Archive Of Potentialities.

Short story: A Salaryman's Supernatural Induction Climax.

~3987 words.

Main courtyard, Tokugawa estate.

The sun had set, leaving room for the blanket of darkness. Corpses and dismembered body parts made the granite floor invisible. Bruised and battered men were littered around the battlefield, covered in blood and filth from the fight. They simply stared at each other, unmoving.

The battle had ended, in a fashion which none of the combatants expected.

The enemy simply stopped, unceremoniously.

Such a simple occurrence, yet it remained incomprehensible to observers. The sudden halt of the opposing forces was so out of place in the previously battle embroiled space that they found it hard to digest.

"What…what happened here?" The last standing opposition clan leader spoke, his voice was hoarse and empty. It struck a sense of melancholy into those who heard it.

"Huh….? Are you seriously gonna play that card?! After all this!?" A loud voice bellowed from a corner of the courtyard.
"After all these deaths! You dare to act like you don't know what you're doing!?" The voice got louder and louder. It was Shang Lee, an ally of the Sakurai clan. He leads a clan of divine humans whose origins lie in ancient China.

The man who spoke initially pursed his lips, his eyes grew vacant as he fell into deep thought.

The remaining forces of the opposing side didn't move, they had observed their surroundings and seen the carnage that painted the area.

They chose to remain like puppets, awaiting their next orders. To them, this was the only way to avoid collapse.

"Speak! Or be cut down like the traitorous dog you are." Shang Lee pointed his halberd at the absent minded man, shouting at the top of his voice.

"Wait! Let's listen to what he has to say! Our enemy might not be who we think it is." Hayase spoke up and stood in the space between the enraged clan leader and his intended victim.

Seeing that he was being blocked, the man looked at the object of obstruction. Seeing who it was he spat.

"I came here out of respect for your predecessor, not for an immature kid like you. You clearly can't tell what type of person that is, you are inexperienced. Get out of the way." In his anger, he threw words full of disdain at Hayase.

Taken aback by the sudden hostility, Hayase faltered, giving Shang an opportunity to push past him.

Shang had passed Hayase, making his way towards the dazed man, but then he was stopped.

"Let go, kid."
Hayase had grabbed onto his forearm, his grip was tight and his hands were shaking, whether it was because of anger or some other emotion, Shang didn't care.

He tried to wrench his arm free, but Hayase held firm.
"Kid! Let go!"

"No…I refuse. I am inexperienced, that I'm aware of," his voice was low, his head turned towards the ground.
"But that doesn't mean I don't have any meaningful input. The battle has stopped, their men now weary and outnumbered. They've also lost one of their leaders, he has no reason to keep fighting. Killing him would be a waste when they likely have important information."

Shang was growing more and more impatient, he looked around the desolate courtyard, hoping the other ally would interfere with this situation.

Yamada Obi, the leader of the Yamada clan who allied with Sakurai just stood there. His face had an expression that signified his confusion about the matter.

Then Shang realized.

They just don't see it. They couldn't perceive it.

The hopelessness, the despair. The feeling of total loss.