Dimensions Collide: Destiny Bond

John still couldn't believe the position he was in. What in the world was going on?

"Hey, so, uh… You said you wouldn't use mana, but then how're you gonna fight?"

Sofya smiled. "Yes, I am mainly a caster, but it would be a shame if someone of my status were incapable of defending against a student in melee combat, no?"

"Sure, if that's what you say."

John held his sword before him, eyeing his opponent carefully. Just like Haze Windwalker and Lupin Wolfhound, this was an opponent that required absolute attention. Even though she looked defenceless, her stance was optimized for any incoming attack, and with the range John was at, she would definitely react in time.

React—hold on. She had no weapon. What was she going to defend herself with? John shook his head. She would be fine.

Pushing off the ground, he launched himself forward with explosive force, both hands on the handle of his weapon. The first swing was easily dodged, but he simply used the momentum of the attack and slashed again.

"I see. You truly lack any formal training. Then, if I may…"

John's next attack was a feint, but this was easily read. Still, he had no intent of letting up. Even when his blade was aimed right at her throat, he didn't falter. She seemed to have no intention to react, but John had full faith that she wouldn't die here.

His faith was well placed. In a smooth motion, she put her palm on the flat of the blade and redirected it, forcing John off balance. However, instead of trying to regain his footing, he simply let himself fall, taking his sword with him, rolling back and quickly getting back to his feet.

"Hm. And there it is. That resourcefulness. Most students would have simply fallen."

"Is that a compliment or a diss?" John frowned.

"Take it as you will. Are you planning on giving up now?"

John clenched his teeth. "Now that you say that, no."

He dashed in again, but his plan of attack was a little different this time. He raised his sword high, telegraphing a downward strike, but instead of slashing, he threw the thing like a javelin, forcing the dragon to dodge to the side. In that moment, he stepped forward and drove his left fist right into her face. Others might've had qualms about attacking what looked like a little girl so easily, but not him.

Unfortunately, he'd still been baited by her appearance in another way. She grabbed his arm and flung him over her shoulder like a wrestler, something he hadn't been expecting. Still, he wasn't down just yet. His foot came out in a sweeping motion with the intent of knocking her down, but instead of tripping her up, his foot felt as if it'd just run into a block of steel.

"What the-" he gasped.

"You know, ladies don't like men as tricky as you," Sofya said, turning around to look at his stunned expression. "Although I must admit, if I were anybody else, that may have done a number on me. Again, I must praise you for your resourcefulness."

"Anybody else?!" John exclaimed. "You're just built like a- oh. I see."

"Indeed. While I am polymorphed into a human form, I still retain the natural durability and strength of a dragon. Did you think you were trying to beat up a little girl?" She giggled. "That's awfully terrible of you, isn't it?"

"Hey, I'm not the one who's making themselves look like a little ki-" John started, but then realized the irony in what he'd been about to say. "Never mind."

"Still, how fascinating. No hesitation. Even in the face of mistakes, you simply press on, even though the risk of losing is much higher than the reward. Is that how you operate? By gambling all of your actions?"

John got up, dusting himself off. "Well, I wouldn't call it gambling. More like undeserved confidence."

"I see… you absolutely believe you will win. You don't see losing as an option."

"Well, yeah. Of course not. Why would I fight if I thought I was going to lose?"

Sofya nodded, rubbing her chin. "Hm… the mindset of the weakest and the strongest… then perhaps Prota's best form will not be equivalent to your current style."

"Huh?"

Prota tilted her head, looking confused as well. She often aspired to be like John, trying to imitate his style and take as much of his advice as possible. But now Sofya was saying she shouldn't do this? To be fair, she had yet to be trained in "combat." Kit taught her magic, but not how to fight. She'd never really gotten an opinion from a real mage when it came to fighting.

"Well, to begin with, her strategy of using mana recovery over and over is something I never would've thought of, but it is quite genius in its own right," Sofya explained. "It turns the battle into one of attrition, one she should always win. Why risk losing immediately when you know you'll win in the long run?"

John nodded slowly. Yeah, that made sense. In a sense, the logic was similar, but the approach was different.

"Additionally, if we dragons encounter an opponent we cannot immediately dominate with either Soul Steal or Draconic Voice, we try to overwhelm them with overpowering magic. We dragons tend to ignore training our magic, but the sheer number of spells and types of magic we can use tends to swamp the enemy to the point they can't fight back."

"Types of magic?" John frowned.

