Kori had wished to be able to help his beloved master during his time of need. He wished for it so hard. He wanted to find a way to resurrect his master as a part of his condition, but he wasn’t sure how to reach it. Arcturus was suffering and he couldn’t do anything about it. In the snow-covered forest, he could only look at the sky with worry. The franticness in his heart accumulated.

“Would you like me to help?” A voice called out to him.

Kori turned around to see a bespectacled man in a green outfit greeting him with a prim bow. He wasn’t sure who this man was or why he was calling out to him, but he could detect that he wasn’t an enemy; he let his guard down.

“Pardon my intrusion into your realm. I am Polaris, Master Souhait and Nova’s aide; I’m known as the guiding spirit for it is my duty to guide passing souls on their behalf. My responsibilities include guiding souls to the Spirit Realm and to wherever realm they wish to go to.” He reached a hand out towards Kori. “Would you like me to guide you to your beloved master’s realm?”

“Please…” Kori reached out and grabbed Polaris’s hand. Polaris pulled him towards him and then snapped a finger to summon a portal from below. They were pulled away from Nova’s snow-covered forest and were transported into a solemn and gloomy meadow. The sky was covered with murky dark clouds; he felt light drizzle. Kori then saw a large tree with long, withered branches.

He pulled himself off of Polaris and ran towards the tree that was on a hill. Once he reached the top, he gaped at the sight of his beloved Arcturus laying on the wet grass. Half of his body was shattered into tiny pieces while the other half looked peaceful. Kori felt a strong ache in his chest as he knelt down.

“Arc…”

Polaris knelt down on the opposite side. “Arcturus Mercury’s Realm of Desires used to be a serene place. This tree used to be grandiose and a place where he could enter, but alas, this tree has withered and the door to enter has been shut off.”

“Is this what a realm looks like when its vessel dies?” Kori prevented himself from reaching out to touch Arcturus.

“Yes. If a realm is vibrant, it’s a symbol that its vessel is alive. Arcturus’s realm is dark and gloomy. It means that his soul is crying because he wants to live, but he is dying.” Polaris reached a hand out to touch the rain.

Recalling his condition to Souhait for his wish to be granted, Kori grabbed a shattered piece of Arcturus and started putting him back together. “I can’t let him die. Not now. Not ever.”

As he quietly pieced his master back together, he remembered everything that had happened to Arcturus; he witnessed everything through the earring. He remembered how a new type of Shiftie, a Monarch, had appeared. He remembered how Arcturus was targeted because he wasn’t Nova who was her objective. He remembered how terrifying she was with her bouts of superiority and inferiority.

It made him wonder if she had been doing that with her free will or if it was implemented onto her. Regardless, he couldn’t help but to fear everything about her. The thought that there could be Shifties like that and Arcturus could hurt himself even more as he protected Nova.

“Polaris, just who is Nova? Why is he being targeted?”

“It’s because he’s Souhait’s vessel, which means he inherits his powers that are unrivaled against anything. He does his best to hide himself so that he doesn’t expose himself to the world; since some people are aware of him, they target him as they desire his power.”

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“If he is targeted, it means that Arcturus will get hurt because he has to protect him.”

“Master Nova is immortal. Even if he gets brutally hurt, he will not die.”

“I meant that Arcturus has to get hurt. I don’t want Arc to be hurt, not after what I did. He’s stronger than most people because of his Plasmian blood, but he’s still as fragile as any human. He’d do anything to protect people he cares about because he’s someone yearning for a reason to love. He doesn’t understand love himself, yet he’s someone so loving.”

“You are a kind soul,” Kori noticed Polaris’s voice was a bit louder than usual. He became startled when he saw Polaris kneeling next to him with a smile. “It’s hard to believe that a kind person like you was once a man-made being.”

“Am I kind?” Kori couldn’t believe what he had heard.

Polaris nodded. “You are. Worrying about someone you care about is a sign of kindness; it means you loved him a lot.”

He wanted to believe his words. As he continued fixing Arcturus, he thought about Nova. He was very enigmatic. He was someone he could trust Arcturus with, yet he was still nervous for their future endeavors.

“Polaris, why did Nova become immortal?”

“He wanted to live forever because there is something he has to do. Living forever and being unable to die are needed in order to achieve that goal.” Kori could detect solemnity within Polaris’s words. He wondered if it was a reflection of what Nova was going through?

“What is that goal?”

“I’m forbidden to say, because it’s not mine to tell. All I can say is this: what Nova needs to do and what Souhait needs to do are two separate goals, but they interconnect. That is why they are working together. That is why Souhait wanted the fragile Nova to become his vessel. That is why Nova will continue to live until the end of eternity; he needs to live longer than anyone else in order to achieve the things he couldn’t do. For him, for Souhait, for all of us in the Spirit Realm…”

Kori looked at Polaris. His expression was sad to the point of being hurt by his own words. He hated that he couldn’t do anything to comfort him right now as his priority was to repair Arcturus’s soul back to normal.

Why can’t I say anything? What am I supposed to say after hearing all that?

All he could do was use all of his concentration on repairing Arcturus. The pieces were very tiny, so he was taking a bit of time trying to put him back together. Polaris started helping him.

“Why are you helping?”

“I just want to. Arcturus is someone my masters need, which is why I need him alive too.”

There was silence as they focused on piecing Arcturus back together. The atmosphere between them was heavy. The more Kori pieced him back, the heavier his feelings felt.

“Polaris, I don’t understand Nova’s burdens.”

“That’s a given. No one can understand another’s burdens unless you are that person.”

“I was supposed to be perfect, but I truly don’t know anything in the end…” Kori’s words were sad, but he felt rather relieved from that revelation. It was as if something had been lifted off of his shoulders–a burden of sorts. Sayaka and he had resolved to stay behind because they wanted to prove to Nathaniel that they weren’t perfect. Perfection meant they would have escaped unscathed. The fact that he wasn’t the perfect being he was supposed to be made him unusually happy.

“No one is ever perfect.”

With Polaris’s help, Arcturus was almost repaired. His lower half and torso was completed. All they needed to do was complete his neck and his head now. Kori and Polaris worked as fast as they could and they finally repaired him whole.

The rain stopped. The sky became clear. The tree bloomed with leaves and fruit. An apple dropped down and rolled towards them. Kori noticed how bright red it was and it reminded him of Arcturus’s scarlet hair; he let out a smile.

“The wind feels nice.” Polaris took in the breeze.

“It does.” Kori closed his eyes and took in the breeze. He was amazed with how he was able to feel the wind inside someone’s mind.

Is this what it means to be alive?

Polaris then stood up. “Let’s get you back to your world now that Arcturus is back to normal.” He reached his hand out.

“Right…”

As Kori took Polaris’s hand, his other hand was grabbed. He turned to see that it was Arcturus looking at him with surprise.

“Why are you here, Kori?”