The two Protas were fiercely locked in combat. Neither was willing to give an inch of ground. Both were fighting fiercely for their lives, but their intents could not be more different.

One fought for vengeance. For revenge. She believed the world had turned on her, and so, backed into a corner, she lashed out like a beast. Her abilities existed to harm, to destroy. The term "Soul Steal" was quite literal. This Prota desired the deaths of others. She'd been pushed into the ground so far that there was no point in trying to climb back up. At this point, such a thing was impossible.

All she could do was drag others down with her.

The other fought to protect. To keep her loved ones safe. The world wasn't the safest place, but within that world, there was something she deeply wished to see again. Her abilities had been moulded and shaped so they wouldn't harm unless she so desired. All she wanted was to keep John safe. She'd been buried deep, but a single hand reached out to her. That hand was her only lifeline, and she couldn't bear to have it severed.

It was all she had.

"Give up!" the other Prota growled. "Why… won't you just… give up?!"

Her magic was rough, unrefined. Instead of precise spells and strategic timing, the illusion threw out large-scale spells recklessly in the hopes that one would destroy her opponent. On the other hand, Prota was using her usual strategy, a culmination of techniques she'd learned from the various people she'd met along the way.

If she were a [Protagonist], it might've ended there. The experiences she had would be enough to defeat the evil clone. The power of friendship and relationships would defeat the single-minded, self-destructive mindset. Prota would know something the evil Prota wouldn't, and that would be the difference between the two.

Unfortunately, Prota was also an [Anomaly], so things didn't exactly go the way she wanted. The other Prota was powerful, incredibly so. It seemed that training purely on rage and anger had turned her into a powerful beast. It was interesting to think that, no matter what had happened, Prota would be a powerful being, but that wasn't something to think about right now.

Right now, Prota needed to survive.

"I… am a protector," Prota panted, wiping the sweat from her face. "I will protect."

"Protect what? There is nothing worth protecting in this world! Do you really think that giving it a chance will keep you safe? No! In the end, we'll always be betrayed! We don't get a happy ending!"

"...this world, maybe," Prota muttered, casting mana recovery once more. "But… other worlds. Maybe not."

"Other… worlds?"

Prota didn't waste the moment of hesitation, immediately following up with a flurry of attacks. She'd never been so evenly matched fight before. Most of her fights were uphill battles, ones she won by luck or some other external factor. Occasionally, she'd take on those far weaker than herself, an experience that, while unsatisfactory, was entertaining in a way.

But here, against this clone of hers, it was dead even. A single mistake would determine the victor. A single moment of genius would do the same.

It was simply a matter of who would deviate from the norm first.

Both Protas backed off after an especially intense clash, panting heavily. The other Prota didn't have the strategy of using mana recovery repeatedly, but that didn't seem to matter. Her mana reinforcement seemed to be incredibly strong based on her resistance to attacks and speed when dodging spells.

Think. She had to think. What did she have that the other Prota didn't?

Experience. Skill. Talents and spells gained from others…

Lilith's special spell.

She didn't know if she could pull it off, but after trying it out once, she wanted to do it again. And this time, she knew how.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. She hadn't done this at first since messing it up could cause tremendous backlash, but at this point, what did she have left? She wanted to—

No. She needed to win.

Mana began to spread from her core, but instead of forming an attack, it began to spread out. The air began to develop a noticeable chill, but it wasn't the Absolute Zero attack Prota had trained.

This was something entirely new.

The very air began to fill itself with ice-based mana. Any ambient mana floating in the air began to develop ice-like properties, turning the place into an arctic battlefield.

A domain, just like Sofya had taught her. This was her first time using one in battle, and while she didn't quite understand what she was doing, the point was that it was helping.

She wasn't done yet, though.

Her thought process accelerated as she began to cast her next spell. She had to picture it. That beautiful dragon, coiling around her like a snake, scales upon scales stacking on each other like a fish, a chilling frost pouring out from its mouth.

When her eyes snapped back open, the other Prota was preparing her own attack, but it didn't matter.

"Go. Frozen Dragon."

The dragon shot forward, the ground underneath it freezing and cracking from the sheer cold emanating from the spell. It was like the cold of an Absolute Zero combined with the destructive force of a Blossom, paired with the piercing prowess of a Frozen Bullet. Such a spell was only possible with the effect of the domain. Had it not been up, Prota would not have mustered the mana in time, and the recoil of maintaining accelerated thought would have knocked her out.

It was the result of dozens of hours of practice, trying her best to copy Lilith's magic, over and over, only to turn it into something of her own.

