Dimensions Collide: Destiny Bond

"What… what the fuck is that?"

John stared up at the towering ogre-like thing coming down the hall. It wasn't a monster. It wasn't a human, either. Nor was it a dwarf or elf. It was something strange, yet it felt familiar.

"John," Prota said, her voice shaking. "Ch-chimera."

"What the- how?!" John yelled.

The giant hadn't noticed them yet. Well, maybe it had, but it showed no signs of aggression. It just kept lumbering down the massive corridor, the ground shaking with each step it took.

"Hey, Prota, are you sure?" John said quietly, readying his bat.

"Mana feels the same," Prota nodded. "But no souls. Just lots of mana cores."

"No souls-"

John shut his mouth, glancing at Destiny, who seemed too focused on the threat in front of them to have heard Prota's last statement. That was good. It wasn't that he didn't want Destiny to know about this, but it would be a pain if too many questions were asked.

It was definitely, undeniably, a chimera, though. At least, that's what John thought. It just made sense. Doctor was dead. He was sure of that. However, Doctor was probably the only person who knew how to extract and manipulate souls, a result of [Deus Ex Machina] being introduced to the [Plot].

There was someone else who knew how to make chimeras, though, right? It was the whole reason they knew about chimeras in the first place.

Mystics.

And weren't there two Mystics he was suspicious of right now?

It made sense. The pieces were fitting together. A soulless chimera. Mystics allowing cultists to run rampant in exams. Lupin's interest in him.

Was it time to make a move?

Or should he let this simmer a little longer?

"Hey, John," Destiny muttered, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You have a plan to kill this thing?"

"Me? Why would I have a plan? We just do the same thing as always, right? We've dealt with chimeras before."

"No. This one feels different. It feels a lot more… intelligent, I guess."

John looked up at the monster. Drool dripping from the mouth. A blank look in its eyes. Stupid, lumbering movements.

This one was supposed to feel more intelligent? Sure, there were occasionally stories where this kind of being turned out to be smart, but… this didn't feel like one of those moments.

But if Destiny was bringing it up…

"...yeah, now that you've said that, I wouldn't be surprised."

"We could just run," Destiny muttered. "The teachers will be here soon, right? And they could easily deal with something like this."

John tried to hide his discomfort. Should he tell Destiny what he thought of Lupin and Leora? No, that would cause too many issues. It was best to keep his thoughts to himself until he had a plan, at the very least.

"You don't want to fight it?" John shrugged.

"Are you crazy? Don't answer that. I already know what your answer is."

"What do you think, Prota?"

They turned to the little girl to find her staring up at the giant defiantly. John raised his eyes in surprise. Did she want to fight? Why? He had no plans of discouraging her from something this entertaining, but she'd just gone through two tough battles, and he wasn't even sure if she'd finished them satisfactorily. Well, maybe that was it. If she'd lost, maybe she wanted to prove herself somehow. Or, she could just be fighting for the same reason as John.

To have a little bit of fun.

"Alright," John grinned, lifting his bat off his shoulder. "I'll go in first."

"John, you can't-"

"Don't worry about me. I've got a mana core now, remember? Besides, how about all those times you were complaining about me not fighting?"

"I was-"

"Just saying things? Yeah."

He turned to face the giant, scarf fluttering in the occasional drafts that swept through the castle.

"But, hey. If we start losing, I'm sure you'll pull up, right? You'd better do your job right, hero."

Destiny sighed, a smile slowly spreading on his face. His hand gripped the handle of his blade, unsheathing it silently.

"You're unbearable, you know that?"

"Thanks," John grinned.

"No problem."

John leapt in first, his power allowing him to leap up all the way to the monster's head. Despite being three times as large as they were, its features were still similar. While it was definitely a monster, mottled with green skin and weird appendages, it still had things like a nose. There was a loud crack as John swung, bending the nose a sickening ninety degrees.

"Now!"

He pushed off the creature's head as a torrent of flame surrounded it, a sickening burnt smell wafting from the singed skin and hair. Destiny quickly followed up, his blade glowing as his unique ability activated. A single horizontal line was drawn, a spurt of green blood flowing out as a deep gash cut through the giant's head.

"It's tough," Destiny grunted, falling back to the floor. "But I can cut it."

"Yeah, you can…"

"What's wrong? Isn't that a good thing?"

John frowned, looking up at the monster. The cut was already healing, but even that wasn't enough to reassure him.

"The gimmick is coming, I think."

"The what?"

"Remember how you were saying it felt intelligent?"

As if it'd been waiting for John to speak, the creature turned its head toward them, but the stupid look in its eyes was gone. Instead, a glare of pure cruelty and malice had replaced it, a sadistic grin forming on its once drooling mouth.

"Bugs to squash."

