11 Chapter 1: Using the Divergence Matrix

It had been a little while since the certification exam, probably several hours since then. He had read some messages from the surviving members of Oribe Unit that had been pinging him ever since he arrived back onto the ARKS Ship.

"I'm gonna get out for a bit." He said to Sarah, who was preparing some meal for him.

"Sigh... Fine, see you later then." Sarah sighed. Her brother was too much of a busybody!

Josua had met up with the members of Oribe Unit from back then that managed to evacuate into the Telepipe. Of course, all of them were extremely grateful for him, especially the instructor/unit leader, Oribe. Had it not been for Josua, who covered for them during their retreat, it would've been like how it was in the anime adaptation, where they all died, instead of only some (not that they were aware of it in the first place).

They treated him to a gourmet meal in Franca's Cafe. Franca was now a young lady, a proper chef that's running an extremely popular and successful joint. It wasn't like her cafe wasn't popular before, but rather, it's renown had simply grown beyond the first time he had been here since his transfer almost ten years ago.

Of course, Franca had been aware of his patronage as well. She'd often serve him a Gratin every time he was there. It was almost like a given thing by that point. Even if he hadn't ordered anything yet, she'd just dish out a Gratin for him. They were both near the same age, hence probably the "service" given to him.

"This girl..." Josua chuckled helplessly as a Gratin was served shortly after he sat down with the members of Oribe Unit.

They bombarded him with questions on what happened after they managed to evacuate while him and Afin stayed behind.

"So? How did you guys managed to survive?" The male Human Hunter asked.

"Can you teach me how you can stay calm like that? Teach me! TEACH ME!" The dark-skinned, red-haired female Newman pleaded.

"Ahem" The coughing sound was enough to calm down the rest of the group.

"First of all, thank you. If not for you, we would've been dead. We can't thank you enough for that." Oribe, the instructor/unit leader, said with a stern but grateful voice, while standing up and bowing down to him in gratitude, before sitting down again.

"No, no. It's fine, really." Josua shook his head and waved his hand.

"With that said, this is what I wanted to ask you: How were you able to fight like that? You're not like others that I've seen." Oribe then asked with a curious tone.

"Well... I've attended the Cadet Academy before I joined ARKS." Josua replied frankly.

"Ah, that place? No wonder..." Oribe nodded in understanding, seemingly putting that as the sole reason of Josua's capabilities.

Not that he could imagine that Josua had already enough experience that would've been enough to made him a unit leader himself.

They basically were merry all the way, celebrating his successful return and their survival, while honoring those that didn't make it. People dying in duty, it was a common thing, yet not many had the time to mourn or were even given the chance to. This was probably one of the few times they could do so.

.....

Whenever Josua thought of the reason why he could influence and change much of the fates of these people (and others as well), he could only think of one reason.

'Perhaps, it was because of the Divergence Matrix that was also brought over into this reality during his transfer to this universe. But who knows? The Divergence Matrix in question had been weakened after the transfer, and at this point lost its glimmer.' He thought after pondering for a while on the matter.

While Josua was thinking about it, he was walking around the Shopping Plaza (or Shopping Area). It had been a little since his little reunion with the survivors of the Oribe Unit. As he walked near the center of the plaza, he saw a woman clad in a laboratory coat.

Her hands had form, but they were seemingly flowing with blue streaks of light, as if information was like her flesh and blood, flowing in her. Josua immediately recognized her: it was Xion. Officially speaking, this was his first encounter with her since his transfer into this reality years ago. However, she was already aware of him for the same amount of time as well, and she also knew of his true origin: that being his soul originating from our reality. He looked at her with complicated feelings welling up inside him. As he stood behind her at a distance away, she suddenly spoke.

"... I have been expecting you." Xion said, as she turned around.

"No, there is a discrepancy in the perception of that phrase. Perhaps I am the one who has kept you waiting." She said.

Her expression was flat.

'But it's just like her.' He smiled bitterly on the inside.

"My name...is Xion. I am a being who is capable only of observation. I will not interfere with you, nor can I. " She introduced herself.

'I know.' He continued to smile bitterly on the inside.

Mind you, his inward bitter smile wasn't out of spite, but rather, out of the feelings when he recalled what will happen to her in the near-future.

"However, the path you must take--the path you have yet to tread--is moldering.

Therefore, I can merely set you upon it. I have calculated and predicted every potentiality, and will exhibit them here." She said.

