บท 9: Echoes of the past
Continuing where we left off...
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Stella's vision
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Stella:Alter?
I say this without understanding the meaning of him choosing that name.
Alter:Call me by this name. Let's go now. We can't stay here for long.
Alter said walking in front of me guiding me out of the dark alley.
Coming out of the alley I could see the sunlight illuminating the city. It's a totally different place from Jarilo-VI, it's not cold and I can see people walking on the sidewalks.
However, something that surprised me is the people walking on the sidewalks. A person in the form of a wolf walking normally, a couple with butterfly wings, a family using cloth as clothes and I seeing large lizards with clothes too.
Overall, it's a bizarre city that only at first glance is clear that something is wrong.
Stelle: Is this the population of this world?
I ask this to Alter who is walking in front past the people who are ignoring our presence.
Alter: There's no point in using your ordinary eyes in this world. You must use the eyes of the soul, then you will have your answer.
Stelle: Since when does a soul have eyes?
I say this not understanding what Alter is trying to say to me. But even though it may seem like a bizarre place it is obvious that the place is peaceful.
Stelle: You said that only those who have experienced anguish and despair can be here right? I'm not seeing anything matching that.
Alter:Just close your eyes and you will know the truth.
I do as he says and close my eyes and at the same moment that strange feeling returns but this time it is much stronger.
💭What is this feeling?
I feel pain coming from my entire body, a feeling of anguish, anger, hate, all the negative feelings being thrown at me all at once.
💭Make it stop!!!
It's suffocating.... Like a boiling flame spreads inside me with the intention of combusting.
Unable to take it anymore I open my eyes and I lose the strength in my legs and fall to my knees on the floor.
Stella: What was that?!
I say this while being very breathless and exhausted, as if I had just walked out into a strong sea and wanted to drown.
Alter:Everything you are seeing is an illusion..... The people.... This air of peace.... All of this is just false masks hiding the true nature of this place. What you have experienced in this moment is what everyone in this place feels and every negative feeling leads to a simple desire....
Revenge...
Alter said, standing in front of me looking at my current state without saying anything else.
I feel liquid coming out of my mouth and when I look on the ground I see traces of blood.
When I see this, I feel goosebumps on my body and I start to feel scared for my life.
Alter:This place is a purgatory for those who desire revenge. This place rejects those who do not have hate in their souls. If you die here, your soul will perish and your journey will come to a screeching halt.
Said Alter, not showing an ounce of sympathy towards me. I get up from the floor and remove the blood dripping from my lips.
Stelle: Thank you very much for the advice, friend.
I say this being sarcastic, masking my irritation towards him.
***********
We continue our walk and we arrive at what appears to be the center of the city and I see a sign saying the name of the place which is "Shibuya City.".
(A/N:You are my specialz~. I'm sorry. After JJK I can't see the word Shibuya without having the opening of the anime ringing in my head.)
Stella: Shibuya? So that's the name of this place....
I comment on this and receive no responses from Alter. When we were about to cross the street I see Ritsuka wearing a student uniform and he is walking with a group of young people with him.
Stella: Ritsuka!
I scream his name and go towards him, but Alter holds my arm, stopping me anyway.
Alter:He won't listen to you. What you are seeing is just an echo of a forgotten past.
I can see that this Ritsuka is younger compared to the original and his smile is genuine.
Not to say that the real Ritsuka doesn't really smile, but his normal smile is a fake one as if he's hiding what he's feeling inside.
It bothers me inside to see him acting like this. I'm sure March 7 and Dan Hang must have noticed this, besides the fact that he didn't want to explain that mysterious power of his.
💭What happened to make him lose that smile?
I want to know why, but I'm afraid of what I might discover when I find the answer.
Alter: Let's continue. Don't be surprised if you end up encountering more of these echoes on your way out.
Said Alter and I see Ritsuka with his group of friends disappearing into the crowd.
Stelle:Where are we going exactly?
Alter:Tokyo Station in Maruouchi.
I smile slightly when I notice the irony of the situation.
💭I wake up in a space station and take a train to leave and now I wake up in a strange world and I have to take a train to escape. If that's not a coincidence I don't know what is.
Said Alter and we continued our walk and on the way more echoes appear around us and this time I see Ritsuka accompanied by a beautiful girl with white hair and blue eyes, she has a charming smile, but I can't help but feel like she has something sinister behind that smile.
(A/N: Not Kiana for those who thought it would be another reference to Honkai Impact.)
The difference from the last echo is that this Ritsuka has an aggressive expression and it is clear in his eyes that he is holding immense anger inside.
???:Hehe...
The girl starts to laugh lightly with joy while Ritsuka has a serious expression and looks at nothing in front of him.
???:Oh,I'm sorry about that. I just had a lovely call from my uncle. It's the end of our date and everything, but I'm bieng so rude.
