Dimensions Collide: Destiny Bond-Chapter 184: Independence

Dimensions Collide: Destiny Bond-Chapter 184: Independence

Chapter 184: Independence
“A [Reset]?” John muttered.
“Ah. Well… to be honest, the [Author] wasn’t really expecting you to tell anybody all this,” Zero said in his mind. “Aside from Prota, that is. So… you can, you know. Fix that.”
“Fix…”
John looked back at Kit. Yeah, this was something that could be fixed.
“Prota won’t have to [Reset] either. Of course, you’ll have to fight all over again, but you know how to win. All you have to do is not open your big fat mouth.”
John sensed finality in Zero’s statement. This was all.
It was now his choice to make.
“Kit,” he said quietly, crouching down. “Kit.”
“...John?”
She looked up, revealing puffy red eyes. John momentarily flinched. If anything, this experience was solidifying his opinion that the truth simply could not be revealed to anyone.
“Do you want to forget?”
“Forget…”
Kit seemed to calm down at that question. The choice to forget it all. The option to remove the memory of such a horrific truth was definitely appealing. John would have removed his memories of the truth long ago if it weren’t for the fact that he needed them.
John closed his eyes. Kit would definitely say yes. He might have to fight again, but that was fine. He’d done so much for this fox that it was fine if he had to do a little more.
“No.”
John let out a sigh of relief. He turned to leave, getting ready to [Reset].
“Alright, great, then we’ll- wait, huh? Sorry, what did you just say? What the fuck?”
“I said no.”
John turned back to see Kit, who’d gotten up and was standing once more. Her eyes were still red with tears, but there was an angry, defiant look to them.
“You could be lying,” she said, pointing at him.
“What? I- what- huh? What the fuck is wrong with you? I-”
John was cut off as Kit wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight.
“I know you’re telling the truth. But… I know I can’t handle the truth either. But at the same time, I don’t want to forget. Even if the feeling is never mutual, I don’t want to forget who you are. John. I understand why you wouldn’t tell us these things. And I appreciate it. But now that I know, I just can’t forget.”
“Did you not just hear the analogies I made?” John exclaimed, pushing her away. “I just compared myself to your prince! Kit, I’m openly discriminating against all [Characters]! You aren’t real-”
“But you’re real to me!” Kit yelled, tears flowing down her face. “Destiny’s real, Prota is real, and so are you! I don’t care if you’re from another realm of existence or not! The memories we made, the things we experienced, they’re real to me! And you can’t tell me that they’re not real to you, too, either!”
“What the- are you stupid?” John yelled, getting annoyed. “Who cares about what you think? Kit, the facts aren’t going to change just because you want them to! Two plus two isn’t going to be five just because you’re stubborn!”
“And yet you feel. I know what you are, John,” Kit snarled, stepping up to him. “You’re independent. You’re free. And you feel. You’re empty most of the time. But I’ve seen you. I’ve seen how you look at Prota. I’ve seen you get upset. You get tired. You get exhausted. You’re not some machine that analyzes things in right or wrong. You try so, so hard to seem that way, but that’s not who you are. In the end, aren’t you a [Character]? If that’s what we all are, then aren’t you one, too?!”
“That’s the point! I’m a [Character]! None of this matters, Kit! Who cares about any of this? I-”
John’s eyes went wide in shock as Kit slapped him. The smack rang out cleanly, followed by silence.
“You’re making excuses. I know you, John. You make your own choices. Since when were you such a coward? Since when did you cower so much? You made me a promise when you didn’t need to. If you’re really so strong, there was no need for you to come and get me. But you did. Is that what someone who doesn’t care would do?”
“I did it because-”
“Don’t lie to me!”
She grabbed his shirt, pressing her forehead against his, staring into his eyes.
“I don’t care if you love me or not! I don’t care if Destiny is someone you approached because of his status as a hero! Your identity, your origins, they’re not the John I know! The John I know is the John I’ve seen, and the John I’ve seen does what he wants! Is that so hard to understand?”