"Gather divergences and bring forth the inevitable. The Divergence Matrix will aid you in this task." She then handed the Matrix to him.

He received it with his hand. He looked at it with complicated feelings inside of him before he put it away.

"I am a being who is only capable of observation. My role is not to guide you. Thus will the Divergence Matrix show you the way.

I pray that the path born of my regret will serve as a beacon to guide you when a compass cannot." She explained.

"...Forgive me.

I droned on without comprehending how difficult it must be to grasp such vague sentiment." She apologized, closing her eyes.

'I know. Please. Just...' Josua felt like he wanted to say it's fine, but he couldn't say it for some inexplicable reason.

"I will restructure my thoughts and state them again. Now, hear my request:

I bid you go to Naverius." She requested him.

"I will not say the reason. I cannot. The answer exists only in your future.

I am solely an observer. I can do nothing but observe." She said before she disappeared from his view.

He could only feel sorrowful for her. There was a particular reason on why she was speaking that way, and this was related to Luther. He held the old Divergence Matrix that had lost its luster in his hands. He looked at it for a while, before putting it away and clenched his hands.

"Luther... When the time comes, I WILL not let you have your way with her. Not this time, not under MY watch." He gnashed his teeth, anger seething from his face, before he used the newly-given Divergence Matrix to travel back to the disastrous certification exam.

.....

A.P.238/2/20/10:30

Shortly after their battle with the Rockbear...

Josua looked like he was standing there in a daze, but in fact, his consciousness had just traveled through time. Afin, who was beside him, was confused as to why Josua had suddenly zoned out for some time.

"... Oi, hey there, mate! What's up with you just staring into space?" He nudged the seemingly-dazed Josua.

Josua then snapped back, and it finally sank in that he had just time-traveled.

'If only this was a thing back then... Sigh....' He sighed ruefully at the thought of the sheer usefulness this had for him in the previous reality.

"Heh, yeah, I feel you. You're nervous about the certification mission, I take it? Believe me, I know EXACTLY how you feel." Afin said empathetically to him, unaware of his actual thoughts.

"I can't say this will be... fun, exactly, but we should be able to pull through as long as we work together, mate." Afin ensured him.

'Bruv, it's you that needed that, not me.' Josua looked at him like he's the idiot here.

Before Josua could hear what Afin was about to say next, he felt some static distortion somehow, and with that, came a voice.

"... Help me." It said.

The voice was that of a young girl. Josua took a few steps after hearing it. He then recalled that this should belong to Matoi.

'So this is that part...' He thought.

He went to the voice seemed to originate from, with a confused Afin in tow.

"Hey! Hold up, mate! You can't just leave me behind!" Afin said, confused at his mate's sudden rush.

.....

A.P.238/2/20/12:00

Josua and Afin were close to the source of the faint cry for help. The duo is then confronted by a wordless masked stranger.

"Whoa whoa whoa, what's up this fella? I'm kinda getting the heebie-jeebies here." Afin said with a tinge of caution.

"That IS a person, right...? But what's going on with--" He continued before the other person spoke.

"You..." The masked person said, his voice seemingly distorted.

The person beckons to Josua and then suddenly attacks the rookies unprovoked. The two engage in combat with their assailant when suddenly one of the masked person's attacks is blocked by a pair of knuckle weapons.

"...!" The person was surprised.

"Well, get a load o' this! On a whim, I decide to actually go on mission for once, and I run face-first into a good time." The knuckle wielder said.

The blue-haired man wielding them exchanges blows with the foe and the two eventually separate.

"A two-for-one special on worthy-looking victims... Haha! Mwahahaha!" The man said with madness visible from his voice and face.

The man, whose name is Gettemhult, commands his partner Melfonseana to search the database for information on the lot of them.

"Hey, Seana. Who're these guys? Look 'em up." He commanded her.

"Yes, sir." She followed his command obidiently.

She immediately opened her comm and went through the ARKS Personnel Database for the three people in question. She found Josua's and Afin's credentials, therefore confirming them. But...

"Hm? Um, Master Gettemhult... I cannot find any information on that one." She said with a tinge of confusion, pointing at the masked stranger.

"What?" Gettemhult raised his brow.

Before he could say more, however, the enemy throws one final attack out before leaving them.

"Tch, they got away. And I was just getting warmed up, too." He scoffed.