"Well, yes. While an opponent may get used to one type of attack, a different spell might confuse or trick them into getting hit. As one might put it, we are 'throwing everything at them but the kitchen sink.' Something is bound to land."

"Interesting analogy… yeah, I guess that makes sense."

John considered the pros and cons of this. He was used to abusing [Resets] and aiming for swift victory. After all, the longer things went on, the more mistakes one could make. John aimed to minimize the chances of error by finishing things as quickly as possible. He'd hoped Prota would do the same.

However, [Resets] were gone. They couldn't afford to die for a bit more information. Maybe it was time to change things up?

"Hm… yeah, I get it," John nodded. "Well, I hope I helped. I'll be off now."

Sofya nodded in return, and Prota hopped down from the stands to leave with her brother. Before he was fully out of the doors, though, John turned around.

"Sorry. It was bothering me too much."

He walked back, leaving Prota behind.

"Why that appearance? Why do you look like that? And why take Prota in?"

The answer to the first two questions was probably just the [Author's] whims. After all, this wasn't uncommon. A dragon or some other kind of powerful being, polymorphed into a child's form? It showed up more than John would've liked. But he was in the [Story] now. He could ask the question no [Character] ever would.

What now? How would she respond?

Sofya frowned. "That last question has nothing to do with the first two. And this is the second time you've been so imprudent with me."

"Hey, I said sorry. And yeah, my bad, but I just really want to know. Is curiosity that much of a sin?"

"Still, your last question makes no sense. You should know why I chose your sister of all people."

John shook his head. "Nah, it still doesn't make sense. Yes, Soul Steal, unique existence, blah blah blah, but that doesn't explain why the headmaster of this school would go out of her way to tutor a single student. Is this something you even have time for? You're a pretty important person here, aren't you?"

Sofya looked down, her expression hidden. Suddenly, she began to giggle. It started off quietly, but then slowly grew louder and louder until it was full-on laughter.

"I see. Combat is not your only strong suit, hm?" she said, sobering up.

"...can you just answer? I don't really need the compliment."

"I see. I don't know whether you deduced this or not, but your questions are, in fact, connected. I suppose there is no harm in telling you."

A chair of earth rose from the ground, and she took a seat. Prota had snuck forward and was now next to John, interested in what was going on.

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"I had a daughter once," Sofya said simply.

"You- wait, had?"

"Yes."

"I- uh- sorry," John said awkwardly.

"Worry not. It was ages ago. However, this form is a blend of my daughter's and my old polymorphed form, which is perhaps why it appears so youthful. Does that answer your question?"

John nodded slowly, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Yeah. Um. My condolences, by the way."

"I told you not to worry. As to your second question… your sister resembles my daughter in a few ways."

John nodded. The dragon and his sister did bear a resemblance to each other. It wasn't perfect, but the two definitely looked more related than, say, he and Prota did.

"I could never mistake the two. My child was much brighter. Much more cheerful. Much more naive." Her voice was a little bitter, John thought. "She smiled all the time. Laughing, chatting… but still. Perhaps I just thought that I'd train someone else in her honour."

"I see."

John had nothing else to say. Even he knew when he'd overstepped his boundaries. He turned around, intending to leave, but stopped as he realized Prota was no longer beside him. He looked back to see his sister bowing in respect.

"Thank you," Prota said quietly.

Sofya smiled, standing up. The chair crumbled back into dust as she turned to leave.

