice to go on the hunt for my memories a second time in exchange for… for what?"

There was a moment of silence. The air felt heavy, dense, as if the empty space were pressing in on them. John started shaking as he realized he didn't know the answer to his own question. Why had he given up his memories? For a world he had almost forgotten about? And why was he just remembering it now?

"Well, it's fine. They're just [Characters]. They were never real in the first place, so it never really mattered, right? I'll- I'll deal with it."

The story seemed to end there. His broken tone started to fade, and Prota looked over nervously. John was fine. It was as if he'd remembered something, only to forget it again. His switch in tone was rather sudden, almost scarily so, but he was just the kind of guy to do something like that. Prota didn't need to worry too much about it, especially when there was a far more pressing issue on hand.

She shuffled around nervously, but eventually, she found the resolve to speak up.

"So… will John abandon me?"

"...what?" John shuffled in his bed, sitting up.

"If John has a choice. Will John leave Prota, too? Since… I'm just a [Character]."

Her voice, normally so flat and monotone, started cracking up. John sat up in his bed, frowning.

"I-"

He stopped.

Since… I'm just a [Character].

What was she to him? He thought about it. If he was forced to go through that choice again. If he gained all his memories but lost Prota, what would he do? He hadn't wanted to think about it, but at the same time, it felt like he couldn't dodge the question. Would he abandon Prota? No, she was different, right? She knew what he knew. She could [Reset]. She wasn't just another [Character]. Things were different.

But were they really?

"I…" John started, only to realize he didn't know what he was going to say.

He looked at Prota with a heavy heart, but was greeted with an unexpected sight. Her face was as passive as always, but her eyes were worried, staring at him, desperately waiting for an answer.

Decide.

Fake? Was Prota fake? What did that even mean in the first place? Was he real? If it came down to him or her, who would he choose?

"So march forward, and take care of those you have around you."

Now that he thought about it, he'd never really decided what he'd do with Prota. He still didn't know.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

No matter what, some things wouldn't change. The world was fake. People were tools. Consequences were irrelevant.

Those were facts, not opinions.

But when he looked at Prota, he couldn't help but think differently. "Real." What did that mean? Amber, at one point, had been real. They'd all been real. What would've happened if he'd never learned the truth? He'd probably have settled down. Relaxed. He could've had a normal life. A family. Friends.

He'd never have that again. But Prota was giving him a second chance at that. It wasn't exactly the same thing, but…

John looked at his sister. He wanted to stay with her. But could he? In the end, he did what he did best. Put it off until he was forced to make a decision. He didn't have to decide now. That could come another day.

"I… I don't know."

Prota stared at him, turning away dejectedly.

"That's- I really just don't know, ok? I don't want to lie to you about something like this. So for now… that's the best answer I can give you."

Prota nodded halfheartedly, then buried her face in John's chest. It took a lot of effort, but he put his hand on her head, letting it rest there. He hated himself. He hated the fact that he didn't have an answer for her. But at the same time, it would be far worse to make a choice.

