Raymos said, "I killed her, and that's enough. She's a traitor, exactly like you, and she was working for our enemies. That's why I killed her."
Arios said, "As for me, I don't work with Gostoria or Izoria, so you can't describe me as a traitor or an enemy."
Raymos said, shocked, "What? But you were—"
Arios said, "I was betrayed, and that's why I betrayed them, despite the bonds we had in the past."
Raymos said, "Did you establish your own gang of destroyers?"
Arios said, "No. I established a farm and a house to settle in, and a simple family that I love very much."
Everyone was shocked by what they heard.
Raymos said, "A farm?"
Wang said, "A house?"
Lina said, "A family?"
Arios said, surprised, "What's wrong with all of you?" Then he said, "Yes, I have my own family."
Raymos said, "Right. I know that Black Eye is married and that Karma kidnapped his wife, but when I saw you back then, I completely forgot about that."
Lina said, "Did you get married, Arios? Did you marry Clarice?"
Arios said, laughing, "No, absolutely not. I would never marry that whore. I have a much better wife. She has a kind heart, and she's beautiful too. And I have a beautiful child. His name is Isaac."
Lina said, "That's wonderful, brother. You've become a responsible man, just as our mother always wanted you to be."
Arios said, "Yes. As time passed, I realized that family should be the most important priority. I did my best to keep my family happy and stable at all times."
Then he looked away and said in a low voice, "Family, huh…"
He looked back at them, laughed, and said, "Anyway, tell me, how did you two get married?"
Lina became embarrassed and looked at Raymos, whose face turned red.
He shouted, "It's none of your business!"
Lina said, "After you left, I felt extremely lonely, and Raymos was the only person I could rely on at the time. He never abandoned me and always stood by my side. With time, we realized how compatible we were, and then… things happened."
Arios said, "A relationship built on mutual understanding. That's very beautiful."
After they had spent some good time together, Arios stopped smiling and said, "Now, to the important matter. I'm going to get to the point."
Everyone focused on him. His expression and the way he spoke had completely changed, becoming much more serious.
Arios said, "We are all in danger."
Everyone was shocked.
Raymos said, "Danger? What kind of danger?"
Arios said, "Not a person. Something that will affect our entire world. Someone came to me several days ago and warned me, but I underestimated him. I don't know whether what he said is true, but I think he was telling the truth because he showed me things that the mind cannot comprehend. I saw something more horrifying than the destruction of a universe or the distortion of space. It was terrifying."
Only Wang and Raymos truly felt the seriousness of the situation, because if someone as powerful as Arios said that the matter was terrifying, that confirmed it was not something that could easily be dismissed.
Wang said, "And what are we supposed to do now?"
Arios said, "I don't know anything. I came only to tell you about it. I went to other people, but they didn't believe me, even though they had witnessed what happened. Somehow, it seems they forgot that person and those events. I'm the only one who remembers everything that happened, so I came to tell you."
Raymos said, "So you want us to believe that something exists that only you remember, while you yourself don't know how to stop it? And yet you came here to tell us about it? What kind of nonsense is this? I'm starting to question your sanity."
Arios said, "Believe me, it was truly horrible."
Lina stood up and said, "Dear Arios is right. What would he gain from deceiving us? Tell me."
Raymos said, "Damn it. You're right. But how are we supposed to deal with this?"
Arios said, "I don't know. I'll try. But come with me now."
Arios used instant teleportation and took everyone to his own planet.
Lina said, "What is this place?"
Arios said, "This is my planet, and that is my house. Follow me."
After they knocked on the door, Izola opened it and was surprised by what she saw.
She said, "Welcome, my dear. I see you've brought some very special guests."
Arios said, "This is my sister Lina, this is my teacher Wang, and this is—uh…"
Raymos said, "Raymos. Lina's husband."
Arios said, "Exactly as he just told you."
Izola said, "Welcome."
Then she approached Lina, who was carrying Yukari.
She said, "Oh, she's such a beautiful little girl."
Lina thanked her.
Izola said, "Please, come inside."
They entered, and everyone was amazed by the beauty of Arios's house.
Lina said, "Your house is very beautiful, brother."
Arios said, "It's Izola's taste, not mine, darling."
Lina said, "It really is wonderful."
Izola said, "Arios, are you really okay, darling?"
He said, "Yes, don't worry. I'm sorry for suddenly leaving today and making you worry."
Lina said, "Why? What happened?"
Izola said, "Actually, he slept for two whole days without waking up. When he finally woke up, he jumped up in panic, and then he thought he had simply woken up normally."
Everyone looked at Arios, who tried to lighten the mood.
