The air was thick with anticipation in the room as Nowa's last word had echoed.
Remilia, a slow, wide, and utterly delighted smirk spread across her face. Her eyes gleam with triumph and amusement. She leans back in her throne, steepling her fingers.
Sakuya's posture remains perfect, but her eyes track him with intense focus. There was no smile, but a faint, almost imperceptible softening around her eyes, the look of professional respect. She notes the specific order of his gaze and the significance of his chosen seat. When his eyes land on her, her own gaze does not waver, but she files the moment away.
Yukari, a knowing, cat-like smile, half-hidden behind her fan. She gives a slight nod.
Marisa leans forward, her earlier beam transformed into a grin. "Whoa..."
Reimu lets out a quiet, long-suffering sigh, but it's a sigh of relief, not annoyance. She gives a single, slight nod, acknowledging the necessary formality of it all.
Patchouli finally looks up from her book. Her expression was of interest, analyzing him.
Koakuma let out a small, startled "Eep!" and instinctively takes a half-step closer to Patchouli's chair, clutching her clipboard tightly. She looks up at him with wide, nervous eyes, intimidated by the sudden shift in atmosphere.
Ran's nine tails give a single, respectful flick. She observes him with the calm gaze of a fellow strategist, appreciating his honesty and positioning.
Chen's ears perk straight up, and she tilts her head. She whispered to Ran, "Ran-sama, does this mean he's the good guy now? Is he going to help?"
Ran placed a gentle hand on her head to quiet her.
Nowa let the moment settle, then cut cleanly through the tension.
"Firstly, let's cut to the chase and recap the situation," he said. He then looked to Ran. "Miss Ran, be the voice of the details."
Then, his gaze swept straight across all their faces. "After that, I will give you my brutally honest take on what you all are dealing with."
Ran nodded, then she began.
"Our enemy's name is 'Zero'. His observed capabilities are as follows: he can alter the fundamental identity of his foes, rendering their innate abilities useless. On June 13th, the first encounter, he nearly killed Lady Yukari, forcing her retreat and causing her to run for two days straight, then the subsequent search and discovery of Mr. Beckitzer on June 15th."
She continued. "On Mr. Beckitzer's first day at the Hakurei Shrine, Zero demonstrated the ability to subvert the Spell Card duel itself. Mr. Beckitzer identified this effect as 'Reality Malware,' a corruption which the Yakumo household could only observe as it spread, unable to counter it. We still don't know what other effects it does to this day. But it was fixed and purged by Mr. Beckitzer."
"Yesterday, June 16th, halfway to noon. The Misty Lake incident was a coordinated, two-pronged assault. One force engaged the defense team at the lake, while a second struck Lady Yukari's boundary place simultaneously…"
Ran's report faltered. She blinked, her brow furrowing slightly. "The entity at the lake… what was it that attacked us again?"
Marisa, thinking, tapped her temple. "...Yeah, who was that again? I remember a fight, but…"
Reimu's gaze swept from Marisa to Ran, her expression flat with disbelief. "...Seriously? It was that entity with the triangular head. You guys don't remember?"
"Continue with what you can recall," Nowa interjected. "It's part of the effect of my Black Flame. Those who were not present at the erasure forget the target. It's gone from their story."
A ripple of reaction went through the room, a mix of fear and sharpened caution.
Remilia, momentarily shaken, she leaned forward. "You can burn away not just a life, but the very memory of it? Fascinating and utterly dreadful." An intrigued smirk. "Tell me, does it work on abstract concepts as well? Or just… physical stories?"
"This is the one ability I do not want to explain, and I intend to keep it that way," he said. "But I know its limits, so you don't have to worry. I've mastered this flame under a mentor, his name is Katsurugi Bion." He paused, his gaze shifting back to Ran. "Let's not change the topic. Miss Ran, continue."
Across the table, Patchouli's lips thinned into a line of offense. The gatekeeping of fundamental cosmic principles was an intolerable obscenity. Without a word, she turned her eyes to Koakuma. The assistant, well-versed in her mistress's silent language, gave a tiny, understanding nod and added a new entry to her growing list: "Fourth Mystery: The 'Blackflame' – Mechanism and origin. Second highest priority."
