Dimensions Collide: Destiny Bond-Chapter 169: Divinity

Dimensions Collide: Destiny Bond-Chapter 169: Divinity

Chapter 169: Divinity
John froze.
“What? Do you recognize it?”
“That’s…”
Kit walked up slowly, taking the letter out of John’s hands. Her face was flushed, her breath heavy as she stared at the simple page, scanning the contents furiously.
John looked at Destiny nervously. Destiny shook his head. They’d never seen her like this before.
Just what had evoked such an emotional response?
“John,” Kit said, panting. “Where did you get this?”
“This was… our next lead,” John said, scratching the back of his head. “Um… I guess we should probably start from the beginning.”
Destiny explained that Kit already knew everything that had happened up to the third year, so there was only that to explain. John nodded and summarized everything.
Hikari’s betrayal. The existence and depth of the Demon Cultists. Lupin and Loera being unexpected allies.
Most importantly, though, John’s powers, Sofya’s research, and ultimately, her death.
“That… you said this paper was given to the dragon?” Kit said, her eyes bulging.
“...yeah? Kit, hey, say something,” Destiny said worriedly. “You’re making us nervous.”
“There is undoubtedly the power of a Mystic coming from this. But… that’s, um…”
Her tail flicked back and forth nervously, hands trembling as she failed to give a response. John sighed.
“It’s from the Ninetails clan. Right?”
Kit flinched. “That’s… I think so. I just don’t want to confirm it…”
Destiny snatched the letter out of Kit’s hands, returning it to John. He placed his hand on her shoulder, leaning in close.
“Kit. It’s ok.”
John stared at the two. This was clearly something he wasn’t aware of, but that was fine. Kit’s backstory wasn’t something he needed to know right now.
Her reaction had been enough. The next place to go…
Wait. How was he supposed to get there? A frown settled on his face. Was this even part of the original [Plot]?
Now that John thought about it, what he wanted to do no longer aligned with where the [Story] might go. So far, he’d been lucky. Meeting Destiny in the Town of Beginnings had been lucky to begin with, and going to Scholaris had been a standard follow-up.
However, what was left? Fantasy stories could go in any direction from here. John had assumed Destiny would go train with Mystics at this point, but given Kit’s reaction, they might not do so anymore.
What now?
“John,” Kit said, snapping him out of his trance. “We need to talk.”
~~~
John sat against a tree nervously. Kit hadn’t allowed either Prota or Destiny to come with them. She’d emphasized that she wanted to talk to John specifically.
Why?
“John,” the Mystic said quietly. “You… you’re a lot more than you let on.”
“Me?” John said, his eyes widening in surprise as he pointed to himself.
“...do you remember that talk we had at the Town of Beginnings?”
“Um. Yeah?”
“Your powers. It’s more than just being able to regress, isn’t it?”
John flinched. Right. He’d told her he could do that. He didn’t really regret it, but it seemed something troublesome was coming now.
“You’re… you’re strong. Incredibly strong.”
Kit’s voice sounded bitter at that.
“Well… yeah,” John admitted. “I guess I kinda am.”
“...I see.”
John grimaced. She sounded incredibly disappointed that he’d admitted to such a thing. Was she the type of person to hate liars? Was this because he’d been masquerading as a weak person? That wasn’t his fault, though. He really didn’t have the means to act strong.
Surely he could clear this up somehow.
“Hey,” he said nervously. “I, um… that’s not really how it works. All that stuff about theoretical power, it’s, uh… it’s pretty situational. I can’t just win. That’s not how things work.”
“But you’re not as weak as you let on. You’re not… well, you’re not a normal human.”
John made a face at that. “Um… sure, if that’s how you want to put it. My point is, I wasn’t, like, lying or anything. I wasn’t trying to appear weak, I promise.”
Kit let out a bitter laugh. It was reminiscent of the laugh John had given the first time they’d had a one-on-one talk.
“No. It’s nothing. Thank you for trusting us, John.”
John sighed. This was getting nowhere.