John flinched, stumbling back.
“I…”
“You made a promise. You said you keep your promises. Is that another lie? Because if it isn’t, then you care! There are things you choose to follow through on! This isn’t the mindset of someone who treats us as nothing but variables! I don’t care what you tell me. Your actions speak louder than any of your words possibly can.”
She stepped back, tears still flowing out of her eyes.
“So do what you want. You can push us away. You can say we’re nothing more than [Characters]. But I’ll wait. I’ll hold onto this memory until you tell me that you care. Even if it’s in the way someone cares for their pet, I’ll wait. Because I know that deep down, somewhere in that stupid, cold heart of yours, you care.”
John felt his head grow light. He had never been so directly challenged before.
Was he a coward? Was he really just running from his problems?
Maybe… maybe Kit was right.
Hadn’t he just had these thoughts? Love it or hate it, he was a [Character]. His knowledge of other worlds and other realities didn’t make him any more real. In the end, he was just another puppet on strings, dancing on a stage.
But… he’d recently found out that his strings weren’t attached. The only person controlling him was himself. If his dancing was amusing people, that was of no concern to him. He was still confined within the limits of the stage, but the things he could do on it were limited only by himself.
In the end, he was both the puppet and the puppetmaster. Bound to the stage, cursed to control his own puppet for as long as he remained, but free to move around as he wished otherwise.
“John.”
He flinched as his name was called, but it wasn’t Kit who’d said it this time.
“She’s right, you know,” Zero said, his tone smug.
“...is she?”
“You tell me. But right now, you’re stuck. Make a choice, buddy.”
John looked at Kit, who had retreated, seemingly embarrassed by her outburst. From the heaving of her chest, she seemed to be crying.
“It’s not just Kit that we’re talking about. [Characters]. What are they to you?”
Zero’s tone seemed final just then. John sensed the soul was leaving him alone.
A choice. He had to make a choice.
It seemed that this theme was coming up a lot. Throughout this [Story], choices constantly had to be made. He’d forced choices onto Prota, onto Kit, onto Destiny, onto his friends…
But never himself.
He was stuck in the mentality that he would deal with it later. That decisions would be made when they had to be made, and not a moment sooner. Responsibility was something he hated taking care of.
He remembered something Zero had told him. There was a choice he’d eventually have to make. John could tell this wasn’t that choice.
But a choice still had to be made here.
Would he continue to see these people as nothing but [Characters]? Or would they be more than that? Would they be more than tools, puppets on strings, controlled by the [Author] he despised so much?
But this was a [Story]. And, hate it or love it, he was a [Character]. Even if he viewed himself as superior, others did not. The relationships he’d built. The people he’d met.
To him, they were [Characters].
But to them, he was real.
And ultimately, that meant something.
John closed his eyes, taking a shaky breath. He didn’t want to be so involved in something so complicated. He just wanted to rest.
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
No. That wasn’t true. He wanted more than that.
He wanted a home.
These were [Characters]. But they were [Characters] he’d grown to care for. [Characters] he’d grown to love.
The adventurers back in Vulcan. Destiny and Kit. Albert and Bren. Danjo, the Rose twins, Briar, Celeste, Aurora, Arthur, Lupin, Leora, and even people like Jinae and the royal Elvish family, they were people he’d made connections with. People he’d talked to, people who had their own dreams, goals and hearts.
Even if those things were creations of the [Author], as Kit had said, they were real to themselves. The ultimate truth didn’t matter. At the moment, they were as real as John was.
Now that he thought about it, why did he look down on [Characters] so much? What made them different from him? John was aware he was a hypocrite. He often criticized others for things he did himself, and many of his own qualities were ones he found detestable in others. Still, he refused to change, using the excuse that his actions had no consequences.
