That day, the two of them sat together on a train traveling from the city of Minehold to Semilir.
"Ah, that reminds me of something," Zavi said, his face taking on a thoughtful expression.
Celvira furrowed her brows, glancing at him with a somewhat apathetic expression.
"Do you know about supernatural entities that always take the form of 'women'? I'm sure it has something to do with human desire. After all, humans, especially men, are naturally attracted to beautiful women."
"Yes," she replied with the same apathetic attitude. "That's one of the reasons you always see Recipestele taking the form of 'women'; it allows them to be seen by ordinary humans and interact with their contractors. However, in reality, they have genders just like humans in the supernatural realm, including children and ancient entities among them. You must know that while in this world, they consume human leftovers, although their primary food is none other than bones."
Zavi merely nodded at the lengthy explanation; there was no doubt that this was a parallel world to Earth, or rather, a world that mirrored concepts he had studied and delved into.
Even though he was aware of this, Zavi did not immediately conclude that this world was a parallel version of Earth. However, the evidence they had gathered, little by little, was more than enough to confirm that this world aligned with that theory.
Their conversation shifted to the contract between the two of them, but every second brought them to another subject.
"What ability do you have?" Zavi could not hide his desire to ask about Celvira's ability as a third-level Evil Spirit, Nammeridya.
Celvira sighed.
"Transformation. I can manipulate the structure of anything, inanimate objects, living creatures, even down to the smallest particles, using my spiritual energy. Simply put, I can reinforce the fragile molecules of an ordinary sword until it becomes indestructible."
"That's it?" Zavi muttered, the drowsiness that had been chasing him vanishing in an instant.
....
In the historical world, in another realm where cosmic entities from distant outer space attacked the world where humans lived with horror itself.
As the cosmic entities appeared and filled the sky with their magnificent, star-like forms, their beauty concealed a horrifying consequence: anyone who looked upon them would instantly descend into wild, uncontrollable madness.
This event marked the beginning of humanity's destruction in that era; people slaughtered everything in front of them, including the weak. Great empires collapsed in an instant, and various kingdoms lost their vitality as chaos swept across strategic territories.
Those who survived the attack of the cosmic parasites born from the stars sought shelter and resolved to preserve civilization in their own way.
Wars continued to rage across several regions, a conflict vastly different from wars fought with conventional weaponry. The warring factions wielded supernatural powers and forged alliances with entities from other worlds in order to defeat their enemies and claim victory on the battlefield.
The world had long suffered from the consequences of humanity's reckless actions. Forests withered and lost their life after the sun temporarily disappeared during that era. Rivers that had once teemed with fish became nests for monsters; spiritual energy descending from the heavens transformed the creatures inhabiting the waters and forests into savage beasts known as "Chalog", a term meaning "Corrupted Demon."
The humans who survived that era were wise; they made use of the animals that had endured the chaos, bringing some of them along to ensure their own survival.
Witnessing the flow of history unfold within mere seconds, the two of them were amazed by how the survivors had managed to escape the cruelty of the cosmic entities that attacked their world.
Although they had once placed their hopes in the gods, in those critical moments, they stopped believing in divine matters, choosing instead to live as they were in that shattered world.
Yet, unbeknownst to them, somewhere beyond, throughout the centuries that passed after the chance meeting of the three leaders, nine mysterious figures emerged. Each played a different role; three of them stood out as they fought against cosmic entities in deep space to defend what remained of humanity.
Non-human beings; dragons, vampires, elves, mermaids, giants, and Jakharot, emerged from their hiding places, or rather, were freed from their confinement.
Emerging from that era, the two observers clearly saw how these beings united to fight against the cosmic entities wreaking havoc upon the world.
The battle never truly ended, at least, not in that era.
"This is the memory of the White Night Fog," Loki said firmly, his expression serious.
Zavi fell silent for a moment before asking in a hoarse voice, "How do you know that?"
"Because of this story," Loki replied skeptically.
Then, he added:
"We should work together to get out of this stupid story. I... I no longer remember half of the important plot points."
This contradicted their previous agreement; Zavi was clearly surprised by the revelation.
Nevertheless, he tried to remain calm and find a way to escape this strange scenario as quickly as possible.
"Is there another way?" he asked, his tone lacking the confidence he had shown earlier.
"There is." Loki nodded, looking at him with enthusiasm while ignoring the historical flow unfolding around them.
