Hold over Myriad of Worlds

It was already the next morning in Konoha when everyone rested and gathered in the living room. As always, we had a meal and started to think about plans for the day.

-"I wanted to see some techniques ninjas use. It was as you've said before, Yue, the Breathing Styles and Chakra have something in common."

~"Most of the energies, in different words, are manifestations of either life force, magic, spirit, or Soul. Once you understand the core of each, you will be able to use them more easily."

-"I want to help civilians as much as I can. Now that I have learned earth manipulation, I can assist in the building."-Lena said, a little excited to finally be able to do something and not just stand back and give orders.

-"Then I'll accompany you. I wouldn't want to bother the lovebirds during their date."

-"Kirari..."-Keqing eyed the Cyan Demon with a slight blush.

~"Sure. You will most likely be safe in the village, but if anything happens, send a message on Chat."

-"Yes!~ We will behave."-Three of them responded in union.

~"You guys..."~After shaking my head at their response, I turned to Keqing.~"We have the talks with Hyūga later today, so how about we see some sights around the village before that?"

-"Sure. I believe that all spots in the village might not be open to visitors now, after all."

~"Then let's finish the breakfast and get going with the day."

Not even an hour later, Keqing and I could be seen walking along the Naka River. Despite this once being part of the village, now only ruins left to rot remained.

-"Despite their whole 'Will of Fire' spill, it would seem not everything is bright here."

~"They are clans of assasing if you look at it from an outside perspective. Now they distanced themself from their past as killers to employ, but old blood still grew up and lived in a world of countless wars."

-"True. The more worlds I visit, the more I appreciate the work of Morax, Adeptai, and my predecessors in Liyue. Despite not being perfect, I still would rate my world in the top three of worlds I know of right now."

~"Hou? Now that's interesting. What about the first place?"

-"Your world, obviously."

~"I'm happy to hear that. If I were to pick a world where I would like to live aside from my own and my birth one, I would pick either Astarea's or Shen Meng's."

-"I can see why one would want to live in Orario, but a Cultivation world? I feel like it's not a great place to live in."

~"True, but it gives most possibilities. If I valued peace and quality of life, I wouldn't be a leader of militaristic force."

-"Right, despite you trying to hide it, I still think you are a battle maniac."

~"You think so? Hmm... I don't consider myself one, but I wouldn't reject a great opponent to test my mettle against."

-"Sadly, few, if any, can fight you now."

~"Indeed, but there are more ways one can contend against others. Lastly, I found that instructing others and helping them to move forward is also a great feeling."

-"No longer fit to battle, so you've become the teacher, huh? You are getting old."

~"Thanks."

-"Pff. Don't be angry."

We soon arrived in front of an old shrine, kept shut by a seal placed upon the entrance. Deciphering it quickly, I waved my hand and removed it, allowing us to enter.

-"You sure we can enter inside?"

~"This is not a forbidden place, so no one should complain."

We looked around for a short while and entered the hidden compartment. There, we found a stone tablet covered with illusions that kept its contents hidden.

~"To think we would find such a thing. This world is truly not as simple as I thought."

-"Is something hidden here? This stone only says some strange Yin-Yang things."

~"There are more things written there. Look now."~I made it so that Keqing also could see through illusions on the stone.

-"This... Sage of Six Paths? God Tree?"

~"See? I'm sure Tsunade didn't conceal history when she spoke about it to me, so this must have been forgotten. Ōtsutsuki, huh? Interesting."

-"Do you plan to get involved?"

~"Not fully. Come out. I know you are hiding here."

Two people in long black cloaks with red clouds came out from the entrance to the hidden compartment. One of them looked at me with a serious face, while the other possessed shark-like characteristics.

-"What now, Partner?"

-"How can you enter here and unveil the secrets of this stone?"

~"Because I'm strong."

-"Can you show me more of what was written here?"

~"It depends on what price you can offer."

-"What do you want."

~"You will do a job for me."

-"Details."

