Chapter 186: Ad Originem

  John couldn’t leave immediately. He still had to help Destiny out in explaining things, where they’d been, and what had happened. Thankfully, he had gained the trust of the royal family, and when their stories agreed with each other, things were resolved relatively easily.

  It was also good to see Celestia and Hart again. The two seemed less like strangers and more like friends. It wasn’t quite right to call them family yet, but at the same time, John and Prota had spent a good few months living with them.

  While John was busy dealing with logistics shenanigans, Prota was busy showing Kit the new spells she’d learned.

  The girl had been expecting to hear that she’d improved, but she hadn’t quite expected to hear the praise Kit had for her.

  “That’s… that’s incredible, Prota,” Kit muttered upon seeing some of her more impressive spells.

  Despite having only trained for a few months, five powerful tools and skills had been added to Prota’s arsenal.

  For starters, the boost to her mana reinforcement and mana recovery technique was massive for keeping her in the fight for longer periods of time. Paired with the fact that her mental fortitude was stronger than ever, she could easily continue to draw mana from her enemies while casting spells.

  Previously, the only real limit imposed on her was her body and mind not being able to keep up with the continual flow of mana Prota emitted. Now, however… well, it could only be called a major upgrade.

  The second bit was an increase in her mana core size. At this point, it was pretty pointless to give it a rank, seeing as it didn’t follow conventional means, but it was probably sitting around what would’ve been an S or SS rank core.

  The last three upgrades were the most important of all, though.

  Her two spell domains were incredible improvements. For starters, they were even more effective than regular domains, helping Prota cast the spells she needed faster than ever. More than that, though, she’d seen how effective they were at annoying the enemy with her own eyes.

  Even if they didn’t do much damage, having a constant pestering effect was massive in a fight, especially against someone who heavily relied on their fine-tuned senses and minor adjustments that would occur during battle.

  Last of all, however, and perhaps the most important, was that the Dragon of Fire and Ice was now castable.

  It took a long time to prepare. Prota would need to enhance her perception for quite a while, and she’d likely only be able to cast it once a fight. Still, it was an incredibly powerful spell that could easily take out even some of the stronger opponents they’d faced.

  Similar to Frozen Flame, it was a spell that applied a brittle effect onto the enemy, lowering their defences before piercing through with an explosive fire spell. The fact that it had done damage to Elder Kang Loy was more than enough to prove that it would be an incredibly effective tool against any mortal.

  “To think I was teaching you how to control your mana just a few years ago… time flies, doesn’t it?” Kit grinned.

  Prota noticed that the Mystic seemed a lot more cheerful these days. She’d grown used to reading people carefully. After all, such a skill was a requirement to be around John.

  As a result, she noticed Kit’s change in mood. It wasn’t very obvious, but her actions seemed a lot more carefree. Kit was always a cheerful, mischievous person, but from what Prota remembered, her actions always seemed slightly restrained or forced. Of course, given her backstory, this made sense, but still, it was nice to see her act so freely.

  “You’ll do well in life, Prota,” Kit nodded. “I heard from Des that you and John are taking a bit of a trip. Where are you guys headed to?”

  “...nn,” Prota muttered, shaking her head.

  “Ah. I understand. Mm… stay safe, then, alright? I’d better not hear that anything happened to you two, you hear me?”