But therein lay the problem. He hated responsibility, yet acted as if responsibility was something he didn’t have to take.
In the end, Kit was right. He was a coward, running away from his problems.
“...fine,” he muttered, looking at his hands.
In the end, whatever he chose wouldn’t really matter, right? He was making a mountain out of a molehill. Whether he cared for [Characters] or not wouldn’t impact the [Plot]. It wouldn’t impact his goals.
It was a choice meant purely for himself.
And if he was going to make that choice, then he already knew what he was going to choose.
“Kit.”
He walked over to her, his hands shoved into his pockets as he stood, staring down at her.
“Get up.”
She sniffled. “John?”
“...you were right.”
She raised her head, looking back at him. His eyes were cold, but they weren’t a void anymore. They were mostly blank. Mostly empty.
But the small light Prota had given him was getting brighter.
“I… I don’t know what to say,” John said awkwardly. “This is… I don’t know. But… you were right. I- you, Destiny, Prota, everyone… they matter.”
“...really?”
“Do you want me to take it back?” John grumbled.
He squatted down, sighing as he took out a bottle of soda. He chugged half of it, letting out an explosive sigh as if he were drinking hard liquor instead.
“Look. This world… this life… I don’t really get any of it. I’m not some sort of god, Kit. I don’t do well with responsibility. Stuff like managing an entire world isn’t for me. I just want my memories back. That’s all.”
She looked at him, and once again, she couldn’t help but feel that he looked incredibly tired.
“This whole [Character] stuff… maybe you’re right. I’m thinking about it too hard. In the end, you guys are my friends, aren’t you?”
“Friends…” Kit opened up, staring up into the sky. “I suppose that’s a good description.”
“I mean, you and Destiny are close. I suppose me and everyone else is sort of like that. There’s no rule saying I can’t-”
John cut himself off. There was a rule saying that he couldn’t get close. It was the rule of trauma. The rule that, at some point, John would have to suffer.
“...look. No matter what, you’ll still be [Characters] to me.”
Kit looked at John, stunned. Had he really been building up just to say that?
“But… I guess it wouldn’t be too bad if you were more than that. I mean, to you, Destiny will always be a mortal, right? But more than that, he’s your student. Your companion. For all of you… you’re people I trust. People I wouldn’t mind sticking around. And I guess…that’s not too bad.”
“Aw, look at you. Acting all embarrassed.”
John flipped around, his face turning flush with anger.
“Me? What the fuck? You were the one crying and-”
He stopped to see Kit laughing, her expression one of genuine joy. His expression softened as he realized what she was doing.
She was trying to lighten up the mood.
“...you can be mature when you want to be, huh?” John muttered, taking another swig of soda.
“I don’t want to hear that from you, mister mood switcher. But… thank you, John. I feel like now, I understand you a little better.”
“There’s nothing to understand.”
“No, there’s a lot to understand.” Kit stood up, her eyes still red, but her mood refreshed. “John. You call yourself a bad person, but that’s not true. Bad people don’t attract friends. They attract people who want to take advantage of them, and push everyone else away. But… think about it. Is there anything to really take advantage of with you?”
“...me?”
“Yes. You portray yourself as weak. You’re not a noble or wealthy merchant. You’re not anybody with special connections. You don’t have anything to take advantage of. The people who are friends with you… they like you for who you are. And if you were a bad person, they wouldn’t want to do that, would they?”
John snorted in disgust. “That’s not true. Tons of bad people know how to mask themselves. It’s not hard to do.”
“But your mask is your worst qualities,” Kit insisted. “You try to portray yourself as rude. Rash. Lazy. But… you care, don’t you? You’ve always cared. You just don’t want to show it.”
“I-”
“I don’t need to know why, John.” Kit smiled sadly. “I’ve learned my lesson about sticking my nose into places it doesn’t belong. But… just know that there are people who care about you, John. Just because you see them as fake doesn’t mean that they don’t see you as real.”
