Chapter 23: [ARC 1] Chapter 20 - The Unseen Future

Kagami crouched in front of the elevator overlooking the whole massacre. He surveyed the area from his perch on the top step seeing the slaughter that befell this place. He hand covered his mouth as the story told from this carnage started to piece together in his mind.

The boy tugged at his shirt, fear stricken across his face.

“Shouldn’t we go?” He asked, his voice high. “What if the spiders come back?”

“Spiders didn’t cause this.” Kagami said, briefly glancing at the boy and then back at the scene. “This was someone.”

“Wh-what do you mean? Are you saying the elf caused this?”

“No, it wasn’t her.” He thought back to their fight. “Whoever caused this, came from the elevator.” Kagami jabbed his thumb behind him.

“What?”

“I thought it was spiders at first, but look at how these two bodies look.” Kagami pointed to the two closest ones. “They’re on their back. They fell from here. You can see the blood spots on the stairs and their surprised faces.a”

“Huh?”

“They killed everyone here.” Kagami rested his chin on a bridge made with his hands. His face darkened. “This is the second time that people have descended and no one knew about it. Something is wrong here. Something is happening.”

“Bu-but why?” The boy asked.

“I don’t know,” Kagami said. “But I wonder if it has anything to do with why the elf attacked me?”

He then stood, patting the back of his pants to free of it of dust.

“We’re going back to the Sanctuary. Staying here isn’t safe. And I’d be damned if I at least couldn’t take a little boy like you back home.”

The boy gazed at him, stars sparkling in his eyes.

“Ma-”

“I’m not.” Kagami cut him off. He placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You should forget about this though. Never speak of it. Tell them that you dropped the ores and went back empty handed.”

“What? Why?”

“Because if you told anything else, you would die.”

#

They arrived at the Sanctuary and they separated soon afterwards. Kagami’s destination was obvious. It was at the top floor of the Sanctuary where the Council meeting was being held.

The guard denied him access.

“No. No one is allowed access.” The guard’s pale face and thin lips twisted in a smile. His hand reached for the cleaver tied on his belt. “Unless you want to try your luck. Please, though, I haven’t killed someone in a long while.”

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“I told you, I need to go.” His fist tightened and his knuckles were turning white. “I need to talk to the Council.”

“And I told you, no.”

Kagami looked at the guard and then the gate behind him. There were a lot more guards than usual stationed at the building. Did they also know what had happened at the elevator? Kagami watched as an out of breath clerk rushed out of the building and handed a piece of paper the Captain of the guards.

If Kagami had to guess, they probably knew, but he still wanted to talk to Walnut.

“I’m the Councilman’s roommate, I need to speak to him.”

The guard tapped the cleaver’s handle playfully. “I was told that no one is allowed inside. Only out. Anyone that tries to come in will be killed by me.”

He knew he could defeat the man in front of him, but he lacked the power to bulldoze his way through like he had done in his previous world.

Kagami didn’t like it, but he decided to give up and wait for Walnut at home.

Behind him, he heard the guard mock him in a loud voice, but Kagami didn’t care what the murderer was saying. He took the lift down to the Third Ring, and walked back to his home.

He stopped when he noticed a familiar figure in one of the narrow alleyways. Kagami regarded the woman with wings and entered the alleyway. He turned the corner, and the winged woman sat on an old wooden chair that had been abandoned.

“Aria, right?” There were no signs of Yoru or Kenichi. “Did you get lost? Do you want me to lead you back to where you’re staying?”

“That won’t be necessary, Kagami. I was waiting here for you.”

Kagami narrowed his eyes looking at her suspiciously.

“You could talk?”

“And more.”

She leapt off the chair with the grace of a swan, landing just an inch away from his face. A smile formed and a crack formed on her dry lips, blood dripping from the crack. Her face showed her exhaustion, but her purple eyes showed energy behind it.

“I am Aria. A Priestess of the Moon Goddess.” She bowed. “I have been waiting for this moment to speak to you. I have waited a long time.”

“Why?”

Aria kept her tired smile on her face.

“You asked if I could talk, it’s true I can talk now, but I couldn’t speak to you before. I’m able project myself into the future. I’m able to move to different points, and see how outcomes could change based on the actions people take. It’s a bit overwhelming, but because of that, the present me is usually viewed as insane.” She giggled to herself. “It takes a lot out of me.”

“That does sound like it takes a lot of effort.” Kagami collapsed on the floor, cross legged and laid his hand against his chin as a pedestal for his head. He gave her his undivided attention. “It must be important if you were willing to come back to the present to speak to me.”

“It’s a request. I wish for you to help my companions. I’ve looked through the future where we fight the Warden. We all die. I haven’t seen one where we win.”

“Then you can see why I warned you guys not to go down there.”

She gave him the look of a mother telling her child bad news. “No matter what, we’ll be dragged in. The Harvest is going to begin soon anyways. But with you there, I think there may be chance?”

Kagami straightened his back at that, and looked up at her.

“You’re saying we defeat the Warden if I’m involved?”

“No,” she said.

“So, we lose?” Kagami asked.

“No.”

The man in the prince’s body frowned. He cocked his head at her unsure what that meant. She found his stare amusing and chuckled.

“I can’t see.”

“But you just said you could see the future.”

“I can, but I can’t see it when you’re involved. It’s like you’re not even part of the fabric of Fate. Any moment that involves you feels like static to me. It’s actually scary, but it means that nothing is predictable.” She smiled. “That’s why I believe you when you say you aren’t from this world.”

“Huh.” Kagami pointed to himself. “Does that mean I’m somehow special?”

“I suppose it does.” She giggled, then afterwards those purple eyes turned serious. “It is why I have to ask you again. Help my friends navigate to the root. To where the Seal lies. If you do that, they will surely lead you out of here.”