Now laying comfortably on his bed, his fingers interlocked at just above the pelvic area and laying face up, Emrys replayed through the discussion in his head once again.
[An hour ago].
"School???".
"Wait, before anything else, why?".
"I want the real reason, not an excuse about needing to socialize or something in that same train of thought".
"I'm no fool".
Hestia giggled a bit "yes, I know that".
And yet even as she said this suspicion marred his brows "then why am I getting the feeling I still won't like it".
She smiled but said nothing else for the next few moments until Emrys finally heaved a defeated sigh-
"Fine then, I'll hear it".
With a small clearance of her throat she began- "It's because we want you to socialize".
Silence reigned between them for a few seconds, Emrys could only stand there looking speechless while his aunt stood with the brightest smile possible.
"Amazing" he finally managed a response.
Hestia nod her head honestly and innocently as if in agreement, though for what was in agreement? That remains a question.
"It's a plan that has been in motion for years".
"And even if I may not be the most friendly towards the four emperors, I do agree there needs to be a cultivated environment for all of you to be on the best terms".
Emrys raised a brow "they've all bonded over the months stuck in that other realm".
She nod her head again "I know that, I saw the proof of it over the little I saw of them in that tournament".
And there was that odd feeling again bringing back to the look of suspicion onto his face "what are you guys planning really aunty".
Hestia tilted her head a little to the side and raised a hand to grab his cheek in a gentle pinch "tsk tsk, looking at me such untrusting eyes".
"It hurts a little you know".
Seeing her subtly avoid his query and already knowing it was a fools errand to expect answers from the others, Emrys could only close his eyes and sigh in defeat once again.
"I haven't lived very long".
"But funnily enough, it seems that every now and then I find that aspects of my life have been planned years before they occurred".
"Wonder if I'm living by a script".
Hestia looked to be lost in thought for a moment and then brought her gaze back down to him as a warm smile graced her face.
"Well, considering you ties with Fate and the nature of your existence".
"It's always been a script, but a very loose one".
"Only the beginning and ending of the first part of your story are written in stone".
"Everything in the middle is really just made up as you go along".
"Even I cannot simply plan it all out, just this one little part and a few others".
She gently ruffled his hair as she continued -
"And I know it's not fair, but please continue allowing me write these little parts that I can".
His head drooped as he felt his mood soften almost immediately and the only thing he could do yet again was sigh in defeat again "geez, I just can't win huh".
Still with the warmest of smiles on her face, she playfully tugged at his cheek again "Nope, heh".
"Jeez" he sighed again, but the the little smile threatening to break out at the edge of his lips was unmistakable for all to see.
-----//////////-----
And now out of his reverie Emrys shifted his thoughts onto something more pressing, the organization of corrupted dark mages behind the Jorōgumo named Isla.
According to how his mother and aunt dictated it, under the meditation of the Tower master in about half a year's time when all the necessary preparations are said and done there would be a single expedition carried out by the joint forces of all four major empires with the sole purpose of wiping them out in one fell swoop.
About ten thousand elite troops from each is the agreed upon number with the rankings for the select few mage and warrior powerhouses still to be revealed, the only thing he knew was that his mother would be going with them and that would also include both he and the rest of his peers.
_"You all will be forced to go against some of the most experienced and oldest mages on the planet"_
_"And worst of all from the corrupted side"_
_"You will witness it yourselves just how terrible they are to battle"_
Those were the words of his aunt, no further information on them were divulged, only that he had half a year's time to prepare which he already knew and that is what he aimed to do.
Although no records exist recounting the events of an encounter with this specific group of dark mages, a thousand others were available to give him the fundamental knowledge of how they operate at their core of which was to Emrys, was all he needed to know about them.
Still, at his core he did no feel like he would be needing even that, so for the few months he would be simply focused on maximizing and improving his strength as his form of preparation.
Yes, it was indeed pure arrogance that he thought this way but he's never paid for it and as sure as the goddess exists then he would be doing everything in his power to make sure he doesn't start now, Emrys quite enjoyed his personal privileges of being able back up every last bit his pride he possessed no matter how wronged the other party felt by the words coming out of his mouth as they could do nothing but accept.
"Elias".
From the very moment he woke up a lot of information had flashed through his mind but he hadn't actually taken the time to review them yet, now he did. Starting with the information he gathered from her mind which basically confirmed to him that he indeed was the one she saw on that day while also not, then to the whole deal he made with her plus the stipulations of the contract.
"So there is a second personality sleeping within me huh".
"How troublesome".
And with what he seen within the memories shared with Elias, the newly discovered other half of him from three years ago felt comfortably stronger than he was at present which made things even more troubling as he couldn't exactly pinpoint how strong that half was today.
