Before the concept of life, there was ORIGIN.
A place that defied what a place meant.
Space. Time. Matter. Energy. Reality, etc.
Every preconceived notion about reality started from this place, and yet it did not possess any of those things.
It was, quite literally, an empty canvas that brought about the greatest painting of reality.
As such, before even the concept of concepts, ORIGIN was…
… And still is.
At the very center of the blank world of ORIGIN… there it was—
[All Things]
It existed in a constant flux, as if not fully formed, and it radiated a color that could not be defined in a spectrum.
This incorporeal, infinitely abstract matrix was what held the entirety of existence together.
And soon, it would fall into the hands of a desperate man.
*******
~VWUUUUSSSSHHH~
Legris appeared in Origin, swiftly closing the space behind him as if he was in a hurry.
'I'm sure I eliminated them, but since Neron is still unaccounted for, and there's at least some chance that Jared could have survived… I better take precautions.'
He doubted they would pose a threat to him, but Legris could not ignore these sorts of things.
Especially when he could easily prevent them.
He stretched out a hand towards the remnant of the portal he had opened, and a dark material seeped in.
'I'll just lock the ROOT from this point. If I seal it from access to ORIGIN, no one should be able to get in here…'
He was about to undergo a delicate process, and interruptions at this point would irritate him the most.
However, Legris had no worry.
"There's just one problem, though…" Once he was done sealing the entry into ORIGIN, he turned to his back.
"… Where is The Nether?"
At first glance, one would think he was talking to himself. However, that was far from it. n-/.(((--)/-.1.)n
There were three entities within ORIGIN that he wasn't expecting.
A man with dark hair, a succubus with crimson skin, and an automaton who had the form of a Fairy.
Of course, he remained calm despite the surprise, but he had a lot to say about the crowd of people that now appeared before him.
"Lewis Griffith… Magic Scholar. Karlia… the Succubus. And you, you're an Automaton made to model Jane Ursula…" He mumbled.
Now that he had absorbed all of Aether, he knew enough about these individuals—at least, the first two.
The second didn't exist in the Aether Tree, but he recognized who she was modeled after.
'I know Karlia from our Nether Cult days, but she seems a lot different.'
Legris could tell.
'She's strong!'
The three of them stood side by side, almost as if they had made a line barricading him from moving any further.
"The Nether, huh? I killed him." Karlia answered with a slight frown on her face.
"You? You killed him?" Legris took another glance at her and realized he had been wrong to underestimate her.
She indeed had enough power to achieve such a feat.
'The most surprising thing is that she was able to kill a Primordial entity, but I guess the Nether's authority doesn't work here in ORIGIN.'
As a result, he could be killed.
"Why did you do it? I wanted to absorb him, you know?" Legris slapped his hand on his face.
It was disappointing that he couldn't fulfill his promise to Ciel.
'I thought I would be able to do at least that.'
"Why? For even more power?" Karlia asked him with a deeper frown on her face.
The moment he heard that, Legris shrugged slightly.
"Not really."
He wasn't interested in the power that the Nether would provide.
After all, once he obtained [All Things], he would have pretty much every power in existence—as well as the infinite knowledge of how to use them.
That was his goal.
"In any case, why are you three here? Didn't Lewis reincarnate as Jared? You're not the Lewis that Jane resurrected too. So which one are you?" Lewis asked, now staring at the Lewis Griffith in the group.
No one said anything.
"And you, midget. You never existed in the Aether Tree. I'm guessing that means you come from the Nether Realm. Hmm… I see what happened now."
Lewis rubbed his chin as he contemplated things for a moment.
"You three came here through the Nether ROOT, right? If I remember correctly, The Nether developed an interest in you and sent you to his domain…"
It all began to click for Legris.
"Now I understand why you killed him. I can only imagine what he put you through…"
Legris understood the basics of Karlia's Immortality.
She grew more powerful after each supposed death, and her body acclimated to whatever pain or harm was inflicted on her.
'The fact that she was able to beat The Nether and kill him means she must have suffered gruesomely for an eternity.' Legris' eyes widened as he imagined it.
"That's crazy…"
As for how there was a Lewis Griffith despite him now knowing full well that Jared was the reincarnation of the famed Magic Scholar, Legris came up with a theory.
"Did Jared send a version of himself to rescue you? I guess if you use the Arcanas, it's possible…"
Legris always found it strange that there was no mention of Karlia or any action to recover her.
Now he knew why.
"Jared, that sly bastard. So he was actually doing something about it. And as for the Automaton, it wouldn't be beyond you to create one, so I'm not surprised…"
Everything fell into place for him now.
All except one thing.
"So why are you three here? To kill me?" Legris asked, an amused smile forming on his face.
He hadn't expected another resistance to be awaiting him after making it this far, but Legris decided he would just eliminate them and proceed.
"No. That's not the reason." Lewis' voice suddenly echoed forth.
Legris was surprised to hear the man talk, so he raised his brow a little in curiousity.
"What the—?"
"I came here to talk to you, Legris." Lewis said, interrupting the question that was about to be asked.
He had a serious expression on his face as he took a small step forward.
"I know what you're about to do. Please stop this."
*
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Looks like talk-no-jutsu is at play here.
Could this be how it ends?
Thanks for reading, everyone!
