Astraea: The Journey of Magic

As Ozlo and Anna continued to face the Devil, Kuroki and the others stared down Flopsy, the Otherworlder Starfallen Rabbit.

"Kuroki, how big can you hit right out of the gate?" Riku asked.

"Already formulating the spell now".

However, Flopsy had no intention of waiting. It charged first, moving so fast it was in front of Kuroki in an instant. It would have landed a successful hit, but Ryuu's Heroic Aura caused it to slow down and even stunned it a bit the closer it got, and then Riku blocked it and knocked it back with his sword. The other Horned Rabbits all came after them too, including four Martial Arts Rabbits.

And yet, Kuroki finished his incantation first.

"Stormfall!"

Swirling clouds loomed overhead, but feeling much closer then normal. Lightning began to strike from above, as Kuroki downed another dose from a mana potion. Kaede got behind one of the martial artist rabbits, who sensed her and counter attacked instantly, but she dodged, having just held it off as Kuroki finished manifesting the spell. The spell meanwhile had the ground create frost and freeze over, and the tall grass wilted, providing the young adventurers with the visibility they needed for such a threat. Furthermore, while the frost made their opponents have to worry about footing, their shoes were specially enhanced with some runes they asked Amyris to make for them that would prevent slipping and conductivity. Their gloves and shorts had similar enchantments as well.

"Stop this Flopsy! Its not Kuroki's fault! We are not your enemies!"

"Kyu kyu!"

"For such adorable sounds I sure feel a whole lot of bloodlust coming from them!"

"Damnit Flopsy!"

Kaede was still trying to reason with Flopsy, even as she attacked the other Rabbits. She looked towards Kuroki.

"Is Flopsy controlling them?"

"I dont think its so dominating. It looks like Flopsy...tamed them, I think. Ridiculously fast to tame all of these so fast for a Starfallen, but perhaps as a fellow Rabbit, it held an advantage".

Riku meanwhile had a martial artist Rabbit get behind him, but he smirked in that moment.

"I activate my trap card, full spin slash!"

He suddenly spun around, even pivoting so the center of the spin moved a bit. This caught the rabbits off guard, letting him knock back two martial artist rabbits and even Flopsy, who was stronger then the Martial Artist Rabbit.

"I don't like how Flopsy seems to have gotten so much stronger than any of us from the Starfall!" Riku shouted.

Flopsy hadn't been hurt a lot, despite taking a hit from a large, sharpened sword.

Yeah, its certainly stronger...no, wait. Perhaps...

Kuroki considered something for a moment. Did they actually know how much strength they got from the Starfall? They knew no Starfallen ever had A or even B or C ranked power right from the start, but some had D, and occasionally an exception like Anna came along. But they were having trouble with G-Ranked stuff. Goblins had been easy for them, but Horned Rabbits were ranked more like H then G.

Psychology was part of it. Rabbits looked like animals of their old world, ones they even raised in elementary school. But perhaps it was also because, they had yet to learn and master the gifts they got?

As Kuroki used his Water Puppetry Technique to help take on the Rabbits that came after him, and shield himself from Flopsy's attack which almost broke through his ice barrier in a single hit, he had to consider these things.

What did I want, aside from magic?

Magic was a pretty big one all things considered. The more he was certain it was impossible, the bigger the desire got. But there had been others.

To be free of his father's influence.

To escape his father's power, gaze, and abuse.

To live a happy life with his best friends forever.

To be able to stand up for himself.

To be able to protect himself, and those he cares about. He had no doubt his father would somehow find ways to go after his friends after all.

Protect...but there was something else in there. Something buried deep. What was it...

"Perhaps you are looking for this" a young boy's voice echoed throughout his mind. The next moment, Kuroki found himself in a strange place. Had Akano been with him, he would have recognized it immediately as the Spirit Plane, where he had expunged the curse from Kuroki and Riku and saved them a few days of being stuck in bed wearing diapers.

And just like then, a mysterious boy was there. The same one that had helped Akano. The Mysterious Boy that they would one day learn was The Oracle.

