(Error, Mental Contamination Detected.)
Like a spell being carved into reality, the name Reinhard reverberated through his mind.
Two minds.
Now three.
They collided, intertwined, and fused together in a ritual of slow self-destruction.
Subaru's unhinged voice echoed through the void. It felt distant from his soul, yet impossibly close, as if it whispered directly inside his skull.
"Reinhard… if you represent hope… an impassable wall…"
A hollow laugh followed.
"Then I'm determination. The one who keeps looking for a way to break that wall."
His voice warped between mania and exhaustion.
"Hahaha… hahaha…"
"Let's become one."
"Death is coming again. That familiar death."
A quiet sigh.
"But it's fine. I'm satisfied."
"I already accomplished my goal."
His voice softened strangely.
"So… I suppose I can help you."
"…old friend."
"…old enemy."
"It's all the same now."
A pause lingered.
"I know you'll never accept my apology."
"I know you aren't the same Sword Saint I destroyed."
"But I've changed."
"…so allow me to repent."
(Error, Foreign Entity Detected.)
(2nd Template Being Forcibly Merged.)
Ding!
[Subaru Natsuki, Ayamatsu Pride Route variation]
Name: Subaru Natsuki
Age: 19
Race: Human
Template Rank: Error
Faction: Error
Titles: Sin Archbishop of Pride, The Selfish Savior, Hero Killer
Compatibility:
Current Sync Completion Rate: 00.0010%
Template Compatibility: Error %
Template Load Speed: 100% Faster
[Equipped Item]
Name: None
Rank: None
Description: None
[Physique]
Broken Gate (Rank F):
Prevents the user from casting magic.Minor curse resistance.
Witches Scent (Rank F):
Monsters are more easily attracted to the user.
[Skills]
True RBD (Rank ???) – [Limited: ???]
When fully unlocked, ???.
Unbreakable Will (Rank S):
Physical and mental pain is numbed.
Strongest Mentality;
Trauma is completely nullified.
Mastermind (Rank B):
Heightened proficiency in manipulation, intimidation, and deception.
Instincts of eternity (Rank C):
Heightened intuition, honed through experience.
Able to detect threats easily.
Spirit Affinity (Rank D):
Spirits will respond favorably.
More likely to contract a Spirit.
Reduces hostility from all spiritual entities.
Synchronization Progress Daily Passive Sync: +0.010% Daily 3 Years to completion
Combat Sync Boosts as an (Error- Rank):
Defeat C-Rank Template: +?%
Defeat B-Rank Template: +?%
Defeat A-Rank Template: +?%
Defeat S-Rank Template: +?%
Defeat SS-Rank Template: +?%
Defeat SSS-Rank Template: +?%
Unknown faction Bonus: ???
And just like that, the new entity was born.
Rein.
Reinhard.
Subaru.
Three existences now sharing a single soul.
Yet the balance between them was far from equal.
Reinhard's presence dominated the mindscape completely.
Rein did not resist it.
For someone who had once possessed nothing, Rein had found something new to cling to.
Reinhard.
A being whose life mirrored his own.
Someone who carried the same scars.
The same loneliness.
The same quiet suffering.
To Rein, Reinhard was not merely another self.
He was someone to protect.
Someone who understood him completely.
His twisted empathy wrapped around the hero like chains.
Reinhard was no longer simply himself.
To Rein…
Reinhard was his.
His responsibility.
His purpose.
His possession.
A frozen world appeared before them.
Snow stretched endlessly across the land.
A landscape of absolute despair.
A cold so deep that nothing living could survive.
It was a memory.
And yet it belonged to none of them.
A memory of a possibility.
A future that never happened.
A solemn voice echoed across the frozen wasteland.
Familiar.
Steady.
Filled with unwavering duty.
"I understand your regrets."
A pause.
"I share them."
"But I cannot allow you to lash out blindly because of those feelings."
His voice hardened.
"Your vow wounds the world itself."
"That is something I cannot forgive."
"Justice is my standard."
"My sword exists to correct what is wrong."
A quiet breath escaped him.
"For that reason…"
"I will cut you down here and now."
"O Great Spirit."
A deep voice answered him.
Ancient and monstrous.
Heavy with regret.
"Reinhard…"
The voice rumbled like distant thunder.
"You truly are a hero."
A long pause filled the frozen world.
"And a hero…"
"…is all you will ever be."
With those words, the ritual of memory ended.
His vision blurred.
The white void returned, swirling around him.
His body collapsed.
But there was no impact.
No pain.
Instead, he felt himself drifting downward slowly.
As if someone had caught him.
Holding him gently.
Carefully.
Tenderly.
His sight faded completely, forcing him to rely on touch.
Arms wrapped around him.
Warmth surrounded him.
Someone was embracing him.
Instinctively, he returned the embrace.
It reminded him of Rein's mother before the accident.
But this was not a memory.
It was something else.
Something far more real something warmer.
A softness he had never truly known.
Love.
And instinctively, he wanted to protect it.
That was the nature of the strong.
The nature of a hero.
His heartbeat slowed.
A tear slipped from his eye.
Then another.
And another.
He was crying.
Not from pain or from anger.
But from comfort.
A comfort he had never experienced before.
It was pleasant.
Almost too pleasant.
As the warmth slowly faded, a voice whispered in his ear.
Neither male nor female.
Gentle.
Radiant.
Yet carrying a hidden sorrow.
"My child."
"My beloved child."
"My chosen one."
"You are my sword."
"You are my knight."
"You are my hero."
"I love you."
Another voice overlapped it.
This one unmistakably female.
Feverish.
Almost desperate.
"Don't die."
"Live."
"Don't be sad."
Her voice trembled.
"My power is yours."
"Break your fate."
"Be happy."
"Find love."
