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“Sensei, this way!”
“Of course!”
How did it ever come to this? When did everything start to fall apart? Stupid questions, obvious answers he had known all too well. The never-ending wheel, spinning indefinitely as long as history remains relevant—as long as the blackened hearts of man still exist.
Hatred. Loathing. Manipulations. Everything, all of it, every aspect of it; forged the beating hearts of man in every world. Here and then, it doesn’t matter.
Because at the moment, he is running for his life.
Once, Ludwig had no fear of death, an arrogant thought that would live in eternity, but not without reason. He is arrogant in thinking that he was once nigh untouchable for his naturally born gift given by his bloodline.
A family of mathematicians, astrologers, and apothecaries. Living his best life in his birthplace of Germany, thanks to his mother.
He was high on life until it was challenged in a great event he couldn't foresee... and the raging fire that threatened to consume him and Europe.
Being the youngest and only of the de Nostramdame bloodline living in Germany, Ludwig made his swift escape back to his family in France until he moved to England because of his calling.
And he learned that… He wasn’t untouchable. He was mortal, he was vulnerable, he was… human.
So he took his harsh lesson and studied. He lived well,
Until everything was swept away by a “Storm.”
He was once a teacher and advisor before in the Foundation at a young age, and still a teacher now in this brand-new world he found himself in—Kivotos. A vast city of automatons—beast men, angels, demons, and anything in between.
But now? He’s just like a rat. Running among the alley and empty ruined streets with the short girl he had grown quite fond of.
“Sensei, watch out!” The young demoness, Hina shouts as she pushed him aside from a volley of bullets fired by the awakened. Blue scorch marks made themselves known as Hina retaliate with fury.
“Ugh…!” Hina ground her teeth as more of those blue tinted lights emerged from the shadows.
“Le corps sans ame plus n'estre en sacrifice, Jour de la mort mis en Nativité.
L'Esprit Divin fera l'ame foelice, Voiant le Verbe en son Eternité!”
Ludwig shouted, as time itself began to slow down but not for him and Hina.
Uncaring at how powerless he was in this scenario as his eye throbs painfully in their sockets and leaked scarlet tears.
“Dammit…! Sensei, don’t overexert yourself!” Hina chastised in between labored breaths and gunfire.
“I have to do… something!” He argued, keeping the incantation active even if the pain grows unbearable.
He wished he could do more to protect himself and give Hina any aid he could. But Arona had exerted herself protecting him, and he… he was utterly pathetic for casting a simple combat incantation.
He had no edge nor finesse in manipulating the arcanum for combat—a laughingstock he was in that department he overcame by his family’s gift.
The gift of foresight to the past, present, and future.
The absolute future that could be avoided or kept around that sometimes wouldn’t come true, or just a broken shard of shard.
That is his edge against other arcanists.
Time came to an end as he couldn’t take the pain anymore. Closing his eyelid tightly as the sparks died and more of his blood sprays out. His world spun, and his legs couldn’t bear the weight of his body for much longer.
“Ugh…”
“Sensei, be careful!” Hina shouted, and caught her teacher before he fell onto the ground.
“Yeah… sorry. Okay.”
More and more they ran and dodge. Scurrying away like roaches to find a safe spot for his evacuation, passing through ruins and alleyways, spreading like an endless maze.
Hearts beating, lungs burning, and eyes wavering. It felt like eons. Boots. Boots. Boots. Echoing, stomping. Marching towards the endless horizon. Ludwig wanted to scream. He wanted to fight; he wanted to rest; yet he wanted to protect. His eyes burned once again as his cells screamed in protest.
Shaking, churning, twisting within him as their activities were drained out from their system.
He is utterly useless.
Hina’s shouts of protest drummed in his ears as he tried again to lend her his strength, but again, it had done nothing but create more trouble in the end.
Fingers glowing with the flow of arcanum as he weaved the only “offensive” incantation in his arsenal. A weave of strings bound together by the flow and shift of lines and numbers in nature.
Binding a towering mimesis of Justina’s Saint into the ground, before she was eventually destroyed by Hina.
“Sensei…!”
“I’m fine.” Sensei wiped a thick clog of blood from his eye, his sight dying with every time he pushed himself. Just a little rest will fix him later, and maybe a hot meal. “L-Let’s keep going.”