So for now, all he could do was put it off until he couldn't put it off anymore.

~~~

"How? How was that possible?" Fate muttered to himself.

Kit shrugged. She was still in her fox form, but the little critter's shoulders seemed to go up and down.

"I've never seen something like that. In the first place, you shouldn't be able to enter someone else's trial. The mana should stop something like that. I've heard of people trying, but everyone's said that it just sends them to a trial of their own." Fate sighed and leaned back. "But they came out together. So they were in the same trial, right?"

Kit hesitated. "Hey. If I tell you something, will your view of those two change?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

The little fox jumped off the bed and walked toward the door, not saying anything.

"Kit…"

"Will you treat me to something?"

"Like what?"

"Give me another one of those hard candies," Kit grinned, licking her lips.

"You know I only have so many of those, right? I don't think I can make any more in this town."

"You wanna know or not?"

Kit just laughed, and Fate was forced to give in. Reaching into his cloak, he tossed a hard strawberry candy to Kit, who caught it with her mouth midair.

"Mm… why didn't we ever make any of these? Honestly, the more you tell me about Earth, the more I want to go there."

Fate shuddered at the thought of Kit getting a hold of modern science. She was already enough of a menace with the magic in this world. What would she do with the inventions of mankind?

"Alright. Answer the question. Why do you say that?"

Kit paused and looked at Fate. It was hard to tell since she was literally a fox, but she seemed worried.

"Those two. You want them to be your companions, right?"

"Well… yeah. John is someone from Earth, and his intuition is incredible. Besides, I'd rather keep him close than let him… observe me, or whatever. On the other hand, Prota is incredibly strong. Even more so than I might've thought, since you're the one acknowledging her. But more than that… she reminds me of myself. I don't want her to end up like me."

"Mm… I understand. Your reasons don't really matter, though. The thing is, what I tell you might completely ruin your perception of those two."

Kit's voice was unusually serious.

"Well, if that's the case, shouldn't I know about it?"

"...I just don't want you making any assumptions, that's all."

Fate nodded uneasily. Kit was usually a lot more playful. It was hard to understand what she wanted, what with all her sarcasm and little games, but right now, she was being dead serious. While Fate was relieved that he didn't have to play the game of deciphering her real intent, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

"Now, this is just my own theory. You know I used to study the nature of mana. Now, mana is simply a form of energy. It might power every living thing, but ultimately, it's still just energy. It makes up our universe."

Kit paused.

"The cave is made of mana, an energy source. But what would happen if an even stronger energy source were introduced to the system?"

"It would completely override the original energy. But that's not possible. You told me that nothing is more powerful than mana," Fate said, nodding slowly.

Kit looked away, uneasy.

"Well, yes, but… I also would never have thought reincarnation was possible, either. You've opened my eyes to things we never would've thought of. So my point is, if two beings have the same wavelength of energy that's completely foreign to mana… that might override mana itself."

"...what? But-"

"That's why I didn't want to tell you. Because, as far as we know, the only other kind of energy that exists is demonic energy and draconic energy, but both of are based in mana anyway."

"Then that would mean-"

"Don't say it."

Fate looked at Kit.

"You… you do understand what you're saying, right?" he said anxiously.

Kit nodded solemnly. "Even I don't know what we're dealing with here."

~~~

"What the…"

Breaker stood in the middle of a blood soaked room, bodies sprawled around everywhere. Eyes, guts, limbs, brain fluid, all over the floors and walls, blood flowing like water into a drain in the center of the room.

"Isn't it amazing?" Doctor giggled, appearing behind him. "What filth will do to survive."

In the center of the room was a singular girl, shaking. Her body was coated with blood, but a weapon was nowhere to be found.

"So," Doctor said, approaching the girl. "How was it?"

The girl didn't respond. It wasn't that she didn't want to. It was simply that her brain had snapped beyond the point of communication.

"Ugh," Doctor grunted. "No good. She won't do anything."

Breaker continued to stare at the room. He'd done some things in his life, but this…

"Was it not enough? Hm… was three months not enough? I didn't think she would be this docile," Doctor said, shaking his head. "It's amazing, what people will do when they're pushed to their limits. Will they lose their minds? Turn into something else? How exciting!"

He ran his hands through his hair, an ecstatic look on his face.

"Well, I'll be taking her out of here. Breaker, call in a crew to collect the body parts. I'll need them for later."

"For later? You're not…"

"Of course I'm still making them!" Doctor said with glee. "They're the best of all my toys. And besides, when you mix a bit of all their souls…"

Breaker felt a shiver run down his spine. He knew why he was working with this man, but he couldn't help but feel disgusted.

"Living beings are filth, Breaker," Doctor said as he left the room. "They exist to be used and experimented on, so people like us can grow even stronger. It's our right. If they break, nothing of value is lost."

"...sure."

He shook his head as his boss sauntered out, humming some kind of tune as if he'd just gotten a job well done. Halfway out the door, Doctor stopped and turned back, peeking his head past the doorframe.

"Oh, but you must've come in here for a reason. I presume you thought I was here. What's up?"