They were both standing there in the mist. They both appeared to be naked, but it was impossible to see anything as their bodies became unclear and foggy the lower down one went. Kuroki could only make out the upper torso and up, more then Akano had been able to.

"...where are we? I need to get back to my friends".

"Ah, no worries. Time flows differently here. Which is good, because it let me leave this automated message".

"...automated message?"

"Across the countless timelines, that phrase caused the most understanding and the least questions. Even if time flows much, much faster here right now, its not like I had infinite time to leave this message. In truth, I wanted to talk to you in person. Of all the timelines I have glimpsed, you are the only one I seem to be capable of communicating with in the Spirit Realm, and as I am currently imprisoned, well, 'protected' within the Ivory Tower, I cannot meet you physically. Not yet, and depending on how things play out, not ever..."

He seemed a bit sad by that, but more melancholy than anything else.

"Who are..."

"The Oracle. Supposedly a high ranking member of the Church, but just someone who was imprisoned and exploited by its Dark Side. But we can't talk forever about me. It disrupts the timeline, and you have things you need to do. Like your first Realization".

"So this triggered because of that?"

"Partially. I admit, I nudged this conflict to happen a bit. See, if I didn't, your chances of death increased by a lot. All the timelines I was able to view before now showed that you were less likely to die if this happened here and now, rather then later, so I used what little ability to influence things that I could to have this happen now".

"So wait, you..."

"Yes, but enough about that. You want to figure out what powers you really got from your wishes. As you know, you got great magical abilities. That accounted for a good deal of the power you got from wishes, which is why you can already compose a few spells and picked it up so fast. You also got powers that shield you from your shitty father's abilities as well, at least to a degree, although he is one of the Cardinal Cataclysms for a reason".

"Wait what was..."

"Sorry, no time. Part of what is holding you back is mentality. This is all so new to you, even with the mental fortitude, you are having trouble reconciling your new powers. Perhaps a side effect of your body's stagnation of growth as well".

The Oracle circled Kuroki, examining his body with scrutiny. Even if they were blurry from the mist, and he was getting used to the social norms of this world, as expected having his naked body looked at like that still embarrassed him.

"Flopsy will not be the last enemy you face. He won't even be the last Starfallen Enemy you face. But you must believe in yourself, and grow your powers. You will feel pain. You will feel sadness. Hell, you will be put in even more embarrassing and humiliating situations. But you will persevere, and you will grow".

At those words, Kuroki remembered something. A desire he had, deep down. A revelation.

"You will..."

"...use my own strengths, my own powers, to help others. And most importantly, myself".

The Oracle nodded, as Kuroki repeated what he said.

"I will help myself. I will continue forward".

"That is right..."

"I will not let someone else dictate my future! Not my father, not Flopsy, not even the Demon King!"

"Yes yes!"

Suddenly, Kuroki found himself awash with light, and then found himself back on the battlefield. Oracle was gone, or rather, the automated message he made by predicting Kuroki's future responses was gone.

Kuroki dug into his wishes, and he knew exactly what to call on. A spell formulated in front of him, from his own mana.

"Awakening, Destiny Driver".

The incantation compressed itself for some reason, as if the energy overflowing from him let him omit it in this instance. Immediately, the four of them became cloaked in Kuroki's magic.

Two of the Martial Artist Rabbits had gotten around the others, while a swarm of normal Rabbits massed on Kaede and Ryuu. The remaining two Martial Artist rabbits joined with Flopsy for an all out attack on Kuroki, but Kuroki was already a step ahead.

"Leave my opponents frozen and fickle. Stop their steps and make the cold tickle. Frostfoot!"

Suddenly, ice rose up and trapped the feet of the rabbits. He mainly aimed it at the Martial Artist Rabbits and Flopsy, but Flopsy was able to see it coming and dodge, and the Martial Artist Rabbits coming after him and followed his lead. As expected of a Rabbit who tamed Rabbits, their compatibility was great.

