Dante got out of his room and walked down the hallway, rubbing his eyes and mumbling silently.

"Hngh. Ah..." Dante stretched out, "Hmm? Luna, everything ok? Dare I say you look...distressed."

"This business does not call upon for your involvement. You were supposedly asleep from sheer exhaustion."

"I was to guess, the combination of sugar and caffeine just kicked in and I can't sleep at all. What the hell happened when I was in my room?"

Luna ignored him and simply moved on, searching around for what must have probably been Lina.

"Alright. Guess Tiki's one-off character trait isn't unique in the group anymore." he sighed."I...I would think so."

Dante turned around, "Hmph. you..."

In front of him, once again and now fully recovered was Hikari. The two looked into each other's eyes, one with a sorry look and the other with that of anger. Soon, this time, it was her who broke the ice.

"We need to talk. Seriously, this time. And it'll be a talk with "me", this time. No missing memories causing me to act foolishly, no lying to keep anything hidden...just a talk. Please..." she pleaded.

To his surprise, it was Hikari, more than anyone else, who was acting completely alone. He knew it, deep inside all his senses, that Enemy had nothing to do with it. It was truly Hikari that was the one asking and taking matters into her own hands.

"Fine. We'll talk. But not here, last thing I want is to have another surprise while everyone's riled up already. But make it quick, since I can't get any sleep and I was planning to find Terna instead. Not even the least bit worried about her, she's not a kid, but I'd just like to know where she's at."

"Ok. I won't bother you for that long. Balcony area?" she suggested as she looked behind him.

"Sure.", he agreed.

The two of them made their way to the balcony area and took a seat next to each other in what looked like an observation area facing the garden. A deep breath from both came in before being exhaled back out, as they prepared for something long overdue.

"So...ladies first." Dante gave her the go-ahead.

"Thank you. Now...where to begin? I guess I'll let you give me a starting topic."

"Let's start over at the beginning. Why the actual hell did you show up to my house? Was it because you were my forgotten life's part that came to haunt me again? Or was it because you simply wanted to torment me? Because both of those sound extremely plausible."

"None of those and you know it...but I can't blame you for saying this either. In reality, I hardly know what brought me there, other than her, of course. I guess by that point I was following anything that resembled a sense of home, blindly trying to get away from the Chaos Sect. They aren't really just making trouble, you know...they are non-Obsulyte users actively hunting down those few Obsulyte users that exist, especially the feral human-animal hybrids that are coming forth now. They didn't know who I was...other than the fact that my abilities and energy overflow were too much to ignore."

"Hmph. Then why didn't you destroy them completely? You and I both know you were capable of blowing them up and running away. Or did you think I'd forget the extent of your powers?"

"Because I couldn't. Look...I know it sounds crazy, but they can shut your Obsulyte powers down. They found some weird way to do it...I don't know how. But they have a device that connects you to the Abnormal String. I remember that much from that place I was locked up in. However, it wasn't helpful at all when they found out that embedded Obsulyte cannot be touched, and switched to much more brutal tactics."

"Wait, wait, if they have such a thing then it's more than a serious threat. If you're lying again, I swear-", he was interrupted.

"I'm not! I swear you that one back! But it still doesn't matter. One-on-one, no human will ever win against an Obsulyte user. They can lock their abilities but because of the innate strengths that come from that enhancement, they'll get outmatched in every category. Especially because of the fact that, through time, the Obsulyte inside everyone mutated to its own special accord. Draganovs from Dirunon were amongst the strongest alongside Tiki's demons...though you may not possess a tail like Tiki or ears like Anya, you're not human. The reason Draganovs obviously come from dragons refers not only to the characteristics you may have had but the fact that the genes within you are to match that of mythical dragons."

"Hmm...Interesting, isn't it? Coming from you, this wide ass bundle of information sounds both too dramatic to be brought up like this and way too suspicious in the way that you portray it. Tell me exactly...what the hell are you?" Dante started to get angry.

"Hikari...Hikari Evans. And...And I'm not from Zero! I came from another world...rather, this world was created with a vision of my own world. But it's not what I tried to do."

"What the...hell? You mean that...you mean that this world isn't-", Dante stuttered.

"I already wrote a lengthy overview to Drima about this, forcing Her to give me every single bit of my memories back. It's crazy...I know. But I'm telling you, I...this entire journey was never about angels versus demons. Zero might be a mutation in of its own but...it goes much deeper than that."

"Stop whatever you're trying to explain to me. Take it from the top and start again, because this...if you're lying again..." Dante struggled between belief and suspicion.

