Chapter 2: Parallel Worlds

Editor: AbsoluteMelody

[Revised]

*****

[Beep!]

[You have been chosen as a member of the Chat Group.]

[Chat Group Initiating...]

"Hmm?"

Shiro had just roused from his slumber, only to be met with a transparent black-gold panel in his face.

[Carefree Doctor joined the Chat Group.]

[Expressionless Doctor joined the Chat Group.]

[Greatest Genius Sensei joined the Chat Group.]

[Reliable Older Sister joined the Chat Group.]

[Future Bastard joined the Chat Group.]

[Queen of Darkness joined the Chat Group.]

[Double-Robed Supreme Magus joined the Chat Group.]

'What is this?'

While Shiro tested the Chat Group functions, the new members sent their first messages.

Carefree Doctor: Hello.

Future Bastard: What kind of magecraft is this?

Queen of Nightmare: I have come upon receiving its summons.

Reliable Older Sister: Am I drunk? Am I seeing things?

'Did this system appear out of nowhere for them as well?'

Shiro thought so, but his knowledge of systems couldn't go further with his amnesia and lack of information.

Greatest Genius Sensei: This is interesting.

Carefree Doctor: This is interesting.

Double-Robed Supreme Magus: This is interesting.

"Hah. Some people feel the same way as me?" Shiro laughed. As long as it didn't harm his interests, discovering more about this 'Chat Group' would only benefit him.

Greatest Genius Sensei: I didn't expect my Quantum Causality Theory to be proven this way.

Carefree Doctor: You mean parallel worlds?

Greatest Genius Sensei: Yes! Do you know what BETA means?

Carefree Doctor: Nope.

***

Kouzuki Yuuko, the vice-commander of the Yokohama Base, wore an unconcealable smile on her face.

'Alternative Plan IV stands a chance now!'

Even though 7 years had passed since she proposed the 'Quantum Causality Theory,' she didn't give it up. She knew there had to be a way to communicate with BETAs. To her, humanity couldn't enact Alternative Plan V unless they were truly cornered.

The 00 Unit was one of the core components of Alternative Plan IV. The possibility of parallel worlds was one of its chances for it to awaken.

"Vice-commander. A man who claims to know you is causing trouble at the main gate."

"Who?"

"His name is Shirogane Takeru."

She switched to one of the cameras at the main gate. There, she saw Shirogane obnoxiously shouting. She was about to send him off when she heard the words 'Alternative Plan IV.'

Shocked as she was, she ordered the soldiers to let him in.

[You will be transferred to the Lounge along with the other group chat members.]

[Note: You may leave after 2 hours have passed. The time flow in your world will be temporarily stopped.]

"Other members? This is getting more interesting..."

She looked forward to meeting people from parallel worlds.

*****

Glares of white light shone on Shiro before he arrived in the so-called 'Lounge.' He was greeted by several individuals in his vision.

"Y-you!!"

The girl with a gothic outfit pointed toward the guy dressed like a doctor. He had orange hair and gloves on both hands. Though, Shiro felt something extraordinary belied his outward appearance.

"Romani... Archaman..?! No, did Solomon really appear in front of me..?"

Nobody in the room expected this girl to blurt out some incomprehensible words. Though Romani Archaman, the man in question, found the situation quite interesting.

"Hm... How did you know? Nobody else except the two of us here knows of my identity back then. You seem to know even more than you revealed right now."

"...O-of course! Chaldea's acting director, you're the one who led everyone else to remove the dangers in humanity during the Singularity arcs!"

Romani: ???

"Am I dreaming right now? Characters in an Anime started appearing in front of my eyes." The short black-haired girl muttered absent-mindedly.

Everyone else was confused. Only some intellectuals- Shiro, Yuuko, and the white-haired feline- figured out what was happening.

'Anime? So she knew these people from some anime?'

"We might only confuse ourselves more if this continues. How about we introduce ourselves?" Shiro spoke, hoping to organize this group and clarify any confusion.

"Alright. You guys don't need to hear my introduction since you already heard it from this young lady. You can call me Romani."

King Solomon, no, Romani Archaman, was the first to introduce himself.

"Kouzuki Yuuko, a researcher."

The woman with long purple hair and a white lab coat introduced herself after Romani.

"Takanashi Touka. I'm a chef."

"Shinji."

"I'm the Queen of Nightmare! You can also call me Kuroneko."

"Kal'tsit, a doctor."

Takanashi Touka was a mature woman with waist-long black hair and piercing scarlet eyes.

Shinji was a small boy with curly blue hair. He had a permanent air of pretentiousness around him despite his juvenile mannerisms.

Kuroneko wore a gothic outfit. She had long, straight black hair neatly cut at the forehead in a hime-style, white skin, and red eyes due to colored contact lenses.

Kal'tsit was a Feline race with white hair and green eyes. She wore something similar to a dress, though it looked more optimized for medical operations.

Everyone but Shiro had finished their introductions.

"Shiro, a mage."

As he introduced himself, he kept his double hoods on. He felt more comfortable like this as he could avoid the confused eyes of people doubting his sex.

"What should we do? Just sitting here would be boring since we can't leave until 2 hours pass."

"Excuse me. Does magic exist?", Touka asked. She had to deal with her chuunibyou little sister, so she always assumed magic never existed. This Group Chat and the people here shattered that perception of reality.

"You shouldn't ask me that. Go ask Shiro instead. I bet he'll give a better answer than I."

Romani pointed to Shiro. With his tattered black robe, everyone in this place guessed he was the 'Double-Robed Supreme Magus.'

"Magic does exist," Shiro stated while drawing a rune in the empty air. After that, lightning began crackling in his hands. He drew yet another rune, forming a fireball above the surface of his palm.

"It is one of the ways that we manipulate the existing laws of the world. I've heard that kid mention mage craft before, so it seems that we might have a similar system in this regard."

Shinji, hearing his name called out so suddenly, was startled.

"Y-yes, that's right. I'll be able to awaken my magic circuit soon!" The kid shouted proudly.

He said so with great confidence. Upon hearing this, Kuroneko was secretly envious.

'Do I also have the talent for it?'

On one side, she was thrilled to see and experience magic personally. On the other, she was nervous about whether she had the aptitude for it.

"Do you have something similar to a Magic Circuit in your world?" Romani asked. He sat lazily on a couch, prompting the others to take their seats and recline into the comfortable furniture of the Lounge.

"No. We sense mana and accumulate it in our body instead." Shiro explained.

In Romani's world, mages had a fixed mana value upon activating their mana circuits. In Shiro's magic system, mana slowly accumulated in Mana Vessels after passing through Mana Pathways in the body, allowing for perpetual growth.

(AN: Fate's Magic Circuit is fixed since birth, and the only way to increase it is via special means. Meanwhile, Shiro's world is similar to a cultivation world where a magician grows stronger as he meditates.)

Once these mana vessels achieved mana saturation, mages could use their stored mana to expand their mana vessels, thus achieving a breakthrough to a higher rank.

The same concepts applied to the aura. The aura absorbed by a knight strengthens their body. When enough is stored, they use stored aura to break through their body's limits, allowing it to contain more and eventually repeat the cycle.

Romani and Shiro were interested in each other's magic system, so they began exchanging information.

Meanwhile, the other members also started conversing...