"What did you say…?" Jin was stunned by Night's words and his attendant couldn't even react properly.
"It's exactly as he said," Layla uttered and Jin redirected his look toward her. He noticed that she was quite agitated too. "Arima conceived many magics since the time he left this world. Among them, there's one to resurrect the dead without any downside…"
"Not a single side effect or restriction," Night followed. "Reviving the dead is awfully easy. Human bodies are simple. Particularly if you have Arima's knowledge. He perfectly knows how the human body works down the smallest intricacy."
"He can just heal the body then recircuit the brain. Without even using time magic, he can extract the memories and reboot everything. The affected subject will be the same as if he had lived his entire life in a second."
"The only problem is the soul. But that's also an easy fix for him. Of course, the soul is a worldly mystery. No one knows how it works, so you can't create one from nothing. But considering the original soul of the one you want to revive has already been destroyed, there's only one solution left and that's to take a part of your own and give it away. Then, with the mind you already restored, you'll be able to refine the soul to match the new vessel."
"Additionally, since the soul can never be truly damaged, Arima's soul will still regenerate after sacrificing a part of it. His maximum mana will only drop slightly for a while," Night explained calmly and carefully while keeping his attention on Arima who was already cloaked in death aura.
He wanted to intervene but he knew he knew better than to confront him out of all people. In the first place, just a casual clash between the two of them could destroy an entire city.
"But if he can do it, why would you stop him?" Jin was perplexed. Even if revival was something completely absurd for him as a simple human, he had just been told that it was easy to do so. Why would they be so reluctant about it?
"You're in the same case," Layla retorted. "It's easy for Arima to make you younger. Why do you think he refused?"
Jin was stumped. When he asked that earlier, he meant it as a joke but he was also serious. After all, who wouldn't wish to be younger? But Arima answered with a laugh and ignored him.
"Ethics," Karma muttered and smiled bitterly. "Arima has morals, more than anyone. No one should ever ignore them and act as if they meant nothing."
"He didn't make you younger because it goes against his beliefs. Doing it means that he went against nature to save your life and rewind time for you. This could sound silly, after all, why wouldn't you help a friend if you could?" Layla spoke up again and Jin already felt dizzy because of everyone talking to him separately.
"But it's vastly different in Arima's books. If you can make people younger and eternal, you would defy nature and once you do that, you would create an anomaly. This anomaly would become the trigger to an even bigger problem," Night continued.
"What problem?" Jin frowned.
"Vanity, irregularity… Those are particularly true when you use that kind of magic on someone close to you," Night said. "If he makes you younger, Arima will engender a conflict within his own mind. From that, he will gain the urge to do the same with others. But that's as wrong as it's rhapsodic. Just because of your desires and that you're strong enough, you shouldn't be allowed to control how people age and even just keep it to a single group amongst everyone else."
After that, Jin finally started to understand what he meant.
"The same applies to death. Just that it's an even bigger taboo. Death unites absolutely every single living being in existence. Death is also one, if not the only one thing that keeps people alive," Layla supplemented.
"'People invented the word 'Life' because they had created the word 'Death''; these are precisely Arima's words. Taking death out of the picture is immoral for him. And now he's even trying to undo what made him stand here like this today, not only applying the taboo but also denying his own past," Karma was the last one to speak and Jin was now looking at Arima really anxiously.
He had to admit that his three friends had managed to drastically change his perspective. Now, he was even scared of what his old comrade would do.
"Arima, one last time. Is that really what you want to do?" Night raised his voice again and Arima let out a hollow laugh.
"If you had the power to resurrect your people, would you want to do it?" Arima snorted. "Of course, that's what I want to do."
Night closed his mouth. He realized how badly he had phrased his words. Arima turned his head to look at him and everyone shivered.
Arima's left eye was pure crimson. That usually meant that Malum had taken over but it seemed that it wasn't the case this time. To be exact, it felt like Malum and Arima were both glaring at Night together. The latter's expression twitched and he quietly stepped back.
"Whatever you're about to do; I hope you won't regret it."
"I hope so," Arima whispered and raised his hand slowly. The atmosphere suddenly became heavier and somber. Jin and his maid almost choked because of how hard it was to breathe. Night merely glanced at them and they immediately felt better.
"[Et ego invocabo te] (I call upon you),"
"[Vocationem hercle] (Answer my call)."
The dark aura followed Arima's hand as he moved it.
"[Arcum non recuso] (I refuse to bow),"
"[Non pronus dedere] (I never was inclined to surrender)."
"[Me non accipere modo datum mihi est] (I won't accept the way it is given to me)."
