Chapter 147 - More Questions than Answers

Nova instantly noticed the burst of power leaking out of the old archmage as he was looking at Millie’s soul. The air around the elderly man shimmered with uncontrolled magical energy. Something had surprised him greatly, more so than meeting himself or seeing Anny again.

“...Could you explain what you’re seeing?” Nova asked, waiting impatiently for an explanation. If this could explain why she had been dragged down to the final floor of the dungeon, he had to know.

“I… I’ll try to show you.” The old man's voice carried a tremor Nova had never heard before.

He turned and raised his palm, using his essence to create an incredibly lifelike image in the air above them. A large semi-circle materialized, floating and rotating slowly to show every detail. Cracks ran along the surface like a broken mirror, clearly separating many smaller pieces from the main structure. It had a deep blue glow that pulsed gently, and inside the core was a brilliant golden light.

“This is what our soul would look like if you had all the fragments, I’m assuming. And this…”

The archmage's hand trembled slightly as he channeled more power into the visualization. The sphere grew to nearly twice the previous size, and at the same time all the cracks filled in seamlessly. The broken pieces merged together until it transformed into a completed sphere, perfectly round and smooth. The same golden glow blazed in the middle, but now it filled the entire core with radiant light.

"This is Millie's. She has a nearly perfectly golden soul." The old man wiped his forehead with the back of his free hand, sweating despite the cool laboratory air. He tore his eyes away from Millie's frozen form for just a second. "But not only that… It's also extremely similar to our soul."

Nova's breath caught in his throat. "...Similar how?"

“Similar in the same way that two siblings would be. But even more so.”

"What?!" Nova's exclamation echoed through the laboratory, causing even Anny to step closer with wide eyes.

“Do you… know who your parents are?”

Nova's mind raced as he tried to process this impossible revelation. "...No, but we were born only months apart, so I don't think we're siblings. And, our soul isn't from this world, so… It wouldn't make sense either way."

"But with this golden soul, surely this girl is able to reincarnate like us. And, if she is as old as us…" The archmage let the implication hang unfinished, too staggering to voice completely.

"...Could she have lost her memories? I'm confident she doesn't have memories from a previous life." Nova's voice carried deep concern as he watched Millie's frozen form.

"That is starting to seem likely. Perhaps the reason we keep our memories is that we are fragmented? And healthy souls forget everything before starting over again?" The archmage stroked his beard thoughtfully while maintaining the soul visualization above them.

"Perhaps. But I don't think that explains how she has been here before. Unless she has always lived in this world, unlike us?" Nova began pacing slightly within the confines of the laboratory, thinking through the possible explanations.

"But that would cause any reincarnator who steps into the dungeons to get pulled here. If that is the case, it must be extremely rare to reincarnate in the first place…" The old man's eyes grew distant as he processed the implications. "She is the only person besides me that I've seen with any hint of gold in their soul."

"...That is a valid theory then. But it still leaves the question of our origins." Nova stopped his pacing and faced the archmage directly.

"Yes, that remains a mystery. But whatever the case, I think this girl is very closely related to us." The conviction in the old man's voice was unmistakable.

"...Could you be gods?" Anny asked, finally finding an opening to join the conversation. She had been standing quietly, absorbing the earth-shattering revelations.

"Gods? Like the god of order?" Nova asked back, turning to face her with raised eyebrows. He could see why she would think so. Everything related to the god of order had been decorated with white and gold, but that was hardly proof enough.

"It's as good an explanation as any, I guess. But we have none of the power that they do." Nova shrugged, trying to hide how the suggestion made him uncomfortable.

“Well, maybe you just don’t know how to access it yet?”

"...It seems unlikely. But it's worth considering." Nova's response was cautious, unwilling to dismiss the possibility entirely.

(Nova!) Millie's mental voice suddenly burst through their connection with urgency and confusion.

"Right, sorry Millie. Get her out of there please, old man." Nova's attention immediately snapped back to the girl trapped in the formation.

“Right, apologies.” Old Nova deactivated the formation. The magical bonds released Millie, letting her regain her mobility with visible relief.

She immediately moved back to younger Nova's side with quick, unsteady steps. Her large blue eyes looked up at him with a mix of fear and joy written across her young features, holding on to him tightly with both arms wrapped around his waist. "Are we brother and sister?"

Nova smiled down at her with genuine warmth, his hand moving to gently pat her blonde head. "Of course we are. We don't have to be born from the same parents to be siblings, you know."