Its voice was deep and booming, shaking through the halls as its body turned to face them. It wasn't slow and lumbering as one might've expected, though. It was quick, nimble, scarily so.

"Shit!" John yelled. "Seriously?!"

"What are you talking about?!"

"Dodge!"

The giant dashed forward, the walls crumbling from the sheer force of its assault. Prota and John were blown away by the pressure of the wind, but Destiny managed to hang on by planting his sword into the ground. This was a mistake. The monster swung with its giant, meaty hand, smacking the hero straight into a wall. His mana reinforcement allowed him to stay conscious, but his chest definitely had a few fractured bones in it.

"Come, bugs! Entertain me!"

"You just had to say something about it being intelligent, huh?" John yelled, throwing a rock. The attack was useless.

"Me?! You're acting as if my words made it intelligent!"

"Well, maybe they did!"

Prota just shook her head, firing off a Frozen Bullet. It pierced straight through the monster's chest, but the wound simply began to regenerate, and in a few seconds, it was as if it'd never been hurt at all.

"That stung!" the monster roared.

Its focus was now on Prota, the current threat. Her eyes widened as she threw herself out of the way just in time to avoid being stepped on. John dashed forward, swung down with all his might, and was rewarded with a crunch as one of the monster's toes bent upward. Unfortunately, like before, the wound simply fixed itself.

"You stop that."

The giant wound up like a child ready to kick a ball, its foot aimed right at John, who barely dashed out of the way in time.

"Speeding up? You bugs have all sorts of tricks," the giant grumbled. "No worries. I speed up, too."

John's eyes widened. He'd used a lot of stamina to move as fast as he could, and he was already about halfway empty. He couldn't afford to be targeted again. If this giant thing was speeding up—

"Destiny! Look out!"

The creature had a huge piece of rubble in its hand, and while it was looking at John, its aim was definitely pointed elsewhere. Had John not warned Destiny of the incoming attack, it would have splattered him all over the ground. Well, maybe not. They still had the protective devices, right?

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

It didn't matter. Destiny cleaved through the stone, dashing forward as he focused all of his mana into his arms.

"Take this!"

With all his might, he cleaved straight through the creature's neck, immediately dashing back upon landing. There was a thump as the thing's head fell to the ground, green blood pumping out.

"Did… did we do it?"

John's eyes widened. "Don't say- goddammit!"

"What now?!"

"Why'd you have to say that?!"

The creature bent down and picked its head up, placing it on its stump of a neck. In a few seconds, the wound recovered, and it grinned at the party.

"No more playing around."

An air of dread surrounded them. This thing had survived decapitation, and there were no souls to take out. This was like fighting the giant armour all over again, but this monster was fast, smart, and seemingly had no weaknesses.

"John," Destiny muttered. "You have a plan now, right?"

"Yeah. It's called running away."

The hero's head snapped toward John. "Hey. You're joking, right?"

"No. How the hell are we supposed to beat this thing?"

"I thought you told me to-"

"I don't care if you cut it, that thing's going to regenerate! We're not in a situation where we can just pull victory out of our asses, you know?!"

Destiny grimaced. "Well… I guess that's that, then."

They turned to face an inevitable defeat.

"Students! Get to cover!"

Blasting through the walls came a surprising sight. They couldn't see who it was at first due to the blinding flames, but that voice was definitely one they recognized.

"Miss Dawn!?"

"Get out of here!"

The last words had definitely belonged to Lupin. John was already running, but this was definitely a surprise. Were they not cultists? Or had they caught onto his suspicions? Regardless, this was a good time to see them in action.

Only, there was very little action to be seen. The light died down, and John caught only a glimpse of Lupin before he vanished. In the next instant, the giant crumbled into a million cubes of flesh, and while they were already moving to reform, they'd have no chance to do so.

"Burn."

Leora Dawn raised her hands as a miniature sun formed above, blindingly bright. It fell to the floor, immediately vaporizing any organic substance left. When the light died down, there was no sign of any monster aside from the destruction it'd caused. Lupin sheathed his sword and immediately went back to looking like an old man, hobbling over to the students, who'd been hiding behind a bench.

"You children did well. The exam has been cancelled. Please return using your devices."

John sprang up.

"Hey, hold on! What about-"

"Please return."

Their devices were forcibly activated, and in a flash of light, they disappeared. Lupin sighed, leaning on his cane heavily.

"Haah… seriously, things are getting too complicated for this old body of mine."

"We're immortal, Lupin. Don't say things that don't make sense."

Lupin shook his head, looking at the now destroyed corridor.

"Well… it may not be because of age, but I definitely have a bad feeling about all this."

"Should we ask for help?"

