Dimensions Collide: Destiny Bond Chapter 173: Land of the Mystics

Chapter 173: Land of the Mystics

“John? Are you alright?”

This question ca from Kit, who looked genuinely concerned for him. John, however, simply shook his head and slapped his cheeks as if to wake himself up.

“Great. No, this is fine. Sorry, I was just… thinking of sothing else,” he said, ignoring the side eye Prota was giving him.

“...are you sure?” Destiny frowned.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure. Are we almost there yet?”

“Yes. Quiet, now. My family isn’t as… well, understanding as I am,” Kit said.

They approached an especially thick area of the woods, where a pink light could be seen. A single man with red hair sat by a campfire, but strangely enough, the fire was pink.

“Ryuto,” Kit called out. “I’ve brought them.”

“Your mother was not pleased that you are bringing… mortals into our realm,” the man said.

John resisted the desire to see what kind of reaction he could bait out of this Mystic. Instead, he did his best to read the situation.

The atmosphere was tense. Kit seed visibly upset by sothing, and while John assud it had sothing to do with her past, he wasn’t quite sure why she was being so aggressive to this Mystic in particular. From what he knew, she should only have negative feelings toward her family and whoever she’d been married off to.

So why act all tense around this man?

“Co. We shouldn’t keep them waiting. The mortals can sit in the carriage,” Ryuto said, standing up.

The pink fla vanished with the snap of a finger, and in its place was a standard carriage. Instead of horses, though, there were two bright flas at the front, dancing as if alive.

“Now. Let us depart.”

Suddenly, John realized sothing. Ryuto. That was a Japanese-style na. Kit. That was also Japanese style, wasn’t it? And the shrine maiden clothing she was wearing, the whole nine-tailed fox aspect…

“The [Author’s] a fucking weeb,” John muttered, shaking his head.

Ryuto stared, annoyed that John had yet to get in the carriage.

“Move. Now,” he said sharply.

Normally, John would’ve held himself back, but his sudden revelation had caused enough annoyance to build up in his heart.

“Hey, I don’t know what kinda-”

His sentence was cut off as Kit hurriedly jumped to him, wrapping her hands around his mouth.

“He doesn’t an anything by it. Let’s go,” she said, forcefully pushing John into the carriage.

He tried to protest, but she was really being quite forceful. She slamd the door shut before going to join the other Mystic in the front. The carriage took off rather smoothly, and soon, they were flying above the clouds.

Prota stared out with shining eyes. She’d never even imagined such a thing was possible.

“John,” she said, wonder in her voice. “Clouds.”

“...yeah,” he said, offering a faint smile. “Clouds.”

He lowered his head, trying to think. Just what was the situation here? What was really going on with Kit? He’d thought that knowing her backstory to so extent was enough, but evidently, there was way more going on here than he’d ever imagined.

“John,” Destiny said suddenly, cutting off his train of thought.

“Hm? What’s up?”

“Kit’s backstory. She told to tell you.”

John’s eyes shot up. “What?”

“She told to tell you. This carriage has been soundproofed by her. That… Ryuto fellow won’t know what’s going on. So, while we’re flying, she told to tell you her story.”

“...why the sudden change?”

“Well, it seems her opinion of you has improved,” Destiny said with a smile. “She also told not to tell you any more than that. What was it… she wanted a favour if you want to know.”

John shuddered. “No thanks. Her opinion improving can’t be everything, though. So what’s going on?”

Destiny’s smile slowly disappeared. “Well… information is your biggest asset, right? She thought… if you’re tagging along, it might help for you to know everything you can. Besides, both of us agreed that you’re not the type to see people differently after knowing their circumstances. Be honest. You don’t really care what happened to her in the past, right?”

“Well, if you put it like that-”

“No. I don’t an this in a bad way. You just don’t care. You don’t care about how it affects her now, and you don’t care that it happened. Am I right?”

“...yeah.”

“Good.” Destiny’s smile ca back. “That’s fine. After all, it’s who you are. But you’d better listen well, because she’s planning to rely on you if anything goes on.”

“?” John yelled, caught off guard. “Why ? What the fuck?”

“Because, when things go to plan, I’m the one we rely on, right? But you’ve been there for us every ti sothing odd happens. Every ti the unexpected happens. So… I really hope you won’t need to do anything here.”

“Hm… better safe than sorry, right?”

Destiny nodded.

“Great.”

The mood in the carriage was rather sombre now. Even Prota, who hadn’t paid much attention to what was going on, seed to understand that this wasn’t just a vacation.