However, Kuroki hadn't been prioritizing them, but the two going after Riku. Those two were caught off guard, not expecting such a spell from that range. And while it would take them a mere moment to break free, Riku knew what to do.

"Brilliant Flare!"

The Rabbits had been ready for his Flare Enchant Incendia and Brilliant Flash combo. However, this time Riku was even faster. It caught the two Martial Arts rabbits off guard and by surprise, and resulted in both of them getting cut to pieces.

This was the new move Riku had been working on. It was a bit harder to control, but it let him bring out Flare Enchant Incendia while performing a Brilliant Flash, so he had purposefully held it back to catch anyone who had been watching them, like these Rabbits, off guard. They all expected the normal speed of his move, so this faster version ended up catching them off guard and worked to the advantage of Kuroki's group as two Martial Artist Rabbits were immediately eliminated.

Kaede meanwhile seemed to be compliantly fighting her enemies and killing the horned rabbits that attacked them. She Adapted to their moves compared to when they started out, showing that even just a little experience is valuable. Ryuu meanwhile was trying to fend off the other flank, but showed he was learning from previous encounters as well and was being a lot more effective. As he fought valiantly, he looked just a little more like the heroic knight of his dreams.

Kuroki meanwhile unleashed another spell, his arcing lightning from before. He managed to get one of the Rabbits with its surprise turn, but the other Martial Artist immediately adapted and dodged, and Flopsy was even faster. Flopsy got right up close to Kuroki, when Kuroki's cloak wrapped itself around Flopsy's arm and threw him to the side, showing its defensive power. The cloak was still under the effects of its limiter however, meaning that Kuroki's group clearly had the ability to win this fight, even if there was a chance it might be a low one still. Only when it seemed hopeless did the limiter get released after all.

Kuroki jumped back and this time unleashed several beams of light as Flopsy charged him again. This time it was even faster though, catching Kuroki off guard. He tried to dodge, moving backwards as the fist seemed to phase through him as he was dodging. A second fist then came, identical in path and speed to the first, but Kuroki was already out of the way, and that fist attack just disappeared somehow.

What was that...it was almost like an echo, except it came before the attack, not after...

When Kuroki had his Revelation, he had unlocked a new power. That was by helping to unseal and realize the true potential of his friends. But something else seemed to have been dislodged in that instant, or perhaps it was because it could also trigger on himself.

I wish to be able to see all these attacks earlier so I can dodge them better.

Deep down, this had been a wish he had every time his father beat him, or when bullies came after him. And when combined with his natural affinity for time magic, it formed a new ability. One he would find vastly useful down the road.

Precognition. It would be some time before he truly came to understand it, and even more to master it, but the first step forward had been taken.

The first step forward towards becoming stronger in his world, and overcoming what happened to him in his previous world.

Although in Kuroki's case perhaps it was a bit drastic and abnormal in how it came about, but like anyone else, he had the power to not be defined by what happened to him, but by who he was, is, and will be as a person.

If this was an anime, some super heavy heroic turnaround music would be playing now.

Kuroki took a step forward this time, catching Flopsy off guard.

"Storm Sparrows!"

He had secretly incanted that time, which was why he dodged instead of blocking with an ice shield. Ten birds made of lightning and wind manifested and flew right after Flopsy. Flopsy seemed to create a whirlwind from his ears, to try and block the attack, while the two martial artist rabbits went after Kuroki.

However, they had made a mistake. They had left Riku all alone.

"Brilliant Flare!"

One of the Rabbits, the injured one, was unable to dodge in time, but the other one just barely avoided the blow, although he got cut rather deep it wasn't fatal. This allowed them to now even the odds a bit more. Kuroki and Riku versus Flopsy and a Martial Artist Rabbit. However...

We are running out of surprises. Brilliant Flare would have been better to use on Flopsy, but Riku never had an opening, and Kaede and Ryuu are tied down covering our flanks.

