"You should have used your time better, like training instead of just waiting," Billy said.
"The power of the spirits doesn't grow with training. From the moment we were born, our strength was limited to our world," The time spirit said. "Things like the number of people in that world may influence our power, but we cannot influence them to make that happen and benefit us. We also don't think that we need that. From the very beginning, we only oversee that world and help the people there survive their hardships. We aren't the ones who have to save it."
That was odd but not unbelievable. As spirits, they were deeply connected to the world they were in since they were born due to the circumstances there and thanks to the mana of that world… Billy realized why Uvish used such methods as using humans from Earth because, in spirit form, he could stay hidden, but he could do things behind the scenes.
"We apologize for our behavior," The order spirit said as she approached the time spirit.
"We couldn't take any chances considering that the fate of our world was hanging in the balance," The chaos spirit said while he approached the time spirit.
"It is alright. I can forget about the fact that you three tried to kill me together… you really think I would say that?" Billy frowned. "Get real. I will kick your asses for good unless you do something to quench my anger."
"Despite that, we ask you to consider your future actions carefully," The time spirit said. "We called you reckless, and that is the statement of a fact. Killing us here wouldn't also help you, your family, and your friends in any way. We managed to avoid the destruction of that world just by existing. If we five are killed, that world will stop producing mana and will eventually fade away."
"That is a very convenient explanation," Billy said.
Despite saying that, Billy couldn't help but believe in those words; all of the things he knew made Billy think that it was the truth. It was a rather problematic thing...
"Do you want a portion of my power now to confirm what will happen if Uvish wins this time?" The time spirit asked. "We are aspects of that world; if we die, our authority over that world will disappear alongside all of us. We are like the roots of a massive tree, destroy one of them, and the tree will keep standing; destroy all of us, and the tree will collapse and die."
"What about Uvish?" Billy asked.
"He will restart his business elsewhere, not like he has any reason to do so anymore," The time spirit said. "He can use the power he obtained to ruler many worlds; becoming the ruler of those worlds will also give him access to their mana, so he will be able to travel further in the cosmos, making him obtain even more mana."
That would be one hell of a vicious cycle… still, for someone as power-hungry as Uvish, that would be like a dream coming true… Billy had no idea how many rounds of that dream he would do until he got sick of it, though. Still, that was bound to happen. It seemed that over the years where that kind of system where the worlds chose rulers and gave them access to nearly infinite mana, no one managed to become powerful enough to rule over the entire universe, but maybe someone like Uvish who had that three-thousand-year-old plan could pull it off.
"I suppose I don't want to test that…" Billy said while frowning.
"We are grateful for your consideration," The time spirit said. "After reaching this point, it is clear what we should do. If we cooperate with you, you might have a chance of defeating Uvish. However, we need to warn you of some things."
"... Speak," Billy furrowed his eyebrows.
"Our goal as spirits is to protect the world, but our goal as sapient beings is to free Uvish from his prison," The time spirit said. "Despite everything that happened, he still was our first friend, and he was the human that made us realize why we were supposed to protect this world."
"You guys sure are naive for beings who are almost ten thousand years old… as if that was an option," Billy said. "You might have some kind of plan in mind to redeem him, but I and many others won't forgive him."
"He will pay for his crimes if he hadn't paid for them already," The time spirit said. "Moreover, sparring him is in your best interest, and otherwise, you won't recover your body. You will need our help for that, and that is the only thing we ask in exchange for our cooperation."
Billy would feel even more suspicious if those guys didn't ask for anything in exchange. Still, that was a bit bothersome. Considering Uvish's abilities and what he could do, Billy could imagine the spirits managing to do something like resetting his soul and erasing all the memories of what he had done, but that seemed to be the light of a punishment. He could live his life working for the spirits as compensation, but…
"As expected, I can't accept that," Billy said. "Still, if that is the only way to recover my body… That being said, I have a condition as well. To prevent that kind of thing from happening again, I will put his soul under a contract that will force him to become completely obedient to me."
"We were planning to do that from the beginning. While I can't see the future branching into a different one after doing this kind of thing, being careful is a given," The time spirit said. "That being said, our goal as sapient beings doesn't change despite the risks. We want to rescue our old friend."
"Well, if you accept my terms…" Billy said.
"Shall we start then?" The time spirit asked.
