Everything Is Connected (Exactly as I Planned)

Freya-san wasn’t looking at me.

I’m sure she’d noticed me, but her gaze was fixed on the void—or at least, that’s what it looked like from my perspective. She was just staring intently at thin air.

But I was wrong.

When Freya-san reached out toward the empty air, her hand vanished. Or rather, "sucked in" would be a better way to put it. Her hand was pulled into the void and simply disappeared.

Something invisible was definitely there.

Freya-san turned her gaze toward me. Then, she muttered something. I couldn't hear her, but I could read her lips well enough.

“Come.”

That’s definitely what she said.

Her body began to be sucked into that empty space, starting from her fingertips. All the while, she kept her eyes locked on me and Violet-san. And just like that, Freya-san was gone.

“Looks like she’s gone,” I remarked, just to state the obvious.

Violet-san gave my leg a series of annoyed little pats, as if to say, No kidding, Captain Obvious.

Still, something felt off. What was this sensation? It was familiar, similar to what I’d felt back in the Sanctuary. There, Magic Power was being drained away. Here, though, the air wasn't being sapped of magic. In fact, I could barely feel any magic power at all. Yet, I had the distinct impression that something was being drawn in.

I spent a moment observing the void where Freya-san had vanished, but I couldn't make heads or tails of it. Naturally, I decided to just dive right in.

“Hup!”

I executed a stylish leap, opting for a Competitive Swimmer's Diving Style. I made sure to activate my Shadow Mode disguise on the way down, just to be safe. Violet-san clung to my leg for the ride.

Then, the light swallowed me whole.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

I emerged into a space defined by a White Wall, a White Floor, and a White Ceiling. Pods lined the hallway at regular intervals on both sides. It looked like some kind of Research Facility.

Freya-san was already there, standing in front of one of the pods. I took a peek into the nearest one.

“This is...”

Inside the pod was something vaguely humanoid. It looked like some kind of Failure, a grotesque mishmash of a human and the Possession. It was a woman with white hair, but she wasn't breathing anymore.

The contents of the next pod over didn't even look human anymore; it was just a Mass of Organs. The one after that was the same, and the one after that. Every single one of them was a Failure, and none of them were alive. It was as if they were being kept here as biological samples.

As I scanned the countless pods, I noticed a common thread. They were likely all women, and they all looked strangely familiar. One pod contained a woman who looked like Olivier, the hero I’d fought back in the Sanctuary. Another looked like a fusion of Violet-san and someone else. The Beastkin girl in the next pod over...

Finally, I looked into the pod Freya-san was standing before. Inside was a girl who was her spitting image. Freya-san just stood there, frozen, staring at the pod.

“It’s all connected now...” I muttered, sounding as profound as possible.

I’d clearly stumbled onto some high-level facility, and while I didn't have a clue what was actually going on, it was vital to project an aura of absolute understanding. That’s the secret to the craft.

“The beginning was Diabolos... a grand saga spanning over a thousand years. But in the end, this is merely the simple conclusion one reaches after unravelling the threads of history.”

Twitch-twitch. Violet-san’s finger moved in what I assumed was agreement.

“The point where the past, present, and future converge... it seems everything has unfolded within the scope of my assumptions.”

I was laying the 'all-knowing' act on thick. For The Eminence in Shadow, everything is part of the plan. Nothing is ever truly a surprise.

I gave my coat a dramatic fwoosh, and at that exact moment, the space began to warp like static on a TV screen.

“I thought we had an Uninvited Visitor... I see. So you’re Shadow.”

A voice called out from the distortion.

“I didn’t expect anyone to reach this place so quickly... though it seems you already knew everything.”

And then, a man stepped out of the rift.

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