Flopsy and the remaining one darted through the grass. Thanks to it being wilted due to Kuroki's spell, it didn't provide as much cover, but they were still cautious. Kuroki unleashed several wind blades before resuming his Water Puppetry Technique to fluidly adapt and counter attack. Riku blocked the attack from the Martial Artist Rabbit, but it quickly moved around him by grabbing the blade with its ears, despite the fact the blade was still on fire and burned it a bit. It was able to get behind and tried to deliver a blow, but Riku then grabbed its fist and diverted it using his tail.

That is right. I have a tail now. This is part of my wish too...and it's not some normal tail!

Riku was having his own realization.

He pivoted and quickly brought his sword down upon it. It dodged of course, but that didn't stop Riku from diverting the trajectory of the blade to follow it.

"Unending Slash!"

Bracing his hands and tightening his grip, he adjusted the direction, angle, and exact grip position as he swung his sword, injuring the rabbit again as his blade changed directions to follow it. It had tried to move to the side to get Riku before he could recover and swing again, but the first swing ended up being persistant and following him.

This was another thing he learned at the Kyudo Martial Arts School. A technique that let one adjust the trajectory of their slash. Riku wasn't this good with it originally, but the Starfall enhanced his physical abilities so he was able to handle it even without having mastered it yet. A true Unending Slash would have been faster and stronger after all, and taken out the Rabbit rather than just injuring it again.

"If I am going to take down my uncle one day, I have to at the very least be able to take down this damned Rabbit!"

Surging with motivation and inspiration, Riku charged forward and unleashed another Brilliant Flare. The rabbit was caught off guard, and this time it was cleaved right through. That said...

"Ack!"

Riku's continuous use of Brilliant Flashes and now this new upgraded technique, Brilliant Flare, had pushed his body to its limits. Even if he took time to recover, it was still building strain on his body. The Goblin Knight from before, and then all the ones he used now, not to mention the few he used earlier when protecting Kuroki after he attracted all that Goblin hate when he popped off a flashy spell. He felt his legs and ankles buckling, screaming out.

Damnit! I need to help him with Flopsy, but...I already went past my limit!

He quickly took a dose from a potion, hoping he could recover in time. But right now, it was just Kuroki himself against Flopsy. This was how it looked to end up.

Kuroki had to admit, he had mixed feelings of this fight. So far, all his fights had been pretty clear cut. He was right, the enemy was wrong. Or doing something illegal. Or were monsters. But Flopsy, Flopsy might be misguided, but at least there was reason behind it. Reason Kuroki could understand all too well. BOth of them had been bullied and made to suffer. Hurt and humiliated, locked in a cage. So Kuroki understood Flopsy's reasons, if they were directed at the wrong person.

There was no true great villain in this fight, but this fight would only end with one of them killing each other. In the end, Flopsy was still a rabbit. Maybe if Akano's neighbor Tamaki had been here, it might be different. The two had met quite a few times after all, and Kuroki had even been sort of forced to join them in a dog filled bath a few times. But that wasn't the case, and in all truth, probably wouldn't have helped all that much. This was a long, deeply seeded grudge after all.

"Brilliant Spark".

Unleashing a point blank lightning attack right when Flopsy came around, Flopsy was able to dodge in time.

"As expected...but you forgot about something".

Suddenly, a lightning bolt came from above and nearly hit Flopsy. It was just able to dodge, but then Kuroki got it with a second Brilliant Spark, using a close range storm spell to blast Flopsy. However, Flopsy twisted itself around and kicked Kuroki right in the face.

"...whoever decided to build that school dojo next to the damn rabbit cages is so getting it later" Kuroki remarked as he recovered, and Flopsy got back up.

Yes, the first spell he cast, Stormfall, was not just to freeze the ground. It was the source of the lighning bolt from earier, and now Kuroki was unleashing its force. It would help clean up the rabbits remaining, and several bolts would be aimed right at Flopsy. Kuroki had let just enough time pass before triggering its full power, so that Flopsy would forget about it and not realize its true danger until later. Because Kuroki's fighting style was never just about using the raw power of magic. It was about using tricks and secrets within magic, spells within spells, or laying things in advance. His type of fighting was the opposite of his father's, who tended to brute force everything, even with techniques it was all about utilizing more force or faster attacks then it was about strategy.

