It was dark.
The darkness stretched all around , wrapping around with its cold touch.
'What's going on?'
I didn't understand what was happening.
It felt as though I was drifting in this endless darkness, with no end in sight.
'...Am I dead?'
It was also then that I recalled what had happened prior to finding myself in this situation, and my heart sank.
Indeed, there was no way I could've survived sothing like that.
Attacked by several opponents at once—so even stronger than —it was nothing short of a miracle that I managed to pull off what I did.
But even then...
'It wasn't enough.'
I was still unable to survive.
The realization left completely unresigned as I continued to drift in this pitch black darkness. The darkness thickened, growing colder with every passing second—each one dragging on as if it would never end.
I just drifted in the darkness, waiting for my soul to slowly fade away.
I thought about everything. From Noel, to Leon, and everyone that I knew. Most importantly... I also thought about her.
Would she even care if I died?
...She did seem pretty angry at towards the end.
Angry enough to look at like that.
'Perhaps, it's good that she hated in the last monts of my life.'
It made the pain in my chest ease.
At least, I now knew she wouldn't be affected much by my death.
I felt better knowing that.
And yet, the pain remained. It clung to , buried deep within my chest, clawing its way inward as if trying to wrench my heart wide open.
It hurt.
It hurt so much.
And the more it hurt, the more I started to feel sothing amiss. For soone who was supposed to be dead, this pain felt a little too real.
Too raw.
How could that be?
And then I felt it—
'Hm?'
The faint warmth coming from several directions.
The darkness around began to lift as I slowly raised my head, only to find myself surrounded on all sides by countless orbs of light, gently floating in the void.
Staring into those orbs, my chest tingled.
'What is...?'
The orbs... they seed to be calling out for . Beckoning .
As my gaze lingered on the orbs, I watched in awe as they began to grow, expanding rapidly in my vision before hurtling toward at an unimaginable speed.
I was shocked at first. Almost scared.
The shock quickly faded as I sensed no threat from the orbs. Though they hadn't reached yet, a deep instinct told they ant no harm. And sure enough, when they drew near, they stopped, suspended in the void just before .
I stood in silence, staring at them without saying a single word.
There were quite a few of them, and as I looked around , they all felt like glowing stars.
I slowly reached out for them, and the cold that had engulfed my body started to fade away completely. The closer I ca to the orb, the warr it beca, and as soon as my hand entered the orb, it suddenly felt as though my mind blanked.
In that mont, I started to feel in control of everything.
As though the world seed to be at the palm of my hands.
Yet, despite that feeling, it didn't seem like I had beco stronger in the traditional sense. No—this change ran deeper. It was as if I had gained a newfound mastery over my mana and emotive magic, a level of control I had never dread possible before.
In this state, it felt like I could control my emotive magic to a point where I could have the sa effect as when touching soone through speech.
At the sa ti, I also felt like I could control the threads and skills in ways I had never thought possible.
The sensation...
It was euphoric. Addicting.
And the more I imrsed myself in the feeling, the more it felt as though my mind was slowly starting to fade.
'No!'
I quickly snapped myself out of it, pulling my hand away and moving away from the white orb.
'What in the world was that...?'
A newfound sense of dread invaded my chest as I stared at the orb. For a mont, I almost thought I was going to disappear.
However, at the sa ti, I thought about the strange power provided by the orb.
For so reason... it felt familiar.
Yes, familiar.
As though I had touched this sort of power in the past.
'But I don't rember ever touching sothing like this before?'
My mind churned as my thoughts drifted towards this strange power. The more I tried to think, the emptier my mind felt.
'No, nothing.'
I couldn't recall ever experiencing anything like this before.
This was the first ti I had ever experienced sothing like this. A strange black world filled with st—
Ah.
It was then that I suddenly recalled sothing, and my chest grew heavier.
Indeed, I had never experienced this sensation before. I was now sure of it.
But that only applied to my current self.
What about my past self?
'This...'
I recalled Leon's and Jackal's earlier explanation, and suddenly, everything began to fall into place. What I was experiencing now… it was none other than the Source Jackal had spoken of.
The strange power that seed to belong to the 'gods'.
...And the mont the realization hit , the orbs around suddenly started to stir into life.
'What is happening?!'
Noticing the shift, I tensed up instantly. Based on what I'd experienced before, the Source was terrifying—an overwhelming force that felt like it could consu whole at any mont.
