"You're amazing too," Hinata said, smiling softly as she gently withdrew her delicate, pale finger from Romon's mouth.
To Hinata Hyuga, today was no ordinary day.
Originally, she had thought that even though she'd been reincarnated, without some kind of cheat-like ability, the best she could hope to achieve even if she pushed her potential to the limit was the level of a super-Kage like Toneri Hyuga.
But attaining the power of a Sage? That was impossible.
Yet now, Romon had appeared. A completely unique existence another version of herself, a humanoid cheat code. Just by staying near him, her strength steadily grew.
It was incredible.
That was why she had proposed living with him with another version of herself and staying together for life.
Unfortunately, the old man had refused.
A shame. A real shame.
As Hinata pondered this, a trace of regret flickered through her heart.
Just then, she heard Romon's voice beside her:
"Hinata, do you feel it? Like there's something in our heads..."
"Something?" she blinked.
"Yeah. A mysterious hall shrouded in a chaotic mist."
Hinata tilted her head, puzzled. Then she closed her eyes to sense carefully.
In the depths of her consciousness, she felt it a vague, shrouded temple veiled in black fog, nestled in the soul's domain.
What?
How could something like this suddenly appear in her mind?
Wait a second... Could this be a golden finger? A cheat? Activated by their close contact?
Hinata had barely formed the thought when she felt her consciousness being drawn toward the mysterious structure.
When she next opened her eyes, she found herself standing within the mist-filled temple Romon had described. Before her was an enormous round table, surrounded by ninety-nine empty seats. Candles flickered in the gloom, pushing back the black fog, filling the place with an air of sacred mystery.
What is this place?
Hinata's heart began to race with unease.
Then, a warm hand took hers.
She turned Romon.
With his usual easygoing smile, he said, "I knew it. You got pulled in too."
Seeing his familiar face instantly calmed her heart. The nervous tension faded, and she asked in a low voice, "Do you know what this place is?"
Romon shook his head. "No idea. But I have a hunch this is part of our cheat our 'golden finger.' If it meant us harm, it would've acted by now."
Hinata considered this, then nodded.
Romon continued, "Let's sit down. Maybe we'll learn more once we're part of it."
"Okay."
Hand in hand, the two walked to the massive table and sat side by side.
The moment they took their seats, a surge of information flooded their minds:
This is the Hall of Chaos, suspended above the black fog.
The round table is the Table of Fate.
Both exist to welcome the scattered soul fragments of Romon.
Every seven days, more fragments scattered across the multiverse after the Dayun Motors accident will awaken and be drawn to this place.
As the message faded, Romon and Hinata exchanged a glance.
"So we were right," Romon murmured. "This temple really is our golden finger."
"It must've existed ever since we transmigrated," he continued. "It just hadn't activated. But once we met, it emerged from the chaos and awakened."
"Maybe we're the first reincarnated fragments to arrive."
Hinata smiled. "Then it won't be long before others join us. I wonder what forms the other Romons have taken."
Romon looked around at the rows of chairs circling the table. "This place was made to receive the fragments of the original Romon the one hit by the Dayun truck. With this many seats, maybe he was split into a lot of parts."
"Not just a lot," Hinata said. "Ninety-nine, probably. There are ninety-nine chairs."
"To think a soul could be shattered into ninety-nine pieces… That's terrifying."
Just as Romon finished speaking, a sound echoed from beyond the mist the soft click of approaching footsteps.
Startled, Romon and Hinata turned toward the noise.
Through the swirling fog, a silhouette emerged gradually growing clearer.
It was a young girl.
Her features were exquisite, with short, silvery-blue hair and a lavishly decorated hat perched atop her head. Her clothing was just as ornate she looked like royalty.
The moment Romon and Hinata saw her, recognition struck them like lightning, drawn from the memories of their past lives:
The Queen of Water, of Laws, and of the People.
Furina the Hydro Archon of Fontaine.
Her presence here could only mean one thing:
She, too, was a reincarnated fragment of Romon.
Romon was stunned.
He had thought having one fragment reincarnated as Hinata was already incredible.
But now? Another had reincarnated as a god.
The Hydro Archon.
...
While Romon and Hinata were filled with awe and amazement, Furina herself was anything but calm.
Moments earlier, she had awoken in the Court of Fontaine only to find herself suddenly thrust into a hall of swirling black mist.
Though she was technically the Hydro Archon, she was not the divine Focalors, but rather the human aspect that had been separated from her Furina. She had no Vision, and no divine seat of power.
Fear gripped her heart.
Where am I?
What is this place?
Timidly, she stepped forward, trembling as she emerged from the mist and into the grand hall. Her eyes immediately caught the giant round table and the two people seated at it.
One was clearly a young Hinata still a child.
The other...
That face… it was her own. Her original face. The face she had before she reincarnated.
She froze.
What's going on here? Who are they?
Is this a hallucination… or something real?
Her thoughts spiraled into chaos.