The Mandate of Khaos: Prologue (ch. 1)

I would laugh about this someday.

I clung to the certainty that, in the future, I would find a dark humor in it all. Yet, that conviction did little to quell the tremor in my legs, or the desperate plea of my bladder, threatening to betray me at any moment.

Zouken Matou was dead.

Ajuka Beelzebub had killed him.

Without a visible flicker of effort, without uttering a single syllable—one moment Zouken Matou existed, and then, with horrifying finality, he did not.

I cannot claim to have grasped the totality of my thoughts in that instant, but as Ajuka's gaze—those vacant, blue orbs—settled upon us, instinct took over. I thrust Sakura behind me, driven by a primal urge to interpose myself between her and this devil. Just as Hector stood before Achilles for Troy, and Leonidas for Sparta—each as fated to fail as I was.

If the sight of my defiance registered with him, he betrayed no sign. He simply advanced in my direction, and then, chillingly, past me. Whatever reserves of courage I possessed were utterly spent in that slight, protective shove. To turn, to merely incline my head and look, was a feat too monumental to contemplate.

Then, a hand, light as a feather, alighted on my back. It was a touch of tentative reassurance, as if fearing even the slightest pressure might shatter me. The voice of its owner, Sakura, wafted to my ears, "It's alright, nii-san. It's alri—"

Her words abruptly ceased. A dread far surpassing my own spurred me to action. It was remarkable how deeply I had come to care for this girl in so short a time. I wrenched myself around, relief washing over me as I saw her chest rise and fall in the rhythm of breath, her eyes sealed shut.

"She is no longer a magus," Ajuka stated, his tone as indifferent as if commenting on the weather. "Nor is she a vessel for Makiri Zolgen's familiars."

He turned his gaze upon me then, and I felt my resolve crumble anew. For a heart-stopping moment, I was convinced this was the end.

My life reeled before my eyes—a mere week of it. Awakening in Shinji Matou's body, the result of some twisted experiment by Zouken. Being greeted by that cadaverous old man's visage as the first sight in this new reality, accompanied by his dismissive click of the tongue. The desperate retreat to my room, the burgeoning hope quickly snuffed out by the realization that, while Zouken's machinations had not failed as much as he believed, neither would they grant me any immediate advantage.

I remember the first time I saw Sakura. Her eyes were hollow, yet different from Ajuka's. His were the eyes of one who had lost hope, yet still possessed the capacity to envision a future, contrasted against eyes that could not even muster that.

I remember kissing her in a moment of mad desperation and wanting, I remember her passive compliance, and I remember the unreasonable surge of fury it ignited within me.

I remember Zouken summoning me, and the fleeting flicker of pity in Sakura's gaze. I did not know his intentions then, and likely never would now.

I would laugh about it in the future, I was certain.

That is—if I had a future to laugh in.

"…Nii-san?" Sakura's voice cut through the haze of my thoughts.

Wait… Sakura? Wasn't she…?

I took stock of my surroundings. The room was markedly darker, midday had given way to late afternoon. My arms ached, the result of supporting Sakura's weight for hours on end, preventing her unconscious form from collapsing.

A delicate film of sweat coated the points of contact between us and the immediate vicinity.

"Can you stand?" I managed, feeling bereft of any other words.

Sakura offered a simple nod. Slowly, painstakingly, as if I were the one being supported, I released her.

My mind felt… weird. I knew the reason. The power Zouken had unwittingly gifted me had been fueled by the recent events and was now offering its commendations.

My gaze drifted to the table, to the two envelopes resting there, containing train tickets, bank account information, and identification cards.

I looked at Sakura, who kept silent, her eyes darting nervously around the room, as if expecting Zouken to suddenly appear from behind one of the closed doors, windows, or even the kitchen cabinets.

I, too, harbored that fear, if I were honest.

Therefore, it was only when we were safely within the confines of Kuoh, inside our new apartment, that I dared to believe the chances of this being an elaborate scheme were negligible enough to disregard, and invoked the message the well of Khaos inside me had formed.

- - -

M.O.K.

- - -

Feat: Survived an encounter with a Super Devil, along with a week under the 'care' of Matou Zouken.

