Space spiraled without warning, the stairs stretching toward Ryuudou Temple shredding apart like wet paper. Consumed by an eruption of pure destruction that threatened to swallow me whole.
For the first time in my life, I faced a phenomenon that genuinely threatened my existence.
Yet... my face remained apathetic.
Adrenaline accelerated across my veins at breakneck speeds.
My heartrate spiked from a stable 45bpm to a staggering 130bpm and above.
Cortisol and Endorphins flooding my system in exaggerated amounts.
It took a single picosecond for my mind to reach a definite conclusion.
None of my Ultimate talents could save me against an attack that ripped through the very fabric of space.
However...
My blank expression didn't waver.
The interested glow within my crimson eyes burned fiercer, etching the golden-haired man's visage into my mind.
A moment later, spiraling space engulfed me.
BOOOOOOOOM!
Caladbolg continued without pause. Warping the surrounding space and matter in crushing spirals, carving an enormous trench all the way from the summit of the Ryuudou Temple to its base.
"You were interesting... Mongrel. If only you had been taught to grovel when meeting your King. Then, perhaps, you would have bought me some entertainment." Gilgamesh spoke with boredom, the golden portal beside him sealing shut as he finished.
He walked away a moment later, rubbing his hands together casually, as if he had merely swatted a particularly annoying insect.
...
..
.
In the forest behind Ryuudou Temple.
Space distorted and tore open.
Izuru walked out of the vortex of mangled space, minor cuts tracing across his body.
I should have died right there. The key word being 'should'.
All my talents had shown no path to survival. The twisted space from Caladbolg should have swallowed and pulverized me instantly.
But.
That was the moment. Another one of my talents—the one I rarely, if ever, used—went into overdrive.
[Ultimate Luck].
Nagito Komaeda's and Makoto Naegi's talent. It meant I possessed an incredible amount of good luck, capable of instantly turning most events in my favor. It was an ability that could warp probability and manipulate reality to tilt the scales toward my benefit.
I survived Caladbolg thrown by that golden-haired man through this supernatural probability manipulation.
The moment the spiraling space wrapped around me, my luck had forced a miracle. Instead of being destroyed, I was pushed through the unstable spatial seams created by Caladbolg, ejecting me to a completely different location.
The probability of such an event occurring was astronomically low, bordering on the impossible.
This world is far more complex and hazardous than I had anticipated. Its inhabitants wield supernatural abilities akin to magic. It has become imperative to acquire these powers, or at the very least, the knowledge governing them, while exercising extreme caution against entities stronger than that golden-haired man.
I reached a conclusion. With this deduction, I finally understood why my [Ultimate Analyst] talent had failed to decipher that man earlier.
He utilized a power system entirely foreign to my database. To successfully analyze a being of that caliber, I required information on the fundamental axioms of the system he used.
Analysis operates solely within defined parameters. Currently, I possessed no understanding of the operational framework behind that man's abilities.
If supernatural powers were the standard in this new world, intensive preparation was no longer an option...it was a necessity.
.
I exited the forest, my mind splitting into countless streams of thought. Some devised countermeasures against the supernatural; others deduced methods to acquire knowledge of magic. The remainder re-analyzed every iota of information I had collected thus far.
At some point, clouds had gathered overhead, lightning flashing intermittently between them. The pitter-patter of rain followed soon after, drenching me completely.
The downpour was a mere afterthought. Water dripped down my body, my uniform clinging to my form, highlighting a physique of perfect symmetry. My long, dark hair stuck to my back.
As I continued on my way, a sudden, broken voice pulled me from my thoughts.
A drenched woman lay sprawled on the bare ground to my left. Her hand stretched toward me, her hood pulled back, revealing dark blue eyes drowning in despair.
"H-Help... me."
She possessed long, dark blue hair and pointed ears, clad in a bluish-purple robe. Her face was as alluring as a witch from a fairy tale, accentuated by purple lipstick.
"H-Help... I'm about to d-disappear."
Her voice was fragile. Broken. Like a child crying out for anyone... to save her.
Boring.
My expression remained indifferent. My eyes dull.
[Ultimate Analyst] stirred. Trying to analyse her... Failure.
[Ultimate Detective] inferred. Trying to deduce her... Failure.
[Ultimate Precognition] stilled. No warnings. No alarm bells.
A tinge of interest slowly coloured my blank scarlet eyes.
I reached her in a moment.
My blank eyes bore into her dark blue ones.
Her eyes were drowning in despair.
My eyes carried only apathy.
I looked into her despair. She looked back into my apathy.
Thunder rumbled overhead. Rain drenched us both. The cold seeped into our surroundings.
There... under a curtain of falling water.
I lowered my hand to grip her chin. Bringing her face close to mine.
I watched... As a unknown glow started to radiate from deep within her despair.
Was this... Hope?
So... I asked.
"Tell me... What is Hope?"
The rain roared overhead. The clouds rumbled without end. The downpour did not cease.
The only answer I received from her... was a crimson sigil materializing over my hand.
...
..
.
I walked back toward the house arranged under my name by whatever force had sent me here, carrying the dark-blue-haired woman in my arms.
The rain had drenched us both. We needed to change clothes and warm up soon to maintain optimal body temperature.
The woman had not spoken a word since I had helped her. Instead, she stared blankly at my face, as if I were not real, but merely a figment of her imagination.
[Ultimate Analyst] might have failed to decipher her powers, but it could still analyze her emotions.
And those emotions were all over the place.
Yet, I did not focus on her micro-expressions for long.
My mind turned to the crimson sigil that had suddenly materialized on my hand.
Along with that symbol came a new, instinctual connection to the woman in my arms.
And this connection seemed to be siphoning something from me.
Was it my life force?
Or something else?
I did not know.
But I would find out soon enough.
"So... What is your name?" I asked the women in my arms.
She remained silent for a moment, then whispered, almost reluctantly.
"Medea..."
...
..
.
***
[300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter]
[5 chapters ahead on P@tr3on = [email protected]/Not_Aaryan]
...
[Author's Thoughts]
Some people might wonder...
How did Izuru know he had a home in this new world?
For those wondering. Izuru came across his own address while going through his own student file in the earlier chapter.
So... It's not a plot hole... merely not specified anywhere.