~"I can imagine you will attack this village in the future. I hope you can reduce the casualties to normal people and ninjas but destroy Root at the same time."

-"You won't make us stop?"

~"You can't trust maniacs to keep their world, especially ones who have an ideology. This is trade between me and you, and you can't stop your organization."

-"I can do so, but I can't kill Danzō."

~"Sure, just give me material that will implicate him in the attack."

-"I can do that."

~"Good. Then look at the stone."~I gave the same ability to that man as I did to Keqing.

-"What about that part that was changed?"

~"It was written by someone other than the original author of the rest."

-"So it was a counterfeit, huh? This would make sense..."

~"Let's go, Keqing. Be sure to drop off the proof of Danzō's betrayal to Tsunade after he lost his use, Itachi Uchiha."

-"Wait. I have one more thing to talk with you."

~"What is it?"

-"Can you help my brother not to follow my path?"

~"I can't do it. Only you can change his mind. I suggest you rethink how you wish this story to play. Will you be part of a tragedy or story of redemption?"

-"A redemption... I don't think I can gain redemption."

~"Depends what you seek. To rectify the mistakes of the past or to recover reputation."

Itachi looked at me before closing his eyes and sighing audibly.

~"One day, when Itachi Uchiha is no longer needed in this world, use this."~I gave him a communicator that can message me.

-"Will you accept a betrayer?"

~"No. I hadn't invited a betrayer, only a misguided tragic hero."

Passing two of them, Keqing and I exited the shrine and continued our stroll.

-"You think so highly of him to invite him directly?"

~"Yes."~I showed her [Wyrd], which now shimmered slightly.~"His actions will shape this world's future even more than those of Kages."

-"I see."

~"Let's continue our alone time. This time, nobody will interrupt us."

My avatar in Hold also wasn't idle, as today I was invited by someone who rarely showed herself. Walking into one of the dojos in the Capital, I entered the arena where the person who called me waited.

~"I never expected you to call me, Acheron."

-"Yue. Come with me."

Knowing that Acheron was never a person of many words, I simply nodded and entered her inner world after her. Inside, I found myself on the surface of dark water, a black hole looming over the horizon.

Looking down into the water, if someone's will was not strong enough, they would find themselves sinking, drowning in the futility of their existence.

Acheron was standing next to me. She stared at the black hole in the distance. For the first time since I had met her, I could see some emotions in her eyes.

-"Be careful not to fall."

~"Don't worry."

She nodded and continued to look far into the horizon. The silence continued for a short while before she spoke again.

-"What do you think about this place?"

~"Familiarity. My own world was once similar to this. Empty."

-"..."

~"But my world showed the dearth rather than meaninglessness like yours."

She continued to be quiet, not moving or even blinking. Giving her time to gather her thoughts, I sat down a little further away and took out my zither to play some quiet song.

The sound of the music echoed in this empty space, breaking the deathly quietness that this place has known for countless years. Only when I was playing my third piece did Acheron react, taking her eyes off the black hole and looking at me.

-"Can you help me?"

~"My Path is unsuited for you."

-"I know."

~"Your Karma is no more. Your Fate is empty. Your Destiny is erased. You are an empty sheet, carrying the name of the ones who you send to the other side."

-"..."

~"That blade. Was it yours, or did you just take it and the name of one who wielded it? Like you did with the title of Galaxy Ranger. Even the name Acheron is what others called you as."

-"..."

~"I can see that you no longer wish to exist as such being. No, wish might be too strong of a word here. You find your existence meaningless as it is right now."

I put away my zither and rose to my feet.

~"I won't give you purpose like those who you have met before. I will grant your wish."

A white wooden bow appeared in my hand. It looked like it was made from twisted branches and even had some leaves on it. In the surroundings, a white mist started to appear, and soon, it covered everything but a few meters around Acheron and the black hole on the horizon.

I opened my eyes, meeting her gaze. My tails swayed behind me as I spoke, the mask on my belt shaking.