"Do not concern yourself with my past, little one. Just work on getting stronger and protecting the ones you love. And once you are powerful… make sure you do not get too confident, alright? Even the mighty can fall."

~~~

The private tutoring Prota was receiving was the only thing that'd gotten better about her life. Everything else felt way worse.

Draco hadn't forgotten about her. It seemed something had happened to him over the summer break because he was taking it out on her more than ever. Students in her class were avoiding her, with the only interactions being those where they'd be commanded to harass her in some way. She was also beginning to receive orders to harass others, something she'd never thought she'd have to do.

It was an utterly ridiculous situation, and anyone watching it would've been either annoyed by how forced it felt or amused at how painfully comedic the scene played out. However, those involved felt neither emotion. They were simply trying to get by. For Prota, it was like trying to live with a twenty-pound weight tied to her back at all times; not unbearable, but definitely something that made life far, far worse.

She wanted to take it out on him. In fact, she was as annoyed as John had been back in the Town of Beginnings, and when she thought back to the time he'd barged into his mansion, she found it far more reasonable than she had back then.

There was nothing he could do to her. All she had to do was let loose, just once, and her problems would be solved. But she couldn't. There were two friends to think about.

Thankfully, the Rose twins still hung out with her. She still played Magecraft quite a bit, and there was at least a little solace in the club since not everyone there was part of the Casting class. However, she couldn't help but get the feeling that Draco was allowing her to spend time with her friends as a message. A message that they weren't her friends, just tools to keep her in check.

She could discard them. She could shake them off, deal with Draco, and-

Prota slapped herself. No. She couldn't keep falling into this line of thought. John influenced her in a lot of good ways, but his thought process also seemed to be infecting her, something neither of them wanted. Still, the thought kept nagging at her, eating away at her conscience.

"You ok?" Lilith said worriedly as she put down her hand. "You don't look too good."

Prota shook her head, trying to give a weak smile, but it wasn't really working. Still, she didn't want her friends to worry. The last thing she needed was for them to look into her issues, because if they found out, all of this would have been pointless.

She found herself missing [Resets]. Not because she wanted the security of not dying, but because she wanted to blow off steam at least once. Just go and beat the crap out of Draco, [Reset], do it again, maybe, and then one more time…

Perhaps she should have just let John do what he wanted back then. Had she done so, she wouldn't have to deal with this. She shook her head. This was the mindset everybody was trying to get John to abandon. Still, she felt she understood his recklessness a little better, now.

"The headmaster isn't being too hard on you, is she?" Lilith worried. Thankfully, she seemed to have the wrong idea. "I know it's an honour and everything, but still… she seems a little scary."

Prota shook her head. Yes, Sofya could be a little harsh sometimes, but she didn't think anything would outdo John's idea of training. Besides, the results of her training far outweighed whatever effort she had to put in. She could practically feel herself getting stronger.

But what was the point of this strength when it was useless against Draco?

~~~

"You look tired," John said, stabbing a piece of meat with his fork.

Prota was busy getting tutoring during lunch, and it seemed like everyone else was busy with their own projects, too. Briar and Danjo had something cooking in the forges, and Celeste had been summoned back home for something. Arthur, the alchemy boy, hadn't shown up today, so it was just the [Protagonist] and the [Anomaly].

"I don't even want to think about it," Destiny groaned, poking his food around with his fork.

"Trouble back home?"

"Yeah."

"What, is that Shadow Order thing still giving you guys trouble?"

"It's a mess, that's what it is," Destiny grumbled. "I should've thought this through better."

"What, your achievements back with Doctor were seen as achievements for the Windwalker family? The Shadow Order felt threatened?"

"Yeah, that's- wait, how'd you know that? Did I tell you?"

"...no. Just a guess."

Destiny just sighed. "I don't get why it matters so much. I spent all summer trying to deal with it. So many people tried to ask me for a duel."

"And you won all of them, right?"

"Well, yeah, but that's not the point!" He violently speared a vegetable with his fork and shoved it into his mouth, chewing his frustration away. "Why am I getting involved in something as trivial as that?"

"Yeah. Sounds like a shitshow," John shrugged. "You want me to do anything about it?"

"Really? You'd-" Destiny cut himself off.

Yes, John's offer to help was probably genuine. But at the same time, John's idea of "help" scared Destiny. Images of a hooded figure with a red scarf running around the palace, setting up traps and sneaking into rooms flashed through his mind. Yeah, it probably wasn't a good idea to ask for help from the guy who thought it was a fine idea to take on an entire noble household on his own.

"Never mind," the hero sighed, shaking his head.

"Well, you need anything, just let me know," John nodded.

"What's up with the offer? This isn't like you."

"Oh, I know. I just thought I'd offer since I haven't let off some steam in a while."

Destiny shuddered. He'd been right not to take up John's offer. John hadn't been offering his help out of the kindness of his heart; he'd been too cooped up.

"How's Arthur, by the way? You've seen him around, right?"

Destiny groaned again. "Normally, I'd be fine, but that kid is always getting beaten up by other students. And if that's not the case, he's beating himself up by making something in the labs explode."

"That bad, huh?"

"That bad. He seems like a good guy. He's just a little… narrow-minded, I guess. Still, it's good that he's so dedicated to his task, right?"

John nodded slowly, pushing a piece of meat around on his plate.

"I'm gonna be honest with you. I need that pill he's making."

"What? Wait, so you didn't want to help him?"

