Author's Note
To clarify the geography for everyone before the narrative continues, a crucial structural detail regarding Tenzu must be explained.
Currently, Haruto and his companions are within the sovereign bounds of the Fate Kingdom's massive Capital Area.
In this world, every kingdom features a specific, incredibly vast landscape known as the Capital Area.
Think of it as a region structured like a massive, sprawling state.
The design of these realms dictates that roughly 90% of a kingdom's entire population resides directly within this centralized zone, which houses the absolute seat of the royal castle and extensive civilian sectors.
Outside the structural borders of the Capital Area, the remaining populace lives in sparse, rural villages.
While these distant villagers are technically subjects under the kingdom's rule and receive regular patrols from royal soldiers, they lack the systemic advancement, architectural marvels, and structural development that the inhabitants of the Capital Area enjoy.
Beyond the borders of the Capital Area, the terrain transitions entirely into wild, untamed nature and rugged mountain ranges.
This structural blueprint applies universally across all kingdoms.
Part 1: Fate
The cold stone of the underground room seemed to vibrate as the physical contact occurred.
When Haruto's palm pressed firmly against the solid, glyph-carved surface of the wall, an immediate cosmic shift tore through his consciousness.
Multiple fragmented images flashed with blinding, erratic speed across his face and directly into his mind.
And in that singular, suspended fragment of time.
He saw everything.
He witnessed his every future life, tracing back through centuries of forgotten existences.
He perceived all hidden truths, stripping away every illusion shrouding the world of Tenzu.
And he realized everything about the true nature of his current life.
With absolute clarity, he suddenly knew exactly what would happen with him next, predicting the movements of the near and distant future.
He saw every single event, thread, and connection directly related to him.
In short, the complete, unedited tapestry of Haruto's whole life lay entirely bare before his eyes.
Haruto stand completely frozen for a few agonizing seconds.
His nose was still actively bleeding, a bright crimson droplet dripping down onto the dusty stone floor.
Haruto was entirely speechless, his vocal cords paralyzed by the sheer weight of forbidden information.
There was absolutely nothing left in his mind except the terrifying expanse of absolute cosmic awareness.
Beside him, Princess Ariel and Ken was still staring upward in sheer disbelief, their eyes locked onto the glowing anomalies floating over his head.
The mysterious clock and the intricate, rotating mechanical wheels continued to spin silently in the dim air.
However, Haruto wasn't surprised at all by their presence now.
Because through the wall's absolute revelation, he had just known the exact, terrifying reason why those specific clocks and wheels always manifested over his head.
He has just saw his entire life with the future of his life.
Knows everything what will happen with him.
His entire life from birth to death.
He saw his entire future and Fate.
Haruto slowly exhaled, his voice trembling slightly but carrying a cold weight as he says.
"Then... it's my life, then."
"I finally understood who is responsible for everything."
"Everything that is actively happening in this world."
"And what will be happen in the future"
"And the beginning and end of everything"
"And everything that has been done with me."
He turned his gaze toward the void, his voice dropping to a sharp whisper.
"You are..."
Before Haruto could complete his final sentence and utter the absolute name.
A sharp, metallic sound click echoed through the absolute fabric of reality.
Everything in the subterranean chamber suddenly stopped without warning.
Because the flow of Time itself just had stopped completely, freezing the blood in mid-air and locking the expressions of the onlookers.
Then, out of the frozen void, a mysterious, echoing smile shown from the hidden consciousness of someone watching from above.
A distant voice vibrated through the silent space, speaking in an amused tone.
"Lara, I guess you messed up a little bit with the script. Can you quickly fix it?"
An answering, slightly sighing voice echoed from a separate corner of the void.
"Yeah, sure, Kamini."
Then, a sudden, violent ravine of time happens, pulling the fabric of reality backward.
Time goes back rapidly, rewinding the motions of the individuals in the room like a reversed film.
The chronological flow goes backward until it reaches the exact, precise point where Haruto was just gonna touched the wall with his hand.
Time then started to tick forward again normally.
But this time, just as Haruto's hand was gonna touched the wall, Ken stepped forward and firmly caught his arm, stopping him from doing so.
Because of this quick physical intervention, the disastrous wall touching incident doesn't happens at all in this current iteration.
Then, the flow of time goes normally, moving forward without any cosmic interference.
Haruto and Ken continued their exploration, moving deeper into the shadows to explore more hidden places in the massive underground base.
But on the other hand, Princess Ariel has left the underground base entirely, returning to her royal duties above.
