Hololive: Reflection

Part Twenty-Two: The Truth

Two days remain.

...

"Today's the day we go over our plan to storm the stronghold, right?" Tamashi asked his still quite sleepy other half as he stumbled to his feet and yawned.

That's right, Nozomi nodded in confirmation, You think everyone will be there?

"Probably," Tamashi speculated, "This is gonna be our most important mission so far. If everyone wasn't present, I'd be worried."

You're right, Nozomi agreed, But I need to ask you some things before we continue, Tamashi.

"And what would that be?" Tamashi inquired.

The truth, Nozomi demanded, his face turning into a much more serious one, Who are my doppelgangers? What are those "Megalo Gods"? And what the hell does Ito Ikuma have to do with all of this?

The two stood in silence for quite some time before Tamashi let out a long drawn out sigh.

"This might take a while to explain," Tamashi warned, "Brace your head."

Suddenly, a jolt could be felt in Nozomi's brain. Clutching his forehead, Nozomi passed out and drifted into unconsciousness.

...

Nozomi woke up in the usual pitch black room he always did when he got headaches like this. Sighing, he stumbled to his feet somewhat dizzily and made his way to the light. It was there that he saw his Echo, Tamashi, nonchalantly sipping tea as he usually did. Nozomi took a seat on the chair adjacent to his Echo's, pouring a cup of tea for himself while he awaited Tamashi's explanations.

"How close exactly were you with your father, Nozomi?" Tamashi questioned.

"Heh. Not at all," Nozomi wryly grinned, taking a gulp from his tea, "We were never close, not even at a young age."

"I see, so that's what it would have been like," Tamashi pondered before looking up at Nozomi, "Do you want the full story or the abridged version?"

"I'd like as much important information as you have," Nozomi said with a determined expression.

"If that's what you wish," Tamashi nodded, closing his eyes, "Essentially, the world Miss Watson left behind when I time-travelled is the world that manifested itself as the Mirror."

"Yes, that's what she said," Nozomi agreed.

"My theory, however, is that she's also your father's murderer," Tamashi sipped his tea.

"And why would she want to kill my father?" Nozomi questioned, "Not that I doubt it, but there would have to be a motive."

"Oh, there's plenty of motive all right," Tamashi chuckled softly, "Considering father was what you'd call 'an insane bitch'."

"An insane bitch, huh?" Nozomi smirked, "Tell me more."

"If you haven't heard the story, father was raised into a very religious family. They worshipped nearly every god they came across, be it modern or ancient. He was born into eccentricity," Tamashi explained before his face darkened, "His parents were killed in an earthquake. Seeing as how he was just a young boy, he blamed them on the gods he worshipped all so often. He grew to hate these gods, resenting them for slaughtering some of their most devout followers. And he began to work out a theory to overthrow the gods."

"And what theory was that?" Nozomi inquired, quite invested in the tale.

"He planned to release the five gods currently exalted and sealed within ordinary human objects. These gods were referred to as the 'Megalo Gods', as they all attempted to rebel against the current gods due to their thirst for power. Thanatos, sealed within the Skull of Decay, Hypnos, sealed within the Scythe of Slumber, Cthulhu, sealed within the Tome of the Ancients, Amaterasu, sealed within the Blade of Rebirth, and Tsukuyomi, sealed within the Gem of Totality," Tamashi retold, "His innate knack for technology came in handy here. He founded Ito Technologies at age 15, and he began work on a device that could merge objects into one greater object. Once this proved successful, he began testing on living lifeforms. And finally, he gathered all of the objects and released the gods, merging them together to generate Elohim, the most powerful being in existence."