Time seemed to have stopped. It was just like when Prota used her ability to speed up her perception of the world.

This time, though, she could actually move. Looking around in bewilderment, she found her eyes, head, and everything else were capable of movement in this time-stopped world.

"Welcome to [Infinity]," Zero grinned. "You're moving about… well, let's say a billion times faster than a human could normally move. Faster than that, but whatever. Your reaction time and strength have been matched accordingly. So, as a result, it looks like time has stopped."

Prota nodded, amazed at what was going on. She took a step, and the floor beneath her feet cracked. She walked up to a spell Sofya had fired and slapped it away with her bare hands.

"Wow…"

Then, she remembered the way John fought. Could she do something like that? Reaching out her hand, she pictured an orb of pure red energy shooting out, piercing through the sky.

Unfortunately, nothing happened.

"Ah, that's… you can't do that," Zero said sheepishly. "You aren't a [Writer]. Your powers of imagination aren't, um… real."

Powers of imagination? Prota didn't get it. What did Zero mean by that?

"Well, aside from fighting with his hands, all of John's powers stem from his imagination," Zero explained, looking a little embarrassed. "His unbreakable swords? Something he came up with. His telekinesis? Magic? That's all just stuff he's making up in his head."

"Making… up?"

Zero coughed awkwardly. "There's a bit of a misconception. His power as a [Character] isn't a multiplier. That's just how we put it to make things easier. But it's a seal, remember? So his real power is ■■■■■■■■- ah. Well, just… You know. Try something else."

Prota flinched. That meant she couldn't do any of that. Then… then what? What could she do? She had power, yes. But what was she meant to do? Spells and physical attacks didn't work on the dragon. She turned to Zero, expecting help, but he shook his head.

"Unfortunately, I can't help you the way I helped John, so you're going to have to figure this one out on your own," Zero said, shrugging. "[Infinity] is a stupid power, but it's not the easiest to use if you weren't born with it. Well… one more hint. I never told you this was over. You got power. But do you remember what I told you to do initially?"

"Um… hold out?"

"Yeah. It's not over yet. So just keep holding out."

With that, the soul vanished.

Prota tried to calm down. With time slowed down this much, she definitely wasn't at risk of dying. However, she was also stuck waiting for an attack that wouldn't happen for a while. If only she could manage this immense strength she'd inherited…

"You seriously can't do anything without me, huh? Fine. I'll help out one more time."

That voice. It was back.

"That guy's power gave me enough energy to wake back up, so I'll be doing you a favour, ok?"

But this time, Prota recognized it. That familiar voice. She'd just heard it not too long ago.

Anta.

Was she alive? How was her sister talking to her? Telepathy? Something else?

"You're getting too smart for your own good. Just focus on winning right now."

Prota nodded. It was enough to know that her sister was safe. It was even better to know that Anta was helping her. Figuring out how could wait until later.

For now, victory was what mattered most.

"Listen. I'm going to do my best to manage your flow of power. You'll be able to move faster, but not to the point that you're out of control. Right now, what matters is your mental fortitude and your mana control, got it?"

Mana control?

"Look, this power is ■■■■■■■- eh? Hm… well, let's just say that your control and strength are what they potentially could be. And the things you'll eventually be capable of doing… well, you know that already, don't you?"

With that, the voice vanished. For a moment, Prota was left confused, but the reality of the situation quickly snapped her out of her confusion.

Her potential. What she could do.

It seemed the fight with her clone would be rather useful here.

Prota felt a small smile creep onto her face. It was no wonder John was so flippant to people all the time. If she had this much power under her control, she wouldn't need to listen to anybody. After all, who could put her down?

She was invincible.

In an instant, time rushed back to normal. Sofya let loose the eighth step of the Tenth Seda, but Prota didn't hesitate.

The Soul Steal tentacles shot out of her body, shooting into the giant spell and breaking it down. All the light vanished as the spell vanished, turning into mana that was quickly absorbed. A spell capable of destroying islands, gone, just like that.

"Now you're just copying me."

Prota wasn't listening. She immediately stored the mana into her staff, refilling all the mana she'd expended earlier. Having burned through mountains of the stuff, it was good to be able to refill the artifact. After all, it was capable of storing so much more.

This feeling was exhilarating. The absolute freedom that came with such strength, the joy of acting as you wished… it was like a daydream come true.

Spells she could only dream of began to flow. Extreme magic was met with equally extreme force. Spells of the greatest magnitude were reduced to mana. Prota was moving like a speeding bullet, completely in control of her actions, never missing a single step.

