Normally, a human mind couldn't hold onto decades of mories. Not completely.
Even the most powerful mories—the ones that shaped a person, defined their lives—faded after enough ti passed.
Faces blurred. Monts dulled. Emotions softened until they no longer carried the sa weight.
But Arlon rembered everything.
Everything from before the Tower.
Everything that happened inside it.
His mories were intact—uncorrupted, untouched by ti. Every floor. Every breath. Every wound.
He knew it shouldn't have been possible.
Sowhere, so kind of spell or passive magic had to be anchoring his mind, freezing it at the mont he entered the Tower. A preservation of sorts.
Otherwise, rembering the days, the weeks, the years in such detail—down to the exact feeling of the cold stone beneath his hands—would have been impossible.
Still, it worked in his favor. Thanks to that strange preservation, Arlon rembered the pitch-black void he had opened his eyes in once again.
A place outside of ti.
A place outside of reason.
And just like before, a deep voice greeted him.
[You are here again,] it echoed, before slipping into a more conversational tone. "I didn't think you'd co again, since you skipped the last visit."
Karl had already taken shape, molding himself into that familiar old human form Arlon had seen before.
He was talking about the ti Arlon had leveled up past 200 and 250—two major thresholds. But because Arlon had been inside the Tower at the ti, he hadn't ended up here.
Though "visit" wasn't exactly the right word. According to Karl, this wasn't sothing he called Arlon into. And Arlon certainly didn't co here by choice.
It wasn't as if he had found a door, knocked politely, and asked to enter.
He just… fainted. And woke up here.
Who would want to pass out just to arrive in a place like this, anyway? Arlon thought, letting the question settle bitterly in his head.
"It's not that bad of a place," Karl replied casually, reading his mind—again.
Arlon sighed. He had wondered more than once how many more levels he needed before he could block Karl from doing that.
"Once again, I'm not reading your mind," ca the expected response.
Right on cue.
But before Arlon could argue, sothing shifted.
Above—if it could be called that—a faint glow began to bloom in the darkness.
There wasn't a clear sky or a defined ground. This place was a void, a true nothingness, without up or down, light or shadow. But still, sothing was forming.
A shimr. A light. A presence.
"Ah, I thought you would co," Karl comnted.
And then, she appeared.
A beautiful girl, graceful and radiant, stepped forward from the light.
It was Agema.
She moved with the sa elegance Arlon had seen before, her gaze calm and knowing. She approached him slowly and then stopped right in front of him.
And what she said surprised him more than anything.
"So, we et at last, my disciple."
"…Huh?"
Arlon blinked. "What do you an? We were just together. A minute ago."
His voice betrayed his confusion. Was this so kind of paradox? Had he been thrown into the past? Or worse, into so twisted alternate version of reality?
But Agema shook her head gently.
"Ah, you t , yes. But this is the first ti I am eting you," she said. "What you saw on Trion—that was only a piece of ."
Arlon's confusion deepened, but she continued before he could speak.
"She hasn't co back yet, so our minds haven't rged. I can see through her eyes—I know everything she's done. But it's still not the sa. Those mories aren't mine... not yet."
So she wasn't the sa Agema. Not exactly.
She was, but not fully.
"That broke my heart, you know," she said suddenly. "I could always pull her back, beco that version for you.
But I left her with you so she could help you, guide you. You are my disciple after all."
This ti, it was Agema reading his thoughts, not Karl.
Arlon didn't even try to fight it.
"Don't put everything on the boy," Karl chid in. "He doesn't understand how ascended existences work yet."
"I already know that, old man," Agema said with a grin. "I just wanted to tease him a little. Besides, until I get that piece of back, I can't be her—not completely."
Finally, Arlon began to understand.
So, this was the real Agema, not the piece of her soul that descended Trion when Arlon wanted to et her.
She was the part that stayed above, that observed from the higher realms. The one who hadn't lived through the ti on Trion but knew it all secondhand.
Since she was an ascended existence, she could observe Trion as much as she wanted to.
And she knew what Arlon and Agema on Trion had been doing.
But it was not the sa for her since she didn't live through those mories.
She would be the sa once the soul piece went back, but Arlon had given her the locket and wanted her to stay more.
So this Agema was feeling left out.
"That's correct," Agema said softly, confirming his thoughts. "That's still , and I want to spend ti with you, my disciple. Especially the last mont you had with her/ before you fainted was so emotional...
I also wanted to see my second disciple, but it is not possible. That is why I ca here as soon as I saw you coming."
She was probably talking about June, but since June wasn't here, it wasn't possible.
Her eyes sparkled, and Arlon couldn't help but feel a bit overwheld.
Two mind-reading ascended existences. That's what he was dealing with now.
"Hehe, don't worry," Agema laughed. "If you knew the things so people were thinking, you'd be shocked at how calm your mind is."
What was she referring to? Criminals? Perverts? Sothing worse?
He didn't really want to know.
Then, suddenly, a thought ca to him.
"If you're here… do you know why I keep ending up in this place every ti my existence level increases? I didn't co here at all while I was in the Tower."
He turned the question to her, hoping that maybe she, of all people, had so kind of answer.
She was the genius, after all. A mind on another level.
He imdiately thought that Karl also had his own genius monts, though.
Was it because he didn't want to anger Karl? No one knew.
Except Arlon himself.
And since the other two could read minds, they also knew.
But before Karl could react, Agema stepped in.
"I don't know either," she said gently. "I truly ca here just to see you."
She paused, then added, "I have so guesses… but I can't tell you about them. You'll find out eventually. Probably."
Even Agema didn't know the answer.
To Arlon, she was already like a walking dictionary—one that refused to give answers.
Or rather, one that had all the answers but simply couldn't share them.
Up until now, that had been the case with every question he asked. She knew, but for one reason or another, she held back.
So this ti, instead of dwelling on it, Arlon simply let the thought go.
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