She smiled back up at him, but then her expression quickly shifted to confusion. Her small brow furrowed as she processed everything she had overheard. "But why is my soul so golden? And why is yours broken?"

“We don’t know. It could be that something damaged my soul a long time ago, and I’m in a slow process of healing. I guess that could also explain why…” 

He looked over at Anny, who still seemed bothered by what her own soul had revealed. She simply stared back with her arms crossed, understanding what he was trying to say.

‘...Why I’ve been unable to ever love someone.’

"Then, do you need to find your other half?" Millie's innocent question cut straight to the heart of their situation.

"Well, I don't need to. All my goals should be achievable without a completed soul. And if the damage is the reason I can remember my past lives, I don't see much of a reason to change it."

"...So those dreams you talked about weren't dreams?" Millie tilted her head as she spoke.

She clearly remembered the explanation they had given her about why they knew so much more than her, despite both being younger.

“They could be. They’re only memories, after all. But I do have a lot of memories…”

"...I don't." Millie's voice became small, almost apologetic.

"That's completely normal, Millie. You have a healthy and beautiful soul." Nova crouched down to her eye level, placing both hands on her small shoulders. "We will figure everything out eventually, I'm sure."

"Okay…" Millie nodded, though uncertainty still lingered in her young eyes.

"...So," Nova said, rising back to his full height and looking back at his older self. “How do we get out of this dungeon?”

“The dungeon King is very strong,” the archmage started, grabbing his long beard again. “Much stronger than you, that’s for sure. Do you have any ways to grow in power quickly?”

Nova started thinking through their options, mentally cataloging their resources and potential strategies. But before he could answer, Anny interrupted him. 

“The Void Lord’s heart. If I could absorb it, I would become much stronger.”

Her words made Nova realize there was much he still needed to tell the old man. Not only had he gotten revenge for his most painful memory, he had learned that his own actions in that lighthouse were completely different than he remembered… Most likely.

"Void Lord?" The archmage's eyebrows shot up.

"Yes. We went into the void to destroy a rift over the religious capital of this world." Nova's explanation was matter-of-fact, though the weight of what they had accomplished was evident in his tone.

"Hoh! You've really been busy!" The old man's eyes lit up, but there was a clear question hidden below the surface. A question that he knew Nova would answer. Because the void was never mentioned without thoughts of revenge filling his mind.

“It was the same one.”

The transformation in the old man was so sudden and dramatic that Nova nearly jumped backward. From his usual helpful self, the archmage turned into something far more dangerous. This was the magius arcanum, the godkiller, the millennial wizard who could upend entire lands with a wave of his hands.

"...You killed it?" The question came out as a low growl, filled with decades of accumulated hatred.

Nova nodded slowly, understanding exactly how the old man felt. The weight of that victory still felt surreal. "I killed it. But before I did, and after trying to torment me with the past, it showed me a different version of events."

“Different how?”

“...Let me show you.”

Nova put a hand on his temple, focusing intently on the memories of their time in the void rift. The long journey, the fight with Anny, the journey through her past, and the lighthouse.

On the gruesome image that met him once the door opened, and the corrupted version of his past self, breaking him down mentally.

Then the bodies that suddenly seemed so real, and the intense rage that followed. The rage that broke through the illusion and revealed the being up above.

Then Anny risking her sanity to make sure he stayed on the right path, pulling him back from the depths of revenge.

The bomb planted firmly near its heart, and finally, the scene of what had really happened that day. He had never turned desperate enough to kill a child, even in his darkest moment.

And the bodies, bowing to him in gratitude as he left.

The memories formed a sphere in his hand, of solid essence and recorded information.

[You have created the skill: Cherished Memories (Master - 53%) {Grade 11}]

[You mold your memories into a small sphere that can be reabsorbed later. Useful for ensuring your cherished memories last, or for recalling what groceries you needed at the store. Can only be reabsorbed by the caster.]

He handed the small sphere over to the archmage, who took it with a sceptical look on his eyes.

“You think it will work when I’m not the one creating it?”

“I hope. And if not, we know you’ll probably not be allowed to help us challenge the dungeon king.”

“Clever… Okay, here goes.”

The archmage placed the sphere against his temple, focusing on the task of reabsorbing it. The magical construct began to glow brighter where it touched his skin. Only a second later, the sphere dissolved completely, leaving no trace behind.

Ch.146 --I-- Index --I-- Ch.148