Arima dived inside the boundless ocean and propelled his body through the water. His group followed him and he continued to go deeper without stopping. When he couldn't see the surface of his soul realm anymore, Arima stopped. He looked up and saw the illusion of a sun illuminating this dark ocean.
"This will be the center of the formation," he said and bubbles ca out of his mouth. In that water, even without being a powerful being, you would be able to breathe and speak.
"What is that formation going to be?" Layla asked and Arima threw a sort of stone tablet to her. She looked at it and tilted her head. There were multiple dots carved on it and so were bigger than others. The whole thing seed to make an intricate pattern. "What's this?"
"The map," Arima responded. "Each dot represents a star. We will arrange the actual stars we have as they are depicted on that map. Also, the size of the dots defines the size of the star which will be used. For example, the dot in the center of that formation is the biggest. So, the star I'll use is the biggest out of those you collected."
Arima waved his hand and wisp of energy ca out of his palm. It went through the water like a torpedo then burst into a large discharge of light far away. After a few seconds, the light was consud by sothing else. A burning mass took its place. It definitely was a star and even if it was subrged underwater, there wasn't any reaction.
Layla gazed at the giant star and Night shrugged. "So, you're asking us to position stars as it's told on this map?"
"Yes, I'll give you access to my dinsional storage, you just have to take it out," Arima said and Karma caught on sothing.
"Wait a second you're not going to do it with us?" She inquired and Arima smiled innocently.
"Nope."
"Huh?" Everyone exclaid. "Hey, what are you saying? If the scale you put on this map is exact, it will take us days to finish," Night's expression sunk. "And that's only if we assu that you'll do it too. I'll rember you that we can't teleport in here."
Arima sighed. "Listen, I have sothing else to do. I can't help it. I'll change the flow of ti here, when I co back, it should be over."
"You can do the opposite too! Don't you dare-!" Before Night could finish his sentence, Arima departed at a speed which even he couldn't follow. His eyes twitched and he rubbed his face. He growled and for a mont, it felt like a full-sized dragon was in his place.
"Let's begin we have a lot to do," he uttered and morized the map of the formation before leaving in one direction.
Karma wryly smiled and went in the opposite direction. Layla gazed at the map she had in his hands and looked up. She squinted her eyes and activated her Unblinking Eyes. She was expecting to see where Arima had gone but she surprisingly got nothing. But she was sure that Arima was still in his soul realm.
'If that's the case where did he go?' She mused and went toward another section of the formation they were building.
***
Arima kept swimming upward at an incredible speed. Even his own companions wouldn't be able to see his figure at that point. But he still continued to go up. This ocean first seed to be endless but he seed to be looking for sothing, or to exact, he wanted to reach a certain place.
After hours of movent, which could be converted into a distance far exceeding millions of miles, Arima finally resurfaced. His eyes glowed and the water on him imdiately turned into vapor.
The place he resurfaced at wasn't like anything you could expect. If you anticipated seeing a clear blue sky or the beautiful horizon over the sea, you would be extrely disappointed. But also, very lost. The place Arima arrived in was a cave. Just a small cave. There wasn't much water too. At best, it was as big as a pond.
In that cave, there was just a small platform on which you could stand and a simple door on the wall. Arima stepped on that small area of firm ground and approached the door. He breathed in and put his hand on the knob. He twisted it and opened the door wide.
He didn't move an inch afterward. After all, the room he had just opened was incredibly small and narrow. And the only thing inside was a human-sized monster made of blood. It was chained to the walls, the floor, and the ceiling.
The monster opened its eyes and looked at Arima with its four pupils. The agglorate of blood changed shape to sothing more resembling a human and a mouth was ford on its face.
"You ca to , huh? Do you maybe want sothing?"
"Not really. It's just as I thought," Arima sharply observed the creature in front of him. "Ahura was mistaken. It's not that I lost my mories from the past. You made it so that I wouldn't get your mories and you would be able to survive as a pseudo-entity inside . You're indeed quite sly, Angra Mainyu."
The Demonic Spirit laughed. "I am you. You are still my reincarnation. I'm just a remnant of the past," he stopped laughing and gazed at Arima. "What do you seek from ?"
"Give what you're still keeping."