After some considerable time had passed in the dark corridors.
Haruto was actively trying to find the specific hidden place that Hermit Zero was explicitly talking about in his writings.
After sometimes, navigating through the damp, stone arches.
Ken and Haruto finally reached a massive, heavily reinforced gate.
Haruto stopped before the imposing structure and asked Ken about it.
Ken stared at the ancient reinforcing bands of the gate and replied.
"This is a very ancient door built into the lowest foundations."
"It is also strictly forbidden to enter by royal decree."
"And to successfully enter this door, we need a specific, highly protected book."
"The Peter Saint book."
"And it is currently kept under lock and key in the central church," Ken explained.
Haruto nodded slowly, recording the name of the artifact in his thoughts.
"Okay, then let's go to a different place for now," Haruto says smoothly.
But just before they turned around to leave the dead end.
Haruto's sharp eyes caught something inscribed on the corner of the stone archway.
Written in a dark, midnight-black ink, the distinct name of Hermit Zero was faintly visible on the gate.
Haruto instantly understand from this visual marker that this was the exact, hidden place he was actively finding.
But before they could fully leave the section, Haruto saw a completely empty room situated along the adjacent wall.
He stepped toward the threshold and saw a magnificent, yet entirely empty throne resting silently in the center of that room.
Haruto was instinctively gonna enter that room to investigate the seat.
But Ken quickly reached out and stopped him with a heavy, armored hand.
He shook his head behind his helmet and told him.
"It's a heavily curse room, Haruto."
"Whoever dare to enter this room will die brutally within moments."
"And our many elite soldiers have tragically died due to accidentally enter this room during past inspections," Ken warned.
Haruto frowned slightly, looking at the dust-covered seat.
"Is there any specific historical reason behind it?" Haruto asked.
Ken let out a low sigh through his visor and replied.
"We don't know the truth."
"We don't even have the proper, complete history of this ancient land or our own kingdom's founding," Ken admitted.
Haruto again asked, trying to glean more structural information about the facility.
"Okay, I understand it."
"But why did this entire underground base get made in the first place, and what is this place's true original purpose?"
Just as the question was voiced, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed, and Princess Ariel comes back into the chamber.
"This underground base was originally made by my ancient ancestors," Princess Ariel says, her voice echoing off the stone walls.
"They used this subterranean vault to gather hidden knowledge and absolute secrets of Tenzu, as well as the deep history of all kingdoms and the specific lineage of the Fate kingdom."
"As I know still now from our family records, they desperately want to protect this base anyway possible."
"At any potential cost."
"And so, they spent their whole life and resources to completely protect this place from the outside world."
"That's why some specific rooms are heavily cursed, because my ancestors intentionally put lethal boundaries in those rooms so no foreign entity could enter."
"But as a consequence for that security, we also can't enter any cursed room ourselves without triggering the death penalty," Princess Ariel says solemnly.
"Oh, so that's the true case behind the anomalies," Haruto replied, nodding understandingly.
"Haruto, remember to never tell about this place to anyone else, it's a strict state secret."
"Even the rulers of the other kingdoms doesn't know about the existence of this place," Princess Ariel says, looking at him with a serious expression.
"Okay, sure, I will keep it to myself," Haruto says reassuringly.
Then, after a short while longer, Haruto then left the place, stepping out of the lower vaults.
Despite Ken and Ariel still remaining behind in the underground base to finish their inspection.
Haruto walked back up the long stone steps alone, and he got a clear, definitive plan forming in his mind.
He navigated the busy streets of the capital area until he went directly to the central church.
He quietly entered the grand, vaulted sanctuary, where the scent of aged incense hung thick in the air.
And he calmly sits down upon one of the polished wooden pews.
And he lowers his head, pretending to pray there to blend in with the surrounding devotees.
And right after finishing the silent prayer, Haruto raised his head and saw Rebecca, who is actively cleaning the far side of the church floor with a long wooden broom.
Then, Haruto raised his voice slightly and called her over.
Rebecca pause her sweeping motion for a brief moment, looking up in surprise.
Then, she sets her broom aside and comes directly at Haruto.
"Hello, nice to meet you. Are you Rebecca?" Haruto asked with a calm, polite smile.
"Yeah, that's my name, but why do you ask?" Rebecca says, adjusting her uniform.
"Can I ask a specific favor to you?" Haruto asked, keeping his posture relaxed.
"What is it exactly?" Rebecca questioned, her curiosity piqued.
