—Deo... Eco... Thais... Helena... —Apolo repeated as he pondered a response, recalling that during his early days in the capital, he had discovered the identities of these people. However, that information had proven to be of very little use to him until now, so the young noble had almost forgotten about it.
The harsh reality was that Apolo never fully understood the significance of these four names. While initially, all these people were the only four registered Greed mages in the empire, Apolo knew that this title was nothing more than a bureaucratic matter within the empire to indicate a significant achievement in that field of study. So, the young man never thought these titles held much meaning beyond attracting more sponsorships. Nevertheless, now Apolo had enough information to deduce that the Helena on that list was indeed the same Helena who was sleeping in front of him, and this mage transmitted her traumas by endlessly repeating these names in her dreams, so these ancient mages must symbolize something quite important to the mage who had been manipulating him all this time.
—I understand that all these people dedicated themselves to studying the same thing as the woman who is sleeping, but why did these mages traumatize Helena to such an extent?—Apolo asked, ruling out the possibility that Helena's trauma was due to jealousy towards these mages and their research, as ultimately the mage had surpassed them by meeting the requirements to become an Archmage, yet the trauma still persisted.
—No idea, neither of us knows the truth—replied the masked young man—But we do know that Helena feared something that had happened to all these people and understood that she was next on the list. According to my intuition, this fact was what ultimately caused the mage to become frightened enough to organize the complex plan to take over your body.
—I suppose that, as you mentioned, Helena sought to steal my body to gain the ability to regenerate—Apolo commented, finally understanding the mage's objectives—Probably the other three Greed mages died mysteriously in their research, so Helena assumed that with my body, she could solve that problem, and afterward, the mage could discover the great secret hidden in Greed magic.
—It could be that way, or it could not be—the masked young man replied, looking contemplatively at the woman lying down—The truth is, we don't have time to find out, and unfortunately, being able to answer that question wouldn't get you out of the critical situation you're in. Remember that you're dying right now and have one last mission to complete before time runs out.
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—Wouldn't it be better if you woke me up right now so I can heal myself? Or can't you do that?—Apolo asked with concern, reminding himself that he still had to face reality when this dream ended, which for some reason he always forgot.
—Exactly! I can't do it, and even if I could, it wouldn't change anything because I can't get rid of the big 'problem' in your life! That's why you have one last mission. When you finish it, you should be able to wake up, Apolo!—the masked young man replied quickly and somewhat improvised. Apparently, those were not the words the masked man had planned to say, but he used Apolo's idea to adjust his speech.
—What is the mission?—Apolo questioned urgently, finally understanding that his life depended on the success of this mission.
—Haven't you told me you knew what you had to do a few minutes ago? Well... don't worry, you'll understand everything when you get to the mission site. It's easy, I know you can do it!—the masked young man replied, removing his silver mask, revealing that his face was exactly identical to Apolo's—Here, put on the mask!
—But before, I didn't quite process the fact that I'm about to risk my life with this mission. Do you really not plan to tell me what I have to do?—Apolo asked with fear, receiving the mask that the identical young man was pushing onto his chest insistently, as if he wanted him to put it on quickly.
—We don't have time; you'll understand when you get there!—the former masked young man replied as his body lost balance and fell to the floor.
*Crush*...*Crush*... Immediately, Apolo realized that an earthquake was happening right now inside the large room, and it seemed that in a few minutes, the world would break apart exactly as it did with Tea's world.
—And if I fail? What if I don't understand what I have to do? I mean, I have a vague idea of what my last mission will be, but we might not be thinking the same thing—Apolo questioned with haste, while struggling not to lose his balance and fall to the continuously shaking floor.
—Stop doubting and put on the damn mask, kid!—yelled the former masked young man on the floor, distorting his voice in the process.
Terrified by the sudden scream, Apolo looked at the mask in his hand and, with all the doubts in the world, proceeded to put it on his face. Immediately afterward, a green flash filled the vision of the young noble, preventing Apolo from seeing what was happening in the room, despite the noise of the room collapsing, giving him a clear indication of the future that awaited him if he didn't escape from this place in time.