"I'm sure Toren has already figured the sa thing you figured out a while back, but the key to becoming a true 'god' lies in Emotive Magic."
My gaze subconsciously drifted towards my right arm, where a four-leaf clover tattoo appeared. A few things started to make sense.
"...Is this why I was given this tattoo?"
"That's correct."
Noel calmly answered with a nod.
"The tattoo was ant to help you grasp emotions more clearly—a way to push you into truly understanding them. Especially for soone like you, who struggles with emotional awareness."
"Oh..."
I laughed bitterly. I wanted to refute his words, but I couldn't. Indeed, thinking back with regards to my past, I knew nothing about emotions, nor was I very good at understanding them.
If not for the tattoo's powers, it would've been impossible for to get to where I was.
My talent in emotions...
Perhaps it wasn't as high as I thought it was.
But even so, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to it than that. The deeper I delved into emotions, the more fluent I beca in understanding them. I had now reached a point where the tattoo was no longer necessary for to improve on my emotive magic, and that was probably the goal from the very start.
"You'll eventually get your powers back once all of this is over. However, for now, you'll have to make do with what you have."
"...I already understand this much."
Thinking about it, I almost felt pity for Jackal. Not only was he currently under Sithrus's watch and hunt, but he was also probably going to lose his mind.
The powers were probably going to consu him soon enough.
I had to bide my ti. Only when the powers began to completely overtake his mind did the mont co for to take them back.
Still, there was sothing that I was curious about.
I turned to Noel.
"If you say that the powers made lose my mind, wouldn't it be more appropriate for to just let go of them?"
Losing Oracleus's powers did suck, but at the sa ti, I could do without it. I had reached a point where I could.
...If I just poured all of my attention on my Emotive Magic, I was confident in reaching the fifth levl not far from now.
If keeping them ant losing my mind, then it would be for the best if I let go of them.
"No, you need them."
Noel was quick to shut down my thoughts as he stood up and shook his head.
"Reaching the 'source' alone is extrely hard. The powers will serve as a gateway for you to reach the 'source' and, in turn, understand it better. Though the mont you gain your powers back, you'll start to lose your mind again, if you manage to grasp the 'source', the sense of rejection will disappear and you'll be able to use both powers without any problem."
"So that's what you an..."
I more or less started to understand the situation.
In order to access the 'source' easily, I needed to take my old powers back. The mont I gained access to the 'source', my goal was to try to understand it and beco the eighth god.
The key to all of this was Emotive Magic.
Although I didn't understand why that was the case, that wasn't important as of this very mont.
The most important part was getting stronger and furthering my Emotive Magic.
Bringing my fist near my mouth, I bit my finger. My thoughts drifted towards the entire situation as I tried to think about the next steps that I needed to take in order to further my Emotive Magic.
However, these thoughts vanished the mont I looked up and saw Noel staring at .
'Oh, right.'
How could I forget?
"You probably have everything planned out, don't you?"
Noel stared at for a brief mont before suddenly cracking a smile.
"Of course, I do."
He flicked his hand, and a map appeared out of thin air. Laying it out on the table next to , he started to explain.
"This is the Eclipsed Maw. It's located in one of the larger red zones within the Mirror Dinsion."
My eyes squinted as I looked at the map.
For so reason, the shape of this red zone felt familiar. It also appeared to be surrounded by red coloring. Was that the sea?
As if reading my thoughts, Noel smiled.
"It's Australia. Well, more or less. It's a little different, but it's what remains of Australia."
"...Ah."
No wonder it felt so familiar.
"Leaving that aside, it's important that you go here."
"Why is that?"
"...Because that's where you'll find Oracleus's eye."
"Eh?"
I paused and looked at Noel, who kept his gaze firmly locked onto the map.
"I'm sure you are aware that the relics are key in all of this. You might not know why, but that's not important right now. The most important thing is collecting them. You should, by now, be in possession of the Mirror and Extractor."
"...Yes."
"Leon should be holding the Chalice."
I swallowed quietly. It seed like Noel was already aware of everything from the start.