I didn't feel at ease with the sudden changes.
The orbs around began to wiggle, shifting and weaving through the void, and my entire body tightened with unease. I kept my eyes locked on them, every muscle prid to react at the slightest hint of danger.
I was ready.
Ready to move.
But then...
'How!?'
My entire body froze on the spot as my mouth slowly opened in shock.
An utterly unexpected sight unfolded before my eyes as the orbs expanded, their forms warping and shifting to reveal a cascade of scenes—each one vivid, surreal. And within them… I saw myself. There was the Julien version of . The Emt version. The past . Every fragnt, every life, every version—I was in all of them.
And slowly, the scenes started to enter my mind.
Not all, but so.
'Akh—!'
I felt a sharp pain stab right through my mind as the scenes entered my mind, each one different than the other. I started to recall things that I had long forgotten, and the fine line that separated from the other version of in the visions started to fade.
...I was slowly starting to integrate with all my previous mories.
'Uhhhk!'
Or at least, tried to.
There were far too many mories and monts.
I understood that it was impossible for to digest everything at once in one go. It would take ti for that to happen.
And just as the pain in my mind started to get overwhelming, it all stopped.
The world grew silent.
That was until...
'At so point, I'll need you to step in.'
I heard the sound of my voice drift in the void.
I lifted my head and glanced around, searching for the source of the voice. But it didn't take long to realize—it wasn't coming from around . It was echoing from deep within my own mind.
This conversation...?
I started to recall saying such words in the past.
They were to soone.
To...?
'To make this work, I'll have to die—and let go of these powers. It's the only way to divert Toren's attention away from . He's sharp. By now, he's likely pieced together fragnts of my identity. He'll try to get close, to study , to strike when I least expect it... I need to let him think I was rely a ruse. A fake ant to distract him from the real .'
The more the conversation dragged on, the more I started to understand.
A scene fleshed itself in my mind.
...And soon enough, another voice echoed.
'I understand.'
My heart clenched.
That was Noel's voice.
'...I'll do it, but...'
His voice was the sa as ever. However, I could see the traces of hesitation and fear in his voice.
That was when I rembered trying to comfort him.
'Don't worry. We'll see each other once all of this is over. I know you'll be by my side the entire ti. I want you to watch over while you greedily consu everything around you. Before then, you must persist.'
'...I won't be allowed to do anything?'
'You need to understand your position, Noel. You are in no position to do anything but use your mind. Use that mind of yours to your advantage. I'll be waiting.'
'I... understand.'
The voice stepped there.
However, my mind didn't. It continued to churn, replaying the scenes over and over again.
'I know you'll be by my side the entire ti?'
Noel was with the entire ti? My heart pressed. Then, it suddenly started to hit .
Leon... Noel, Leon... Noel.
Leon was Noel spelled backwards.
My heart squeezed at the realization.
Could it be?!
But then...
'No, he's not.'
The part of that was slowly starting to assimilate with my mories told that wasn't the case.
And most importantly, the clues were starting to filter into my mind.
'Leon's real na is not Leon. Who nad him Leon?'
Aldric.
He was the one who nad Leon.
Ah.
From the very start, it was right under my nose.
'Julien's weird obsession with swords. Who planted them into his mind?'
I thought about how Emt was originally a sword user and my lips quivered. It all suddenly started to make sense.
Aldric.
'Leon's strange sword art. The one that I felt so familiar with. Who truly gave it to him? What about his strange ability to heal?'
I knew Leon told he had found it, but did he really?
I didn't need to think to know the answer.
...It was yet again, Aldric.
And most importantly, that unique sword art, who did it originally belong to?
In that mont, everything started to make sense.
The weird sense of oppression I felt from him whenever I interacted with him, and his ability to think several steps ahead, and why I felt so in tune with Leon's strange sword art from the mont I saw it in spite of not being talented in the sword with this body.
Aldric.
He was none other than Noel.
My brother.
…And as that thought echoed through my mind, the world around burst into blinding light. In the next instant, I was staring up at a blank ceiling.
Slowly sitting upright, I turned my head and saw a pair of hazel eyes staring in my direction.
I stared at his face for a few monts, but those monts felt like they stretched into eternity. Slowly, my lips parted, and a na left my lips.
"Noel..."
A na I wanted to say for so long.
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