Dimensions Collide: Destiny Bond-Chapter 180: Wedding Crashers

Dimensions Collide: Destiny Bond-Chapter 180: Wedding Crashers

Chapter 180: Wedding Crashers
As the party sprinted through the town, the only sound was their footsteps hitting the cobbled paths. There were no Mystics about. There was nobody maintaining the streets, nobody walking about. No conversations, no music, no sounds of life whatsoever.
“It’s quiet,” Destiny muttered as he looked around.
“Yeah. Seems about right,” John said, clenching his teeth.
They were running out of time.
Thankfully, he’d gotten a good layout of the area while wandering around with Kit.
Kit.
John still couldn’t wrap his mind around what was going on. He could analyze the problem and devise a solution, but he still didn’t understand what it was about himself that attracted Kit.
“Come on. You’ll get lost if I don’t take you back.”
The mind of a [Character] was complicated. John could predict actions. Motives. Backstories.
But emotional decisions weren’t something one could predict. Fiction or not, emotions were emotions. They weren’t logical. They weren’t something one could always explain.
“I’ll ask her when this is over,” he muttered.
The minimap was coming in handy. There were multiple illusory barriers set up around the town, and they made it incredibly hard to navigate. At this point, John wasn’t even looking at his surroundings. He was relying purely on his minimap to guide him.
“John. How do you know where we’re going?” Destiny asked at one point.
“Kit led me around. Showed me the village. I just memorized the layout,” John explained.
“Memorized?”
“Yeah. What, surprised?”
“No, just curious.”
Again. Something felt off about that interaction. But what?
No, he couldn’t hesitate. Right now, they had to make it to the church. That was all that remained.
~~~
“How much further, John?” Destiny yelled, still leading the group.
“We’re almost there! Just ahead, then turn the bend-”
“John.”
Destiny stopped and turned around. He’d only ever heard Prota’s voice be this cold once. Back in the Town of Beginnings, when they’d gone to rescue John, she’d been in charge of interrogating the enemy and getting his location.
Her voice was currently reminiscent of that time.
“Are you John?”
“Wh- huh?” John frowned. “What the fuck? Who else would I be? Prota, what are you saying?”
Prota wasn’t using [Reading] or anything like that. She wasn’t even trying to predict anything. But something had been ingrained in her mind, the same way her combat skills had been carved into her body.
Things didn’t end so simply. There was always a catch. Always something that would go wrong. The Mystics chasing after them wasn’t the catch. That was just part of the flow of things.
So if they were so close to escaping, then why did John seem so confident?
“Prota, we really have to go,” John insisted. “Look, if you need to question me, do it in the carriage, but-”
“Take it off.”
John flinched. “Huh?”
“Take off the shirt.”
For a moment, there was silence.
“Uh… I mean, sure,” John shrugged, taking his hoodie off.
Underneath was his typical red t-shirt. It wasn’t often anybody saw him in just the shirt, but it wasn’t like it looked strange, either. In fact, he looked fine. There was nothing suspicious about him. His body looked the same as usual, and there weren’t any strange marking that could indicate anything.
“Prota, I don’t know what’s going on, but shouldn’t we get going?” Destiny frowned. “If we have to fight a Mystic, I think we can, but I’d rather not.”
Prota wasn’t listening. Instead, she took the hoodie and sniffed it. It definitely smelled like John. The cloth was the same, too. The same pure black, the same red symbol.
The red symbol.
Deep within her memory, something stirred. Back when they’d been in the Town of Beginnings, she’d seen John with his shirt off. This symbol wasn’t something he’d painted on himself. It was something that identified him as “John,” something that marked his existence no matter what. This wasn’t a decoration. This was a marker.
But the hoodie wasn’t on John anymore. There was no need to identify it.
So why was it still on here?
Despite the panic, she kept her breathing calm. Opening her system, she found it to once again be disabled. At this point, she was half expecting this. Well, it’d been worth a shot.
She was confident in her decision, anyway.
Time slowed down. Mana gathered at her fingertips. She wasn’t sure what this was, but it definitely wasn’t John. It was an incredibly good replica. He spoke the same. Acted the same. There wasn’t much to give it away. In fact, had Prota not asked about the [Plot], she wouldn’t have realized anything at all.
But that lack of response was just too suspicious. Of course, it made sense to ignore the word [Plot] if you didn’t know what it meant. But John knew what it meant. He was the only person who truly knew what it meant.
This wasn’t John.
“Frozen Cannon,” Prota whispered.
The spell shot off with a boom, penetrating through John and exploding inside his body. The flesh was torn to shreds, blood and meat splattering everywhere.