Hina hated seeing him like that. She hated watching him suffer. But he’s right.
They need to keep on moving.
She led him more into the alleyways, just a little more in her mental map, and Sensei will get to SCHALE safe and sound.
Just a little more, there it was, the crossroad right in front of them.
But why did they stop? Their feet pressing down on the pavement as their eyes locked to the sight right in front of them. On the road was a student she had never seen before. Where did she come from? Was she here to-
A click, and Hina’s senses burst aflame.
“SENSEI!”
Gunshots fired towards him. Aimed to kill, to strike his heart if it wasn’t blocked. There’s no time. Hina tossed her weapon aside and spun her body, her wings spreading apart as a shield as a hail of bullets struck her body.
She screamed before tumbling over. She had never felt so weak before as she fell to the pavement. Wait… no!
“Head Prefect, you’re in the way.”
“No.. no, sensei… SENSEI!”
“It’s nothing personal sensei. After all… she said that you’re going to be the biggest obstacle to the plan, Sensei of Schale.”
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!!
Ludwig felt his world to spin.
His body felt so… so hot. Not hot like when he had over exerted his cell activity, not hot like when he had a fever… but hot like… something was pouring over him.
Dripping thickly down from his body, slithering down across his body and down to the ground. His thoughts were a scramble… his eyes were blurry.
Was it because of him over exerting himself? Perhaps. But… he had a feeling that might not be it. Everything… is dark somehow.
Did someone turn off the lights?
Ludwing tried to blink, but his eyelids were rebelling against him.
“Sensei!”
What... is that?
“Sensei..!”
Is... something there?
“Sensei!”
There it is again...
“Sensei!!! please!”
...There is that yell again.
“Ludwig-Sensei!!!”
...Someone is... yelling his name.
Who is it?
Ludwig tried to remember.
It sounded so... familiar.
He blinked again, and there she was. The source of the noise.
How could he forget...?
Hina.
Hina. My dear student.
Hina. My trusted student.
Hina. My closest confidant.
Hina…
Hina… Why are you crying?
Hina… Why are you filled with so much anguish?
Hina… Where had that sun-kissed smile gone?
Hina…
Why are you holding me so tight?
Why…?
Why can’t I raise my hand to return your warmth?
But you already know why, Ludwig. Don’t you remember?
That girl with a hat and a mask? You know why you can’t return her warmth.
You know why you can’t hold her anymore. You can’t stand beside her, nor anyone anymore.
You know EXACTLY why. Stop trying to forget.
Stop feigning your ignorance.
Accept it.
That is right…
I remember.
The dark chair… the pipes and steam. The anguish of two students he loved dearly…
Yes…
My future.
A future uncertain, now certainty.
Though… he wished that he had some Picrasma candy in his pockets.
“Vanitas Vanitatum”
Then… he felt nothing anymore.
╒══════════════════╕
I’m sorry.
╘══════════════════╛
«1001 Stories Across Kivotos»
Hina doesn’t know what to feel anymore. Her heart felt numb, her thoughts dull and empty, like it had been swallowed by a never-ending void. A deep, dark hole where she couldn’t even hope to crawl out from.
She saw him lying on that bed. With pipes monitoring his failing heartbeat.
Bandages around his body.
Even with the medical staff from Gehenna and Trinity, technology from Millennium, he still wouldn’t open his eyes.
He is losing so much blood.
The shouts from the operation room leaked to the hallway, where she sat with her empty expression, staring at a particularly interesting corner of the wall.
Why won’t he stabilize?!
Her ears rang again.
Her head began pounding hammers down to her skull. No matter how hard she tried to block her ears, to close her eyes, and to yell until her vocal chords rip apart… she can never stop the gunshots and his whispers.
“Hina… Why…?
Why can’t I raise my hand to return your warmth?”
She was shaking again.
Her hands gripping hard enough on her knees to carve out her flesh, yet she doesn’t care about her pain.
She couldn’t even notice the blood leaking down from there.
We are losing him! Sena!
I know!
And she was crying again.
She couldn’t stop it. Not anymore. Not ever. Her thoughts screamed and shouted, cursing her for her weakness. For failing to do this simple FUCKING. JOB.
You killed him. You can’t protect him.
It’s all your fault.
YOUR FAULT.
