ANGELS IN THE SNOW

Kojo sat cross-legged on the windswept white peak, the panorama of the province spread before him like a tapestry woven from disparate threads in the winter. Ekron, a city that was slowly bringing modernization into the world, pulsed in the distance, the strange blend of races that now populated it going about their business, oblivious to Kojo's observation. Even from that far-away distance and despite the cold air and snow's obstruction, he could make out individuals and the layout of the streets where they walked.

"(Now isn't the time to be a stalker.)"

Kojo sighed and looked up at the sky. It was darkening, heralding the approach of night. He sighed again and began gathering his thoughts.

The information Nefaria had imparted swirled within his mind. It was a dizzying revelation, the cosmic architecture far grander and more intricate than he had ever imagined.

"(Oi. Sighing isn't gonna help you; you better cut it out, it's irritating me.)"

Kojo sighed again, the sound lost in the rushing wind.

"This has gotten so much more complicated," he muttered, gazing at the violet sky.

"(Complicated? Reality has always been inherently complex. Your perception of it was merely limited.)"

"Yeah, but at least before, it was a simple 'Isekai' mystery," Kojo retorted, the word tasting strange on his tongue. "Now it's like... cosmic physics and interdimensional travel and whatnot. I liked it better when it was just cute girls."

"(Your preference for ignorance does not alter the fundamental nature of the situation. And I've told you that this is your reality, so stop treating things as if you're in a fantasy novel.)"

"We are though," Kojo replied.

"(I'll slug you in the jaw.)" Sysia said in an annoyed tone.

"Okay, okay," Kojo conceded, though he didn't really know how she'd manage that; he didn't want to find out. He rubbed his temples. "But at least we know how we got here now, right? It wasn't some random magic trick."

"(You're right about that at least. Nefaria's explanation makes sense and fills in the blanks concerning our own situation. The experiment likely destabilized the dimensional barriers, creating a temporary aperture into hyperspace. Your physical form was disintegrated, and your consciousness drawn into the energy flow, dragging me along with you. I then became sentient through the interaction with this energy and utilized it to reconstruct a physical form, thus manifesting our presence within this world.)"

Kojo paused, his brow furrowed.

"You said 'dragging' as if I forced you to come here."

"(Well, it is your fault.)"

"It was my fault? If anything, you guys kidnapped me, and what were you doing poking around my phone anyway? Gathering information, my ass."

Sysia didn't respond.

"Oh, so you've conveniently lost the ability to speak?"

She still didn't respond. Kojo sighed again. A snowflake landed on his cheek, and he touched it.

"Wait, so, if that's the case... if we're made of hyperspace energy, remnants of a disintegrated reality... doesn't that make me a Spectre?"

A silence descended, heavy and profound, broken only by the whistling wind. Kojo shivered.

"(Analysis pending. Data retrieval from the Specter classification database... Processing... Inconclusive. The definition of a Spectre is varied and often ambiguous.)"

"Wait, I forgot you could just look it up from the Archive," Kojo said, taking control of the snow in front of him and forming it into various shapes.

"(The information within the archive is not as detailed as what Nefaria gave.)"

"Well, Estelle was a mortal, and I doubt she'd be bothered by any of the implications even if she used gates," Kojo said, forming a small army of snow constructs and watching as they fought monsters made of ice which he created.

"(I just asked her. She says she doesn't know.)"

"Huh?"

"(You're forgetting she's here too?)"

Kojo looked down at the ring on his finger with the Leicester crest.

"Why didn't she tell me herself then?"

"(She's been engrossed with the Webtoon and novels in your memory. It took a while to get her to talk to me even.)"

"Wait, memories? What exactly did you guys see?"

"(Oh, don't get your tits twisted in a knot. We won't tell anyone.)" He heard two voices snickering. He covered his face with his hand.

"Now I have two parasites living in my head rent-free."

"{Hey, who are you calling a parasite?}" Estelle demanded.

"(You do know that I can communicate with Yuki from here, right? I wonder what she thinks once she learns... certain details about you.)" Sysia said.

"I'm sorry," Kojo quickly apologized.

"(Better.)"

Kojo sighed again.

"(Still, based on the information provided by Nefaria, there is the possibility of you being a spectre, but not quite. Even though your body still functions like that of a normal human, you're still an energy construct simply mimicking all these characteristics.)"

Kojo watched as two of the snow soldiers he created fought for their fallen comrades. They ended up stabbing each other and collapsing in a heap.

He raised his head and stared out at the sprawling landscape, the clouds clearing slightly to reveal the three moons that illuminated the night with their light.

"A Spectre, huh?" he repeated, the word echoing in his mind.

"(I wouldn't think about it too much. It's not like you can do anything about it.)"

"Hmm, I guess you're right," Kojo said, laying back in the snow and moving his arms up and down to form angels in the snow.

The echoes of Nefaria's revelations faded, replaced by the persistent hum of Cassie's vision. Kojo shifted on the mountaintop, the cool night air biting at his skin. He couldn't shake the image of Cassie's wide, haunted eyes, the cryptic words she had uttered. It wasn't the content itself, but the sudden shift in the narrative. It felt like the stakes had been abruptly raised.

"It's just… I don't know what it means," Kojo muttered, his gaze fixed on the clouds partially obscuring the moons. "The fact they're throwing around big words tells me it's serious."

"(Cassie's vision likely correlates with the information provided by Nefaria. The convergence of these events suggests a potential threat to the stability of the world.)"

"Yeah, no kidding," Kojo sighed. "And unsurprisingly, it's become my problem to deal with."

"(Will you go back with her to Ezkanur?)"

"Do I have a choice?"

"(Technically, no. If you didn't go, Sharone and the others probably would, and you'd still end up there because of them. I'm still surprised you made a decision without me having to nag you.)"

"This isn't like my usual lazy self, is it?"

"(Well, Cassie did come all this way.) And if she's important enough to warrant two Saints, then we should at least see where things lead.)"

"Yeah. Besides, Dona did say I should… uh… she said.....what did she say again?"

A soft, digital chuckle echoed in his mind. "(You are hopeless.)" Sysia sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he quickly brushed her off.

He rose to his feet, stretching his wings, the moonlight glinting off their dark feathers. "Time to head back."

With a powerful leap, he launched himself into the night sky, the wind rushing past him as he soared towards the city. The clouds had cleared, and his soaring form was illuminated by moonlight. As he moved, a single snowflake drifted down. The snowflake, a fragile thing in the vast, cold night, rested on the form Kojo made when he lay down. It was a silent testament to the changing weather, a subtle shift in the world, much like the subtle shift in Kojo's own understanding of his reality. Then it was gone, melting into the angel in the snow, forgotten.