But Kuroki was a fundamentally different person from him.

"Frozen beaks to peck your eyes, frozen talons to slash your skin. These birds of frost are strong and cold, and will tear your body thin. Chilling Flock!"

Several birds made of ice appeared and went after Flopsy, but Flopsy seemed to be able to counter attack and destroy each one that got near him. It was almost absurd how easily he countered, but Kuroki had expected it all the same.

Ice spikes launched out of the remaining grass. Flopsy dodged a bit, but one cut its arm and the other stabbed its leg before shattering.

Flopsy unleashed magical power raw and launched it at Kuroki. This caught Kuroki off guard, but he just barely used a barrier to protect himself against it in time. But this let Flopsy close in on him and unleash another, close range kick attack right at Kuroki's neck.

"Mystical Typhoon!"

A huge torrent appeared around Kuroki, having secretly incanted his spell while Flopsy was dealing with the birds.

This was something Amyris drilled into him a lot. Incanting ahead of time and hiding it so no one would notice. This allowed him to catch his enemies off guard and surprise them, and making it harder for them to realize what sort of spell he was incanting.

Now caught in a perpetual vortex, Flopsy was unable to stop his next spell.

"I am truly sorry for everything you went through Flopsy. I hope you have a better next life".

The vortex was full of water and wind, and now Kuroki added lightning from his fingers to the vortex.

And so, an unending volt struck through everything. Kuroki aimed it for the brain, to give Flopsy a painless death. And yet, that did not seem to be in the cards, when strange and wicked curse energy flowed around Flopsy.

"I don't think it should end like this! Lets keep the rampage going, little Rabbit!"

"Who are you?"

"Oh come now, you should know that already..."

"The Devil who attacked Anna and the Guildmaster".

"Yes...now, this time you will die! Cursed Mutation!"

Suddenly Flopsy cried out in pain within the vortex, as its body began to be covered in mystical red lines and became to reshape itself and mutate. Infinitely crueler then Kuroki, who was going to kill it painless, it was made to survive and keep fighting while suffering incredible pain. It was being forcibly evolved past where it was, and it cried out to such a degree.

"No...no, I wont let it end like this!"

Kuroki created ice platforms and raced up to Flopsy, whose mutations were starting to become set.

"I wont let this happen! There is another way!"

Kuroki thrust his hand onto Flopsy's forehead.

"I am sorry, but it seems this is the only way. I doubt its what you wanted, but..."

Kuroki was already invoking a complex magical circle. It was coming to him, a fleeting spark of inspiration. The two of them became engulfed within the magic, as the vortex around them became loaded with mana and magical energy. Something new was happening. Even Kuroki wasn't sure what was going on, but something had shifted.

The magic was forming. A new magic. Something out of nowhere. Not from Amyris, not from Kuroki. Not from the Devil, not from Flopsy.

Suddenly, the gravity around them seemed to cut off, and Kuroki felt something familiar. It wasn't just the lack of gravity, but it was something in the air. Something he recognized.

It was the Starfall. For some reason, a localized event was happening.

And it was within that vortex, which turned the myriad colors of the rainbow, which was now far more then water and wind but had become something unfathomable, that a miracle was being born. Flopsy's jacket, what remained from his transformation, was blown into nothingness, that was the power building within this vortex. it crackled with power, the sounds reverberating through his body. Something was flowing into the vortex and amplifying it further, causing the vortex to become a nexus of magical energy. Within this place was everything and nothing, the leylines creating a nexus in this spot. Every fiber of his being felt compressed and stretched apart, and he could feel foreign mana filling this place up to the brim of bursting. Something from the north, something new yet ancient.

A voice, or perhaps an impression or subconsious feeling of a voice, boomed throughout Kuroki's head. It made what little body hair he had stand on end, and sent chills down his spine and warmth swell within his head. Suddenly, he was in a place like the spirit realm again, but less blurry and misty. There was mist around them, but it did not come close, flowing in a vortex just like the typhoon that Kuroki had created. All physical objects were gone, and Kuroki could feel that while his body was certainly visible, naked for all to see, it wasn't his body but just a projection of his mind and soul. This place was like the spirit realm, but different. The power was similar, but different.

