Blood ran down all over Dia’s arms and legs as she attempted to move, but the opponent before her, a floating shadow that was exuding a vast sense of death, had done something. Her limbs seemed incapable of responding ever since she flew out to meet the familiar spirit in battle, and the shadow had taken its time to stab her experimentally, like a child prodding at freshly roasted meat.
Below her, humans fell like wheat, their armour and weapons cleaved through with sheer might. The others had all vanished, fighting their own battles, and Dia looked at the opponent in silence.
That single look of defiance seemed to bore the familiar spirit, and Dia didn’t even get to blink before her vision turned red. As crimson light filled her vision, the feeling that she was falling through the sky assaulted Dia’s nerves, and her body spasmed.
The red haze and the eerie sense of death vanished as the ceiling of her bunk appeared in her eyes.
“…What in the name of the Moons was that?” Dia muttered, before looking at her arms. Before she could recollect her thoughts, an explosive force ripped through her bunk. The sounds of people dying filled her ears a moment later, and Dia felt herself bounce off the ground. Soil got into her mouth, but—
“A dream?” Dia muttered, before spitting the soil out. “A dream within a dream?”
She paused for a moment. “Normally, such a realisation is supposed to end the dream, right?”
Dia ruminated on that fascinating caveat for a heartbeat, and then looked around. The murky haze that had covered her surroundings gave way in that singular moment to reveal a scenario of utter destruction, and Dia felt her body spasm as dead, mutilated bodies entered her eyes.
“…A vision?” Dia whispered, thinking about her brother, who had largely slipped out of her memory by now. She couldn’t remember much at this point in time about him, other than the fact that he had seen a disaster and sacrificed everything to stop it.
Her heart clenched up. If it wasn’t for this abrupt realisation, Dia knew that she might not have even remembered his existence. What was his name? His hobbies?
Shaking her head again, she looked at up the sky. The white moon that hung overhead had been shattered. The capital of Grandis, the metallic cube that occupied a chunk of the horizon, was smoking, deformed and generally ruined. The camp that she was in had been completely destroyed.
If this was really a vision, it was a scary one. However, what was the source of this destruction? This vision was attempting to show her something, but what was it trying to show her?
As those thoughts whirled in her mind, a window popped up in her vision.
[Personal Quest: The First True End
Quest Introduction: The past, the present, the future. These three are seemingly immutable, but will give way to the strongest of all wills. Observe the first True End of Destiny.
Quest Requirements: Observe.
Quest Rewards: 10 years of lifespan.
Additional Remarks: The surroundings and settings of this vision are fabricated. The event to be observed, however, is not.]
The window faded out as Dia read the last word, without any input from her. Frowning, she tried to open her Status again, but nothing appeared in her eyes this time. Was this a quest that was generated during this vision, or was this vision generated due to the sudden onset of this Personal Quest? Who was behind this? Why did it need her to observe?
A familiar glow of red glimmered in the night sky, giving off a power that rendered Dia into shock.
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“How can this be?” Dia muttered. “The Red God—”
Two motes of light tore through the skies, radiating mana that came from that of a penta-folder, and her instincts jerked as they soared towards the ruined Grandia. The Red God’s presence, which had been hanging from up high just moments ago, now dived towards the two motes of light, cleaving the sky into two with a strike of crimson.
A shockwave threw the entire world into disarray a moment later as two immense powers smashed into each other. The struggle lasted for ten seconds, before the Red God himself let out a horrific scream and turned into motes of dust. At the same time, the two motes of light smashed into the ruined cube, releasing another solid shockwave that surged towards Dia.
A premonition of death flooded Dia’s nerves, and mana poured out of her body instantly. Holding it at an angle, Dia threw herself onto the ground and endured the rush of energy that seemed to come with the shockwave.
Time seemed to slow down as soil, debris and flesh surged around her shield. How long did it last? Dia couldn’t tell. Time seemed to be completely irrelevant in this vision of hers, in this false world, but….
A heartrending cry filled the world, and Dia felt her heart shrivel up from it. At the same time, crystals of ice seemed to condense in her vision, and a clammy chill ran up Dia’s spine.
A single heartbeat shook the world, and something appeared in her eyes again.
[
has been issued.]
Dia looked at the words, and then at the swirling ice. The world around her was vanishing as she watched on, covered up by a howling blizzard, and once again, the faint premonition of death filled her veins. However, Dia couldn’t even bring herself to move; the chilling cold carried some sort of divine quality that prevented her from even moving on the spot.
Her mind spun. What was she meant to observe her? What was the meaning of this message? What did the Omen have to do with the end of the world?
Dia bit her lip — the only part of her body that could still move under this howling, freezing blizzard, and thought furiously. Something like a gigantic floating crystal, its silhouette barely visible through the intense storm of ice and snow, could be seen vaguely, and her vision began to blur.
Something deep within her informed her conscious mind that the vision was ending.
Come on! What is this meant to tell me? That the Omen’s death is going to destroy this world or something? What’s the purpose? Why am I here to begin with? Come on!
She glared at the three messages, and then ran through the things she had seen. First, of the two blips of light that she’d seen, one of them was probably the Omen. Second, the Red God had attacked the Omen, who was then beaten back for some reason. Third, something huge had happened during the attack, and the Omen’s power grew rapidly. Fourth, this was presumably after the Trial of Aeons, and Dia, due to the mention of the Cosmic Egg in those messages.
Dia couldn’t help but think that there was some kind of connection between these facts of her own reality and the situation that was happening in this alternate reality now. Fortunately, at least, this was not what happened in real life; the Thief of Time had killed the Red God, and—
A disturbing thought flickered into existence briefly, but before it could slip away, a few more scenes appeared in her mind.
Miracle. Past. Vision. The first True End. A Second? Maybe a Third? Possibilities…Salvation Star. Omen. Similarity.
Dia shuddered as the dots began to connect. In her Second Tutorial, she had gone back in time to improve her own strength. Maybe she could have done something larger too, but the fact that she had indeed gone back in time remained. However, this was a benefit accorded to the Salvation Star.
If the Omen were to undergo a Second Tutorial, what would such a personage experience? After all, if Dia could see such a vision randomly, without any seeming cause, was it possible that the Omen, the Thief of Time, could see such a future?
It was ludicrous, sure, but…if she assumed that the Thief of Time saw such a scene in one of his or her Tutorials…
Wouldn’t that justify why the Omen killed the Red God? Everyone had wondered why the Red God was attacked back then, and while there was a more apparent reason…
Was that the purpose of this vision? To let her know that her opponent, the Thief of Time, the Godslayer, the Omen, was someone who had seen a future?
Was that it?
Tucking away that thought, she stared at the message again. Time, however, was running out. Her body was freezing over, and darkness was crowding out her vision. In a few more moments, this vision would end, and she would truly wake up.
Searing the memory of this vision into her mind, Dia closed her eyes and allowed the dark to take her.
[
has been completed.]
Her consciousness winked out like a light three heartbeats later.