Perhaps she couldn't copy John. The ability to will power into existence wasn't something she could do.

But this was pretty damn close.

The fight was slowly drawing to a close. Prota could feel the strength of Sofya's attacks weakening. She wasn't sure what she'd do once Sofya was incapacitated, but still, as long as she could continue to absorb mana, that was all she needed.

Mana accumulated before the dragon one last time. Prota felt the folds of the Tenth Seda, but she was ready. She could handle this.

Suddenly, Sofya stopped glowing. She fell to the floor, all that mana still accumulated before her. Prota ran over, concerned, but Sofya raised her hand.

"Don't… come any closer…"

Prota halted in her tracks. Sofya was talking? How? What was going on?

"Prota… you have to stop me. That energy… it was your brother's all along, wasn't it? This strange energy… I should've never used something I wasn't aware of. If it's you, right now… you can stop me. Don't hesitate."

Sofya's crystal blue eyes bore into Prota's.

"This is your last lesson. Surpass me. Prove to me that… that absolute power will not corrupt you."

Sofya's body began to glow once more as she reverted back to a mindless beast. The mana that lingered began to fold once more, the Tenth Seda slowly reaching the tenth step. The surroundings shook, the very air trembling with an electric tinge.

Prota wasn't afraid, though. She faced the spell head on. This was the greatest spell she'd ever seen.

But she knew, deep in her heart, that she could deal with it.

Her eyes were bright as Soul Steal activated for the last time, hundreds of tendrils shooting out of her mana core, percing through the impossibly thick mana. The spell shattered, the energy bursting apart like glass, shards breaking down into even smaller shards until it looked like powder. Every last bit of power was changed back into energy, rendering its destructive power useless.

From mana the spell came, and to mana it would return.

Unfortunately, there was one thing she hadn't considered: Prota didn't have any more room in her staff, and her core definitely couldn't handle a spell of this calibre. The mana was lingering in the air, but this much mana would cause an explosion if not directed somewhere. There was simply too much for it to dissipate.

In that case, there was one option left.

If this was her last lesson, she would make her teacher proud.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, she began to fold the mana back up. Taking it, prodding it, moving it, over and over, something that wouldn't have been possible had it not been for the influence of [Infinity].

Now, though, it was as simple as folding laundry.

The fight would end with the spell that connected student and master.

"Han."

"Tool."

"Set."

"Net."

Her hair and eyes began to glow.

"Tas."

"Yas."

"Il."

The air in the room began to whip around as the energy struggled to contain itself.

"Yod."

"Ao."

Suddenly, fear overcame her. Where was she supposed to aim this? She'd absorbed the mana into herself, but her being the caster didn't make the spell any less destructive. What was she supposed to do?

She jumped as someone grabbed her shoulders, but an immediate sense of calm washed over her as she saw who it was.

"Prota," John gasped, grabbing her arms. "Aim it up. Look for everybody's souls and make sure the blast radius is nowhere near it."

"I- I can't," Prota gasped, her body beginning to shake.

All this power, and she still couldn't overcome her fears. This much responsibility… she couldn't handle it.

"Tch…" John grimaced. "Fine. Just like old days, then."

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To her surprise, John picked Prota up, aiming her toward the ceiling as if aiming a cannon. Just like what he'd done when they'd fought Aiden for the first time.

"Go! Prota, do it now! Aim it, right there!"

The energy only had one place to go.

"Shoot!"

A pillar of pure mana tore through the ceiling, obliterating the dozens of tons of earth above it, clearing a path to the surface. A roaring noise covered all sound as the beam continued powering through, creating a beacon of light that reached the stars. Slowly, it faded, revealing the pitch black night above.

"Haa…" John sighed, falling back.

It seemed he still hadn't fully recovered.

Prota, too, fell back, but a few minutes later, she could hear someone calling her name. Tilting her head in confusion, she waited, and this time, she was sure.

Someone was calling her name.

Scrambling to her feet, she scurried toward the source of the sound and found…

Sofya.

"Prota. It's good to see you again."

Her voice was normal now. The strain was gone. Despite the dragon looking to be in a terrible state, a smile was on her face.

"Teacher…"

"Don't call me that anymore. You managed to copy my spell. How absurd." Sofya laughed, but the laugh turned into a cough, and blood soon followed. "You may be young, but you are talented beyond your years. You… if there was any student I would take again, it would be you."

