*
"Let me speak for myself a little. It's not gonna be everything, so I suppose it will bore you." (Arin)
She observes Yggdrasil's expressions. Yggdrasil doesn't want to see herself right now, so her eyes didn't seem to exist in this mindscape of hers. For a deity, manifesting a mindscape or accommodating other existences in it was natural. They're like grand computers where the world itself is a program they're running. Reality is part of them, not the other way round.
Her lips tensed together, her teeth grit but don't grind, exerting force conflicting force into her jaw. She held onto bated breath despite not needing to breathe.
"Alright, I'll take that as a yes. Where should I start? If you couldn't guess it by now, shame on you.
I have a deep connection to Traces. Not those small lower class mindless ones, those are like animals that reiterate over millenia like the evolutionary route of animals. I'm referring to those that are intelligent. The Fragments, The Heavenly Kings. S grade at the lowest, breaching into the realm of deities in other aspects.
Why I have this connection, I leave that to you. I just want to say, I know them. They are age old monsters since the beginning of this era, as am I. I wasn't always around, I'm not physically old.
I just reincarnated repeatedly. I just sat and observe the chaos. I suppose reincarnation has cut off my connection to the stars, to destiny. So humanity doesn't consider me a threat, only the Traces. They breach into Eterna's garden as invaders from the outer world, and larger dimension on a different scale compared to the universe. There, people might consider the beings existing as souls. They don't possess any physical body or have any physiological needs, those are all things they only gain after manifesting here, becoming animalistic beings.
Those that retain their intelligence and reasoning are higher beings. They resemble more how they were originally outside. " (Arin)
"... Outside, so Eterna has been keeping them out. Are you blaming me for weakening her barrier? " (Yggdrasil)
Arin frowned for a moment, before retracting her gentle smile. She lifted her lips, her voice chimed beautifully like a work of art.
"... No. You did what you have to... Forget it, I got the answers I needed. I'll keep this connection up, so I can check in on you in the future. Unfortunately, Sariel will have to be lonely for a while. " (Arin)
"... Then I'm counting on you to keep her company, and I'm counting on her to pull through. " (Yggdrasil)
The plan hasn't changed. The moment right before she evolved, she divulged her ideas to the other 2. What she said seemed more like a cryptic prophecy, when the time came and these ideas came to fruition, it would look even more impressive. However, really, it was just throwing inspiration at the wall and hoping something stuck. What she truly had faith in, was Sariel's ability. Something stuck out to her, inexplicably telling her that Sariel was the answer. Maybe it was the guilt of surpassing Sariel, despite being her junior in the matters of magical girls.
Surely it haunted her, no matter how much she tried to hide it. That's why Yggdrasil believed that gut feeling, that the time will come when she shone brighter than anyone else.
"It's not like there was absolutely no plan. What I dropped were puzzle pieces, encrypted to fool any potential enemies." (Yggdrasil)
She looked off into the darkness where Arin used to be, her figure having vanished since the conversation ended a while ago. Easing into a sigh, she got to work on the next plan. The enemy hasn't resigned, for all intents and purposes they must have some sort of countermeasure against her, even if her presence wasn't foreseen. She couldn't afford to be careless here, even as she progressed in wrestling more authority from Eterna, she should prepare for the worst.
The enemy is hiding. They are preparing for a counteroffensive, however this isn't one sided. She can also make use of this time...
"Let's proceed." (Yggdrasil)
***
"What should we do...?" (Sariel)
She's already been defeated. That's all Arin could muster in her thoughts. What was this feeling? Was she disappointed? Was it right to be disappointed? The grimace on her face must have been obvious, because Sariel stared on in confuzzlement.
"I don't... Know. I can't come up with an answer. Sariel, what is right? What was wrong? What did I do... That was wrong...?" (Arin)
Her breathing grew out of rhythm, slowly, gradually, she loses control over the pulsation of her heart. It felt like it was threatening to pop out of her gullet, beating fiercely and relentlessly.
Lastia... Lastia... Why did you leave?
Noticing her eyes were glazing, Sariel grips her shoulders with strength, shaking her back and forth.
"Get yourself together! This isn't the first time, remember!?" (Sariel)
"H-how did you know?" (Arin)
"You were mouthing her name! How long did you think we've been together? The only one who hasn't noticed is her!" (Sariel)
Not to mention, this wasn't the first time. Ever since Yggdrasil caused Lastia's body to develop into that incorporeal tree, Arin's mental state hasn't been sound. Inwardly, Sariel lamented, knowing it's happened too many times that she lost count of how frequently it occured. Sariel could keep herself together, why couldn't Arin do it too?
Am I the problem? Arin cursed in her heart. Ever since Yggdrasil vanished to another space, she felt like she lost her grasp over her mind and heart. As if something was carrying her pain away, but also funneled sensations of endless confusion. Her thoughts seem to muddy like swirling clouds, her psyche didn't seem to be standing on solid ground.
'Haa~ this isn't the first time... ' (Arin)
She whispered to herself, almost as if engaging in Sariel's words. She has reincarnated many times over, seen many things in her past lives. The cycle of reincarnation is almost like endless torment, but since the mind and body are brand new while the soul remains, the sensations of previous lives do not linger. Rather she can only view them as if they were entirely someone else's problems, it's cold but it keeps her sanity intact rather than worrying about every trivial worry leftover from other lives.
... Naturally, she was talking about Lastia. Just that Sariel wouldn't think that Arin wasn't referring to the tree's manifestations. This isn't the first time she lost Lastia.