"No. Nothing bad has happened yet. We can afford to watch the situation a little longer."

~~~

"Wow! You guys got back early!"

The party was immediately greeted by Ryan and Lilith, who were wearing thick overcoats as they stood in the flurry of snow. It seemed the designated return point was outside of the resort, which was looking incredibly inviting given the weather.

"Oh, it's you two. Good to see you again," Destiny smiled, sheathing his blade.

"Y-you remember us?" Lilith gasped, eyes shining.

Destiny nodded. "Of course. You put up a really good fight in the exam."

Lilith grinned, and despite the dark, cold weather, it seemed to brighten everything up.

"Come on, we're here for another week. We've already been here for a day," Ryan said, pointing to the resort. "It's got all kinds of cool stuff."

"Yeah! They've got these super cool hot tubs! They're outdoors, but then when you go in, you don't feel the cold at all! It's called an on- on-"

"Onsen?" John sighed.

"Yeah, that!"

"Well, no point staying outside. Come on, let's go in already."

The group began trudging through the calf-deep snow, each footstep ringing out with a satisfying crunch.

"How'd you guys stay for so long, by the way?"

"Stay so long?" Destiny frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, yesterday, a couple of teachers came up to us and told us the exam was cancelled due to unsafe conditions," Ryan explained. "So we all just left. We were looking for you, but then Miss Dawn said you guys would arrive tomorrow."

"Yeah, that's how we knew to wait for you guys. What were you doing, by the way?"

"We-"

"Nothing important. Don't worry about it," John said, covering Destiny's mouth. "Those teachers. What did they look like?"

"You didn't meet them?"

"Just seeing if we ran into the same ones," John said, hoping the [Author] would keep the twins stupid for just a little longer.

"Mm… one was really big. The other one had blue lipstick, I think," Ryan said, frowning. "We didn't really get a good look at them."

Prota's eyes widened. The cultists she'd fought. Had they sent all the other students back peacefully? Why?

"Alright! We've got something to do, but we'll see you later!" Lilith exclaimed, running off as soon as they reached the doors.

Destiny smiled and Prota waved, but as soon as the twins were out of sight, the mood sobered up.

"Is this why you were asking about Mythics last year?" Destiny said quietly. "John, why didn't you say anything?"

"There was no point in involving you," John grimaced. "But if you know, then you know."

"I can help-"

"No, you can't," John sighed. "You don't know enough."

"Then tell me!"

"Can't."

"Fine."

John's eyes widened. "You're giving up? Just like that?"

"I trust you. You've told me things in the past. If you're saying you don't want to, it's not like you're trying to hide anything, right?" Destiny smiled, although his expression looked a little tired. "Just know I'm here if you need me."

"...yeah. Thanks, man. You should go in and get something to eat."

Destiny nodded. "I'll see you later."

That left Prota and John. They stood in front of the wooden doors, bright orange light leaking out from the cracks.

"John…"

"Yeah, you can tell me all about your fight later. But we're gonna have to figure something out later," John said, shaking his head. "For now, let's just enjoy this, ok?"

~~~

John let out a sigh of relief as he lowered his body into the onsen. He had no clue why the [Author] had decided to call it this instead of just calling it a hot tub, but maybe they were just that kind of person. Regardless of what it was called, it was pretty comfortable. It seemed most of the students weren't a fan, but when he'd arrived, he'd found Destiny already sitting in the pool of water.

"You're here too?"

The hero nodded. "It's comfortable."

"You weren't cold?"

"You're not cold, either."

"I'm never cold," John shrugged.

He felt some of the stiffness in his body melt into the water. [Infinity] was still running. He could drop it if he wanted to pass out for another twelve hours or so, but he had no plans of doing something like that, especially not here. After everything he'd been through, it'd be stupid for him to die by drowning.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

The two of them went quiet for a little. The only sounds were that of a stream of water pouring into the bath, and further off, the laughter and shouting of children.

"We're old, you know," Destiny said suddenly.

"What the hell? What kinda statement is that?"

The hero sighed, letting his body sink further into the water. For a little while, he didn't say anything, leaving John hanging.

"Hey. Is this… is this right? Maybe we should drop out."

John frowned. "Drop out? What are you talking about?"

"Aren't we attracting a little too much attention?"

Attention. That word alone made John pause. It was true that he was probably attracting unwanted attention. After all, it seemed that the [Plot] was actively being shifted around his existence. But on the other hand, the school would've received "unwanted attention," as Destiny put it, regardless of whether he was there or not.

Because Destiny was the [Protagonist]. And unless his time at Scholaris was never meant to be shown, he would attract attention no matter what.

"So you want to drop out?"

"It's just… I feel like we're putting too many kids in danger. I know we're technically kids as well, but if we're supposed to be more mature, then isn't it our responsibility to make sure they get to grow up properly?"

