"I expected him to stay for a few seconds at least"
"What do you expect? He came here to play with his apprentice only to find the person who sealed him in a tower waiting for him"
"That… wasn't me…"
"..."
"How many people have that face?"
"Didn't count"
The two women, the elf-like beauty and the cold woman with a head of white hair, continued to talk, while the woman who requested to rule over a nation remained quiet. At this moment, the elf beauty paused, her eyes shining with a light of curiosity as she asked the cold woman.
"Though I'm still surprised-"
She paused, her face showing an expression that was a mix of curiosity and pride. A light of mischief shone in her eyes as she continued her words-
"you didn't ask for Britain"
Ignoring the obvious taunts from the elf, the cold woman simply scoffed as she replied-
"Don't need to"
"Really?"
The women in James' office had such a conversation the moment Merlin disappeared.
Meanwhile, back in Afghanistan, inside a modest home in Gulmira.
"What happened? Also, who were those three babes?"
Tony, after experiencing spatial travel twice, felt a bit dizzy, but his mind was cleared recalling the images of the three women in the room.
"Tony… for your own safety, you better not have any thoughts about those women… especially the lady with white hair and a crown."
Hearing Merlin's words, Tony paused, gave Merlin a curious look before saying-
"One of your exes?"
Merlin let out a heavy sigh, a weary look covering his face as he answered Tony weakly-
"If only it were that simple"
"..."
Tony stayed silent, he stared at Merlin, his mind running wildly as he attempted to piece together whatever it was that he could based on his knowledge of Merlin.
Unfortunately, Tony did not study mythology but he did learn quite a bit from his interactions with Merlin, then, a bold idea popped up in his mind as he shot questions at Merlin-
"The sister of your ex?"
Merlin smiled as he answered-
"Nope"
But Tony didn't give up as he continued to shoot-
"Twin sister?"
This time Merlin showed a weird reaction as he took a moment before he replied.
"Close"
The response caused Tony to freeze, his mind going through all the answers and information he had and-
"???"
A look of confusion appeared on Tony's face as he did not really know how to make out the "complex" story that Merlin had with the white haired beauty.
He gave Merlin an intense look of absolute curiosity as he wanted to know the story behind it all.
But, the mage of flowers maintained his calm smile as he then turned to the others with him.
"Sorry about that Yinsen, I was just surprised, never expected "THEM" to be there… but since James wasn't in the room… I could already tell what's going on"
Merlin then turned to the little girl holding onto Yinsen tightly.
"LIttle Toni, no need to worry! In fact, one of those women could be a good teacher for you… though, that is only if she agrees…"
As he said those words, MErlin took in a deep breath, he calmed his mind and steeled himself before starting up the teleportation once more.
The whole room lit up with a pink radiance.
Pink flower petals manifested out of thin air and turned into a vortex consuming all four individuals like a tide of flowers.
Back in James office, the had long been broken as the three women were now talking. Although not as "bright and loud" as one would expect of the three "young" women, their conversations were still quite a sight to see.
"What happened to Vivian?"
"Nothing, she remained in her lake even in the reverse side"
"I see… How did getting married feel?"
"A game"
"Did your first night hurt?"
"An illusion"
"What about your kids?"
"Homunculi"
"..."
As they were having such a conversation, the flower petals erupted once more as Merlin and his group arrived for the second time.
Though, unlike before, Merlin maintained an air of confidence as he gave the three ladies a bow as he introduced himself.
"Greetings faeries! I am Merlin, the mage of flowers, with me are this world's greatest minds, Tony Stark and Yinsen Ho, along with a young talent, Toni Ho. I would like to ask if your presence here is related to my oh so dear student, James Barthomeloi?"
Maintaining his bow, Merlin did not dare raise his head- after all, the last time he did, he found himself being chased all the way to Avalon…
"Mage of Flowers, James has left, but the matters concerning you and Tony Stark has been handed over to us"
The one to speak was the cold beauty, she now wore a regal dress and her crown became even more imposing as a veil covered her face.