"I love you."
With the last of his strength, Reinhard forced his eyes open.
He needed to see the one speaking to him.
For the briefest moment, he saw it.
A massive sphere of radiant light.
And the other was a woman hidden in thick miasma.
Cursed and Divine intertwined.
Then the radiant sphere of light surged into his chest.
And finally—
His consciousness slipped away.
***
Earth – 2011 – New York
Inside the Sanctum Sanctorum, sorcerers rushed through the halls in controlled panic.
Eldritch sigils flared in the air as they poured magic into the defensive barriers surrounding Earth. Threads of glowing orange energy stitched themselves back together as the damaged shield slowly reformed.
For a brief moment, the three mystical barriers protecting Earth from extradimensional threats had flickered.
Just long enough.
Streaks of light had slipped through.
Across the sky, dozens of glowing trails now rained down toward the planet like falling stars.
Fortunately, most of the meteor-like objects avoided populated areas. The orange enchantment-inscribed shields still did their job well enough.
For now, the existence of the supernatural world remained hidden from the public.
For now.
Standing atop the Sanctum balcony, The Ancient One gazed upward.
Her bald head tilted slightly toward the sky as her perception expanded far beyond the limits of human sight. Across countless dimensions she searched, focusing on a single descending light that burned brighter than the rest.
To her senses, it radiated pure life energy.
Every living being possessed life force. It accumulated slowly over time, condensing within the body as a person aged.
But that energy also decayed.
Left too long within mortal flesh, it became stale. Toxic.
The energy within that falling light surpassed every living thing on Earth a billionfold.
And yet it remained pure.
Like the breath of a newborn.
The Ancient One narrowed her eyes slightly.
Was it the birth of a god?
A Celestial?
Or something entirely different?
Strangely, her sight could not penetrate the source.
And yet, rather than concern, she felt something unexpected.
Relief.
A quiet satisfaction.
"Could this be fate…?"
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"I could not see this possibility."
The starry sky above Earth fractured once more.
Only a month earlier, it had been graced by the arrival of a Norse god.
Now another star fell toward the world.
***
Nearby Research Facility
Nick Fury stood beside a bank of monitors, arms folded over his chest.
The black eyepatch across his face made his glare even sharper.
Across from him, Dr. Erik Selvig leaned over a console, eyes narrowed in concentration.
"Director," Selvig said quickly. "Perfect timing. You need to see this."
He pointed to the screen.
"The sky today is… different. Multiple objects have appeared with no detectable trajectory. They entered Earth's atmosphere without disintegrating."
He zoomed in on one streak of white light blazing across the atmosphere, fire trailing behind it.
"This one, however… is headed straight for Manhattan."
Fury leaned closer to the screen.
His single eye narrowed.
"Is it a meteor," he asked flatly, "or a sequel to last month?"
His mind flashed back to the desert.
To a hammer.
To a man claiming to be the God of Thunder.
Earth had its share of freaks already. The Hulk alone proved that.
But at least Banner was homegrown.
Attempts to recreate the original Super Soldier had produced far worse results. Failed experiments. Broken men turned monsters.
And now aliens were apparently treating Earth like a roadside attraction.
Selvig extended a specialized telescope lens from a nearby device. The equipment dwarfed most observatories on the planet.
He locked onto the falling object.
The image transmitted to a monitor.
Pixel by pixel, the computer reconstructed the figure.
Selvig paled.
"Director Fury…"
He swallowed.
"It appears to be… humanoid."
Fury muttered several words that would have made a sailor proud.
"Damn it."
He rubbed his temple.
"Another alien."
His voice dropped into a low growl.
"Why is Earth suddenly the universe's favorite crash site?"
Selvig opened his mouth to offer a theory.
Fury shot him a side-eye.
Selvig immediately reconsidered.
Fury's thoughts shifted toward something far less comforting.
The Avengers Initiative.
Or worse.
Phase Two.
Mass-produced super-weapons.
As Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., he had personally delayed that option for as long as possible. Humanity did not need that kind of power unless there was absolutely no other choice.
Especially not when it relied on something like the Tesseract.
A cube capable of powering the entire planet.
And also capable of tearing it apart.
"What's the impact time?" Fury asked.
Selvig ran the calculations.
"Five… maybe ten minutes if the current trajectory holds."
The simulation highlighted a section of coastline on the map.
"Landing point should be somewhere along the Manhattan coast."
Fury turned and stormed toward the exit.
He pulled a secure black phone from his coat.
One number dialed.
"Mobilize Special Ops."
His voice became cold and precise.
"Inform Agents Barton and Romanoff to intercept at the landing site."
A pause.
"Contingency protocols are active."
Another pause.
"Find out if that thing's hostile."
***
The beach was alive with people.
Warm sand beneath their feet.
Sea breeze drifting through their hair.
Umbrellas dotted the shore while children splashed in shallow waves.
Then came the sound.
A faint whistle at first.
Then louder.
Sharper.
It hissed through the air like sizzling metal.
Heads began to tilt upward.
A white speck burned across the sky.
Trailing fire.
Growing larger every second.
People pointed.
Phones appeared.
Recording.
Capturing.
No one showed signs of fear just Fascination.
These vacationers were sun-dazed and relaxed.
The possibility of imminent death simply did not occur to them.
They kept watching.
Until someone shouted.
"It's coming right at us!"
The illusion shattered instantly.
Parents grabbed their children.
Coolers and towels were abandoned in the sand.
Some people ran.
Others froze, realizing the object was descending far too fast.
Then it struck.
The meteor slammed into the beach with explosive force.
A shockwave blasted outward.
Sand fused instantly into molten glass.
For a moment even the tide stalled, the ocean recoiling from the violent impact.
Smoke and dust spiraled upward, obscuring the crater.