"Can you please give me a comprehensive tour of the entire cathedral?" Haruto asked.
Rebecca thought for a silent moment, looking at the stranger suspiciously.
"Why out of suddenly do you want a tour, and how did you even know my name?" she asked defensively.
"The chief priest told me about you," Haruto answered smoothly without missing a beat.
"And by the way, my name is Haruto Tabata."
"I specifically asked you because, from the moment I entered, I found something special in you."
"I found you incredibly mature and responsible compared to the others, someone who can properly give me a tour of this sacred place," Haruto tells in a soft, gentle voice.
Hearing that unexpected compliment.
Rebecca quickly sides her face away to hide her expression.
And her pale cheeks turn a little red as she blushes faintly at his soft words.
"Hmm, okay, I would be happy to show you around."
"Haruto," Rebecca says, turning back to him.
Then, Rebecca started to show Haruto the entire expanse of the grand cathedral.
First, Rebecca shows Haruto a exceptionally big green field located at the rear of the structure.
"Usually, advanced scholars do 1v1 fight training here and also rigorously test their active powers and analytical abilities," she explained.
Haruto saw a very nice, natural field filled with a lot of green trees and some stone benches to sit on.
Then, leaving the training grounds, Haruto and Rebecca went directly into the restricted scholar library.
And Haruto saw lots of ancient books lining the towering walls of a truly huge library.
Right in the exact middle of the library floor, there was a massive, mechanically complex Tenzu Grand Orrery model placed upon a heavy bronze pedestal.
Haruto walked up and saw that model carefully, studying its moving brass gears and spherical planetoids.
And through close observation, he understand that Earth's solar system model and Tenzu's solar system model is almost exactly same in structure.
But the singular difference is that the individual planets are completely different named and looks entirely different in color and texture.
All though the physical placement of the 8 planets and the central sun are absolutely the same as Earth's solar system.
Rebecca stood beside him and began to explain to Haruto about the history of this mechanical orrery.
And then, Haruto looked past the machine and saw many young scholars are quietly reading books on the long wooden tables.
And then, he goes directly on the long bookshelfs himself.
And he look very hard through the titles, scanning the spines for anything useful.
But after searching through several rows, he found no book that make him interested or related to his goal.
So then, having completed their brief search, Rebecca and Haruto left the library then, stepping back into the quiet hallway.
Haruto then turned his head and asked Rebecca if she is currently a Semi scholar rank.
"Yeah, I am still studying the foundational texts right now."
"I am working extremely hard every day to finally get promoted to a full scholar," Rebecca says with a determined look.
"Can I know about your past journey to becoming a Fate scholar?" Haruto asked curiously.
"Yeah, I suppose, but..." Rebecca says, hesitating as she looked down.
"Please, I really want to know about it. I am genuinely interested in you and your story," Haruto says softly.
Then, he reached out and hold hold her both hand tightly with his both hand.
And he steps closer and gently says.
"Please, Rebecca, could you tell me about your past?"
Rebecca's face again blushes deeply at the sudden physical contact.
Then she pause for a silent moment, her heart fluttering.
Then she says while blushing furiously.
"Okay... I will tell you, but please leave my hands for now, it's highly embarrassing in the open hallway."
"Oh, sorry for my sudden mistake, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Haruto says, quickly releasing her hands with an apologetic smile.
Then, walking over to a quiet corner, she and haruto sits down together on a wooden bench.
Rebecca's Point of View
I was originally born into a normal, middle-class civilian family residing in the dangerous Chaos Kingdom, specifically within its grand capital area.
When I was very young, I often visit the grand Chaos Church with my father on weekends.
I saw clear as day every time when my father devoutly prays to the lord of chaos in front of the altar.
> To clarify a critical point regarding the faith system of Tenzu, the terms "Lord" or "God" mean the same thing in our world.
However, the word God does not mean the Creator of existence.
A God or Lord simply means an entity holding supreme power and absolute authority over a certain specific category.
For example, the God or Lord of Fate has the absolute authority over the domain of Fate, but the concept of Fate wasn't originally created by him or her.
Everything in existence is universally created by the singular True God, also known as the Creator.
And also, every individual Lord or God is never equal to the True God.
Because for the True God, everything exists purely by his will, meaning anytime you hear the word god, remember it is only a ruler of a specific category created by the Creator.
My father used to tightly close his eyes during the service.
And he would fervently chant something under his breath.
Seeing that intense devotion, I also chant it along with him.