"I see, miss Viv-"
Merlin was about to respond to her words when he felt a chain wrap around his neck stopping him from speaking.
"I am not that useless mage Vivian, Mage of Flowers, remember my name, Morgan le Fay, the true ruler of the British Isles, the holder of its mystery. Not the pitiful lady of the lake stuck forever chasing after her mission."
The woman, Morgan, spoke with a cold tone but Merlin, upon hearing her words felt a deep pressure. Cold sweat covered his back as he did his best to not curse-
'JAMES! Of all the people… of all her personalities… WHY HER?!'
Merlin didn't mind James summoning Vivian, at best, he would have to suffer a bit, Morgan was also fine, she was a great older sister to Altria after all but-
'Morgan le Fay… why did you summon her darkest personality?!'
Merlin cursed, the tale of Morgan was twisted, history did not properly record everything and the throne of heroes was based on human history.
But the reverse side of the world was a different matter altogether.
Much like how there exists one "true" Merlin, one who is alive in the reverse side, there would also be alternate versions of "Merlin" from different timelines.
Merlin was very much aware of this, as such he was also aware that there were many different variations of Morgan.
But!
This Morgan was NOT a "variant".
In truth, whether it was Altria, Morgan, Vivian or Morgan le Fay, all these people were different individuals who bear the same fate.
Morgan was the older sister of Altria, married to King Lot of Orkney but this Morgan was a homunculus, a mere copy created by the true Morgan, who, after knowing the plans of her father devised a plot to be the true Ruler of Britain.
Why did she have to create a homunculus to take her place? Simple, she didn't wish to rule alongside another. The throne belonged to her, her alone, as such, she did not need a spouse.
Vivian was the kindness within Morgan, created by the world, spawned as a fairy, she held the kindness that Morgan le Fay had tossed aside.
Morgan le Fay was the true Morgan, the manipulator who caused all the problems.
She was the one who laid the trap that caused Merlin to flee into Avalon, being sealed there for eternity.
Merlin knew what kind of person this Morgan was, he knew what kind of madness she held and he knew… Much like many of the witches and fairies, she existed on the reverse side. Alive and waiting for the opportunity to return-
Knowing of her nature, Merlin tried to persuade her as he spoke-
"Your majesty, this is not the same world, the Britain of this world may not have the same power of land and mystery as that which you rightfully own…"
But, to his surprise, Morgan replied with a knowing tone saying.
"I understand, I have noticed this the moment I arrived in this world. The British Isles no longer call for me, the power of mystery in that land no longer bound me…"
Hearing her words, Merlin let out a sigh or relief but this only lasted for a moment as Morgan's following words made him flinch-
"But, your dear apprentice, the young man James Barthomeloi. He's quite a talent, in this land lacking mystery, he had created a domain equal to- no even greater than that of Britain in its prime! Moreover, to create various textures and anchor them using towers… it's but a mere imitation but in a few years time… with my authority, this land could become a new Britain… no, it would be- my own… Camelot"
Morgan's eyes shone with an azure glow, Merlin took a small peek and when he saw this he felt a nerve explode.
'They're a match made in heaven'
Thinking about a person who had a similar nature, though he was a bit more subtle about his true desires…
Merlin knew what kind of person he was, he knew the true madness hidden within his smile.
Much like the beauty before him, the man also had layers of mask covering his face but the light in his eyes always shone with an intense desire.
"I see… but I do wonder, what should we do now?"
Merlin asked, yet none of the three women spoke.
A bad feeling crept up on Merlin, sweat forming on his forehead as he asked.
"Had my dear student James not left you anything?"
He asked, hopefully, James did not forget about them and these three mad women were just… too "forgetful".
"I was given control over The Round Table"
"I have to manage the Clock Tower and the whole of Britain"
"I'm going to Russia…"
All three women spoke up but none of them seemed to have anything to do with Merlin or Tony Stark-
"JAMES!!!!"
In a hidden underground base, James stood before a summoning magic circle, his eyes held a deep sense of excitement as he gazed at the arc reactor which was the core of magic formation. Yet, as he was admiring his work, he felt his nose itch before suddenly-
"Achoo!"
