Surprisingly, Accelerator found himself still standing, although he knew he wouldn't be able to last for another couple minutes. His ability and strength had been completely exhausted, and the only thing keeping him standing was his will, although he wasn't aware of it.
On the other hand, Nagato only looked a little tired. His pale face was flushed, and his breathing was only slightly harder than it was earlier.
"I'm surprised you're still standing," Nagato called over to Accelerator.
"I'm surprised myself." Accelerator replied.
"I'm already at my magical limit. The spells I used weren't that draining, but continuously using magic for 6 hours straight isn't a good idea. My physical strength is getting close to the limit. How about you?"
"I seriously don't know what's still keeping me standing."
"Your will, most likely. Forget what I said earlier. Let's rest. I think I have enough magic to perform one more spell." Moving his hands in the pattern again, Nagato spoke the same word. Accelerator felt his strength come back to him.
Nagato let the dome dissipate, and laid down on the roof beside Accelerator, gazing at the sky. "You've surprised me on many accounts. I think I can teach you a spell soon."
"Really?"
"It's the spell I just performed. It heals injuries and restores energy and magic. If you're out of strength when fighting, this spell is the best."
"Doesn't it use magic?"
"Nope. You only have to have the blood of a magician in your veins. That way, you can use it to restore your magic even if your magic levels are at zero."
"Tell me next time." A thought suddenly occurred to Accelerator. "This morning, you said you saw a different future. What exactly happened?"
Nagato sighed. "I wish you'd forgotten. You were only 3 when I received that vision. When I saw that vision, I couldn't speak to Yahiko for days, fearing it would slip out and he'd panic."
"Just tell me."
"Until the 10032nd experiment, your life was exactly the same. When Misaka Mikoto brought Kamijou Touma into the fight, that's when the vision deviated from the actual."
"What happened?"
"You killed Kamijou Touma in the fire, and severely injured Misaka Mikoto."
Accelerator was stunned into silence. After a few minutes, he spoke. "I stopped the fire in this life."
"You had enough time to jump to a safe place. I told you by then, your humanity was slowly beginning to crack."
"What happened then?"
"Since Kamijou was a level 0, there wasn't much impact on the experiments. Misaka Mikoto survived, so that didn't count. You continued killing the clones one by one. When you killed MISAKA-20000, your power was enough to surpass level 5, so essentially, you reached level 6. By that time, your ability was terrifying."
"How?"
"You were able to manipulate vectors at great distances. Your weakness that was discovered and exploited by Kihara Amata was non-existent. In simple terms, you were invincible."
"You said I formed my own organization."
"That was the worst part of it. You convinced Kakine Teitoku's SCHOOL to merge with your organization, and you even managed to recruit the mysterious sixth-ranked level 5 esper."
"What did my organization do?"
"It was called REBEL. With the right members, you hacked into the security and leaked all the secrets, throwing the public into a panic. Eventually, the city fell apart from the chaos. When that happened, you destroyed the city."
"Was there any aim or goal? It sounds a little too messed up."
"I told you that your humanity was gone. You were essentially insane. You didn't care if someone in your group died. I'm guessing all you wanted to see was destruction and death."
"…"
"Finally, your 18th birthday came. The seal broke, but there was no one to control it. The overflow of magic killed you. I know nothing else. What I told you was what I saw. There was nothing able to explain what happened."
Accelerator didn't speak or say a word, too lost in the past. Remembering the events that had happened in experiment number 10032 and what could have happened, he was too stunned to even move. Finally, he asked one question: "Is this what would have happened if I wasn't stopped?"
Nagato stared at the sky. "Who knows? There are plenty of possibilities that could have been. Maybe in another life, you reached level 6, but you retained your humanity. Another possibility was that you were born as a magician. There are even possibilities that you could have been the weakest esper. Maybe you were never related to magic at all. There are an infinite number of possibilities, but only one is carried out. Being a diviner means you have to deal with many different possible futures. Surprisingly, Yahiko and I barely got any possibilities. We only received visions of what would happen and what has to happen."
"Maybe you guys were special," Accelerator said in a quiet tone.
Nagato sighed. "Sorry for telling you all this. It must have been quite a shock."
"At least I know I won't ever be like that now."
"True. You have people with you who may seem overbearing at times, but they care. Come on, let's go back. This is enough for today."
The two walked back to the apartment, each lost in their own thoughts. Seeing the expressions on their faces when Yoshikawa let them in, she didn't say a word.
Nagato went over to a couch, leaning back. Accelerator turned to Yoshikawa, snapping out of his thoughts.
"Where should I sleep tonight?"
"I don't know. Take one of the couches or you can sleep in Haruka's room. I'm not too sure if you can sleep in your room right now."
"I'll take the couch."
"You're roommates with Nagato then. By the way, I got you guys a large supply of coffee when I went shopping."
"Thanks, Kikyou."
"No problem, Nagato. However, please don't drink it all in a few days. You probably beat Accelerator in consuming coffee."
"Comes with the job. I have to deal with jet lag constantly. By the way, is there any news worth watching?"
"They're replaying the news from this morning. Nothing else. When will Haruka wake up?"
"Haruka should be up in 2 or 3 days. Earliest is tomorrow. Latest is 5 days."
"Hopefully she wakes up by tomorrow. I contacted Heaven Canceller yesterday and he says Last Order is anxious to come back. She misses both Accelerator and Haruka."
"How's the brat doing there?"
"The doctor says she's moping. Physically, she's fine. Emotionally, I don't know. Even her sisters can't make her smile."
"Nagato, can't we bring the brat back now?"
"If she can obey orders to stay out of your room. Plus, do not ever let her out of your sight until Haruka wakes up."
"I think she and the doctor would agree to the terms. I'll call him right now." Yoshikawa took out her cellphone and tapped in a number, moving into her room.
Nagato turned to Accelerator. "What does Last Order think of you as?"
Accelerator had a thoughtful look on his face. "I don't know. A guardian, most likely."
"I doubt it. In these days while you were in a coma, Kikyou and Aiho have been telling me stories of you two."
"And what's your conclusion?"
"She sees you as family."
"I can live with that."
Just then, Yoshikawa reentered the room. "The doctor says we can go over and pick her up."
"Someone has to watch over Haruka," Nagato said.
"Can you call Index and Kamijou?"
"Give me a cellphone." Accelerator threw his phone to Nagato, who caught it and tapped in a number. He quickly explained the situation, and hung up. "10 minutes."
"Well, let's wait."
"What time is it?"
"4:00 pm."
"They'd better hurry. I told the doctor we'd be there by 4:20."
Precisely 10 minutes later, Index and Touma arrived at the apartment. To Accelerator's surprise, Touma was covered with bandages. Remembering what Nagato had said earlier, he chose to smirk at the unfortunate level 0. Ignoring him, Yoshikawa ushered them in, quickly saying her thanks.
"You two already know your way around. I left some food in the fridge if you get hungry. Please don't mess the place up. We'll be back in half an hour approximately."
"Don't worry, Yoshikawa-san. Everything will be fine." Index replied.
"Thanks again, Librorum Prohibitorum." Nagato said, exiting after Yoshikawa. Accelerator followed after, not sparing any of them a glance.
The trio made of an esper-magician, magician and ex-scientist went into the car, and Yoshikawa set the address to the frog-faced doctor's house on the GPS. She turned to Accelerator and Nagato. "The trip is 10 minutes."
"Let's go then."