Hina grasped her hair tight enough to pull some out from her scalp. Her screams rang out, yet heard by none in the dark hole she found herself in.
No matter how hard she called for help… nobody came.
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPP…..
Sensei is dead.
He is dead.
He will never open his eyes again.
At this point. She doesn’t want to be helped.
She wanted to remain in this deep well she found herself in.
“You’re wrong, Sorasaki Hina.”
Until… someone. Something noticed her lying in the void. A light in the dark from her cloud of loathing and anguish.
A black and white drone with Millennium written all over it.
“…Who—”
“My identity is irrelevant, Sorasaki Hina.” The drone cuts her off immediately. “What important is the fact that you are wrong in every aspect of it.” It said in a chastising tone.
“It’s not your fault. It’s never your fault.”
Hina could only listen. She wanted to smash that drone to pieces for spouting its lies.
“…Sensei is not dead.”
That caught her attention. Her eyes snapped to the machine at lightning speed, eyes wide as saucers still wet with fresh tears.
“…What…?” She said in utter disbelief. She heard it happen. She heard their shouts, and the flatline. “Impossible…!” Hina raised her voice. Hastily raising from the well of self-loathing. “I saw him… I heard…!”
She tried to deny it, avoiding the outstretched hand in her void.
“No. He is not. Not… yet.”
“What do you—”
“Enough Miss Sorasaki.” The drone cut her off once more with a hint of urgency to the voice behind the machine. “The longer we talk, the window to save sensei is getting smaller and smaller. The clock is against us.”
The outstretched hand shone brighter. A beacon, a whispering siren for her redemption.
“Are you going to help or not, Miss Sorasaki?
Make you answer, quickly.”
The hand waited for her.
Will she take it? will she leave this damp well and bed of blackened despair?
Will you move forward again?
Hina pondered the question. She was lost, utterly and hopelessly lost. If sensei was here, she would… she could do anything.
“…”
Save sensei.
Hina raised her hand and grasped the light.
╒══════════════════╕
Where… am I?
╘══════════════════╛
«1001 Stories Across Kivotos»
“…Systems green, the algorithms are almost ready.” The voice behind the drone said as she fiddled with the buttons and numbers on a screen and brushed away a stray strand of long black hair obscuring her eyes. “Last check…”
Nothing would break her out from this trance. A focused mind, unwavering in her conviction.
The rumored big sister of Millennium. Hina had heard of the rumors going around of her sudden disappearance and resignation from the Seminar.
Whispers said of her blaming herself for the attack on Millennium by machine assailants. Who knows at this point? Though in the end, those whispers held a pinch of truth—the haunted gaze right behind those deep crimson, the heavy dark bags right under her eyes, and cheeks that had sunken a few inches below normal.
Even a fool could see the facts as clear as day.
She hadn’t been eating or sleeping. She was merely existing—just as she had been when… she had failed.
“Miss Sorasaki. Are you ready?” Rio’s voice broke the demon out of her thoughts.
“…Yes… I am.” Hina thought once more about this plan, her expression solemn. Will it work? Will it fail? It didn’t matter… as long as the chance of sensei opening his eyes was a reality.
She straightened her posture on the chair and clenched her fists. She was determined to see it through.
For him.
For sensei.
“I’m ready,” Hina repeated once more.
“I’m starting it. I just hope…” Rio sat in her own chair and closed her eyes, steeling her heart. “Sensei will forgive me.”
BEEP.
With a press of a button,
Their world collapsed into naught but torment.
╒══════════════════╕
…Rio…? Hina…?
╘══════════════════╛
«1001 Stories Across Kivotos»
The hospital was in a frenzy. It was barely 5 hours since sensei was declared dead and in that moment of grief, his body was gone. Stole by an unknown assailant right under their noses. The CCTV footage was conveniently destroyed.
They called for a search but in the end… they might know who had taken it. Sena saw the void in her eyes, underneath a stream of hot tears.
So before they recover sensei’s body… they let her be for an hour or two until they call the KSPD.
That was until… the announcement from the GSC.
Sensei was there, albeit in the form of a call. It was unmistakably his voice, no tampering, no awful technology to mess with Kivotos.
But… him.
“…I am recovering under the care of… a student.
Though I can’t know when I can meet you face to face.
Until then… please take care.”