~"I shall end your meaningless existence.~"

⌊ I shall end your meaningless existence.~⌉

Drawing a bow, I let go of an arrow that flew directly toward motionless Acheron. As it was to hit its target, the water stirred. My arow broke into motes of light, slashed by Acheron's sword.

Her long hair were no longer purple, having lost all their color. Red flowers appeared on her hands and body. Most importantly, her now red eyes looked at me.

She no longer had a look as if she couldn't see anything, just gazing into empty space with a turbid gaze. Now, I could see a reflection of myself in those still emotionless eyes.

The sword in her hand was finally unsheathed, and the red gleam of the blade was the only color that broke the monochrome battlefield of white and black.

In a split second, she slashed again, cutting the place where I stood as my form disappeared into the mist. She continued to slash, but every time, her attacks would simply disappear into the mist.

Suddenly, the next arrow flew at her. This one was also broken by her blade. At the same time, Wolf jumped from the other side, baring his teeth at her. Avoiding its claws, she kicked it back into the mist, only for two more to emerge, along with yet another arrow.

This time, she slashed all three at once, trying to erase them with Nihility. Her attack shattered the wolves into mist, while the arrow was broken by her blade.

Seeing that she couldn't continue like that, she jumped forward, dispersing the mist as she moved through it. Moving to where the last arrow flew from, she would shatter every mist wolf that attacked her and break every arrow with a swift slash before continuing in the direction the attacks flew from.

But this strategy proved unsuccessful, as she never caught a glimpse of one firing the arrows, and after the seventh arrow was broken during her pursuit, she stopped.

She brought the sword to the side of her face and pointed it forward. The water's surface started to surge with waves that started to crash with the mist. Despite the sudden movement, the fight came to a sudden stillness as Acheron remained unmoving. But no matter how long the motionlessness lasted, only the moment that ended it was important.

In one swift movement, Acheon slashed her sword. Instantly, the surrounding space shattered, and the black hole that loomed over the horizon now appeared in the middle of the battlefield.

This brought two powers into direct confrontation. The Shadow of XI tried to extinguish the mist while Kindred tried to end the black hole. End and Nihility fought for domination.

Because the mist was now mostly focused on the black hole, I could no longer hide in it, so I was revealed. Still holding the bow, I looked at Acheron, who rushed at me. As she closed the distance, I fired an arrow at her, which she broke with her blade.

The moment I was in her range, blow after blow flew my way. Calmly responding to them one by one, I would dodge in a way that would disturb her tempo, firing arrows on every occasion. But Archeon was not Emmanarot for naught. No matter from what angle my arrows would fly, each would be broken by her blade.

I continued to either be too close to her for the ōdachi to be useful or leave her range fully and pester her with arrows. We continued our dance to the background of the duel between Path and Spirit. This status quo continued for some time, and neither side could gain the upper hand.

Everywhere around, great waves would crash against each other. The whole of Acheron's inner world had become ravaged by huge storms with us at its core. There was nothing left from the quiet at the beginning.

White and Red clashed continuously, yet the outcome was still the same. No slash would hit the target, while every arrow would be broken by the blade.

If Acheron tried to break the stalemate, I would interrupt her before she could do anything. I also didn't use any of my other powers to turn the tide in my favor.

Neither she nor I could tell how long this continued, as time lost meaning in this space long ago. We both didn't need to drink or eat. Sleep and rest were also unnecessary. All that counted was the fight and the opponent.

I dodged yet another of her slashes, entering close into her personal space only to avoid a kick aimed at my throat. Slipping behind her, I shot an arrow, but she used her previous momentum to spin around and slash, breaking that arrow before it could reach her. This action took long enough for me to distance myself.

In the middle of that exchange, our eyes met again. She still had no emotion hidden in them, but the intensity of the light that shone deep in them was much greater. Drawing my bow, I fired another arrow at her that she slashed at with her sword.

Yet this time, it was not the arrow that broke. It was the blade.