Chapter 42 - Act 2: Interlude
[Arc 2 - The New World]
In the deepest, darkest night, there existed nothing but eternity.
Morze—a nation driven by the pursuit of eternity.
No matter the methods used, including vile acts that should not be overlooked, they never wavered in their philosophy.
From extensive studies to rituals and even human sacrifices, their practices have persisted, and the nation has endured throughout it all.
In modern times, such practices are deemed sinful and must be eradicated,
But no one truly knows what transpires behind their borders, as few return alive; this remains an enigmatic nation, known only to its inhabitants.
After 2,000 years, it was finally time to act—to fulfill their purpose.
"The Cardinal Sin... are you excited that such a lifelong dream is about to come true, tin can?" He scoffed as he sat down on a rock, holding an object resembling a giant orange-red metallic rod.
The man who said that wore a robe and had a haughty attitude, addressing the person beside him.
What caught attention was his white hair and purple eyes; his right eye bore an unfamiliar symbol.
"......"
"Answer me."
"I-do-not-see-a-reason-why-I-should-speak-with-you, human."
A headless robot, appearing bulky, held a vial in its hand, deliberately ignoring the man it was assigned to for the mission.
Arcadia, the Teleportation Room.
The Pylon, [Erudition]'s core.
To investigate what had happened at one of their breeding grounds, they encountered an unexpected incident.
One of their test subjects had fled, accompanied by an unknown variable.
"Hah! That toy of ours escaped?" he exclaimed, surprised by the news.
"Yes. it-appears-someone-from-outside-helped-her-escape."
"Tch, annoying. Hey, tin can. Didn't you tell me your collars were indestructible? Or did you lie to me?"
The headless robot remained silent, ignoring him for the second time.
"Are you deaf or what? You don't want me to blow your nonexistent head off, don't you?"
"...Even-I-haven't-expected-that-to-be-broken-so-easily. Without-my-notice-as-well."
"So you're worthless."
—Clench...!
"Silence, you-detestable-insect." The robot replied, agitated by his words as it crushed the vial—the remains of Camila's choker when she was trapped in Demiurge.
"I'm merely telling the truth. What? You want to fight?" The white-haired man smiled, his response tinged with excitement about the impending confrontation.
Mana, the universal energy everyone uses, is abundant in the very atmosphere.
However, there are other sources of energy besides mana, unique energies originating from different gods.
Mana, born from the God who turned into Earth.
Ichor, an unknown remnant of a Forgotten God.
And Malice, power born from beings blessed by the Eldritch God.
Under the exposure to these two malicious energies, the lotus that resided at the core of the Pylon trembled, disturbed from its slumber.
Yet neither of them cared, ready to fight despite their struggles.
—Voom...!
Before they could jump at each other, someone stepped in, the click of her heels echoing through the room.
—Click!
"Cease."
The tension between the two dissipated, as if the agitation had been erased.
"Are you going against the Sovereign's orders by destroying this place?" An unknown girl said, looking at them with disdain in her eyes.
It was clear she also wasn’t on good terms with either of them.
"Tch, are you going to get in my way, little princess?" He scoffed, clearly annoyed and in a foul mood around people he disliked.
"If you came here to deviate from and delay the mission, then I won't hesitate to take you down, Eidolon of Agony."
—Sheathe...!
The girl unsheathed a vantablack blade, which absorbed all light around it.
Irritated by how nothing was going his way, he clenched his fist so tightly that it created brutish ripples, as if he could tear the air apart.
"..." He glanced at her sword, realizing it was not something to underestimate.
Although he was confident in his durability, he didn't trust his regenerative abilities against that black blade.
Just as she said, he had no choice but to back down and take a deep breath.
"...Fine, you live to see another day, newcomer." He sat down, staring at the distant bulb from the Core.
"Hmph, then don't cause a ruckus in the first place." She sheathed her blade and looked at the headless robot.
"Zero, do you know who caused this mess?"
"Don't-order-me-around, human."
On the robot named Zero's fingertips, it held the traces of the mana that was left behind before the escape.
This vibrant red magic clearly belonged to the test subject he recognized... but the other traces sparked his curiosity.
"No-traces-of-second-individual. Scanning-entity's-biometrics... none-found-in-database."
Despite being a robot, Zero attempted to identify its existence through every means possible.
