Chapter 144 - Old Archmage

Anny looked at the old man with a look so confused that Nova nearly laughed out loud despite the surreal circumstances. Her eyebrows were furrowed so deeply they nearly met in the middle, and her mouth opened and closed several times without producing any sound.

Millie still chewed on the final remains of the sandwich, looking between the two white-haired men.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised you know my name as well…" The old man's voice carried a note of resignation mixed with growing wariness. He stroked his long beard thoughtfully as he studied Nova's face. "Explain yourself, young one."

“Hold on,” Anny said, holding up her arm in protest. “How is that possible?”

“I don’t know,” Nova replied honestly, glancing at his former self. It was deeply unsettling, seeing himself from the outside like this. The old man carried himself with the same confident bearing Nova remembered, but he had apparently looked older than he had felt back then.

"Answers, children. I just saved you all from a terrible fate, so please be nice to this old man." The Archmage's tone was patient but firm, the kind of voice used to being obeyed without question.

"Right, I really appreciate that, Archmage. Truly." Nova inclined his head respectfully. Without that intervention, he would have been lost to The Fool's influence completely.

“And not a moment too soon, either. I would have been powerless if that creature had entered the door.”

"Even you?" Nova couldn't hide his surprise. The Archmage he had once been had seemed nearly invincible, even to gods.

"Yes, even me. But again I ask, how do you know me?" The old man's patience was clearly wearing thin as he was drumming his fingers against his robed arm.

"You'll want to sit down for this, Nova," Nova said to himself, the words feeling surreal as they left his mouth. Speaking his own name to another version of himself created a strange echo in his mind.

He had theories, of course. This could be a version of himself copied by the dungeon, much like Princess Naia and the rest of the kingdom had been on floor 9. Or it could be an illusion created from his memories, but he doubted that one more.

"Are you trying to invite yourself?" The Archmage raised an eyebrow.

"You're at least as curious as I am about this, so I know you will." Nova allowed a small smile to play at the corners of his mouth, recognizing his own nature reflected in the old man's barely contained curiosity.

“...Come on in, then. But be careful not to touch anything. There are experiments inside that could erase this street from existence if handled incorrectly.”

Nova followed after, scanning the cluttered interior for potential hazards. He waved the confused Anny to follow him, noting how her grip on Millie's legs tightened protectively. She correctly chose not to let Millie down from her shoulders, understanding instinctively that having the girl running freely in this house could spell disaster of the most literal kind.

“Sit down over there,” the archmage said, pointing to a dusty old couch in what looked like an old living room. The furniture was clearly aged, with faded upholstery and layers of accumulated dust that suggested it didn't see much use. 

But as Nova opened his mouth to complain about the state of their seating, a wind flushed through the room in mere seconds, carrying all the dust and accumulated mess away in a controlled whirlwind that left everything spotless.

‘...Show-off.’

The old man sat down in a red velvet chair on the opposite side of the couch, waiting patiently for the three to sit down across from him.

Anny carefully lowered Millie to the now-clean couch before settling beside her, while Nova took the spot nearest to his older self.

"Now, I am seated." The archmage's tone was expectant, almost formal.

"Right. Well, I'm not sure if you'll believe this, but…" Nova took a deep breath, knowing how absurd his next words would sound. "I am your next reincarnation."

"...Ah, that makes sense." The old man nodded thoughtfully, stroking his long beard. "How did you end up here?"

“Just like that?!” Anny yelled, throwing her arms in the air. “How can you just accept that explanation?”

"Well, I have long since learned that I am not fully who I once was." The archmage's expression grew distant, already having accepted that he was not the Nova he used to be. "My soul is heavily fragmented, just a fraction of a whole. Plus, I clearly remember being on death's door before waking up in eternal darkness."

“And you’re… just accepting that?”

“I’ve had theories about that exact scenario since I arrived here. But that makes me curious about how you ended up here, again.” 

"Well, before I answer," Nova replied, leaning forward on the couch until his elbows rested on his knees, "how did you end up here? Do you even know where 'here' is?"

"Of course." The old man's eyes sharpened with the clarity of someone who had spent considerable time piecing together his circumstances. "In that eternal darkness I found myself in, I eventually managed to gain access to my magic. And through that, I learned that the space I was in was only a small pocket separated from the outside world by some other form of magic—very powerful. So I created a spell to break out." 

His expression darkened slightly. "But before I could break out completely, something diverted me to this place. And I've been stuck in this final dungeon floor ever since."

“...For how long? I’ve only been alive for a bit longer than five years.”

