Power

Everything I see is white.

And then I see her.

A vast hall.

Rows of people kneeling before a throne.

A young woman sits above them, dressed in an elaborate gown, a crown resting upon her head.

I don’t know who she is.

I don’t know where this is either.

Is this even a part of my world?

The image disappears.

Another one appears.

A battlefield.

Soldiers kneel before her.

Banners bearing an unfamiliar crest wave behind them.

She stands at the center, sword in hand.

Another flash.

A castle.

A crowd cheering as she raises her hand.

Then…

She turns towards me.

Her face.

For just a moment, I see her clearly.

< It is yours now. >

The words echo in my mind.

Then the images are gone.

The white light disappears with them.

I open my eyes.

For a moment, I stand there, trying to understand what just happened.

What was all of that? That woman… who was she? The throne, the castle, the soldiers kneeling before her. Was that a memory, or something else entirely?

More importantly…

Do I have a power now?

Nothing looks different.

No glowing.

No strange markings.

Nothing that tells me I have changed at all.

“Did it work?”

< Yes. >

As usual, her answer comes without hesitation.

But her voice…

It’s the same voice I heard before.

The same one from the vision.

The woman.

The woman in the throne room. The battlefield. The castle.

I still don’t fully know who she is, or why I saw those things, but there’s no mistaking it now.

She’s the one who has been speaking to me this entire time.

“So… I have a power now?”

< You do. >

I stare at my hands.

I spent my entire life being the one person who couldn’t do anything.

And now…

“What kind of power do I have?”

< My power. >

“Your power?”

< You now share in my authority. >

I don’t quite understand what she means.

< Anything I can do, you may be capable of as well. >

< Perhaps not as potent, but you share in my power. >

“Anything?”

< Within reason. >

That sounds great and all, but I don’t exactly know what she can do with her powers.

“So what exactly can you do?”

< That is something you will learn in due time. >

“You expect me to just figure it out myself?”

< You are my knight now. You should be more than capable. >

“...Your knight?”

< Yes. >

Her answer is immediate.

< You now possess my power. >

< Therefore, you are my knight. >

“I never agreed to that .”

< Too late. You already accepted my power. >

< And I do not make incorrect decisions. >

< You shall prove yourself worthy of my power. >

“The woman from the vision.”

The way everyone followed her.

The way she spoke to me .

She wasn’t just some ordinary person .

She was something with authority.

A ruler, maybe?

“... Are you some kind of ruler?”

There’s a brief silence before her response.

< At last, you are beginning to understand. >

Guess I was right. At least, partly.

“Then what does that make me?”

< You are my knight. >

I sigh.

“I know that. But what does it actually mean?.”

< A knight serves their ruler. >

Serves?

“So what am I supposed to do?”

< You possess my power now. You carry my authority. >

< Simply conduct yourself accordingly from now on. >

A vague answer.

It’s all still so strange. The more I think about it, the less it makes sense. From what I have seen so far, her power should be more than enough to let her do whatever she pleases.

So why has she chosen to fixate on me specifically?

Why give me her power?

Why make me her knight?

I still don’t have an answer.

And judging by her answers, I probably won’t be getting an explanation anytime soon.

But for now, I don’t have time to worry about it.

Mina is still missing.

That’s what matters.

Besides, it still seems like I have control over my body.

For now, I need to figure out my own situation first.

All the strange monsters that have been chasing me. Whoever sent me to this strange place. Whoever has been texting me.

The situation is still the same.

But I already feel more confident than before. Now that I have a power, things are going to be different from now on.

Well…

I don’t actually know what I can do with my power, though.

“So… how do I use it?”

< You already know. >

“Know what?”

< You have already witnessed it. >

I think back to everything that happened.

The creature.

Her voice.

The way she made my body move even when I didn’t want to.

“Can you control people?”

< Control? >

“Like you did with me.”

< I did not control you. >

“You literally made my body move.”

< I gave you an order. >

“Isn’t that the same thing? You still forced me to move.”

< No. >

She sounds almost offended by the comparison.

< You obeyed me because I possess the authority to command you. >

“Authority?”

< You bear it now as well. >

“So I can do the same thing?”

< If you are capable of it. >

“That’s not exactly reassuring.”

< You wanted power. >

“Yeah, but…”

I look back at the creature.

It shakes as it attempts to break free from whatever is holding it.

“If I really have your power now, shouldn’t I be able to do that too?”

< Perhaps >

“Perhaps?”

< You are not me. >

< Your command will not carry the same weight as mine. Not yet. >

< You must learn to wield it yourself. >

Another vague response.