💭Date! What date?!
I'm surprised to receive this bombshell of news in front of me and I can't help but be curious to know more.
???:Ahem! Let me try this again. I had such a great time today! It'd make me so happy If you felt the same way. What did you think?
The girl with a cheerful smile asks Ritsuka who at first was apparently ignoring her presence.
Ritsuka:Your clothes.... Did you bring another set with you?
???: Oh, this old thing? Well, you see, we're at the local train station now. You never know If we'll run into someone we know, right? The other outfit is one I only wear when I'm w good way's away... Someplace where I hardly ever visit. After all,It should go without saying,but that's just the way I am. Do you know?
Ritsuka decides to ignore what the girl is saying, but she doesn't seem to care about Ritsuka's attitude, in fact she seems to be enjoying it.
???:I know you get me. Hehe. That makes me so happy.
At that moment a third voice is heard coming next to the duo.
???2:Oh,heading back already?
The owner of the voice is revealed and is a very attractive adult woman, she has long wine-colored hair and scarlet eyes. Honestly she easily competes against Himeko in terms of elegant women.
(Scathach image here)
(A/N:Who wins in a competition for who is the best waifu? Scathach or Himeko?)
???2: I don't mean to imply you should be out all evening... But after going through the trouble to go to Odaiba,It wouldn't have been any extra effort to take her to dinner. Honestly,what a late-blooming nephew you are.
The woman said, referring to Ritsuka as her nephew and I was shocked to discover this news.
💭She's Ritsuka's aunt?!
Ritsuka: Auntie. I didn't expect to see you here.
Ritsuka said in a calmer tone when talking to his aunt, very different from his tone when he was talking to the white-haired girl.
???:Oh my! You must be Fujimaru's aunt! I hadn't the slightest Idea that you'be such a lovely,mature woman.
Aunt:Haha, you have a knack for flattary. My relatives always tell me to grow up, but I guess the passing years have helped with that as well. They have done more for me than you two that's for sure.
Ritsuka's Aunt said with a happy smile.
Marie:Hehehe. She really is a lovely lady, isn't she? I'm so sorry for not introducing myself. My name is Towano Marie. Fujimaru and I attend the same school-
Marie was going to continue, but Ritsuka's aunt interrupts her.
Aunt:So I've heard. You must be the rumored student council president. I guess you've been the one stuck looking after my nephew today.
Marie:Oh,It was no trouble at all! I had such a wonderful Sunday spending time with him.
Said Marie with a happy smile, but in comparison Ritsuka is not happy at all.
Aunt:Did you? That's good to hear.
Ritsuka:So you...were off somewhere,Auntie?
Aunt:I had some business in Yokohama. I only just finished up, and was heading back. Seeing as how I'm going home right away... Oh I know. You and her should get some fast food before she heads home. That should be easy enough for all parties concerned.
Said Ritsuka's aunt, making him give Marie a slight look that she is still keeping a "happy" smile.
With that, the elegant woman says goodbye to the duo and begins to walk through the crowd, disappearing from sight.
Marie: She's really a kind lady. Very sociable, but still dignified. I bet she has a lot of confidence in herself. You can tell she is strong within her core. But even more so... I imagine that her excessive graceful aura is more open-minded? So she is....your new family?
Said Marie with a happy smile, but the way she said the last words is poisonous.
Ritsuka: I don't want to hear anything else that comes out of your mouth.
Said Ritsuka, showing his aggression towards Marie, he glares at her with so much anger and hatred that it gives the impression that he wants to kill the girl.
I'm surprised to see Ritsuka making that face. He always keeps his feelings in control, but this time he appears to be a completely different person.
Marie:Oh, I'm so scared. Don't look at me that way. So scary....
Said Marie who starts running away from Ritsuka who immediately starts following the girl quickly like a predator chasing its prey.
Alter:There's no point following them...you'll just waste your time.
Stella:What's going on here?! Why are you showing me this?
Alter:I'm not showing anything. I'm just letting you get carried away by your curiosity to know more about this world. I'm just doing my duty as your guide out of here.
Stelle:But weren't you in a hurry to take me out of this world before?
Alter:Yes. But seeing you wanting to discover more about this place made me change my mind.
💭He's doing a great job of getting under my skin.
************
Anyway, we continue on the way and along the way I decide to ask one last question about what I saw in the last echo.
Stelle:If that woman is Ritsuka's Aunt. What happened to his other family?
Alter continues to walk without giving me an answer and I thought he was going to ignore me, but he ends up giving me an answer.
Alter:She's dead. She along with his little sister and all the people he met in his life. Every remaining memory of the past was destroyed after a mass murder and his world was transformed into an empty white star. I'm just the consequence of the choice he made the day the opportunity for revenge was presented to him.
There's a lot to digest about what Alter said to me, but what moved me the most is what happened to Ritsuka's world besides him losing his family.