He wanted to tell him the plan, but in an instant, the story completely took over his body, turning Wesborn Loki into a Protagonist.
An inevitable attack occurred, and Zavi did not know it had happened as stories with different narratives took hold of him as a single whole.
Survival, darkness, and apocalypse. Strange monsters appeared before him as Zavi slowly opened his eyes. Maintaining his awareness as a character within the story, he hurriedly searched for the fourth wall within the three merged tales.
Celvira remained in her previous position, never moving as Zavi floated like air around the terrifying monsters whose mouths and claws were directed toward him.
Haek.. Haek.. Haek..
A single strike from the flying creature with horns and glowing red eyes severed Zavi's leg. In that critical situation, Celvira, who was embracing Zavi tightly from behind, utilized their contractual connection. Celvira took control of her human's "Transformation" ability, then manipulated and condensed the remaining particles of Zavi's body until they formed a new leg, whole and identical to the original.
Zavi then exchanged glances with the monsters below.
They continued pursuing him, driven by the urge to prevent intruders like them from escaping the area. Realizing this, Zavi took the risk of bringing out that object.
"Celvira."
"Understood."
The particles instantly merged in the air, forming the familiar brown suitcase that floated directly in front of him. It defied all logic; clearly, their existence itself was an anomaly within the story.
The suitcase opened on its own before vanishing into nothingness, leaving behind three objects that radiated a cold, spiritual aura.
Zavi spun around, his fingers deftly opening the Hoisline fan artifact before swinging it with ease.
Whoosh.
The flying creatures and monsters of various horrifying and grotesque forms were hurled away in a single attack. Purple blood sprayed across the landscape of scattered ruins, while bones piled up like the grand architecture of a kingdom in the real world.
Trapped within a tale filled with horrifying and unpredictable creatures, Zavi hoped to find what he was searching for.
As he fought the flying monsters pursuing him, swinging his fan-shaped artifact, a thought suddenly crossed his mind, but his brain could not process it before his body abruptly came to a halt.
He fell from the height; however, instead of crashing into the ground, sharp bones jutting upward greeted them with profound silence.
Crack.
Celvira regained full consciousness just as her black Gothic dress became drenched in Zavi's thick crimson blood.
The two of them were impaled by the bone. Ground and airborne monsters swarmed them simultaneously, brutally tearing their bodies apart. Not a single scream escaped her lips; as though pain had no place in this tale.
Screams and roars filled the air, until sudden silence caused the monsters to stop and stare at the remnants of death below them.
Zavi Actitus and Celvira were declared out of the tale after "their" bodies were completely devoured by the monsters.
The story did not end there; after exiting that illusory tale, they were immediately greeted by Loki Wesborn, who was ready to throw them into the story of his own creation.
Zavi's fingers deftly swung the Hoisline fan artifact. Loki's eyes widened without blinking, radiating acute tension like someone who had been awake for days, then closed as a powerful gust of wind began tearing the flesh from his body, little by little.
In this realm, the artifact gained immense power because its existence was within the era of its creation and original use. However, there was a price to pay; Zavi felt his arm grow limp, becoming soft like jelly.
He fell silent, at a loss for words as an invisible will forced them to fight until the end, even as both struggled to maintain control over their own bodies.
Fine strands resembling threads appeared, wrapping around Loki like a bird seeking shelter from a predator within its nest.
Zavi instinctively retreated, swinging the artifact at Loki three times, even more than that.
The attacks produced no lasting effect; the fine threads only tightened further, producing rhythmic, musical notes resembling the strumming of a professional guitarist.
Zavi continued swinging the artifact until the fine threads sliced his body into disconnected pieces.
He regenerated instantly as billions of "box jellyfish" appeared, filling the entire space before all of them exploded simultaneously.
Boom!
The battle caused the flow of history around them to tremble violently before finally breaking apart, transporting them somewhere else, to the dwelling of "The Awakened," known as Sosreca.
The event occurred in the same era; the year 890 of the Star Calendar, a time when humans had evolved, each possessing unique traits manifested in their limbs.
As the two clashed with their strongest attacks, they caught a glimpse of an average-looking man; in the darkness of the cave, a glowing star-shaped mark could be seen on the back of his hand.
For a moment, they stopped, preserving the mystery and conspiracy that others often spoke about, before continuing the battle.
The story continued. The cave collapsed into ruins, and every trace of the man they had seen vanished as the stars filled the sky with their brilliant light, preparing the stage for their final confrontation.
Whoss.