Reward: Platinum Trait Ticket.

Feat: Ransacking the Matou Mansion, liberating it of every valuable item not nailed to the floor

Reward: Silver Item Ticket.

"Nii-san?" The sound of her voice made me wince, and the message vanished from my view. "Are you alright?"

I expelled a shaky breath. Yes, I longed to say. I'm alright, I yearned to reassure her.

Yet, the words remained trapped. I could not voice them for the same reason I had hesitated to ask if she wished to live apart from me. If, after everything, I were to lose the sole anchor tethering me to this world, I feared I would simply unravel.

"Nii-san…"

"You're—we're free. You don't… have to keep calling me that." It's not true. I am not your brother.

Sakura softly shakes her head. "Hey, nii-san… if you could wish for something, anything that you think possible to achieve eventually, right now, at this moment, what would it be?"

My mouth opened and closed, a silent pantomime of speech. My mind drew a blank. Achieve eventually? Like what? I'd been put out of the fire and straight into the frying pan if this city was to endure as much shit as my fragmented memories suggested.

What sort of future awaited someone so utterly powerless that—

No, that's… not entirely accurate now, is it? I've been procrastinating, but… this could be it. I could gain something from this. All I needed—all I had ever needed—was a spark of courage.

"Sakura," I breathed her name.

"Yes, nii-san?" The way her head tilted, the cascade of her hair drawn down by gravity, was expectedly captivating, yet unexpected in its intensity.

"Can you hold my hand?"

She… chuckled. I could not recall ever hearing her chuckle before. "Of course, nii-san." She responded, and then exceeded my request. Taking my hand in hers, she turned and settled into my lap, intertwining our fingers and resting our joined hands on her leg.

Feat: A girl has willingly sat on your lap for the first time in your life without you needing to explicitly request it.

Reward: Bronze Familiar Ticket.

Forgive me for ever not thinking you were best girl. Who cares about some pesky worms, you're perfect.

With a sigh, I opened my eyes, gazed at the ceiling, and prepared to roll.

Now then, let's begin with this last ticket and work our way up from there, shall we?

The sound of paper burning greeted my ears and words began to spiral around me, as if I were the captive center of a dizzying carousel. They moved too rapidly to decipher, too quickly to allow any concentration beyond the mere fact that they were moving—and then they were not.

[Golden Goose]

|Common Familiar|

Yes, it really did lay some golden eggs. This otherwise regular-looking goose lays a golden egg every 24 hours, the egg is solid gold unless the Goose is fertilized.

A small, involuntary smile crept across my face.

"Did something good happen, nii-san?" Sakura inquired, remaining still.

"One could say that," I answered vaguely.

I shall interpret this as an auspicious omen for our future. Please, don't let me down now, my next tickets!

Once more, the same process unfolded. A multitude of words, this time brighter than before, swirled around me, until—

[Heros Bandages]

|Uncommon Item|

A set of sentient bandages that automatically wrap around your wounds and injuries, the bandages are really good at stopping bleeding and stabilizing broken bones. With training, you can manipulate the bandages yourself too.

Shall this be taken as a sign of how my future is going to look as well? I mused melancholically.

With a gentle squeeze of Sakura's hand—a gesture she reciprocated instantly—I invoked the final ticket.

It's make-or-break time.

All the swirling words possessed a noticeably greater oomph, for lack of a more precise term.

And in the end—

[Undeniable]

|Rare Trait|

Your senses cannot be hindered, you can't be blinded even when sand is thrown at your eyes, and you won't become deaf even if someone sonic blasts your ear. The only way to hinder your senses is by physically ripping out the organ.

One of the ones with lesser oomph was what I received.

"Nii-san?"

I realized I was gripping Sakura's hand more tightly than before.

Taking a deep breath—I laughed.

More than I had ever laughed before, a laugh born of pure, unadulterated release.

"Hey, Sakura-chan," I declared, without a shred of hesitation—for there is only so much one can wallow in self-pity before deciding to yell out a loud and clear, 'Fuck it!' and see where it takes him.

"Let's be happy!"

She leaned her head back, resting it in the crook of my neck, and softly murmured her next words. "Yes, nii-san. The happiest."