“Oh?” The archmage studied Nova’s grown body for a moment, glancing over to Millie. “Ah, the Five Elements Unification?”

“Exactly.”

“A good choice! But I’m surprised—I’ve been here for twenty years already.”

"Oh? So it takes a while between each reincarnation, then." Nova processed this information, mentally calculating the implications.

“That seems to be the case.” The archmage nodded.

"I still don't…" Anny shook her head, her brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to follow the conversation. "Is this the fragment of your final level, Nova?" She looked between the two of them, seemingly finding it harder to accept everything than they themselves did.

"I believe so. And the only one to have escaped the system, I guess?" Nova's tone was thoughtful as he worked through the puzzle.

"Fragments?" the old man asked, leaning forward with renewed interest.

“Yes, one from each life I’ve lived. I’ve gained them all except for the last two.”

"Ahh…" The archmage's eyes lit up with comprehension. "Then I take it this is the final world, as we suspected?"

"It seems like it. If all the fragments have been saved for this life, it only makes sense that this is the overarching world." Nova found himself nodding along with his own logic.

It was very easy to talk to himself, Nova found with some amusement. They both thought in the same patterns and instantly understood each other's conclusions without the need for lengthy explanations.

“I guess that’s why we met here,” Anny said, looking over at the younger Nova.

“...Who are these companions you’ve found?” The old man's attention shifted to Nova's traveling partners. “This young lady seems quite sharp.”

"Ah, my bad. I should have introduced them earlier." Nova felt a flush of embarrassment at his oversight. "This young one is Millie," he started, reaching over to pat her gently on the head.

"Someone I grew up with here. She's… like a little sister to me. More so than anyone I can remember…"

Millie giggled and grabbed his hand. “Nova is my big brother!”

“That much?” Old Nova raised his eyebrows, studying Millie with curious eyes. The warmth in the younger Nova's voice when speaking of her hadn't gone unnoticed. “She’s certainly a cute one. And this young lady?” he asked, nodding towards Anny.

Nova looked over at Anny with a smile. “Would you like to introduce yourself, Anny?”

She looked a bit uncomfortable, shifting her weight as all eyes turned to her. But after a moment's hesitation, she nodded and stood from her spot on the couch. “You would know me better if I did this.”

She stepped away from the couch with purposeful movements, found her center, and rose up on her toes. Then she started to move like the dancer she once was. 

It was an elegant routine performed to absolute perfection, each movement flowing seamlessly into the next. Her arms swept through the air while she executed twirls and pilés that Nova instantly recognized from her first performance after being given her new legs. He could almost see the limelight following her across the floor.

The old archmage watched intently, following every graceful movement. His expression shifted from polite curiosity to growing recognition, and then his jaw dropped in stunned disbelief. His hand started to tremble around the armrest of his chair as his eyes turned misty with unshed tears. "Anny… Annelie? Is it really you?"

Anny stopped in the middle of her routine, holding her pose for just a moment before she relaxed and nodded to the old man. She seemed to be holding back some emotions as well, but of course, it was easier for her. She had already experienced this reunion once.

"Hah, it really…" The archmage's voice cracked with emotion. "So even you can reincarnate? Oh, this got to me." He reached into the air with a practiced gesture, producing a handkerchief from thin air with a simple spell, and wiped his tears with trembling fingers.

“We figured it was due to a part of our soul in those legs that let her reincarnate like us,” Nova explained gently. He knew exactly how the old man felt—the overwhelming joy and disbelief of seeing a beloved friend thought lost forever.

"Truly…" The old man's voice was thick with wonder as he studied Anny's transformed appearance. "Ah, the Thousand Beast Sovereign Technique has changed them, I see, but your eyes are the same. Ever since the New World…"

Anny approached the old man with reverent steps and bowed deeply. "I will forever be grateful for what you did for me, Master Gorton."

"Ah, that is a name I missed…" The archmage's expression softened with nostalgic warmth. "But please, I'm sure you've both had this conversation already."

"We have, but you're also Nova. Just, to a lesser degree?" Anny's tone was gentle but questioning, still trying to understand the nature of this fragmented existence.

"Hah, most likely!" The old man's laugh was rich with emotion. “And, speaking of souls… Give me just a moment here.”

The old mage took a deep breath to steady himself, though a smile remained on his lips, refusing to leave. “I've done much research on the subject of souls since arriving here. It might shed some light on a few mysteries we’ve been struggling to answer."

Ch.143 --I-- Index --I-- Ch.145