There was a moment of silence as Kit’s words hung in the air. John finished his drink, tossing the bottle back into his pocket dimension.
“Wait, hold on,” he frowned suddenly. “You. You’re ok? How?”
“What do you mean?”
“Your mind, you were-”
“Oh, that?” Kit giggled. “Don’t worry. Mystics can naturally filter and sort memories. We’d go crazy if we remembered thousands of years, you know? I put that stuff away. It’s more like a distant memory now.”
John sighed in relief. It was a system similar to his own. Thank goodness. If Kit lost her mind, it would be awful. Not only that, but it could completely ruin how the [Story] progressed.
“What now?” John said quietly. “We’d better get out of here. I doubt the Ninetails clan will be happy with a dead prince.”
“I know where the carriages are,” Kit said with a wink. “We can get back to the mortal plane. We should be safe once we’re there. We’ve just got to make it. Where are Destiny and Prota?”
John flinched. In the midst of battle, he’d forgotten to find out where they were. He was confident that they were alive, but their location…
[System fully restored.]
“Great,” he muttered. “You’re real helpful when it doesn’t impact the [Plot] too much, huh?”
“What was that?”
“Nothing,” John said, waving her away. “They’re in the forest where they were training. Come on, let’s go.”
He stood up, putting his hand on Kit’s shoulder.
“Look. I won’t bring this up again, but… I’m sorry. That I can’t return your feelings. I mean it this time. Even with everything we’ve said… I can’t see you as anything but a companion. I just…”
Kit turned away for a moment, but when she turned back, there was a cheerful smile on her face. John could tell she was holding back tears, but he didn’t want to dance around the issue any longer.
They had to deal with this now.
“I know. Thank you for being honest, John.”
The two ran off, leaving behind a church of rubble.
[Reset not taken. The option has been withdrawn.]
[Well done.]
~~~
“Ah… I see. That child has done much,” Kang Loy sighed.
Destiny had been telling him about his own journey. Now that they knew the Elder was an ally, they were far more open to speaking with him.
“She’s been a very valuable companion, sir,” Destiny said, bowing his head. “In a way… thank you.”
“No, no. I must thank you, children. Without you… that child may have been lost forever. For her to have found her way is more than I could’ve ever asked for. I place a terrible curse upon that child, but now… now, she can be free.”
Prota, who had been silent for most of the conversation, suddenly stood up.
“Destiny,” she said urgently. “John. He’s ok.”
“Wha- how do you know?”
“Coming.”
Everyone was stunned. Prota had said it with such confidence that they couldn’t help but believe her.
Sure enough, the sound of rustling was quickly followed by John pushing through the trees, followed by Kit. Both wore their usual smiles, as if nothing had happened at all.
“John,” Prota said, walking up to him.
She punched him in the stomach, causing him to double over. He quickly got back up, his expression replaced by one of annoyance.
“What the hell?!” he protested. “What was that for??”
“Don’t go alone,” she said quietly.
“Wha- it’s not my fault! I thought I was going with you guys! The prince made this stupid illusion, it looked like you guys, and…”
The two continued to bicker as Kit approached Destiny.
“Hey,” she said casually, sitting down. “Master,” she said, bowing down to Kang Loy.
“Ah… my student. I am so very sorry for-”
“It’s ok.” Kit put her hand on the old Ninetails’s shoulder. “If… the things I went through were hard. But the things I gained… it wasn’t so bad.”
“...you are mature, I see,” Kang Loy said with a smile. “Your time in the mortal realm has served you well.”
“My time here served me well. Without you… Thank you, master.”
“Your gift-”
“I will use it well. But… I’m going back. I… I know what I want to do, now.”
The Elder closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded his head.
“I suppose that is only natural. Your companions… they are precious, I see. Treat them well, won’t you?”
Kit smiled. “Of course.”
“I will go into hiding for a while. I presume the prince is dead?”