Above them was not a foggy sky, but a clear one, full of stars and starlight. Only it felt so much more...colorful, and close.

And then there was the contents of the voice.

"Would you like to Invoke the Last Wish?"

He felt a hand on his, a being from behind steadying himself. For some reason he felt more flustered and confused in this place, but this guiding hand helped him. Someone from behind, who Kuroki could not see, but felt warmth from. He did not know if it was a man or a woman, just the warmth of their body, their soul, filled him with courage.

Kuroki decided already. Nothing about this wish was explained, and yet Kuroki could instinctively sense what it would do.

"Yes, I wish to invoke Flopsy's Last Wish".

"Understood. Invoking Flopsy's Last Wish. Be Warned, the Interloper has not given up. Have a wonderful life".

"Wait wha..."

Before he could finish, Kuroki found himself back inside the Vortex, as Flopsy was shining with light. An annoyed voice called out.

"What is this?! What did you do?! There was no power behind that, but...what trick is it?! What trick did you do?!?!?"

The Devil seemed enraged. She was properly pissed and everything.

Meanwhile, Flopsy began to glow a brilliant light.

Flopsy remembered everything. The human that always interfered with his habitat. The human before who hurt him so. The humans who would run by and train, and those who also made of him. At first, he hated humans.

But deep down, he was always jealous of them. Even the humans who were locked in the cage, removed of their strange excess fur that served no real purpose sometimes, eventually were let out. But not Flopsy. They were able to be capitvated by strange things in their hands, using apendages Flopsy did not have. They could open the cages, and they could hold so many things. Flopsy's anger grew with that, on how these humans wasted so much of what they had and took it for granted.

But he also wanted to be just like them. To feed himself, to drink himself. Maybe even bathe himself sometimes.

And so, within the light, Flopsy's Last Wish, the one the Starfall couldn't invoke as it exceeded what could be granted to a Starfallen when combined with all his other wishes, was finally invoked. The mutations changed. Rather then becoming more of a beast, he started to become more human. His fur receeded, until only a pair of rabbit ears and a rabbit tail remained. Instead of mutating into a beast that would be forced to suffer and kill, a new door was being opened by Flopsy. Kuroki wanted to take credit for it, however...within this vortex, he could sense it. Someone else's magical abilities were at work. They set the stage. And then someone completely different helped him invoke the Last Wish.

Flopsy emerged as a young human boy, who was probably around five or six years old. As expected of this world, his fur did not immediately mutate into clothes, so he was completely naked. From the fighting, only the sunglasses remained, which were a strange thing to have in the first place here. The other rabbits quickly fled, as the typhoon dissipated. The three ran over to see what was up, only to see the boy in front of them.

"Well...is...is that Flopsy?"

"He turned into a boy?"

"How did you do that Kuroki?"

Kuroki shook his head.

"It wasn't me. Or at least, it wasn't just me. Someone, no, two people at least took advantage and interfered. And then, all I did was dislodge and have the Starfall invoke Flopsy's final wish, one that apparently it did not have the capacity to grant the first time".

"...the hell?"

Kuroki nodded. "Yeah. It was weird. But I also got warned by...whatever was in charge of that place. It warned me the interloper wasn't done with us".

"...you think that means the person who brought us to this world?"

"Yeah, I do. I didn't learn anything about them, but it seems that we managed to survive...at least for now".

Kaede looked the most relieved however.

"I think...this is probably the best outcome then. Do you think Flopsy still hates us though?"

"I don't know, but I think at least in this current form he can be reasoned with. Lets...lets bring him back with us. I will think of some cover story, but we should get to safety".

Kuroki looked into the sky.

"...we certainly have earned a rest after all this".

And so, the group of friends made their way back to the command camp, accompanied by a strange new addition. Meanwhile, the fights on other fronts also came to their climax as well.