"Phew…that was scary." Arnark said, trembling in fear for a moment before he calmed down, "Mystique is too terrifying to face. Thankfully, I took action when he was being manned by a conservative collective consciousness."
"Anyway, I succeeded." He grinned and gazed at the egg that was in his hands. He stared at it in delight, "This is my contingency plan."
The egg was tiny, only the size of his thumb, but within it was a half-formed human baby, or at least something that resembled one. Based on a human baby's growth cycle, it was on par with a baby growing six months in the womb.
Thump! Thump!
The heartbeats of the baby were loud as Arnark stared at it, his face scrunching up upon noticing the baby struggling within a matter of seconds, "Oh no, it will die at this rate."
Arnark stared at the vacuum of the space he had arrived at now, taking in a deep breath as he muttered, "Is this for the better? Well, I need to do it anyway."
Immediately, his aura turned weak as a fragment of himself was shaved off to become a mysterious stream of energy that absorbed a terrifying amount of fate and swerved into the egg.
Crack! Crack!
Shatter!
The space of the universe shattered in response, sucked in of all its fate as Arnark activated his final Core Skill, an ability that defied everything in existence, a Main Character's ultimate power that could only be used once.
Main Character Core Skill—Second Chance!
Unlike his other Core Skills, Second Chance had no level requirement. Once activated, it took effect, irrespective of the state of being or the condition of the world he was in.
The owner of this Main Character Core Skill was someone killed an instant after he awakened. He didn't even realise the power he possessed when Slayer destroyed him. Arnark absorbed the authority and carried out experiments, channelling this power through the Main Character System fragments to sometimes give some protagonists a second chance.
But, that was only conducted in worlds with a weak fate to prevent the effect of the Core Skill from being used up.
"It's done," Arnark muttered as he observed the Core Skill of Second Chance permanently disappearing from his authority and records.
Though, despite his actions, he observed that the egg was growing more unstable as time passes, frowning as he muttered, "It needs the best of conditions to remain safe. If it falls in the hands of Compass, then…"
"Never mind," Arnark changed his mind and decisively unleashed a torrent of energy, rapidly forming a connection with the Astral Network of the nearby universe as he watched the figure of Zaira appear before him a moment later.
"You're still in your human form, as expected." He muttered as he extended his hand, giving the egg to her, "Here, this was originally yours."
"This…" Zaira stared at the egg in shock, muttering with a wry smile, "So, it indeed exists. I had hoped it was just a part of my nightmare."
A glance was all it took for her to understand Arnark's resole, her eyes turning moist from joy as she grinned, "I'll gratefully accept it."
She placed the egg on her belly, watching it sink through her body and merge into her womb. Immediately, her stomach bulged, making her appear no different to a human lady that was six months pregnant. "I'm continuing it from that time."
"I'll be leaving now," Arnark said as he turned around, about to bite off his tongue to commit suicide when Zaira held the helm of his dress suddenly.
"Are you going there now?" Zaira asked, her expression serious, "Let Invader take the lead and test the waters."
"Are you scared?" Arnark raised an eyebrow as he stared at her, "Do you seriously think the Main Character System would fall under Compass Carburettor's possession?"
"You should understand…" Zaira said solemnly, "If you were to lose, Compass wouldn't be becoming the Main Character System. Instead, he'll be himself with the power of the Main Character System under his disposal. I…"
She gritted her teeth, "I've tried to recreate the Tell-Tale System from my records, but all my attempts ended in failure. That bastard…he entirely devoured Tell-Tale's concept and is now representing it."
"So, if you were to lose, your concept would be devoured by him."
"I don't want the powers of one of the most special Systems to fall under his control. Losing Tell-Tale itself is a crushing blow that I've yet to recover from." Zaira said, expressing momentary fluster.
'So, after gaining a human body thanks to Mystique, she has become susceptible to emotional outbursts.' Arnark observed as he stared at her eyes, noticing a sense of fear pervading deep in them, "You're wrong about something."
"Even if I suffer a million losses, the final point of my timeline is a victory." Arnark proclaimed, "A climactic victory is the essence of being the Main Character."
"At least, only make your appearance after the Invader System is defeated," Zaira said, nervous.
"Then, why don't you reveal the identity of the System that has intruded upon my genre?" Arnark said, expressing killing intent as he killed himself and appeared a couple of metres away, evading Zaira's lunge, "As expected, there is zero trust between us."
"Everything I'm doing is only for my survival. Don't think for a second that we're on the same side, Zaira." Arnark said in anger before revealing a subtle smile, "Or, there is one way. Are you willing to go under me?"
In response to his words, Zaira glared at him. Intense killing intent burst out of her body as she became ready to battle, "Arnark!"
"Do you love me? Or hate me? Decide it first." Arnark killed himself and revived farther away, "Irrespective of what you decide, one thing is for certain."
"I'm what you desired the most from the moment you became the System World."
Boom!
An attack came his way, killing him. Unfortunately, nothing happened as using that chance, Arnark killed himself and revived somewhere else, only resulting in Zaira huffing in anger.
"That bastard!" She raged for a full minute before calming down, staring at her bulging stomach in conflict, "This is a disgusting sensation."
"But, no matter what," She patted her stomach and arrived at the System World, "I'll give birth to it."
"My child will lead the Systems to victory."