"But-"

"Prota. Let me tell you… about my daughter."

Everything was quiet now. A gentle breeze blew into the giant pit created by Prota's final attack.

"She was… very different from you. So energetic. So bright. As dragons are, she was eager to use her power. But she wasn't… like other young dragons."

Sofya coughed again. Prota must've looked worried, because the dragon waved her off.

"I'm going to die. I can feel it. But death comes to us all. I must atone for my sins. So… please, do me this last favour. And let me tell you my story. So I won't be forgotten. That… is my last desire."

Prota nodded, tears welling in her eyes.

"My daughter… she was so excited to learn new things. Discover new magic. Meet new people. We dragons look down on mortals, but… I do not know what caused my daughter to be so different."

Her voice was growing weaker, but it seemed that Sofya was determined to finish this.

"Regardless, I allowed it. And she taught me… the joy of mortals. The joy of little things, the joy of simply living, of experiencing life with no purpose. We don't need to look far to the future. We don't need to be all-powerful beings. Sometimes… it is the present that matters most."

The present. What… what did that mean to someone like Prota?

"She made many friends. I wasn't worried. A dragon cannot be harmed by mortals. But I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have left her to be on her own. She learned… she learned magic. Not in the way dragons do, but in the way mortals do. And as a result, she began to develop some dangerous things. Having the mana pool and control of a dragon can lead to interesting results, but unchecked…"

Prota began to understand. She, too, had the abilities of a dragon. Was that why Sofya had been so interested in her?

"Still, I failed to pay close enough attention. In the end, my daughter's naivety was used against her. She was tricked. I do not know what was done to her, but she… I found her broken inside. I was too late."

Sofya's voice began to crack. Such a memory must've been painful.

"How broken my daughter was… I did not realize. I should've paid more attention… I should've…"

The dragon broke down, sobbing. Prota, too, felt tears flowing from her eyes. After a minute, Sofya recovered, taking a deep breath.

"She turned her frustrations to magic. Thankfully, not toward people, but still… she began to study mana like never before. She became obsessed with it. I should have… no, the time for regrets is gone. Where was I… ah. Yes. Training her spells, her magic… my daughter discovered how to "compound" mana."

Prota's eyes widened in surprise.

"That's right. This wasn't my idea, originally. I created Scholaris in honour of my daughter. She, who loved to discover… no child should have their potential locked behind despair. No child should be forced to learn without a mentor, without a proper environment to grow up in. The Tenth Seda is not my spell. It is my daughter's. It is… the spell that ended her life. Without proper training, with a destructive mindset, she tried to show me, and… the cost was too great for her body. It consumed her."

A chill ran down Prota's spine. This whole time, Sofya had been using a spell that had ended her own daughter's life. A spell that had broken her apart.

"I believed this school would be atonement for my sins. But it wasn't. In the end, I was selfish. I… In the end, I caused this."

To Sofya's surprise, Prota grabbed her hand. The headmaster knew just how much Prota hated physical touch. So, for this child to be voluntarily making contact…

"No," Prota said, shaking her head. "You are my teacher. You… you helped me. You are… a good person."

"I-"

"Your daughter… also. She thinks you are a good person."

Sofya looked at Prota, stunned, but her shock slowly turned into a smile.

"Thank you, Prota. I… I have many regrets. But my daughter… perhaps I will see her again. I will ask for forgiveness. And I will tell her what a joy it was to research magic. To teach the new generation. To… to live life as it is."

"Teacher-"

"Thank you, Prota. I know we already spoke of this, but… you truly reminded me of my daughter. If I were to have another child… I could not ask for a better one than you."

A sinking feeling. A deep, terrible feeling filled Prota's gut. She didn't want this person to die. She didn't want to lose her teacher.

"Is this it?"

Prota turned around to see John. He wasn't crying anymore, but his face was completely blank. It harboured even less emotion than Prota did. Still, he was up. There was that, at least.

"Ah… John Quarta. I now see what kind of weight you carry on your shoulders. For you to constantly be wielding this power…"

John didn't even bother to deny that the power was his. "No. It's not that bad. I just came here to apologize."

"...you?"

John nodded. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten involved with this world. If not for me…"

"Ha… haha… what a kind-hearted boy."

"I'm older than you."

"Still, you feel… so very young. Take care of your sister well."

"...sure."

Sofya closed her eyes, smiling. "How very like you. Would you do me a favour?"

"Depends what it is. And what I get in return."

