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Return of the Fallen Volume 12 Chapter 5

Even without a stomach, these words of Arc’s made Kazuki want to throw up.

(Trillions of years!)

Arc promptly corrected Kazuki.

(No no no. I said several hundred trillion years. The way you say it sounds like so few. In actuality it is far far greater.)

This clarification from Arc did not make Kazuki feel better if that was in fact the goal. Instead, he felt far worse.

(That long…Are the odds really stacked so heavily against us? Arc how can you sound so calm? You’ve bitched at me multiple times about how you were tired of waiting around and how you wanted what was yours here and now. Why are you not freaking out!?)

(I do not freak out. As for the time, I don’t believe it will take that long. Even if the probability leans out of favor, the hundreds of trillions of years is the most unfavorable position. For it to actually take that long, that is if we do absolutely nothing. Are you forgetting who I am though? I am the one true. I can crack this place in a few billion years if I really put myself to task. Yes, I am royally pissed that I still have to wait but now things are slightly different. Back then I had no clues and no clear direction. Now things are different. Once we leave this place, we should easily be able to find Kosaru. After a few billion years, I have no doubt with his talent he will have become a formidable God by then. With it, he should have mastered that nose of his and he will be able to find my missing piece directly. So, even if the time it takes to reach my goal is now outstretched, my goal is actually closer than ever. Now it is simply a waiting game. Before there was nothing, now my missing piece is basically guaranteed once we leave here. With that being said…I can wait.)

Kazuki found this idea unbelievably stupid.

(Arc, your idea relies solely on the shoulders of a child. Yes, little Kosaru is highly talented but he is still a child. No stronger than a 7th stage being lost in one of the Higher Realms and under the pursuit of an enemy God.)

(Kazuki, Kosaru is still under the protection of your slave Kori and those other two slave Gods you purchased from Tessa. I’m sure the boy is fine. Once we fall out of this place, you will see. Everything will be perfect.)

Kazuki felt a sting in his mind.

(Arc, you don’t know how wrong you are. All of this comes down to the Gods at Kosaru’s side but ever since my consciousness returned to me, I’ve felt different.)

(What do you mean?)

(A fragment of you fused with my soul. The moment you did this, yes you saved my existence but you’ve also changed my existence. I am somehow different, my soul is different. My soul that was linked to Kori and the two other slave Gods, the connection was broken the moment my soul was shattered.)

Arc suddenly understood and was shocked.

(You mean! You can no longer sense them, you no longer have control of them.)

(Not just them. All of the slaves under me, the connection has been broken. They are no longer my slaves. I specifically tasked Kori with protecting Kosaru and Mei. Now that my soul holds no bond over him, now that he is no longer my slave, he is free to do whatever he wishes. Kori has absolute free will now. All of the other slaves should still be connected to Samuel so the other two slave Gods will still follow his commands but who knows what will happen. They had just regained their power recently. Even if it was two of them against the enemy God, things may not go the way you think.)

Arc felt something sink within as he realized things were not so cut and dry. With Kori no longer Kauzki’s slave. This meant their forces were greatly weakened. Yes, Samuel still had two Gods under him but that was no guarantee, not in the Higher Realms.

(DAMN! KAZUKI!! WE MUST ESCAPE THIS PLACE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE! USE THAT STUPID MIND OF YOURS AND CONJURE SOMETHING UP!)

Even if Arc shouted, Kazuki was clueless. Not only that, his mind was still somewhat clouded. The many fragments of his soul were still reconnecting and reforming. He was still not whole yet.

(We can’t sacrifice Origin energy but what about other energies? My senses are still dull at the moment. Is there any Divine energy in our surroundings or even any lesser magic around us? Anything at all we might be able to use?)

(Yes. Even in Chaotic space, there is energy but it is very…well chaotic, or rather the environment makes it difficult to grasp. As space is constantly under stress, the energy all around is constantly being manipulated to a certain degree. It’s being torn apart and put back together at a rapid rate.)

(Does this mean we can use it or not?)

…

(That, is difficult to determine. This energy… it’s vanishing before my senses and reappearing so quickly that it is hard to focus on. The amount I can pull in is so minuscule that it fades away before I can tap into it and use it. I can’t get enough of it at once to store it and then properly use it. So like I said, it is difficult, to say the least.)

(There’s energy but it’s moving too fast to grasp…There must be something we can do. Arc, can you share more of your senses with me? I’d like to know exactly what we’re dealing with so I can get a better idea of what’s happening.)

(Fine, but be warned, my senses are not something any mortal can just deal with. You may have just taken half a step into Godhood but you are currently not a Demigod but a Conscious thought with pieces and bits of reforming soul. The only reason you won’t be destroyed is that you have a part of me fused with you. This is just a long roundabout way of saying hold tight because this will be excruciatingly painful.)

Before Kazuki could even question what Arc meant, he felt an intense pressure on his mind. He suddenly felt as if he was Arc and became a part of the Gosechu box. Like millions of tiny needles piercing him all over, the outside pricked at him as if trying to peel away his very existence.

He felt all sorts of energies coming from all around. Not just Divine energy or magic but also ki and a million other different types of energies. As these energies flew around him, he found some of them were faster than others. Some came with great force and some with soft flows. Some were like tidal waves ready to roll him all about and drown him away and others were like clouds drifting over a tranquil sky. Some brought pain, while others brought comfort, warmth, and even a sense of joy.

The constant back and forth of pain to comfort was enough to drive one insane. His mind flipped constantly from fear to pleasure. He felt as if time was slipping away. he could not tell if ten seconds had passed or ten million years. He felt if he did not concentrate he would be lost in this strange cycle forever. The more he tried to focus, however, the more he felt control slipping away.

(This is too dangerous Arc. What have you shared with me?)

Kazuki called out but there was no response. Not just from Arc but Codex and Sword were no longer responding. All senses began to fade and only these intense and gentle energies remained. Kazuki wondered why Arc would allow something so dangerous for him when he had just escaped extinction just moments ago but even these thoughts were thrown away as he tried to resist this ever-building pressure.

(What is this?……..)

This simple question was followed by the most excruciating pain Kazuki had ever felt. This was beyond the mind, body, or soul, it was something out of this world, out of this realm, out of this universe.

All rational thought vanished and he was left with only instincts. He forgot who and what he was, and he simply… was.

Time passed…

(I…Am…)

(I…Am…Ka…Z)

(I AM KAZUKI!!)

It was as if a billion Lower Realsm imploded at this moment. Kazuki’s mind returned to him and the outside energies were forcefully absorbed. His soul that was slowly reforming and repairing. In one full burst put itself back together almost instantly. His soul had changed. The fragment he had received from Arc, had been fully integrated and was now a part of him.

With a thought, the many different outside energies flooded inward and gathered around Kazuki’s soul. His body which had been obliterated earlier, in one instant reformed. This body of his thought was different from before. From a simple glance, all seemed the same but there was a bright glow emanating forth.