The archangel Michael was the one Lyra was contracted to. He held the position of a protector. The archangels surprisingly had the same name as those back on Earth. Lyra explained it by their names holding power beyond planets. If that was true or not, I wasn't sure. The only thing I knew for sure was that these archangels held the knowledge necessary to defeat the System Manipulator.

  In front of me was one of the World-Rune's. A massive skyscraper-sized floating crystal. The physical manifestation of the archangel that tethered it to this planet.

  Getting down on one knee, I closed my eyes for a prayer. A tingling sensation spread across my body until I lost grasp of it. Opening my eyes I found myself in an empty white space, with myself floating in mid-air.

  "This is our astral bodies," Lyra explained, appearing behind me. "This is the only way we can have a proper conversation with the archangel."

  I looked around. "Where is the archangel Michael?"

  UP HERE.

  Looking up, I saw a massive figure looming over me, casting no shadow. They had four wings, and a largely humanoid figure, besides the hundreds of eyes placed around its body. Their face was obstructed by a blinding white light.

  I KNOW WHAT THOU SEEK, CHILD. BUT WHAT THOU SEEK, I AM FORBIDDEN TO SHARE.

  "Forbidden?" I repeated. "Why?"

  I CANNOT SAY.

  "This is an emergency! The System Manipulator will destroy this entire planet, and bring down the Wandering God with them. Can't you at least explain what this class called observer is about?"

  I CANNOT SAY.

  "Please, Lord Gabriel," Lyra pleaded. "Surely this is a serious matter — enough to gain your aid?"

  IT IS. STILL, THE RULES CANNOT BE BROKEN.

  I grunted. "At least tell us who this System Manipulator actually is!"

  I CANNOT SAY … THE SYSTEM IS SUPPOSED HAVE AN EMERGENCY FUNCTION; IT HAS BEEN DISABLED.

  "This restriction. Was it created by the Wandering God?"

  NO.

  I stopped. "Then was it someone higher up?"

  IF THEY ARE HIGHER UP … IT IS UNDER DEBATE. BUT FOR THY PEOPLE: YES.

  So there was a restriction in place. The observer class was special, and their enemy was smart enough to gain information even an archangel couldn't freely speak about. This was information, but nothing that would help them.

  I bowed. "Please, archangel. Won't you at least leave us with something that could aid us in our upcoming battle? If the one who restricted you is indeed beyond our mortal understanding, surely they wouldn't appreciate what the System Manipulator is doing?"

  Archangel Michael floated in silence. I raised my head. It was impossible to make out much from all the light shrouding his form, but I could make out a faint movement, almost like he was looking up at something before he fixed his focus back on them.

  YOU CANNOT FOOL A DECIEVER.

  - Rachel, the twice summoned

  Never had Tom expected to find his little sister, Charlotte, in this world. For some strange reason, his mind was telling him that it made sense. "Sis, did you get Isekai'd too?"

  She tilted her head. Silent.

  "Of course you did. And you came out better than me, I expect."

  "I presume," she finally said. "I … I was summoned by another nation to the South. The situation there has been complicated so I moved here."

  "What do you mean by complicated?"

  She hesitated. "One has to see it for themselves to properly understand."

  Tom furiously nodded. "That made sense. They must have summoned a lot of people, including his sister, but accidentally sent Tom too far north instead. His hypothesis made sense." He looked at his sister. It had been so long since he had seen anything from his previous world. But he was never someone who was too comfortable with being sentimental. Was he supposed to hug her? Maybe as her if she has been doing alright? Or maybe—?

  "I need to go," she said, interrupting his cluttered train of thought. "It has been nice seeing you again." Then she turned to leave.

  "Wait!" He grabbed her arm. "We still have a lot to talk about. How am I going to find you again?"

  She turned her head. "I am staying here for a while, so we will definitely have another opportunity to see each other again. Don't worry. After the chaos of the Sermon of Sainthood is over, I will find you myself." With wide eyes, she stared at his hand.

  He let go of his grip and nodded. She must have experienced a lot whilst she had been living here. The South had to be much rougher of a place if his normally energetic and annoying sister was acting this calm. "Don't forget. Or else I will be mad. I don't know what you have been through here, but you are still my little sister — never forget that."

  The glitching on her face intensified, moving onto her right arm. She used her left arm to hold her glitching arm in place. "I understand." Then she walked off.

  "What are you doing over here?"

  He turned and saw Alice.

  "Alice, you won't believe who I just saw: my little sister!"

  "You little sister?" She raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure? Why would your sister also have been transported here?"

