AN: Hey! Hey! Hey!
J here for a new round of updates.
This chapter will be the real start of why this ARC will be a massive headache for me, but definitely be great if I pull this off!
A lot will definitely happen after this one. I already teased this character and what his role will be.
I would love to know your expectations and your thoughts!
Then, without further ado, enjoy reading!
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Non-Administrated World #97, Star Rail Universe…
Noah Schweinorg, grandson of the Wizard Marshal, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg—one of the five living Magicians capable of True Magic beyond modern science or Magecraft. His grandfather's domain was the Kaleidoscope: the operation of parallel worlds, and the ability to observe or travel between them.
And that thirteen-year-old boy was now walking the streets of Uminari City in Japan, Earth.
All because of the disaster caused by his friends, Rin Tohsaka and Luvia Edelfelt.
The two had almost demolished part of the Clock Tower. They opened a tear in reality during their pointless argument, using two artifacts powered by the Kaleidoscope just to prove their equally pointless points.
Naturally, repairing the damage in the dimensional wall was supposed to be Rin and Luvia's punishment.
Unfortunately, the two continued to prove that resisting the urge to fight each other was apparently beyond them. One argument became another dangerous battle, and before anyone could properly stop them, the Kaleidosticks Ruby and Sapphire finally had enough.
They one-sidedly canceled their contracts and escaped from the two.
So now, aside from the missing Kaleidosticks, the repair work had fallen to Noah. They couldn't leave the dimensional barrier damaged. If they did, dimensional beings might enter their world uninvited.
Noah was, after all, the holder of Kaleidogear Argent—a Mystic Code that functioned similarly to the sticks, but was tailored for a boy like him.
'I may love magical girls,' Noah told himself, his expression utterly flat, 'but I have no desire to become one.'
The silver belt around his waist answered telepathically.
'That statement is technically incorrect, Master,' Argent replied in a smooth, polite voice. 'Your transformation sequence still falls under the classification of a magical girl system.'
Noah stopped walking, and slowly, very slowly, he looked down at his belt.
"Argent."
"Yes, Master?"
"I am giving you one chance to rephrase that."
Argent's screen displayed a thinking emoji before he answered Noah again.
"…Your transformation sequence resembles a magical girl system in all important technical aspects, but with a masculine visual configuration?"
"...There isn't any difference from what you said earlier."
"I apologize. I will update the terminology."
Noah resumed walking, his mood visibly worse than before. "Just call it Mystic Knight frame, then we're good."
"Understood. Magical knight classification registered."
"Mystic."
"Magical knight."
"Mystic."
"Magical knight."
Noah closed his eyes and breathed in through his nose. Somewhere far away, he could almost hear his grandfather laughing. That thought didn't help his mood at all.
Uminari City looked peaceful under the afternoon sky. Children walked home from school, bicycles passed along the street, and shop owners called greetings to familiar customers. It was the kind of ordinary peace that made magical disasters feel like lies told by tired adults.
Which made it even more annoying that a damaged dimensional fault was hanging above it because two heiresses had weaponized stubborn pride.
Noah stopped near a narrow street corner and glanced toward the faint distortion above.
To ordinary eyes, there was nothing there. But to a magus trained under Zelretch, it looked like a scar on glass—thin, unstable, and very irritating.
"Residual fluctuation confirmed," Argent reported. "Dimensional stress remains within manageable limits, but the tear in reality has not fully sealed."
"I can see that."
"Recommendation: Locate Ruby and Sapphire before they cause secondary incidents."
Noah's lips twitched.
"You think?"
Argent chimed once, shamelessly polite. "I do."
Noah let out a tired sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Rin and Luvia are going to owe me for this."
"They already owe you for this."
"They're going to owe me more."
"Would you like me to prepare an itemized invoice?"
Noah blinked, then nodded.
"…Actually, yes."
"Generating."
For the first time that day, Noah smiled faintly.
Then the dimensional scar pulsed as the faint distortion above the street bent outward for half a second, as if something on the other side had pressed a finger against the barrier.
Noah's smile vanished.
Argent's voice lowered immediately. "Master."
"I know."
The air changed.
It was subtle, but unmistakable. The peaceful warmth of the city remained, yet something behind it moved like a wrong note hidden inside a familiar song.
