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Two wills inside one body is difficult to manage, but for Chloe and Hinata, it has become second nature. Going under the alias Chronoa and title Hero, they have honed their skills in preparation for the inevitable battle against Veldora by traveling the lands and slaying monsters. As she kills orcs and ogres and dragons alike, however, Chloe must will herself to not think of the nation of monsters these species will flourish under when given names and safety. Hinata reminds her that the only one capable of uniting the monsters of this world is still centuries away, and that nothing can be done yet.
So, whispers of their feats and triumphs spread, and they continue walking steps that have become second nature after so many loops.
…Well, they should be walking the same steps, if they want to reach their own time again. But Chloe finds herself following an unseen path she had never taken before, into a section of the world she's never been, as a tug in her chest screams at her to go, go, go.
"It might be the time spirit," Hinata says in consideration, and it's a valid point. Chronoa is, at all times, barely being held back from committing violence. For all either of them know, she's luring them into a trap.
And yet—
"No," Chloe says aloud, ducking beneath a low hanging branch. The leaves are becoming a sickly yellow and brown as she goes further—a sign of too much heat, or of a magicule imbalance? "Chronoa is… Kenya would say trigger happy, but she wants the same thing as us. She wouldn't detract from that path."
"So far."
Chloe sighs, "So far."
She continues to follow the odd pull anyway, and Hinata allows it. It's her own sense of responsibility, Chloe can tell, but there's also a hint of curiosity… and the sense of Chronoa snickering at the perceived victory. Chloe finds herself grinning from behind the anti-magic mask as she picks up her pace.
But the path isn't really a path, they find out. Of course, being in the middle of a dense forest doesn't really leave much room for a path naturally, however even the magicules Chloe had been following disperse too quickly to make sense of a direction. It's undeniable there's something here though, because otherwise there shouldn't be this many naturally occurring magicules to begin with.
"It shouldn't be any of the True Dragons…" Chloe mutters after several long moments of confused silence. The True Dragons—usually Veldora with his often rampages, but occasionally Velzard and Velgrynd assisting their respective… partners(? She's still confused on that front. Velgrynd is obvious, but Chronoa seems convinced Guy and Velzard are together. Chloe is pretty sure Guy and Leon are together. Hinata says she wants nothing to do with this conversation, but if she hypothetically had a guess, she'd say all three aforementioned people are too prideful to want to settle down for anybody)—are the first to come to mind when there's an unexplainable natural occurrence like this. The hangup in this case is that there's no storm, fire, or snow. Just… dying plants.
"No," Hinata agrees. "They're more obvious. If anything, this reminds me of—"
Chloe sees it the exact moment Hinata does: a flash of blue. A familiar blue, one that should be impossible in this time and place. Chronoa tries to rise; Hinata roughly pushes her down. Chloe, for her part, crouches slightly, beginning to ever-so-slowly creep forward.
The blue shifts and falls like hair. Eyes of gold and crimson meet Chloe's through the mask. The face isn't quite right, just a little too old and a little too miserable, and the outfit is like nothing Shuna would ever make for him, and there's a muddled True Dragon aura that leaks from them. Still, the resemblance is uncanny.
"Rimuru," Hinata says. Chloe isn't sure if she's finishing her earlier sentence or agreeing with the similarities. It doesn't really matter. The stranger is still staring. Chloe's hand settles over her sword as questions dance around her head, coming from no one in particular and yet all three of them.
Could it be? But, no—it shouldn't be possible. Right? And if it was, then how? Why? Why now? Or was it in every loop and she simply didn't know? In that case, how long has this been happening? Or has something been done to change the timeline so drastically? Will she—will they—be able to return home?
…Chloe is going to have to start this conversation, isn't she?
That final question gets answered rather quickly: no, apparently she won't. The stranger shifts a little more, struggling to sit up from their half-collapsed position, and smiles. It makes the corners of their mismatched eyes crinkle in the way Ms. Shizu's used to. It throws Hinata so off guard, Chloe almost misses it when the stranger rasps in a near inaudible voice, "Hello. You're the Hero, right?"
…It's odd. Their voice almost sounds like Rimuru's too. The only difference is the second, more feminine voice that seems to layer overtop it, unnoticeable to anyone who wasn't looking for it. But with the red, Chloe had wondered… sometimes it's Great Sage, sometimes it's Raphael, very rarely is it Ciel. No matter which version it is, there's always somebody else there. And actually—
"Is it possible for someone to become a Skill?" Chloe asks, pushing her question internally as Thought Acceleration kicks in. It's a far fetched theory, sure, but it is far too early for Rimuru to reincarnate. It's far too early for Shizu to even be here, let alone fully grown. But if it's the Sage, or Raphael, or Ciel… it would make sense, wouldn't it?
