Ding~
The bell rang out, long and clear.
As the end-of-class chime sounded, the once-quiet campus stirred back to life.
In the hallway, baseball players in white uniforms brushed past football players in bulky red jerseys.
Each heading off to their own practice field.
In the classroom, students of every skin tone were deep in discussion about the school’s trending “Seven Mysteries” — things like:
A magic circle in the sports equipment shed that appeared out of nowhere and glowed at midnight.
A gender-swapped Oda Nobunaga and King Arthur showing up in the history textbook.
Salieri appearing inside Mozart’s portrait, in the music room.
None of which, of course, had anything to do with Ritsuka Fujimaru, laser-focused on getting into college.
She was buried in a pile of textbooks on her desk, a blank college-preference form sitting right on top.
“I still need to bring my Japanese grade up, and there are a few AP classes in the AB track — gotta land an A in those if I want any shot at the Clock Tower.”
The girl clicked her mechanical pencil back and forth.
“If I could add some Chaldea internship experience on top of that…”
“…Huh?
Chaldea?”
She wasn’t even sure how many times by now she’d caught herself confused by her own thoughts.
Lately — especially since coming into contact with that chat group — the strangest things kept surfacing in her head.
The past few days, she’d even started having nightmares.
In them, all kinds of bizarre silhouettes reached out for her, calling:
“Wake up…
remember…”
She figured she’d just crammed too much history and fried her brain.
Especially that shield-wielding girl who’d shown up yesterday — her expression had felt disturbingly real.
Bit by bit, she started noticing something off about everyday life itself.
“Why are football and baseball practicing at the same time, anyway?”
Ritsuka muttered to herself, then started getting ready for her next class.
Japanese history, this period.
A Middle Eastern-looking teacher walked into the room:
“Let’s do something a little different today.
Let’s talk about the history of our own Fuyuki City…”
Not really absorbing any of it, Ritsuka switched over to the live chat.
Yuji had posted a GIF in the group.
[The Tiger of West Junior High]: @Viltrum’s Top Student Leon, check it out!
Even Principal Yaga’s puppets can pull off moves like this.
[Orange-Haired, Gold-Eyed Menace to Humanity]: Man, I’m kind of starting to envy you, Yuji.
Getting to see all this wild stuff.
Feels like I’m the only one in the group still living a normal life these days.
After sending that, she pulled a bag of Kikufuku out of her desk drawer and tore it open.
[Ding — chat group update complete.
New features as follows.]
[Given that all group members have now come into contact with their respective world’s main storyline, the chat group will unlock the ability to actively issue quests and invite members into each other’s worlds.
Please refer to the attached file for specific methods and restrictions.]
“And that’s exactly why, over in our Snowfield…”
The teacher was still lecturing away.
Ritsuka was just about to click open the file, curious about inviting the group over to see what all this fighting-with-cursed-energy business was about, when—
She froze.
“Wait, what do they mean, all group members have already come into contact with their respective world’s main storyline?”
That didn’t add up.
She’d been in class when she opened the chat group, and she was still in class right now — where was any main storyline in that?
Unless…
I’ve been inside a quest this whole time?
A chill crawled down Ritsuka’s spine, and a flood of anomalies — things that had been hidden from her awareness until now — came rushing to the surface all at once.
Ding!
Class wasn’t over yet, but the bell rang again anyway.
Like the final straw breaking the camel’s back, it snapped Ritsuka clean out of her daze, and she jerked her head up.
In that instant, every single person in what had been an utterly unremarkable classroom turned to look at her.
A skull mask slowly surfaced across each of their faces.
“You’ve noticed?”
Terra, year 29,000.
The eve of the founding of the Imperium of Man.
Nyos accepted Malcador’s invitation, and inherited the legacy of the Sigillites — an ancient, loosely-organized institution devoted to preserving humanity’s cultural relics.
From this point on, he would call himself the ~~Emperor~~, and the name “Nyos” would slowly be forgotten by time.
Good thing he still had a group of friends.
Afterward, he set about tightening his grip on the Himalayan region.
Subduing the Freemasons, having them lay the foundations of a palace in an ancient Nepalese capital.
And with Ezekiel Sedayne’s defection to his cause, his gene-lab gained a considerable boost.
Nyos had a feeling this name of his would be sticking around with the Empire for a very, very long time.
On this particular day, Nyos and Malcador — having rarely managed to carve out any free time from work — were sharing a drink.
Once they were well into their cups, facing the food laid out on the table, Malcador started reminiscing about humanity’s Golden Age.
“I still remember, when I was eighteen…”
From food to technology, the nostalgia in his eyes only deepened.
Among the immortals, Malcador counted as young.
He’d been born near the tail end of humanity’s Golden Age, catching the last glow of that great era’s twilight.
Unlike Nyos — or Orpheson and Elda, who’d lived through the Stone Age — he hadn’t yet gone numb to ten thousand years of rise and fall.
They’d all fight for humanity, sure, but there was something uniquely youthful about the fire still burning in Malcador’s heart.
So Nyos decided to give this fellow — born only after Earth had already been renamed Terra — a little taste of the 2000s.
He redeemed two items from the chat group, laid them out on a plain plate, and slid it across to him. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“Beef?”
Malcador took a bite, a flicker of light crossing his eyes.
Sure, the Golden Age had long since transcended the limits of matter itself — you could input the concept of deliciousness directly and enjoy it that way.
But there was still something different about going back to basics, about the actual texture of the real thing.
“Is this some use of psychic power too, Your Majesty?”
“As far as I can tell, it isn’t.
And I hope it stays that way.”
Nyos looked at a new message that had just popped up in front of him, lost in thought about something.
Meanwhile, at the Daily Planet office.
Clark carried a few stacks of cardboard boxes, walking side by side with Lois.
“Just set it down here.”
The sharp, capable woman set her own stack down first, then gestured for Clark to follow.
“Thanks, Clark.
You’ve got some serious strength on you.”
“As thanks, how about dinner — or a trip to Antarctica with me?”
Clark’s expression turned troubled.
He really wanted to pick the first option, but he knew full well how much weight the second one carried.
The alien pod that had brought him to Earth had been steering him toward that place all along.
“The answer is both.”
Lois laughed, finding this earnest, handsome big guy quite entertaining.
Right then, time froze at the exact moment she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
A new message popped up in front of Clark.
[Emergency Quest — Group member Orange-Haired, Gold-Eyed Menace to Humanity’s life is in danger.]
[A false dream has been shattered.
What should have been her home has turned into a cage.
Facing pursuit from the whole of human history, the girl needs some strength from beyond her world.]
[Quest Requirement: Target survives; all members evacuate to the designated location.
Members who can participate: 0/5]
[Quest Reward: 2000 points.
Participating members may receive a special reward from this world.
Probability increases upon triggering special battles or events.]
Right after, Ritsuka Fujimaru’s own cry for help popped up as well.
[Orange-Haired, Gold-Eyed Menace to Humanity]: @Everyone A group member’s in danger, get here fast.
[Kansas Farm Boy]: Got it.
[Not-a-God Yellow Weasel]: Got it.
[Viltrum’s Top Student]: Got it.
+1
On Pluto, Leon had reflexively clicked join along with everyone else.
It wasn’t until the next second that it actually hit him — what did she mean, being pursued by the whole of human history?
You’re telling me they’re coming after her wheelchair too?
To be continued…