More than 2 decades ago, in 479 AS.
Today was a day to celebrate. After decades of enslavement, The Dreamers managed to defeat the tyrants of this island.
Of course, it would have been impossible without Imito's help. But he didn't like to take credit. He just watched the locals celebrating, drinking and dancing. That was his reward, seeing others smile.
He looked similar to how he looked in 497, except his hair just reached his neck and was clean and well-kept. He wore the same clothes, except he had armor underneath that he had forged himself.
"Hey." Somebody nudged him on the shoulder as he was leaning his back on a random house. He looked to see who it was, only to smile after recognising them. "Why is the hero watching from far away?" Uso said, passing him a bottle of beer.
Uso was a tall kid reaching the height of 183cm, but it wouldn't be right to call him a kid. Despite being just seventeen, he did what nobody in the world could have. He formed The Dreamers and waged war against the United Government.
He had a lean yet muscular physique, but it was hard to see it beneath his armor. He wore Manasteel gifted to him by the Magiborns he saved throughout his journeys. He had long wavy white hair reaching his neck. His eyes were grey, yet full of life. His face was soft, and he was quite the handsome fellow.
"Thanks." Imito accepted the drink. Uso pulled a chair and sat next to him, spreading his legs and leaning his back against the wall just like Imito. "That blind prick is busy teaching the Magiborn children Sorcery, so I can finally drink for once." He laughed as he took a sip, and so did Imito. "I just think he cares about you."
"He does. But let a man drink once in a while, right? If we're going to drink today, when will we?" He pointed at the celebrating, now fully liberated people to further support his argument.
Imito nodded in understanding and took another sip. The conversation was silent, just for a few seconds.
"So whe–" Before Uso could finish, Imito exhaled sharply. "I'm not joining your crew," Imito simply said.
"Ah, come on!" Uso stood up, disappointed. "Why not?" He sounded genuinely sad about the fact that Imito The Mimicry Genius won't join him.
"I don't do hero stuff. I just help whenever I see people that need it." He looked unbothered by Uso's reaction and continued to calmly drink. "That's literally just hero stuff!" Uso sat down again.
"Yeah, but I don't yell it out loud and keep making enemies." Imito rolled his eyes.
The response hit Uso hard, and the smile on his face disappeared. "You think you're better than me?" His voice got quiet, the tone different from the one before it.
Imito looked at him in confusion and surprise, but also worried. "...You alright?"
Uso stared into Imito's eyes for a bit, then took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm sorry. I have a lot on my mind right now."
"It's okay, don't even worry about it." He patted Uso's back. "I think you're a great guy, Imito. And I would be thrilled to have someone like you fighting alongside me. It would make a big difference." The same friendly voice returned.
"I'm sorry, Uso. I don't want to be in the spotlight and risk losing the life I have right now." He took a long sip from his drink. "That said, I'll help you guys when you're in trouble. But I doubt The Dreamers will be in trouble with a monster like that as their friend and another calamity like you as their captain."
"..." Uso nodded in understanding, still saddened by his choice. But he chose to respect it nonetheless. "It's fine. Thanks for what you did for us and the people of this island." He smiled.
"Right back at you." He raised his bottle, and so did Uso. After the toast, they chugged whatever was remaining in their drinks. "I'll ask you this, Imito." He met Imito's eyes again. "What kind of hero do you want to be?"
"I…" Imito thought about it. It was a question he had never asked himself before. For him it was… instinctive. So was his answer. "I want to be the type of hero whose body takes a step forward in the face of evil before their mind decides what to do. What about you?"
The smile on Uso's face softened; he hummed in response. "I want to be the type of hero who fights with his hope, not with his blade. I want to be the type of hero that… makes dreams a reality." He stood up and faced the happy, cheerful locals. "Even without joining my crew, will you dream alongside me, Imito?" He raised his hand for a fistbump.
"Tsk." He grinned. "Of course, I will." He stood up and met his fist.
Present day.