“Hey.” He turned, grabbing her by the shoulders. “If something’s wrong, just say it. Seriously, I can’t stand this beating around the bush shit. If something’s on your mind, just tell me.”
Kit lifted her head, and for the first time, John saw her expression. It was pained. Incredibly pained. He flinched in surprise. What? What had he done this time?
“No, it’s not your fault. I just… well, let me tell you a story.”
John nodded slowly.
“There was a child. She was curious. She wanted to learn. But her family said that she needed to inherit a legacy. That she was destined for greatness. But she didn’t want to be destined for greatness. She wanted to be free.”
John sighed, slumping against the tree. Well, it seemed he was learning Kit’s backstory now. He’d always wanted to learn it, but right now was a little… well, it was fine.
“But her family wanted the child to be married into a more prestigious family. She couldn’t say no. So she ran away.”
“Hey,” John said suddenly. “You don’t need to tell me-”
“No. It’s… it’s only fair you understand. And… you’ve revealed more than enough of your secrets.”
John sighed again. “But what does this have to do with me? I’m from another world, Kit. I don’t know about Mystics or politics or any of that crap. I’m just a guy. I don’t even care about saving the world or any of that. Why did you want to talk to me in particular? If you wanted someone to console you, just go to Destiny.”
Kit shook her head. “Destiny… is like a little brother to me. I raised him. I taught him much of what I know. He treats me with respect. You… you treat me how you wish.”
John felt a shiver run down his spine. Where was this going? Kit was usually sneaky, clever, sly. She was a fox. For her to be so open like this…
“Fight me.”
John flinched. What? The demi-god wanted to fight him? He’d had enough of that at Scholaris. Why was he getting involved with this nonsense again?
“Fight me,” Kit repeated, her red eyes looking up with a fiery glow. “I’ll make you show your power.”
“That’s not how it works!” John yelled, starting to panic. “What makes you think I can fight?”
“You just explained that you have powers that exist outside of mana. I’ve known it for a while, but to think it was that much… you’re truly something special, aren’t you?”
Kit stood up, flames gathering in her hands.
“Hey, wait!” John exclaimed, scrambling back. “What happened to you not being able to use your powers?”
“I can hide,” Kit said, seemingly determined to go through with this. “And if you’re saying that, then you think you can draw out my full power, is that it?”
“Wha- no!”
“Then survive. You said you can’t regress anymore, right?”
“You remember that?!”
“Of course. Three years is a drop in the bucket to a being such as I. And, if you’re truly who you say you are, it should be nothing to you as well.”
The wind began to whip around the forest as she prepared her magic.
“Now. Face me.”
~~~
Prota cried out as the massive surge of mana erupted in the forest. She could sense it from the palace grounds. The guards, however, could not. And that meant that the only one who understood what was going on was a certain [Protagonist].
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. any appearances on Amazon.
“Prota,” Destiny said quietly, grabbing her arm. “You can’t go.”
She tried to twist free, but Destiny’s grip was too strong. Whirling around angrily, she prepared a spell, only to see the look of pain in Destiny’s face.
“I’m sorry. But… Kit asked specifically for John’s help,” he said slowly. “It… it can’t be anyone else. Please, just this once… let us be selfish.”
Prota’s eyes widened. She slowly lowered the spell she’d prepared, letting the mana disperse.
“Prota. I’m sorry.”
Prota collapsed, and Destiny sat down quietly beside her.
“Just… let’s trust in John.”
~~~
John didn’t have much faith that he’d survive at the moment.
“Can you fuck off, please?!” he yelled, throwing himself out of the way of yet another fireball.
He let out a yelp he wasn’t exactly proud of as a fireball just grazed past his cheek.
“You still have time to chat, is that it?” Kit said, that stupid, sneaky smile plastered all over her face. “Then you have time to fight.”
“I don’t have time to fight! Let’s talk things out!”
“No.”
John clenched his teeth, cursing his life. Seriously, how was he getting involved in stupid fights like this? He enjoyed a brawl now and then, but not when it was so painfully one-sided in the way it was right now.
Normally, he wouldn’t have cared about revealing his powers, but having talked about them was really backfiring right now.
