I knock on the door on I.T.'s palace. They open the door. They would look at me, but they have no eyes. They would smile at me, but they has no mouth. I could have felt more sympathy, but they have no face.

"Ah hello!" They exclaim, "I've been expecting you! Come in!"

They lead me into their castel. "So what exactly is your research?" I ask.

"We can discuss that later," They reply, a little so quick to avoid the subject, "I assume you wanna know where the training room is, right?"

How did they...

"Oh," I.T. replies, "it's preety obvious. One trait Reaper had was dedication, it's very likely that passed on to you. You wanna get even with Nathan, right?"

"Yeah," I lie, "Nathan takes priority."

"Great," I.T. replies, "here's the deal. There's someone else in this castel. You, you will face them, help them grow stronger, until they surpass you. Understood?"

"Sure," I reply.

"Excellent," I.T. replies, "cause you're about to face them, right now. Just head down the hall and into the second room on the left."

"Sure," I reply, "ready whenever they are." I head to the training room. The back wall is covered with racks of various unenchanted steel weaponry. So basically, nothing usefull. The left and right wall are covered in various peices of training equipment. Training dummies, enchanted mannequins, all the usual stuff. I wonder who my opponent is, but I don't really care. I don't care what it takes, if they're in my way, they die. I will kill and erase I.T., no matter the cost!

I awaken once more. "So I decided to make things easier on you," I.T. explains, "instead of facing me, you will face my assistant. Kill him, and you will be ready. Understood?"

"Yeah," I reply, "I got it."

I don't care who I'm killing, as long as it gets me far far away from I.T.

"Excellent," I.T. replies, "then let's go." I.T. leads me down the hall and to a training room. My opponent stands on the other side of the room, holding a scythe.

"Go," I.T. demands.

I attack, attempting to use any magic I can. Dark energy flies from my fingertips, striking my foe.

I use my power to make myself noncanon long enough to dodge. "Hey kid," I.T. whispers, "think for a second. You're between canons. Use that. You need to think on the other side."

Think on the other side? Wait, they're right! I need to take advantage of the story!  If I'm between canons, then using my unique ability should be easier. Also it'll be easier to practices it. May as well start now.

I lunge at my opponent, they try to dodge, but I remove that from the story and kill with with a blow to the throat.

I.T. sighs. "OK," he explains, "good work kid, but maybe next time watch your mana."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"You're flickering," I.T. replies, "stay very, very, still. Don't move an inch. Got some mana extract I can get."

I look down at my hand as it flickers in and out of existence. Maybe I should just let it. It doesn't feel painful, almost... Peaceful.

Before I can fully decide, I.T. returns with two mugs of pure mana.

"Here you go," they smile.

"Thanks," I reply.

I drink the mana. It's sweet, it tastes like dreams and happy endings. It reminds me of the One Hundred Years of Peace. I don't deserve such happy thoughts. I should be dead. I shouldn't be here.

"So," I.T. explains, "let me explain some lore. Your abilities are amplified ten fold down here. Someday you'll be able to use them casually in a canon, but for now, you need to train. I too break the fourth wall. I can help you. What do you say kiddo?"

I.T.'s flesh stretches forming a mouth. They extend their arm, expecting a hand shake. They seem to smile, but I'm not sure if it's friendly or malicious.

"Sure," I reply, "it's a done deal." I shake I.T.'s hand...