The other Prota had cast a giant fireball, but it didn't matter. The dragon blew right through it, immediately vaporizing the fire to nothing, the sheer cold too much for any semblance of heat to exist.

The illusion tried to dodge, but the domain was more than just something to enable the spell. It slowed down one's movement, chilling the mind and slowing one's reactions. Thanks to her mana reinforcement, the other Prota managed to dodge, but not without consequence.

"...my arm," she muttered, looking down.

There was no blood. The flesh had immediately frozen over, preventing any bleeding. But her arm had been taken clean off.

"You think you can pity me? Look down on me?"

With a cry, her body began to shine. Prota flinched. She didn't know what her opponent was up to, but it couldn't be anything good. Now wasn't the time to hesitate.

She immediately switched her domain to one of fire, the area heating up to the point that it was like being in an oven. Unaffected by the temperature, she immediately began the same spell, but this time, the dragon would be made of fire.

Blood spurted out of her nose and ears as the toll on her mind tried to make itself clear, but she couldn't stop here. She absolutely could not die.

"I've been beaten far too many times for something like that to work!" the other Prota yelled, her arm completely restored.

Prota was stunned. Was something like that even possible? She'd never heard of mana being able to restore one's limbs. Granted, she hadn't looked into healing magic, mainly because she couldn't use it, but shouldn't something like that be spoken about if it were possible?

That didn't matter. She could ask someone about it later. Right now, she had to win.

With a cry, she fired the flaming dragon, and it barrelled toward the enemy. This time, the heat drained one of their energy, causing them to be weak and fatigued. The other Prota couldn't dodge this time, not with the level of exhaustion she was feeling.

So why did she look so confident?

"Your tricks aren't going to work a second time!"

The other Prota reached out, and to Prota's horror, the dragon turned back into mana, the flow headed straight for the other Prota's core. In mere seconds, the spell had been annihilated, and the other Prota was now full on mana once more.

She cast mana recovery, and her body was once again good as new.

"That was interesting. But this is it. Curse the world, as I have. Or, you can die a naive fool. Choose."

A giant spell rose up. It wasn't even based on any element. It was just pure mana materialized in the form of an attack.

This was really it. There was no way out. Prota had thought the dragons would work, but they'd only made a dent. It was a respectable effort, but a respectable effort was not a win.

Was the rage truly what made the difference? Was anger really a greater strength than her past experiences?

"That's not it."

Prota whirled around to see Anta standing beside her.

"It's not about rage or friends or whatever. That Prota… is simply not something you can handle right now. But that doesn't matter. Because you have me."

"...you?"

"That Prota doesn't have me," Anta grinned. "And in the end, it's me that's going to let you win."

She raised her hand, and the spell turned into mana, just like that. It was like using Soul Steal, but instead of using it on mana cores… she was using it on the mana that made up the spell itself.

The other Prota flinched.

"You're going to take even that…!"

"Take it? It's ours to begin with," Anta taunted. "Saying something like 'you stole that!' isn't going to work here, you know?"

She turned to Prota, giving her the mana.

"That's you. If she can do it, it's something you're capable of as well. But you can't do it just yet. I, however, can. So, I'm going to show you something cool, ok?"

Prota watched as Anta closed her eyes. In that instance, two dragons coiled around her, neither paling in comparison to Prota's individual dragons. They snaked around each other, coiling back and forth until they were fully intertwined. Anta raised an arm, smiling gently as her fingers traced the backs of the beasts.

"Go."

At that word, they flew forward, spiralling toward the enemy Prota. Like before, the illusion raised her hand and prepared to absorb the mana, but Anta wasn't going to let that slide.

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"You need to pay attention to your surroundings, idiot."

Prota hadn't even noticed her sister disappear. Anta was almost like a superior version of Prota in every way. Her close-range combat was impeccable, her mana control was incredibly fine-tuned, and her ability to fight was of a higher class.

If Prota had to put it, it was like watching John fight, if John had mana. There was a similar level of recklessness, a similar level of aggression…

But at the same time, not really. Watching Anta further, one could see the movements were deliberate and trained. This wasn't just some random girl who'd learned through necessity and experience. There was training. Dedication. Practice.

It was almost like—

"You'd better watch, Prota," Anta grinned as she held a defeated illusion Prota by the collar. "This is what you can become. Don't lose sight of that, ok?"

"...me?" Prota said quietly.

The burning city began to fade.

"Yeah. You. This place… it's born of your desires. You want to become strong, don't you?"

