11 hours and 25 minutes until the arrival of Eliminator
The Lokras Plains(North-West of Greenbell Forest), Central Archwood.
Due to what happened yesterday, Arthur barely got any sleep. As a Parasite, his need for nutrients and rest greatly differed from humans, so he didn’t actually need to sleep everyday.
Once everyone had woken up, Arthur gathered them and revealed everything.
Less than a day ago, he was willing to keep things quiet and try to solve things by himself, but the situation took a turn for the worst.
“What are you talking about?”
When she heard him recount his ‘hallucination’, Lucy, her arms crossed, cut him off and frowned.
“That strange Linking did happen yesterday. I did state that I would kill you if you went mad. We did not, however, talk last night.”
Upon hearing this, Arthur’s expression turned grave.
‘I have things wrong? No… it was the opposite of what I assumed.’
As he struggled to give a response, Chris and Charles looked at him.
“Is it perhaps Schizophrenia? If so, it doesn’t make sense that it would happen so fast. I mean, just a couple of days ago, you were perfectly fine.”
“I once read that Mutant Parasites would suffer from reality dissociation… among other things. Whatever it is, I’ll have to be careful and know what is real and what is fake.”
Chris, looking worried, if not a little anxious, glanced at Charles,
“Is there anything that can alleviate his condition? A potent herb or a strong medicinal mixture?”
“I don’t know. I… barely know anything about Parasites. Sorry.” The apothecary apologetically bowed his head and then opened the encyclopaedia that he always kept on him.
“How about this: Each night, before we rest, you’ll tell us everything you saw and heard. That way, we distinguish the discrepancies and make sure you know what was actually fake.”
“That doesn’t fix the problem, does it?” Lucy snorted, clearly objecting to this ‘solution’ he proposed.
“Things could get much worse. What if he suddenly attacks us?”
“The fuck do you want us to do, then? Abandon him? You came to Arthur and asked to travel with us. If you’re not happy, then piss off.”
Surprised to see Chris snap, and even curse at her, Lucy glared back at him in silence. This was a stark contrast from his usually easy-going and friendly nature.
“You too, Charles. I consider you as a friend, and fully-trust you, but If you’re worried and want to leave, if even until Arthur is back to normal, I totally understand.”
“No. I want to continue with you.” Charles shook his head and softly smiled. He seemed to be more innocent and less cynical than Lucy.
A long bout of silence flowed between the four of them. Despite her attitude, Lucy didn’t leave, though, secretly, she decided to keep a close eye on Arthur in case of an attack.
“You two will stay at the front. I’ll walk close to you, Arthur. If you experience anything odd, you tell me.”
“Understood.”
Although no solution was at hand, the group had no choice but to continue traveling. After all, they gained nothing from staying in the same place.
Three hours later, as they were crossing the vast and flat Lokras Plains, Arthur suddenly halted his feet.
“Arthur?”
“I’m back in Wilsden.” Stated Arthur as his eyes were noticeably unfocused.
Although he found himself in a different yet familiar environment, he kept talking as if to convey what was happening to Chris and the rest.
“This seems to be Leonis Sanguis’ estate. I think this is a memory. He’s using a communication device… arguing with his cousin, Sancha.”
After a couple of seconds, Arthur found himself in a completely different room.
“I am in a decrepit house. I recognize the old man. He’s someone I possessed in the past.”
Just like that, Arthur kept recounting these vivid visions, and only after half an hour did he snap out of it.
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“You good now?”
Chris grabbed him by the shoulders and gently shook him back and forth.
“I am. Unless the ‘you’ talking right now is fake.”
“I am real.” Stated Chris, using English instead of Astria’s native language.
As Arthur slowly collected himself, Lucy approached him and remarked,
“It’s not a curse. From what you’ve told us so far, you are re-experiencing not only your own memories but also those of the people you possessed. This is likely an ailment specific to Parasites, as you previously deduced.”
“That still doesn’t explain why it’s happening now.”
“That maid… Evelyn, was it? Maybe her death affected him. Possibly weakening his mental state and resulting in these haunting visions?”
Unlike earlier, Lucy seemed to have changed her approach. Her tone was slightly softer and less aggressive as she voiced her theories.
“I-it’s not just that.” Charles also joined in, his clear eyes scanning Arthur from head to toe, “Maybe you should change into a different body?”
[Magick Sense]
Arthur activated his skill and closely and carefully inspected his body. Quite unexpectedly, he did find a minuscule yet foreign type of energy lurking within.
‘I’ve regularly examined myself. This appeared recently… this morning, at the latest.’
Just as Arthur was about to change hosts, he felt a chill down his spines. Not only him, Chris, Lucy, and Charles trembled and unconsciously looked to the canopy.