It analyzed fingerprints, hair strands, sweat, nails, blood, dead skin, clothes, and magical energy.
All it sensed was below-average magical power, which was hard to believe considering they had escaped from this place.
—Zing!
After finishing its analysis, it was impossible to determine their identity, as if they didn't exist in this world at all.
"Something-is-wrong." He bent down and grabbed the dust from the vial he had crushed earlier.
"What do you mean by that?" the woman asked, intrigued that the omniscient robot was unaware of something.
Knowing him well, she understood that this was a rare occurrence.
"It-was-as-if-the-one-who-came-and-sabotaged-these-sacred-grounds-didn't-exist-in-the-first-place."
"Hmm, interesting."
The girl's emotionless face gazed at the lotus, which was on the verge of blooming.
"Well, no matter. I'm sure all we lost was just a pawn." She glanced at the purple vial on the floor.
Slowly but surely, the bud grew stronger with each passing second, making grotesque sounds as it endlessly fed on its surroundings.
It was close to completion, using everything at its disposal to nurture the creature within.
"In-one-year. The-flower-shall-bloom-and-bring-to-a-start-to-our-thousand-year-voyage."
—Thump! Thump! Thump!
The lotus pulsed, exuding a condensed miasma that could kill an ordinary person, rapidly expanding after their escape.
"Either way, their escape and actions have made things better for us, I suppose." She commented, believing their interference had accelerated the process.
"But aren't you worried, little princess?" The Eidolon of Agony interjected out of nowhere.
"Isn't that precious toy of mine someone you treasured? Haha!"
"...No, she is not. Not anymore."
—Grip...!
The girl clutched a green hair tie that belonged to someone she knew well.
"From what I'm hearing, aren't you just making excuses, Eidolon of Sin?" He scoffed, amused by her reaction.
Despite her emotionless demeanour, Agony wanted to break her, to peel away the layers of her skin and shatter that annoyingly empty expression.
To push her even further, he continued to taunt her until he provoked a response.
"I'm right, aren't I, Sin? Or should I say—"
"Shut your mouth before I slit your throat."
In an instant, Sin drew her sword against Agony's throat, as if it had always been in her possession.
"The-two-of-you, we-have-recieved-orders-from-the-sovereign."
"..."
"..."
If it weren't for Zero, they would have continued their bickering and prioritized personal vendettas over their mission.
"Hah, I was beginning to get bored with this place anyway."
"With-the-bud's-safety-confirmed, there-is-no-need-to-stay-any-longer. This-subject-is-that-important."
"I know, you damn tin can. I'm going ahead, so don't follow me."
As if he had lost interest, Agony began to disappear into the ground, engulfed by tentacles.
And just like that, he was gone.
...
...
...
"Sin, was-it-your-doing-for-that-test-subject-to-escape?"
"...No, that never crossed my mind."
"Then-that's-good."
Zero began to unpack his belongings and soon walked away, planning to leave.
"But-if-you-ever-dare-go-against-us, you-know-what-will-happen." Zero looked at her with suspicion.
"...I'm aware."
"I-hope-you-don't-disappoint-us, Eidolon-of-Sin."
With those last words, the robot Zero vanished in an instant, as if he had never been there.
...
...
...
At that moment, only Sin remained, alone in a place that used to evoke something within her.
In a once vibrant city, beneath the heart of Arcadia, it now hosted a parasite with unknown motives.
The girl had white hair and nearly pale skin.
The only colour that wasn't white was her eyes, the same hue as Agony, as she accepted the power of malice coursing through her veins.
To someone watching, she seemed familiar, a silhouette that could be recalled.
But before they could realize, the girl looked in a specific direction, and at that moment—
"You're watching, aren't you?" She uttered, her dark, murky eyes fixating on something.
Her eyes seemed so deep that it felt like an abyss was peering into them, revealing their very essence.
"I don't know who you are..."
With an emotionless expression, she reached out to them... no, she approached me, watching in a dreamlike state.
—Shik...!
"But you have to die here, observer."
She beheaded me, and my visions soon faded to black.
Her eyes stood out to me, despite being purple.
As time slowed, I saw that her eyes had golden indents, a trait that belongs strictly to a particular lineage.
Before I could utter a name, my memories of this moment vanished without a trace.
The only thing I retained was her solemn and wrathful gaze—one who wished to burn the world to ashes, leaving nothing behind.
