The Kings Demon and Lostbelt
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//Lostbelt Depthā¦ā¦..500-600 Years. Rank: E-
//Lostbelt Resemblanceā¦ā¦..ERROR!!!ERROR!!!ERROR!!!
Disparity value inconclusive. *Connection Lost*
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[20XX, Somewhere in Central Asia]
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As Ritsuka silently wandered the halls of her new and unfamiliar quarters, she eventually found herself completely lost in the upper ward of the palace. Sheād tried to go back to bed already, and failed multiple times; something was off. She felt a tension in the air, as if she was still under that single mystic eyeās gazeā¦or that of the Avenger themselves.Ā
So she got up, and began to explore, well past where she knew she was meant to. For whatever reason, she found herself moving further up the palace, as if her mind was shielded from a sensation that every part of body screamed was about to become an overwhelming threat - a threat that no god or devil could save you from.Ā
Finally, just as Ritsuka began to wonder if this was all simply another nightmare, her breath caught in her throat as a familiar voice cut through the night from just a room away. The crackle of embers registered soon after as her senses were sharpened by adrenaline. Without a noise, Ritsuka began observing the room - a chamber of some sort filled with vaguely familiar artifacts, lit only by what little moonlight entered and the glowing outline of Maouās eternally burning cape.
The demon king in question continued speaking to someone.
āYou still havenāt answered my question. Why did you run in fear when I first approached?ā
Silence was a response Nobunaga never imagined sheād receive from their own kin. All their life people had things to say about them. The detractors never ceased in their slander and objections to the Foolās latest antics, the sycophants never ceased in their vain attempts to curry favor with their latest horse to bet on, and on the other side the Demon Kingās own betrayers were always waiting with their latest excuses. Silence was rare for a warlord. Silence was the response reserved for those whose heads held thoughts worth holding ontoā¦.and so, it was a response they always thought unfamiliar to their brother, whose shortsightedness was always his worst, but in the most fateful moments his best, attribute.
But all such thoughts were as useless in a Lostbelt as contemplating the could and should haves, she supposed.Ā
ā...For one who wears most of my brotherās disappointing face, your actions bear little resemblance to the Nobukatsu of my world.ā
The alleged Lostbelt King flinched - an act that brought a hint of a nostalgic smile to the Demon Kingās face.
āAh, there it is. That timidity is something Iām much more familiar with.ā The smile disappeared just as quickly as Nobunaga spoke in a tone that even the eavesdropping Master rarely heard from them. āMy brother was many things. Timid, naive, foolish, manipulable, even spinelessā¦but he was never once a coward.ā
Nobunaga planted their sheathe to the ground in a familiar pose - one that only such a fool as they described would mistake for ease.Ā
And it was a mistake this new, one-eyed Nobukatsu clearly did not make, as his porcelain, almost sickly face paled even further in the moonlight. Even now, neither the outworld Master nor her Servant knew if they should believe his claims to Kingship; it was hard to imagine, seeing a boy so close in so many ways to the one they knew from their world claim to be this Lostbeltās King.
But then he spoke, and as he had before, he spoke regularly with a conviction known to the boy of their world but once in his lifetime.Ā
āThe reason I ran when we first met was not because I was afraid of you.ā
Nobunaga did not react, but they didnāt need to. Their doubt was implied from the start - it was the same doubt she always held when addressing her sibling, ever present in this world as it was the last. However, where the Nobukatsu they knew would protest and lose composure instantly, this one simply smiled a nostalgic smile of his own to mirror the Demon Kingās, as if the very situation they were in was an act of comfort to him.Ā
ā¦And yet all the while, Ritsuka felt the same overwhelming sensation of dread in her stomach as the boy spoke again, more assertively this time.
āPlease donāt think that for even a moment; I could never, in this life or any other, be afraid of you, sister!ā
There. That word. That exclamation.
Ritsuka knew it by heart. The way Nobukatsu had said it at that moment was the most familiar thing in this world to the Chaldean.Ā
āThe joy your presence brings meā¦.words could never do it justice. I gave up so long ago trying to find a way to see you take form again. No power, be it magical or technological, seemed able to bring something back from beyond the pale unscathed, and even were it capable, I could never risk losing you a second timeā¦ā
The coals between the two glowed faintly, and Nobukatsuās uncovered eye stared into the pit intently as Nobunaga remained silent, as if judging every word to come from the boy before them.Ā
āSeeing you again, I was beside myself for the first time in centuries. I could barely think; I was so filled with an irrational joy at the opportunities and dread at the possibilities I could not sleep until we met a second time, and I could speak to you as a guest rather than the intruder I stupidly mistook you chaldeans for.ā
There was a single, extremely weak chuckle. āEā¦Even now, I donāt know what to do with myself. I donāt know what to say. I donāt know what you would want me to say. I donāt know what Iām meant to do, or what any of this could even mean for usā¦ā
Guilt tore through Ritsuka at the Lostbelt Kingās words, and she was forcibly reminded of the very reason she could not sleep in the first placeā¦.here, in the hospitality of this world she was there to eradicate.Ā
No such expressions or betrayals of emotion flickered across Nobunagaās face, however. The warlord knew their brother in this or any other world. They knew this was nothing but a preface to confession.Ā
āā¦Butā¦Yes. I still havenāt answered your question, have I?ā He looked up with a small smile of innocence. āWhy I ran away-"
Just like that, the tension inaudibly yet tangibly snapped, and the chill of death itself spread through the entire floor of the palace and likely beyond, as the sensation drove Ritsuka to nausea and she would surely have outed herself as she collapsed, were it not for the various clatters of the drapes and cracking of window glass echoing over the floorboards beneath her.Ā
And from her unmoving stance, the Warlord looked down with something in their eyes the fading Ritsuka knew was novel to themĀ - a mixture of wrath, uncertainty, and above all else, concern.
āBrother, I will not repeat my question, nor will I restate my intent, for I could not possibly make clearer the deathly seriousness with which it was first presented. So answer me before I question why I should indulge you at all.ā
Complete silence fell over the palace. No curtains billowing, no embers crackling, not even a breath from any of the three there that night.
Until slowly, the King spoke.
ā....when I saw you, I was afraid, sister. And I⦠I still am. It wasnāt the shock of seeing you again that sent me running, nor the company you now keep, nor even the thought of you as an enemy.ā Another weak and fleeting smile. āI know there is never a cause you could pledge yourself to that wasnāt more just and true than any other.ā
The boyās head fell, finally breaking away from his idolās gaze as shadows fell across his face.
ā...What put that fear in meā¦.what terrifies me to my core, is that I felt fear at all - that I was uncertain from the start. Iām afraid because I would never fail to recognize you - whether this history or your own, I would never forget that smile.ā
The kingās head bowed forward, a hand to his face as his voice cracked.
āSoā¦pleaseā¦if youāre my dear sister, from so long ago, please tell meā¦
There was a drop. And then another. Each accompanied by the sound of evaporation against the coals of the roomās fire pit.
āā¦ā¦Why is it you look nothing like what I rememberā¦?!ā