Hikari took a deep breath and got up, "Here.", she opened a wide holographic screen in front of her, "Record. The others need to know this too. This world...Zero. It's a new world built on the old foundation. My name is Hikari Evans. My original world is...well, I don't know. More like, I don't know its name, but I remember it clearly, now.", she put her hand on her chest and took out the same collection of reflective shards she did in Corosta, "This right here is what I came to call a 'World Core'. It's a link between those residing in Zero and the original world they came through from in the Quantum Irregularity. My original place of origin isn’t this world. How and why I got to the Quantum Irregularity in the first place, I don't know, but...here's how I remember it all. When I was adrift the Quantum Irregularity, I began to lose myself for what seemed seconds, only to then realize that I was there for years. After a while, I also realized that I had an ability unlike any other that I thought I did. Obsulyte. Specifically, its origin form, is way stronger and much more volatile that I could control to my will. I called it Absulyte, as in 'Absolute' instead of 'Obsulyte' for 'Obsolete'. That power...it was remarkable. Through my travels in the Quantum Irregularity, I found out that Absulyte was rampant everywhere, but it retained a point of origin. Realities and universes. Many of them...realities of all sorts of different kinds, all sorts of different beings and environments. It was a wonderful time, jumping from world to world was...it was something else. I'm getting giddy just thinking about it. Throughout those worlds, however...I noticed the good and the bad. Through manipulating matter around me, being the Overseer that I was, I managed to help alleviate some of that bad...until I reached another place. The Abnormal String, being much more solid than the Quantum Irregularity, allowed me to easily traverse to the deepest deep. Free falling down a giant hole, going down through some stairs...I don't know how, but eventually, I hit ground zero. Don't ask me what it is, because I don't even know myself...I'm any case, that place was just...flat. A simple flat floor consisted of material that didn't reflect light or sound, and just...went on forever. That was when I saw it...the first indication of a world being built, matter gathering at a single source on that floor. It was then that I decided to help it grow and expand on itself. Eventually, I managed to create another entire universe. It wasn't really me, however...I just guided the matter from above before it started contracting and building on itself. Eventually, the world came to be as we know it...and as I knew it. I guess that my presence must've affected the way the world was built or the creatures in it. Despite the obvious existing species of cats, dogs and all the flowers, mutations, like in the bodies of demi-humans here, must've occurred for things like "Splashers" to exist...I don't know. What I do know, however, is this...the things falling on our shoulders are way larger. Makaro and Kikaro, are not my brothers...they never were. Besides me, they were the first two beings that appeared inside Zero, something which I thought to be impossible given the world's state at the time...I need you to trust me on this but...much like me, they wanted to make this world as well. So they did...they tried creating conflict before the "fairy tale" passed down on the world was created that detailed the events. And now here's the real issue. They want the world destroyed, because it strayed far too much away from the intended course of its original purpose...perfection. But what they fail to understand was the fact that...if Zero is destroyed, then everything, and I mean absolutely, every, single, thing, will be destroyed. The Spacial Coordinates is a thing that the World Cores of those who were brought into Zero provide. It's a direct line to their world that can be retraced through both the Imaginary Space and the Quantum Irregularity to get back to them. And the reason why those from Zero do not possess one, those who are actually, originally born in Zero, is because...it's because Zero is the very basis of existence. If it's destroyed, every world, alternate reality, whatever you want to call it, will cease to exist. Because of its nature and the fact that this world is at the very starting base of everything, it acts as a direct link to every single world and a direct base to support every single world, hence the Obsulyte overflow that caused multiple creatures and people to be so overwhelmingly powerful compared to any other world. It's the base of a house of cards...if we fail then...everything will fall. I have no idea how they plan on destroying this world, and the reality in it, but if they do...there will be way more casualties than you could ever possibly count in endless years."

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Dante got up, "Stop recording." he commanded the holographic panel, "Before you press "Send All"...you realize what you just said, right?"

"I'm well more than aware. I promised you, Dante. No more lying...and if I forgot to say anything right now, is because I genuinely forgot. My mind is racing a million miles a second...I'm struggling to process everything that She gave me back with my memories...but if I do find something as critical as this in them again, I won't hesitate to say it. Not to you, not to anyone."

Her eyes filled with the spirit of bravery and determination, Dante momentarily forgot his grudge against her as well, being surprised by the person standing before him.

"Good. Then I guess that lowers you on my hit list. Now, if that's all, I suggest you prepare yourself. With this type of information being told to everyone, this journey is about to go down a path that honestly shouldn't, given who's taking that task on."

"Your abilities alone should be more than enough to challenge Makaro and Kikaro. They are Overseers, like me, but that doesn't make them simply invulnerable...although it's very close to that. Then again, with how the world is shaped, they should be at a more manageable state."

"No, you didn't quite understand me. I don't give a shit." Dante shrugged.

"Wait...what?"