“Prota!” Destiny yelled. “What the-”
“That’s not John,” she said quietly. “...trick.”
As if to prove her point, every trace of John vanished, like he’d never been there to begin with. A thick fog began to roll into the area, obscuring their vision. The light was blocked out, replacing the setting with an eerie, unsettling mood.
“Shoot. I should’ve… no, that was too good a trick. Thank you, Prota,” Destiny said quietly, unsheathing his blade.
From the fog came a figure. The two children readied themselves for a fight. An enemy.
“Who are you?” Destiny called out. “What do you want from us?”
“...what do I want? I, um… ah. I’m not sure.”
“...Elder?”
Elder Kang Loy appeared, looking unsuspecting as ever. He stroked his beard, looking at his students.
“Ah. Well, um… Right. Yes. I remember now. You uh- you children have gone too far. The Mystics are um… what was it… ah. The Mystics are not pleased.”
“Prota,” Destiny whispered. “I think we have to fight. Are you ready?”
She nodded. She could feel her heart pumping, sending blood to every tip of her body. Terrible memories came flashing back. The fight with Hikiari. The fight with Sofya.
But this time, she was stronger. This time, she could do it. It didn’t matter if she wasn’t the [Protagonist].
She was an [Anomaly]. It was time to decide her own outcome.
“Ah, so… and, um, the punishment the Mystics decided, that’s, ah…”
The Elder’s voice momentarily trailed off, his expression dreamy. Prota’s heart rose. Maybe they could get out of this without—
“Ah.” The Elder’s expression suddenly turned fierce, his gaze set upon the children. “Then, your punishment is death.”
In that instant, an explosion engulfed the forest.
~~~
“Here we are.”
The church was in a surprisingly secluded zone. According to Kit, it was built in honour of Celeste, but it wasn’t like there were any devoted worshippers. It seemed the Mystics viewed Celeste as a parental figure or overseer rather than an almighty god, and while they respected her greatly, it wasn’t to the point of worship.
Thus, this building was purely ornamental, used only on occasion.
It seemed today was such an occasion.
Strangely, there were no festivities around. No decorations, no Ninetails milling around, no music, nothing you’d expect from a typical wedding. Of course, it could simply be that the Mystics' clans had different traditions than humans, but this was just too strange.
“What now?” Destiny said quietly. “We just go in?”
“...I guess, yeah,” John muttered. “Does it look like there’s anything else for us to do?”
They walked up to the heavy set of double doors. They looked so clean. So pristine. John stared, hesitating for a moment.
“John?” Destiny frowned. “What are you waiting for?”
“Hey. Do the thing.”
“The thing?”
“Destiny. I’m going to activate a small nuclear bomb.”
“A bomb?!” Destiny exclaimed, then covered his mouth.
John grimaced. His suspicions had been correct.
This wasn’t Destiny.
The test he’d given was relatively simple. If this were actually Destiny, the nuclear part of his phrase would have attracted far more attention than the bomb part. If this were an illusion, however, reacting to the bomb part was far more logical.
Now, all that was left was…
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“John,” Prota said quietly, tugging on his scarf. “That’s…”
“Don’t worry,” John assured them. “It’s small.”
“If that’s what it takes, I suppose… still, don’t you think that’s a little too much?” Destiny said. “How are we going to get out of the way in time?”
“Hm…”
John nodded, pulling out his bat.
“Hey, Prota,” he said quietly. “The [Plot]. We haven’t had a twist yet. What do you think’s going to happen next? What do you think the [Author] has in store?”
“Author? Plot? John, what are you talking about?” Destiny said. “Hey. Look, if you’re not ready, we can wait, but I don’t understand-”
“Prota.”
The girl flinched as her name was called.
“Answer me.”
“...I don’t know,” she said quietly. “Sorry.”
“Yeah. That’s about what I expected.”
Without hesitation, John swung his bat as hard as he could, bashing Prota’s head in. It was a gruesome scene, but John had already steeled his heart.
After all, this wasn’t Prota.
For someone like him, who saw beings as [Characters], their physical form influenced him, but ultimately, it was their identity that mattered the most. This wasn’t Prota, the [Character]. This was something else. For someone who felt a detachment from this world, it wasn’t hard to detach himself from a simple trick.
Even knowing this, his heart ached just a bit upon seeing his sister’s dead body.
Destiny’s eyes went wide as he unsheathed his sword.
“John! What the-”
“You too.”
John swung once more, but before his bat could even make contact, Destiny’s body disappeared, vanishing like smoke. Prota’s body, too, vanished, leaving John alone.
