VOLUME 1
Season 2, Episode 5
Episode 5:
"Were you the one behind that note, President?"
It was as good of a time as any. After all, there was no one there behind the gym that afternoon.
"Nope! Sora did not do that!"
Shun watched as Sora vehemently denied his query, the cat ears perched atop her head bobbing with every shake.
Seriously, he did not understand this girl.
"Although, Sora will just pop off for a bit and get the person who did call for you, okay?"
With that, she disappeared behind a corner of the gym.
Only to reappear seconds later.
If Shun had expected something to change, then clearly his expectations had been betrayed.
She looked exactly the same. Except, without the cat ears.
"Nice to meet you. I"m an investigator from the Dimension Management a.s.sociation."
His confusion threatened to overwhelm him.
–
"President -?"
"No, I am not your President. I am an investigator from the Dimension Management a.s.sociation."
She smiled, correcting him before he could even finish.
"But -"
"I am an investigator from the Dimension Management a.s.sociation."
Seriously, that smile of hers was starting to seem creepy.
That, coupled with her insistence, was going to get them nowhere. If he wanted some answers, he was going to have to take a different approach.
"Erm… Sorry, but did you say Dimension Management a.s.sociation?"
"Yes indeed. I"m afraid that I can"t go into much detail, but that being said there is something that we, from the Dimension Management a.s.sociation, wish for you to know."
Leaning forward, Sora (albeit without her cat ears) gestured for Shun to come closer. Her next words were only meant for his ears.
"This place isn"t the only dimension that exists."
–
What?
An explosion of epic proportions set off in Shun"s brain. The confusion etched on his face prompted Sora to continue with her explanation.
"This place that you humans call Earth falls into the IV+ category of dimensions. Of course, there are also the various other dimensions that exist, from all the different categories and of varying shapes and sizes. This is where we come in. The Dimension Management a.s.sociation divides and manages all the different dimensions, with agents residing in each of the dimensions to oversee it. Thus, I just happen to be the agent for this one."
Shun didn"t know which part of her story to believe.
But pseudo-Sora was not done yet.
"Recently, we"ve managed to discover yet another type of dimension, one which we call type VI, which consists of all the different game dimensions, "video games" as you humans call them. When Rosalie-san appeared from within "Dragon Bless", she became the first person in history to ever have broken down the lines between the dimensions and exist independently in an entirely separate dimension than her own -"
"W-wait a minute!"
No more. He needed her to stop before he got even more confused.
"There"s really no point in you telling me all about dimensions IV and VI and whatnot. I don"t even understand what you are saying."
Sora shook her head, clearly disappointed in Shun"s ability of comprehension.
"Well, in other words, there are a lot of different dimensions that exist in this universe. Aside from this one, of course."
Her enunciation was clear, patient and unhurried. She then gestured towards her surroundings as though trying to make sense of her words through her actions, similar to what one might do for a small child.
"As such, it is from one of these different dimensions, also known as the "dimension of games", that Rosalie came from. Do you understand me now?"
A slight nod.
"Yeah."
Well, somewhat, at least.
The construction of the ring in the middle of the school ground was making quite a din.
Shun couldn"t bring himself to care anymore. Not about the noise that was giving him a headache, nor about the mystery that Sora posed. Heck, he doubted that he even cared about the fact that Rosalie had just appeared right in front of him from the depths of an RPG game.
All he wanted was for someone to tell him what in the world was actually happening.
That, or they could just wake him up from this nightmare. Whichever came first.
Just then, Sora reached into her breast pocket and produced a little something that Shun was very familiar with.
It was the RPG game "Dragon Bless".
Holding it out towards him, she said with an air of finality, "And this, is the game dimension."
–
"By that, do you mean the setting in which the game takes place in -?"
Pseudo-Sora cut him off.
Either she was getting impatient. Or she didn"t want Shun getting the wrong idea.
"More like, each game is its own living dimension. It has s.p.a.ce, matter, binding laws, and locality. In fact, Dragon Bless can be said to be a one of the few worlds that show an amazing likeness to a type IV+ dimension. Therefore, each individual game that is sold in stores has their own self-contained Dragon Bless game dimension, all of which are the one, yet can exist as separate ent.i.ties of the same dimension."
Shun stared, long and hard at the game in pseudo-Sora"s hands.
This was supposed to be a dimension..?