"Let me tell you this, Hikari. Just because you told me that 'Oh my god, the entire known and unknown universe will combust', do you think I'll mobilize to make it right?", he chuckled, "Piss off. In a world where I only experience grief, pain and misery, while having a sliver of love just so that it too can be taken away before my eyes, why would I help? Do you honestly think this is a story where I'd play 'hero', just because I'm told what I'm capable of, and how I *have* to use it? Enemy hated me for the sheer fact that I, for some reason, along with Mellistar, dragged you into this...but it's the other way around, isn't it? You dragged us into this. Your selfish, sorry ass couldn't for a single second take the actual blame for all that you did, so you tried to fix it then, and now, by using us two as the nuclear option? Pitiful creature. I wouldn't give a damn from what place from the Quantum Irregularity you popped out of, or what tail or ears you sported on your back or head...but you? I hate you. The actual you. You're nothing more to me than what Magi is. You both, selfish assholes, thought that you could atone for whatever bullshit you did back then by using me as a means to do it? Screw you! Both of you!"

Hikari's eyes stood strong before hearing of his words and the sight of his anger. She, for once, would stand before danger and anger, facing directly ahead, as she always should have.

"I-I...you're right. Absolutely right...I'm..." her sad words were interrupted.

"'Sorry'? Yeah right. Shove it. The one thing I know is that I'm right for sure. I don't give a damn whether the world explodes and takes everyone's head with it, including mine. The only thing I received is the only thing I'll give...eye for an eye. The only reason why I just won't give up is because I know full damn well that I'll cause these idiots that think they're close to me to chase after me, and I despise that. In any case, I'll tag along just because of that fact...how you resolve the issue is on you." he got up and started walking away, "So get on with it quickly...else you know, the whole world might explode and stuff, I dunno."

As he left her alone and moved on, she dared not to bend to the harshness of his words, rather than firmly hold her ground.

“What an entitled little prick.” Enemy echoed in Hikari’s head.

“Shut up.”, Hikari angrily said.

“What?”

“I said, shut, up!” Hikari yelled, “Do you think he doesn’t simply have the right to be mad?! Had I gotten my memories sooner, I’d acknowledge that Mellistar is long gone and do this all by myself…now what excuse do I possibly have for dragging him into this?! If you think I’m naive as I can be, then you’re dead wrong…with these memories, I can easily differentiate the good and the bad. It might hurt you when I say this, but I love him! Not the way you think, but as a friend! Think about it, goddammit! You were hurt and wounded, travelling along the mud and the rain while being hunted down like an animal…and he took you in. Unconditionally. He even killed that henchman from the Chaos Sect for you…even then, once I woke up, he let me clean myself, fed me and went so far as to assist me to Reingard before being dragged into this!”

Enemy snapped back at Hikari, “He only helped to make this way worse than what it should’ve been! Do you honestly think I’ll forgive him…both of them?! He even dared to make advance towards you in the hotel!”

“You stupid moron! It was my choice to do that! Rather…if you had given me any sort of memory to be able to realize what the hell I was doing, it wouldn’t have to be this way!”

She yelled out loud before the echo of her voice returned a steep drop of silence. She calmed down gradually, before realizing how much damage her words truly inflicted.

“Umm…sorry. It’s just…my memories coming back like they did to him. It kind of…” Hikari silently apologized.

“You…you’re right. I’m to blame. Had I not given in all that time ago to seal them away from you in the Imaginary Space, I…” she spoke with a faint scent of regret.

“If possible…I’d like to ask you something. Why? I mean…you are modeled in the Quantum Irregularity after me, obviously but…why did you go so far? Please…I need to know. Why did you do all this just to protect me?”

Enemy once again spoke with regret, “Because I didn’t want you to hurt anymore. I know everything about you, but…I’ve blocked you off from knowing everything about me. Hikari, I genuinely believe that after such an incredibly long time you need a break too. Screw the thousands of years of experience, screw it all. You’re still as young as you were back then…yet, after all that time, I still have to see you smile a single time without a care in the world. This pain you inflict on yourself must stop, and the fact that you linked some of those few rays of hope to a dumbass who ran in battle head first, only to die and leave you alone again…god dammit, Dante and Mellistar are the exact same!”

Hikari took a long breath, carefully crafting a response that she knew wouldn’t hurt her any more.

“Then you should hold him at higher standards. Because if he hadn’t jumped in then…I would’ve done it myself. You knew very well it was a selfless act, otherwise the newly created Void would collapse on the Abnormal String…Then why did you keep that awful grudge?”

“Because…I guess we all have a different perspective on what the world means to us.”

They both stayed there in silence, Hikari looking out at the garden below them.

“Honestly…you and Dante aren’t that different. But…I don’t think that’s good in many ways. I’ve been through several places and in many scenarios but…every single world just refuses to be that simple.”

As they stood there to face the sunlit garden, losing themselves to the calmness of the moment, finally able to take a breath from it all.