He sneezed, uncharacteristic of him and without prior notice…
"A curse?"
James thought to himself, checking his body for any sign of curses or interference but-
"Nothing? Was it just me overthinking things?"
He muttered before shaking his head and focusing once more on the formation before him.
"The power of the space stone, an energy that's based on powers related to space… if we use this energy as the catalyst and source… then-"
James carefully inspected each and every line of the magic circle, he checked to ensure that nothing was off and after confirming that everything was in place-
"Time to start it up!"
A look of anticipation James extended his hand, feeling the power of mana in the atmosphere, the essence of mysteries he had carefully built on this land… all of these, he manipulated with extreme precision.
Then- he began to chant-
[In the name of James Barthomeloi, I call upon thee!]
[Bounded by the string of fate, tied together by the threads of destiny.]
[Let my fate be your anchor, my destiny your guide-]
[Answer the call of Grand White and enter this new world!]
As he finished his chant, the magic circle below him started to glow with a bright azure light. The reactor was releasing an great amount of energy as the space in the room distorted.
James felt a thread- no a connection, a mark he had long lost contact with came alive-
He felt it-
From the other end… whoever it was-
The emotions of joy could be felt.
'Whoever it is… they should care deeply for me… I wonder~ Who is it?'
James pondered as he tried to guess who it was that was being summoned.
Fortunately, he did not need to wait too long as the distortion in space intensified until-
*CRACK*
He space started to splinter-
*CRACK*
*CRACK**CRACK**CRACK*
*CRACK*
*CRACK**CRACK*
*CRACK*
The sound of space slowly breaking rang all around him until-
*Shatter*
Like glass, the space around him turned into countless fragments, these fragments gathering at the center of the magic circle as a new "layer" covered the shattered "texture".
Ignoring the wondrous yet frightening scene that was occurring around him, James attention was focused on the fragments that gathered at the center of the magic circle.
The broken fragments turned into drops of mercury like liquid, slowly gathering and forming a large blob.
This blob slowly created the outline of a human figure and as it took the shape of a "human bubble" the blob-
*POP*
Like a soap bubble exploding, the silver human bubble popped and what emerged from it was a woman.
She was in her late twenties, with a head of luxurious, long blonde hair, the woman stared at James with her bright blue eyes. A smirk adorned her face giving her a mischievous air.
She wore a luxurious white robe adorned with silver and gold, she wore her iconic beret adorned with a rose. She had a shawl made of silver draped over her shoulders but the most striking thing about her was neither her clothes nor her intense gaze-
"You're pregnant-"
James spoke, his expression froze as he stared at the mature woman with an obviously large-
"Who's the lucky guy?"
Shaking his head, James smiled as he asked the woman but-
"..."
She replied with a silent smile, her eyes closing forming two inverted U's that matched her smile.
An awkward silence-
Minutes passed and the magic circle had long lost it's light but neither of the two individuals spoke.
"Uhm…"
James, unable to bear any more tried to speak but-
The woman took this chance to walk towards James, her steps slow and graceful but he could a surge of mystery-
'I shouldn't have taught her my spells…'
James lamented as he watched his own spells be used against him. But, unlike normal times, he couldn't really retaliate can he?
Unable to do anything but stand there, James could only wait until the woman arrived before him.
"Long time no see Reines, how's life been?"
In response to his words, the woman, Reines, took his hand, James did not resist as Reines placed the hand on her belly. Her expression turning serene as she spoke-
"You know, he's been quite active recently… maybe he knew that he'd get to meet his father after so long~"
"..."
∘ ∘ ∘ ( °ヮ° ) ?
"..."
"Nani?!" (⊙ _ ⊙ )
James had a sudden urge, he felt like a certain convenience store was calling out to him. He felt a desire to rush out and-
Reines didn't let him go, she grabbed onto his arm, her face had a dark smile on it as she said-
"Where do you think you're going?"
( ≖‿ ≖ )
╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭
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