“Weak to mental attacks… goddammit, Zero,” he muttered, pushing the doors open.
That was why he’d been feeling uneasy. These were illusions. Likely, Chen So had been using some of John’s memories to fabricate them. They weren’t coming from John’s own mind. They would’ve been too perfect if that were the case. After all, one level of fiction was no different from another.
But if Chen So had manual control over the illusions, it made sense. After all, he couldn’t see anything [Infinity] or [Story] related. He wouldn’t have seen John killing Hikari, John’s [Resets], John’s near infinite power. That was why Destiny hadn’t brought up Hikari’s death right now; he hadn’t questioned whether or not John would kill Chen So.
Well, he’d figured it out now. That was all that mattered.
Inside the church, it was completely empty. No pews. No tables. Just a wide, open space, with light streaming through the windows. At the other end of the room was Chen So Ninetails, prince of the Ninetails clan. By his side was Kit Ninetails, bearer of the Eternal Flame.
“You’re clever,” Chen So called out, clapping slowly. “But then again, I suppose this was to be expected.”
“...I don’t wanna hear it from you.”
“Oh?” The prince spread his arms open wide, as if to embrace someone. “I would presume a mortal would be honoured to be complimented by a Mystic.”
“A [Character’s] words don’t mean shit to me,” John grunted, his swords appearing in his hands as [Infinity] activated. “I don’t care what you guys think of me.”
“Hm… I’m not quite sure what you mean. Regardless, I presume you are here to stop me?”
“What, were you not controlling the illusions?” John said, raising an eye.
“What if they were generated from your memories?” Chen So smiled. “Who’s to say I was in control of them?”
“If they’d come from my memories, I wouldn’t have realized they were illusions,” John said, pointing a sword at the prince. “But you don’t know what [Plot] is. You don’t know what this world is. That’s why you weren’t able to answer me. What was it? The illusions gain realism by appealing to my mind? It takes some of my memories and tries to use them as part of the magic?”
“...you’re more astute than I thought.”
The two faced off against each other, tension building. A single spark could burst into the flames of battle.
“Unfortunately, you won’t be doing anything here. What did you expect to accomplish? Were you going to wrestle Kit from my arms? Unfortunately, you are but a mortal.”
John clenched his teeth. The prince was fishing for a reaction. John wouldn’t give him one. Right now, he needed to stay calm. There were still a number of questions he needed answered.
There wasn’t a moment better than the present. Once the fighting started, there likely wouldn’t be any time to learn anything new.
“What do you need the flame for?” John called out.
“Why should I tell you?” Chen So countered. “You don’t deserve to know.”
“You’re going to kill me anyway.”
The prince’s polite smile grew into a wide, toothy grin. The man’s teeth weren’t human; they were sharp, like a fox’s.
“That’s right. Good on you for figuring that out.”
“...come on. I know about the Eternal Flame already. You might as well tell me the rest.”
“Ah, the Eternal Flame… the one who told you that. Who was it?”
John just shrugged. “I found out about it in a book.”
“A book, you say?” Chen So took a step forward. “How curious. Did it happen to be written by a Ninetails by the name of Rina?”
“No.”
“You’re quite good at lying.”
“But I’m not.”
“I know you’re lying… because Rina never existed.”
John flinched at that, not because he’d been caught lying, but because he was genuinely shocked. This wasn’t something he’d anticipated. He’d thought she was suspicious.
He hadn’t realized she didn’t exist at all.
“You…”
He watched as the prince slowly turned into the old fox he’d encountered numerous times. John had assumed he wouldn’t be monitored due to his weak status.
He’d been wrong. Of all the mortals in this land, he was the one they’d monitored the most.
“You see, I was wondering why Kit brought some mortals along. I wasn’t sure of her intentions, so I monitored all of you. I watched as you ran around the town like a lost little dog, so I thought I’d try and figure out your intentions.” Chen So laughed. “I suppose it’s a good thing I did.”
“So, what? Kang Loy never had a wife? There’s no revenge?”
“Oh, no, no. That story was true. Well, aside from one aspect. The dear Elder’s wife is dead. The old man is broken in both body and mind. If war were to break out, he would die instantly.”
John didn’t flinch at that. To be honest, he didn’t really care.
“Ok? What was the point of tricking me, then? Why give me all this information?”
Chen So took a few more steps forward, looking at John curiously. Behind, Kit remained still, looking at John with blank eyes. Strangely, this didn’t evoke anything from John. He didn’t feel rage or pain upon seeing Kit in such a state. There was no real emotion to be had. In fact, he was more annoyed at the fact that he didn’t feel anything, because if he had, there would be more leeway to use [Infinity].