There were protests and rumors claiming that sensei was under the care of the GSC. Some said it was Trinity, others pointed to Gehenna. But in the end, the identity of the mysterious student who sheltered him was never revealed.
Their existence, however, was confirmed by sensei himself.
Since that day… he would only appear through calls or by a drone from Millennium. Naturally, this sparked speculation that he was hiding within Millennium, a theory that gained traction until it was debunked by the Seminar.
Yet whispers lingered. Some believed the missing Seminar President was behind it, but that was one that could never be debunked… nor confirmed.
Eventually, even amidst the smoke and mirrors, sensei’s new existence was accepted. Yet, some still wished to see him in person, yearning for the warmth of his presence and his usual kindness.
But, he would always reject those requests with a reassuring smile and a single promise.
"One day, I’ll explain everything."
But as months passed, that explanation never came.
“Sensei…! You forgot to fill out these documents!” Yuuka’s raised voice reverberated through the office, pointing to the papers strewn across the desk.
“O-Oh. Haha… s-sorry, Yuuka.” Sensei scratched the back of his head awkwardly, with a guilty expression.
“Ugh… b-but don’t push yourself too hard, sensei. I-I’ll handle them later.” The treasurer mumbled shyly as she gathered a pile and skimmed through the sentences.
“Sorry for leaving it to you, Yuuka… I’ll make it up to you later.”
“Mm.” Yuuka smiled softly as she waved goodbye. “I’ll remember that. See you later, sensei.”
With that goodbye and the quiet click of a drone, the image of sensei flickered and disappeared out from existence. Yuuka said nothing else—her gaze lingered on the drone as it floated away out of sight. Never to be seen again.
A melancholic look crossed her face.
She missed him.
…He promised, didn’t he? Yet… how long will it be? She wanted for him to be here in person with her, with Noa… with anyone.
She knew she wasn’t the only one feeling this way.
They all missed sensei.
“I’m done for the day, Ako. I’ll take my leave for now.”
“O-Oh! I… I see. Um, good work. See you tomorrow, Head Prefect.”
Hina left the office, closing the door behind her. The room fell into a heavy silence, leaving her comrades seated in a quiet circle of concern etched across their faces.
“…The Head Prefect finished her work quickly again,” Iori said. Her voice was tinged with sorrow as she fiddled with the scattered papers on the desk.
“She did,” Ako replied, her tone matching Iori’s.
“…I’m worried about her. Hina… hasn’t been the same since… sensei…” Chinatsu broke the heavy silence next as she turned away, gazing out the window. Her eyes tracked Hina’s form as it disappeared past the gates of Gehenna, and out into the distance.
“None of us have been the same,” Iori muttered, her voice low and strained. She clenched her teeth, her arms wrapping around herself in an useless effort to contain herself. “…Wherever sensei is.
Ako nodded silently, her gaze following Chinatsu’s out the window.
“…I just wish… I could share whatever it is
that’s eating away at her from the inside.”
╒══════════════════╕
Rio? What’s up?
╘══════════════════╛
«1001 Stories Across Kivotos»
“Head Prefect Hina is coming to visit soon.” Rio answered into the silent living space they reside in. It was almost a stretch to call this place a proper house.
It was more of a madman’s workshop, or a laboratory.
The low hum and occasional beeps of machines, accompanied by the faint hiss of steam, filled the half-furnished, disorganized room.
The kitchen merged into the living room, and a chaotic mess of papers strewn across the tiled floor and cluttered the tops of numerous desks—acting as their only decoration next to the amalgamation of pipes and machinery.
All across the ground, the ceiling, and the corners coming together to a singular point in the middle of the room.
The sole reason this place was built.
╒══════════════════╕
So soon in the week?
╘══════════════════╛
“Mm. I’ll go and greet- COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!” Rio’s words were cut short as grizzly coughs and hacks left her throat.
And a tint of thick crimson blood trickled down from her lips, trailing her chin.
╒══════════════════╕
Rio?! Are you okay?!
╘══════════════════╛
“I’m alright sensei… I just…” Rio held her aching lungs and burning, throbbing heart as she tried her best to keep herself composed. Yet, she couldn’t help but to wince from the pain.
╒══════════════════╕
No, you’re not!
You’re coughing again!