"Why don't you bring Isaac so he can play with little Yukari, darling?"
Izola immediately went to get him.
The moment Lina saw Isaac, she practically jumped with joy.
She said, "Ooooh! He's so handsome! He looks exactly like Arios!"
Izola happily said, "Yes! I always say that, but Arios insists that he looks like me, even though he has the same face and my distinctive hair color."
Arios stood up and went outside with Wang and Raymos.
Arios said, "The day is almost over."
Suddenly, a portal opened, and both of them felt a powerful energy.
They were surprised to see Mythos, whose appearance and features had changed slightly, emerge from the portal and stand before Arios.
He said, "Master, I'm here as you requested."
Arios said, "Good. Prepare for the worst."
Arios sat on a rock and activated what his soldiers were seeing. He had distributed them across all the worlds so he could see what would happen.
Time began to pass.
An hour passed… then several hours.
Nothing happened.
Arios stood up and said, "Yes. It seems that bastard Ernas lied to me."
He looked at everyone and said, "I apologize for the mistake."
Suddenly, Mythos said, "Master, look at the screen!"
Arios looked at it and his eyes widened in shock.
He saw World Six being completely erased.
Black darkness began emerging and swallowing it whole.
But the darkness did not stop there. It expanded and grew until it swallowed the neighboring world, then the one after it, and the one after that.
Arios said, "What the hell? System, what is happening?"
A question mark appeared on the system.
Arios clenched his teeth.
Then the darkness began swallowing everything in World Zero.
Dazai looked out of a window and saw darkness emerging from outside.
He was shocked when he saw his hand disappearing, with blackness appearing in its place.
He became terrified of what was happening.
Then he disappeared as well, and the darkness swallowed all of World Zero.
All the worlds were swallowed.
Inside Nahira's palace, she saw what was happening, only to be swallowed as well, unable to do anything.
The same thing happened in the Council of Elders.
The elders began screaming and trying to escape, but they too were erased from existence.
Wang said, "Look! It has swallowed everything! I can't see anything anymore!"
Arios said, "Damn it! My soldiers have disappeared. I can't feel them anymore!"
Suddenly, Arios was stunned when he saw the darkness pierce his planet.
It seemed that the darkness had swallowed everything in existence, and nothing remained.
Izola and Lina came out of the house and stood beside them, terrified.
They asked, "What is this?"
Arios said, "Damn it… damn it… damn it!"
He turned toward his family as the darkness approached them.
Arios felt that this was the end.
He hugged his child, his wife, and his sister one last time.
He said, "Not yet. I haven't accomplished anything."
As he hugged them tightly, the darkness drew closer.
Panic and fear were everywhere.
The system appeared, and words appeared on it:
"Activate Previous Path. Emergency Restriction. The user has been restored to their previous state. Activate the Metaphysical Entity: Elde Prime."
Arios looked at the screen and said, "Elde Prime? What is that?"
Arios moved away from his family, and a button appeared before him.
"Press to return to previous form."
Arios said, "Previous form?"
Then he pressed it.
Suddenly, he felt a shock.
His body began changing.
His hair became completely dark black.
His eyes turned pitch black.
His clothes changed into a black jacket covered with star-like points, a glowing white shirt, and dark black pants as deep as the darkness of space itself.
Arios froze in place.
Everyone looked at him in confusion.
Izola said, "Arios, are you okay?"
But Arios did not speak.
He looked at them, confused by what was happening.
He did not understand what was going on.
Raymos's hand began fading away.
Moments later, it disappeared completely.
Lina vanished.
Mythos vanished.
Wang vanished.
Raymos disappeared.
Arios approached Izola and grabbed her, but she disappeared as well.
Arios was left alone in the darkness.
He did not speak.
He did not cry.
He did not scream.
He did nothing.
He held his hands and looked at them.
Then he froze completely, without moving at all, as though he had become a stone statue in the middle of endless darkness.
Suddenly, Arios opened his eyes and found himself in a strange white place, floating in emptiness.
He said, "Where am I now?"
He was unable to move.
Suddenly, a familiar voice appeared.
Yes, it was the same voice as his own.
But it appeared before him in the form of strange black eyes floating in the middle of the whiteness.
Arios said, "Where am I? Who are you? And what happened to me?"
The strange entity said, "Welcome back."
Arios said, "Back? What do you mean? I don't know you at all."
The entity said, "We know each other very well. You simply don't remember me. It's obvious that your memory is sealed. I'll unlock it for you. But before that, what do you think of the situation?"
Arios shouted, "What situation? My family has been erased! Everything has been erased! Why? Who did this? What was the reason?"