"I'm not sure," comes the answer. Though Hinata had served as the right hand of God, the demon lord who could revive the dead, there were still things not even Luminus could do. Things Rimuru could. And though Hinata had yet to meet the other entity within her… arguable friend, it didn't seem too far out there for an Ultimate Skill to have been the byproducts of a dying being. But— "It would be unwise to rule out the possibility of time travel, either way."
"Teach doesn't have Time Leap—"
"Yet." Hinata cuts in. Adds: "That we know of."
…Another fair point. Chloe sighs inaudibly as Thought Acceleration ceases, and then nods to the maybe-not stranger. Channeling every bit of her Hero persona as she can, she says, "I am. Though, I am surprised you have heard of me; my accomplishment are still lacking compared to my predecessors."
They giggle in reply, and the force of whatever humor they have found sends them tumbling back to the ground. She's not sure who's instincts move her—Chloe as the Hero, Hinata as a Holy Knight, or Chronoa in response to the familiar appearance—but Chloe darts to their side in an instant.
"I've known a lot of Heroes," they answer as Chloe props them up against her. Too light, too limp, she notes. Not visibly injured, but might be ill, Hinata tacks on. The stranger's eyes flutter in the embrace, before landing back on her with startling intensity. "Spoiled kids, the lot of them… I suppose that's my fault, though. I'm weak to their charms."
'Known a lot of Heroes'? Well, now holding them, Chloe can believe that. The True Dragon aura is weak, yes, but unmistakably there, mixed with something other. If this person wasn't talking about Heroes challenging them to fights, then it is possible that they might've trained those Heroes. After all, historically, Heroes have been trained by elves, Demon Lords, the Star King, and most recently a slime, so it wouldn't be hard to assume.
Still… "A lot of Heroes?" Chloe repeats again aloud. "Then does such a legendary person have a name I would know?"
"I don't think it's Rimuru," she then explains to Hinata, and by extension Chronoa. "Even taking into account time discrepancies, he would either recognize me as Chloe, or as the Hero via Veldora. Since there's been no recognition—"
"This is either a horrible coincidence, or this is the soon-to-be Ultimate Skill," Hinata finishes. Even as Chronoa gives off the impression of pouting, Hinata's words are lined with unease. Chloe finds herself sympathizing with that.
She finds herself sympathizing moreso when the stranger again giggles hysterically. "I don't know… I'm not sure who I am right now," they whisper, like it's a secret only the two (four) of them can know. And yet that, there, is proof enough, isn't it?
An entity with the power of a force of nature, confused, dying, as their magicules are drained from them and repurposed into a Skill. Someone who trained Heroes aplenty, and so was experienced in shepherding an Otherworlder in his desire to unite the world. An ally in the grand scheme of things, who had yet to realize what was happening to her.
"Since Rimuru hasn't named her Ciel yet, and she's not in any state to give us her current name, I guess Raphael will do," Chloe thinks.
"Something's still not right," Hinata—well, she's not arguing Chloe's point, but she's definitely arguing in general. "The fact that this woman will reincarnate into a Skill is… I'll believe it. But that doesn't change the fact that something is killing her right now, with no obvious cause."
Chronoa, wiggling out from beneath Hinata's hold, cheerfully inputs, "Skills like Regalia Dominion can drive someone crazy until they die! But there's plenty of other ways for someone to die with no physical alterations. There's exposure to the Insectoid dimension, suppression of all magicules for extended periods of time, or interference with the target's spiritual body. Unique Skills like Clayman's Marionette Heart or the ritual that ties Otherworlders to their summoners can and often do lead to death—"
Chloe tunes them both out. She struggles and then successfully tugs her cape around the presumed Raphael, like how Ms. Tiss would readjust the cloaks of five troublemaking children. Chloe smiles, hidden by the mask though it is, and says, "That's alright. You can tell me later."
"Do you think there will be a later?" Raphael challenges.
"There's always a later."
Chloe says it with more certainty than's particularly warranted, but it is the truth, especially for the likes of them. She, who travels through time, and Raphael, who will become intertwined so deeply with one Chloe holds above all else. There will always be a later for the two (five) of them, that is as certain as the stars.
Raphael doesn't know this. Can't know this. But still, she smiles up at Chloe and nods, eyes again fluttering shut. "Yeah… that's true. Another time, then." She sighs, more magicules escaping. Chloe watches them coalesce and vanish, as if someone is collecting them. Raphael speaks again, "Can you do me a favor in the meantime, Ms. Hero?"