  Prota nodded, a bit of a smile entering her eyes.

  ~~~

  The matters at the castle were easily wrapped up. Destiny explained that he’d found a mentor who had been recommended to him by the professors at Scholaris and had gone to train for a while.

  Much to John’s annoyance, this excuse wasn’t questioned.

  “You should’ve just told them the truth,” John said one day, when it was just the two of them. “You’re going to regret not telling them about who you are some day.”

  “...I know,” Destiny muttered. “It’s just… not yet.”

  “Why? Dude, they’re not going to care. Seriously. You don’t need to be so worried about it. They’re your family, aren’t they? You’ve told me that they care for you. You’ve told me that they love you. At this point, isn’t this doing more harm than good?”

  “You’re right,” Destiny sighed. “It’s just… I don’t know. What if they reject me?”

  “They won’t,” John muttered, kicking at the ground. “Trust me, they won’t… well, actually, that’s not true. They might be a little upset at first. But what are you going to do when the demons invade? What are you going to do when the war starts? Fight in the back? Hide like a coward? You’re the hero, Destiny. I know this isn’t something we talk about much, but you have a duty. A-”

  John was about to say “a destiny” and then realized how stupid that sounded. The [Author] had likely been waiting for someone to say that at some point.

  Well, he wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction.

  “Look,” John sighed. “I’m just saying that it’s best to tell them before it’s too late.”

  “...alright. I’ll think about it,” Destiny nodded. “So, I assume you and Prota are heading out now?”

  “Yeah,” John nodded. “There’s… there’s some stuff I have to do. Things I need to figure out.”

  “You sure you don’t want me coming with you? I don’t want to call you weak, especially after all we’ve been through, but still-”

  “You have other things you need to do. The world needs you, as corny as that sounds,” John smiled, putting his hand on Destiny’s shoulder. “Get stronger. Get ready for the demon war thing. You’ll be fighting Mystic level enemies, remember? Train with Kit, too. She’s definitely not the strongest enemy I’ve faced.”

  “She’d be pretty pissed to hear that,” Destiny laughed.

  The two got quiet for a moment. John could feel Destiny’s mood shift, and he felt a little uncomfortable. The boy was about to ask an awkward question.

  “John,” Destiny said eventually. “I’m gonna ask again… who are you?”

  “I-”

  “Don’t answer me. I know by now that I won’t get one. But just let me guess, and just tell me… I don’t know. Tell me what you want. But I just…”

  John opened his mouth, then closed it. He didn’t know what to say. Those words… hadn’t he said them a few months ago? Shortly after fighting Sofya, right?

  “Fine,” John nodded. “Shoot.”

  “You… I don’t know. Everything you’re doing, it seems like you’re looking at something more than the demon invasion. You told me your goal is to kill the Demon King, but is that really it? You’ve done so many things that seem like the actions of someone who’s aiming higher. To start with, you have that strange conceptual energy, and you’ve gained the interest of so many high profile groups and Mystics. You knew about Doctor, you have that weird precognition or intuition or whatever, and you keep acting as if the accomplishments we make aren’t enough.”

  John felt a shiver run through his body. Destiny was eerily close to learning something John didn’t want him to know.

  “Are you some kind overseer of this world? You don’t feel like someone who belongs. Ah- I didn’t mean it like that,” Destiny said hurriedly. “It’s just… you know. You’re a good friend, John, but at the same time… it feels like you’re more than just you. Prota doesn’t give me that feeling. She has her secrets, but she’s honest about what she wants. But you… John, I just want to ask you one more time.”

  Destiny’s eyes turned golden, but his gaze wasn’t fierce.

  “You don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to,” Destiny said. “But… just let me ask.”

  John tried to hide his discomfort. He had a feeling he knew what Destiny was going to ask.

  “Whatever this goal of yours is, if it’s not saving this world… John. Between your goal and this world, what would you choose?”

  “...I don’t know.”

  Destiny sighed, closing his eyes.

  “Thank you, John.”

  He turned to leave, but John called out, incredibly confused.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “What? That’s it? You don’t have anything to say?”

  “No.” Destiny said, turning back. “I… I trust you, John. Even if we someday have to end up as enemies, for now… we’re friends, aren’t we? And if you wanted to kill me, I have a feeling you would’ve done so already. Besides, Kit doesn’t think she can win against you, so what chance do I have? We’ll deal with it when we come to it.”

  With that, he really did leave. John just stood there, a feeling of guilt entering his heart.

  “This world… I don’t know,” he muttered to nobody in particular.