Ran gave a single, composed nod. "...During this engagement," she resumed, "my connection to Lady Yukari was severed, resulting in a complete loss of my strongest powers."
Her gaze swept the room, ensuring the gravity of each point was understood.
"At the lake, we were completely outmatched. The enemy, or in what I can remember out of the entity, displayed the ability to eliminate and nullify spiritual power, rendering Lady Hakurei's abilities inert. They moved unconstrained through Sakuya Izayoi's time manipulation. They possess incredible durability, physical strength, tactical intellect, rapid adaptation, and advanced ghost mechanics. Their primary objective was the capture of Lady Hakurei, specifically targeting the power of her bloodline."
"Furthermore," Ran added, "they have shown high-speed regeneration even after defeat, and deployed a specialized 'mimic' entity that psychologically disabled Mr. Beckitzer for a critical period, allowing for Reimu's capture."
A breath.
"The most critical data point: upon regaining my powers and reaching Lady Yukari after the boundary place attack, I discovered she had no memory of the encounter. Zero possesses the confirmed ability to invade and erase memories of his actions."
She looked at each of them.
"All of this Incident of Zero happened in just a short-time period. Zero is not giving us a break. He's rushing all of us, and I don't if that's ever worse than the attack itself… That is all for now."
A heavy silence fell. The earlier confidence and amusement from Remilia and Yukari had evaporated, replaced by grim focus. The recap and the speed of the campaign of Zero forced everyone to remember the truth with total defeat.
Reimu stared at the table, the memory of her powerlessness and capture fresh in her mind. Sakuya's hands clenched slightly, remembering the violation of her time stop. Marisa's earlier awe was tempered by a sober, chilling reminder.
Nowa nodded, thanking Ran's effort.
"There's more," he added. "When I attempted to impose a 'no-invasion' law on this reality using my 50ms Author, it was rejected and cancelled entirely. Let that sink in, as those are editorial powers. Then the chase during Reimu's capture also revealed he has more armies in reserve, waiting to enter. One particular being, a portal-maker, utilized a concept similar to my Framework Runes, specifically the Spell deny, or in true name case 'Spell Alteration' gem. These runes are considered forbidden and impossible to recreate without prior knowledge. It also has an unwavering goal to deliver Reimu to Zero, which started the whole dimensional chase with myself and Sakuya."
'And the most alarming thing is that, during the village tour, I've detected a human with an anomaly aura no one seems to be able to sense or know about it. Plus a Fairy I had encountered yesterday too. And by the looks of it, Zero knew what he was doing from the start. This is likely had started year ago. But I'll keep this a secret for now. When I make my move on these infiltrators, the element of surprise will be my only advantage.'
He paused, letting the implications sink in.
"The deployed mimic was modeled after Amy's image. My adoptive mother, who raised me and gave me the framework of how I treat each one of you here. It was confidential information that only selected few people knew about her."
He stared at his palm before clenching it and returning his gaze back at them.
"Those who knew were: Chris Albrivan, Lancer Pel, Mishory Mushkin, Katsurugi Bion, Shin–Kai, …Fenlia B. Beckitzer." he paused after mentioning his adopted daughter.
They noticed before they could ask; he continued. "The last two are Virgio Veilhestrias. And Amy's older sister, Mia Forgir A. Beckitzer."
Marisa raised a hand. "Um,"
Nowa looked at her. "Sure."
"Fenlia… Beckitzer? Is she or he—"
"...She."
"Oh right. Is she your… something?"
Nowa was quiet. Unable to answer her question.
Marisa noticed and asked a different question instead. "Chris was the one you told us before. That means the other are suspects of—"
"Sorry." Nowa cut her off. "But… most of them are dead, or have cut ties with me…" he lowered his head. "Lancer… Bion… Fenlia… Are dead. Chris, Shin–Kai, and… Mia… have cut their ties with me."