"They took the bait. They should find our dungeon within the next year, if everything goes well," the large man said gruffly.

"How long has it been since that Fate boy came to this town?"

"Two months, sir. We should wrap this up within ten months."

"It'll be spring again… the sign of a new life. How poetic."

Doctor giggled to himself as he left, the broken girl and Breaker staring silently at the door even as the man's laugh was no longer audible.

~~~

The next day, Fate went to check up on John, who was still hospitalized.

"What the- why are you here? To laugh at me or something?"

"Why would I laugh at you?" Fate said, confused.

"...never mind."

The masked boy put a basket of fruit on John's bed stand while Kit hopped off Fate's shoulders and landed softly on the bed. She grabbed an apple from the basket and started nibbling away.

"Hey, Kit." Fate said quietly. "Can you put up the mirage magic over this place?"

The fox frowned at Fate before going into her human form.

"Really, just as I was enjoying a treat…"

She closed her eyes and took a breath. A warm pulse spread throughout the room, and Kit's eyes opened again.

"Knock yourselves out."

She went back to her fox form and picked up her apple, then trotted over to Prota and continued to snack on her treat with Prota's lap as her resting place. Unable to resist, the little girl put her hands on Kit's back and began to pet her. Surprisingly, the Mystic began to purr.

"Foxes purr?" John frowned.

"Um… I wouldn't know. I guess they can," Fate shrugged

"...are they even feline? I thought they were canines."

Fate's golden eyes bored into John. "You really want to discuss whether or not foxes can purr? I'd bet Kit is doing it regardless of whether they can or not."

The masked boy sighed and started cutting up an apple. His small hands were quick, with the precision of a surgeon, but he wasn't focused on the fruit.

"John. Do you trust me?" he said quietly

"Well, yeah."

"...really?"

John sighed. "Did you think asking a second time would make me change my answer?"

Fate shrugged. "I mean, you just have so many secrets. I get it. I have my own secrets. But I just thought… you know. You'd open up a little."

John closed his eyes and sighed, clearly annoyed by the question.

"It's not about trust, dude. It's just… you know, there are things better left unknown, you know? We don't always need to know everything."

"I can take it," Fate said confidently.

John just stared. "Have you told your parents that you're from another world?"

The question was blunt. Fate flinched as if John's words had materialized and physically hit him in the chest. It'd been completely unexpected, but then again, that was the point.

"That- that's different."

"Yeah? How?"

"It would hurt them. It's not like I don't trust them, it's just that…"

Fate's voice trailed off as he realized the point John was making.

"Right?" John said, a smug look on his face.

"Since when did you care for me so much?" Fate said with a dry laugh.

"Well, it's not really you in particular. Look, I'm not trying to hide anything. But some things are really just better unknown. Ignorance is bliss and all that."

[So Prota's special?]

John flinched as Zero's message popped up in his system. Frowning, he typed back.

[Shut up. That was unavoidable. Weren't you the one who pushed me into making that decision anyway?]

Fate sighed. "You're telling the truth, huh?"

John looked back up as he was brought back into his original conversation.

"What, still don't trust me?"

"Not really."

John laughed. "You're honest, at least."

"How could anyone trust you? I mean, just look at you," Fate said. "You're just so… mysterious. Your motives, your past, everything. Even if we were the best of friends, how could I trust someone I know so little about? Besides, you've revealed most of my secrets without me even saying anything. You have to at least understand that."

John nodded. "Mm. Sounds like a skill issue."

"...what?"

"I mean, I figured those things out on my own. Why don't you do your own digging? If you really wanna know about me, figure it out," John said with a sly grin.

Fate crossed his arms, visibly annoyed. "Are you trying to make things better or worse?"

"Kidding, just kidding."

Fate didn't respond, seemingly deep in thought. After a few minutes, it seemed that he'd come to a decision. He placed his hands on his mask and pressed something, causing it to come off. He shook his hair loose to reveal a young but handsome face, save for a singular scar running down the right eye. It was clear he would grow up to be quite the charmer, and even now there were signs of maturity. A strange thing to think of a child, but then again, John wasn't the one who wrote these tropes.

