"You. You created Luna."
Isolde's words dropped like a thunderclap, and my mouth fell open in pure, unadulterated shock. The impossibility of it crashed over in waves, each more overwhelming than the last.
'I created Luna? How is that even possible?'
"I an, the original Arthur did," Isolde clarified with the casual tone of soone discussing the weather rather than reality-breaking revelations.
'Arthur created Luna? But Luna has existed for much longer than Arthur has been alive. She was bonded to Julius, the founder of the Slatemark Empire. That was a thousand years ago.'
The contradiction made my head spin. Either Isolde was lying, or there were forces at work that defied everything I thought I understood about causality and ti itself.
'Or was Luna's history with Julius fake as well?'
"That wasn't fabricated," Isolde said, apparently reading my thoughts from my expression. "Luna's bond with Julius was completely real. She has genuinely been alive for over a thousand years, experiencing every mont of that existence."
"Then how did the original Arthur create her?" I asked, my voice barely steady as I struggled to process the impossibility of what she was suggesting.
"Regression works by rewinding ti, correct?" Isolde asked with the patience of a teacher guiding a student toward understanding. "So why couldn't sothing like temporal creation occur if regression has already been achieved in this world?"
The logic was sound, terrifyingly so. If I accepted that the original Arthur had sohow achieved regression—traveling back through ti to restart his life with knowledge intact—then it wasn't impossible that he could have created Luna in so previous tiline and sent her back even further.
'But just how powerful was the original Arthur to accomplish sothing like that?'
'What kind of abilities would it take to create a living mythical being and manipulate ti itself?'
"Well, that's a simple answer really," Isolde said with obvious satisfaction at my growing comprehension. "I can't tell you the full extent of his capabilities, but I'll give you a general frawork to understand the scope we're discussing."
She leaned forward, her sapphire eyes gleaming with the intensity of soone sharing cosmic secrets.
"After mid Radiant-rank, individuals must pass through the Gates of Transcendence to reach high Radiant-rank and eventually peak Radiant-rank. But beyond Radiant-rank entirely, there exists a higher tier—the highest rank achievable by sentient beings. This is where those called gods reside: Divine-rank."
'Divine-rank.' The phrase carried implications that made my earlier understanding of power seem laughably naive.
"Currently, demons possess the largest number of Divine-rank entities," Isolde continued. "Seven beings they call the Demon Lords, plus an eighth they refer to as the Demon Overlord. These are creatures whose power can reshape worlds on a whim. Arthur reached Divine-rank."
'And the original Arthur reached that level?'
The thought was both exhilarating and terrifying. If that was the potential I carried within , what did that an for my future? What kind of cosmic responsibilities ca with such power?
"You're telling quite a lot," I said with a shaky exhale, feeling overwheld by the magnitude of these revelations.
"None of this information will harm you to know," Isolde shrugged with casual indifference. "The knowledge that would be dangerous for you to possess... well, I simply won't share that."
'Which ans there are even more significant secrets she's keeping from .'
I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what might be the most important question I could ask.
"Why was I specifically chosen to be brought here?" The words ca out quieter than I'd intended, weighted with the fear of what the answer might reveal about my autonomy and identity.
"Since this will be the final question I entertain today," Isolde said, her expression growing more serious, "I'll explain as much as I'm permitted to."
She paused, studying with those impossible eyes that seed to see across dinsions.
"As you may know, there are three fundantal Aspects that determine an individual's ultimate potential: Mind, Soul, and Body. Through careful... tuning of bloodlines and circumstances across generations, peak Body aspect talent for Arthur Nightingale was achieved."
'Tuning across generations.' The casual way she ntioned manipulating entire family lines was chilling.
"Unfortunately," she continued, "no matter how much genetic and magical optimization was applied, Mind aspect talent could never reach the heights required for our ultimate objectives. This limitation kept Soul aspect developnt constrained, and thus overall potential remained insufficient."
"So we brought a genius from another world," Isolde concluded with satisfaction. "A genius of ntal capability and strategic thinking who would translate into a Mind aspect prodigy in this reality. You, Arthur, represent the synthesis of optimized Body potential with transplanted Mind excellence."
'I'm not just reincarnated. I'm a deliberately crafted fusion of two different people's strengths.'
The revelation was staggering. Everything about my existence—my reincarnation, my advantages, even my relationships—had been carefully orchestrated by forces operating on tiscales I could barely comprehend.
'Am I even really anymore? Or am I just a composite being designed to fulfill soone else's agenda?'
Before I could voice any of these existential concerns, Isolde stood from her chair with fluid grace. But instead of simply leaving, she did sothing that shocked more than any of her previous revelations.
She bowed.
Not a casual nod of acknowledgnt, but a deep, formal bow that spoke to profound respect—or perhaps recognition of sothing I didn't yet understand about myself. Her sapphire eyes t mine briefly as she straightened, and in them I saw sothing that looked almost like... anticipation.
"Until we speak again, Arthur Nightingale," she said with the formality of soone addressing royalty. "May you grow into what you were destined to beco."
And then she was gone, leaving alone with the wreckage of everything I thought I knew about reality.
'Luna was created by —by original Arthur that achieved godlike power and manipulated ti itself. My entire existence is the result of careful planning across generations. I'm a deliberately crafted fusion designed for purposes I can't even begin to imagine.'
Before I could process these revelations any further, the door to my room burst open with enough force to rattle the walls. Two familiar figures launched themselves toward my bed with expressions of relief, panic, and determination.
"Arthur!" Rachel's voice cracked with emotion as she practically flew across the room.
"Master!" Reika called simultaneously, her usual composure completely shattered.
They tackled in perfect synchronization, their combined weight and enthusiasm driving back into the pillows as arms wrapped around from both sides. Rachel's blonde hair spilled across my chest while Reika's violet locks tickled my shoulder, and for a mont, the overwhelming complexity of cosmic gas and temporal manipulation faded beneath the simple, genuine concern of people who cared about .
'Whatever else is true,' I thought as I was thoroughly and enthusiastically embraced, 'at least so things in my life are real.'
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