Densetsu: A Beautiful Day

Prologue

Just a few more steps through the hallways... the light was near. Magma illuminated the darkness. Only a bridge awaited him in the circular room.

Falling off would incinerate him in seconds. He must endure it—entering the room was enough to make his forehead sweat. But, this wasn't the time to complain. Time was of the essence.

Sickness filled the air, and the people were caught by it. Coming from a different world, he was unaffected. He must destroy whatever was causing them to grow sick.

The dreaded hot wind from the pool of lava blew through his soul as he progressed. His hands swelled, turning red the further he continued. Oxygen became harder to grasp, his breaths shortened, and his vision nearly blurred.

Almost there..., he thought. A couple of steps into the room nearly exhausted him. How he was able to endure such heat, he didn't know.

It would seem easy to reach the next room until he saw a young girl fall in front of him. Unlike the guards he disposed of before coming here, this one wasn't going to be easy.

He had been warned about her after bypassing the Barrier of Makai. They relied their security on the barrier, yet they failed the extra measure of an outsider bypassing it.

It was only a matter of time when she would come—he knew what to do, searching through his pockets until he pulled out a stick.

"So you must be Project Device Type-0013 NEW?"

"Analyzing...Target...Complete...Returning into Memory Mode..." Then, her eyes opened, their gazes interlocking with each other. She met his chestnut eyes while he glared into her azure eyes. "Kotaro! Have you come here to kill me...again?"

He recalled no memories with her. Nevertheless, he knew what to do. "I'm not here to kill you. I'm here to destroy whatever is causing the smoke."

Suddenly, NEW burst into laughter. "Oh, Kotaro! You're so funny!"

Then her high-pitched tone shifted. "You know that can't happen...You and I are meant to be..."

Kotaro remembered the most important warning to this battle. He mustn't lose. Despite the fiery heat burning him, his determination to fight pushed him to his limits.

"Power Sword!" Kotaro commanded, the stick in his hand morphed into a steel sword.

NEW smirked, "Yay! Let's have fun and kill each other again!" The high-pitched tone of her sweet and innocent voice became more sinister and evil.

Kotaro charged towards her, readying his attack.

"Project Device Gear Activate," the girl commanded. A sword-shaped object fell between the two. A single slash from Kotaro knocked him away, causing him to drop his sword.

His hand made contact with the metal floors. Absorbing the heat from below, Kotaro groaned roughly—yet he remained calm and endured the pain. Picking himself and his sword, he watched the giant sword disperse into pieces of armor for NEW.

Her cloak disappeared, replaced by a thick azure suit with gray metal shoulder plates. Two sharp steel appeared in NEW's hand, and their battle commenced.

Swords clashed into a shower of sparks. NEW's laughter filled the battle. She attempted to finish the fight by impaling her opponent.

Luckily, Kotaro kicked her away from him, resulting in her to lose balance.

Now's my chance! He dashed forward with a readied slash.

Then, it occurred, and it would always happen: the Infinite Loop...

No matter how what happened or how many times it changed, the conclusions remained the same. Fresh crimson stained the floors.

The days continued to repeat itself, and eventually, the two would come to meet once more in combat. In their fight, he fell into battle again, and the day would repeat again.

This was not the first of his attempts. The world went round and round, a never-ending world it became. The kaleidoscope never stopped.

"How did you...get me?" Kotaro panted as he convulsed a pool of scarlet. Unknown to him, a cold steel impaled his chest from behind.

"Summoning Technique: Undefined Saber. I thought you knew I was bound to use Skills for our fight," said NEW. Smoke-like particles of energy billowed from her fingertips. "But I was wrong..."

His eyes widened, "How? You're breaking the Skill Rules...how did you—"

It didn't take long for him to realize that she may express signs of sentience, but she was an artificial entity.

Carelessly, she walked towards the impaled Kotaro. She hardly reacted as the sharp steel pierced through her chest. At last, they were together.

"Let's become one, Kotaro! Let me accept you!" she exclaimed, smiling. "Engaging Project Device Type-0000 THE END...unleashing the ultimate power."

Wrapping her arms around Kotaro, NEW jumped into the pit as she dragged his lifeless body. They burned into cinders until the pool of lava slowly changed into an emerald hue.

Behind a magical barrier, two individuals watched their battle. "And he failed once more..."

The golden-haired man rested his parasol on his shoulders. Darkness slowly corrupted the azure sky, and an eclipse emerged.

"I'll see you again, Yuuki Nohara..." said the lady in red robes, standing next to him.

"Kamiyama Shrine Maiden, how many loops have we experienced? Even our efforts to hone his skill wasn't enough. If not for the Barrier of Makai, we could easily help him. That machine keeps adapting."

"This is our twentieth loop," the tears and worries had been dried for the shrine maiden. "Kotaro...we'll meet again."