“You’re not like other mortals. Hm… I suppose I’ll tell you a little story.”
The prince sat on the ground, crossing his legs. He didn’t seem concerned at all that John was here. Well, if what he was saying was true, there really was no need for him to be worried. Chen So had been monitoring them from the beginning. He knew everything John had been planning.
This was a tricky opponent indeed.
“By the way, I hope you’re not stalling for time,” the prince said with a sly smile. “They won’t be showing up any time soon.”
“...I see.”
That was all John had to say. Other times, he’d have been concerned for them, but not now. At the moment, they were actually far stronger than he. Besides, Destiny would surely survive with his role as the [Protagonist]. If John weren’t there to mess things up, he’d definitely win his fight.
John, on the other hand… well, his survival wasn’t guaranteed.
Chen So, however, seemed genuinely surprised at John’s lack of reaction. “You really don’t care?”
“No. They’re probably doing fine.”
~~~
“Things are going terribly wrong!” Destiny yelled as he dodged a massive explosion.
The bamboo in the forest had been razed to the ground. Fires burned everywhere, scorching the beautiful green scenery. Both Destiny and Prota were pushing their limits, fighting with everything they had.
Unfortunately, they’d quickly realized that their teacher was being controlled. They weren’t sure how, but Prota sensed a type of mana foreign to the Ninetails’ body, one that felt like the hallucinogenic magic they’d felt during their stay in the Ninetails village.
“Nh. Strong,” Prota muttered, blocking yet another attack.
Kang Loy’s fighting style was unlike anything they’d ever experienced. Yes, it was incredibly powerful, but more than that, it was perfectly refined. Every spell was used to its maximum potential, not just in mana quality and efficiency, but in effectiveness as well.
A spew of molten lava might fly their way, but it wasn’t just an attack. It would stay hot, limiting movement, as well as blocking vision while in the air. The smell of the acrid material would cause the two children to momentarily lose focus, occasionally resulting in letting an attack through.
All that from a singular spell.
Thankfully, their training hadn’t been for nothing. Destiny was doing incredibly well, blending his two fighting styles beautifully.
His lessons at Scholaris had been incredibly useful in training his swordsmanship. The boy’s movement and footwork were top-notch, and there wasn’t a wasted drop of energy when it came to maneuvering his body. His sword movements were fluid and swift, each swing threatening to sever a limb or open up a wound.
Now, however, he could effortlessly combine his spellcasting in this already oppressive fighting style. Distance wasn’t an issue. Destiny no longer had to give the opponent time to rest, and he no longer needed to fear retreat. If the Elder backed off, instead of chasing, Destiny simply fired off a powerful spell. If Destiny needed to make space and reset his tempo, he could simply fire off a barrage of attacks to give himself a break.
Not only that, his mana control had improved significantly. He could be compared to the Prota after her third year at Scholaris, casting many higher circle spells without chanting, refining his mana to the point that nearly none of it was wasted. Combined with mana breathing and his already wide array of spells, he was a formidable force.
With that kind of improvement, it would be unfair if Prota hadn’t improved just as much.
Her eyes began to glow as she held her hands out before her. The air turned cold, fires being snuffed out by the sudden change in temperature, frost forming on the ground.
“Snowstorm.”
A wind began to pick up, snowflakes swirling around. These weren’t ordinary snowflakes, though. They stung, cutting through anybody foolish enough to let their mana reinforcement drop for even a second.
In this environment, Prota could cast Blossom after Blossom as if they were icicles, and the speed at which she could cast Frozen Bullets or Cannons was incredible. Speeding up her perception was still necessary, but she could do it for far less time now, resulting in the ability to fire off the spells far more often.
Strangely enough, she was receiving a steady supply of mana from Kang Loy. Unfortunately, she couldn’t take all of his mana at once. It was coming in at a steady enough flow that she wouldn’t run out, but she also couldn’t end the fight by taking away his mana. She presumed this had something to do with Kang Loy being mind-controlled. If his mind wasn’t all there, then he couldn’t resist Soul Steal as much.
Slowly, they were whittling away at the Elder. Perhaps it was a blessing that they didn’t realize just what kind of firepower was needed to normally damage a Mystic, because it might’ve broken them had they realized that this was a fight they should’ve never won.
“Prota! Can you hit him with something hard?!” Destiny yelled, narrowly dodging another attack.
Prota nodded, briefly closing her eyes as she felt the already ice-based mana accumulate before her hands.
When her eyes snapped back open, a glistening dragon of ice had formed before her.