His thoughts shifted to the power contained within his bones and how he's never been able to feel or control it, but now he was sure that the other half of him was in contact with that power even if he couldn't exactly tell why he knew it to be so, it was just an unshakeable feeling.
'But if I left the palace three years ago, there is no way my aunt wouldn't know about it'.
'There's also no way she wouldn't have kept tabs on where I was just leaving to all of a sudden'.
'Hmm'.
Just as he lost in thought, Emrys felt authority over his own power return him and closed his eyes to savor just how electrifying it felt. Stronger, better, faster, more potent, more complete. His eyes sprung open and the crimson hue within could be seen receeding to bring back his starry violet.
"Right, let's ask her then".
He teleported himself over to the hall of memories where he knew she'd most likely be at this time and he was correct, but this time unlike most she stood with his mother as they discussed and the moment he saw her another puzzle of the equation clicked, both turned their attention to him the moment they sensed his presence.
"Emrys?".
His mother called in a small tone of surprise but smiled immediately after as did he.
"You know of him too right mother?"
A moment of confusion reflected on her face but it didn't take long before she understood what he meant as did Hestia also and Emrys seeing her look of realization had his hypothesis confirmed.
"So you both did meet him, that's good".
"Is he dangerous".
Hestia looked towards her sister for a moment and then back at him, but right as she was about to reply-
"No" Maeve interjected.
"He's like you but...hmm, less....although....m-more in other ways".
"Not saying-
Hestia sighed but smiled nonetheless seeing her little sister struggle with getting her point across without sounding harsh even though she knew his character quite well, so she decided to take the burden off her.
"What my dear sister means to say is, he's the final piece meant to complete you".
"He's more detached but he is you, just split in two as at the time of your birth in his own words. so it seems he possesses the missing memories you were supposed to have also".
"Well that and also the fact that unlike you, dark mana is the only thing he radiates and that odd power that lies inside your bones".
"I still haven't been able to find it surprisingly enough, it just comes and goes".
"But I can at least capture it if it arrives, this much I've confirmed".
She began muttering to herself halfway through the end of the second sentence there and going off on a different tangent to what he originally was asking for.
And so he called out "aunty?" Which served to bring her out of the small daze she was in.
"Ah, right, anyways basically he isn't dangerous to us or to you if that's your worry".
Emrys gave a small nod to her in response "I see".
"But do you know exactly what it was he was searching for".
Maeve nod her head "yeah, he called it, a Fallen Fragment".
"Although he also said it didn't matter and was useless now, the power had been taken from it".
"It's gone now, faded to nothing a day later after he handed it to me".
At the mention of it's name there was a little tick in the mind of Emrys that gave him a sense of familiarity to something he couldn't identify nor explain, there was a small hope that maybe some memory buried deep inside of him would resurface but, it was pointless, the feeling was already gone and so was the chance.
"Ohh, I see your power has returned also".
He snapped out of his thoughts and looked towards his aunt "ah, yeah".
"Either way, I'll leave you both to yourselves".
"I've gotten my answers, have fun".
He smiled and then the next instant a small pillar of dark light was there in his place instead which faded to nothing seconds later as the two sisters stood with with smiles on their faces before returning to their discussions.
Meanwhile back in his room Emrys walked over to his bedside where a three inch tall golden cube lay by the pillows and picked it up in his hands, the object was inscribed by a seal of many layers courtesy of his aunt to prevent it's contents from being revealed and designed in a such a way that once it is given unto the intended target the containment fades away as the seal is expanded into an appropriate barrier that lasts the duration it would take for the process of absorption to be completed.
A one use object created for this specific situation and nothing else, Emrys calmed himself before teleporting to his destination.
"Mhm, it's been a while since the last time I came here".
Around him were acres worth of greenery, the palace still so visible even from such a far distance and before him stood a metal door out in the middle of this place, it reached more than fifty meters in height and on both sides were five engravings of giant precious stones alongside many carvings of different runes and magic circles.
Emrys gently placed his hands onto it and a short glow flashed through the ten engraved stones as he passed through the door almost as if it was an illusion but it was too real, and on the other side was what seemed to be the inside of a mildly active volcano.
The sea of lava flowed on endlessly and causing small eruptions every now and then, the air so hot it almost reminded him of standing in the presence of Ishmael's draconic flames, courtesy of the rich mana vein found underneath this place and it seemed to have grown even stronger than the last time and he could tell so clearly as to why.
A mana even purer and much denser than that of the mana vein down below, it filled every pore of this place and pulsed like a heartbeat in it's fluctuations. By all means just by standing in here alone he should have been crushed to a pulp at the very least, but he wasn't, not even the least bit of resistance was felt because his oh-so powerful bond with it's owner prevented such a situation from ever occuring to him.