  ~~~

  John had meant to leave immediately, but he found himself reluctant to do so. After the whole bit with the Mystics, he found he was enjoying the company of his friends.

  Still, he was reluctant to intervene too much. He occasionally saw Destiny and Celestia hanging out together, and it was a constant reminder that there was a life for this hero outside of whatever shenanigans John needed to engage in.

  He saw Hart training with the knights and was reminded that she, too, had a role to play. When eating an occasional dinner with the Windwalkers, he saw Haze and Alan and couldn’t shake the sinking feeling that one of them would die.

  This world. These [Characters].

  What if he was ruining everything?

  Emotions he’d suppressed for so long were emerging once more. He didn’t know how to feel. He didn’t know what to say.

  Eventually, though, he resolved himself.

  “Prota,” he said one night. “This village… are you sure you want to go?”

  This was a traumatic past for her. But she’d grown, both physically and mentally. She was powerful, and she had someone to lean on.

  But trauma always had a way of finding its way back. So John had to make sure that Prota was ok. He didn’t want to force her into something she wouldn’t be able to handle.

  Somewhat unsurprisingly, she was fine. There was determination in her eyes as she nodded.

  “Nn. Have to find… Anta.”

  “Yeah… Anta.”

  And just like that, the questions were back. Upon hearing that name, he was once again reminded that this whole adventure had started because of a word. A name.

  Prota.

  Short for protagonist.

  Then, by association, Anta was short for…

  “Um… John. Souls like Zero… only you?”

  “What?”

  “Zero is… only you?”

  “Oh.” John thought for a moment. “I mean, there’s nothing stopping this world from having souls like Zero. But… given that we haven’t seen one, I’d say it’s unlikely. Hey, Zero. You wanna answer this one?”

  Unfortunately, the soul didn’t come out. He didn’t even say anything.

  “What a helpful fellow,” John grumbled. “But… why are you asking this? I mean, I don’t mind answering, but, you know, it’s just kind of an odd question.”

  “Um…”

  In her manner of speaking, she explained what had happened back in the fight with Sofya. It was strange that she’d taken so long to explain it, but it was better late than never.

  “Anta… that…”

  John shuddered. He had never considered it, but…

  What if Prota was more than just a random [Character] he’d happened to pick up?

  It was a scary thought to consider, but too many coincidences lined up.

  Her name, obviously, was the first dead giveaway. But there was more than that.

  Surrounding every major conflict was Prota. Obviously, John’s memories were more at the centre of everything, but Prota was always relevant.

  In the fight with Diaboli, she had arrived to kill John, but she’d also been there to take Prota away. Why? What was the point of that? If Prota was really just another [Character], then why try and take her specifically?

  Then, in the fight with Doctor, he’d been obsessed with Prota’s ability to the point that he’d almost prioritized it over John or Destiny. Was having Soul Steal really that strong of an ability? Yes, it was something that put dragons on the level of Mystics, but why did Doctor think he could extract it in the first place? Besides, he’d mentioned an experiment, and other things…

  Similar events had occurred in the fight with Sofya. In trying to revive her daughter, she’d almost used Prota’s body as a catalyst. Whether or not this meant Prota was actually Sofya’s daughter was unknown, but the point was that someone had tried to get Sofya to eject the being known as “Prota” out of that body. And if John’s theory about Diaboli was correct…

  It lined up. It lined up way too much. A powerful [Character], one who could rival the [Protagonist] in progression and strength, one everyone wanted for themselves.

  That [Character] had just so happened to meet John. And that [Character] had just so happened to contain [Deus Ex Machina] energy.

  She likely had a soul much like Zero, who, like Zero, helped her grow and get out of dicey situations. This soul who, like Zero, was an almost mirror image of her physical counterpart.

  Infinity and Zero.

  Prota and Anta.

  What if Prota wasn’t just a [Character]? What if…

  “Prota,” John said slowly, trying to control his voice. “That village. Once we go there… there’s no going back, you know?”