“Go,” she whispered. “Dragon of Ice.”
The spell spiralled forward, crashing through spell after spell, chasing after the Elder. To his credit, the Mystic didn’t even flinch. He just summoned fire spell after fire spell, slowly chipping away at the dragon, but ultimately, it was unavoidable.
He leapt away, momentarily vanishing from vision, then reappeared over the dragon’s back, his fist covered in flames. The Elder came crashing down, smashing the spell in two, rendering it useless.
Fortunately for Destiny, that was more than enough time stalled.
“Take this!”
His sword, imbued with both weight and fire, came crashing down. The Elder dodged just in time, and the dry ground cracked beneath their feet, smashing to bits.
“Elder Kang Loy! Snap out of it!” Destiny yelled, summoning a sphere of water to counter a wave of flames headed his way. “Please!”
The Elder didn’t respond. He hadn’t spoken since they’d started fighting.
If that were the case, then they still had a far way to go before breaking through to him. Even with all this, they’d made a few cuts on his body, but he looked as fresh as ever.
Suddenly, a raging heat began to grow before him. A fire flickered to life, small but pure. Slowly, it began to grow, first burning red, then yellow, then blue.
Finally, the flames began to glow a pure white.
“What the-”
The Elder smashed the flames between his palms, and the heat began to spread over his body. Suddenly, his muscles began to enlarge, giving him forearms the size of Destiny’s thighs and calves thicker than the hero’s head.
“Destiny,” Prota said quietly. “Trouble.”
“...you know, you sometimes have a way of being weirder than your brother, you know?” Destiny said, sweat dripping down his face.
Still, he couldn’t help but smile.
“Alright. Let’s do this.”
~~~
“So. What now, boy?”
John stared into Chen So’s eyes. Like Kit, the prince had pink hair and pink irises, but somehow, despite their colour, they felt natural.
Suddenly, John shook his head. He was having strange thoughts.
“I haven’t said anything. I still want the same thing. What’s up with all this? What… what do you need Kit for?”
“Hm… I suppose if I tell you, you’ll simply walk away?”
“I’m not a fucking idiot. You’re going to kill me,” John pointed out. “We established this.”
“Then why not end yourself? If your fate is death, then do you not wish to have some control? What good is knowledge when it cannot be used? Surely, there is no reason for me to answer your inquiry.”
John just shrugged. “Whether or not I use it is up to me. Whether or not you want to tell me is up to you. If there’s no reason for me to hear it, then there’s no reason for you to keep it a secret, right?”
“Hm… very well.”
Chen So motioned for John to sit, and he did so. The two looked at each other, one eager for answers, the other taking on an air of grace.
“The Ninetails clan has never been a strong clan among the Mystics,” Chen So began to explain. “Our strongest magic is that of illusions. It is not a very strong combat magic, especially among the Mystics. We train ourselves to resist mental attacks should war break out with the dragons, so it simply isn’t the most useful in combat.”
“Cursed from birth. The game was rigged from the start,” John yawned. “So, what? You decided to join the demons?”
To John’s surprise, Chen So took visible offence at his question.
“Join with the demons? How dare you!” he exclaimed. “We worship the true goddess Celeste! How could you even suggest such a thing?”
John frowned. “So you didn’t deliver a letter to Sofya Ohrein?”
He was jumping the gun, but his confusion was enough to momentarily break his concentration.
No. Zero had confirmed that the clan had [Deus Ex Machina] energy. His theory couldn’t be wrong. If it was wrong, everything fell apart.
“...how did you find out about that?”
“Kit said the letter had your scent. It’s not really hard to figure out where things go after that,” John shrugged.
He didn’t need to worry about secrets. Either he or this man would die here, and regardless of the outcome, secrets wouldn’t have any meaning after they fought.
“I see,” the prince sighed. “She would do something like that.”
“Wait. Then… who gave you that letter? Who told you to give that energy to Sofya?”
“How do you know about this energy?”
“Why do you care?”
“That’s what I asked you. Do you want answers, or do you not?”
John sighed. “Fine. I was the one who killed Sofya, so I had rights to the power. Happy?”
This was technically a lie, but he needed to use it. If the prince held back any information for even a second, this was all over.
“You know an awful lot for a mortal,” Chen So frowned. “But, very well. You’ve entertained me, and you seem to understand what I am saying. Then, the one who passed on the powers to the headmaster of Scholaris, and the one who granted me my new powers…”
John held his breath. Was there someone else in this world who had his powers?
“Was none other than our goddess. Celeste.”

Chapter 180: Wedding Crashers