Imito was the one to make the first move. His feet moved before his mind decided they should. He was fast, way faster than he moved against Pablo. "I'm up against a Golden Age Legend. I hoped he'd be out, but I guess not. I shouldn't underestimate him." Kai's blade and Imito's fists clashed in the air. Even when Imito sent a flurry of strikes, Kai reacted to them and parried. As the mimicry genius attempted to smash his fist into him, Kai leaped back and avoided the attack.
"You two, run and don't look back," Imito said. But he knew… he knew Pablo would look back anyway.
"He's right. Come on, Pablo, let's go!" Otoru grabbed him by the arm and started running. Pablo stared in utter confusion at why a man would do this… he just couldn't understand. "I said come on, let's go!" Otoru had to drag him away.
"You know, I wasn't going to kill them anyway." Kai swung his blade from a distance; the sheer force caused the wind to become his projectile.
"You're not my biggest problem. I'm holding off someone else." Imito avoided the wind slash.
"You're just…" Imito appeared in front of Kai once more. It almost looked like teleportation. "...A brat disrespecting his elders." His fist almost landed on Kai's stomach, only for Kai to block it with his sword.
"A brat? Hey, gramps, watch your tone. You're talking to the Prodigy of the Latest Generation." The white in Kai's eyes disappeared, leaving only his pupil. His blade started pushing Imito back.
"Prodigy? You? Funny." Imito started pushing him back as well, Kai's feet sliding across the floor. "You're just a footnote compared to the talent I have." He suddenly stopped pushing him and jumped in the air instead, causing Kai to lose his balance. "Throughout the entire world, the only person that excels in magic compared to Nasaki Ryuko… is Imito The Mimicry Genius." Suddenly, he started to glow and spin violently in the air, coming down like a drill.
Kai blocked over his head with his Odachi, but suddenly the force of spinning started applying to him as well. "Sorcery!" He tried to stop himself from spinning, but it was futile.
The rotation caused him to lose his guard and allowed Imito to land a clean kick, stopping the spinning and sending him crashing to the wall.
Imito stumbled and failed to stand up. He looked at his right leg and realised that it had been cut off. He healed it almost instantly. "As expected from his Murderous Intent. You sliced my leg off as you were hit."
Murderous Intent is the rare mental state that only a select few can access. It is considered to be the opposite of True Resolve.
With True Resolve, the user's conviction conquers their emotions… causing them to stop hesitating and fight with their full prowess and ignore the shackles their human emotions place on them.
Murderous Intent, however, requires its user to abandon all identity and ulterior motives. Their will to kill guides their attacks, eliminating hesitation and any wasted movement. This is naturally incompatible with True Resolve.
With no conviction to leash them, their emotions may start acting on their own and cause them to be more and more beast than human.
Kai stood up without worrying about his pain and swung his blade at Imito's neck. His
Blade
Glowed.
The attack barely missed, but something was off about it. "His Odachi? His Treasure is his Odachi? This kid may be more impressive than I thought."
Kai didn't stop at that. He then
followed
up
with
a
relentless
barrage of slashes.
"I can't see his attacks! My feet don't land where I want them to land!" Each attack was harder to dodge than the one before it. In hopes of counter-attacking, Imito tried to strike Kai's stomach with his knee.
Kai's sword glowed once more.
Instead
of
aiming
at Imito
The attack
was directed
at empty
space.
Suddenly, Kai warped away from Imito's attack. "Was that…" Imito turned around. "Yeah, I saw what I saw. His sword allows him to slice space itself! He cut off the space between him and that spot, causing him to 'warp'!"
He was the mimicry genius, after all, so his words were true. In the face of a Treasure he couldn't even see properly, anybody not named Nasaki Ryuko would be in trouble.
So, Imito decided to be him.
Imito's eyes shifted into crimson red, showing Kai his eventual demise. It was like a river of blood, glowing like the sun. "So the current generation has some tricks, huh? It's been decades since I last used his Sorcery."
For Pablo and Otoru's escape, however, the threat they were warned about by Imito was not just a lie.
Before the exit gate… two figures stood. Despite not recognising them… the two couldn't breathe.
Commander Joka and Commander Kaan blocked their way. Two of the highest-ranked commanders… coming all the way over here.
"Ah, there you two are." Joka let out a twisted giggle.