He puts away his knuckles and turned towards Afin and Josua who were standing at a distance behind him.

"Hey, you." He beckoned them.

"Y-Yeah!?" Afin nervously responded.

"Not you! Shut up and go tremble in a corner!" He scolded Afin, before he turned towards his real intended target.

"I'm talking to YOU. That jerk was after you, right? Who was that?" He pointed at Josua and asked irritatedly.

'Ah, I forgot I really hate this guy in the first place. Yep. Sorry Melrandia, but I ain't gonna save him.' He decided in his mind.

"Yes, he's probably after me, for some reason. But I don't know who he was, whether you'd believe me or not." Josua replied nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders.

"...Nothing good'll come of playing dumb, y'know." Gettemhult said, seemingly not believing Josua.

"Suit yourself. I've said what I know." Josua shook his head in resignation.

They were quiet for a few moments, before Gettemhult broke the ice.

"Ha, I guess you really don't know anything." He sighed, shaking his head.

Although Gettemhult chastises the rookies for being inexperienced, he takes some interest in Josua for attracting the enmity of such a mysterious enemy before departing.

"You've got a good air about ya, but you're weak. It's too early to bother with you." He 'complimented' Josua.

"Tch, now I'm bored! We're leaving, Seana! Get the lead out!" He said, leaving the duo.

"Yes, Master Gettemhult." She followed his order.

"I will take my leave now." She bade farewell to the two as she followed him.

Melfonseana leaves as well after offering a polite farewell.

Meanwhile, the duo in question, Josua and Afin, were left in a daze after what had just happened.

"Seriously, what in the universe just happened? Suddenly I'm dead tired." Afin asked, bewildered at what had just happened.

"Just about the weirdness in life, mate. That's all I can say." Josua shook his head.

"By the way, mate, you've seemed kinda curious about whatever's out that way since before the fight broke out. Something up?" Afin asked, understanding that Josua didn't know as well what had just happened.

"Yeah.. About that..." Josua paused a little before he explained.

"You...heard a voice? If someone's calling for help, then that's a big deal." Afin offered his assistance.

"What do you wanna do? Should we go see? I'll leave it up to you, mate." He asked Josua.

"We should. Frankly, I don't feel comfortable leaving just like that." Josua replied.

The two nodded at each other before they left for the location of the voice's source.

.....

They walked for some time until they reached the supposed source. The two approach a great tree towering over a lush underbrush. As they walked onto the massive root of the tree, a bright light shone, causing them to cover their eyes. Then, a girl dressed in white was slowly descending from above.

"Josua... Please, kill me...!" She pleaded and then falls unconscious.

She fell right into his hands, as the blinding light receded and eventually dissipated. Josua held her in his hands, while Afin went to his side, scrutinizing her for wounds.

"Mate! Who's that? Do you know her?" Afin asked.

"Even if you ask me... I'm just as clueless as you are." Josua shrugged.

Josua was clearly playing dumb again, since he knew that it was Matoi, and that she had been transported from the past. Not that Afin would know, however.

"Doesn't seem like ARKS...hmm... But we can hardly just leave her..." Afin was in a dilemma.

An unknown girl was in the forest on Naverius, without any clear indications of her affiliation. This wasn't exactly something that's as common as a bloody cabbage. Meanwhile, as the two were pondering on what to do, Zeno and Echo had arrived.

"So you guys were here..." Zeno said.

He had followed the coordinates given to him from the operator. As the rookies in question were reported to be not in any danger, he didn't run in much of a hurry. He arrived only a little later after they found the girl. As he walked towards them, he finally noticed the girl in Josua's hands.

"Oh? A victim?" Zeno asked.

"No, actually, she...fell from the sky." Afin struggled to explain.

At the same time, the two received an incoming message from an operator.

"Attention, ARKS. The Falspawn containment zone breach has abated." She said.

"Code F is hereby rescinded. Alert levels back to normal. All personnel, return to ship when it is safe to do so." She continued the announcement before ending it.

"Phew, good to hear. The Falspawn just backed off." Afin wiped off his nervous sweating.

"I haven't got a clue about this girl, but I'm sure someone smarter than me will." He then said.

"For now, why don't we go back to the ARKS Ship? We have to get that kid to a doctor..." Zeno suggested.

Josua nodded. He agreed that the priority is to get her back first, and ask questions later. They decide to bring the girl back to the ARKS Ship with them.

.....