"I want you to see my face when I tell you this. I want to tell this to you as me. No mask."

He seemed rather serious, but he was stalling out something that John already knew.

"What, gonna tell me you're the hero or something?"

The boy flinched, but then realized there was no point in trying to fight it.

"...can you stop doing that?" Fate sighed, visibly annoyed. "Kit, shut up. It's not that funny."

Apparently, the fox was laughing at him.

Fate turned back to John. "Yes. The goddess of this world chose me to defeat the demon king. So… I guess I'll do that. If you're companions with me, you'll have to come along. Well… what am I saying?"

A sad smile formed on Fate's face as he realized what this meant.

"That's why you approached me in the first place, right?"

John shrugged. "Well, I wasn't sure, but, like, yeah. That's what I was hoping for."

"…you could be a little less blunt about it, you know."

John nodded, not really concerned about the hero's feelings. Fate handed John the plate of apples, cleanly cut and peeled. He looked at John as if he was expecting something. John sighed as he lifted a piece of apple to his mouth.

"You want something in return, right?" he said, chewing slowly.

Fate nodded. "Well, it would be nice."

"Ok, name your price."

"Just one question. If you think it's something harmful, tell me, and I'll just ask something else."

John closed his eyes for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of the situation. Well, he'd said himself that he didn't really care to keep secrets, right? It couldn't be that bad.

"Fine. Ask away."

Fate took a deep breath in. "You. You have some kind of foreign energy, right? Both you and your sister."

"...wow. Gold trophy for you," John said, mildly impressed.

"I didn't ask you that question to hear you praise me."

John nodded. "Yeah, yeah. I'll tell you. But, hey. How did you get to that conclusion?"

Fate hesitated, looking at Kit. The fox nodded, giving permission to share.

"Well, it wasn't me, it was Kit. See, both you and Prota came out of the portal at the same time. That's not supposed to happen. Trials are supposed to be taken individually. So Kit theorized that if a more powerful energy enters, then it'll take over and form a new kind of room. If two beings are synched up to that, then… well, you get into the same trial."

John nodded.

"Hm… fair enough. Something as simple as that huh…. Honestly, maybe I should've been more careful about it."

"Then what is it?" Fate asked, pressing the issue.

John shrugged. "Can't tell you that."

"Because…?"

"Well, to start, I don't really understand the ability myself. On top of that, the origin of that power is something I'm not very comfortable with sharing."

John's voice, normally so light and free, was now so bitter that Fate didn't question it.

"I can tell you, though, that this power won't really change anything. I'll still be weak. And Prota will still have whatever powers she has. I don't think her Soul Steal ability is related to any of this, so don't worry about that, ok? Nothing changes because of this. You won't see anything you haven't seen yet."

Fate's eyes stopped glowing as he verified the validity of John's statement. It was technically true. John didn't believe he would use [Infinity], meaning Fate would never really see it, and Fate would never see [Resets] in action.

"Oh, by the way," John added. "Kit will be pleased to know that Prota used that Blossom of Ice spell in my trial. She did it pretty well, too."

"Huh? What?" Kit popped back into her human form, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She leapt onto the bed, causing John to flinch.

"Hey, hey, get off! I'm still a patient, remember?"

The Mystic pouted, but she turned back into her fox form and hopped onto Fate's shoulder, who had turned to leave. His mask had already found its way back to his face, hiding his identity once more.

Before exiting the room, though, he left one last word of advice.

"By the way, you better get healed up soon. You need to get to B-rank as soon as possible."

John frowned. "Huh? B-rank? Why? I mean, I was aiming for it anyway, but…"

"Didn't Albert tell you? They found evidence pointing to what we've been looking into. We think the group is hidden in a dungeon somewhere, but to go in, you know what the requirements are, right?"

"Can't he just make us B-rank?" John said, confused.

Fate shrugged. "Dunno. Ask him, he's the boss. I'm just the messenger."

John grit his teeth as they left. Things weren't progressing as smoothly as he'd hoped.

"Nuts."

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