  "I think I was summoned here with a lot of people, together with my sister. I must have been accidentally sent to the wrong place when I arrived here. It is the only plausible explanation!"

  She scratched her face. "Perhaps…Where did she go?"

  He turned and pointed at Charlotte, walking down the street. "There she is."

  Alice looked at his sister, who slightly turned to look at them, before quickly averting her gaze and sneaking into another alleyway.

  "See? She—." Tom stared confused at Alice. Her eyes were wide, and her breathing chaotic. Was she hyperventilating? "Is everything alright?"

  She shook her head, escaping from her daze. "It is. I didn't know she was your little sister. Excuse me, but I need to go somewhere. It's an emergency."

  He wasn't able to ask her what it was about, before she hurried off, leaving him alone.

  ***

  Trash hummed. "You look horrible."

  "What?" Tom turned around to look at the suit he was wearing. "I think it looks fine."

  Even though this suit was tailored to fit him for the banquet today, he had managed with the help of Alice to convince the king's guards why he needed to bring his sword and a teddy bear in his pocket. Although, he was regretting that hassle at this point. Trash was not a fan of the capital — too boring he said.

  "No, I am talking about your face."

  "That is even worse!"

  Tom could feel Trash convey an emotion that felt akin to someone rolling their eyes.

  "Ever since you met that crazy Rachel lady, your face has been losing its color, not to mention your hair turning red."

  Oh, that. There were a few gaps in his memories remaining, but he could recall the gist of it. It was with Rachel's help he managed to unlock the first ring. And she had plans. Moving past the firmament. Then whatever she wanted after that. All to save this world. He obviously had to be a part of this grand adventure.

  "I cut off the red hair strands. And I am simply slightly traumatized from finding out this world has multiple timelines. I will get better soon."

  Trash hummed. "And then you will turn mad."

  Tom smiled. "Huh. Didn't know you cared so much about me."

  "I'd rather not be stuck with a mad fool. That is all."

  "Sure. You can go with that." He fixed his tie. "But let us focus on my audience with the king. Then I will be able to enjoy the banquet they will be holding in my honor, and that will totally not make me mad. Ecstatic actually."

  Trash hummed. "More like delusional."

  He ignored that comment and walked towards the massive golden doors, ordained with mirror shards. The guards opened up a door to reveal a massive indoor garden. His mouth was agape looking at the colourful array of plants and glass sculptures given each their own circled area to be individually enjoyed. The road continued in front into an open area with the king sitting on his throne.

  Coughing to make his presence known, he bent the knee in front of the king. "Greeting, You Majesty."

  The king smiled. "Tomassio Rossi. As bold as ever. Not even bothering to bow to the king."

  Tom quickly got on his feet. "Yeah. I do be like that."

  "And disrespectful enough to leave me waiting. Not only were you able to return from the South, something not even my son was able to accomplish, but then you proceeded to go on an entire crusade to defeat the great error beast Morpheus." The king gripped the throne. "Now we got the Hero wishing to exterminate us."

  "Sorry?"

  The king stood still, then burst into laughter. "Yeah, you are as bold as ever. Perhaps this is what humanity needs right now. Not like my stupid grandson is worth putting my faith in."

  "Uh, yeah," Discretely putting his hand in his pocket, he pulled out the phonie and started the call. "Now!"

  An explosion rang as all the potholes in the garden were catapulted into the air.

  "What was that noise?" The king shouted. "Guard! Guards!"

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  Rushing out of the openings were all his fellow observers clad in cloaks to hide their identity. The bulk of the group splintered off to guard the exits as Hilda and Shalana joined him.

  "You dumb child!" Shalana immediately shouted.

  The king sighed. "Is it who I think it is? Shalana, the most persistent elf I know. And let me guess, Hilda is with you too?"

  "Correct," Hilda said. "How dare you try to imprison us to do your bidding? Are you that scared of the morphling? You know you cannot prevent the inevitable."

  "I did not attempt to impression you. Only to keep you safe from outside interference."

  Hilda folded her arms. "That would be true in the past, but something has changed, hasn't it?."

  "You are as perceptive as always. This is why you are the leader of the observers' guild. And hopefully all of humanity."

  Hilda put her hands on her hips. "I told you that is a dumb idea. Better to keep one person safe than having to deal with hundreds of them. Not to mention foreign interference being a pain to deal with."

  "Listen to her," Shalana said. "I have already experienced how elfkind became fragmented after the fall of our civilization. The humans will not fare better, that I am sure of."