💭Even though he suffered, he still continues to live....
Now it makes sense what he said to Bronya when she asked why he destroyed several worlds, but there's something missing about that peculiar information.
Stelle:But why do you consider yourself a shadow of him?
Alter: Because that's exactly what I am. I'm just a manifestation of his anger, hatred and anguish, everything a true Avenger should possess.
Stelle: You can say that, but to me you're just my partner Ritsuka, but a little more emo....
I say this with a happy smile and Alter gives me a slight look, but he doesn't respond to what I said.
*************
Alter:We've finally arrived.
Said Alter, stopping walking and I see the station in front of us.
As we start to head towards the entrance,when suddenly a loud sound of a trumpet is heard coming from the sky.
Stelle:That....it's not a good thing, is it?
AlterHmm...we took too long to arrive...
The clouds in the sky begin to move, making a large circle above us and all sound of movement disappears at the same moment.
Stella: Alter! What is happening?
Alter:One of the servants of this world noticed your presence.
Said Alter and I see something flying at high speed towards us and the moment the individual lands on the ground it ends up causing a huge bang.
???: You are not welcome here... Trailblazer..... Your soul is too pure for a kingdom bathed in the flames of revenge.
Said a female voice but a little robotic and I see that the owner of the voice is a large robot standing in front of me.
(Image here)
Britomart Alter:My name is Britomart Alter. The Avenger of lamentation. What is your purpose for being here, Trailblazer?
(A/N: Explaining something about Britomart. There are two Britomart in Fate, the one in Chaldea is Britomart's daughter who was summoned using her mother's name and the Britomart who is in this Tokyo world is the real Britomart.)
The big armor asks me and I can feel a huge pressure coming from inside my soul, it's very obvious that I have no chance of victory against her.
Stelle: I have no purpose in being here! I was just sleeping when suddenly I woke up here!
I say this by telling her the truth, not wanting to cause any conflict.
Alter: She probably ended up here because of the connection she made with our master.
Alter said to Britomart Alter that she notices his presence.
Britomart Alter:Shadow. You know the reason the trumpet of vengeance was sounded, don't you?
Alter:Yes. But Trailblazer is not our enemy, much less the target of revenge.
Britomart Alter: Even if she were, her soul is too weak to resist my spear. However, I can feel great potential coming from her..... It's not much, but it's enough for someone who is an ally of my daughter's master.
Said Britomart Alter leaving me confused when she mentioned that she has a daughter.
Stella: You have a daughter?!
(Image of Britomart Alter without the armor)
Britomart Alter:Yes, I have one. She was summoned by our master and after a while she became one of his concubines. However, she needed a little push from your Majesty Morgan.
(Image from Britomart in Chaldea)
Britomart Alter said with a slight tone of pride coming from behind her sturdy armor.
💭Wait a minute! Concubine?!
Stelle:What do you have to say about this, Alter?
I say this looking coldly at Alter who doesn't seem to have much of a reaction to the information that Britomart Alter revealed.
Alter:If you want to know about this irrelevant information, you'd better ask our master. That is of course if you have any kind of interest in it, if you don't you are just wasting your time.
Alter hit the nail on the head, I'm interested in Ritsuka, but it's nothing I can consider "love" yet. But I have to admit I didn't like it at all when I found out that he has a "concubine".
Britomart Alter: I assume the reason you are here is to take her out of this world?
Alter:Yes. Before her soul can no longer bear the flames of this place.
Britomart Alter:I understand. I see no reason in getting in your way.
Said Britomart Alter, who starts to fly into the sky, getting further and further away from us.
Alter: Let's go inside. Your train is waiting for you.
💭 I have to admit that this was too much of a mini adventure for my taste.
**********
As I go down the stairs of the train station I see an empty train standing on a platform as if it was waiting for me to get on.
Alter:This is where we will part ways. When you get on this train you will be returning to the same place you came from.
Stella:Okay. Will it be possible for us to see each other again?
Alter:Impossible. Our meeting was just a coincidence. But... If you still have that desire... Wait and hope.
Stelle:Wait and hope....
I murmur these words that Alter said to me as if I understood their meaning.
Stella: Okay! You can be sure that we will see each other again. Until the next Alter.
I say this as I walk into the train, which immediately closes its doors and starts moving. Alter just disappears into the shadows without giving an answer back.
Stelle:So how am I going to get back? Is it the same way as in Astral Express?
I say this sitting in one of the seats on the train and I immediately start to feel a feeling of tiredness coming from my body.
But before I can close my eyes I catch a glimpse of a little girl in a purple dress with butterflies with blonde hair and a happy smile on her face.
???:Hmm~hmm~hmm~...
I hear her singing it in a soft way and as if she were helping me fall asleep. Unable to bear it any longer, I fall asleep in the company of a mysterious little girl.
To be continued.....
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