"It's my duty to aid the people," Chloe agrees. There was very little hesitation in it, which perhaps was proof of her impaired judgment at the moment, but Raphael didn't need to know that either. All she should see was a fledgling Hero ready to do her job. Hinata would scold Chloe later, anyway.
…As soon as she was done fighting Chronoa back into obedience, that is.
"The others I've helped raise… aren't available," Raphael explains. Her voice is weak and her eyes are closed, but it still feels as if an overwhelming presence is boring down on Chloe. "You are a Hero, and are kind and smart…" Chloe preens. "One day, the Storm Dragon Veldora will rampage like never before and will have to be stopped."
—?
How? Chloe and Hinata and Chronoa know this because they've stopped it from happening before, because it has to happen for Rimuru to become Rimuru. But for Raphael to know this… Had the rampage been building for long enough for it to be obvious? It certainly explains the intensity of the attack on Night Rose. Still, it raises the question of why no one stopped Veldora beforehand.
Unless.
At this point in time, Chloe knows, there are very few people who can stand up with an enraged Veldora. Guy Crimson, who doesn't interfere with human affairs personally, and Rudra Nam Ul Nasca, who's in a similar position. Velzard and Velgrynd, beholden to their not-partners as they are, similarly refrain from acting. Milim wouldn't interfere either, though for her own reasons, which left—
Raphael, presumably, who is in no fit state to fight. And now the Hero Chronoa, who has begun to make a name for herself as the strongest Hero to date.
"Not even Granbell could stand up to him. Leon is likely similar, and Luminus herself isn't able to when Veldora is rampaging, even if she wasn't hidden from the public eye under the guise of God, so I doubt most of the Demon Lords alive stand a chance…" Hinata, apparently successful in her duel, hisses her thoughts. Chloe hums in agreement.
No one stopped Veldora beforehand because no one was available. Chloe—Chronoa—is Raphael's last shot. Especially if…
"Please. Please, don't kill him," Raphael asks, and it's toeing the line of desperate. "Take it as a last wish to be granted… or a concerned brother, or see it within yourself to know Veldora is just acting in the nature of storms. He's not a bad dragon!"
"Easy!" Hinata barks through Chloe's mouth—once a captain in charge of the safety of thousands, always a captain in charge of the safety of thousands. "Don't overtax yourself in such a state! Just save your energy for now."
"We don't have access to Appraisal," Chloe says. "If we can't find out what's wrong, we can't help. And even if we could, if she does go on to become Great Sage…"
"Then we shouldn't interfere; I know. But that doesn't mean she needs to suffer in the moments before death."
Even so, the change in tone must've been a surprise to Raphael. She turned stone still in Chloe's arms. The air, too, turned stale as the wind paused. But then Raphael huffs an almost-amused noise and goes right back to melting into Chloe.
"Always such a worrier," she chides. Raphael tips away slightly to free a hand. A hand that comes up to clumsily pat at the anti-magic mask. "It's alright, kiddos… I'm already at my limit. I just need you to promise—" her hand falls. She shudder violently as her aura dips into nothingness. "Imprisonment. Not death."
"Kiddos?" Hinata echoes, back within.
"Imprisonment. Not death," Chloe promises with a determined nod. Well, it's not like there is much to promise, considering that was the original plan to begin with, but— Internally, she tacks on, "Great Sage, Raphael, and Ciel love messing with souls. If she could see into people's cores from the start, that would probably be the least surprising thing I've ever heard."
"…Fair."
Raphael heaves a sigh that once more gives way to slightly deranged giggling. It fades quickly, however, and it leaves them in a heavy silence. It isn't eerie, or oppressive, or stifling. It's simply… heavy. And then, for the first time in several minutes, Raphael opens her eyes.
There's no more gold.
"…Thank you," Raphael says, slightly stilted, thoroughly pained, and much more akin to the Raphael Chloe had met. A clear indicator that time was up. The Unique Skill Great Sage was about to be born, and Chronoa's feelings about that were about as calm as the seas during hurricane season.
…Chloe makes a decision in that moment. She lifts a hand up to her face and slowly pushes the anti-magic mask up. Face free, she smiles at the person who wears her teacher's face, at the one being in existence Rimuru trusts above all else. And as the last of Raphael's magicules fade, turning them into nothing but the breeze, Chloe adds one last, "See you later, Teach."
…She is left alone in a field a death.
"Not alone," Hinata says after a long moment. A few brown leaves fall in her words' wake. "And we'll see them both again as long as we're careful."
"…Right, yes." A deep breath. "As long as we don't stop." Chloe bobs her head in a slow, agreeing nod and pushes herself to her feet. The mask is slid back into place. Chronoa is contained. Memories of those left behind in the far future are pushed to the background for the time being.
The Hero disappears back into the treeline.
The Voice of the World watches.