╘══════════════════╛
Ludwig interrupted her immediately before she could deny it anymore as he raised his hand from his seat.
“S-Sensei… but…”
╒══════════════════╕
No, Rio. Just for today…
Please, rest.
╘══════════════════╛
“…Sensei…”
╒══════════════════╕
I couldn’t see you like this,
Rio.
I’m not fragile.
╘══════════════════╛
“…”
Rio’s argument died in her throat. He was right… but wrong at the same time—no matter what, she still need to monitor his condition…!
╒══════════════════╕
If anything happened,
Arona will call you, okay?
Plus, with Hina, I won’t
get lonely.
╘══════════════════╛
How can she decline that?
“…Okay. I understand… but please call me if… you need something, sensei.”
╒══════════════════╕
I promise.
╘══════════════════╛
Entombed forevermore on the iron throne, his ruined body intertwined with pipes and machinery, a macabre replacement for the long damaged and destroyed organs. A rotting, writhing corpse of a man who could barely blink or move his arms—kept alive only by the grand sacrifice of two of his most precious students.
They had intertwined their own life force, shattering their halos, and draining their own mystic energy just enough to sustain him for a few years. Until then, he would remain here, trapped in this pathetic state none should’ve experienced.
Yet, his duty unbroken. He would continue to guide his students, advising them, leading them toward the light—even in this pathetic, deathless form.
For he is their teacher.
He bore no resentment toward Rio or Hina, nor the student who had brought him to this state of undeath.
But in the depths of his aching heart, a selfish singular hope resided.
When the time comes…
He hoped they would let him go.
“Gah!”
Ludwig jolted upright in bed with a shriek, his chest heaving as his heart raced. His world spun, and the pounding in his skull felt like hammers relentlessly striking his temples. What happened…?
“Sensei?”
Oh… right.
“Rio.”
Standing in the doorway was Rio. She wasn’t wearing her usual black suit and turtleneck. Instead, she had on simple pajamas adorned with Millennium’s logo and Avant-Garde patterns scattered across the fabric.
Memories of last night began to resurface. He’d been drinking again more than he should have and snacking on picarisma candy like a child with no self-control. No wonder he felt like absolute hell.
Damn his sweet tooth and alcoholic nature.
“Here, sensei. Water.”
Rio stepped forward and offered him a mug, its surface proudly displaying Millennium’s logo. The cool water inside shimmered as it caught the dim morning light, filled to the brim with what he needed the most to combat this accursed hangover.
“Thanks, Rio… you’re a lifesaver.”
Ludwig took the mug and chugged it down in one long gulp, sighing heavily as the cold liquid fought back the headache. Albeit only for a moment till it came back with a vengeance.
“What happened yesterday?” He groaned, still cradling his throbbing head as the lingering hangover still tormented him.
“You drank until you dropped, sensei.” Rio folded her arms, her crimson eyes narrowing with disapproval. “Even with the stress of the upcoming Eden Treaty, you should know better than to drink like that.”
“Yeah… I’ve learned my lesson. Thanks…” He muttered, sinking back into the warmth of his bed with a thud. Staring blankly at the dull ceiling before a thought tugged at his mind. “Did I… say anything in my sleep?”
“No…” Rio paused in thought before she shook her head. “Yeah. I don’t think so. Meanwhile, I’ll prepare breakfast. You should freshen up, sensei.”
She was right. He felt awful, and he probably looked just as bad. Maybe… a bath would help clear his thoughts.
The chair. The pipes. The machinery.
The dream lingered. Haunting, vivid, and far too real.
Just like the many dreams he had before.
The paths around him were like a branching road, extending beyond the horizon and the boundless infinity. Branches upon branches, emerging from two, to four, to eight, and so on.
There are many roads to wander, many woods and many rocks around it—but that doesn’t mean that he should be afraid of getting lost.
No.
His family name, their legacy and his talent. Who cares if it was a dream, a reality far beyond, or his future. Whatever it is… he wanted this future to be just a nightmare instead of reality. Or rather, he wanted to see if this dream would be his future or just a shard of a future-past.
“Heheh.” He grasped his hair as a smirk slowly tugged at the corners of his lips.
He thought he had grown from his arrogance, looks like… he is still that young man after all those years.
Who can blame him?
He’s a Nostradame, after all.
«End of Story»