The dark mass was suddenly ignited and turned into black flames as they formed a distinct shape above Arima.
"[Gerunt angulos pallii tui] (Wear your cloak)."
"[Et pinnacula tua et mortuus est] (Let your feathers be dyed)."
"[Haec revocetur oratio] (Bring it back again)."
A loud shriek resounded and even made Night cover one of his ears. A pair of wings was deployed from the inside of the amalgam of dark flames. The rest of the flames dispersed and let place to a large black-feathered bird. Arima's eyes glowed and so did the navy eyes of the creature.
"[Fifth Prohibited Art, Phoenix Tenebris] (Dark Phoenix)," he chanted and waved his hand. The Dark Phoenix cried and flapped its wings. He soared in the sky then shined like a dark sun before plunging.
Layla, who was unmoving until now, gritted her teeth and breathed in. "Arimane!" She shouted and he abruptly quivered. The Phoenix immediately stopped its descent before it could hit the headstones.
The huge bird cried once again and landed next to Arima as if it was a well-behaved pet. He was around five meters tall while standing on the ground.
Arima was trembling. His left eye had turned back to normal and his mind was now reminiscing the two lives composing Layla's existence. The latter sighed in relief when she saw that her last-minute effort had somehow reached him.
Night was looking wide-eyed at her and Karma was in awe. Night was impressed and surprised. He didn't expect Arima to react so strongly to her call. 'Wait… Layla is lovely and all but why the hell did you listen to her and not me?' He grumbled internally.
"{Looks like you've developed a weak point for her because of the memories you share,}" Malum remarked after a moment of silence and Arima sighed.
"Shut up…" He mumbled and glanced at the Phoenix standing next to him.
"{Well, it's true that you almost did something pretty stupid there.}"
"You were quite eager about it too."
"{Touché. But that's only because I was dragged by your emotional state, to the point we shared the 'cockpit' for a short moment.}"
Arima raised an eyebrow. "Are you insinuating that you're capable of better self-control than me?"
"{At least, for today, yes,}" Malum shamefully responded. "{What were you expecting anyway? Breaking your morals… then what? You would have welcomed your former family by saying 'I missed you'? You know as well as I do that your psyche would have collapsed the moment you see their eyes open.}"
"Don't even try to lecture me Malum," Arima growled and Malum fell silent. He then put his hand on the bird and stroked him. The phoenix arched its neck and let out an appreciating noise.
"{…What are you going to do? This little guy won't go away as long as it doesn't accomplish its duty,}" Malum spoke again.
Arima peeked at Layla and Night and shrugged. "[Phoenix Auream] (Golden Phoenix)," he intoned as he patted the bird and the color of its feathers changed to a resplendent gold but preserved the dark flames.
Arima drew one of his throwing knives from his coat and cut his palm before placing the bloodied blade in front of the phoenix.
"[Accipite illum. Recurrat astri circulum Atque] (Take it. Trace the circle)," he chanted and the phoenix opened its beak to lick the blood. Red lines spread on the feathers and the legendary bird flapped its wings again. It ascended and this time, nothing stopped him as he merged with the earth around the tombs.
Night scratched his head and sighed. "I had forgotten about this one…"
When the phoenix entered the ground, his flames covered the tombs and burned both the stones and the coffins. Afterward, two wisps of light emerged and hovered around Arima.
The latter closed his eyes and waited. The two wisps then flew away and the phoenix came back from underground and swallowed them before disappearing.
"…What just happened?" Jin was lost.
"The hidden aspect of this Art," Night answered and sat down to relax. "He couldn't go for 'Resurrection' so he went for 'Reincarnation'. He recreated the souls by reconstructing the mind but then erased the memories and ordered the phoenix the reincarnate them."
"He technically brought them back to life but he will never see them again," Layla followed with a sigh. "The 'Golden Phoenix' will carry the souls away from Arima and even hide them from him. Forever."
"God. Damn. It." Arima's curse echoed throughout the cemetery as he approached his group. He sighed and stopped in front of Night. "I'm sorry," he quickly apologized then turned toward Layla. He groaned and lowered his head. "Thank you."
Layla's eyes widened and Jin looked at him as if he had gotten sick. He had never seen Arima apologize to someone.
Night was unfazed at first since the apology and the thanks were a given after what happened, but he then realized something.
"Why the hell are you so polite when you thank her? Do you know how fucking stressed I was that you would actually use 'Tenebris'?"
"I know. Thank you for that too by the way."
"You damn… oh fuck this shit," he grumbled and followed Arima as he walked away.