"Sales of the RPG game Dragon Bless reached up to 50 million worldwide. Therefore, you could say that there exist 50 million different lines for the Dragon Bless dimension, with Rosalie existing simultaneously as a "possibility" in each of these lines. However, now that she has materialized into this dimension she has become a very real presence, and thus can only exist as a single ent.i.ty."
Something clicked into place at the back of Shun"s mind. Was that the reason Rosalie disappeared from all the other Dragon Bless games that morning?"
Still though, he barely understood half of what was being said.
Heck, his common sense was still at least a mile behind, trying to catch up with her explanation.
What dimensions? What world lines?
Such words were, in Shun"s experience, only uttered by smitten, pathetic characters in manga or sappy games.
He hadn"t bailed on Sora yet, but it was by no means an easy task for him to swallow what was being said.
That, and the one big question lingering at the back of his mind that had yet to be answered.
"Why is she here?"
Forget being tactful. He wanted answers right there and then.
Pseudo-Sora"s smile grew wider.
"That"s because of your power, Shun."
–
"After much a.n.a.lysis and research, we"ve managed to determine that this Rosalie is based upon your Dragon Bless dimension line and player data. In other words, you are the culprit behind the "dimensional breakdown"."
Which meant that he -
"Yes, you"ve conducted spatial summoning."
"Spatial summoning…?"
"Well, that"s what we"ll call it in the mean time anyway. What it means to you is that your imagination basically became reality."
"Though, if you ask me, it"s more like "shifting", whereby an individual from dimension type VI drifts over to materialize in dimension type IV+. Really worth looking into -"
But Shun was no longer listening.
That was impossible.
Him having that power was just -
"I don"t believe it."
The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop himself. Never before had he been more sure of anything in the world. He"d never been able to imagine, since he was born, and he knew that that was not going to change.
"You don"t believe it?"
Pseudo-Sora remained smiling. But her smile was one so wide that even Shun had trouble believing it.
"What you"ve just caused is something that has never been done before, and yet you don"t believe me even when I tell you about it? Me, who after cleaning up and answering questions thrown at me from every conceivable level of authority out there still had to pull an all-nighter to write a report explaining the situation to the higher ups?"
Her voice rose higher as she continued her tirade.
"I"ll have you know that never in my life have I ever had less than 8 hours of sleep for the sake of my health and complexion. I"ve kept up this record for almost 20 years now and then what should happen but you? For the first time, I had to work after hours, and you still refuse to believe me?"
An ominous, repressive aura had started to flare around her.
"S-Sorry."
When the going gets tough, the tough get going. He didn"t even want to think of what was going to happen to him should he insist on his stand.
"As long as you understand."
With a nod of her head, the anger around her dissipated.
"I"ve heard about your condition Kanda-san. Please rest a.s.sured that we will be looking into your situation in more depth."
It was bad enough to know that he was the first person in the history of the world, or universe in this case, to have managed something of this magnitude. What made it worse was that not even the experts had anything to offer to him in terms of explanation or advise on how to fix it.
Even though pseudo-Sora had given him her professional opinion on his exceptionally strong imagination, he was still struggling to believe it. After all, if that was the case, why was he unable to do so until today -
"Just a warning though, Kanda-san, you might have used up your entire life"s worth of imaginary power with this one time!"
Oooh, that was merciless. Maybe she still bore a grudge at him for forcing her to forfeit her beauty sleep?
"And that, I think, is the end of my explanation."
The din from the construction ground had started to die down.
Hmm… The ring was probably completed then.
Time to get going. He"d better check on Rosalie too, just in case -
"Please wait a moment, Kanda-san. Before you leave, there is a favor we wish to ask of you."
Uh-oh. This doesn"t sound good.
"Please marry Rosalie-san."
–
d.a.m.n it! He really should have left when he could.
"What? Why should I marry her?"
His mind started to spin in circles. This was suspect.
"Manami, right…?"
He knew this something about this smelt fishy. When he got him, he would so -
"Why ever did you bring up your mother"s name? We"re talking about your Rosalie-san here, not your mother."
Oh. So it wasn"t her.
"B-But -!"
"Rosalie-san has become a dangerous contradiction in the fabric of this dimension."
Pseudo-Sora interrupted him mid-sentence.