“Zero!” John gasped. “Can I use it?”
“Here? Just use [Infinity],” Zero said in his mind.
“I am, dipshit!”
“Ah. Right. Um. Ah, what the hell.”
[Determination increased! New limit: Infinity: x100000]
“Why didn’t you do this earlier?!” John complained.
“Just accept it and go!”
John’s foot slammed into the ground as his body’s strength was multiplied, pivoting his movement and narrowly dodging a spell. He felt a bead of sweat dripping down his cheek as he turned to face the Mystic.
“That’s what I wanted to see,” Kit smiled.
Somehow, though, her voice sounded bitter.
“Can you just back off already?!” John exclaimed. “I’m already breaking rules to do this. For fuck’s sake, why are you so stubborn about this?”
“There’s something I need to check.”
“Then why don’t you just ask me?”
“Because you’re a very good liar.”
John didn’t reply to that one. He couldn’t. He simply watched as Kit prepared a fireball that blazed like the sun, thousands of degrees of heat in the palm of her hand. He tried to swallow, but his throat was dry.
“Fight, John Quarta.”
In a flash, he moved, doing his best to make distance. He spared a second to look behind him, and his heart leapt as he saw that the spell was dangerously close.
“What the-”
He couldn’t afford to slip up. His pants tore as he hit the ground, sliding on the dirt and narrowly avoiding the spell. Instead of blowing anything up, though, it simply fizzled out. The Mystic still had the luxury of taking it easy on him, it seemed.
How in the world had he taken on Lupin? John shuddered. If that wolf had gone serious…
Then again, he’d fought Hikari.
“Using [Infinity] at its maximum isn’t the same thing,” John muttered to himself.
There was no more talking out of this one. This was definitely the start of a new [Story Arc].
But already, the only answer was violence.
That was more than fine with John.
“Alright,” he sighed, regaining his composure.
He looked at the now glowing Mystic, eyes set with determination. His hands balled into fists as energy began to float around him. Not magic. Not mana.
Just pure bullshit and the power of imagination.
“Ah… I see,” Kit smiled. “So that’s what you were. Then, I don’t need to hold back anymore.”
Lightning began to surround her body, pink light flashing all about, even in the midst of the sunny day. Her body shimmered like a mirage, and in an instant, she was right next to John, claws stretched out.
In the same moment, both of his blades came out, blocking the attack and saving his life.
“So you were a cultist?” John muttered to himself. “An enemy? A spy?”
“You don’t have time to be saying useless things,” Kit growled, continuing her onslaught of attacks.
John, however, was easily keeping up. Kit still only had one of her tails out. At one-ninth of her full strength, his current multiplier was enough to keep him safe.
“It’s not useless things,” John insisted, flying straight up into the air.
Kit momentarily flinched, caught off guard by this new movement method of John’s. Even she couldn’t fly so effortlessly. Eyes narrowing, a gust of wind sent her upward, continuing the battle.
“I need to know if I should kill you. So no, this isn’t useless.”
The fox flinched again. John grimaced. He’d been cold, but then again, that was just how he was when calculating profits and losses. If Kit was a potential traitor, it was likely easier to just eliminate her here.
His eyes grew cold as he fired off a dozen bolts of energy. The red light streaked through the air, homing in on Kit, who was now forced to play defence. John slowly floated foward, his onslaught unending.
This wasn’t the same person who’d struggled against Haze.
This wasn’t the man who relied on a gun. This wasn’t the man who relied on tricks. The man who left the heavy lifting to his teammates, the man who made a strategy then played support. He was no longer sitting on the sidelines, keeping the bench warm.
Unfortunately for Kit, she’d pushed someone too far. John had been too close to death when he shouldn’t have been.
And without [Resets] to keep him alive, the [Author] had decided to intervene in another way.
Or maybe this had been a part of the [Author’s] plan all along.
“I see,” Kit nodded, the smile on her face now gone. She was talking tough, but she was also quite beat up. “If that’s how it is… I surrender.”