"Argent, deploy an isolation barrier," Noah ordered. "We can't let ordinary people see the other side."
"Affirmative, Master."
A ripple spread through reality. A bounded field covered the street, pulling Noah and the tear into the mirror dimension.
Right after the barrier formed, the distortion pulsed again, and this time, something slipped through.
It looked like a shadowy jellyfish or squid, with a translucent deep-purple body filled with a starry night-sky pattern. Glowing white lines outlined its form, and long tentacles dangled beneath it instead of legs.
"…What is this thing?" Noah's eyes narrowed.
"A Quantum Shadow," Argent answered. "As per the records, it is a dimensional creature from the Imaginary Numbers, or in some worlds called the Seat of Quanta."
The Quantum Shadow twitched and turned toward him. Despite having no face, Noah felt it looking at him not with eyes, but with something he couldn't properly explain.
"Of course. Why would today stay simple?" He clicked his tongue. "Kaleidogear Argent, deploy combat frame."
"Deploying Combat frame," Argent replied.
Silver light wrapped around his body, forming a fitted dark combat suit under the sleek plates of argent-colored armor. The glow traced circuit-like patterns over his arms, chest, and legs before hardening into a frame that looked far more like a knight's battle attire than anything Ruby would proudly call a magical girl costume.
Which, in Noah's opinion, was very important.
Silver guards locked over his shoulders and forearms. Pale blue lines ran through the armor pieces like condensed magic circuits, pulsing in rhythm with the belt around his waist. A prism-like core appeared over his chest, small but bright, catching colors from angles that should not exist in ordinary space.
A short silver cloak unfolded behind him. Its outer surface was plain and clean; it moved even without the wind, swaying along with Noah's movements. Under the cloak was a prismatic mirror of the city and sky around him.
A gauntlet formed over his left hand, more intricate than the rest of the armor. Thin rings of silver light circled his wrist, ready to expand into bounded fields or dimensional restraints at a moment's notice.
Finally, a clean silver saber materialized in his right hand, narrow and elegant.
Noah pointed the blade at the shadow monster ahead of him.
"Combat frame set up complete. Magical knight frame output stable," Argent chimed politely.
Noah's expression went flat. "Mystic."
"Correction noted."
"...You didn't correct it."
"Correction was acknowledged."
Noah let out a tired sigh as the distortion pulsed again.
"…I hate how you learned sarcasm."
The shadow monster lashed its tentacles toward him, but Noah stepped forward instead of retreating.
His saber cut through it in one smooth slash, the silver edge tearing across the tentacles and into its unstable body. The creature broke apart into scattered particles before dissolving completely, but the distortion above the street didn't close.
"…Argent."
"Yes, Master?"
"How many of these things are there?"
Argent didn't answer immediately as the screen displayed three dots.
"...Seven signatures detected."
Noah looked up at the blue sky and sighed. "I should have stayed in London."
"Would you like me to add this incident to Rin Tohsaka and Luvia Edelfelt's invoice?"
"Yes."
"Under what category?"
Noah's expression turned completely flat as more Quantum Shadow dropped on the street.
"Emotional damages."
—-----
As the second Quantum Shadow dropped toward him, Noah was already moving.
His silver saber flashed upward, cutting through the creature's body before its tentacles could spread. The shadow was sliced apart, but instead of dissolving, the two halves twisted and snapped back together as if the cut hadn't happened.
"…Regeneration?" Noah's eyes narrowed.
"Negative," Argent answered. "Its body is not healing. It is reselecting a stable state from nearby possibilities."
"That doesn't sound good either."
"Agreed. Updating threat classification."
The monster jumped at him, but Noah stepped aside, as three tentacles stabbed into the ground where he had been standing. The mirror street shatters under the impact.
Noah raised his left hand, and the rings around his gauntlet spun once.
"Argent Bind."
Silver lines shot out from his palm and wrapped around the creature's tentacles, binding them in place. The shadow struggled, its body switching between shapes, but Noah had already moved. He slid under one of its tentacles, twisted his wrist, and stabbed Argent Caliber through the center of its body.
This time, the blade did not simply cut.
But shoot out a thin prism of light from the edge of the saber, spreading through the creature like cracks through glass. The shadow stiffened, its starry body turned pale white.