"...What about Mishory Mushkin and Virgio Veilhestrias?" Ran asked.
"Mishory is… fine. She knows secrets are secrets. I owe her that. And for Veil… That kid has disappeared." He raised his head a little. "I found out that he died."
"Oh…" Ran replied quietly.
"...Virgio." Reimu murmur to herself.
Marisa heard Reimu and glanced at her. "Is something the matter, ze?"
Reimu was staring at the table for a while. "...No, It's just… Feels like… I… I dunno."
"Okay?" Marisa raised an eyebrow.
Nowa cleared his throat. Getting their attention. "I know one of them knew me and betrayed me and is connected to Zero. Hence the attack of my weakness. So let's move on to that. It already happened. It is what it is."
He stared straight at them.
"Back to the main topic of what you're dealing with."
Few of them nodded.
"There are two types of Reality warpers. Conceptual and Metaphysic-structure." He stated.
"Metaphysic…" Marisa murmured.
He continued. "Conceptual warpers deal with ideas. Concepts. Notions. The building blocks of thought and meaning. They operate on the layer of existence where ideas have power. This is where most gods powers are. They manipulate the concepts they represent as fire, water, war, love, death, any idea you can think of belongs here. Low-tier Conceptual warpers handle small ideas. Minor concepts. Mid-tier handle significant concepts. Major ideas. High-tier handle fundamental concepts. The core ideas of existence itself. As for the other."
Patchouli raised a hand briefly before lowering it. "You mean, there is more to it than what we understand?"
Nowa inhaled and exhaled quietly. "From what my latest understanding is… there are many, many ways for metaphysical warfare." A pause. "Metaphysical warpers deal with story."
"With… A story?" Patchouli asked.
He nodded. "Yes, like the book of life. All of us are written in a story by a higher beings. Known and categorized as Narrative entities. They structures the reality as a narrative. But, thankfully. There exist far too few to make them an apocalypse. As these powers only exist in the form of gods' technologies and borrowed powers. But here's their category: Low-tier Metaphysical warpers handle small story elements. Minor narrative structures. Mid-tier handle significant story manipulation. Major narrative bending. High-tier handle core story rewriting. Fundamental narrative control."
He paused again. Then scoffed. "It's some bullshit, I know. But."
He swept his gaze over them. "I am at the Highest tier of it. At the highest tier. The single most absurd abilities are; Editorial, Overrider, and Erasure. Physical strength, durability, or conceptuality means nothing in that category. So unless you got some counter to those types of attacks, which has almost to none. You'd be at their mercy."
Silence fell on the room as the gap of the truth was laid bare.
"They maybe are nearly identical. Both manipulate reality. Both can bend existence to their will. But they operate in different realities altogether. A Conceptual warper changes what is. A Metaphysical warper changes what the story says is."
He leaned forward.
"I have come across and dealt with Narrative Entities throughout my life," he stated. "That is why most stories nowadays aren't diluted with beings like me who operate from outside the text. But Zero… Zero can wield reality as a whim, and did so twice in a single day. A feat no normal god or Mid-tier metaphysics could never achieve."
He let the comparison hang in the air.
"And I'm going to be brutally honest with you all." He paused, ensuring he had the absolute attention of every soul in the room.
"Against Zero's full metaphysical power… This world's story… Is as good as dead."
Remilia's face is pale. Her fingers slowly curl into fists on the armrest of her throne. Her wings give a single twitch.
Sakuya's perfectly composed posture becomes even more rigid. A single, sharp intake of quiet breath. Her eyes, fixed on Nowa, narrow slightly, analyzing the statement for any hint of hyperbole and finding none.
Reimu did not flinch nor gasp. She simply closes her eyes. A long, slow sigh escapes her. When she opens them, they hold a deep, hidden fear. The last reminders of her tiredness are burned away by the cold reality of extinction.
Marisa's face goes serious, her brows furrowing. She leans back in her chair, crossing her arms, one hand's finger tapping her chin.
