Almost as if on an alarm, Accelerator got up and headed back down to the apartment. When he entered, he was greeted with the sight of relieved faces from the girls.
"We were about to send someone out to search for you." Yomikawa said.
"Didn't you see my note? Geez, stop worrying about me."
Index cut in. "Anyways, it's 10 minutes to midnight. Get to your room. Once you enter a coma, no one can touch you, so I suggest you save us the trouble of trying to move you to your bed if you collapse right now."
"I get it, I get it." Accelerator strode into his room and lay down on his bed, folding his arms behind his head. He looked up at the magic circle on the ceiling. To his surprise, it was faintly glowing with a blue light. He quickly turned his head from side to side to look at the other magic circles. They were also glowing.
"The magic circles can double as a magic detector. They're glowing since traces if magic are detected on us." Haruka entered the room and flopped onto her bed. "I'm so tired."
"How do you know all that?"
"Index told me. They didn't glow earlier because this spell works best at night."
"Where's the brat?"
"Sleeping in my room. She's fine."
"I almost envy the brat. She's a pure science person. I rather liked it better when I was just an esper, not a magical esper."
"We can't change our fates. At least you are part science. I'm a pure magic kid, but with a taint of science due to my telepathic ability. I'm not even supposed to belong in Academy City."
"You do belong. You're here, aren't you?"
"Well, I don't have any science blood in my veins. Just magic. You're the special one."
"I don't think there was a time where I wasn't special. The title of the first-ranked esper comes with the reputation of being special."
"Keep quiet now, you two. For the spell to work at its best, I have to start 5 minutes before midnight." Index entered the room and planted herself in the middle of the two beds, right in the centre of the magic circle on the ground. Glancing at the clock, it struck 11:55.
Index starting chanting in a language that sounded like Latin, but then changed to something that sounded remotely like Aramaic. The circles glowed with a stronger light, and the two espers felt a sense of restraint. Accelerator almost saw something that looked like the walls of a box. Index started chanting faster, moving her hands in patterns in the air. The blue light grew stronger, almost blinding. Haruka looked at the doorway and saw the faint outlines of people watching the spell casting.
Index stopped chanting. The light died down, and she checked the clock: 11:59. "One minute. See you guys in a few days."
"What do you mean?"
"You'll see." The clock struck midnight. Suddenly, Accelerator felt something crack in his mind. Unbidden, the magic seal he saw a day ago swam into his mind's eye, but he saw cracks in it. The cracks grew larger, and then the seal dissipated into nothingness. Accelerator suddenly had a sensation of falling, falling into the darkness.
Is this what's supposed to happen? He thought as his vision darkened. And then he knew no more, as he collapsed into unconsciousness.
Haruka, on the other hand, felt as though something in her mind was being released. Something that felt like a block on her mind disappeared, and multiple scenes flew into her mind, expanding until she could see nothing else but flashes of colour. Finally, the scenes cracked away into black nothingness, and she fell unconscious.
The two weren't aware that their bodies were glowing, clashing violently with the circles' light. Index was chanting again, faster and faster, and the circles' light grew stronger and blanketed the light from the espers' bodies. Finally, all the light died down to reveal the unconscious espers and the room, still in its regular state. The magic circles were pulsing with faint light. Index opened her eyes and sighed in relief. She slipped out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her.
Touma, Kanzaki, Stiyl, Yoshikawa and Yomikawa were waiting for her in the living room.
"How did it go?" Stiyl asked.
"The unleashed magic power was really strong. It took all my strength to suppress it. They should be fine for now. For now, we can do nothing but wait."
"So you're telling me you didn't need my right hand after all."
"I don't know what will happen in a few days, so you have to stick around, Touma."
"So now what can we do? I still have my job to do."
"One of us has to stay home all the time to make sure nothing happens. The rest of us are free to help or we can go about and mind our own business. What happens to the clone then?"
"Last Order? I don't think she'll leave the two alone until they wake up."