"Quantum state broken, the shadow has entered a state of vulnerability," Argent reported.
"Good, time to break it." Noah twisted his sword and unleashed a silver prismatic light.
The creature shattered into silver dust.
Before the remains faded, two more descended from the distortion above. One floated high, tentacles spreading wide like a net, while the other glided across the side of a building, its shape compressed and turned like a disk before springing forward from Noah's blind spot.
Noah leaned half a step to the side, and for a brief instant, three copies of his movement overlapped. The shadow below passed through the place where he had been, hitting nothing but a fading afterimage.
Noah spun and cut across its body, but his blade only hit empty air. The monster had inserted itself into the reflection of the street.
Noah clicked his tongue. "Annoying."
"Enemy has entered the reflective boundary part."
"I noticed."
The Quantum Shadow's silhouette raced across the windows of the nearby shops, appearing in one pane of glass, then another, then the surface of a window. It circled him like a predator inside the reflections.
Above him, the second shadow gathered energy, its tentacles curled inward, forming a dark sphere filled with tiny violet sparks.
Noah glanced up. "That looks unpleasant."
"Impact would destabilize the isolation barrier."
"So don't let it impact."
"Excellent strategy, Master."
Noah ignored the tone.
He raised his left hand toward the high shadow while his right saber lowered toward the windows around him.
"Kaleido Trace."
Silver-blue lines bloomed across his gauntlet, connecting every reflective surface in the bounded field. The shop windows, the street mirror, even the faint shine on a parked car's hood, all lit up with thin circuit patterns.
The shadow hiding inside the reflections suddenly stops, looking confused.
Noah pulled his hand closed.
"Found you."
Every reflected surface released a silver thread at once. The threads pierced into the mirror-layer and dragged the creature out of hiding, forcing it back into the open street. It thrashed violently, but Noah had already kicked off the ground.
He swung his saber and cut the tentacles, then another one split the body. The third pinned the remaining core with a blade of light that shot from the tip of his weapon, and finally, the monster burst apart.
At the same time, the shadow above released its attack. Shooting a dark sphere towards him
Noah turned and lifted his left gauntlet.
"Argent Boundary: Guiding Thunder."
A rectangular shield formed in front of him, but it did not stop the attack directly. Instead, the surface of the shield bent inward, folding the space in front of Noah like paper. The dark sphere hit the shield and vanished, only to reappear above the shadow that had fired it.
The monster may have no face, but somehow, it still looked offended. It was going to be killed by its own attack. An explosion swallowed the sky above the mirror street.
Noah raised his cloak to cover his body and protect him from the shockwave of the explosion. When the light faded, the shadow was gone.
Noah lowered his cloak.
"Three down."
"Four to go."
As if to answer Argent's warning, four more shadows from the dimensional tear came out together. This time, they did not attack separately; They linked their tentacles while in the sky, forming a single wide ring around Noah. The starry patterns in their bodies brightened, and the space around began to distort. The mirror-street stretched, the buildings bending away as if they were being pulled into the center.
"Spatial compression detected," Argent warned. "They are attempting to collapse the isolation barrier from within."
"Can they do that?"
"If uninterrupted, yes."
Noah stared at the four monsters surrounding him.
"…Rin and Luvia are paying double."
"Invoice updated."
The ring tightened, and Noah planted his feet. He reversed his grip on Argent Caliber and drove the blade into the ground. Silver lines spread from the point of impact, racing across the mirror-street in branching patterns. The false pavement lit up under him, forming a large circular formation with Noah at the center.
The shadows pulled harder, but the formation held. Noah narrowed his eyes as he watched the Quantum Shadows desperate attempt.
"Argent, I will use 'INSTALL' and release a noble phantasm to finish them all."
Argent's response came immediately.
"Confirmed. Class Card slot open, please insert the card."
Noah reached into the silver case at his side and pulled out a golden card. At its surface was the image of a young king in white armor, a radiant sword raised toward the sky.
"Class Card recognized: Saber. True Name: Charlemagne." Argent confirmed.
The four Quantum Shadows pulled harder. The ring surrounding him shrank another step, and the mirror-street groaned under the strain. The buildings on both sides stretched toward the center, their reflections bending like melted glass.
"Let me borrow the king's sword for a moment." Noah clicked his tongue.