The last sight Prota saw was her twin sister giving her a thumbs-up.

"It's definitely possible. If it's you."

~~~

Prota sat up with a gasp. She'd just come out of a dream turned nightmare, but reality didn't seem to be much better, either. It hadn't even been a second, and she had no time to process what she'd just been through. Her mind was all jumbled up from having lived a year of a fake reality, but with enemies before her, she immediately knew what to do.

"Prota!" Destiny exclaimed. "You're up!"

She stood up, a little dizzy, but her core felt fine. She had no injuries, either. Whatever had happened in that imaginary realm seemed to have no effect on her body.

"Alright, I'll fill you in. It seems like the headmaster isn't conscious," Destiny explained, cutting away at another apparition. "These things keep coming at us, and we don't know how to deal with them."

"...dangerous?"

"Um. Kind of?" Destiny frowned. "They don't hurt you or anything. But if they make contact with you, they suck away at your energy, but worse than that, your will to fight. Thankfully, they're not very aggressive. They just seem to be trying to stop us from reaching Sofya."

Prota nodded. She wasn't sure what these things were, but if they weren't actively dangerous, that meant they still had time.

"You know what that energy is, right?" Destiny said.

Prota flinched.

"I'm not going to ask you about it. Don't worry. I've already been filled in on the basics. This is something John wants to keep private, so I'm gonna keep it private. But if you have something to deal with that, now would be a good time."

Unfortunately, she didn't know of such a thing. In the first place, she didn't even know what those strange-looking things were. How was she supposed to deal with a threat she didn't recognize?

"...sorry," Prota muttered.

Destiny just shook his head with a smile. It was a little forced, but that could be excused given the circumstances.

"Don't worry about it. It's not like you were supposed to be able to do such a thing in the first place. That's that guy's responsibility, right?"

Prota turned around to see John, still sleeping on the floor. What? What was he doing there? She was about to run and help him when Destiny stopped her.

"Trust me," he muttered. "We've tried everything. Neither of you would wake up. Getting out of that spell… is something you have to want on your own."

Something… he wanted on his own?

Prota realized something just then. Her illusion had been all about desire. Granted, staying in the village wasn't what she wanted most, but she couldn't deny it had been incredibly tempting. Had John not existed, would she have ever woken up?

No. Had Anta not given her a nudge, would she have even realized anything was amiss?

Who was that Anta, anyway? Was it a fabrication of her desires? A realization of something more? Unfortunately, there was nobody to answer the question.

What Prota realized, though, was that John must have incredible desires. This was a man who'd lost everything he'd ever wanted. A man with nothing left. She was working on helping him with that, but for someone who saw the world as nothing but a fabrication, was there no greater desire than to forget such a thing was true?

He'd told her that he'd abandoned his old world and everybody he ever knew in it. What if… what if his desire was to go back there?

Would he ever wake up?

"I don't know what he's dreaming about, but we have to trust him, right?" Destiny said, snapping Prota out of her stupor. "He's never let us down when it mattered most. I believe in him. Don't you?"

Prota took a deep breath as she nodded. That was right. John wouldn't let them down.

"We just have to hold out until then."

Turning to face the apparitions, they fought valiantly. Prota tried attacking with magic, just to see if she'd have any effect, but to everyone's disappointment, there was none. Leora explained what she'd figured out about these things, which wasn't much, but ice-like mana seemed to slow them down a bit. Lupin had already figured out that no physical attack of any sort would have any effect, but using mana reinforcement to a high enough level would result in less stamina being absorbed.

Despite the bad news, Prota felt as if she could do something. Destiny's words had encouraged her, but as they slowly tried to push back the threats, she remembered something.

This is what you can become.

Real or not, Anta had shown her something amazing. Prota felt a new fire burning in her soul. The dream of becoming someone capable of protecting John wasn't just a delusion. It was possible. She now had a goal to reach for, a clear indication of what she could do.

She just had to try.

Reaching out, she checked if she could absorb the apparitions with Soul Steal. It didn't do anything, but Prota felt as if her mental abilities had grown stronger. She wasn't sure, and she'd have to test it later, but was Soul Steal stronger?

Next, she closed her eyes and tried to replicate that spell Anta had used. She needed to set up a domain first, though. The air became ever slightly colder as her domain activated.

"A domain?" Leora gasped. "That's… you've come a long way, child."

Prota felt pleased to hear such praise, but that wasn't the intent at the moment. A Frozen Dragon. She had to summon one. Slowly, the spell took form, coiling around her body. It wouldn't be enough, though.

She needed more.

No matter how hard she tried, though, she couldn't summon a second dragon. Without the aid of a fire domain, she couldn't even summon a single fire dragon. She just didn't have the strength or mental fortitude to do so.

Regardless, she fired the spell, but it merely passed through the apparitions without harming them. It slowed them down to a considerable extent, but that was all. The wall behind Sofya froze, shattering, but other than that, all Prota had done was display incredible talent.

"...nothing," Prota muttered.

"It's ok," Leora said, staring up. "You did what you could."

Everyone was exhausted. They had only made it this far because they'd figured out ways to push these enemies back, but what could one do against a foe that didn't tire? Eventually, they'd run out of stamina, and they'd lose the fight.

But there were no options left. What could they—

No. That wasn't true. There was still one thing left.

"John."

Prota ignored the apparitions and went straight to her brother. The others didn't question it. After all, if anyone was going to do anything with John, it was Prota.

That was an unquestionable fact.

"Wake up. Please. You have to wake up."

