The late evening air was cool against my skin, but the warmth of the earlier date with Shidou still lingered. I turned the corner to my apartment building, a small, contented smile on my face, but it immediately dissolved.
A dark shape was huddled by the door.
"Zwei? Why are you outside?" I quickened my pace, i saw zwei simply lying there, head down, body still.
A knot of dread tightened in my stomach. Something was wrong.
I fumbled with the key, throwing the door open. The apartment was silent. Too silent.
"Ruby? Are you here? Ruby!" I called out, my voice echoing in the unnervingly empty space. No cheerful reply. Only the heavy, cold silence of a recently departed room.
My eyes scanned the room and landed on the coffee table. A single, crudely folded note lay there.
I snatched it up.
If you want to see her again, go here.
Below the chilling message, a set of coordinates was scrawled.
The dread vanished, replaced by a pure, white-hot surge of incandescent rage. They took my friend my companion.
"Zwei, stay here. I will return soon," I gritted out, the words laced with a dangerous promise.
The air around me began to crackle. My eyes glowed a furious, sapphire blue. I was not just going to fight; I was going to carve a path of vengeance.
I began the chant, the ancient words vibrating in my throat, a spell of ultimate defiance:
"In the fondness sense of duty surges the will to fight... on those wings of heavy silver... let the maid take flight!"
A blinding, cerulean light enveloped me, shedding the mundane form of a college student. The glow hardened, condensing into armor and weapons.
"Shrouded in the brightest cover, bathed in metallic light... one may set upon this path embracing the..."
The light flared one final time, and the air split with a single, powerful declaration.
"Flowering Night!"
I stood in the center of the apartment, now transformed. Gone was my ordinary outfit, replaced by the militant, gothic attire of the Legendary Vampire Hunter. My equipment had shifted I now wielded two deadly, oversized bayonets, several ornate crossbows strapped across my back, and a colossal silver polearm a gleaming testament to my summoned power.
"Hmph... This will be enough," I said, testing the weight of the polearm. "More than enough for you, whoever you are."
With a thought, the world fractured, and I was gone, teleporting directly to the location written on the note.
Meanwhile, Ruby Rose felt the sickening lurch of sudden displacement. She materialized in a large, echoing chamber of obsidian and strange, flowing light, her beloved Crescent Rose instantly deployed and roaring to life as a defensive shield.
"Eh!? Who are you!" she demanded, the red gleam in her silver eyes sharp and wary.
Across from her stood a woman no, something far more ancient and powerful. She exuded an aura that felt like the deepest void and the brightest star, all at once. Her expression was placid, almost bored.
"Calm down, child. I won't hurt you," the entity said, her voice smooth as polished stone.
Ruby didn't lower her weapon. "I'll say again: who are you, and why did you kidnap me?"
The entity sighed, a sound that seemed to carry the weight of forgotten epochs. "To answer your first question, I am the God of Spirits."
Ruby's breath hitched.
"And your second," the goddess continued, her gaze assessing. "Because I sensed someone tampering with time, and because I was curious about both you and her. You have power without being a Spirit. I can sense the potential, the great engine inside you."
Ruby blinked. "My... Semblance?"
"Oh, is that what your power is called?" The goddess's tone was pure, detached curiosity.
A floating crystal, shimmering with every color imaginable, materialized in the palm of the goddess's hand. It hummed with unfathomable energy.
"Would you like to be a Spirit?" she asked, offering the crystal.
"What!?" Ruby stared, surprised.
"With this, you can, my child. You will have powers that will make you truly strong. No more need for those quaint little guns." The goddess smiled, a terrifyingly persuasive gesture.
Ruby gripped Crescent Rose tighter. She had a family, friends, a mission. "No. I am sorry, but can you send me back?"
The god's placid expression hardened, the boredom evaporating. "If you won't accept it, then I will force you to."
She struck, a bolt of pure, devastating energy lancing toward Ruby. But Ruby was faster. She became a rose-colored blur, her Semblance kicking in instantly, spinning her out of the attack's path.
"So that's your power," the god mused, unimpressed.
Ruby reappeared and unleashed a furious volley from Crescent Rose—high-caliber dust rounds ripping through the air. The bullets all missed, or worse, simply bounced off the divine body, falling to the floor inert.
"That tickles," the goddess deadpanned, before her eyes flashed. Two burning lasers erupted, forcing Ruby to use her Semblance again, barely dodging the melting beam.
"Take this!" Ruby shouted, transforming Crescent Rose into its brutal scythe mode and leaping forward to deliver a sweeping, powerful strike.
CLANG!
The goddess merely raised a hand, stopping the massive weapon mid-arc between two fingers.
"What a nice weapon," she whispered, her eyes glowing with predatory interest. Before she could complete the sentence—
WHOOSH!
A vibrant figure slammed down into the chamber floor, disrupting the scene with a shower of stars and explosions.
"Hello da ze! I am back! From the void, ze!" Marisa Kirisame announced, striking a dramatic, broom-wielding pose, her star-patterned apron fluttering.
The author stared, her composure utterly shattered. "MARISA!"
"Oops! Got to go da ze!" Marisa winked, an impossible star appearing near her eye.
A distant voice boomed across the chamber. "Marisa! Found you!"
"Oh, got to go! Ze!"