“How did you-”
“I was under his influence as well. But now that your companions have freed me… well, I am used to solitude. Do not worry about me, Kit. I will manage.”
With that, he stood up and vanished. There was a faint breeze that indicated his departure, but not much else.
The sound of John and Prota arguing could still be heard. Well, it was mostly John, but Prota’s quiet voice could occasionally be heard as well.
“So,” Destiny said, leaning back. “You figure things out with John?”
“Wh- what?” Kit stammered, her face turning red. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, come on. You weren’t really hiding it,” Destiny laughed. “So, what happened? Did he come to save you like a white prince?”
Kit thought back to the fight. A white prince… well, that term didn’t really fit John. The fight had been quite one-sided. If anything, a mosquito might describe John better. He’d almost lost, too, had it not been for—
She blushed once more as she remembered just what had snapped her out of her brainwashing.
“Oh? So did something happen?” Destiny grinned, giving her a nudge. “Come on. Let’s hear about it.”
“...nothing happened.”
Kit sobered up as she remembered the aftermath. John didn’t love her that way. He never would. She’d told him that was ok, but ultimately, emotions were a stubborn thing. One didn’t get over them that easily.
“Don’t lie-”
“I’m not lying, Des.” Kit leaned back, staring up into the sky. “He’s not that kind of guy. I mean, think about it. Does he strike you as the kind of man to settle down?”
Destiny thought about it for a moment, then shuddered in horror.
“Yeah,” he nodded. “I guess not. Are you… is this ok with you?”
“...yeah,” Kit shrugged. “I mean, in the end, there’s plenty of other fish in the sea, right? It’s… there’s no point in obsessing over one guy. I don’t really know what got over me in the first place, anyway.”
“You’re lying.”
“You used your lie detector on me?!” Kit exclaimed, backing off from the hero.. “What the hell, Des?”
Destiny just laughed. “It’s ok. I won’t tell anyone.”
“You’d better not.”
“But… well, I suppose, for all his faults, he’s not a bad person,” Destiny said with a fond smile.
He looked over to John and Prota, where the two were locked in a hug, John looking somewhat uncomfortable. He’d probably taken a good verbal beating from his sister.
“And he’s honest, at least. Even when he’s lying. He’s quite the genuine person, isn’t he?”
Kit’s eyes widened. That was it.
John felt genuine.
His attitude toward her hadn’t been one of reverence. He hadn’t cared that she was a Mystic, nor had he paid any attention to her power. Her whole life, she’d been chased, feared or respected for her abilities. Even Destiny and Prota viewed her in a different light. She could still call them good friends, but there was a label affixed to her that she couldn’t get rid of.
In the end, the reason John wouldn’t stay with her was the very reason she found herself attracted to him. To him, she was just Kit. A [Character]. Nothing more, nothing less. Being the bearer of the Eternal Flame, being a Mystic, none of that mattered to him.
In her eyes, John was truly free. That embodiment was what she desired. To go about while treating others how you wished to treat them, being a genuine soul without worrying about anything like status or position…
“Well, I suppose it’s not too late,” she muttered, her expression settling back into its usual smug smile.
Suddenly, John and Prota came running back. Prota was visibly afraid, which was concerning. To read her expression immediately was a sign of intense emotion.
“What’s going on?” Destiny frowned, getting up.
The question didn’t need to be answered. Everyone else soon felt it.
The presence of something intense.
“Get ready,” the hero hissed, drawing his sword.
The four stood there, waiting for whatever monster was coming their way.
Through the trees came a single man. John and Destiny frowned. Who was this?
Kit, however, gasped.
“His majesty…”
The king of the Ninetails.
“Fuck,” John muttered.
He drew his swords, but realistically, he was doing nothing here. Neither was Destiny. Kit… maybe.
“My… my son…”
The king stumbled into the clearing, his eyes foggy.
“Where is my son?”

.
!
Chapter 184: Independence