The sky was blanketed by complete and utter Darkness. Pitch-black and ominous, totally different from ‘night’. A low, frightening growl echoed from within the Darkness as it spread to every corner of Astria.
Charles was the first to fall unconscious, unable to resist the suffocating aura. Chris let out a grunt of pain and knelt down, struggling to keep himself conscious.
The ring and bracelet that Lucy was wearing shone with golden and azure lights, but these radiances were soon drowned by the unforgiving and cold Primordial Darkness.
As he saw Lucy fall down like the other two, Arthur grunted and tried to keep his wits about him. After a very short bit, he could feel the wind come to a screeching halt. It felt as if time itself took a breath, equally locked down by the creeping and imperturbable Darkness.
‘That’s not because of… me…’
As tried his best to stay on his feet, Arthur was startled to see the Darkness spin rapidly before descending into him specifically.
[Sanguis Barrier]
Arthur saw his barrier shatter in an instant. He instinctively crossed his arms to defend against the Darkness, but when it finally struck him, it dealt no physical harm. It seemed to have entered his body, focusing on that minuscule and foreign energy that he had noticed earlier.
“Aaah!”
The moment the two energies clashed, Arthur felt an immense pain that made him fall down and scream atop his lungs.
Unbeknownst to his companions, who had all fallen unconscious, Arthur, or more specifically, Leonis Sanguis’ body, literally cracked and then shattered like broken glass.
All that remained was the Parasite’s ant-sized body, writing and twitching on the ground as a ridiculous amount of Primordial Darkness kept pouring on it from above.
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Meanwhile, in the basement of the destroyed cabin, North-West of Wilsden.
Feylord, who felt a suffocating pressure, didn’t know that the sky was covered by Darkness. However, when flames burst from his body and engulfed him, he panicked and tried his best to quell the Phoenix Fire.
As Ferendia looked in surprise, the figure of Feylord’s mother extended her hand, and with a single motion, Feylord found himself back to normal. Furthermore, a beautiful rainbow-colored light covered the entire cabin, seemingly protecting it from the effects of the Primordial Darkness.
As he gasped for air, Feylord looked at his mother in stupefaction.
Stay here.
Hearing his mother’s voice, Feylord remained dazed. Amidst the despair and fear of dying, he felt a tinge of warmth and hope.
“You’re not my mother. What are you?”
The figure didn’t give a response, it simply vanished into many specks of light.
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A short while earlier
‘I can’t resist. I can’t!’
With the Nameless Knight standing dangerously close to him, Mikhail kept absorbing every bit of Primordial Light in this isolated dimension.
He felt his strength grow to astronomical heights, however, if things continued this way, he would be overwhelmed and completely succumb to the Light, becoming a Lost Virtue.
His original plan was to slowly absorb the Light here and ruin the Holy Necromancer’s plan.
Although, at first, Mikhail was ecstatic to achieve his goal and grew powerful, the presence of Leiu made him feel disturbed and afraid.
The more Light he absorbed into his body, the more Darkness came out of the Nameless Knight. In fact, it seemed to be reacting to the intense opposing energy emanating from Mikhail, thereby strengthening Leiu and allowing him to not only resist, but also recover his hold over it at a rapid pace.
Mikhail could feel himself reaching the realm of Godhood just by absorbing the Primordial Light. He had yet to fully integrate it into himself and make it his own, nevertheless, he seemed to have fully transcended mortal limits.
However, as he gazed upon the dark-haired youth standing in front of him, Mikhail bore witness to absolute power and dominance.
The Light was contained, overpowered by Darkness, so much so that most of the once blinding dimension turned pitch-black.
“S-spare me…”
Mikhail was barely able to squeeze those words as his gargoyle body, now filled with a worrying quantity of Light, was about to be corrupted.
It had become clear that this was Leiu’s plan from the beginning.
In response to his pleading, Leiu maintained his long silence.
By now, he had recovered more than half of his original strength. No matter how strong an entity in Astria was, it could never threaten him.
‘There’s not enough time.’
Formless Darkness shot toward Mikhail, enveloping his whole body, not only binding his body, but also sealing away the Primordial Light.
Leiu never had any intention of letting Mikhail leave, but, for now at least, it was better to keep him alive than risk him turning into a Lost Virtue.
After that, Leiu opened a portal of this isolated dimension and unhesitantly stepped ‘outside’.
Unsurprisingly, as his powers were still not fully back, the moment he was back on Astria, the entire planet was affected by the returning Primordial Darkness.
As he gazed upon the darkened canopy, Leiu a blank white card from thin air. He stared at it for a couple of breaths before sighing and throwing it upwards.