The Ultimate One

Frontier Part One

682's doppelganger broke shortly after. She was created by someone named Morrigan who is a changing and the last of her kind.

" She looks like shit," you comment as you watch her through the one-way mirror.

" Do not be deceived by appearances human," 682 growls, " you of all people should know that."

"I call dibs on the brain." You declare before walking out.

Selene and her sisters are only a few feet away before they notice you.

" Hey Y/N," Celeste greets cheerfully, a grin on her face.

" What problem do you need me to fix?" You look at Celeste.

" Follow me." She simply says before walking off. Her sisters follow shortly after.

You bang on the door and receive a grunt from within.

" Don't kill her!" You shout.

Another grunt and you follow the trio who were waiting at the end of the hallway.

A while later you stand around a table with the princesses. A large map is spread across the table with multiple glyphs pulsating with a faint blue light drawn across different points on the map. Suddenly one of the glyphs goes out and is replaced almost immediately with another one.

"Someone care to explain that?" You look at the trio across the table.

" Ever since you and the rest came here," Celeste begins, " magic readings have been going through the roof across the lands."

" Most especially around here and here" Serene interjects, pointing to two specific areas which are near each other.

" But there have been situations where massive spikes of energy have been reported by members of the Guild," Aurora says in a surprisingly quiet tone.

" What did you find?" You ask the group in a low tone which catches them off guard.

Aurora stammers, trying to find a reasonable excuse. Her sisters avoid eye contact with you. You watch the map once again, paying even more attention to the areas indicated.

You decide to view it from multiple forms of vision at breakneck speed until something of appeal transpires. Lucky for you that doesn't take long. Upon switching to a vision you 'borrowed' from a dying god, lines of energy rise from the map constructing a completely different map.

The lines twist and turn at odd angles and some lines completely disappear. Along the lines, themselves are inscriptions that you can't make sense of. Quickly you manifest a piece of paper and a pencil and copy down to the smallest detail everything you see. As you copy the new map, you hear one of the three gasps in stupefaction but you pay them no mind.

You continue to watch the ethereal map float a few feet above the map, an idea comes to mind. With controlled fluidity, you entwine a copy of the map in an isolated timeline while allowing the effects of the present timeline to be mirrored onto the copy and just in time too. The ethereal map completely deconstructs as if commanded by something or someone.

Sighing you return your vision to what it once was but not before looking at your copy of the map which had no changes to it.

" Well," you look at the trio and slide the physical copy of the map over to them, " have any clue what this is?"

Celeste is the first to speak, " This is the entire Leyline map of the land. How did you-"

" Plot convenience." You cut her off.

" What?" Selene inquiries.

" Enough about how I got this," gesturing to the drawing you tilt your head to the side, "what are these Leylines exactly?"

" They are the rationale behind the existence of magic in our world. The more powerful the more prominent the magic is in that area. But an individual can become powerful enough to become independent of the Leyline. These people are usually mages who are centuries if not millennia old.

But there have lived some who've had the power gone to their head and proceeded to feed off the Leyline. Most were stopped but others were successful and become beings of near-infinite power. Some went insane while others just disappeared. This created an enormous power void that needed to be approximated, like Yin and Yang, " Selene elucidates, watching the map as she does so.

"And since then power gaps have occurred which have been filled by others, including us. But ever since you came," Aurora interposes but halts. She looks at her sisters who make a gesture for her to resume.

She takes a breath before continuing; " The Leylines have been reaching insane levels that aren't stable for long. So that's why we called you here."

" Not to mention every enemy of ours is now jumping on the chance for a power boost of a lifetime," Celeste adds.

" You have other enemies apart from changelings?" You ask the royal trio.

" Where do we even begin?" Celeste sighs.

" So let me get this straight, my powers have caused a shift in power in these Leylines and this has caused a chain reaction across the land," you decipher.

" Yep, that's pretty much it to be honest," Celeste enunciates.

" And what solutions have you come up with?"

" We, by that we mean you, head to the regions to investigate the irregularities.

" We can't afford to leave the capital undefended. Most here haven't been in a life-or-death situation and even fewer can fight. " Selene clarifies.

" But we will have a team escort you and anyone of your choosing, " Aurora chips in.

" When am I supposed to venture out to these places? " You inquire of them.

" In a week. " Celeste responds.

" Very well, and this team of yours, just how experienced are they?"

" Enough. "

" Very well then. I'll be taking my leave then. " You state as you take the map.

" We'll be needing that please, " Aurora says.

In the end, you decide to leave the map for them. Aurora is oddly overjoyed by this whole her sisters seem stoic but they do give a courtesy nod as you leave.