She landed on the ground softly, staring up at John, who was still floating in the sky, his left eye glowing brightly. He frowned in confusion, slowly floating back down.
“...you shitting me?” he said quietly. “Seriously, what was the point in all that? Just to test me? You wanted to see if I could fight? There. I can fight. Are you happy now?”
“No,” Kit said simply.
She turned around to leave.
“But I have my answer.”
She started to walk off, and John sighed. What a cliche situation. Well, he couldn’t just let her leave. He walked up to her, grabbing her wrist.
“Hey. I told you. If you have something to say, say it. If you have a shitty family, say it. If you have a broken past, say it. But if you just keep silent, how is anyone gonna help you?”
Kit refused to look at him. He grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to turn around. He grimaced as he saw the tears running down her cheek, but to be honest, he was half expecting them. The front she’d put on while they were fighting was decent, but it was nothing on the master of masks.
“You can’t help me. You’re… you’re strong, John,” Kit said quietly.
Her voice was shaky.
“Stronger than me, maybe. But you get to do what you want because you’re strong.”
John frowned. “...what are you talking about? Hey, are you ok?”
Kit looked up at him, a pitiful smile on her face.
“I admired you, you know.”
John momentarily gasped, his jaw dropping. “M-me? Hey, hold on, you-”
“You were weak. At least, I thought you were. But you acted how you wished. You didn’t accept anything from anyone. Even if they held a position of authority, even if they could have your neck at an instant, you talked to them how you wished. You pushed forward with your decisions, no matter what.”
“That’s because-”
“Yes. You’re strong. But that’s the problem.” Kit looked away. “Only the strong get to decide. The weak… have to go along with what the strong want.”
John rubbed the back of his neck. “Well… I mean, I guess you’re not entirely wrong. Especially in a world like this. But… that’s not how it is for me. I don’t act like this because I’m strong. I act like this because I want to.”
“But you just said-”
“No. If I were as strong as you guys, I wouldn’t need Prota. I wouldn’t need anyone, actually. I’d get what I need, and then I’d leave this world.”
John turned once more, grabbing Kit and staring her in the eyes. She gasped, her face turning bright red. He noticed this, but he didn’t particularly care.
“Look. I don’t always get what I want, ok? I act how I want, and there’s a difference.”
“...what?”
“Like I’ve said, strength means a lot. Victory is different for everyone. For me, consequences aren’t a thing. I can come back to life if I mess up. Sure, there’s a power backing that. But I’d do this even if I didn’t have that power. I respect people if I think they deserve respect, and I treat them however I want if that’s what I think they deserve.”
“I-” Kit started, but then thought about what John had just said.
She’d seen him acknowledge those weaker than him. She’d also seen him talk down to those who could have him executed with a single word. John wasn’t concerned about strength or status.
He just… was.
“It’s just too much work to go around, trying to figure out where I belong. In the first place, I shouldn’t even exist in this world. You’re different. You can’t go around like I do. But still, if you want advice… I guess it’d be to be more confident?”
“But… I…”
“Look,” John sighed. “I don’t know everything about you. You’re a Mystic, and I don’t get Mystics, not yet. Whatever happened to you and Destiny in the summers I was gone, that’s between you two. Whatever your past is, that’s on you. I don’t share my history, you don’t need to share yours.”
Some of the atmosphere that had developed faded away. John really knew how to ruin a moment. Then again, romanticism wasn’t for him.
“But… your story. If you’re being forced to marry someone, then just say no. Sure, you have to run away. Sure, your family kicks you out. But that’s the price you have to pay for freedom. You don’t get everything you want. There’s always a price to pay or whatever. But if you’re sure of what it is you want, then the price you have to pay will seem pretty insignificant. So just do what you want. That’s the best advice I can give you. Do what you want, and be confident about it.”
Kit hesitated. Such simple advice. It was too simple. But somehow, it was good advice. John sighed again, sitting against a tree.
“Well, it seems like you had a rough time. Let me guess. After running away, you were chased down by the, uh… Venomfang clan, was it? Probably hired to chase you, if I had to guess. That’s where you met Destiny. Then, seeing as he had a strange mana pool, combined with the fact that he saved you, you decided to take him in.”