I sigh and turn toward the creature.

“Fine.”

I have already seen some of the things she is capable of. And she seems to use word authority to encompass it all.

If I really have a fraction of that power now…

I take a cautious step forward.

The creature glares at me as it continues to twitch.

My heart starts beating faster.

“...Don’t move.”

Nothing happens.

I stare at it.

“Doesn’t seem like it did anything. “

< You lack conviction. >

“What do you mean?”

< You issue an order while expecting it to fail. Naturally, it won’t work. >

< Worse still, you remain afraid of it. >

< This beast still does not know its palace. That is why it refuses to listen. >

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

< Remind it who stands above it. >

I stare at the creature.

Who is in charge?

That sounds ridiculous.

I’ve spent my entire life being the person nobody listens to.

And now she’s telling me to act like I’m above something?

It’s a hard concept to imagine.

But I must.

I take a deep breath and prepare myself.

And this time, I don’t look away.

“Don’t move.”

The words leave my mouth with more force than before.

…

…

…

The creature stops moving.

“I did it. I actually have a powe—”

GROWL GROWL

The creature suddenly jerks against whatever is holding it.

My eyes widen.

“What?”

It starts struggling again.

The pressure I can’t see begins to crack.

It’s breaking free.

“No, no, no…”

I instinctively step back.

The creature lets out another growl as it forces itself forward.

< DOWN. >

BOOM

The creature slams into the ground, creating an outline of its body in the concrete.

< Better. Yet your authority remains feeble. >

< If I were not here, you’d be dead already. >

< Again. This time, with more conviction. >

I stare at the creature.

So that’s the difference.

My command barely managed to hold it in place for a second.

Hers sent it crashing into the ground.

I look at the crater beneath the creature.

“...How am I supposed to do that?”

< I have already given you your answer. >

“I see.”

< Yes. >

I can’t expect to use her power properly immediately, but if I don't even think I can use it, I will never be able to.

I turn my attention back to the creature.

My hands are still trembling.

I’m scared.

Of course I am.

I’ve been running from these things this entire time.

But then I remember Mina.

Not some heroic image of her.

Just Mina.

The way she used to wait for me to come home. The way she would ask if everything was okay whenever I looked tired. The way I kept telling her that I would take care of things, even when I knew I couldn’t.

And when things actually went wrong…

I couldn’t do anything.

I couldn’t protect her.

I couldn’t even protect myself.

I don’t want to feel like that again.

My fingers curl into fists.

I’ve spent my entire life knowing that if something happened, there was nothing I could do about it.

Not anymore.

I asked for this power because I was tired of being that person.

If I really do have a power now…

Then I need to stop waiting for someone else to save me.

I can’t keep running anymore.

I take a deep breath.

My hands are still shaking.

But I don’t care.

I step forward and look directly at the creature.

“Stay down.”

The creature tries to rise.

Its claws scrape against the concrete as it forces itself upward.

But it can’t.

Its entire body trembles beneath the invisible pressure, fighting against something I can’t even see.

Slowly, the struggling stops.

I stare at it.

It’s listening to me.

It worked.

But this time…

I did it myself.

A strange feeling settles in my chest.

For the first time since all of this started, I’m not completely helpless.

I can actually do something.

< Better. >

I almost lose my focus.

“That’s all you have to say?”

< You have accomplished the bare minimum, do not become arrogant. >

“Right. Of course.

I sigh.

Still, I can’t help but smile a little.

But the feeling disappears almost as quickly as it came.

Mina.

I still haven’t found her.

I look past the creature and toward the empty street.

Whatever this place is, she’s somewhere out there.

And now…

I might actually be able to find her.

I take another step forward.

< Yusuke. >

I stop.

Her voice sounds different.

“What?”

There is no mockery in her voice this time.

No impatience.

No condescension.

Just a cold seriousness I haven’t heard from her before.

For a moment, she sounds almost concerned.

More importantly, she knows my name.

< Do not move. >

My smile disappears.

“Why?”

She doesn’t answer.

Instead, I hear something down the street.

A low growl.

Then another.

I turn toward the sound .

At the far end of the road, something steps out from behind one of the houses.

Then another creature appears from a side street.

Then another.

My stomach drops.

More creatures begin emerging from the surrounding streets, crawling over fences and stumbling out from between the houses.

There are too many.

I take a step back.

“What the hell?”

< Yusuke. >

Her voice cuts through my thoughts.

< Prepare yourself. >

I stare at the creatures as they slowly close in around me.

My hands begin to tremble again.

But I don’t run.

Not this time.