The universe, an endless expanse where creation and nothingness intertwine. It stretches beyond comprehension, a boundless sea of stars, galaxies, and worlds, each one a spark of possibility suspended in the infinite void. Suns burn with unrelenting fire, illuminating the darkness, while countless planets drift silently in their orbits, some teeming with life, others barren and desolate. Among them lies the cardinal world, a world so large, so profound it seems eternal. Surrounding it are various worlds and planets...
Boom!
A white planet trembled, its three moons jolted backward by an unseen shockwave.
Boom.
The planet shuddered again, the moons flung several kilometers farther into the void.
From the endless black sky, a figure plummeted, driving another down with them at speeds that shredded the very air, faster than light, faster than thought.
They struck the surface.
The impact tore across the crust, a blinding explosion erupting as the planet quaked for a third time.
The first figure wasted no moment. A fist slammed into the downed opponent's face, the force of the blow ripping the explosion apart and hurling its energy into the horizon.
Punch after punch followed, each strike reverberating through the planet's core. Explosions blossomed across the far side of the world, echoing the violence in perfect synchrony.
Above, a grey-silver sun loomed over the heavens. Then, in a single shudder, a quarter of its mass was wrenched away, sheared cleanly into the void by the force of the shockwaves.
And with every deafening boom heard across the cosmos, the stars themselves shifted. Constellations broke apart and re-formed, as though the universe was being rewritten with each blow.
The downed figure struggled, arms raised in a desperate guard, until they forced one hand upward, pressing it against the attacker's face.
Suddenly, pressure erupted outward. A wave of force slammed into the first figure, driving them back. They resisted, heels gouging trenches into the stone, but the surge overwhelmed them, launching them thousands of kilometers in an instant.
They crashed down, tumbling across the planet's surface, their body carving canyons and trenches for miles with each violent impact. At last, their momentum drove them head-first into the crust, leaving them half-buried, lower body jutting awkwardly into the air.
Silence, hung over the shattered land.
Then their legs bent. Feet pressed to the ground.
The earth detonated.
With a single motion, they straightened and rose, the ground fracturing beneath their speed. Dust cleared to reveal a dark-haired girl, her skin traced with glowing red lines. Her eyes burned pure white, searing like stars at the end of their life. Around her, the world itself seemed to wail, burning, crying, dying, under the weight of her presence.
From the girl's back, globs of molten metal erupted from her shoulder blades, twisting and reshaping with the precision of a shifting machine. They locked into place, resembling exhaust vents like those of colossal engines, their surfaces glowing with impossible heat.
Then they breathed fire.
A beam of rainbow-colored flame roared forth, each strand within it sharp and lethal, like radiant lines of death. The mountains surrounding her melted, slagging into rivers of glowing ore simply for existing within the inferno's reach.
And then, she was gone.
A thin, glowing red line scarred itself across the planet's surface, stretching for miles. It was the only evidence of her passage. She had not run, nor leapt, nor even swung her arms. She simply stood upright, perfectly still, while the force of the twin exhaust-flames propelled her across the world in less than a heartbeat.
She raised her hand.
Stars gathered. They flickered into existence around her like summoned guardians, each one a blazing furnace of endless energy. Then, one by one, they detonated. Their destruction coiled inward, drawn into her palm, compressed into a nuclear inferno so dense it twisted the very air into shimmering fractures.
She extended her hand until her glowing palm rested against the face of her foe.
What followed was not an explosion.
That entire section of the planet simply ceased to exist, vanishing in silence. In its place, a beam of red light tore free, ripping through space itself, a lance of annihilation that carved into the universe and vanished only in the infinite beyond.
The girl's hand lingered in the air, smoke rising faintly from her palm. Slowly, her head turned, eyes shifting behind her.
From the torn earth, blue ooze welled upward, blue matter given form. It bubbled, snapped, and clung together, pulling itself upright. The mass stretched, twisting into the outline of a humanoid shape before resolving into detail, a flowing black dress wrapping seamlessly around the figure, hair cascading long and silvery-blue, eyes opening into molten gold.
The silver-haired boy stood back-to-back with the dark-haired girl. His gaze was steady, but golden lines now coursed across his body like cracks of light through glass, veins of power barely contained.
Together, they were still as statues, yet the air between them bent and screamed, as though reality itself could not bear their presence.
They turned toward each other slowly, tension thick in the air, before bursting forward at once. Their movements blurred, fists clashing in a rapid exchange of blows that to them felt almost leisurely, though the ground beneath their feet fractured with every strike.
The dark-haired girl overextended on a punch. The silver-haired boy caught her fingers mid-swing, twisting them just enough to drag her close. His knee snapped upward, colliding with her face in a brutal strike.
She staggered but reacted instantly, hooking his leg in her grip. With a sharp twist, she swept his other foot out from under him. He hit the ground, but before he could recover, she unleashed a relentless flurry, kicks hammering his body, each impact echoing like thunder.
Snatching him by the arm, she hauled him up with startling strength and slammed his spine across her knee, the planet trembling under the crack. Yet the boy barely winced. He seized her waist, pivoted, and in one fluid motion hurled her overhead in a crushing arc, releasing her like a ragdoll.
She soared across the battlefield.
But the silver-haired boy raised his hand. Reality distorted around him, the sky flickering with golden glitches, and a colossal clock-face appeared behind him, its hands of light ticking relentlessly forward.