"No, no, hold on! I didn't even know who he was!" John protested, waving his hands. "But that pill… it gives you a mana core, he said. It gives you a second mana core."

"Yeah, but didn't he say it was super dangerous or something? That he's trying to perfect what his dad couldn't?"

"Yo, do we not remember what he said the downside was?"

"Something about eating away at your lifespan, right? But-"

He stopped as he realized what John was implying. Right, his looks made it easy to forget, but this boy was older than a good amount of Mystics, maybe even older than all of them. Lifespan wasn't an issue for him.

"If you could gain a mana core… John, that would be huge," Destiny said, his eyes widening.

"Exactly! I don't have to hide like a bitch every time we fight. I don't have to rely on guns or whatever to pull through. I can finally just… you know. Have an honest fight."

"Where do you even get all of those guns, anyway? John, how do you do everything you do? Do you even need mana?" Destiny frowned. The more he thought about it, the more it didn't add up. "Wait, and what about that strange energy you had back in the Town of Beginnings? Hey, you-"

"Well, would you look at that!" John said forcefully. "Lunch is over. I'll see you later."

He quickly got up, nearly tripping over his seat as he grabbed his tray and hurried off, leaving a frustrated Destiny behind.

~~~

"Fascinating. Despite having access to the ability 'Soul Copy,' you rarely use it… is this a result of implementing the feature into a mortal?"

Prota tilted her head. At least her tutoring sessions were a break from everything. A sort of safe haven, safe from Draco's antics, safe from the worries of collapsing under keeping a secret. She could let everything else go and focus only on her magical skills.

Still, she didn't understand what the headmaster was saying. They'd been practicing for a while now, but there were still things Sofya was beginning to understand.

Part of the reason it'd taken them so long to reach this point was Prota's lack of communication. Even though she knew it was vital, she still didn't like to speak that much, but her mentor needed to understand how Prota did things to progress. Eventually, they'd found the solution: telepathy.

Sofya Orhein had the ability to read minds, and while she could do it forcefully, it was a lot easier to do so with consent. As soon as Prota opened up her thoughts, they were able to communicate in a sense.

The beginning of Prota's improvement journey began with revealing the way she saw mana. According to Sofya, seeing the flow of mana was something not all dragons could do. Therefore, it wasn't an inherent ability that came with Soul Steal and Soul Copy. Moreover, dragons weren't supposed to be able to just make magic right off the bat. Usually, they first copied multiple forms of magic and then figured out how to make their own by using the copied spells as a sort of basis.

Prota, however, had done none of that. She'd immediately been able to see the flow of mana ever since pulling Zero out of John, and it'd been this skill that had allowed her to progress as far as she'd gotten. In fact, she'd rarely used any copied spells and instead simply used Soul Copy as a way of identifying which types of elements correlated to certain flows of mana.

"Your skill with mana is… extraordinary," Sofya sighed as she watched Prota play around with different types of magic. "I presume you've already mastered whatever Leora has taught you so far?"

Prota nodded.

"How ridiculous… perhaps I am raising a beast that will one day surpass me."

She laughed, but in reality, she was half serious. The only reason it was a joke was that Prota was a mortal and would therefore never reach the level of expertise she, a dragon, could. However, with her unique style of replenishing mana and casting mana recovery, she could perhaps rival a young dragon after years of practice.

Prota, on the other hand, was starting to think of a few things. She hadn't checked her profile in a while, mainly because John told her it was useless, but she thought back to her status.

There was something about Soul Copy in there, but what did it mean? If anything, her magic level corresponded to the level of magic she could copy, but she was also capable of creating her own magic based on the elements she took from others. It wouldn't hurt to take another look, right?

"Character Profile," she muttered.

___

Character Profile: Prota Char

Gender: Female

Age: 10

Abilities: [Soul Siphon] [System] [Character Profile] [Plot Armour]... [Expand?]

Traits: [Character: 100%] [Anomaly]

Status: Alive

___

What in the world? Where was Soul Copy? And for some reason, the meanings behind magic and creation felt different. Well, it didn't matter.

All that mattered was that she was getting stronger. Whether or not she needed to copy the spells of others made no difference to her. As long as she could keep getting stronger, then that was all that mattered. Suddenly, Sofya's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Then, seeing as you can bend mana to your will… I suppose it wouldn't be unreasonable to teach you that. Yes, yes, it should be possible…"

Prota was confused. What was the headmaster talking about?

"Prota. I will teach you my own signature spell. What do you think?"