“Alright,” Destiny said with a sigh. “Then, I’ll start.”

~~~

Kit had only been alive for a hundred years, and most of those had been spent in the land of the Mystics.

As rules prevented them from interacting with the mortal world to a certain extent, a secret, separate continent had been provided for them.

Mythos.

Then, as the people of Devfroth developed, so did the Mystics. Although they were incredibly powerful, they were neither omniscient nor omnipotent. While they couldn’t die of old age, many of them chose to pass of their own will. After all, these were not perfect beings. Living for an eternity was a strain many could not bear.

Of course, there were a few who remained, those who had bore the sands of ti. They naturally beca leaders, so adopting the moniker of king and queen, while others bore the title of elder or leader.

And lead they did. The various races of Mystics split up, each claiming their own land and resources. While Mystics were originally mana beasts, they adopted the politics and mannerisms of the mortals they so often looked down upon. War was never waged, but there were battles. Disputes. Backstabbing, plotting, treason, so on and so forth.

These godlike beings had been created to manage Devfroth should sothing ever go wrong, but the powers they’d been granted were more than enough to do so. Their primary reason for growing stronger, then, was to keep each other in check.

Of course, dragons played a part in this as well, but they would always see their position and rank as one of the most important things.

The Ninetails clan was not very prestigious. Their specialty was in fire magic, specifically that of illusions. While the two may not seem connected, it is the smoke and light of fire that results in the illusions these foxes are so proud of.

Growing up, Kit had never been interested in politics. She’d never cared about their clan’s standing within the hierarchy of Mystics. Rather, she was fascinated with mana. Mystics mature quickly, and Kit had known from a young age that magic was what she would pursue for the rest of her life.

Normally, this would not have been a problem. The Ninetails clan was one whose leader bore the title of king, his advisors being referred to as Elders. If one did not enlist in the royal army, they were not expected to participate in the clan’s problems with the other Mystics.

Kit’s ntor was an Elder called Kang Loy, a man who, like Kit, pursued magic out of interest, not out of desire for power. He’d offered to teach her after finding her in a park, experinting with all sorts of spells.

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Even as a child, Kit had always been a little tricky. Her attitude had always been foxlike, even among a clan of foxes. As a result, she had initially tried to prank the Elder, but his magic easily dismissed her illusions.

“You seem like a fun one,” he said, a twinkle in his eye. “Wanna see sothing even more interesting?”

Those days could be called so of Kit’s happiest mories. Never had she expected life to turn around so drastically.

Around the young age of ninety-nine, she was called to the castle to have an audience with the king.

“Kit Ninetails,” the king said, his voice booming across the hall. “Do you know why I have called you here today?”

“No, my lord,” Kit said, shaking as she bowed her head.

“I would like to offer you a proposal. I believe you are aware of my son, the prince.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“He has seen you around as of late. I will not mince my words, and shall cut to the chase: would you be interested in becoming the princess of the Ninetails clan?”

Kit’s heart had initially leapt with joy. Mystics were typically very attractive, since magic could easily be used to redefine one’s physical traits, so to have caught the prince’s attention ant she was special.

Upon arriving ho, her family was exuberant. Their daughter, soon to be part of the Royal Family. Kit t with the prince a few tis. He seed a friendly enough fellow, and she had yet to really experience anything like love or relationships.

After all, to an immortal, what was a century of learning magic? It wasn’t that Kit couldn’t fall in love, but magic had and always would be her first love.

As a result, she didn’t know that she was not a good fit for the prince. She didn’t mind being around him, but there was nothing quite appealing about him. In fact, in the back of her mind, there was sothing just a little off. However, she failed to pay this feeling any attention. It wasn’t that she had waved it off; she just didn’t realize what it ant.

Slowly, though, life beca more stressful. She was forced to take lessons on royal etiquette, learning to be prim and proper.

In truth, though, she was learning how to be the prince’s pet. She didn’t realize it, but she could feel it. Sothing about this situation didn’t feel right. The longer the two interacted, the more she felt that she was being treated as an object.

The final straw was the day she’d been told she could no longer practice magic.

“You will have no need for that,” the king inford her. “Instead, learn to beco a princess the other Ninetails will love.”

Kit protested. Quite loudly, in fact. Her fear of the king was outweighed by her love for magic. She couldn’t even imagine giving it up. Besides, why was she even ant to do so in the first place?

The conversation ended roughly, but in the king’s favour. Still, Kit continued to practice in secret. From that point on, though, she began to notice things. Her family acted differently, more concerned with her training and the date of the marriage rather than her well-being. The prince, while kind, seed incredibly suspicious. For the first ti, Kit learned how to read people.

And she didn’t like what she saw.

In the end, she decided to leave. Conferring with Elder Kang Loy, he helped her forge an excuse to leave: she would be going on a pilgrimage to accept her purpose in life, seeking the beauty of Celeste in the world beyond.

No matter how powerful the rulers were, no one could deny a pilgrimage in the na of Celeste. In the end, she was given permission, granted that she return when called for.

So she left, journeying to the land of Devfroth, where she hid herself. Her reluctance to use her powers wasn’t due to the restriction set on Mystics; Destiny didn’t count as a normal mortal, and Mystics were allowed to aid him to an extent.

No, she was hiding from her family, hoping she could escape for as long as possible.

But with the recent events that had occurred, she’d been found.

And after a good number of years, it was ti to go back to the land of the Mystics.