“I- um-”
“Don’t act all bashful. It doesn’t suit you,” John grumbled.
He knew he should feel sympathetic, but he wasn’t all that pleased about having been dragged into a fight against his will.
“What is it you see in Destiny?” he continued. “Why… why did you choose him?”
“He’s… he’s a good person,” Kit said quietly. “I didn’t know if I was going to help him originally, but seeing him so desperate to help the princess, it was admirable. And I needed someone to stay with. Someone to call family. I don’t care about my role as a god. I have my restrictions, but… I don’t want to be a Mystic. I just want to be… me.”
John nodded. Well, he could empathize with that. He, too, didn’t want to be a [Character], but then again, here he was.
“If that’s the case, then… yeah. Don’t worry too much about it. You made your choice. Are you happy?”
“...yes.”
“Then keep doing what you’re doing. What’s done is done.”
John was saying these things, but in reality, emotions were more complicated than that. You couldn’t just say that something was done and truly forget about it.
“I… it’s hard,” Kit said quietly. “You know?”
“Yeah. I get it,” John shrugged, closing his eyes. “Well, if you need help… by the way, what was it? Some kind of prince you had to marry? For all the times you’ve made fun of me for being single… you can’t speak anymore, you know?”
“...that story wasn’t about me,” Kit said nervously.
“Wha- hey, hold on.” John’s eyes snapped open. “Cut the bullshit. That was obviously about you. Hey, don’t take it back now that I’m giving you actual advice.”
Kit just blushed, looking away.
“You’re a god, for fuck’s sakes,” John muttered. “Act the part.”
“I- um-” Kit stammered.
“Look. I get that the letter shook you up. But you shouldn’t care too much about what your family did to you. You wanna be like me?” John grinned. “Then get strong enough to take revenge. Do you think what they did was wrong? Then get them back for it. I’m not saying this is the right choice. But the “right choice” usually doesn’t exist. So just do what you want.”
“Do what I want…” Kit looked up, the tears in her eyes fading away.
“Seriously, though, don’t scare me like that,” John said, standing up as he dusted his pants. “Emotional talks aren’t my thing. If you want support, go to Destiny. He’s a nice guy. I’m not. Seriously. I didn’t need to know your backstory or anything.”
“But this is why I came to you,” Kit said, turning away. “Because you won’t tell me what I want to hear.”
“Huh?” John frowned. “What was that?”
“Hm…” Kit looked up at John, a small grin forming on her lips.
“What is it now?”
“Are you sure you didn’t have anyone you were interested in at Scholaris? No girl caught your eye?”
John flinched. “Wha- no! What the fuck does that have to do with anything? And weren’t you all sad just a second ago? What the hell?”
“What? Don’t tell me you seriously aren’t interested in anybody,” Kit teased.
“I’m old, remember? I’m not some kind of weirdo!” John protested. “What are you even saying? Hey, I just told you, you can’t speak! You literally refused to get married!”
Kit grinned. “So you prefer older women?”
“No! What’s with this, all of a sudden?”
“Are you into humans only, by any chance?”
“What? No!”
“Hm…” Kit brushed his arm playfully. “You know, I wasn’t lying when I said I admired you. You might be lazy, but after talking to you… You’re not that bad of a person, John. And if you really aren’t that weak… mm, your face isn’t anything special.”
“Not that bad of a- my face- what are you even saying?”
She took a step forward, her lips brushing John’s ear.
“But you’ve got potential.”
He watched as Kit walked away, that playful smile once again on her face.
“Kit? Hey. Hey! What are you saying?!”
She turned into a fox, trotting off into the woods. John buried his face in his hands, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.
“Haah… she’s messing around with me a little too much.”
Suddenly, he remembered something Destiny had said. Something about Kit missing him, something about…
“No,” he groaned. “No, no…”
From an emotional, human point of view, anyone would assume Kit was just teasing. But given her character, this type of [Story], and everything that was going on…
“You can’t be real.”

Chapter 169: Divinity