~~~

John yawned as he finished his dinner. Interestingly enough, despite his bum-like lifestyle, he was quite the cook. However, his small apartment didn't have a very good fridge, so he often went to Amber's home to make more interesting meals. In return, she would do the dishes.

She also wouldn't complain about the fact that John was using her ingredients for free.

"Hey, Amber," John said suddenly.

"Hm?"

She looked over and was surprised to see that he had a rather contemplative look on his face. He seemed to be genuinely concerned about something, so his next question was rather odd.

"Does the name 'Prota' ring any bells?"

"Prota… Prota… no, not really," Amber said, shaking her head. "Why? Is there somebody you need to find?"

"No, not really," John shrugged. "Just a name I heard from someone."

"Oh? Did you find a girlfriend after all these years?" Amber said with a teasing smile. "It suits you. The billion-year bachelor. That's what some of our friends started calling you, you know?"

"A billion- huh? Why am I that old?" John protested.

"Well, your [Resets], of course!" Amber exclaimed. "Weren't you the one who said that?"

"Yeah," John smiled sheepishly. "I guess I did."

"Prota, though… how is it spelled?"

John shrugged, pulling out a piece of paper and writing the name "Prota" down in his usual chicken scratch.

"Prota, huh…" Amber said thoughtfully. "Yeah, can't say I've seen that anywhere. Although, it does kinda look like the word protagonist, doesn't it? Funny, huh?"

She was joking around, but it did look like the word "protagonist." Still, she never would've expected the reaction it would elicit from John. His usual smile suddenly dropped, his eyebrows furrowing into a frown.

"John? What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"...nothing. Just need some air. I'll be back in a bit."

"Hm… alright. I trust you. Don't stay out too long!"

John left, his heart pounding.

Protagonist.

Why did that word feel so uncomfortable? It was like he was actively trying to forget something. Like there was a terrible curse that was following him, one he was trying to hide from.

…well, there was something he'd been running from for a while.

He'd been putting it off for so long. So, so long. But it seemed that Zero needed him out. And if Zero was saying that… well, he should at least look into it.

John pulled up the notification in his system one more time. He hadn't looked at it in years, but he still remembered its contents.

[Alert! You have been placed in an illusory world. As this is a pre-prepared message, it is unknown what kind of position you were in before. Thus, it is recommended to try to find a way out immediately.]

That was the entire message, yet it was enough to let John know he was living out an illusion. He didn't know what was waiting for him out there, or what his life in the real world was like. He didn't need to know, though. All that mattered was that this place wasn't real.

But he didn't care.

He didn't want to leave. This dream was too cozy. Too warm.

"John," Zero said sadly. "You can't… you can't stay here forever."

John felt his heart sink.

"I know. Just… just a few more days."

"You can't keep saying that, John."

"One more day," John insisted.

His voice was quiet, but there was a faint, desperate plea in his tone. Zero could hear the pain in his voice.

But this couldn't end here. If John didn't leave now, he wouldn't ever leave. This time, the [Author] had gone too far.

Zero had to intervene. If he didn't… the [Story] would end here.

"I told you. There are people waiting for you out there. Are you just going to abandon them?"

"...I abandoned these people, Zero," John whispered. "If this is an illusion… that means it's not real, right? That means I'm not actually here. I'm somewhere else."

"John-"

"Did I save this world, Zero? Or is it gone? Did I fail?"

Zero sighed. This wasn't going to be a clean ending. But John needed a shock to his system.

