"[Parallel]... That's me..."
Just as The Beast remembered what happened, Mio Takamiya did too. Now that she'd regained her body, tears streamed down her cheeks.
What happened with the Hero of the Void was agonizing...
She loved him. He was the reason she existed. Even if the Will of the World created her, it was the Blessing of the Holy Trinity Goddess that gave her intelligence and an ego—something that let her split her will between Requiem and maintaining her independence within the weapon. That was when she was officially born as an ability: [Parallel].
To be more exact, she was the system that kept Requiem running flawlessly between offense and defense—the one that sealed the chaos inside the Weapon Coffin using the Hero of the Void's heart as the key.
She was connected to the Hero of the Void on the level of souls, so in the final battle, the Hero of the Void severed his soul so that she—along with half of Requiem—could accompany one of his clones pursuing the Lord of the Abyss's strongest fragment.
Back then, [Parallel] obeyed her master's order. She thought everything would be fine, that as long as she killed the fragment, she would return to him together with Requiem.
But then she learned the harsh truth...
The Hero of the Void had gambled everything in that last battle. He used all of his time clones—past, present, and future.
With every clone that died, the Hero of the Void lost a piece of his soul and his identity.
Every precious memory he'd had in the past, lived in the present, and could have had in the future—gone...
And that was when [Parallel] understood why the Hero of the Void had cut his soul and separated from her.
The Hero of the Void was going to sacrifice himself. He would die along with his clones, and he sent her far away to save her.
It was all an excuse so she could live—but the Hero of the Void was wrong.
He didn't know how important he was to [Parallel].
She lived for him. She was born for him. Her reason for existing was him.
So she was going to follow him into death. She used everything within her reach, turned Requiem against her master, and attacked the fragment of the Lord of the Abyss.
She would die with him, and she would save this Clone too. That would be the end of everything—if that clone hadn't refused and used himself as the catalyst for the explosion as well.
It became a disaster. Everyone lived. They saved the World, but the Clone was left gravely wounded. His soul shattered into fragments and fell to the World. [Parallel] separated from Requiem and scattered across the entire World as energy.
Requiem fell to the World. The Beast split into two—its cursed mark took advantage of that moment, when the Weapon Coffin was at its weakest, to infect it and live within it, while its soul fell to the World just like the Hero of the Void.
And when the Will of the World recovered from its coma, it began repairs within itself, accepting that energy inside, creating "Magic Power," and expanding its interior—widening its scope as a World.
It used fragments of the Hero of the Void's soul and The Beast's soul to heal other souls that nearly died from the clash between those two fragments.
The Hero of the Void's fragments were used to give birth to nine girls (The Spirits) that it would later send into the World, while The Beast's were used to give birth to three souls (Elliot Baldwin Woodman, Ellen Mira Mathers, and Karen Nora Mathers). And because The Beast's soul had lost all connection to chaos, it was as pure and as without Destiny as the Hero of the Void's, so it was unable to recognize either set of souls. As a result, it accepted them into its interior as well—but because both were so damaged, the Will of the World had to alter their souls and grant them a "Destiny."
By doing so, both became its children and lost every connection to the Champions or the Overlords, completely forgetting what they truly were in their past lives.
Just souls with greater Karma than others...
That was how Shinji Takamiya and Isaac Ray Pelham Westcott were born.
Years passed, and peace returned to the World—until Westcott opened Pandora's box.
Something the Will of the World allowed, because it thought the Hero of the Void was trying to reconnect with his power, scattered throughout the World, as its most beloved child—the one who saved it. It indulged him for that reason.
It was wrong.
A spatial quake was created, and it ended up falling into a coma again under the force of Requiem....
And the story from thirty years ago began—Shinji Takamiya finding Mio Takamiya.
"Shinji... Shinji..."
In Mio Takamiya's subconscious, she remembered everything that happened. Her tears wouldn't stop. She knelt with both hands resting on her thighs, head lowered, refusing to look up. So even if her real body was being dragged to the Sky Castle, she didn't care. All she wanted was to return to her love—to have kind Shinji save her again, just like he did thirty years ago...
"...."
Reine stood before her Original, watching her with sadness and compassion. She knew everything that had happened, and she knew her Original was wounded as deeply as she was. But her own mindset was more mature—she had faced this pain head-on. That was why, unlike her Original, she did care that the Demon King was dragging them to the Sky Castle.
Even if the Demon King was the Hero of the Void she loved, she also knew he had no memories—nothing but ego and will.
It was a disaster her Original couldn't comfort, and Reine didn't know what would happen if the two of them were united. Her Original might be devoured.
Even so, she couldn't do anything. Neither the Original nor she herself could stop the Demon King. The only thing they could do was wait for a miracle...
"He's here...."
A miracle that happened soon after, when a chain wrapped around Mio Takamiya's real body and started yanking her back...
"You came... my accomplice."
"This is bad! This is bad! This is bad! This is bad!..."
Eggy clutched her head with both hands. Without the Ocarina, there was nothing she could do against the Sky Castle. Even Aiwass was helpless against that kind of power.
The changes in the spiritual world were massive. The Crown shuddered, and all The Spirits held their breath. The Demon Kings inside the Sky Castle began to emerge, and aside from Kurumi Tokisaki, every girl on the Thrones swallowed hard as she saw her counterpart.
The Resonance in the spiritual world spiked, and the massive hands holding Mio Takamiya—and the chains on the Thrones—pulled even harder.
"No, no, no, no..."
Eggy lost her composure. Yuki was bound by Requiem's chains, so it was impossible for him to help her—let alone that it would take a miracle for him to help right now. His Crown protected the World, and the girls on the Thrones were pulling hard on the chains trying to drag them to the Sky Castle.
And Eggy had no doubt that the moment Mio Takamiya was devoured would be the moment the Demon King fully escaped the Sky Castle. If that happened, there would be no turning back....
The Avenger of Order would reclaim his Crown, and the chances of Yuki being devoured were high. If that happened, then Eggy, Aiwass, Est, and all The Spirits would be devoured too.
She couldn't allow it. She used her Spirit Power and created chains that latched onto Mio Takamiya, then started pulling her back.
"Help me!"
"Fine...."
As long as Mio Takamiya wasn't devoured, there was still hope. So even Aiwass had no choice but to pull the chain alongside Eggy.
Aiwass was intensely curious about what would happen if Mio Takamiya was devoured. The existence of the Demon King was far too interesting for an Angel of Science, so he hesitated for a moment before helping Eggy.
But the risks were too high, and his interest in Yuki remained just as strong, so he reinforced Eggy's chain.
BRROMMMM
It was useless. The Demon King's palms effortlessly dragged Mio Takamiya toward him...
"No... No... We can't stop him...."
Creakkkk
The Demon King's strength surged, and the chains snapped, sending Mio Takamiya into the Sky Castle...
"It's over.... it's all over...."