The voice said, "Calm down a little. You have every right to be angry, my friend. But do you really think that everything that happens is a coincidence? No. It's all planned. While you live in ignorance, many are trying to reach you in order to erase you completely. Others want different things, but that isn't our topic right now."
Arios said, "Who are you, anyway?"
The voice said simply, "To put it briefly and avoid complicating things for you: I am your living conscience and your eternal voice, the one that helps you."
Arios said, "What?"
The voice said, "I'm the one who helps you make decisions. You may not remember me right now, but we've been together for a long time. I'm the voice inside you. Whenever you make a decision to do something, I review it with you so we can determine whether it is the right choice or not."
Arios said, "Help me fix all of this."
The voice said, "Hmm… now that's a wonderful decision. I like it. But tell me first: do you understand what we are dealing with, or do you think we're just playing around here?"
Arios said, "What do you mean? Stop speaking in riddles. Bring everything back, please."
The voice said, "You are the one who does things here. I merely guide and advise you."
Arios said, "Can I do that?"
The voice said, "Of course. You are Elde Prime, the strongest and highest metaphysical entity in all of existence. Nothing can limit you. You are the embodiment of absolute infinity. Whatever you want becomes reality, and nothing stands above your decision."
Arios said, "I am… what?"
Then he said, "Never mind. How do I bring everything back?"
The voice said, "Imagine what you want, and it will happen."
Arios did as instructed and imagined everything returning.
Indeed, everything began returning to its original state.
Suddenly, Elde Prime's external body raised its hands and closed them.
The darkness began disappearing.
The worlds began taking shape and being recreated.
Universes began forming.
Worlds began forming from nothing.
Until everything began appearing once again.
Suddenly, everyone looked around.
They said, "What happened?"
Everyone looked around and found Arios frozen in place.
Raymos said, "What is this? Why does he look like that? What happened?"
Izola approached Arios and said, "Darling, are you okay?"
But Arios remained completely still, without even blinking.
Raymos said, "I'll try punching him. Maybe it'll wake him up."
Suddenly, he punched Arios.
The blow was reflected back, sending Raymos flying away.
He said, "What the hell just happened?"
Arios, who was inside, said, "Amazing. Everything came back. How did that happen?"
The voice said, "Not everything came back. Everything was recreated from scratch. As for how it happened, you possess absolute power that allows you to perform things even immense metaphysical entities are incapable of."
Arios said, "Metaphysical entities? What?"
The voice said, "I think it's time for you to regain your memories."
Suddenly, Arios's head began glowing purple.
He began screaming strangely.
Then he felt something different.
His mind began filling with countless pieces of information and memories.
Arios breathed heavily, tears in his eyes.
Then his expression became serious.
He raised his hands and said, "Conscience voice, welcome back, Elde Prime."
Elde Prime looked at him and said, "And I've been waiting for this moment too, my inner voice."
Then he smiled wickedly and said, "Now I remember everything."
The voice said, "What will you do now? Will you return to the metaphysical world?"
Arios said, "Not yet. I have to continue the adventure of Arios, the young man who struggled against the impossible."
The voice said, "Are you really going to continue living as a mortal? Aren't you thirsty for revenge against those who opposed you? Why not simply erase them? And it seems that whoever dropped a fragment of Nothingness wanted to see whether you truly existed or not."
Arios said, "Yes, I know that, and I know who did it. But for now, I'm going to act like an ordinary person so I can see who is my friend and who is my enemy."
The voice said, "Use your ability to see history and witness everything that will happen at once."
Arios said, "Good idea."
Arios closed his eyes and began seeing what would happen to him in the future.
After some time, the voice looked at him and was shocked by what it saw.
Arios's face was extremely shocked and pale.
The voice said, "What did you see?"
Arios looked at him with that same expression and said, "Nothing."
Then he left the place and began controlling his body again.
Wang said, "Look! He's moving!"
Izola walked toward Arios and said, "Darling, are you okay?"
He looked at her and said, "I'm fine, human— I mean, darling."
Then he looked at himself.
The color of his hair returned to its blue-black shade, his eyes returned to their natural blue color, and the blackness surrounding his clothes disappeared completely.
He breathed deeply and sat on the ground.
Raymos said in obvious confusion, "What happened? Where did that thing go?"
Arios said with a cold expression, "I don't know. It suddenly disappeared without me knowing what happened."
Wang looked at Arios and said, "Tell me, Arios. What happened to you? Your appearance a moment ago was slightly different."
Arios looked at him in shock and said, "Nothing. It was just a protective aura I activated without meaning to when danger approached us. I don't need it anymore."