A.P. 238/2/20/14:45

Medical Bay, ARKS Ship.

A nurse was checking the data displayed on the console, showing the vital signs and various biosignals from the girl. After confirming some things, she turned around to the four who brought her back.

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her body. If anything happens, please call for me." She said.

"Thank you." Josua thanked.

Zeno and Echo, after affirming that everything was good, decided that it was time for them to leave.

"Well, then we'll be going too." Zeno said.

"You guys take over from here, okay?" Echo said, bowing her head a bit.

The two then left the med bay room, with the nurse also leaving shortly afterwards.

"Y-Yessir." Afin stuttered the reply.

"Yeah." Josua replied.

Now, only Josua, Afin and the girl were inside the room. They then turned towards the girl, who was on the bed. She was covered by a blanket, while her clothes were taken off during the examination. Her white hair was untied, now being a long white hair.

"In the end, just who on the universe is she...?

She doesn't have an ID, and it doesn't seem like she's a part of ARKS..." Afin pondered aloud.

"Yeah..." Josua pretended to ponder as well.

'The fact that she called my name... Is it because she met the 'me' of this reality back in the past?' He squinted his eyes a little.

Afin had exited the room ahead, and when Josua was also about to follow suit...

"... I have been expecting you." Xion said, as she appeared beside the girl on the bed.

"No, there is a discrepancy in the perception of that phrase. Perhaps I am the one who has kept you waiting." She said.

Josua immediately paused his steps. He then waved at Afin, signalling him to go on ahead and wait for him at the lobby. He then turned around and looked at Xion. Once more, he felt myriads of emotions exploding inside of him, hidden only by his poker face.

"First, I have to thank you...

The alteration of the superiority of the incidental phenomenon has been confirmed, and you and Matoi's fates...have advanced to a new state." She expressed her 'thanks'.

"Wait, Xion..." Josua tried to say something before Xion continued with her words.

"However, there is no need for a correct understanding here. You will surely gain the opportunity to save many lives... You just have to grasp that for now..." She said, before she turned around and disappeared once more.

"Sigh... Why won't you let me say something before you go like that... Dammit, Xion..." Josua shook his head before he left the room towards the Gate Lobby.

.....

Meanwhile, somewhere else, inside a darkened office office...

"Hehehehe..." The man, who was sitting in the office, laughed.

In front of the man was various displays, showing planets, data, and other things... Basically various information on a lot of stuff. These displays were the only things that were lighting the dark room. But the display of interest, was directly in front of the man.

"This is the best. To think that you had this up your sleeve...

How do you plan to struggle in vain..?

I'll enjoy the show... Xion." He said.

As he said that, his lips curved into a wide, creepy smile.

The display in question was displaying the report of Josua, and the recovery of Matoi, the girl dressed in white.

The man in question... Is indeed Luther.

.....

A.P. 238/2/20/15:00

Gate Lobby, ARKS Ship.

"Phew! Good work, mate!" Afin greeted Josua.

"You left her with the Medical Bay, right? She's in good hands there." He nodded, seemingly like someone who knows his stuff.

'Wow. You look damn smug after nearly shitting your pants.' Josua was rolling his eyes on the inside.

"Anyway, whaddaya think they're gonna do about our certification mission? I know I brought it up, but I'm not too worried, really. I feel like it's gonna work out fine." Afin said with some confidence.

"They'd probably give us a pass. I mean, we DID fight Falspawn for the first time and survived." Josua gave some unnoticeably bogus opinion.

"Anyways, I'm gonna relax in the lobby for a bit. See ya later, mate!" After delivering her to the Medical Bay, Afin decides to relax in the lobby and bids farewell.

Shortly after Afin left, Josua received a transmission from the Medical Bay. It was from Fillia, a nurse officer from the Med Bay.

"Hello. Can you hear me?" She asked.

"Yep, loud and clear." He replied.

"My name is Filia. I'm a Medical Bay nurse officer." She introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Josua." He introduced himself as well for courtesy.

"Pleased to meet you. There's something you should know: The girl you secured on Naverius has just woken up. But..." She said, before pausing for a moment.

"The thing is, ah... Well, why don't you just come by the Medical Bay?" She then asked him.

"Sure. Gimme a moment." He nodded and replied.

They ended the call, and Josua immediately went to the Med Bay.

.....

As he arrived at the Med Bay, Fillia greeted him.

