Choice

Brother? Who is—

"Ah, I never introduced myself, did I? My name is Lucifer Morningstar. The second-born True God and your elder brother."

"Elder... brother?"

"Yes. You were born from a portion of the True Gods' bodies. That makes you our youngest brother." He smiles at me and before I can say anything, he continues, "I would love to get to speak to this version of you longer but we have no time for chatter. You have been in Netherworld for about an hour, no?"

"I... I think so... yes."

"Well, that's a problem."

"How so?"

Lucifer glares at Satan, "Did you not tell him?" Satan shudders as Lucifer's mana grows colder. He shakes his head. "Sigh, well, what's done is done."

"What is it? Why do you have that grim look on your face?"

"Haruki, I don't want you to freak out."

"What's going on?" My mana spikes as I lose control of my emotions. "What is it that you're not telling me?"

Lucifer looks at me with a cautious stare. "Haruki, time runs differently in here than it does in Leagard. You may know about this phenomenon from the time you used Dimensional Shift on Trist. Netherworld runs on similar mechanics to the pocket dimension you sent Trist to."

I can feel my chest tightening as these words fall from my mouth, "How... long?"

"An hour in Netherworld equates to a year in Leagard."

A... year? Wait... that means...

I spin around but before I can run off, Lucifer says, "You will not find the exit that way."

I jerk my head back and glare at Lucifer. A year? A year passed in Leagard? Rai, Elisabeth, Niklaus, Ivy, everyone back in Leagard is in danger and I'm here fighting for fun. I march towards Lucifer. He is twice as tall as I am, so my head tilts up as I look him in the eyes. "Let me go. I need to go back to Leagard."

"To?"

"To help my friends."

"If you leave for Leagard, Kreo will find you."

"W-what do you mean?"

"Haruki, I sent Satan to you because I needed to hide you."

"Hide me? What are you talking about?"

"Satan told you about ALL, correct? That means you must have heard about the ceremony my siblings hold every 1000 years. It's called the Cleansing Ceremony."

"The Cleansing Ceremony..."

"The spell sealing ALL's powers withers over time and ends up corrupting you, her host. Do you remember a female voice telling you to kill anyone?"

A female voice? "Yes. Back in the Heilder Kingdom. She told me to kill Hafiz and my friends. I couldn't stop her back then."

"And do you remember a male voice stopping her rampage?"

"Yes. Satan said that was Venus... Kreo Supreme."

"That was my twin brother, yes. Venus... He despises Mother more than any of my siblings do. So, we will never be able to bargain with him around."

"Bargain?"

"Ah, I'm getting ahead of myself. You see, I wanted to hide you here in Netherworld for the time being because the ceremony will take place soon. If you're here, my siblings will have no choice but to unseal Netherworld to retrieve you. But I will not hand you over to them."

"Why?"

"You are our beacon of hope, Haruki. You are the only one who can put a stop to The Order of The Fly."

"The Order of... The Fly? That organisation that will start the next Ancient Magic War?"

"What the Order starts will not be a war. It will be a genocide. Gods, demons, giants, elves, humans... no one will stand a chance against them when they arrive. Not even the True Gods."

"They're that powerful?"

"I... don't know what they are exactly. But they started out their venture in my realm many millennia ago. You met one of the members of the Order."

"I did! When?"

"Elisabeth Faith."

"Elisabeth? But... the future Elisabeth was not a threat I saw that could destroy the seven realms. And she said Alvis defeated her."

"The Elisabeth you fought was far weaker than the Elisabeth from the Order. In her prime, she was not much weaker than a True God. But she was the weakest among the group. The other members rival the True Gods' powers. I fought one before and our match ended in a draw." He looks back at the horizon. "If I lost that day, I would have put my realm at risk. Luckily, he withdrew from Netherworld and never appeared here again."

Someone who fought a True God to a draw? Such a person exists? "But if someone that powerful exists, how am I the beacon of hope?"

He points at my chest. "You have the potential to be the most powerful True God. Your new mana core has given you access to ALL's power Almighty—the original magic. If we train you, you will have the power to defeat the Order."

"Train me? Here?"

He shakes his head. "Not here. In a pocket dimension. One Alvis created for this very moment. That pocket dimension is filled with miasma denser than Netherworld's and its time runs opposite to Netherworld's. Instead of a year in Leagard equating to an hour in this pocket dimension, an hour in Leagard equates to a year in there. It's the ideal training space to strengthen you."

It does sound ideal, but... "How long will I train in this space?"

"A year."

"A year! That's—"

"I understand your concern but know that this is the best outcome. If you want to protect your friends, this is what is required of you." Lucifer raises his finger and a gold door rises from the ground. "This is the exit. If you choose to leave now, I cannot promise your safety from our siblings. But if you choose to accept my proposal," he continues as he raises his finger again. A door as black as night rises next to the door leading to Leagard, "Alvis and I will make sure to exercise our powers as the eldest True Gods and keep you safe from the Cleansing Ceremony."

I look at the gold door. It's so close, yet so far. Across this door is Leagard one year later. How does it look? Did Dream conquer the realm as he said he would? What happened to everyone? I walk to the gold door and reach out my hand. If I cross this door, will I recognise the Leagard that appears before me? Was everyone waiting for my return? Or did they defeat Dream without me? I look at the black door. That door will keep me safe from the Cleansing Ceremony but I will leave them waiting another year for my return.

Torn between the choices, I shut my eyes. In the darkness behind my closed lids, I see two doors—both red. The doors rotate around me. I turn back and forth, confused. My heart races as I reach out for the door in front of me. I open the door and walk through, blinded at the choice I made.

**********************************

"So, that was your decision, Haruki?"

"Was it what his heart decided?" asks Mammon.

"No, fate guided his hand," says Satan. "But was there no other way?"

"If there was, then I wouldn't need to go to such drastic measures. I just hope that in a year, he will have honed his strength because the time for war is upon us."

"Is it the Order?" asks Mammon.

"Yes. Amey had a vision. The Order will attack in one year. What will be an hour for us will be a long year for both Leagard and Haruki."