"That can't happen. Right now, only I can enter the room. Or a powerful magician. If someone else tries, there's a chance they may burn up from all the magic energy. She needs to stay away from their room."
"Well, we'll have to keep her busy then," Yomikawa said.
"Or you can send her to stay with some of the other clones," Touma suggested.
"That's a good idea. I'll call someone right now." Yoshikawa pulled out her cellphone.
"Who?"
"The doctor. Heaven Canceller. I think he's also taking care of MISAKA-10032." Tapping a few buttons, Yoshikawa stepped into the kitchen.
Yomikawa stretched. "I need to sleep. I still have work tomorrow. Do tell me if anything happens when morning comes." She headed into her room.
Kanzaki turned to Stiyl. "Did Ayato-san tell you when he was coming?"
"He didn't give me an exact time."
"12:27 AM in Japanese Standard Time, August 18th, 2018, to be exact." Everybody in the room whipped their heads around to the door. At the doorway, a figure shrouded in a black cloak stood, blending in with the shadows quite easily. The only reason they could see the figure was because of a tiny magic circle brightly glowing on the door, illuminating the person's pale hand on the knob.
"How did you unlock the door?!" Touma asked.
"A rather simple spell. Can't I get a welcome of some sorts?"
"Tell me how to welcome an extremely reclusive diviner then, "Stiyl muttered under his breath.
"The least you can do is take off your hood, Ayato. In all honesty, I didn't expect to see you here." Yoshikawa stepped out of the kitchen, looking at the figure.
"Long time no see, Yoshikawa Kikyou. Stiyl didn't tell you I was coming? No matter. I'm here to train Accelerator and Haruka in magic." The figure drew back his hood to reveal a handsome, pale face wearing glasses. Accelerator's uncle, Ayato, had shoulder length black hair, bright blue eyes, and sharp, defined features. He was tall and had a lanky build. If it weren't for the jagged scar that marred the right part of Ayato's face, people could have mistaken him for an older, black-haired blue-eyed Accelerator from far away. Up close, they could see other distinctive differences: high and defined cheekbones, slightly paler skin, and traces of old scars across his face. His eyes were cold and hard, with no trace of any cheerfulness.
"You look just like Accelerator," Touma said in surprise.
"Surprisingly, he got most of his looks from me and not my brother. The lankiness is genetic. Anyways, stop staring at me." Ayato settled on a couch, leaning against the back and crossing his legs. "Remind me again to never take a nonstop flight to Tokyo from England. My legs got horribly cramped."
"At least give us a proper introduction of yourself."
Ayato sighed. "Must I? Tedious. You know my name already. I'm a diviner and combat magician from Necessarius. And yes, I'm the younger brother of Accelerator's birth father. I'm currently one of the most powerful magicians from Necessarius, perhaps 7th ranked in the world, but I don't like flaunting that fact. And for those who haven't realized yet, I put the seals on Accelerator's and Haruka's minds."
Everyone reacted with surprise. Seeing their expressions, Ayato groaned in irritation. "You haven't noticed? I had to do it. If it didn't happen, the future would be a whole lot more bloody. Do remember I'm a diviner."
Getting over her shock, Yoshikawa spoke. "So, what do you intend on doing once Accelerator and Haruka wake up?"
"The family magic is combat magic. I'll train him in that. He should be fine, since the seal also unleashed his suppressed magic power. As for Haruka, I will help her with her elemental abilities."
"I doubt Accelerator would be too good in combat if he still has to use his crutch."
Ayato's eyes darkened and narrowed to black slits. "What happened to him?"
"I thought you knew, since you said you were watching over him with your scrying ball or something like that. Even without that, I thought you would have seen it in your visions."
"I was busy dealing with a demon attack in Iceland a couple months ago. When I came back, I saw him using a crutch, but I have no idea what happened. Also, my visions of Accelerator only show him in the war, or what happened years before. I can't control them. So, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO HIM?!"
Yoshikawa shushed him, and then quickly gave him a very short summary on what happened. Ayato's face fell. "If my brother were alive right now, he'd kill whoever was supposed to be his guardian."