Looking at him now, and seeing his serious expression, he felt foreign again. He felt like the Aldric that made shiver whenever I looked at him. As expected, he really had changed.
But even though he changed.
He was still my brother.
"The last relic is the Oracle's eye. It's probably the most important relic of all four. Toren most likely thinks it's hidden sowhere in the Academy, but it's not."
Noel pointed directly at the map.
"...It's right here and you have to collect it at all costs."
"...?"
I blinked my eyes.
"What about you?"
"?"
Noel turned his head and looked at with a bitter look.
"In my state, I can hardly kill a fly. I'll be the one to die, and I can't die. The mont I die will be the mont Toren finds ."
Noel's face suddenly tightened, his expression turning grim as he quietly mumbled, "I don't want to be locked up again. I really don't. Anything but that..."
"....."
I pursed my lips, forcing a breath out.
From the way he spoke those final words and the look on his face, I could tell his life hadn't been easy in my absence. I couldn't begin to imagine the kind of tornt he'd endured while I was away.
The thought alone...
It pissed beyond any asure.
'Yes, it's about ti that I fulfilled my job.'
I quietly nodded my head and placed my hand over the map.
"Alright, I'll do it."
Noel smiled without looking at .
He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"I'm sure you must be tired since you just woke up from death, but I don't think we have the luxury of ti."
"Ah, yes."
Neither one of us knew how much ti we had at our disposal. It all depended on Jackal. For how long could he last against Sithrus? He had the backing of the church and the Round Table, but could he really do anything about soone as powerful as Sithrus?
Neither of us could really put an estimate on the ti, which was why it was important to act imdiately.
"...There are not that many cracks that you can enter to reach the Eclipsed Maw. Your best bet would be to enter that crack, but..."
Noel's face turned complicated as he looked at .
"What's wrong?"
"That..."
Noel scratched the tip of his nose before sighing.
"You understand that your current position, right?"
"I do..?"
What was he talking about? And why did he seem so concerned?
"Toren is no longer the sa Toren of the past. He's different. He has eyes and ears everywhere. There aren't many places he can't see or hear. What you think might be your closest friend could very well be him."
I swallowed quietly.
"...I know that."
How could I not know that? I had experienced it all already.
"He's most likely already gotten close to you."
My mouth opened, but no words ca out. I wanted to refute his words, but I didn't know how.
But where was he going with this?
"That's why it's important for you to remain dead. Even though most people think you're still alive, those who do know should keep thinking that way."
"Ah..."
I finally understood where Noel was trying to get at, and the place that we needed to go in order to enter the mirror dinsion.
It was none other than the Academy.
To... where she was.
"...Nobody must know that you're still alive."
I took a deep breath, pursing my lips at the sa ti. In all honesty, I knew this from the very start. Noel didn't need to remind . However, he probably felt the need to after seeing my reaction the mont he ntioned the Academy.
'He's right. For now, I must remain dead.'
There was no other way around it. Sithrus was that scary. Neither one of us could take a chance.
But even then...
As a certain figure drifted in my mind, I slowly brought my hand to my chest while trying my best to forget about the pain.
'....Surely if it's her, it should be fine, right?'
There was simply no way for Delilah to be linked to the Inverted Sky and Sithrus. I had seen her hatred firsthand.
If it's...
"No, don't think about it."
Noel cut through my thoughts as though he could see through them.
"Brother..."
His expression turned softer as he looked at . He seed to want to help , but he soon shook his head.
"We can't take any chances. I'm sorry. I..."
"No, I understand."
I stopped Noel there and then.
He didn't need to say any more. He had already suffered so much, and yet, here I was lanting over sothing like this. What sort of brother was I?
Slap!
I slapped both sides of my cheeks before taking the map with .
"Let's not waste any more ti."
"Wait..."
Noel called out to just as I was about to move. As I slowly turned my head, I saw him staring at with a smile.
I paused as our eyes t.
And then...
"It's good to see you again, brother."
He scratched the back of his head, his cold expression vanishing, replaced by an all too familiar expression as his eyes moved away from .
"I just wanted to say that."
My lips trembled, but soon, I drew enough force to nod my head.
"...It's good to see you, too."
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