He levitated half a meter off the ground and flew deeper into volcanic grounds, to the heart of it all where the highest possible concentration lay and in there he found both of his eternal companions even in the blindingly thick stream of the copious amounts of volcanic red mana pouring out endlessly from Irmir's body all the way to the top and far beyond.
"Aine".
He called out softly to her but the young fairy did not turn to him, she remained focused in watching over the sleeping form of Irmir like a hawk and only when he stooped beside her was his presence finally made known.
Emrys placed a gentle hand onto her head and gave it a little rub as he smiled and said -"It won't be long now, don't worry".
He opened the palm of his other hand which held the cube and levitated it towards Irmir's chest where her core lay, Aine watched curiously as the small golden object dissolved into her body upon contact with it and soon began to assimilate with her core and soul causing thin golden mana veins to begin spreading all around Irmir's body, each pulsing with an ocean of power so great and so divine it caused the power within her own body to react with vibrant joy.
A cluster of seals spread out from Irmir's body and grew to a certain point before turning into a barrier shielding both them and their surroundings from the incredible disturbance that would be caused by the undergoing fusion and transformation.
The young fairy looked up at him with hopeful and excited eyes which served to elicit a smile from him as he nod positively in response to her unasked question.
"Yeah, you've felt it too huh".
"If my theories are right, the most it would take is a week or two now".
"Just a little more".
He gave her head one last rub and began levitating upwards, passing through the barrier and shifting his form into one resembling that of a humanoid Darkness construct just before phasing through the cave walls only now to find himself in a thick stream of volcanic red mana now tainted with a golden lustre flowing upwards and out of the volcano.
Once through to the top Emrys was met with a primeval world of hellish proportions, flowing from all sides of the volcanic mountain was the endless stream of mana and for thousands of miles on end all that could be seen was a sea of red. Over the years the mana had dug out it's own well deep into this world and yet for as long as it had been full, it never spilled over nor did it expand it's territory, because at some point it had created a phenomenon leading to this zone becoming it's very own bottomless pocket space crafted right into this very world.
But even without spilling over, the mana had manifested strong effects over the entire ecosystem and atmosphere of this very planet. The sky were an eternally deep hue of fiery orange, it's clouds drenched in this overbearing mana were always in a constant state of chaos, violent strikes of deep red bolts of lightning had become the new norm, natural disasters of unbelievably unnatural proportions that would have destroyed almost any other world ages ago were it now looked like in a state of calm.
Prehistoric monsters bearing a wide array of disastrously strong magical powers always fighting high above in the skies and on the land, caring very little for the constant earthquakes splitting, recovering and resplitting deep into the world and leading into a sea of rigorously active lava erupting onto the surface, none of it ever mattered, they all just kept fighting through it all or regenerating from any damage now matter how severe, that could be inflicted onto their monstrously durable bodies.
And worst of it all were the overlords, the highest rulers born from this catastrophe and seated on the four corners of this world with the weakest and smallest of them easily dwarfing over an area of more than 20,000 kilometers in height and each one powerful enough to kill an Archmage at the peak of their ranks with but their presence and gaze alone.
Yet as daring and fearless as all those monsters were, none ever let the conflict cross over into this space, not even the overlords. Instead anytime they wanted a place of refuge or rest some would gather around the edges of her domain and lay peacefully, in this moment all forms of conflict would cease absolutely.
To every creature on this planet this place was both the most terrifying and most sacred thing at the same time, Emrys could understand well why that was the purpose, in a way they were all Irmir's children and unknowingly over the years everything had been placed under her influence.
"Well then, let's test this new body of mine".
"A little warm up, those guys would do quite nicely".
He flew high up into the stormy skies unbothered by the stray strikes upon his body tearing it down the bone and bleeding more power into the already supercharged atmosphere, once he got to a certain altitude he let himself begin falling back down.
The skies lit up as what seemed to be a blazing meteor tore through the air only to then pick up with a loud boom as he sped through the night leaving a beautiful arc in his wake as he descended upon the earth with such overflowing power that every beast in a million mile radius felt it and stopped all ongoing conflicts just to face the direction where the bulk of it lay.
"Come forth you bastards, let's kill ourselves".
His voice was projected far and beyond reaching every last one of them, in it there was a madness so great it sent a chill of truly frightening excitement running down their spines. And in turn, they responded with the full force of theirs.
He stood there right in the center of it all, an uncontrollable smile gracing his face and the rhythmic beating of his core clashing in a sharp contrast to his environment at this moment. Deafening roars, the sounds of a million beating heavy footsteps, an extremely supercharged atmosphere ablaze with all forms of magic and finally.....conflict.
EnD.