He slid the card toward the slot on Argent's belt.
"Class Card."
The card slot closed with a click. Then Noah pressed the trigger.
"INSTALL."
A brilliant white-gold light burst from the belt. For an instant, another presence seemed to overlap his own, a shadow cast by a legend.
A white, blue mantle flapped over Noah's shoulders. His silver armor gained faint black accents along the edges. The saber in his hand changed shape, its narrow blade widening slightly.
"Class Card Install: Saber Charlemagne. Noble Phantasm access unlocked." Argent's voice rang out.
The pressure around Noah changed, and the Quantum Shadows recoiled upon feeling it.
The light gathered around Noah's blade was not just power. It carried direction, will, and the dignity of a king who marched forward because retreat had never suited him.
Noah raised the sword with both hands.
Golden-white particles rose from the ground like sparks from a battlefield that existed somewhere beyond the mirror world.
The four shadows tried to scatter, but it was already too late.
"Sorry," Noah muttered, though his eyes were sharp. "But I don't have time for this."
He lifted the sword high.
The light around the blade unfolded into a massive cross of radiance, spreading through the air above him. The mirror-street trembled, but this time it was not because the barrier was collapsing. It was because the field itself was being forced to acknowledge a legend.
"Noble Phantasm output may exceed current isolation capacity." Argent issued a warning.
"Then reinforce the boundary."
"Already doing so."
Silver and gold circuits spread together across the ground. The bounded field tightened, sealing the battlefield inside a cage of light.
Noah took one step forward.
The four Quantum Shadows shrieked without voices.
Their bodies tried to quantize between possibilities, trying to escape through every available state at once. One became smoke. Another became a reflection. The third became a starry stain on the false sky. The fourth tried to split into countless smaller forms.
"The royal sword that possesses infinite hues...Everything...all will submit to its brilliance…Demonstrate its royal prowess!"
Noah's eyes followed all of them.
"It's name…"
Charlemagne's sword glowed brighter
"Joyeuse Ordre!!!"
The name left his mouth smoothly, and the world... answered his call loudly. A beam of bluish-white light burst out from the blade.
The first shadow, transformed into smoke, was erased by the brilliant beam
The second was erased from the reflection it tried to hide in.
The third shattered in the sky, its starry body breaking apart like glass.
The fourth, who divide itself into dozens of fragments, was spared. Every fragment was engulfed by the beam, leaving nothing untouched.
As the Quantum Shadows faded into quantum particles, the spatial compression broke apart harmlessly. The pressure that had been crushing the isolation barrier vanished, and the stretched buildings returned to their proper shapes.
Noah lowered Joyeuse slowly.
"INSTALL duration reach. Ending transformation."
The armor of Charlemagne faded, returning him to his Mystic Knight frame. Even his sword returned to its clean silver form as Argent ejected the Class Card into his hand.
Noah caught the card between two fingers. The illustration of Charlemagne lit up once, as if amused.
"…Flashy." Noah stared at it.
"Correction," Argent replied. "Heroic."
"...That's what I mean."
"Classification disagreement noted."
Noah slipped the card back into its case and looked up at the dimensional scar. It still pulsed faintly, but the violence was gone. Whatever had been pressing through had lost its foothold.
"Seal it," Noah pointed Argent Caliber into the tear
"Beginning dimensional repair."
Silver threads wrapped around the tear in the air. The tear resisted for a moment, trembling as if something from the other side had noticed the attempt and pressed back.
Noah felt a pressure from the other side, but luckily it was not strong enough to enter, but he knew whatever that was, was aware.
"…So there is something behind them." His expression hardened.
"Unknown. Contact lasted less than one second."
"One second was enough."
The tear pressed one final time, then the silver threads tightened, and finally it closed with a sound like glass being gently placed back into its frame.
"Tell me that's the last one." Noah exhaled slowly in relief.
"Would you prefer reassurance or mathematical honesty?"
Noah stared at the empty air. "…Never mind."
"Wise decision."
—----
"Dimensional instability reduced to acceptable levels. Residual contamination: minimal. Secondary breach probability: low." Argent reported
"Add this to the invoice," Noah said dryly.
"Under combat labor?"
"Under Rin and Luvia."
"That is not a category?"
"It is now."