Angra fell silent and closed his eyes. Only his mouth was left and for so reason, it took the entirety of his face. "So you want to die completely and give everything to you?"
"Indeed."
"You want to beco Angra Mainyu?"
"No," Arima abruptly retorted. "I won't beco Angra Mainyu. I am him already, aren't I? What's the point of becoming sothing you already are?" He snorted. "In fact, I don't care about that na. In this life, I'm Arimane, or the 'Kind Demon', as they like to call ."
Angra moved a little and the chains shook. "Then what is your goal exactly?"
"You are a power I detain and one that I don't plan to waste," Arima coldly said and the blood monster laughed again.
"Would you dare to use the power of true evil?"
"What are you talking about?" Arima scoffed. "Evil? Do you think that I'm obliged to consider that every ti I use my strength? I admit that there are many uses of magic that can be considered taboo. But there's absolutely no moral restriction when it concerns the source. In the end, that's how you use it that will make it evil or good. Don't tell that an ancient being like you doesn't even know about this kind of truth which even a kid could tell by looking at so random quotes on the internet?"
Angra cackled. "Perhaps. I'm a pretty narrow-minded individual; I completely assu," he raised his arms. "Fine! I intended to give this power to you anyway. I have nothing to do in this world anymore. Even Ahura already has given everything to the next generation. It's ti that I do the sa," he seed rather disappointed.
"Seriously though" His voice lowered and he started trembling oddly. "No matter how many tis I tried; I couldn't get the control of your body. Heck! Even from the ti you were an infant, I was already trying to overtake you! But seriously, what the hell?! You were a baby! Can you explain to why I couldn't beat a baby and take over his mind?!" He snapped. He seed to be really tornted and shocked about it to the point it looked comical.
Arima looked away. It sounded quite tough actually.
"And the worst thing out all of this is that each ti I failed, your subconscious and soul would push back even more. It confined until I was chained in this freaking place! How's that possible, huh?! You were supposed to be the perfect vessel for ! Since when a simple human has enough ntal and soul power to drive off an Ancient Spirit like ?!"
"Okay, I get it," Arima shook his head. "I'm sorry but it's your fault for trying to be reborn like that."
Angra clicked his tongue. "Whatever, get the hell out. The mont you leave, I'll disappear forever and you'll get what you want. I'm tired of this shit."
Arima wordlessly turned around and put a foot in the water.
"I'll give you one last warning," Angra raised his voice and Arima halted. "You'll receive my mories soon but there's sothing you won't inherit. And that thing is any information about the Creators."
Arima raised an eyebrow and looked over his shoulder.
"I don't know much myself why. But the Laws will erase that kind of information the mont it leaves . Maybe the Creators wanted to reduce to the maximum the number of people knowing about their existence."
"In any case, if you want to defeat those abominations, my power will be far from enough. I know you also want to use the essence of Realities but it's uncertain. I tried to rebel against them but I never actually t them. However, along with Ahura, I am one of the oldest beings, even in all Realities. So, at least, I know one thing," Angra declared and paused.
"The Creators are not omniscient and omnipotent powerhouses. They were also not the ones who created the world you know in general. Well, they're indeed capable of giving birth to mortals as easily as breathing and certainly have the power to create and destroy Realities. They also can manipulate Laws."
"But they are not the ones who made them. They're incapable of creating Laws or even modify them. They are also unable to directly manipulate mortals. Basically, they are just so sort of administrators who can see the code and purge it if necessary but aren't the ones who made it nor can they change it."
Arima turned around. "What do you want to say? That there's sothing above?"
Angra laughed. "There's always sothing above. That is another truth. There are things above the Creators and even more after that too. We're just weak and small. It's impossible. Mark my words. No matter how strong you are, even if you think that you're a true God who gave life to the world, it's inconceivable to not have sothing above you."
"What I'm telling is just this;" Angra stood up and pulled on the chains. "You are not fighting the apex. So, don't do it with that mindset. That's the only way you'll beat them," Angra pushed Arima and made him fall in the water.
"This is my warning and my advice. Good luck. Convey my greetings to my sister freaking human who tortured for years" He cursed under his breath at the end.
Arima heard those fading words and snickered.
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