"He didn't have a guardian until after he got shot."
Ayato put his face in his hands. "This complicates things by a great deal. The magic that was suppressed has a chance of restoring his body to the original state before he got shot, or it won't help."
"What are the odds?"
"Chances of his body being restored are very low. 15%, I'm estimating. Over the years, his magic power has accumulated, so it has some chance of healing his body."
"Well, it would be better if his computation skills are restored. Then his ability would be as powerful as before."
Ayato nodded. Then, he spoke to Index in a casual tone. "Oh, and Index Librorum Prohibitorum?"
"Yes?"
"I do believe if you consult the 8th Sibylline Book, a prophecy has just decoded itself."
"What?! You memorized the Sibylline Books?" Kanzaki and Stiyl looked shocked.
"They are also grimoires. I was told to memorize them." Closing her eyes, Index mentally shifted through her library of 103,000 grimoires.
"How did you know there was a prophecy that was going to be decoded?" Kanzaki asked Ayato.
"I studied the books. On an auspicious day, a prophecy will decode itself. Even if the person who memorized the books has not read that particular prophecy, the prophecy will magically decode itself in that person's mind."
Index interrupted just then. "Give me paper and a pencil." Yoshikawa handed her a pad of paper and a pencil. Index started writing. When she finished, she showed it to Ayato.
He scanned it, and winced. "Mind translating it to Japanese? My Latin is a bit rusty. And I don't think the others here read Latin."
"Why is it in Latin?" Touma wondered out loud.
"The original Sibylline Books, written by the oracle Sibyl, were produced in Ancient Rome, where the national language was Latin."
Index finished translating and read the prophecy out loud.
"A child two different worlds shall create,
The strongest of the strong, the number shall be eight.
Sacrifice for another at one's demise,
Rise again, as Heaven's eyes."
Everyone shifted nervously, even Ayato. "I don't like the third sentence," he muttered.
"None of it makes sense." Yoshikawa said.
"Prophecies are meant to be ambiguous. On the contrary, the first sentence is quite simple. A child two different worlds shall create. That's definitely Accelerator. The two different worlds are obviously science and magic. Next line?"
"The strongest of the strong, the number shall be eight. "
"Strongest of the strong? Maybe that can refer to the level 5 espers." Yoshikawa suggested.
"Aren't there only seven of them?" Kanzaki asked.
"Haruka's a level 5, albeit unknown. With her, that brings the number to eight."
"Okay, so second line down. That was pretty easy."
"Third line: Sacrifice for another at one's demise ."
"Doesn't 'demise' mean death?"
"Basically. So someone's sacrificing himself or herself for someone else and die. Sounds a little creepy."
"We can dwell on that later. Last line is Rise again as Heaven's eyes ."
"Heaven's eyes?" Again, Touma looked confused.
"I don't know." Ayato said flatly. "And I'm not going to dwell on it."
"While you're here, why don't you tell us some information about Accelerator's parents?"
"I can tell you that in the morning. Is there any place to sleep?" He yawned.
"There are two couches. I think Aiho also has a few sleeping bags, if you all want to stay."
"Index, Kamijou, stay here."
"What about you and Kanzaki?"
"There's no more reason for us to stay. We'll check up occasionally though."
Stiyl and Kanzaki walked out the door, closing it behind them. Ayato chuckled. "They probably won't be back, unless they're feeling sentimental. They've done their job."
"Job?"
"I told them to inform Accelerator and Haruka about magic and as much as they knew about their parents, and about magic."
"So they didn't come of their own accord?"
"Oh, they did. I gave them a choice to do it or not."
"Do you even know Haruka's parents?"
"Kishinami Hakuno and Fujimaru Ritsuka, I presume? If you want to know, we all know each other."
"'We?'"
"You guys ask way too many questions.'We' as in my brother, my sister-in-law, me, and them."
"Fine, we'll let you sleep. But one last question: if Accelerator's father is your brother, why don't you call him by his name?"
