The crack hovered above the capital like a bruise on the sky, pulsing with unstable colors—violet, crimson, and an eerie seafoam green that made birds fly sideways.
From the tallest tower in the Royal Academy, Kazuki leaned out a window with a spyglass.
"…Yup. Definitely weirder than the last one."
Behind him, scholars in frantic robes ran around with papers, scrolls, and tea that had already spilled twice.
Aurelis strode in, brushing her gloves off. "The Council wants to observe the rift for another day."
Kazuki turned. "Observe? It's humming the Mario Kart theme and warping space-time. What are they waiting for? A singing demon to crawl out?"
Right on cue, the crack let out a low warble. A tendril of mist reached out, dipped into a guard tower, and turned it into a fountain of glitter.
"…I stand corrected," Kazuki muttered.
Meanwhile, in the Dungeon Beneath the City
Smile bounced softly through the dim corridors, followed by Fenrir and Mikiri. They moved with eerie quiet, not just for stealth—but reverence.
A door ahead pulsed faintly. A relic chamber. Something ancient.
The slime paused. His body glowed faintly, like a memory waking up.
"Here," Smile said.
Fenrir growled low. "This is the place. I feel it."
Mikiri raised her head. "Something sleeps here. Something… bound."
They pushed open the heavy doors. Inside was a raised altar—and on it, floating above cracked runes, was a mirror that didn't reflect the room, but a different world entirely.
Aurelis' voice echoed behind them. "There you are. What did you find?"
They all turned as she stepped into the chamber, armor shining.
The mirror shimmered.
Then spoke.
"Ah… so the girl of light has arrived," it whispered.
Aurelis froze. "…Did that mirror just talk?"
Smile bobbled. "Yes. And it's rude. Mirror! Use honorifics!"
The mirror ignored him.
"The bonds are weakening," it said. "And soon, she will awaken."
"Who's she?" Kazuki asked, having just jogged down the stairs.
The mirror shimmered with that strange green light.
"The goddess who sleeps beneath the jungle. The one whose tears became mana. And the one who chose a beast to carry her will."
Everyone turned to Kazuki.
He blinked.
"…What?"
Later, Back in the War Room
Panic.
Maps floated. Magical charts flew around. The second mana crack was widening. The mirror's prophecy had thrown the Council into a frenzy.
Kazuki sat at the edge of the meeting table, sipping hot tea. "So just to recap: a forgotten jungle goddess is tied to the mana system, the cracks are trying to merge worlds, and Smile might be older than civilization."
Smile wobbled proudly. "I am timeless and squishy."
Aurelis crossed her arms. "The important thing is—we need to stop the second crack before it merges with the first. If they synchronize…"
"Reality melts like cheap fondue," Kazuki finished.
A small projection on the table showed the cracks' trajectory. If they connected in the wrong zone—Renga Town, of all places—it could become the epicenter of a dimensional cascade.
"You think the world is weird now?" the head magister muttered. "Try explaining three suns and gravity that works sideways."
Fenrir let out a low whine. Mikiri tensed.
"Something's coming," she hissed.
Outside, the sky flashed.
On the Capital Wall
The mana crack pulsed. It was no longer dormant.
With a sound like thunder turning inside out, it opened—not just cracked, but peeled, like reality had become a scroll being read aloud.
From within, something stepped out.
A silhouette.
Not a beast. Not a god.
But… Kazuki.
Or rather—a version of him.
Same face, darker eyes. A cloak of twisting mana. A weapon Kazuki didn't recognize.
"You have got to be kidding me," Kazuki said aloud.
Aurelis drew her sword. Fenrir growled. Raika circled above, screeching a warning.
The doppelganger tilted his head.
"You. Don't. Belong," it said with a smile that wasn't a smile.
The crack began to hum louder, vibrating the world itself.
Kazuki took a deep breath.
"All right. This just became a Tuesday."