Wang said, "I understand now."
Izola looked at Arios with a worried expression and said, "Darling, are you really okay?"
Arios smiled and said, "I'm fine."
Then he placed his hand on her cheek and said without anyone noticing, "You really appeal to me, just as I expected."
Izola was confused by what he said.
Then Arios said to her, "What matters is that you're safe now, darling."
He stood up and said, "Raymos, so did our world disappear?"
Arios looked at him and said, "It seems everything was somehow restored. Look at the screens."
Everyone looked and was shocked to see that all the worlds were still there exactly as they had been, as if nothing had happened at all.
Mythos said in confusion, "How did this happen? This is unbelievable."
Lina said, "Thank God. It seems something helped us."
Izola approached Arios and took his hand.
She said, "Darling, please let me go and check on my brother. Please."
Arios looked at her, and his expression showed that he did not like the idea.
However, he looked around at everyone and was forced to say, "Fine. You can go see him, but I'll send some soldiers with you. And you are not allowed to be late. I don't approve of you going there in the first place."
Izola smiled through her tears and said, "Okay, as you wish. I agree."
Then she hugged him.
Everyone looked at them in surprise, because Izola seemed as though she had wanted to do that for a very long time.
After that, Arios released Raynos and Zaikorus from his body and ordered them in a cold, harsh tone:
"Watch over your mistress. Anyone who lays eyes on her or tries to approach her—simply kill them. And don't you dare be late beyond the time I have set."
The two soldiers bowed.
Izola innocently said, "Arios, can I take Isaac with me so my brother can see him?"
Arios looked at her.
His eyes turned red.
He said coldly, "No."
Izola felt fear from that gaze, because it was the first time she had ever seen such an expression on his face.
She said quietly, "As you wish."
Then Izola disappeared with the two soldiers.
Arios watched her shadow disappear, clenching his teeth.
After she left, Arios picked up Isaac in his arms, smiled at his guests, and said, "Let's go inside and have some juice."
They all went inside and discussed many things.
Meanwhile, in World Zero, Izola eventually arrived at the fortified castle.
It was almost empty.
She knocked on the door, with the two soldiers standing behind her.
One of the guards looked down from the castle wall and saw her.
He said in surprise, "Lady Izola?"
He opened the gate for her.
She thanked the guard and continued inside.
After making sure Dazai was inside, some guards received her and escorted her.
Word reached Dazai that his sister Izola had come to visit him.
Dazai was in terrible condition.
He was sitting in his office, drinking heavily.
When he received the news, he left his place and ran through the corridors like a madman until he reached the reception room.
When he entered, he found his sister sitting calmly, waiting for him.
She immediately stood when she saw him.
She said, "Brother…"
He stared at her in shock.
Then she rushed toward him, hugged him, and said in panic, "Brother, did something happen to you? Are you okay? That darkness swallowed everything!"
He looked at her in confusion and said, "Darkness? What are you talking about?"
She looked at him and said, "The darkness that destroyed everything."
He said, "Nothing happened. Are you okay? And what brought you here?"
She looked at him and said, "I came to make sure you were okay."
He looked at her and smiled.
Then he said, "Liar."
Izola was shocked by what she heard.
She said in confusion, "Brother, are you okay?"
He looked at her and said coldly, "Of course I'm fine. What could possibly be wrong with me? The girl I loved died. My soldiers started running away from me. My entire gang began falling apart. All my lands began disappearing and being taken by the rebels. Two years ago, my sister ran away with my friend, who betrayed me and chose him over me. And you didn't even ask about me until after I had completely broken down."
Then he shouted, "How am I supposed to be fine? Tell me!"
Izola looked at him and reached for his hand, but he pushed her away.
The two soldiers emerged from within Izola and attempted to attack Dazai.
She shouted at them to stop.
They immediately stopped.
Dazai laughed bitterly and said, "You want to kill me now using your powerful husband's servants? That's truly unbelievable."
She looked at him, nearly crying, and said, "Brother, I—"
He looked at her coldly in his miserable state and said with absolute calmness, "Get out of here, stranger. Don't show me your face again. I barely even see you as anything but a source of annoyance and an obstacle that has been weighing on my chest for a very long time."
Izola was shocked.
She swallowed her tears and said with hidden sadness, "Thank you for caring about me, brother."
Then she left the room and departed from the castle.
Dazai watched her leave through the window and thought to himself, "What is happening? Why did I say all those things to her?"
Then he grabbed a glass vase and smashed it against the floor.
He screamed with all his strength and collapsed onto the ground, crying.
