Mysterious Point of View (???)
In a place shrouded in darkness, a group of silhouettes stood in a circle surrounding a giant symbol engraved on the floor.
About 35 silhouettes stood there.
"Elizabeth has fallen," said one of them. His voice was deep and cold.
"As predicted," said another silhouette.
"She never had a shred of patience."
"And Adam… has chosen his vessel."
Silence enveloped the place.
"The time… has come for us to rise," shouted one of the silhouettes with a smile.
One of them touched the symbol on the floor. A red light glowed from the engraving, and whispers—like those from hell—began to echo.
"Gather them all. We will choose our own vessels. The world will return to its former axis, whether they like it or not."
The first step of the war… has begun.
---
Point of View (Andri)
A spark of light gathered and enveloped Ms. Raya's body. The soul of Elizabeth Bathory slowly faded from within her. The tattoo on her left hand also gradually disappeared. Could this really be the end?
"Andri!!!" Sylvia screamed as she ran toward me.
"Sylvia? Are you okay?"
"Yes, what about her? Is she still alive?"
"She fainted—or maybe in critical condition. I don't know for sure, but one thing's certain: Elizabeth's soul is no longer within her."
"We need to take her to the hospital!"
"Right."
An ambulance arrived and took Ms. Raya, who appeared to be severely injured. It was all because of me. But I did it all to save her.
"Is it over now?" I asked Sylvia.
"What do you mean? This is just the beginning, and my goal is to return all the souls to their rightful realms."
"Alright, I understand. So how do we do that?"
"Do what?"
"How do you find the Saints?"
"That… Let's think about it later! I'm hungry, let's go home."
"Hey wait! Don't tell me you only have good intentions but no plan—that's ridiculous!"
"Shut up! I'll kill you if you keep rambling on," she said, pointing her sword back at me.
We went back and returned to our own homes. It had been an exhausting day.
"I wonder… how she plans to find all the Saints scattered across the world. Are we going to travel together around the globe? No way, haha," I thought to myself with a smile.
I opened my bedroom door and fell asleep until morning.
--
The next day, I went to school as usual and sat in my classroom while watching the clouds move across the sky.
"Hey Andri, look! I got a rare item in this game! Isn't it cool? You're jealous, right!"
"A game? Oh, I haven't opened that in ages. Whatever, I bet you spent a ton of money on it," I said with a mocking smile.
"Damn you! You don't get it! I played all day grinding for materials and selling them just to get a diamond for a single draw. You seriously don't appreciate my effort."
He looked gloomy now.
"Sorry, sorry. You better go back to your seat, Ms. Raya will be here soon."
"Ms. Raya? Who's that?"
"Huh? She's… the substitute teacher for this class, right? She's replacing our homeroom teacher who's sick."
"Huh? What are you talking about? I just saw our homeroom teacher in the hallway on my way here… Are you drunk?"
...huh? That's really weird! Ms. Raya is gone? Or… did they forget her? Impossible! I clearly remember everything—she came in, introduced herself as a student teacher, then attacked us, and I knocked her out, then she fainted… Wait!
"Hey, what about the forest at the edge of town? Is it barren?"
"Barren? That forest is lush, you idiot. How could it be barren? Besides, the city government protects that forest."
Something's wrong. I need to talk to Sylvia later.
During break, I ran to Sylvia's classroom and called out to her. She was eating with some of her friends, but I grabbed her hand and dragged her to the school rooftop.
"Sylvia!"
"Andri? What are you—"
"I need your explanation! Come with me!"
We were now on the school rooftop, and I began questioning her about all the strange things happening.
"Something's wrong!"
"You're what's wrong, idiot."
"No, I mean it! Ms. Raya's been forgotten… No, I mean, no one remembers her—not even the forest. It's all back to normal. Do you know anything about this?"
"No… actually, I felt the same before you brought me here. I thought it was odd—like time was reversed. Could that be how it works?"
"How what works?" I asked.
"If we defeat a Saint and form a battle contract with them, all the chaos and destruction disappears when one of them loses or dies. Maybe even their existence gets erased from everyone's memory," she explained.
"That's terrifying."
"Well, anyway, it's just a theory. We can't jump to conclusions."
"No! You're right!"
A voice responded from behind the wall.
Who!?
We both reflexively turned and focused on the person who suddenly joined our conversation.
"Who are you!" Sylvia said, preparing to strike.
"Relax, I'm not a bad person. Hahaha, nice to meet you both."
His clothes were ragged and dirty, some dirt and dust stuck to his face. He wore gardening gloves and had a towel around his neck.
"...Who are you?"
"I'm Nico, Nicolas Luis. You two are Saints, aren't you?"
"How do you—"
Before I could finish, Sylvia suddenly lunged at him with her sword.
The man blocked her attack with a strange glowing staff.
"Nice attack! But not quite enough."
Sylvia jumped back and began to regain her composure.
"Who are you!" she demanded.
"I told you, I'm Nicolas—"
"No!" she interrupted.
"I mean the one inside you."
She pointed her sword at him again.
The man smiled widely and pointed at himself with full confidence.
"I am Lu Bu, the greatest war general from China."
He said it with a wide, proud smile.
Lu Bu? The Chinese warlord? So he's the vessel.
We both remained cautious in case he attacked us again.
"What do you want?" Sylvia asked the man.
He smiled again, and the spear in his hand slowly vanished.
He folded his arms and sat down right in front of us while opening a can of juice.