Alex and Seele would make their way down the hall dispatching any enemies that came their way.

As he had noticed before, these enemies moved extremely stiff like someone or something was controlling them which wound up being true as when they were defeated, a dark core would emerge on the ground.

The two promptly guessed that this core is what was controlling the mechs and zombies and since the core went down in one hit, it explained why the controlled enemies were a lot more durable and tougher than ordinary ones.

As they battled, Alex noticed how Seele would frequently stop to catch her breathe after every fight concluded.

After wrapping up this last battle, the girl again caught her breathe and attempted to keep going until Alex held his arm out in front of her.

"Hm? Is something wrong?" She asked.

"You okay? You keep running out of air after every fight. If you're tired then I suggest you try and limit yourself. Stay behind me." Said Alex thought Seele simply shook her head no.

"I appreciate the concern but I'm fine. Besides, I need to gather more clues for Dr. Einstein." She said.

"You doing something for Einstein?"

"Yeah."

"I see. Still though, try and limit yourself alright?"

"Yes. I understand."

The two continued their journey and decided to take this down time to stroke a conversation.

"Gotta say, I didn't expect someone like you to wield a scythe." Said Alex.

"O-Oh really?"

"Yeah. You're really skilled though."

"Thank you!"

"Don't mention it."

From there Seele opened up to Alex about all the years she had spent lost in the Sea of Quanta in the aftermath of Cocolia's X-10 Experiment and how despite essentially not existing for so long, she never once gave up nor lost hope on ever finding her way out.

"Damn. Must've been rough having to go through all that. To think that blonde bimbo was actually fine with all that. Makes me sick." Said the boy as Seele winced a bit at his harsh words towards Cocolia.

"Wow. Her certainly mince his words in the slightest." Said the voice inside Seele's head.

"Bronya's told me that you aren't too fond of mother Cocolia." Said Seele as Alex nodded.

"Look, I get if you and Bronya are willing to at least strike a conversation with her every once in a while. She raised all of us from a very young age so that sentimental attachment is there for you two and the twins. Me however, I just can't forgive her for that. No amount of sentiment can blind me from her true intentions."

"It's okay I understand. Um, Bronya told me that you became a mercenary a year ago right? May I ask why? You seem really young to be working such a dangerous job."

"I ran away from Cocolia's Orphanage not too long after the X-10 disaster. I somehow managed to live on my own for two years until I wound up in the abandoned city of Nagazora after the Honkai Eruption that had happened there."

"Is that the one where Mei Raiden became a Herrscher? Bronya told me about it. She had been sent by mother Cocolia to retrieve the gem however she ended up defecting against her."

"Yeah. The city was ravaged and desolate after that. When I was there, another caretaker found me and brought me into her orphanage called The Roost. It was nice living there for a year however when I turned twelve, I wanted to do something with my life and not constantly rely on caretakers. I know that's a pretty weird thought to have at that young of an age but it was just how I felt. I wound up learning that my caretaker was a mercenary so I had asked her that I wanted to be independent and become a merc myself. She thankfully agreed and taught me lots of things. Once I was ready to officially begin work, she got me a place of my own to live in and this sword I have. I owe a lot to her for being so accepting of it." Explained Alex.

He didn't expect Seele to seem so captivated by his story as he awkwardly chuckled.

"What's that look for? I was basically trying to act like a grown up while I was still a little punk. It isn't all that great really."

"No no I think it is. Truthfully, now that mother Cocolia is locked up I'm gonna have a hard time trying to adjust without a guardian. I hope I can become as independent like you and Bronya have." She said.

Alex simply nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure you will. If you can survive in a whole other plain of reality then anything is possible for you."

Seele thanked Alex as the two had a small laugh with the conversation ending there.

Eventually, the two reached the end of the hallway as there was nothing but an endless pit on the other side.

Standing at the very edge was a figure, not moving an inch.

"Hmm? Who's there......" Said Seele as Alex instinctively placed a hand on Olympus' handle, clearly feeling bas vibes from this.

"Stay on guard." He said as Seele nodded.

The two would approach the end of the hallway.

As they got closer, the figure would suddenly disappear as a rift appeared in its place.

The two stared at this rift, completely lost as to what was going on anymore.

"Let's go. That might take elsewhere. Hopefully closer to an exit." Said Seele, calling forth her scythe as Alex nodded, withdrawing his sword.

The two would enter the rift as a quick flash of white before their eyes later they now stood at what seemed to be the center of this large space, that being a circular platform with stands surrounding it.

Up ahead was a bright light emanating from what seemed to be a doorway as what stepped out from that light was something that shocked the two.

It was the exact same puppet Alex saw in the room as the puppet had an eerie smile, throwing its arms out in a welcoming manner as it spoke.

"Welcome, to the Theater of Domination." It said which surprised Alex even more.

'Thearer of Domination? Wait. Wasn't that name on the ticket? That place was real!?' He thought.

"Aren't you...........the same puppet we saw before?" Asked Seele which caught Alex's attention.

"Wait Seele you've seen that thing!?" He asked.

The girl nodded however before she could answer, a sudden and extremely sharp pain occured in her head as she fell onto her knees and yelped loudly.

"S-Seele!? Seele!" Shouted Alex as he knelt beside her.

He could hear the girl mumble something under her breathe however she was in so much pain that what she was saying was pratically inaudible.

"Who or what the hell are you and what're you doing to Seele!? You clearly aren't just some random ass sentient puppet!" Snapped Alex as he got back up and directed his sword at the doll.

The puppet merely gave out an echoey and eerie laugh, one similar to an insane person, the smile not leaving its face once as it slowly turned to face Alex.

"Why're you so concerned with a false soul like hers, when you should be more concerned about yourself?" Said the puppet, snapping its fingers as it summoned a horde of controlled mechs.

Alex immediately stepped in front of Seele and got into a battle stance.

'I need to protect her!'

The puppet merely laughed once more at this display, basically taunting Alex.

"Why? Why do you try and play hero knowing you're way out of your league!?" It asked in a mocking tone.

"I've had about enough of your bullshit! How about you shut the fuck up already!?"

"Getting angry are we? Go on then. Dance for me! Put on a good show!"

The controlled mechs then became active, charging at Alex as the boy tried his best to handle them on his own.

With the core that controlled these enemies not being visible until the body was defeated, Alex had a difficult time trying to destroy them as he'd expose one core only to end up spending too much time trying to expose another time which allowed the prior core enough time to recover and bring back the mech into action.

Somehow, Alex would manage to take down the initial group of enemies however he was extremely spent, on his knees and using his sword to hold himself up as the puppet gave a mocking clap of approval.

"For a mere human you aren't bad. Say, would you like to know how you'll end up at the end of all this? It's quite the surprise." It said, seeming very excited.

"W-What're you.............talking about...?" He asked.

The puppet simply snapped its fingers once more and pointed off into the void.

Alex looked in the direction and saw a figure floating in the endless void.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the figure was him.

An exact replica of him however this replica had completely white eyes with no iris and its entire body from skin, hair, and clothes were all a dark gray.

Seeing this already creeped out Alex however what would happen next completely haunted him to his core.

Play Video Below(Depending on some, the clip MAY be graphic so just a heads up):

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Chapter 21: Complete