Outside, Izola looked at the castle one last time.
Then she disappeared from the place completely.
After some time, she returned to the planet.
Night had fallen by then.
She entered the house and found that Arios had put his little child to sleep.
Arios was sitting on the sofa.
He looked at her and said, "Oh, welcome back, darling."
He noticed that she looked as though she had been crying.
Arios understood immediately.
Izola said, "Where are our guests?"
Arios said, "Actually, I sent them back to their worlds after the danger disappeared. But don't worry, you'll see them often."
Izola said, "I'm sorry that I suddenly left and asked to go while they were here. It was rude of me."
Arios stood up and approached her.
Then he placed his hands on her cheeks and said with a smile, "Don't worry. You were afraid for your brother because of a danger. That's a very human thing to do."
Izola looked at him, hugged him, and began crying intensely.
Arios smiled and said, "Shhhhh. Did something happen?"
She said, "Nothing. Just… don't leave me."
Arios said, "Don't worry. I'm the one person who could never leave you. I'm not like the others."
Then he kissed her forehead and said, "Come on. I'll take the little one to his room. You look exhausted, so you need to rest too."
Arios carried the child and took him to his room.
Then he came out and entered his own room.
He found Izola asleep.
He left the house, jumped onto the roof, and sat there watching the horizon as the wind blew.
Arios then entered that white place again.
He said to the voice, "Why did you alter what her brother was going to say to her?"
Arios said, "This is better."
The voice looked at him and said, "It seems your metaphysical instincts have truly returned. You no longer see that girl as an ordinary wife. You've started seeing her as property that belongs to you."
Arios looked at him and said, "And what's wrong with that? Izola belongs to me, truly. No one has the right to take her from me, not even her brother."
The voice said, "But tell me, is what you're saying motivated by love for her, or is it simply the language of ownership, as though she were an object?"
Arios said, "Of course she is an object. What do you take me for? It's true that I lived for a long time as a mortal, but that doesn't mean I should turn an entity that I don't perceive as merely an idea in my mind into my partner."
The entity said, "You know she can't hear us now, and we're talking about that human."
Arios said, "Yes. She reads everything, but there's nothing here for her to read, so don't worry. She won't know what we're doing here. That's why I haven't spoken to you through my external body."
The voice said, "Good. But seriously, tell me, what is our goal going forward?"
Arios said, "Honestly, things were unexpected. When Nora threw that fragment of Nothingness to erase this entire region, I truly understood her reasoning."
The voice said, "You were frozen because you couldn't use your true form, so I didn't know what was happening."
Arios said, "It seems Nora threw that thing to make me awaken. But I can't communicate with her. Why doesn't she want to answer me?"
The voice said, "It seems she's watching us right now, just as I told you."
Arios said, "Don't worry about it, man. But what I've really wanted to know for a long time is… you."
Arios waved his hand, and the system screen appeared.
Arios laughed and said, "This strange system. I don't know where it came from. I didn't create it, yet it helped me the entire time."
The voice said, "It's something similar to what appears in manhwa and fictional stories."
Arios said, "I know. And there's always someone behind it, either an enemy or a friend who must be eliminated. I always tried asking it where it came from, but it never answered me. Now I'm going to find out what it really is. And if it opposes me, I'll destroy it."
Suddenly, a lock screen appeared on the system.
Words appeared:
"System forcibly shut down due to an intrusion by an external entity."
Arios said, "What? I'm not an intruder."
The system said, "You are not the user. Attempting to analyze the entity."
The system began analyzing Arios's personality.
Then an exclamation mark appeared on the screen.
"ERROR. ERROR. User compromised. Activating self-restraint."
The system disappeared.
Arios could not bring it back.
He said, "Damn it. What happened?"
The voice said, "It seems this thing only recognizes you when you are in a human state. In your metaphysical state, it doesn't recognize you."
Arios laughed and said, "I don't need it anyway. I've regained my power, and it seems that it was the reason my power was sealed in the first place."
The voice said, "And there's something strange."
Arios said, "What is it?"
The voice said, "Didn't your power disappear when Nora discovered that you wanted to become human, and then you were executed by Mira's family after becoming weak? So how did your power return now?"
Arios said, "No. I haven't regained all my power. I think I only have half of it. When I argued with Nora back then, she took away half of my power and temporarily sealed the other half as punishment."
The voice said, "But is that why you can't communicate with her?"
Arios said, "Even so, your power is complete, as far as I can feel it. I don't sense any division or anything missing."
Arios said, "You're right. I feel like I'm at the absolute peak of my full power. Did Nora restore all of my power? I really feel like it's completely back."