  The king leaned on the side of the throne and put a hand on his forehead. "And our people attempting to gather help in the South fared any better? I too was shocked when I learned about the true situation in the South for the first time, after my coronation. There is no other choice. Or—." He raised his head. "If dare Tomassio Rossi would like to enlighten us about the situation down there. You were the only one I was able to trust with this confidential information." He leaned forward. "Now tell—."

  "Don't bother," Hilda interrupted. "He forgot and had amnesia."

  "Amnesia?" The king fell backward and slouched down. "What horrible luck. We all are doomed!"

  "I appreciate the positivity. We have already prepared a new plan to send him to the South with a device that will allow us to hold contact with him."

  The king sighed. "Time. We do not have the time."

  Shalana coughed. "That is why we are going to use magecraft to protect you."

  Tom looked at Shalana. "Magecraft? Not a skill?"

  "Indeed. The mysterious thing we were going to use to protect the king was the knowledge I managed to accrue from the witches. The witches are beings that sprung up into creation during the age when the Mirror Maiden still walked among us. They specialize in manipulating spiritual energy to do their bidding."

  "An art that is applicable in all regions against all manners of abilities," Hilda added.

  Shalana opened her bag and pulled out a giant roll of parchment. "It was a cumbersome process, but from my research, I learned that the elven art of synergy can copy their inherited ability in the form of complex pentagrams." She rolled it on the floor revealing hundreds of intersecting pentagrams with symbols on them.

  The king frowned. "There is no need to resort to that. It might be helpful. It might be a waste of time."

  "And it might give us some more time," Hilda added.

  "… It could."

  Shalana put a pendant in the middle of the parchment. Then she closed her eyes. Small colorful balls appeared out of nowhere and the pentagrams started glowing in a multicoloured light. Moving towards the pendant, the complicated construct of pentagrams, along with the spirit, disappeared into the pendant which started glowing with a weak glow.

  Closing his eyes, Tom tried to sense the aura of the pendant and was shocked to find a huge array of colors. They were all compressed into a small aura with pentagrams floating around it, similar to how his rings floated around his own.

  Hilda picked up the pendant and walked closer to the king. "Now shut up and take this pendant."

  The king reluctantly put his hand forward to take it. Then he silently put it around his neck without protest.

  "Does this quell your worries?" The king asked.

  "For now." Hilda looked at Tom. "And now that you are aware of our plan. Tomassio over here — or Tom as he goes by now — has your blessing, doesn't he?"

  "Yes. He does."

  ***

  Tom stared at the giant banquet halls filled with nobles. The moment they finished, he had to rush to the great hall of the castle. The great hall was a massive room on the top floor of the castle, with a glass-domed ceiling reaching towards the heavens. Purple tapestries of influential nobles hung on the wall. Tables were scattered across the room with their nobles not bothering to sit beside them.

  Nobles curiously eyes him as he walked further into the room. This entire banquet was held in his honor — oh, and the other soldiers. They all knew he had the king's favor.

  He didn't know how to feel about ambushing the king and forcing him to wear an enchanted pendant. It was all intended to protect him, but the king's reaction had been strange. He just silently accepted his fate without a single protest. The king had been an ally of Tomassio and was now technically his own. But what use did this arrangement have?

  Dodging every attempt to start a conversation, Tom made his way to the table closest to the massive stairs at the back of the room. Mark and Hiro stood there, together with Ilona.

  "Ilona. You managed to make it here."

  "Normally the saintess wouldn't be invited to such an event to avoid accusations of corruption. However, since I did play a part in the battle against Morpheus, the king gave me an invite."

  Tom smiled. "Awesome."

  While walking to his seat he noticed an intense gaze. A group of masked nobles were eyeing them intently. When Tom turned to look at them they moved their gaze. All of them besides one, who was glaring at Ilona in particular.

  "Are you sure you can handle all the stares?" Tom said. "I thought it was only a commoner thing, but look like some nobles don't even like you."

  She shrugged. "You can't please everyone. I am used to it. Forget that. Could you tell me about this Rachel person Mark told me about? He said she could possibly be strong enough to have her will reflected in the sky as a star! Those kinds ofindividuals are hard to come by since they keep to themselves. I need all the details!"

  Tom spent the time explaining his encounters with Rachel, making sure to keep out the otherworlder bits. They looked intrigued by the powers of a high-ranking observer. Especially being able to temporarily travel to alternate timelines. The concept of multiple was known to them, but they looked shocked by the realization that it could apply to their life.

  A horn was blown. "Introducing His Majesty, the noble heart of our empire!"

