They had spent a good amount of time with their master, Crazy Neron, but it was now time for Kuzon and Maya to leave.
They couldn't stay with him forever, after all.
"Before you go, Kuzon, I've got something for you."
Thanks to that, Kuzon had yet another private audience with his master.
"Here." The old man suddenly brought out a device out of thin air. "I call this the 'Blu-Blu'."
It was a transparent orb—similar to the ones that contained universes, which littered Neron's office.
The moment Kuzon took it from his hands, though, something bright glowed all over the orb, and what felt like a ring wrapped itself around Kuzon's finger.
"The Blu-Blu will allow you to navigate through the branches and find your friends. The locations have also been preset in that ring you're wearing, so you don't need to learn its complexities to understand how to operate it."
Kuzon wondered if Crazy Neron just called him dumb, but he was already used to these sort of things.
Besides, the old man already knew he was in a hurry to reunite with his friends.
"You just need to press the Orb and course Ether through the ring, which will also flow to it, and that's pretty much it.
"Thank you very much, Master Neron. This disciple really appreciate your help." Kuzon bowed once again.
"En. Its all good." He shrugged. "The first preset destination is Jared's. Neron Alter should be with Jared when you meet him, so it's perfect timing."
"Neron Alter? Another version of you is with Jared?"
"More like another kind of Neron. I've always liked the guy's disposition on Magic. It's almost comedic."
"Oh? I see." Kuzon could tell that this was one of those things Crazy Neron knew, but didn't want to share.
Like what the future held, and all of that.
'Its probably fine to leave it be.'
"You. Jared Leonard. Ciara Epilson. Aloe Vida. Edward Karl Leon. And finally, Neron Kaelid.
You'll need to find those people and return home."
"I see. Thanks. You said Ana is safe. Does that remain true?" Kuzon asked.
"Your first child will be a boy. You'll have three kids. Don't worry too much about Ana."
The moment Kuzon heard this, a warm smile formed on his face.
He felt warm inside.
~He never said your wife would be Ana, though.~
'Oh come on!' Kuzon nearly groaned in exasperation.
Surely, the old man implied it.
"One more thing. Give this to Jared." Crazy Neron interrupted Kuzon's thoughts and smiled.
It was a small paper slip, just about as large as a finger.
It was glowing brightly, though.
"Give to him at the end of your odyssey through the branches. He'll understand then."
Kuzon didn't really understand, but he had learned to trust his Master through all of the things he had experienced.
~Let's take a peek inside it~ Leo's voice echoed mischievously.
'Y-you...'
"You can try. But are you sure even you have the power to open it if I don't want you to?" Crazy Neron's voice echoed aloud.
Kuzon wondered if it was meant for him... or the Constellation within.
~Tch. Whatever. It was just a joke...~
"Pfft!" Kuzon nearly burst out laughing, but stopped himself.
This was the first time Leo actually backed down. It was refreshing to see.
"In any case, you have to keep growing and learning. I'm sure you'll become much stronger in the future. Not as strong as me, but... well... strong enough."
Kuzon already knew it was impossible to match this old man. Still, he wondered why that was.
"Why are you so powerful, though? How did you become so strong?" He asked, both with sincerity and curiosity.
For a moment, tense silence radiated throughout the room. Once the decorum reached a climax, the old man smiled and spoke.
"I'm Neron. What other reason is there?"
Kuzon chuckled after hearing those words. "I see. Well, that's a good point."
The fact that he already knew three existences of Neron already made it something he couldn't ignore.
'Neron Kaelid. Neron Alter. And this Old Man Neron.' Just how many more was he going to meet?
Thinking about it brought another disturbing thought to the surface.
It was something he had been keeping buried down for so long, but now that his Master was being so cooperative, he decided to ask.
"Can I—no, can we—trust Neron Kaelid?"
Crazy Neron told him that the Neron they all knew and loved, planned for all of this to happen. It also seemed very obvious that he and Crazy Neron knew each other, and that he had a desired outcome in mind.
There was also the fact of how they defeated the Nether, and just how powerful he really was.
It frightened Kuzon, to be honest.
'What is hidden behind that stoic face of his? What kind of thoughts does he have? What is his endgame?'
All of this only made sense if Neron knew Legris would attack his wedding and wreak all of this havoc. If that was the case, weren't they also being played by him?
Kuzon was lost in a maelstrom of thoughts, and he was very conflicted on what to believe or doubt at the moment.
That was why he looked up to his Master. Perhaps if it was him, then—
"Pfft! Hahahahahaha! Oh... ooohh.... Hahahahahahahaha! Puahahahahahaha! Kekekeke... Kikikikikikiki... Fuahahahahaa!!!"
Crazy Neron gave the loudest, most energetic laugh Kuzon had ever heard.
It sounded like he genuinely found Kuzon's question to be funny.
... Or downright irrelevant.
"Kuzon, my disciple. I'll only say this once, so listen up. There's no greater wisdom in all existence than this..."
All of a sudden, a pressure enveloped the room, and the smile on the old man's face vanished.
Replacing it was a completely emotionless and cold expression that sent jitters down Kuzon's spine.
"Never trust a Neron."
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[A/N]
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
I wonder what will happen with Neron, and the whole story. We're reaching the end of Kuzon's part, and I can't help but feel anxious about what the future holds.
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