Yukari lowered her fan, completely revealing a face that is thoughtful and utterly serious, yet not despairing. Her eyes hold a complex mix of grim acknowledgment and... anticipation. She gives a single, slow nod, confirming a private theory.
Ran's nine tails droop slightly, then still. The confident set of her shoulders softens. She looks at Yukari, then back at Nowa.
Chen's ears flatten against her head and she lets out a confused, worried "Nya...?" She instinctively presses herself against Ran's leg.
The air in the room became vacuum-sealed and void of all hope. The finality of his verdict—"as good as dead"—hung in the silence.
Then, Remilia broke the silence.
"If I may ask… about the verdict you've given us. We understand complex abilities exist, but at what point are we finished? You've only known us up until today, June 17th; that's three days, let alone know our abilities. You knew none of us, yet you claim we're as good as dead?"
Reimu's gaze flickered between Nowa and Remilia. She interjected. "Stop it. Is fighting each other really a good idea—"
Remilia didn't stop. "—How are you so sure that we can't beat this problem by ourselves—"
Nowa stood.
"You have a point," he said, closing his eyes briefly before meeting Remilia's gaze.
"So here's my solution. I'll show you the low-level version of what meta-warfare looks like. The rules are simple: Stop me from doing it, by any means necessary."
An audible gasp echoed through the room.
"Are there any more questions before I create a room where all of you are against me?"
He swept his gaze one last time before adding, "Of course, I will only use my base stat, passive I cannot turn off, and grappling liquid nano rune only. I will disable all of my activation of runes. Those are my ultimate form of power, as well as my two absolute abilities: the black flame and 50 module's Author."
Reimu stood up. "Wait, this is insane. We just got through fighting for our lives. We just learned that Zero is a relentless bastard and that a new power hierarchy that made us basically helpless. And now you want us to fight you?"
Marisa turned to Reimu, worry flickering across her face. "Reimu—"
"No," Reimu cut her off, her voice tight. "I'm serious. We're all still hurt. Still reeling from the aftermath of the attack. Some of us barely slept. We understand that this is a life and death Incident, we stake our lives daily too before this. And now after this Incident…"
She paused, remembering her nearly assaulted state. She shuddered through her teeth.
"He wants us to fight him like this is some kind of exercise?"
Nowa met her gaze evenly. "That's exactly what it is."
"It's not an exercise when people could get hurt!"
"No one will be hurt beyond what's necessary," Nowa said. "And I'll prove it."
Remilia, from her seat, raised an eyebrow. "You intend to fight all of us simultaneously… while handicapping yourself? I beg your pardon, but that's just borderline arrogance, is it not?"
"You'll see in a moment," Nowa said. Then, softer, to Reimu: "I promise, none of you will die. It will only sting like a bee."
He took out a rune card and held it up so they could all see it. "This."
He snapped it in half. Complex stacking circles of runes flared to life behind him, across his arm, and across his chest.
"This is a contract rune," he said. "If any one of you dies in this controlled demonstration…" A pause. "It will kill me, and convert my remaining body into a robot you can all order to help you in return. That is my punishment if the contract is broken."
Reimu was stunned.
Marisa was also stunned.
Remilia was surprised.
Chen was solemn, too innocent to fully understand.
Koakuma went pale, hiding behind Patchouli, who was staring intently at the runes he had created. She was already reaching for her grimoire before she caught herself.
Sakuya had the least visible reaction. She had seen his suicidal behavior before. But a feeling surfaced anyway, a quiet, gnawing worry at his willingness to die again. Her hand, resting at her side, curled slightly.
Ran looked at Nowa, then turned to Yukari.
Yukari was silent for a long moment. Then she nodded. "Very well."
Reimu slowly sat back down. "...But what if someone has to back down and leave the demonstration?"
Nowa, with the runes humming behind him, answered without hesitation. "I'll respect their decision. So, who won't?"
Koakuma raised a trembling hand. "I-I'm just an assistant. I'm not a strong fighter like you all…"
Nowa nodded. "Sure. Who else?"
Reimu was about to raise her hand before stopping herself. No one saw the motion. She shook her head.