  The massive golden door creaked as it opened, revealing the king dressed in a soft purple garment, wearing a bejeweled crown. Demon horns hung from his clothing and made a clattering sound as he walked to the edge of the stars with the help of a cane.

  The room fell quiet at the arrival of their king.

  Trash hummed an emotion of worry, and Tom instantly understood why. The king's eyes were wide open. The same blind king who didn't bother opening his eyes.

  "We are all here to celebrate a momentous achievement." The king reached his hand towards their table. "The defeat of the great error beast Morpheus by the heir to house Rossi, Tomassio Rossi, and his compatriots."

  The nobles applauded as Tom awkwardly avoided the gaze of the other three of his compatriots.

  "However, I am afraid our celebration will be cut short here."

  Tom stared at the king, meeting his eyes.

  "I am afraid there is an otherworlder among us."

  A gasp spread across the room.

  "An otherworlder," someone said, shocked. "There is no way one of those could make it inside the castle."

  "To space with courtesy. I need to get out of here."

  The king put his hands together. "Now, now. There is no need to panic. Let us—."

  Someone shrieked.

  Tom turned and saw someone cut the throat of a noblelady. The air glitched and purple coats covered people scattered across the great hall.

  One of the cloaked individuals raised a sword. "Death to the traitors of humanity!"

  "It's the error cult!" Someone screamed.

  Immediately the entire room fell into chaos as the error cultist ruthlessly butchered any noble they came across. One of the cultists was familiar, throwing a bucket at people that instantly smothered them. The cultist headed towards them and threw a compressed wave towards Ilona, who was barely able to block it by creating a shield.

  Another cultist jumped towards the king but fell to the ground snoring. Looking around he could see several of the cultist falling to their sleep, as well as some of the nobles.

  "There you are." It was Alice. She was wearing her military garb and was keeping a lookout for any approaching cultist. "Change of plans. You are going to have to head towards the South. Now."

  "What?" Tom fumbled. "I need to help out here."

  "You aren't safe here. They—."

  She raised her hand towards an incoming projectile skill, but Mark cut her to the chase and put a table in the way to block the blow. Hiro gripped his katana and stepped behind Ilona who was shielding herself from the persistent attacks from her hater.

  "Listen to the Commander," Hiro said. "We can manage here. They must be after you for revenge."

  "That—."

  Tom stopped himself when Alice put her hand on his shoulder. "Go, now."

  Tom could feel his grasp of reality loosen. His body stopped listening to him and began running out of the great hall. No matter what he did, he couldn't stop himself from running. Before he knew it, he had already exited the castle.

  He tried moving his mouth to speak, but it was stuck.

  Closing his eyes he saw his aura moving around in a suspiciously ordered manner. Inconsistent colors, shapes, and weird frequencies disrupted his aura.

  When his aura returned to normal, he opened his eyes to find himself back in front of a gate. Moving his arm up and down, he found himself back in control of his body. The gate was right in front of him.

  Trash hummed. "Are you going to go or not? Hurry up!"

  "I need a moment to think."

  He stared at the green fields, with the forest in the distance. When he went past there last time, it had been with the fake sword saint. In this timeline, were the Delinquents still there? If so, he doubted he would amount to much against them. What if he—?

  "Just go already before the error cult decides to off you! That would be a sad death."

  Tom rolled his eyes. "Alright." This was not the time to worry. He needed to get to the South.

  Taking a deep breath, he stepped out the gate.

  The booming sound of something cutting the air echoed and the ground in front of him rumbled.

  "I told you to hurry."

  In front of him stood a tall man clad in golden armor. They folded their arm. "So we meet again, Tomassio Rossi."

  "Who are you again?"

  The man glared at him. "I am Kyle, the holy knight. And you were the one who got my lover killed, as well as my teammate."

  "Oh, that. Come on, it wasn't my fault. I think." Tom scratched his face. "And I am pretty sure you aren't allowed to do anything against me. I am favored by the king … I think."

  Kyle smirked. "Don't worry. I am not here to harm. Only to bring you to the high priest."

  Tom yelped as he was dragged into the air by the holy knight. The wind cut his face as the knight went full speed, without a care for any collateral damage. The body felt sore after it was gently slammed on the ground.

  When Tom managed to push up his body, he saw that he was on a platform behind the massive church. In front of him was an old man clad in priest clothing.

  The priest grazed his long beard while staring at Tom. "So it was true after all. You are an otherworlder."

  Tom gulped. "I don't know what you are talking about. I am Tomassio Rossi."