I would always repeat the verses directly after him.
"Say, He is God, [who is] One."
"God, the Eternal Refuge."
"He neither begets nor is born, Nor is there to Him any equivalent."
"Ruler of madness above the land."
"Who Doesn't show mercy to anyone."
"And seek in people's mind."
And during the conclusion, my father used to desperately ask the chaos god to show mercy on our family.
I also repeated the exact same thing beside him.
The Chaos God is known across Tenzu as the absolute king of destruction or madness.
We prayed to him regularly so he might save us from his own chaotic madness consuming our lives.
Me and my father everyday went to the church everyday without fail.
Our life goes fine for a long time.
My father was a hardworking farmer, tending to the soil.
Everything goes fine in our small household.
But it was merely the deceptive silence before the ultimate tragedy strikes.
In the Chaos Kingdom, the local people often start violent wars against each other over resources.
In the chaos society, multiple desperate people formed a rogue militant group.
And they ruthlessly attacked on normal civilians to plunder their homes.
These vicious teams are many in number across the Chaos Kingdom.
We are unfortunately not an exception to their cruelty.
A rogue group of armed people suddenly attacked on us one evening.
They broke through our door and killed my mother right Infront of me.
My father bravely fought with them using his farming tools.
And he turned back and loudly told me to run away into the mountains.
I was just a little girl at that time.
Seeing the absolute Chaos and blood before me.
I run out the back door as fast as my legs could carry me.
I somehow managed to escape into the dark forest.
But I tragically lost my father and mother at the exact same time.
I was completely hopeless, wandering the wilderness alone.
I can't control my heavy weep.
I continuously cried in the shadows of the trees.
For that vulnerable reason, a another rogue team of bandits spotted me and attacked on me.
But out of absolutely no where, a mysterious man suddenly appeared on the path, and his entire face was completely covered by a thick rope mask.
He swiftly defeat the whole team of attackers with incredible power.
And he successfully saves me from their blades.
I got fainted from pure exhaustion and terror in that moment.
And when I finally wake up much later.
I saw a warm campfire crackling in the night.
Beside that fire, that mysterious man is sitting quietly.
I was still very scared of him due to his strange appearance.
That man looked toward me and asked me in a deep, reverberating voice.
"What do you want to be in your future life?"
I looked down at the fire and replied.
"I want to be a dedicated scholar since my early childhood."
"Because I used to went to the church a lot with my father."
"And that's why I find the scholars absolutely amazing."
"I want to be exactly like them when I grow up."
That man listened to my plea and replied.
"Now you have to fulfill this dream specifically in the Fate kingdom."
"The Chaos kingdom is full of constant danger and lawlessness."
"And as a little girl, it is a miracle you survived there."
"If you visit the Will kingdom, it would normally be best for you."
"Because the Will kingdom is officially the safest kingdom out of all the other kingdoms."
"But the closest neighboring kingdom of the chaos kingdom is the fate kingdom."
"We are right now safely in the borders of the fate kingdom."
"You can start your scholarly journey now."
Then, right after saying that, that mysterious man leaves me by the road.
I loudly asked his name as he walked away, but he didn't replied at all.
And I was also very shocked by the sudden realization of our location.
Because the Chaos kingdom is completely surrounded by a massive mountain range.
And regularly traveling from the Chaos kingdom to the Fate kingdom takes at least 1 full month of continuous travel.
But this mysterious guy sent me here across the border in just maybe some hours while I was unconscious.
I then eventually took a horse ride toward the urban center.
After 1 month of travel.
I successfully reached the developed Caapital Area of the Fate kingdom.
I started to live there in the lower districts.
And after I finally turned 15 years old.
I finally started my official scholar study within the cathedral.
And during the early years of my scholar's life.
I was unfortunately very dumb and clumsy.
I used to make a lot of mistake during the transcription tasks.
And the head priest used to be extremely angry at me every single time I failed.
But one day, when I was crying and studying alone in the library corner.
A distinct senior scholar suddenly appears in front of my desk.
His name was Valker.
He was almost the exact same age as me.
He might be just 2 or 3 years older than me at most.
He was incredibly talented in his studies.
That's why he reached the prestigious senior scholar rank so quickly compared to the rest.
Valker was a young man with spiky, dark teal-blue hair and a single long, curved strand of hair looping upward from the very top of his head.
He has large, expressive purple eyes, round thin-framed reading glasses, and a genuinely friendly expression on his face.
