"Seems like you don't want them. Oh well..." Neron shrugged, almost like it all didn't matter to him.
"N-no! I want them. Give them to me."
"You realize that those won't work in your world because of the Law Alignment issue, right? Isn't that why your Arcanas aren't working too?"
"W-well..." Kuzon could only chuckle slightly in disappointment.
That was indeed true. These Arcanas wouldn't do any good in his world.
"I mean. Unless you use [The Leviathan]. It can fix up the alignment issue. But... en. Let's forget about it."
In a single 'POOF', the Arcana pile disappeared.
"NOOOOOOO!!!" Kuzon cried out loud. He was just about to look for the Arcana that Crazy Neron had told him about.
Yes, Crazy Neron.
'That's the best term that properly define this insane entity!' Kuzon concluded. There was no way this man was even a man anymore.
He was literally a god.
"Come over here. Leg me show you something actually impressive. It's what I'm working on. Why I'm so busy." He smiled, a youthful twinkle in his eyes.
Kuzon hadn't seen that twinkle in a very long time, and he wondered just what kind of project would make the old man glow like that.
'If Arcanas don't even faze him, then... just what could it be?!' Kuzon could feel his heart race in excitement.
He couldn't wait to see how profound the work would be.
His heart was already sullen—humbled beyond expectations. He glanced at Maya and saw her beautiful childish innocence.
She was so astounded that words failed to come out.
Speechless beyond imagination.
'He really is amazing, isn't he?' Kuzon now reflected on his hubris.
'I already suspected that the mysterious man, whoever he was, would not help Maya and her people. If only I considered the same for myself...'
Crazy Neron had so much power, and that meant he was beyond bothering over their own little problems.
'I was never a priority, to begin with.'
******
Crazy Neron brought Kuzon and Maya to a wide desk. It covered a great distance that Kuzon thought at least a dozen versions of himself could lie down comfortably on the piece of furniture.
As soon as Kuzon noticed the desk, though, he also observed yet another pile beside it. This pile consisted of glass orbs, all of them just lying on the ground and on one another.
A couple were on the table, but they were too scattered to be the main focus of Neron's display.
'What could they be all about?' He reached out for one among the pile and resonated with it.
"H-huh...?! No way! No..." Kuzon's face twitched in shock and more sweat appeared all over it.
Inside the glass orb that he held was an entire universe.
'T-there are so many lying around. He has so many universes just sitting here?! Don't tell me! Did he—?!'
"Ah. I call those the Bu-Laba. Universes I made myself. Pay them no mind. They're not the focus for today."
Words could not escape Kuzon's mouth as he dropped the orb and remained stupefied. He slowly moved closer to the craziest man he had ever met, noticing something shimmering on the desk before him.
"This is what I'm currently working on." A tinge of pride echoed from Crazy Neron's mouth as his eyes focused on the cube before him.
Both Kuzon and Maya couldn't help but stare at it as well.
The object appeared to be a transparent cube. This cube glimmered with white light, but upon closer inspection, there was a whole spectrum of lights it emitted, but the rate and speed were too fast and imperceptible that they eventually just appeared as white.
The cube housed something similar to a seedling. The little leaves and trunk had already broken out of something akin to a water-like surface, most likely meant to represent the soil.
And the little roots were wrapped around a bright source of energy. It looked like a mushy thing. Solid one second, and the permeable the next.
"What do you think this is?" Crazy Neron's voice echoed.
Kuzon and Maya could not answer. They could only keep staring at the germinating plant.
They watched as it grew about half an inch longer, extending a branch by the side.
The seedling had a pure translucent color to it, and it glowed like white, though the multiple colors were what comprised the seemingly monochrome hue.
"You can't even guess? Well, I guess I'll explain, then." Crazy Neron smiled, almost as if he always wanted to do this.
"I'm creating my own 'Root'. The starting point of a tree of existence."
"E-eh...?" Kuzon's tone sounded squeaky as he robotically stared at the old man who gracefully hovered on his chair.
"You know there are two Roots, right? One is Aether and the other is Nether. They all stem from Origin, opposite and balancing existences."
Kuzon struggled to keep up while still confused as to how the being in front of him managed to pull of such a feat.
"I thought it would be cool to make my own Root. So, I started by generating an artificial 'Origin'. Honestly, that was the hardest part of this whole venture."
"A-ah... I see..."
"I could only do it because I have seen it before. 'All Things.' It exists in Origin, and it's basically infinite, unlimited, and all-encompassing power. Ever since my encounter with it, I've never been the same."
"O-oh..."
"Past. Present. Future. I live in all those realities at once. Occurrences aren't really relevant to me because they are already there for me to observe and interact with."
"S-so, that means..."
"Indeed." Crazy Neron smiled at him, his eyes glowing brightly. "I can already see how everything will end up for you. I know how it all started. I know how it'll end."
Kuzon gulped.
"The 'me' you see. The 'Neron' you're interacting with is only an extension of my existence. You are but a frame that arrives and vanishes, but I am constant."
This was the true reason why nothing mattered to him in this reality—no, in all of existence.
Why he didn't care for the existing rules and concepts of everything.
He had already experienced them all!
"That's why my Origin Project is so interesting. It's a completely new world. A place where I am the variable, not the constant."
In essence, Crazy Neron was completely detached from pretty much all that existed already.
"I understand now..." Kuzon whispered, his widening eyes finally closing slowly.
"Oh? You do? That's a relief."
"I understand why Neron wanted me to get your approval."
"Hm. Is that so?" Crazy Neron once again seemed disinterested.
Kuzon could see it in his eyes—how he didn't really care what happened to anyone or anything.
They were all simply beneath him.
'Still... still...!!!'
"How can I obtain your approval? How can I get your help? I'll do anything!"
There had to be a reason why Neron would tell him to seek this person's help. That meant it wasn't an impossible task.
'I can do it. No... I must!'
"Kuzon, you assume too much." The crazy old man's voice finally emerged with a sigh.
The young Midas' eyes widened as he watched Neron smile once more. His eyes were also glowing.
"Who said I was the one you need to gain approval from?"
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[A/N]
I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I know I am.
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Thanks everyone!