  He scoffed. "No need to keep the ruse going. It looks like that stupid king has also noticed already by the looks of it. And I have long since known about you, using an identity not your own." He leaned closer to Tom. "Tomassio Rossi is dead. That I am sure of."

  Kyle glared at Tom. "I was a fool to not trust your world, high priest Nelic. This filth. Only an otherworlder could be this disgusting."

  Nelic waved his hand around. "Yeah, sure." He stood up straight. "You have no place here, but I do commend your ability to make it this far. One has to be truly special to be able to fend off The Madness. Delusional even. Therefore, I will allow you one last wish. Tell me where you want to go, or you can attempt a last stand here. What do you say?"

  Tom stared at the priest, then at Kyle who looked like he would bash his scull in a moment's notice. "I want to go to the South. Whatever the situation down there, I can handle it. Let me go there, peacefully, then I will be out of your hair."

  Nelic grinned. "Don't worry. I will help bring you there myself." He clapped his hand. "[Teleport]."

  A white light engulfed them, and when it disappeared, they were at the entrance of the forest. The forest looked pretty dense up close.

  "Welcome to the Vermillion Forest, or as I prefer to call it: Error Forest. The entrance to the South, as well as the Rossi Dukedom. Feel free to leave."

  Tom looked between Nelic and the forest. "You are letting me go. Just like that?"

  Nelic nodded.

  Kyle pulled Tom against his will closer to the entrance of the forest. A single step away.

  "If there is one thing the people of the kingdom can never know, then that is what lies on the other side of this forest."

  Tom turned. "A battlefield. You people have been hiding the truth of the kingdom's decline. The war against this System Manipulator is still ongoing."

  Nelic smiled. "Incorrect."

  "What?"

  "On the other side of this forest, there is no battlefield. There is nothing."

  "… Nothing?"

  Nelic nodded. "Nothing. The truth of this world is that it doesn't exist. But worry not, my noble pursuit will save humanity by vanquishing those vile demons that put us in this situation." He reached out his arms and looked towards the sky. "I will become the new higher being of this domain, and save all. With my ascension, the impossible feat of bringing this world back to reality will finally come to fruition. The past leaders of the church were fools to place their faith in heroes. I will be the savior of humanity."

  "Humanity? What about everyone else? And how the space can this world not exist?"

  "Existence is relative. Some part of reality is true, superimposed on us all. Others, they aren't necessary to even know about." Nelic gestured at Kyle.

  Trash hummed in confusion as he was ripped out of the sheath.

  "Hey! Why are you taking my sword?"

  "It won't be useful to a dead person," Kyle responded.

  Tom looked at Nelic. "This isn't letting me go. I need my aura sword!"

  Nelic grinned. "I never said I would let you go with your aura sword. You wanted to go to the South. The place where reality does not matter. A place for the forgotten. And soon you will suffer the same fate." He tilted his head. "If not, I am sure the black catastrophe will finish the job."

  Raising his hand, Nelic pushed Tom forward into the forest.

  Tom stumbled, quickly getting back on his feet, and turned around. "Hey, you can't—!"

  He stared in confusion as there was only more forest behind him. Nelic, Kyle, and even the capital were nowhere to be seen. Looking around and walking past the blockage, he could still only see trees. He was in the middle of a dense forest, without his aura sword, without any way to find a way out.

  "This must be some kind of illusion spell," he grumbled out loud.

  Finding an open patch with something other than trees, he stopped. In front of him was a wooden shed, with half of a tree glitching in and out in the middle. At the bottom, near the entrance, he saw a corpse. He wouldn't have been able to figure out who it was if it wasn't for the corpse glitching between its elven form and skeletal form. The eyes of the elf were empty, not uttering a word as a door glitched through its stomach.

  Tom looked up and found the sky glitching as well. It was shifting between a clear blue sky, clouded purpled toned sky, and a black empty nothingness with strange octopus-like limbs floating around.

  This wasn't an illusion spell. This was an error.

  The sound of a tree crashing echoed.

  Tom slapped his face to bring himself back to reality and tried looking for where the sound came from.

  Walking past the building he found the source of the sound. A portion of the forest was filled with black trees, and on the ground, he saw a mass of black sludge moving past him. It had the same shade of black as the Hero, Sierra's sonata, and Rachel's abilities. Didn't Rachel call it the immutable? Something unable to change.

  The black sludge stopped. A portion of it rose into the air, and eyes with the color of The Madness appeared to stare right at Tom. He gulped as he caught the gaze of this black sludge. It was eating up anything it came into contact with. A catastrophe. The black catastrophe.

  The sludge went back into the ground and changed its direction, heading towards Tom.