'...I can't. I'm Gensokyo's guardian… I can't back down from my duty to protect this place… I can't…'
No one raised their hand afterward.
"No other more?" Nowa asked.
They nodded.
"Right then."
He looked at his palm, the runes flaring. "Chanting access, activate. Temporary runic engravement, active. Rule rune contract, activate. 'He who serves even in death shall do their deeds without failure.'"
The runes burst, engulfing him completely. When the light faded, a tattoo of runic glyphs circled his neck.
"Right. Let's begin."
Remilia raised a hand. "Just a moment."
Nowa turned to her.
"This room you will make, what will it be? A confined space?"
"It will be a barren land. No mountains. Just land and rocks."
Remilia pointed at herself. "But—"
"As I said, a temporary room," Nowa said. "It will make a planet where a vampire can roam under the sun. A confined space is not ideal for all of you against me."
"A conceptual room that won't burn huh, it's unlike Patchouli's place creation concept. Fascinating…" she murmurs to herself.
"Wait." Sakuya's voice cut through.
Nowa looked at her.
She held his gaze for a long moment, then asked, "What happens to you if we win?"
The room stilled.
Nowa blinked. "...What?"
"If we win," Sakuya repeated, "what happens to you?"
He was silent for a moment. Then, quietly, he said, "Then you'll have learned something."
Sakuya didn't look away. "That's not an answer."
"No," he admitted. "But it's all I have."
Sakuya said nothing. But her hand tightened at her side.
Marisa stood up. "Alright, enough talking. Let's do this." She forced a grin. "I've been waiting for a proper lesson, teach us."
Nowa let out a quiet breath. "Then don't blink."
He raised his hand =̴̛̞̲̜̯͚̺͉̬̞̗̝̤̅̌̏̈́͌́̈́ ̴̛̞̲̜̯͚̺͉̬̞̗̝̤̅̌̏̈́͌́̈́
. =̴̢̡̢̭̟̯͎̺̝̱̖̫̝͔̣̮̦̻͈͕̬͇̭̱͕͂̎̎̔̄̔̑͌̈̏͆̿͘̚̕͘͘̕ͅ=̴̢̡̢̭̟̯͎̺̝̱̖̫̝͔̣̮̦̻͈͕̬͇̭̱͕͂̎̎̔̄̔̑͌̈̏͆̿͘̚̕͘͘̕ͅ
. =̷̧̨̧̨͓̣͈̺̜͕̙̦̼̼̙̜̗̖̲͉̖̥̖̫̘͔͖̜̭͈̙̜͇̤̫͋͜͜ͅͅ =̷̧̨̧̨͓̣͈̺̜͕̙̦̼̼̙̜̗̖̲͉̖̥̖̫̘͔͖̜̭͈̙̜͇̤̫͋͜͜ͅͅ
. =̷̢̰̣͙͈̥̗̺̜̦͇̏̓̀̋̊̈͑̐͌͛́̒̊̆̐͋̔̈́͋̓̄̓̿̋̐͒̓͌́̏̚̚͘͝͝͠
. =̵̧̛̯̲̬̐̑̍̓͌̓̾̿̍͋̊̔̈̿͆͑̌͘̕̚͝͠ͅ
. =̶̨̛̦̤̦͓̣͍̪̖̗͇̳̠̬̫̹̉̆͊̈́̓̍͗͆̔͒̊̈́͛͌͒̐̾̑̊͐̌͗͘͝͝͝
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A/N: For those who couldn't parse the ASCII, it's his hand reaching the script to switch the story. This ability is an extension of chapter 16's Nowa ability to stop this novel or another story if he's inside of it. It is also the demonstration version of what Nowa just explained during the council hours. And I find them interesting, which is why I revamped so many chapters to fit this style. Where I got this idea is from Undertale fangames, especially Chara. Of the fourth wall breaks attacks.
Note: The idea behind Metaphysics is not just fourth-wall breaks, but; How we change the story of social media, of how we share stories. We bend them to our liking or absorb them and take them as Reality itself. Law is a fiction that all of us follow through our reality.