"Thank you for coming." She said.

"Something about the girl?" He then asked her.

"So, about the girl... She's unusually taciturn." She said.

"Taci...turn?" He tilted his head.

He then turned towards Matoi. Of course, he already knew of Matoi, and since Xion had already said her name, it should be fine. However, since the person in question haven't said anything about her name for herself, it would be wise to keep it to himself for the moment.

"...Ah." Matoi said, before she was silent again. "..."

"Did you tell her your name?" Fillia asked.

"No, I didn't." He shook his head.

"I heard it in my head." Matoi said.

"I'm Matoi." She introduced herself.

Fillia then checked the ARKS database for her name. But it came up empty.

"There's no record of that name in our database. At the very least, we know there's no registry info for her in ARKS." Fillia said.

"Is she from another planet? But her bio-patterns were a near-perfect fit for ARKS..." She pondered.

"Matoi, can you tell us where you're from, and what you were doing on that planet?" She then asked Matoi.

Matoi went and hid behind Josua. Meanwhile, his eyes was twitching on the inside. He forgot how she was when he found her back in the previous reality.

"Urgh... Uh..." Matoi was nervous.

"Oh goodness, did I spook you? Sorry. That wasn't my intention." Fillia apologized.

She then noticed Matoi's odd behavior towards Josua.

"She seems attached to you. It's like you're imprinted on her or something." She remarked.

He could only scratch the back of his head. He felt a bit embarrassed at her remark.

"You're CERTAIN that you've never met her before?" She asked him again.

"No. I would've told you if I did." He replied, shaking his head.

"Hmm... If you're not acquainted, that makes this all the more puzzling." She tilted her head.

"Though, we can hardly just leave her. You've got work to do as an ARKS operative, so I can't expect you to stick around indefinitely..." She pondered once more.

"Would you mind to leave her in my care? If anything comes up, you'll be the first to know." She then offered him.

"Sure. I'll be counting on you." He nodded.

Even if he wanted to, he still needed to do missions which would take up most of his time. He barely has enough time as it is to go back to his PQ, or even spend time with Sarah.

"Hey... Um..." Matoi tugged his suit, worry plastered over her face.

"Hm? What is it, Matoi?" He looked at her with warm eyes.

"I've got this scary feeling... Be extra careful, okay?" She pleaded.

"Oh!" She was a little surprised as Josua patted her head.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine." He reassured her with a warm smile.

.....

Two days later...

A.P.238/2/22

Josua was on a simple mission on Naverius. He had just finished his mission and was just taking a walk, when he encountered arguably the two most chatty 'informants' within ARKS: Pati and Tia. This would be their first time meeting him though.

"You there! ARKS op!" Pati called him.

"Hey! Don't ignore me. I'm talking to you!" She stomped the ground, since he pretended to not see her.

The two then stood before him, practically blocking him in a sense. They wore outfits with similar color scheme. Difference being only their personality: one is more outgoing, but dumb. The other is more polite, and smarter.

'Wow. Reminds me of those two.' He remarked in his mind of his twin nieces in the previous reality (and also this one, it seems).

"Hehe, I can tell you're still getting your feet wet here, rookie. Lucky for you, I know my way around, and I'm willing to give you some tips!" Pati said with a smug look on her.

"Uh... This person looks a lot stronger than you, Pati." Tia, the sister, said. She's much more observant than her sister.

'Yep, twins can really be THAT different... Bruh...' He sighed inside.

"Oh, shut up! What we operatives need right now isn't boring old skill; it's knowledge and information! Am I right?" Pati made her excuse (a rather pathetic one at that, really).

'Those are intertwined though???' He was twitching so much that it was actually visible now, no longer confined to his inside.

"Now, the first thing you need to know about being an ARKS operative is: watch out for the Falspawn! They've got it out for us so bad, AND they go around turning wildlife on these planets all vicious and stuff. We've gotta do something about them before it's too late!" Pati explained with excitement.

"Fortunately, the wildlife here on Naverius isn't all that strong, but on other planets..." She paused a little, pondering for a moment.

'... She's really an idiot.' His verdict of Pati was more reinforced at this point.

"...Sorry about my sister babbling on like that. Believe me, I know how it feels. Never mind her. She's just a big-headed know-it-all who's only good for spreading rumors." Tia immediately apologized, bowing her head while smacking Pati's.

