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Return of the Fallen Volume 12 Chapter 58

(It was…familial.)

Codex and Arc were at a loss.

(Familial…the only females who were your family…Well, shouldn’t it be the two you hate most in all the Realms? Isn’t this simply just a memory of Fera and Sephra?)

Codex could only think of these two. Kazuki once had such a bond with Fera and Sephra, if not in name only for Fera. At one point he was indeed close to Sephra before her betrayal. Kazuki though denied it immediately.

(It wasn’t them. The blurred image I have in mind, the feeling I got…If it was Sephra and Fera all I would feel is an undying rage but for these two. Well, there was a sense of sadness, anger, anger not towards them but towards…)

(Anger but not towards them. Then who was it for exactly?)

Kazuki shrugged.

(I don’t know. It feels like this anger is pointed outward toward everything and everybody. It makes me want to destroy everything and leave nothing left in my path. I’ve only ever felt this way after Asuna and Nunully’s death but I really can’t claim to know these two blurred figures. This is irrational on my part and just doesn’t make sense does it?)

Codex thought for a moment but was having trouble coming up with an explanation.

(If it doesn’t make sense to you who it’s personally affecting, I don’t know how I or anyone else could make heads or tails of it.)

Kazuki wasn’t expecting much from Codex but Arc had also witnessed the blurred image of the two women after the first time they dealt with the Mindstone’s energy.

(Arc, what about you? You’ve seen it as well. Do you have any idea? I don’t recognize either of them but the fact remains I sense a connection to them.)

(Hmm, two females…I would say they are Nunully and Asuna but that would not explain why I felt a similar connection to the two. Besides that though I can see a little deeper than you. One of the females is quite young, possibly a child, the other…older but not old.)

When Arc mentioned a child, Kauzki couldn’t help but think of the child he lost when Asuna and Nunully died. He was to be a father but now…now just the thought of what could have been was heart-wrenching.

(No…No. It’s not either of them. What I sense from them is a different kind of connection. Nunully and Asuna are…long gone, it cannot be them nor is it anybody I’ve ever met. That much I can tell. These people seared into my mind, I just can’t tell who they are nor why they’ve appeared in my mind and soul.)

Codex perked up.

(If it’s not someone you’ve already met, then another possibility remains. Maybe it’s someone you will meet in the future.)

Kazuki was doubtful but Codex continued down this line of thinking anyway.

(Don’t give me that look Kazuki, just hear me out for now. Arc deals with both time and space. He can easily look into the past with enough energy and see things no one else can on their own. Now let’s take something into consideration. Arc is still missing a piece and is not whole. If Arc can already look into the past to such an unfathomable degree, image what abilities or powers Arc has when this missing piece has been collected. Now we bring in the Mind Soul energy from the Mind stones and the shadow. This is energy that none of us Artifacts have encountered until fairly recently. We just learned how to manipulate even more recently than that. This strange Mind-soul energy is the combination of seven different strands of Chaotic energy…We simply do not know the true depths of this energy yet. Who knows what type of side effects this strange new power may possess?)

(So what you’re saying is, you think this mind-soul energy is affecting Arc in such a way that it is what? giving Arc a new ability. How does that work exactly?)

Kazuki came off as slightly condescending.

(No offense Codex but isn’t this a stretch? I mean Arc would know if this energy was having this type of effect right? That should shoot down your whole argument right there.)

(Normally yes but you are forgetting something.)

(And that is?)

(This energy is the main energy that the shadow uses. The very same shadow that can erase its presence from you and me and almost entirely from Arc. I am an Artifact, a being that’s not using an Artifact themselves should have almost no way of going undetected from me, yet the shadow is that good. You as well Kazuki, your senses are even above many Gods but you couldn’t detect the shadow without borrowing Arc’s senses. I Believe it may very well be in the mind-soul energy that gives the shadow its great ability to erase its presence. To tie it together if this energy can help to hide one why then could it not go undetected or make things slip by undetected? Honestly, though, I can’t seem to find any other rational explanation for these blurred women if not a sight from the future. In the end, if someone were capable of seeing the future, would it not be Arc of all beings?)

Kazuki sat on that for a moment. Although it sounded completely crazy, he really did not have another explanation.

(Arc, what do you say to Codex’s absurd statement? You have abilities I have not seen in others. At the same time, is it not beyond your limit? Seeing the future and all that.)

(Hmmm. When it comes to these women, I have no real answer. Like you I do feel something from them but what it is, I can’t quite exactly describe. It can’t be familial since I’m an artifact but there is something there. I’m just not sure. As for the whole power concealment. An ability I am unaware of…Well the possibility is not too far off.)

Kazuki raised a brow upon hearing this.

(What…Arc do you honestly believe you have the ability to see the future and up until this moment you never used it or knew of it? Is this not a dumb thought? After all, if you could see the future could you not have seen this entire weird conversation coming?)

Arc buzzed with purple lightning.

(Is it so unreasonable brat? Have you already forgotten what Oriing energy does to me and other Artifacts? The more of it we have, the more hidden memories we can unlock deep within ourselves. Every ounce of Origin energy contains memories. Fragments from a bygone era. The more Oriing energy I absorb, the more powerful I become but I also regain more and more of what was once lost to me, my memories. If mind-soul energy affects one’s mind and soul, then of course the possibility is there that that strange energy can unlock something within me. Do not think the impossible is impossible simply because you can’t fathom it. You of all people should know just how bizarre and mysterious these Realms are. At this point what can’t happen?)

Kazuki couldn’t deny any of that. He had seen some crazy shit and experienced many lifetimes worth of bizarre to last one an eternity. At the same time, he found it hard to accept or hard to accept that Arc had accepted it so easily. With an obvious look that said this is bull shit, Kauzki asked.

(So, are you saying you can see the future Arc?)

Arc made a noise similar to a snort with his lightning.

(Don’t be ridiculous. of course, I can’t see the future. I’m merely saying you should never doubt my capabilities. After all, even if I can’t see the future now, once I have recovered my missing piece, there will be nothing in all the Realms that I cannot do. I will be all-knowing and all-seeing. Seeing the future will be only the beginning of what I’ll be able to do. As for Codex, it’s a book that’s invested far too much time in fairytales. What else do you expect from it other than ridiculous notions?)

Kazuki and Codex shared a knowing look. Arc had said all of that only to act like it was ridiculous in the end and then brag that it could do it once it was whole again. The air burned with foolishness.

(I believe in fairytales you say. If that is so then what do you call this repeated tiresome claim that you are the one almighty? The infinite and the never-ending. I call bullshit. You’ve already said it yourself a million times before. You don’t remember your missing piece nor where it’s located. How would you know if you would gain anything at all from reconnecting with it? I feel like the moment we get there the only thing mighty about this whole situation is the mighty amount of wasted time we’ve spent in pursuit of this so-called missing piece.)

Arc and Codex both began gathering power.

(Say that again you empty book. You insult this great one and I have overlooked it one too many times that you think your fangs are sharper than they are. In actuality, they are as dull as a knife made for spreading butter.)

Codex glowed with a bright light before saying it once again.

(One time or a million, I’ll say it as much as you like…BULLSHIT!)