  Prota tilted her head in confusion.

  “I… do you know who you are?”

  “Who I am?”

  “It’s just… I don’t know,” John sighed. “Listen. Make me a promise, ok?”

  “Ok,” Prota nodded.

  She was a little scared. John was being unusually serious, and in such a casual environment, too. He was never like this.

  But if he needed something from her, then she would do her best to fulfill his request.

  “No matter what happens in that village… promise me that you’ll come after me.”

  She was even more confused, now. Go after him? What did he mean?

  “If something happens to you. If something happens to me. If I forget you, or something catastrophic like that happens… promise you’ll chase me.”

  “But John-”

  “I can’t promise I’ll chase after you, Prota. I can’t promise that I’ll do my best to stick by your side.”

  Prota’s heart sank. Deep in her heart, she knew that she was just a [Character]. She knew that John had a hard time truly connecting to her. But she’d thought that, with everything they’d been through, with everything they’d done, that he’d care for her even a little—

  “If you forget me, I’ll find you,” John said quietly. “I’ll do everything I can. But… I can’t promise that. Because I don’t know what I’ll be like in the future.”

  Prota’s head snapped back up.

  “Look at me. Look at what’s happened to me. If you’d told me in my old world that I’d be some bum wandering worlds, looking for my memories while having an existential crisis, I wouldn’t have believed you. But look at me now. I don’t know what I am. I don’t know what I’ll do. As much as Zero says I have control, I don’t know if that’s true. And… the [Author] doesn’t really like me. But you… I have a feeling you’ll be a little better off.”

  “Me?” Prota said, astounded.

  Really? Her past, her life, they’d been torturous, a living hell, and John was telling her that the [Author] was more fond of her?

  “That’s… you’re a much better [Character] than I am. Just trust me on this one, ok?” John took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “We’re reaching the end of things. Talking with Destiny made me realize something. I don’t know what’s going to happen from here on out.”

  John suddenly reached out, grabbing Prota’s shoulders and staring her in the eyes.

  “A long time ago, you said you’d be my protector. That was… kind of a joke back then. But this time, I’m serious. It’s not about my life anymore. Prota. I want to spend time with you. I really want to be able to keep you by my side. But I don’t know if that’s possible for me to do. So it has to be you. Do you understand?”

  A tear began to well in Prota’s eyes. She really needed to stop having these stupid misunderstandings.

  John cared for her. That much would always be true.

  That trust… she wouldn’t betray it. She’d make sure their bond stayed true. Wrapping her arms around John, she pulled him into a hug, burying her face in his chest.

  “Yeah. We’ll make it through,” John said quietly, patting her head. “One way or another.”

  But how true was that statement? Yes, he would do his best to make it through. But was that enough?

  He thought back to his conversation with Destiny. What was his goal here? What was he trying to accomplish? Yes, he could get his memories back, but… what happened after that?

  He’d never really thought about it. Zero was the one who’d brought him into this world, but he’d never said what would happen once he found the memories he was here for. Would John just move on to another dimension and repeat this process all over again? What would happen to Prota?

  Surely, she could move with him. After all, she could [Reset] with him, an ability nobody else ever had. But would she even want to leave? She had friends here. Could she really just abandon them all?

  …could he?

  This was what he’d been worried about. He’d been putting it off, but now that the end was approaching, he had no other choice.

  In the end, though, he didn’t come to a decision.

  As always, he’d put it off until he absolutely had to. This was a problem for future John.