She had noticed, somewhat, of his opinion on Pati. Her sister was just a bit too dense to even notice it at this point!

"Although...she's not wrong when she says that the Falspawn are dangerous. And they've even been showing up around here lately, so it definitely doesn't hurt to be careful." Tia admitted unwillingly.

Despite Pati's rather retarded, and not so new info, it was indeed clear that Falspawn activity on Naverius was increasing, which was unthinkable prior since the planet had been designated as free of Falspawn activities or any trace of F-Factors.

"Now come on Pati, let's go. We have our own job to do gathering information." Tia bade farewell and left.

Pati, who was still explaining other things, was surprised to be left behind by Tia.

"Hey, wait up, Tia! I was still talking!" Pati immediately ran after Tia.

"Don't worry about it. No one was listening to you anyway." Tia spoke loudly enough for Josua to even hear her words.

"... Bruh." He said, guffawed by the two's antics.

.....

Three days later...

A.P. 238/2/25

Josua was on another exploration mission on Naverius. Once again, another thing occurred while he was conducting the mission.

He was walking through an area in the forest, when suddenly...

"I have a question for you. Would you mind answering it?" A seemingly disembodied voice of a girl asked him.

'... Don't tell me it's Quna...' He shook his head at the thought of it.

"Could you... NOT be invisible and ask me out of the blue like that?" He asked her back, recalling the scene right now from the previous reality and looked at his front.

The source of the voice then uncloaked her optical camouflage. Mind you, compared to some other optical camouflages he had seen, the ones deployed by her was indeed way more advanced.

Lo and behold, she was indeed in front of him. Her blue hair with a bit of brown at the end of her twin tails, slightly short stature, signature daggers, and skintight golden-ish suit (which accentuates her shape). Such is her signature, Zelsius Quna. Not that she was aware of him already knowing who she was.

"Impressive. It seems that you're capable of sensing me." She nodded lightly.

"Now, back to the topic. You're aware that reports of rampaging dragons are on the rise, I trust?" She asked him.

"Yes, I've heard of it." He nodded.

"Then, do you know anything about their whereabouts, or if there are any particularly strong specimens?" She asked again.

'You're asking about Haddred, huh. Sigh...' He felt pity for her.

"Sadly, no. I haven't encountered any, nor have I seen any traces of them during my explorations here." He shook his head.

"I see." She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again.

"Pardon my breach of etiquette. Carry on with your exploration and disregard what I just said." She bade her farewell as she reactivated her cloaking again and left.

'I really wanna do you a favor, but I don't think I could help Haddred at this point...' He looked at the direction where she seemingly left.

He sighed, and then went on with his mission for the day.

.....

On an unspecified date in A.P. 238...

Josua was on a mission on Naverius. He was walking when he encountered another ARKS operative. The male Human seemed to notice him and turned around.

The man had a ponytail green hair, and wore the default Hunter outfit. Anyone wouldn't be able to mistake him for anyone else, since his occupation is pretty much the other identity he'd need for people to know. The overseer of Hunter and Fighter classes, Oza.

"Oh, a new colleague, eh? The number of ARKS operatives coming to Naverius has been on the rise lately." Oza greeted Josua.

"Yep. I'm also one of them, you know?" Josua replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Hahahaha... That's a good one." Oza laughed.

"Before all the Falspawn showed up, you could go for days without bumping into a single soul." He said.

"You could also say the proliferation of ARKS ops is a sign of increasing danger. When things were safe, nobody came here at all." He explained.

"Wouldn't we be unemployed if the places are safe?" Josua jokingly asked.

"Even if peace means bad business for people like us--who make our living fighting the bad guys--it beats the alternative." Oza answered.

.....

On another unspecified date in A.P. 238...

Another day, another encounter. This time, Josua encountered a small Human girl, while on an exploration on Naverius.

The girl was pretty short in stature, if one had to give a comparison, she's half as tall as Oza, who was at least as tall as Josua, if not only a few centimetres shorter. She has a pair of green eyes, bright purple hair, with her outfit also predominantly being purple in color. Such is the appearance of Marlu, the overseer of the Techter and Force classes. Oh, did I forget to mention her outfit also accentuates her shape, albeit from her torso to her hips only?

She, to no one's surprise, noticed him nearby and turned towards him.

"Hello." She greeted him with a polite tone.

He nodded in reply.