He always wears a long, ankle-length dark navy blue cape featuring a thick, polished gold border and an ornate, patterned gold-and-black band running across his shoulders.
Underneath that heavy cape is a clean white collared shirt with a black bolo tie secured tightly by a round, glowing magenta gem, neatly tucked into slim-fit dark grey trousers with a simple brown leather belt.
On his feet are polished dark shoes with distinctive folded-down pointed cuffs that clearly show a light-colored inner lining.
He politely asked me about my name, and at first, I become greatly surprised.
Because Valker was the first high-ranking male scholar to ever approach and talk with me directly.
I feel incredibly nervous for some seconds, fidgeting with my books.
Then, I softly told him my name.
"Rebecca, it's a very nice name," Valker says with a warm tone.
"Thank you," Rebecca says with a soft smile, easing her posture.
"What exactly are you reading so intently?" he asked, looking at the papers.
"I am right now studying for the upcoming junior scholar exam," she said.
"Oh, I have already studied all of this material some years ago," he says encouragingly.
"Yeah, definitely, because you are a senior scholar."
"And I am now just a struggling semi scholar," she said, looking down.
"It doesn't really matter what rank you hold, actually," he said, shaking his head.
"What matters more is how the person truly is inside, and how he actively uses his position for the use of others."
"What do you mean by that statement?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Actually, many ambitious people get promoted to the highest rank very early in their lives."
"But sometimes, their massive ego takes absolute control over their body."
"And they start to do terrible things, manipulating everything under their influence for their own personal profit."
"And they don't care who died or who lives as long as they gain power."
"And I don't want to use my possession like that, I want to put it to the best use."
"Unlike those corrupt people running the upper echelons," he says firmly.
"Oh, that's a very nice outlook, but why did you come here to talk with a semi scholar like me, actually?" she asked out of curiosity.
"Umm..." Valker muttered, scratching his cheek lightly.
"Actually, I saw you multiple times working alone in the church sanctuary."
"I saw you don't talk with people that much, remaining isolated."
"So I simply decided to come over and talk with you to offer some company," he said.
"Oh, thank you very much for your kind company," she told him with a genuine smile.
Then, after that meeting, sometimes when I don't understand a certain complex topic in the texts.
Then Valker suddenly appears right on cue.
And he patiently help me in my daily studies.
From that day onward, he officially became a very good friend of mine.
Haruto's Point of View
As Rebecca's long story ends, the quiet atmosphere of the cathedral grounds settled around them.
"That's a very nice story, actually," Haruto says, breaking the silence with a soft nod.
"Maybe you can say that," Rebecca says, looking at her hands.
"That's mean you don't have a another single male friend besides Valker, right?" he asked, his eyes narrowing slightly in observation.
"Yeah, you can pretty much say that," she says honestly.
"Then, could I officially become your new friend too?" he asked, leaning in slightly.
Rebecca suddenly become extremely nervous at the direct proposition.
And she was kinda panicked inside, her hands gripping her skirt.
"What do you mean by asking that out of sudden?" she says, her face flushing again.
"But you and Valker become good friend in the exact same way, right?"
"Then please, could you be my friend too, Rebecca?" he says, utilizing a soft, pleading tone.
"Ummm..." Rebecca hesitated, looking at his handsome face.
"Then..."
"Okay... we can be friends," she agreed softly.
Haruto then stands up from the bench, brushing off his clothes as he tells her.
"Okay, it's officially lunch time now, so I am leaving for the cafeteria. We will meet again tomorrow."
Haruto quickly leaves the courtyard, his steps steady.
Rebecca sit completely alone on the bench for a silent moment, watching his retreating back before she softly says to herself.
"To be honest... he was quite handsome."
"All though now he is officially my friend too."
"But I still don't understand why he suddenly wanted to make me his friend so desperately."
Meanwhile, Haruto was walking through the busy streets of the capital area, a cold expression returning to his features as he tells in his mind.
"Everything is going exactly to the plan I formulated."
Then, the narrative scene shifted completely towards a powerful, imposing person.
Who is currently walking down the mountain paths, coming closer to the gates of the capital area.
And that aggressive person looks down at the city and loudly says.
"Let's see who is that elusive platinum pendant user that lord sloth was talking about."
"I will personally crush him into bloody pieces."
As the wind blew his collar aside, his exposed neck tattoo shows a dark red Sloth tattoo glowing faintly.
Which clearly means it's the official new sloth commander.
And he is actively coming at the capital area to hunt.