"...Creating new category: Tohsaka-Edelfelt Liability."
Noah gave a small, satisfied nod. "You're learning."
"Correction emotionally acknowledged."
"..."
The silver armor around him slowly faded into moths of light. Noah Schweinorg looked once again like an ordinary thirteen-year-old boy walking through Uminari City.
Though the tired expression ruined his looks.
He raised his left hand and snapped his fingers lightly, and the mirror-like world around him shattered.
The empty street, the frozen reflections of passersby, and the faint silver boundary surrounding the area all burst apart, slipping back into place. The noise of the city returned at once: bicycle bells, distant conversations, the hum of cars, and someone calling out from a nearby shop.
Noah adjusted his coat and resumed walking as if he had not just fought a handful of unknown dimensional creatures in a separate dimension.
"Next priority," Argent reminded. "Locate Kaleidosticks Ruby and Sapphire."
Noah's expression darkened again. "The most troublesome part of this mission."
"Ruby's last known behavioural pattern suggests she will seek a magically compatible girl with high emotional reactivity."
"That describes half of Japan."
"Sapphire's last known behavioral pattern suggests she will seek a calm, polite girl with strong compatibility and low tolerance for Ruby."
"That narrows it down to someone unfortunate."
"Correct."
Noah sighed.
He turned the corner, passing by a small street lined with shops and low walls. The afternoon sun fell gently across the road, turning the city into the kind of peaceful scene that made him question whether the universe was mocking him personally.
But he suddenly stopped as he felt something. Three unknown magical signatures are approaching from the opposite side of the street.
Noah casually looked ahead and saw three girls walking together.
The first had chestnut-brown hair tied neatly, her eyes bright and alert as she looked around the street with barely hidden concern. The second had long blonde hair in twin tails and a softer expression, but her eyes were alert, scanning the surroundings. The third walked between them with dark hair and a gentle face, though the intelligence in her eyes showed that she was already piecing together what the other two had sensed.
Noah only needed one look to understand that those three were definitely magi, and he is sure they are not Clock Tower magi.
"Detected: foreign magical signatures. High output. Non-Magecraft system." Argent's voice sounded in his mind. "Recommendation: Avoid unnecessary contact until current mission parameters are clarified."
Noah silently agreed.
Unfortunately, the three girls had also noticed something.
The brown-haired girl stopped first, turning her head toward the street Noah had just left.
"…Nanoha?" the blonde girl asked quietly.
"There was something here," Nanoha murmured, looking toward the corner. "I feel traces of mana."
Hayate's expression became serious. "I felt it too. Like a barrier opening and closing."
Fate glanced around carefully. "But it's gone now."
Noah walked past them at a normal pace, keeping his expression neutral. He did not look suspicious. He did not hurry. He did not slow down; he simply passed by like an ordinary boy with somewhere to go.
But just as they were about to cross paths, Nanoha glanced at him, and Noah glanced back. Their eyes met for less than a second as they passed each other.
Nothing happened. No thunderbolt of destiny with dramatic music or sparkling recognition from the heavens. Just two children walking in opposite directions on an ordinary street, both carrying impossible worlds on their shoulders without knowing the other mattered.
Fate turned slightly after him, her brows drawing together.
"…That boy…"
"He felt... familiar?" Hayate continued her words, looking at the boy they crossed paths with.
Fate hesitated before nodding. "I feel like we have met him before?"
Nanoha also looked back, but Noah had already blended into the small flow of pedestrians. His presence felt ordinary again, hidden under whatever trick Argent had wrapped around him.
"I can feel it too," She frowned gently. "But where?"
Behind them, Noah continued walking and didn't turn around.
"Master, those three detected the residual boundary." Argent chimed softly.
"...I know."
"They may be involved."
"I know."
"Would you like to initiate contact?"
Noah's pace slowed for half a step as he thought about it. Then he remembered Rin, Luvia, Ruby, Sapphire, the dimensional tear, and the fact that his day had already become three separate disasters wearing one coat.
"No."
"Understood."
Noah resumed walking.
Behind him, Nanoha placed a hand over her chest, still looking down the street.
"Maybe we'll meet them someday."
At that exact moment, Noah turned another corner and disappeared from view entirely, completely unaware that the three girls he had just passed would one day become far more important to him.
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