Well, this was the pain of an [Anomaly]. Sometimes, things didn't work out. John wouldn't always be able to make it on his own.

But that was, in its own way, just as fine.

"You did save this place, John. But… you also had to leave."

"...why?"

"You'll know if you just go back."

"Will I… do I get to see them again, at least? Does this stupidly powerful ability of mine let me come back here?"

Zero didn't answer.

"Really? Please. Please, tell me I can come back. Come on, Zero. [Infinity]! I literally have an unlimited amount of power! You're really telling me I can't-"

The soul just looked away. Tears began to stream down John's cheeks, but Zero just let his body cry until no more tears could flow.

Eventually, he got up. His face was blank. Reality had settled in.

"...I understand. At least… at least let me say goodbye."

John stood up, trudging his way back to the house. The door opened slowly, but the familiar home was nowhere near as welcoming as it'd been before.

"John!" Lance exclaimed. "Sorry I missed dinner. But it's good to see you- hey, is something wrong?"

A moment of silence.

"...I have to go," John said quietly.

Amber and Lance looked at each other.

"Go? Go… where?"

"Somewhere. I don't know. So… I think this is goodbye."

"Goodbye?" Lance frowned. "John, what are you-"

He stopped as Amber put her hand on his shoulder. He turned back to see her shaking her head.

"Um… Then, I guess… yeah. It…" Lance stuttered.

There were no more words to be said. The two boys shook hands, and Amber gave John a tight hug.

Nobody understood what was going on. Nobody knew why John had to leave. But knowing a precious friend had to go was more than enough.

"Yeah. This is-"

Suddenly, friend after friend barged into the house. Companions made through journeys. Enemies turned friends, lost children saved, person after person showing up like some sort of miracle.

"Hey, you're heading out?"

"Man, I've never beaten you at ■■■■■■■■! Don't tell me you're running away!"

"It was an honour to duel with you. Thank you, John Quarta."

"John, you're going? Where?"

"Shh. You shouldn't ask that."

An incredible pain welled up in John's heart. He didn't want to go. There was so much here waiting for him.

But even deeper within, he knew the truth. This wasn't the place for him. Reality called for him, and this was merely "fiction." No matter what, this place wouldn't matter as much.

Because it was "fake."

Out there? That was reality. And in the end, that was what mattered.

"You'll always be welcome here, alright?" Amber said, holding back tears. "So… do your best to come back."

"...yeah," John nodded as he turned to leave. "I'll do that."

He walked, alone, back to the cliffside. His memories were slowly returning. Scholaris. Prota. Sofya. [Deus Ex Machina] energy. Right, there were people waiting for him. Reality, after all, was more important. There was someone who needed him. This illusion was, in the end, just an illusion.

The only thing missing was… what? What was so important that he was forgetting?

"I'm sorry, John," Zero said as the world turned dark. "I really am."

In an instant, John remembered the last crucial detail.

[Story].

"Wait!" John yelled. "Hold on! This is- this is no more real than the illusion I was in! They're both fiction! That's- this is-"

"That was an illusion-"

"It's all fiction! None of this is real!" John protested. "Wait, hold on, why am I- wait, take me back! I don't want to-"

"John, you can't!"

"Take me back!" John pleaded, but it was too late.

He had already accepted what was gone.

"Take… take me back…" he said, his voice cracking. "It's not fair…"

~~~

The apparitions were closing in. Soon, it would be all over.

"John!" Prota yelled one more time.

If he didn't wake up now, it was all over.

Then, to everyone's surprise, he slowly sat up. Prota rushed to help him, but he put his hand out, pushing her away. His head didn't come up, but Prota, and only Prota, saw a set of tears dripping down his cheek, falling to the floor.

"I… I understand," John said, his voice a husk of what it once was. "Weak to mental attacks. Yeah. That's… it's pretty clear, now."

He raised his hand, his head coming up. Everyone was stunned to see the sheer despair in his face. This wasn't the usual emptiness that was in his eyes. This wasn't the usual void.

There was true, utter despair. A deep and profound sadness, the look of a man who had lost everything.

Doctor would have wanted to see this look from John.

"I'm not allowed to have shit, huh. I wish… I never woke up."

[Determination activates!: New limit: x10^100]

His eye began to glow bright, the red light piercing through the room, glowing brighter than the dark crimson red of Sofya's powers. In an instant, the apparitions were destroyed, leaving not a single trace behind.

Despite this, not a single soul felt satisfied. John's tone was simply too broken.

"...you were right, Sofya. Being satisfied isn't for me."

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