John let out a short, loud laugh. Would you look at that? This guy was definitely the [Protagonist] of a story like this. Trying to protect something he'd never had himself.

"Are you saying this because your own childhood was dogshit?" John said quietly.

"What? I-"

"You're bringing this up because of the time you spent in the camp, right?"

The only response was silence, which was more than enough of an answer. John sighed and let himself sink further into the bath.

"Dude, look at the world we're in. Kids are going off on adventures, fighting monsters, taking care of themselves, all sorts of weird shit, and you think they need proper childhoods? This isn't Earth. Our perception of what's normal or not doesn't apply here."

"But-"

"Yeah, yeah. Cultists and whatever, those aren't normal. But then are you saying we should bring them to other towns and let them slaughter dozens of random citizens? Isn't this place supposed to be full of talented kids? If it's going to happen, let it happen in a place you can control it."

There was a small splash as Destiny repositioned himself to face John.

"You're speaking as if it's some kind of curse that's following me," he said quietly.

"Curse…? Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"What do you-"

"You're the hero, aren't you? Did you expect to be left alone?"

Destiny frowned. What? Yes, he was the hero, but why did that matter? He wanted to ask John what it meant, but he instinctively understood that this was a question he wouldn't be getting an answer to.

"My point is, it's fine. It's nice you're concerned. You're a good guy. If you're that worried, then let it happen, and make sure you're prepared. Ok? And… you know, you don't have to sacrifice yourself all the time. Give yourself time to enjoy the childhood you never had. There's no need for you to push yourself to your absolute limits. Just as you care for your friends, they care for you too, you know?"

Destiny sighed, letting his body relax once more. If John was saying to just let it happen, then maybe that really was what he should do.

"Besides, we can't let the trauma lovers win. Fucking weirdos," John muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing.

Destiny smiled. Maybe John had a point.

"Oh, you guys were also here?"

Ryan came out of the changing room, wrapped in a towel, shivering as he stood in the snowy air.

"Yeah, come on in. We weren't doing anything important."

As John began to mock Ryan for his inability to deal with the hot water, Destiny closed his eyes in relief. Right. Nobody had died. Compared to the stuff Doctor had put people through, this was nothing.

As long as things stayed like this, it was fine, right?

~~~

"Oh, you came here too?"

Prota flinched as a voice called out. She'd come to understand that the baths were generally unused due to their high temperatures, and John had assured her that she'd like them. He'd been right. Her tolerance for pain allowed her to enjoy the hot water quite comfortably. It reminded her of the bath she'd taken so long ago, back in the bar. She felt as if she could just close her eyes and fall asleep.

So when someone else came through the changing room doors, it was somewhat of a shock. Thankfully, it was a voice she recognized.

"Ryan said I wouldn't be able to handle the heat," Lilith giggled. "He doesn't know I have a trick up my sleeve."

She gently approached the water, testing it with her foot. As expected, she wasn't at the level where she could just slide in, and she jumped back. Still, she didn't seem worried. With a deep breath, a chilly aura began to surround her, and without hesitation, she jumped in, splashing Prota.

"Wow! That feels really good!"

"...?" Prota tilted her head to the side. What had just happened?

"Oh, this? It's a technique Miss Dawn taught me. I can cool my body down with ice magic. She said it might help during fights, since a cooler body uses up less energy. I don't really know why, but it seems to work… anyway, this is called an onsen, right? It's really cool!"

She undid her hair, kicking her legs out as she allowed her body to semi-float in the steaming water. To Prota's pleasure, she didn't say anything else. It wasn't that she minded Lilith talking, but right now, in this environment, the peace and quiet were something she enjoyed.

"...hey, Prota."

So much for peace and quiet.

"All these things happening. In the summer exam. Just now. They're… they're not normal, right?"

Prota remained silent.

"Ah! You don't have to answer. But… you know, something seems different about you and your brother. Destiny, too, I guess, although I haven't really seen much of him. You guys just seem so different. Um, not that it's a bad thing!"

Lilith laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck.

"It's just… you know, if you need a break from things, or if you just need a friend to talk to- well, I guess you wouldn't want to talk, but… ah, what am I saying? I'm just saying, if you need a friend, I'll always be here, ok?"

Her smile seemed to brighten up the black night sky.

~~~

"So that's what it is."

Draco was sitting in his assigned room, but unlike everyone else, he wasn't enjoying the various amenities provided. Instead, a man with a cloaked hood was delivering a report.

"A pill, huh? And that's what gives him his powers… does Father know?"

"Yes. A messenger has already been dispatched. After all, he sent that man as a test subject. The intent was never to kill John Quarta. We now know everything he is capable of. However, the decision is being left to you. Young master, is there anything you would like to do?"

"No." Draco smiled, looking out the window. "Do nothing for now. When the time comes…"

"Yes, I understand."