"While there are some similarities between this dimension and that from the game Dragon Bless, I"m sure that even you are able to tell that there are some very different key features between the two. The essential laws that makeup these dimensions are just so very different. However, once Rosalie came into this world, both dimensions have started to clash."
"Clash?"
"Yes. This world will be thrown into chaos."
That didn"t sound good.
"Sigh. Basically, you know that different sports, such as baseball and soccer, have different rules and regulations that the players must follow, right? Do you think that both these rules are able to exist simultaneously in a single game? No, of course they can"t. The same situation applies to the logic behind the dimensions. If two dimensions were to share the same field, they would undoubtedly clash. In fact, I"d be thanking my lucky stars if the only thing that happened were the destabilization of both these dimensions. Although, chances are, both dimensions would be destroyed in the end. That"s why, Rosalie-san"s sudden appearance has caused an intergalactic upset."
As she delivered her monologue, pseudo-Sora remained smiling.
It was getting kind of creepy.
"The only thing that"s stopping all of that from happening, Kanda-san, is your power of spatial summoning. Somehow, through your power, you"ve managed to integrate Rosalie-san into this world. In other words, what you"ve done is similar to having magically added the rules of baseball into the rules of soccer, without causing a clash between both rules."
That didn"t sound too bad. Maybe, if he gave these people more time, they could -
"But -"
Argh. He knew things could not have been that simple.
"- The current situation is so unstable that it wouldn"t be surprising if the precarious balance came toppling down the very next second. Thus, we have deduced that the relationship between you and Rosalie-san will likely be the key to keeping things in check."
"My relationship with Rosalie…?"
"Yes. Bearing in mind that the start of this strange phenomenon was the power of your imagination, it"s only logical that the "relationship" between the both of you is of the utmost importance in this incident. You both should strive to have strong ties both mentally and physically. In other words…"
Clasping her hands together, romance shining in her eyes, pseudo-Sora looked just like them little old ladies playing matchmaker.
"Please get married!"
Not again.
"When exactly did things start to go down that way?"
"It"s the best way from preventing this dimension from crumbling! And I get to keep my job!"
Her a.s.sertive tone brooked no argument.
"I won"t ask it from you right now, but it may be a good idea to start as lovers first. After all, you like Rosalie-san don"t you? Seeing as you"ve actually broken down the spatial fabric of an entire dimension to do so."
At her accusation, Shun could feel his face grow hot. Why, oh why did she have to confront him about this?
"T-That stuff"s purely your own deduction! And anyway, why do I have to marry her, or even go out with her, for that matter? Rosalie"s a game character -"
"Not anymore."
A pregnant pause filled the air. Tension, taut as a tightrope hung unspoken between them.
"Rosalie can never return to Dragon Bless. She has now become a unique ident.i.ty in this world."
The weight of her words fell on Shun like a ton of bricks. His gooseb.u.mps were raised, either from the cold, or fear, he didn"t know.
"Rosalie is now a part of Dimension type IV+, no. 789105334, what you would call Earth."
That chain of numbers made absolutely no sense whatsoever to Shun. But at this point, it really didn"t matter, did it?
Pseudo-Sora lifted a finger gracefully, and pointed it at Shun.
"You"re the only one. The only one who can sustain both Rosalie and this world. You have it in you to protect them both. All you need to do is to deepen the bonds between you and Rosalie, and help support into this new world that she has been born in."
"But I -"
"After all, you were the one who caused this mess in the first place, right?"
His denial was just hanging by a thread.
d.a.m.n her!
He wanted to deny it, really he did, but how could one deny the truth?
Pseudo-Sora took Shun"s silence as consent and continued with her tirade.
"That idiotic power of yours broke through the barriers between the dimensions and has thus put us into this situation. It is all your fault, isn"t it, Kanda-san?"
Her smile was so forceful now that even Shun recognized it as the façade that it was.
"Therefore, Kanda-san, could I please request for you to man up and take responsibility for the trouble that you have caused?"
"R-Responsibility..?"
"Yes. Please marry Rosalie-san!"
Her light tone wasn"t fooling anyone. Shun could tell that if he disagreed with her again his life would be the least of his worries.
Gulping hard, he nodded.
Finally satisfied, Pseudo-Sora turned around, donned on her cat ears and said, "I am now the student council president, Shirogane Sora."
Then, she stalked away into the darkness of the corridor.