"Please let everybody know… I would like Yelena Lighthorn to be the next headmaster. I'm sure that old wolf and phoenix will be able to help you with that."

"And in return?"

Sofya coughed. "Where the table was… if it's still there… the letter that came with your energy. It may… give you a hint as to where you need to go next."

"I know who gave you that letter-"

"It was not the Demon King."

John flinched.

"I was able to see some of your memories," Sofya said apologetically. "When you were in your illusion. I remember what Diaboli felt like. The person who gave this to me… was not like that."

"Hold on. A person gave that to you?"

"Yes."

John grimaced. "Fine. Fair deal."

"Thank you." Sofya opened her eyes, turning to Prota. "Child. I know this is truly selfish of me, but I request one last favour from you."

Prota nodded, trying to hold back tears to appear presentable, one last time.

"Would you… smile for me? On this realm, I would like to see my child smile… one last time."

She nodded, wiping her eyes and trying her best to smile. It was hard. Her muscles didn't respond as she wanted them to. But it was enough.

"Ah… thank you."

Quietly, the dragon's head fell to the floor. She closed her eyes, that smile still on her face, as if she were sleeping. Still, Prota knew better.

On that day, one of the most powerful beings in the world died in the hands of an eleven year old girl.

"John…" Prota muttered, not looking back.

He didn't respond.

His emotions were still jumbled. He didn't know what to think, what to do. Was he supposed to feel sad? Angry? He'd already resealed all his memories of the illusory world, just as he'd sealed his memories of his past world.

Everything except for one thing.

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

John knew that was just his desires manifested. But more importantly, the [Author] had written that line. The [Author] had allowed this desire to manifest.

Zero had told John he could never go back, and John had trusted Zero's words. But what if the soul was lying? Zero constantly told John that he was capable of anything he dreamed of, provided he had enough power.

So if he got all his memories back…

That glimmer of hope remained. And this time, he was choosing to reach out. Prota being by his side had given him the ability to do so.

And with that, he remembered his promise. His resolve.

"I'll try," he said quietly.

The change in his tone was enough to cause Prota to turn back. Somehow, he'd managed to pull himself back together. That alone warmed her up just a bit.

"Where is it…"

Scanning the area, his eyes perked up upon seeing a faintly glowing red page. He picked it up, then held out his hand, a familiar wooden pen falling into it. A faint light began to shimmer with a quiet power. The ink flowed from the page into the pen. John held it up, ready to write, but—

[The [Deus Ex Machina] energy acquired is not enough to revive the specified target.]

"What?!"

John's eyes shot open.

"Hey, hold on," he stammered. "What's this bullshit?"

[The [Deus Ex Machina] energy acquired is not enough to revive the specified target.]

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Why? What the hell does this mean?"

[Reviving a being such as this will have significant implications on the [Plot]. To put it simply, a dragon on your side would drastically change the tides of any battle that might follow. Thus, the [Deus Ex Machina] energy required to revive this being is more than you currently have.]

John stared at the message, falling to his knees. He'd forcibly picked himself up from the dumps. Pushed past his trauma. Ignored his pain.

All to be met with this?

A sinking feeling formed in his gut.

"I… I can't," he muttered. "Prota. I can't revive her…"

Prota's eyes began to tremble. "You can't…?"

The look on John's face was more than enough of an answer.

They'd won the battle. But John's promise had been lost. In the end, tragedy was all that awaited them.

Defeat. That was all this could be called.

Suddenly, a door burst open. Destiny stumbled out, coughing violently.

"Seriously, that amount of dust… John? Prota?" He looked at the siblings in amazement. "Did you… did you win?"

Neither of them answered. Destiny took a closer look and realized what was going on.

"Oh. I'm… I'm sorry."

Before anything else could be said, everyone else stumbled out. Lupin, Leora, and all ten missing students.

"Wh- Prota!" Lilith exclaimed, running forward. "You're here!"

Before Prota could even process what was going on, Lilith had tackled her with a hug, knocking her over.

"I was so worried, but… the professors came to rescue us! Do you know how crazy that is? We-"

She froze mid-sentence, then fell over, fast asleep. Leora walked up, holding the other nine students using telekinesis. She picked up Lilith and turned around.

"We will leave you to your mourning. Out of respect for what you two have done… we will not question this."

Lupin nodded, then tossed them a strange device. "Just put some mana into that when you want to return, and Leora will come pick you up."