His fingers closed on the SECOND hand. With a subtle twist, he pulled it back several clicks.
The world stuttered. Time reversed.
The girl's flying form jolted, rewinding midair until she was once again within his reach, caught in the exact moment of his earlier strike.
Boom!
His fist connected a second time, launching her across the landscape.
This time, she didn't tumble helplessly. She twisted mid-flight, digging her heels into the earth. Stone shattered as she skidded backward, bleeding off momentum in a storm of sparks and fractured ground until she slid to a halt.
Her eyes flared white.
In a flash of crimson, she lunged forward, her body a streak of killing intent.
At the same instant, the silver-haired boy vanished in a blaze of gold, his figure reappearing on a collision course with hers.
The battlefield shook as red and gold streaks raced toward one another, their inevitable clash splitting the horizon in two.
---
"After everything that you've done Kaede! I'm going to stop you!"
"Stop me? Hehehe! Hahahaha! Who would you be... without me Rimuru?"
"...Time to find out."
---
"Gah!"
A blonde-haired girl jolted awake, lungs burning as she spat up globules of pale water. She coughed violently, clutching her chest as though she had been drowning mere moments before. Her breaths came ragged and uneven, each gasp dragging painfully into her lungs.
"Where… where am I?" she wheezed, voice thin and raw.
"And another success."
The voice was calm, young, and feminine, carrying an edge of amusement. Maria turned toward it, blinking away the blur in her eyes.
A red-haired boy stood at the foot of her bed, dressed in an immaculate checkered coat with a matching hat tipped at an angle. He wore a warm, unshakable smile, as though her awakening were nothing short of routine.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," he said lightly.
Maria stared at him, still dazed, confusion etched on her pale face. "…What?"
Her gaze drifted past him and widened. She was not outdoors, nor in any hospital. She was inside a vast, beautifully adorned chamber lit by glowing sconces along the polished stone walls. Intricate banners hung from the ceiling, and robed figures stood in a circle around her, silent and watchful.
"Who are you people? What is this place? What have you done to me?" Her voice cracked as panic began to rise.
The red-haired boy stepped forward, his tone softening. "Please forgive the suddenness of your situation. I imagine you weren't prepared for such a jarring transition. Death is, after all, a heavy thing to experience."
He placed a hand over his chest and gave a shallow bow. "My name is Kanade Ryuji, Archmage of the Nation of Maple Tree."
Maria's breath caught at a single word. "…Death?"
Kanade's smile turned faintly sympathetic. He nodded. "Indeed. You did die, correct?"
Memories rushed back—cold water swallowing her, lungs screaming for air, the darkness pressing down. She shivered. "…Yeah. I… I think I drowned."
"Good," Kanade said brightly.
Every head in the chamber turned toward him in silent reproach. Kanade blinked, then scratched the back of his head sheepishly, cheeks coloring. "Er, not good. That's, ah, that's a terrible way to go. My apologies."
Maria deadpanned at him, her panic momentarily dulled by his complete lack of solemnity. He looked more like an excitable boy playing wizard than the Archmage of a nation.
"What I meant," Kanade clarified quickly, lifting a finger, "is that it means the summoning worked exactly as intended. We are able to call those who have passed in their world… into ours."
"Summoning?" Maria repeated, eyes widening.
Kanade grinned, a boyish gleam in his golden eyes. He spread his arms wide in a dramatic flourish, gesturing to her as though presenting her to the room.
"This is exactly what you think it is."
Maria swallowed, pushing herself shakily to her feet. "…Maria. Maria Anne."
Kanade's grin softened into a welcoming smile. "Well then, Maria Anne..." He swept his hat off in a courteous bow. "Welcome to Maple Tree."
---
The summoning had been a success.
Kaede leaned against the balcony rail, the night air brushing softly against her skin. Behind her, Kanade's voice carried through the quiet, steady and calm. She held a glass of wine in her hand, swirling the crimson liquid slowly as though testing its weight.
"Maybe one or two more trials," Kanade mused, stepping closer, "and I'll finally be able to summon Iz. If she appears with her in-game skills like we did, her crafts could accelerate the technology here."
Kaede didn't answer. She simply raised her own glass and took a long, thoughtful sip.
Kanade sighed, settling into the chair beside her. For a while, they sat in silence, the sounds of the night filling the space between them.
"I regret not spending more time with her," Kaede finally said, her voice low. "I know I was busy, but she was still one of my children, so full of life, so quirky, so strange in all the ways that made her… Pito reminded me of a younger version of myself."
Her grip tightened on the glass as she continued. "And it's not just Pito. I've been distant with most of them. What a terrible leader I've become… and an even worse mother."
Kanade listened quietly, offering only the comfort of his presence.
"My title as [Mother of Monsters] lets me connect with the souls of the ones I've named," Kaede went on, closing her eyes briefly. "That bond… it was always there, so close and natural that I never thought about it. It was like breathing, until Pito was torn away. Only then did I realize how vital that connection truly was."
Her voice grew rough, almost a growl. "And now, I can't even reach her soul. It's gone, ripped from the link. If what Glenda said is true, then the one responsible is likely Hinata Sakaguchi. She's one of the few who could've bested Pito, and that cursed weapon of hers."
Kanade finally spoke, her tone measured. "We don't know for certain. And until we do, sending more operatives into Lubelius might be reckless."
"It has to be her," Kaede said sharply, her eyes narrowing. "It just has to be."