"I'm withholding that information for Accelerator. He gets to hear it first. Even if his memories return, there wasn't too much information he knew about his parents. Am I allowed to check on him?"
"Sure. Just make sure you have a spell ready in case something reacts to your presence."
"Oh please, I know what I'm doing."
"Do you even know which room is Accelerator's?"
"I'll tell by the magic levels." Ayato walked into the hallway. His hand hovered over the handle to Yomikawa's room, but then he shook his head. Despite not knowing the layout of the place, he found Accelerator's room with no difficulty after that.
Quietly, he opened the door. Avoiding contact with any of the magic circles, he walked to the side of the esper's bed and looked down at his brother's child. Accelerator looked quite peaceful, looking as if he was just sleeping. Yet, Ayato knew what was going on the boy's head, considering he had put the seal there himself. He still remembered the anguished pain he felt after. He had erased every trace of the past and Accelerator's parents, and replaced it with a past of loneliness and hurt, purposely disguising his magic to make it look like a work of science. He had seen Accelerator's future at the Institute, full of pain and blood. He had even tried to change the future by begging Yoshikawa to not make Accelerator participate in any of the projects, but she couldn't do anything, and the future went on without any change.
9 Years Ago—When Accelerator was taken into the Special Abilities Institute
A young white-haired boy with red eyes looked warily at the large building in front of him. The man in the lab coat in front of him motioned for him to go in.
"Hurry up and go in. I don't have all day."
Tentatively, the young boy walked into the Special Abilities Institute, gazing in awe at the high-tech equipment and the clean, blank white walls. Behind him, there was the sound of footsteps retreating. He turned to the man.
"Why am I here?"
"You possess an ability which is very rare and powerful. We wish to train you and your ability for good use in Academy City."
"What if I say no?" The young Accelerator asked, his attitude now defiant that he was alone with the scientist.
The scientist sighed. "I wish you'd come along peacefully. I really don't want any violence."
"That's a load of crap and you know it. I know you guys will do anything to get me since I also know magic."
"Then why did you come in?"
The boy sneered. "Did it look like I had a choice? For some reason, you guys didn't get affected by my ability and forcibly brought me here."
"I'll give you one last chance. Come peacefully or else."
"Or else what? No weapons work on me." Accelerator smiled confidently.
The scientist snapped his fingers. At once, a group of men surrounded him and started shooting bullets at the young esper. The boy smirked as the bullets were reflected back to the men and sent them flying, but more kept on aiming their guns at him.
"Enough." A tired, yet familiar voice said.
Accelerator whipped his head around to face the person walking towards him. "Uncle Ayato? What are you doing here?"
"Nephew, just go with them. As for you," he turned to the scientist. "How much more idiotic can you guys get? You know guns don't work on him."
"We're not idiots! We were thinking his ability would tire him out eventually and then we would be able to capture him."
"His ability's instinctive and almost like a part of him. Now back off. I'll handle him. You voted to have his memories erased and replaced, right? I'll do that. "
The scientist nodded and called off his men. Ayato knelt in front of Accelerator, so that he was the same height as the boy. Accelerator stared at him defiantly. "Why did you let them kidnap me when you were still in the house?"
"I'm sorry. This had to happen."
"Don't tell me this has to do with what Mother and Father wanted with me." The boy's words only wavered slightly at the mention of his parents.
"Your parents never wanted this for you. But as the future says, this has to happen. I'm sorry, my boy. No matter what, remember that your parents will always love you. And remember Haruka as well. You'll see her again one day. But for now, you have to stay with the scientists. Now, stay still."
The young esper looked confused. "Uncle Ayato, what are you…?"
Ayato put his hand on the boy's head and spoke a spell. The boy collapsed, unconscious. Ayato gathered the boy into his arms and laid him on a nearby table.
The scientist peeked out from another room. "How did you neutralize him?"
"He's my nephew. I know him and his ability well."
"What are you doing?"
"Helping you… for now. When I'm done with him, he'll go along with you guys and stay here."
"Why are you helping us? I thought you'd want to prevent this happening."
