2 Years Later

-2 Years Later-

--Ali's Perspective--

Day in and day out I have been fighting to find the whereabouts of my son.

I've begged Zach to tell me the location and upturned the entire town in search of him.

I haven't been allowed to see Shike's parents, or anybody else's, and I've been under house arrest with Lucas this entire time because of Zach. I thought it was for safety purposes, but I was gifted a letter from Belle that explained everything.

"Hi, Miss Ali! There are some things I have to tell you but I don't have the time to write them.

Sky is in Rubeki territory. He was exiled there after killing Richard and Dyna and sticking up for me. He doesn't deserve this fate. I know what has happened to you. Can you do anything?

-Belle"

I crumpled up the paper and turned to Lucas. Cynthia had returned to school and also was put on house arrest for over two years with no guaranteed escape.

I have laid latent for this long trusting Zach... but now I'll have to kill him.

The fact of the matter is that Zach never once mentioned Sky's location after he was apparently exiled. I have been through enough tragedy to save the pain of Sky's missing location and to spend it on slaughtering the stupid leader in charge of MTG. Taking out Zach would be a pain in my ass... but a necessary one.

Who knows how many students have been put on lockdown while that pathetic weasel tried to find a way out of this. That damn guy...

I've had a problem with him ever since he dragged me back to humanity. Lucas and I found solace within the ruined world of the Rubeki, and Zach told me we could've started something new...

Who the hell am I kidding.

Illya and I both know what we're doing here.

I have no idea why I'm older than her, but I know for a fact she's been alive for longer. I was able to keep my memories intact, but it seems that Illya is unaware of this. Ever since I woke up with Sky as my child, I've decided to keep my mouth shut and makeup stories to deter any suspicions.

If my suspicions about this world are correct, and perfectly kept hidden from Illya, then it's my job on the artificial timeline she has constructed to kill Zach and bring both her and Sky back from the Rubeki wilderness. Not following this path would cause Illya to do it herself and... I would be killed.

I'm sick and tired of playing by the book, of playing by Illya's discretion, and getting mad at Zach out of nowhere after two years. You simply can't justify that.

He needs to die so Sky can return.

It's just like a story Illya has written, and it's a bad one, at best.

I stepped out of my house and killed the guards standing in front with a swipe of my hand, walking over to the fields where Lucas was being watched as he tended to our garden.

I killed the guards and looked at him with a hateful stare.

"It's time to wake up. Illya has been using us as characters in her story. Let's go get Sky back." I told him.

Lucas, with a smile as bright as ever, stretched his arms out and smiled. "I was waiting for this day. Then, we're back so Sky can become the Deity, right?" Lucas asked me.

"Precisely. He's still my baby, so I won't let him be hurt anymore, but I gained sentience again not too long ago and was able to decide for myself what I wanted to do. Tell me, is he here?" I asked Lucas.

"I don't think so. If he was here, he would've made his move long ago. Let's go to MTG then." Lucas said.

He walked out of the field with me and we followed the path to the bridge of MTG, killing the security guards at the front gate without breaking our momentum or a sweat. They were fodder. They were people who couldn't think and operated by the system, not their own will. In fact, Zach was the same way.

The students made up of fictional beliefs and experiences, all shot back in surprise and bowed down to Lucas and me. He enjoyed the attention, but that's not what I was here for.

"Tell us where Zach is, we need to have a talk," I told the students. They instantly gave away his location to be in the office at the top of MTG.

Lucas walked up behind me and nudged me on the shoulder.

"Hey, honey, take a second and calm down. What's the best way to handle this encounter? In front of all of the students, should we tarnish the Asterio name any further?" Lucas asked me. I scoffed.

"No matter what we do, they'll hate the Asterio name. These people can't think for themselves, they're all fictional... including Sky's friends, Shike, Belle, and Alexia.

"I think I get it... no matter what we do, the outcome will be the same? That Illya girl is pretty clever... but where are we?" Lucas asked.

"The First Trial. It's a Deity Training world, I thought you would've known that." I told my husband.

"Well, it's not like I didn't completely know, but this isn't like the one from long ago. What year is it? How long have you and I been missing for?" Lucas asked me again.

"Beats me. Illya has kept us locked away for this exact moment, hell, it could be a million years in the future. It doesn't matter, let's go meet Zach. I'm strand jumping, are you coming with me or not?" I asked him. I knew he would but wanted to see his defeated face before we both went. I smiled as I bent my knees and put enough force into the ground to split the Isle in half.

Crashing through the fragile glass window of his office that pointed toward the courtyard, I burst into his office and landed with Lucas standing right behind me. I crossed my arms and looked down at Zach with an irritated feeling rising out of my chest.

"You want to explain to me why my son is fighting Rubeki and you're sitting in this room? No, wait, you won't have to." I told Zach. I summoned two golden sabers and the Eye of Providence in my left eye activated out of pure rage.