~~~

John pressed his lips together, going over the information he’d just gathered.

To be honest, there wasn’t much of interest. This tale was pretty standard. There wasn’t anything interesting or new. Of course, there were a few theories he could develop.

First, the snakes that had been chasing Kit back when Destiny had found her were likely so kind of hired help. John wasn’t sure if they were Mystics or what, but the point was that the Ninetails clan didn’t want Kit wandering off on her own.

This led to his second theory: Kit was special. Obviously, she was special in that she was Destiny’s [ntor], the one who’d taught him magic and led him through so tough tis, but she was more than that.

The marriage was likely a cover-up for sothing else. From what John could tell, Kit wasn’t the best at dealing with people. Yes, she could often be found teasing others, and she enjoyed getting reactions out of people, but inherently, she didn’t understand the mind of a person. She didn’t understand how people operated.

That was John. He might not be able to empathize, but he could understand how certain actions evoked certain reactions, how certain events could bring out certain moods. To him, people were variables, and the mind was like a variable in an equation.

Kit, on the other hand, had incredible intuition. She might not understand why certain people reacted in certain ways, but she instinctively knew what was good and what was bad. That sa intuition had saved her from whatever the king was planning.

To most, this would just seem like a case of a royal family taking advantage of their power and forcing so random girl to marry the prince, but to John, it was more than that. Kit couldn’t have been chosen just for her mind or her looks. There was sothing else.

But what?

“Destiny,” John said quietly.

Even if the carriage was ant to be soundproofed, he didn’t want to risk being found out. He reached into his bag and pulled out a pen and paper. Destiny’s eyes widened, but he got what was going on. John scribbled sothing quickly and passed the paper over.

Did Kit talk about any special powers? Unique existences within the clan or within Mystics?

Destiny frowned, then shook his head. John just sighed.

Great.

“Alright,” John shrugged. “Then there’s nothing to really say. So… what now? She’s gonna marry so prince?”

“...I guess,” Destiny said.

His eyes, however, conveyed a different ssage. He was asking John a question.

“Will you do sothing about it?”

John shrugged.

“What do you want to do? You’re the hero, you know.”

Destiny shook his head, gesturing to Kit outside the carriage.

“Kit trusts you.”

John’s eyes bulged, waving his arms and pointing to his chest. He pointed to his bag and shook his head.

“? Why ? Seriously? I’m the manaless idiot, rember? I didn’t even bring Arthur’s mana pills this ti!”

Destiny’s eyes went wide.

“What? Why not?”

John just shook his head again, this ti in disappointnt.

“What the fuck is a tiny mana core gonna do against Mystics?”

The real reason he hadn’t brought the pills along was that [Infinity] was no longer sothing he needed to hide. If he’d explained his powers to a few Mystics, he might as well start using his powers openly. Yes, the pills could help him out, but he refused to use them if that ant Zero was going to suffer. Despite all their argunts, John cared for his soul, just as Zero cared for him.

Destiny, however, wasn’t satisfied.

“How about your powers? Can’t you use them?”

John sighed, shrugging.

“What do you think?”

Destiny shot him a dirty look, then looked away.

“What do you think the land of the Mystics is like?” he said quietly.

“Dunno,” John shrugged. “You know more about this world than I do. Your guess is as good as mine.”

“Can’t you predict it with your intuition or whatever?”

“Dude, I’m good at guessing certain scenarios, not what so country looks like. It could look like Bumfuck, Nowhere, or it could be the most beautiful land we’ve ever seen.”

That got a laugh out of the hero.

“Alright. Let’s guess then.”

“You go first.”

“Mm… maybe sothing like Solaris and Lunaris combined? A mix of magical engineering and nature combined, you know?”