"It has to happen. However, this conversation never happened. You never saw me. You believe that you managed to neutralize the boy that you call Accelerator and that he will stay in the Special Abilities Institute." The man's eyes glazed over and he nodded robotically. He promptly turned and marched into another room.
Ayato turned back to his young, unconscious nephew. He placed his fingers on the boy's temples, chanting. White light flared out from the esper's head and floated towards the ceiling, where it condensed into a magic circle. Then, filaments of black light streamed from Ayato's hands and into the boy's head. After the black disappeared, the white magic circle descended after it.
Ayato finished the chant and took his hands away. If someone looked closely, they would have seen his eyes sparkling with unshed tears of grief. Grief at what he had condemned his own flesh and blood to. Grief that spoke of losing yet another family member.
Ayato swiped at his eyes and quickly slipped out of the Institute, leaving no trace of magic.
Ayato forced himself to calm down, ignoring the lump rising in his throat. He took one last glance at Accelerator.
He's grown a lot. Nii-san would've been amazed at his growth.
Then Ayato glided over to Haruka's bed, looking down at the sleeping female. He had also put the seal on her head when she was taken to the Institute, exactly one year before Accelerator was taken. Her parents' dying wish was to let Haruka play out the role that she needed to play in the future. They had died shortly after making that wish. Ayato shuddered as he remembered how they died. It wasn't pretty. A group of magicians from the French Catholic Church had wanted revenge against the couple for abandoning the magic side completely. He had also heard that the group had some petty grudge against them as well. Whatever the story was, the magicians had created a vicious monster out of magic and it had attacked them when they were out on a walk alone. Caught off guard, they were wounded badly and could barely fight back, let alone send a signal for help. Ayato had been in the area and responded as soon as he felt the monster, but it was too late to rescue any of them after he had destroyed the monster. Luckily, Haruka had no idea what happened to her parents, as she was at home. And then a day after that, she was taken to the Institute.
He also had no idea how and why Haruka met and became friends with Accelerator. Two years after his parents' death, Accelerator had become withdrawn and hurt, with a fiery temper that always flared if someone tried talking to him, even at the young age of 6. He was the only one that could talk to Accelerator back then.
When they had met, none of the two knew that the other knew magic. Somehow, the two had become fast friends. When Ayato had found out her parents were Kishinami Hakuno and Fujimaru Ritsuka, he was surprised and delighted that his old friends were in the city. However, he was saddened when they told him they had given up the magician's life. They had wanted Haruka to be safe from magicians, since her ability with the elements was too powerful for anybody to handle. They had managed to pass off her ability as an esper ability, so they were able to move in with success. He had asked them to take Accelerator in once he knew their situation. Back then, Ayato was still grief-stricken over his brother's death, and didn't have the emotional capability back then to properly take care of a young child who was also in pain from his parents' deaths. He knew that Accelerator was the first-hand witness of his parents' deaths. Any child was bound to have cracked emotional and mental health, but Accelerator seemed fine, until Ayato had seen his actions in the Level 6 Shift Project.
Ayato sighed again as he slipped out of the room, heading to the living room. In the darkness, he could still see the sleeping form of Touma stretched out on the ground, and Index sleeping on one couch. He went over to the other couch and laid down, staring at the blank ceiling. Most of this, he knew, was his fault. His fault for erasing Accelerator's memories. His fault for putting his brother's son through a living hell. Yet if his visions were true, everything was preordained to happen.
He recalled the scenes of his training time at Necessarius with his brother. Both of them had wanted to study divinity at a young age. However, his brother's visions consisted mainly of war and pain, and he had many nightmares throughout training. His own visions consisted of individual beings and their families, but mainly their lives.
It would be the truth to say that he and his brother were the masters behind the puppet show, even at the same level as Aleister Crowley. Yet they were also puppets, driven by the unshakable future and fate.
In another blink of an eye, Ayato closed his eyes and fell asleep, not aware that something else was also in Accelerator's head, speeding up his counter-seal.