"There certainly are more and more ARKS operatives coming to Naverius these days. At least that has been the case ever since all these Falspawn started to appear." She said, with a tad of gloominess in her tone.

"Well.. It IS our job as an ARKS operative to deal with Falspawns." Josua shook his head.

"Actually... I am a little worried about the way things are going. As the saying goes, 'Where there is ARKS, there is danger.'" She held her hand on her chest.

"I am an ARKS operative myself, but I would prefer to avoid working as one as much as possible. Because having no work would mean we are finally at peace." She then said.

'Just let me skip this already... Oh wait, I can't. FUCK!!' He swore inside.

"You know... You just said the same thing as another guy I met the other day." He shrugged.

"You say there is someone else who feels the same? Hmm... Good to know it is not just me." She felt relieved.

'JUST. MEET. ALREADY.' His inner self screamed silently.

.....

Yet on another unspecified date in A.P. 238...

Another day, another encounter. This time, Josua encountered a CAST girl, while on an exploration on Naverius.

Her iconic outfit of black and white with stripes of red, her red eyes, long black 'hair', and a tad short stature. None could miss her for anyone else, other than Risa, the class trainer for Ranger and Gunner. She's also known for her lust for guns and ridiculously trigger-happy finger.

"Who is it? ... Oh, you're with ARKS! Don't scare me like that!" She said as she turned around.

"I wasn't even trying." He replied with a flat face.

"I'm a sharpshooter, you know. Sneaking up behind is pretty much ASKING for a bullet between the eyes. So be careful, okay~" She cheerfully said the warning with a bit of passive-aggressiveness.

"I know, I know. Chill." He raised his hands in resignation.

"Now, then. I haven't had my fill of shooting yet, so I'm going back out! Hee hee... ! Heh heh heh~" She bade farewell, waving her hands and left just like that.

"... God, she's even more creepy now that I see her in the flesh. But she is adorable, somewhat." He shook his head.

.....

Later on, at the Medical Bay in the Gate Area, Josua went to check on Matoi. It had been several days since she was found on Naverius and admitted to the Medical Bay. Every once in a while, he'd get updates from Fillia. Matoi's condition had been well enough for her to be discharged, but she'd remain under Fillia's supervision, given her unclear status and identity.

"Hm? What is it?" Matoi asked.

"How are you doing?" He asked.

"Me? Sorry, uh... I can't remember too much. " She looked down.

"What can you remember though?" He then asked.

"I remember regular stuff. I've got common knowledge and language down pat." She answered.

"But when it comes to myself, everything's all foggy... And every time I try to remember, my head just-- O-Ow!" She tried to explain more but her head started to throb, causing her to wince in pain.

"Oi oi, don't force it, Matoi. Just take it slowly." He was worried for her.

"Sorry. It's gotta be annoying not being able to get anything out of me aside from my name, huh?" She said with a glum.

"What are you saying? It's fine, really. We all do things at our own pace. Just take your time, don't force it. It'll only be worse if you force it." He shook his head, as he pat her with a smile.

"Thank you. Sorry, I didn't mean to fish for reassurance." She said with a blush on her face.

"I'll try my hardest to jog my memory. It might be a while yet, but I'll make it happen, one way or another... Okay?" She said with a determined face.

"Fine, just remember what I said. Take it at your own pace, and don't force it." He continued to rub her head.

"Ehehe..." She chuckled with a blush, clearly happy of him patting her head.

.....

Josua had just sat down in the Gate Lobby, when he felt that it was time for him to go to the Shopping Plaza. Upon arriving at the Shopping Plaza near the monument, he once again meets Xion.

"Xion..." He really wanted to have a proper conversation with her.

"Once again, I express my gratitude to you. You identified the best divergence of potentiality and forged a path to novel circumstances." She said her gratitude once more.

"At present, I have not yet fully studied the words required to gain your consent. " She explained.

"Therefore, I must apologize that I continue to fall short of earning your trust. And I apologize for relying on you despite this." She apologized to him again.

"Please, it's fine. Really." Josua immediately said.

"A new Divergence Matrix has been born. This signifies that it is possible to intervene in new potentialities." She said.

"My regret endures. I pray that you will be the one to absolve me of it." She bade farewell and disappear once more, not allowing Josua to say more words again.

"Don't try to shoulder that alone, Xion. Dammit." He felt for her, clenching his fist until his knuckles went white.

Episode 1, Chapter 1: Using the Divergence Matrix END.