John’s eyes widened. That wasn’t a bad guess. It was, however, a guess that didn’t factor in the [Author’s] tastes. At least, they were tastes John assud the [Author] had.

Japanese nas. Gaius being based on Japan. Kit, wearing a shrine maiden’s outfit. Katanas, beach episodes, reincarnation…

“It’s gonna look like an old version of Japan,” John sighed. “Shrine gates. Lanterns hanging off posts. Cobbled roads, wooden huts… well, you got the nature part right, at least. Probably mountainous areas, too. At the very least, the place will probably be very clean.”

“Old… Japan?” Destiny frowned.

Prota, too, looked at John. She’d been listening the entire ti, but this wasn’t the first ti he’d uttered that na. As a result, she was interested.

“Don’t worry about it,” John said, much to his sister’s disappointnt. “If you don’t know about it, there’s no point in explaining. You’ll see when we get there.”

“I thought you didn’t know what it looked like.”

“...I don’t.” John sighed again. “But now that you ntion it, I have an awful feeling that I’m right.”

“Awful?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

~~~

True to John’s predictions, the land was part mountains, part flat lands. The mountain was filled with trees and what appeared to be shrine gates, although a closer look would be needed to be sure. Various rivers and small waterfalls ran throughout the area. The flat lands were filled with bamboo and grass, making for an almost deserted look.

However, as the carriage got closer to the ground, one could see many wooden hos scattered across the land. n and won with pink hair walked on paths of cobblestone, lanterns lit with pink fire lighting the way.

What John hadn’t anticipated, however, was the giant Japanese-style castle made entirely of gold. Or, at least, that’s how it appeared. The walls, the rails, the roofs, everything one could see was made of pink rose-gold. It was an extravagance that stood out in the otherwise quiet and humble village.

Prota stared at the scenery wide-eyed. Never in her life had she seen such a peaceful village. Even Destiny was caught off guard by the beauty of the land.

“Alright, everyone,” John said quietly. “This is it.”

It was interesting that John, of all people, was the one to remind everyone of the situation they were in, but his words had a sobering effect nonetheless.

This was a land of gods. These beings had power beyond what any of them had seen. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Prota had seen Kit fight at her peak in previous [Resets] while fighting Doctor, but otherwise, nobody but John knew just how strong their enemies were.

Leora and Lupin didn’t count. They weren’t able to fight at their strongest due to the circumstances they’d been in.

But now? This place was designed for them. There was nobody but Mystics here.

There was nothing to hold them back.

“Oh. One last thing before we go out.”

Destiny and Prota snapped to attention at John’s voice. It was dangerously serious, sothing he typically reserved for incredibly important information.

“Do you two know about the restrictions set upon Mystics?”

“Yeah,” Destiny said, frowning. “Kit said that she can’t interfere too much since… well, it seems you know.”

Prota, however, had no idea what John was talking about. It was possible she’d heard about it before, but if she had, she didn’t rember it.

“Mystics can’t use their full strength against you,” John explained. “If they do, they risk a terrible fate or sothing.”

Suddenly, sothing hit John. What he was about to say didn’t apply to either Prota or Destiny. The thought had ford while he was talking, but luckily, he’d caught himself in ti.

“Just keep that in mind,” John said, looking at them. “If it cos to it…”

“Hold on,” Destiny said, holding his hands up. “You think we’re-”

“Don’t say it,” John warned. “But if it cos to it… I’m just saying. That’s sothing you guys should keep in mind.”

Prota looked at him, nodding, but she felt as if that wasn’t what John had been planning on saying. However, she couldn’t quite figure it out, and he wouldn’t withhold information that could save their lives, right?

She was right. He wasn’t withholding information that could save their lives.

He was withholding information that could save his own life.

Back when he’d fought Hikari, he’d learned that Destiny was a unique existence in that Kit could assist him without losing her powers. According to Lupin, a Mystic could be the hero’s companion. He now knew that her reluctance to help them was due to the fact that the Ninetails clan would have found her faster.

But that wasn’t his main concern. No, the problem was the fact that if the pattern held…

All three of them weren’t immune to fighting Mystics. Destiny’s status as a hero likely made it so he could fight these gods, although that had yet to be confird. Prota had been helped by Kit, so that ant that she wasn’t considered a mortal. And John’s status was obvious.

To be completely honest, the rules didn’t quite line up. There were a lot of inconsistencies when it ca to these things. But if that was the case, then the next best rule to follow was what the [Author] would want. Even if there were no rules at all, there was always the rule of writing.

To put it in Zero’s words:

“Whatever makes things more interesting,” John muttered, shaking his head as the door to the carriage opened.