  He just had to pray that this wouldn’t come to bite him in the ass.

  ~~~

  The next morning, the portal to Solaria was opened.

  “...this is it, huh?” Destiny said as he walked John to the portal.

  It was just him. John had asked for this favour on such short notice that nobody but Destiny was free.

  That worked out. John didn’t really want anyone else around, anyway. Well, there was the pink fox wrapped around the hero’s shoulder, but that was fine, too.

  “Yeah. I mean, it’s not like we’ll never see each other,” John shrugged. “Besides, you’ve got your own thing to do. You remember fighting the Elder, right? You need to be at least that strong.”

  “You’d better watch your mouth,” Destiny grinned. “I’ll make it so you can never beat me again.”

  “Big words coming from a guy who needs a manaless man’s help.”

  “We all know that’s a load of crap by now. Don’t play dumb, it doesn’t work anymore.”

  John just laughed in response.

  Soon, they reached the gates, where the guards lazily gave them entry. They made their way inside, where the portal was already active.

  “Alright. Good luck, man,” Destiny said, extending his hand.

  John gladly took it, shaking it firmly.

  “You remember what I told you, right?”

  “...you told me a lot of things, you know.”

  “Your family. You should tell them before… you know. Something happens. Trust me, man. They’ll understand.”

  “...yeah, I’ll do it. It’s just… it’s not easy, you know?”

  John grinned. “Of course it’s not easy. But was anything?”

  “Fair enough. Hey, you remember the thing Danjo gave us, right?”

  John’s eyes widened. Right, the communication device. He’d completely forgotten all about it, but now that Destiny brought it up…

  Reaching into his pocket, he activated the pocket dimension and pulled it out. It was a small thing, just a little device on a string, but John could tell Danjo had made it with love.

  “Yeah, I got it. What about it?”

  “If you need help, call, alright? We may not be able to make it, but… we’re companions. Friends. I’ll do my best to come. Kit says she will, too. She still can’t interfere too much with mortal matters, but it looks like you don’t count.”

  “...thanks, guys.”

  Destiny nodded, stepping back.

  “Stay safe, guys.”

  “You too. Don’t do anything stupid, alright?”

  “That’s what I should be saying! Prota, take good care of him, alright?”

  The girl turned back and nodded, and for the first time, Destiny could easily sense the smile in her eyes.

  “Alright. Hey, if you see the others, tell them I said hi, alright?”

  “Of course.”

  “I’ll see you around,” John said with a wave, one foot already in the portal.

  Destiny waved back, Kit’s tail flicking back and forth on his shoulders. “Same to you.”

  No need for drawn-out farewells. No need for tears.

  They would see each other again.

  John knew that Destiny was the [Protagonist]. If this truly was a [Story], their paths would cross once more. It might take months, even years, but it would happen.

  Destiny knew that John was someone special. He didn’t quite know how, but he knew that the siblings were a special bunch. For them to perish in some random place would be unthinkable. He had absolute faith that they would return.

  With that thought in mind, he went back to the castle. Back to his home, to his family, preparing for a war that would inevitably come.

  But for John and Prota, it was back to Solaria. Back to where it all began.

  ~~~

  The path to the village was surprisingly boring.

  In John’s mind, this was the endgame. There wasn’t much after this. The Demon War was likely to start soon, and after that…

  Well, for now, it was best to focus on the present.

  Still, for something so close to the ending of the [Story], there was surprisingly little on his way. Maybe it was because he wasn’t the [Protagonist]. The [Author] had clearly laid out this path for him, but that didn’t mean it had to be intense, right?

  Or… maybe this was all just a ruse? A red herring?

  Regardless, John and Prota would only be taken so far before they would have to travel on foot. Kang Loy had been correct. There were no carriages willing to take them deep into the forest, only to the edge, so they’d have to make their way on foot from that point.

  “...are you sure a carriage brought you out?” John said carefully as they stood there.

  “Um… no.”

  John just sighed. It had been a traumatic time for Prota, and she’d been rather young at the time. Zero had told him that it was as she remembered it, not the absolute truth, so it was definitely possible that she wasn’t remembering everything correctly.

  “Alright, then. I guess… it’s time to head in.”

  With that, one step was taken into the forest.

  Then another.

  And another.

  Making distance between the [Story] and themselves.

  One step closer to the end.