Destiny nodded, a look of sympathy on his face. Soon, everyone vanished, leaving John, Prota, and Sofya's corpse. For a while, nobody said anything. Prota continued to stare at Sofya's body in shock. John didn't know what to think.

Finally, after what felt like forever, he opened his mouth.

"Zero."

John's voice was dangerously quiet.

"Yes?" the soul answered, appearing.

"Is this… what kind of ending is this?" John said quietly. "That's it? It just… it just ends like that?"

"...John, happy and sad endings are relative," Zero said sadly. "To you, I guess… I guess, yeah, this sucks. But joy is relative. Do you know what you stopped, John? Do you know what you prevented?"

Prota didn't quite understand what Zero meant, but John looked up, completely surprised.

"Did you see that Lilith girl? She was supposed to die."

Both John and Prota froze, stunned.

"Ahem… I'm looking at how this was supposed to go." Zero pulled out a sheaf of papers and squinted, reading the contents. "So basically, it started the same. Prota was gonna come rescue you, and you all got trapped in illusions. However, John… was supposed to break out immediately. However, with no emotions, he wouldn't be able to fight and would have to sit on the sidelines."

John frowned. He was supposed to break out of that? How?

"Then, Prota was going to fight against Sofya, who, under pressure, was going to resort to using the students to revive her daughter. This would've been a result of John using his powers to suppress the power of "desire." Then, Prota would use a Tenth Seda to distract Sofya long enough… ah, I suppose that kind of happened. John would deliver the finishing blow, but then the destruction of the spell would cause this place to start raining debris."

John held his breath. Zero wasn't lying. He wouldn't lie about something like this.

Then… what? What did this mean?

"Everyone was going to die. Then, John would've used the [Deus Ex Machina] power to revive everyone, but then Lilith would realize there was a student still trapped… huh? How does that make sense? Anyway, she was going to go down and get that student. Only to die while rescuing them."

Prota froze. Lilith? Lilith was supposed to die?

"John, having just revived ten students, would have no power left, and Lilith would've died for real. The purpose of this… was to show that John cannot solve everything. Sometimes, people have to die."

Zero cleared his throat, putting the papers away.

"And there you have it! That was the original plan. That was what the [Author] meant to do."

"The… [Author]?" John muttered?

"Look at what happened. Sofya was going to die a villain. Lilith was going to die a hero. But now, Sofya died peacefully, having reached a satisfactory end. And Lilith is alive. Don't you see?"

The soul took on a look of pity, floating closer to the stunned siblings. He sighed, the smile on his face vanishing.

"Look. I get it. It would be nice if everyone was alive and happy. Unfortunately, the [Author] didn't want that, so you get this instead. But this was never supposed to happen in the first place."

Zero grinned, his smile so bright that Prota momentarily felt her heart lift.

"John. Think about it. You, as a [Character]... you changed the [Story]. You did this."

Prota felt a deep sense of satisfaction fill her heart. If that was the alternative timeline… then this was infinitely better.

John, on the other hand, wasn't yet convinced.

"Let me see that."

"Sure," Zero shrugged.

John somehow snatched the sheets of paper out of Zero's hand. They immediately turned into boxes in his system, but they were still readable. After reading them, though, John felt his body go weak. A shiver of fear ran down his spine.

"This is…"

"Yeah. This is what the [Author] had planned. I'm serious about this."

"You mean…"

Zero smiled. "That's right. John. You did it! You rewrote your own ending! Not using [Deus Ex Machina], not using your powers, but through your choices! Look at me. Look. Do you see all this? No dead children. No villainized dragon. No crying Prota, no devastated brother, none of that! You did this, John!"

"I… I did it."

Hope rising in his heart, John fell back, a stupid smile spread wide on his lips. He couldn't help it. This ending was supposed to be dark. Grim. It was meant to be a reminder that John wasn't a god, that he couldn't save everyone.

And he'd fucked that all up.

Yes, people died. But death wasn't always a tragedy. It was a pain to lose those you loved, but to let them go peacefully was one of the greatest honors you could give them.

And, in the end, they would live on in your memories. The experiences made were the price one had to pay.

But in the end… wasn't that better than never making those memories at all?

"Ha… haha…"

It wasn't necessarily funny, but John couldn't help but laugh. Maybe life would never be perfect. But an ending he wanted… a happy ending…

Maybe. Just maybe, it was still possible.

After all, this was fiction.

Anything was possible if he just tried hard enough.

With that thought in mind, the smile on John's face grew.

[Determination activates! New limit: xInfinity]

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