A FEW DAYS EARLIER IN GREATER LEAF FOREST
LIGHT'S POV:-
"Then let me propose a new deal," I speak with a 'humble' smile to the platinum ranked adventurer who worked for Leena's father.
He gulps as he nods.
"Do you have a communication crystal?" I ask him.
He takes out a sphere from his dimensional pocket.
"Call Leena's father," I command him.
"What are you doing?" Leena snaps for some reason at me.
I glance at her before speaking, "knock her unconscious."
Lisa knocks her unconscious.
Leraye and Kaneto are observing the surroundings.
The Pixies are flying around Lisa.
"Now...call her father," I speak to the adventurer.
He pours mana into the sphere and soon a hologram appears in front of us.
"It's you huh? Did she kill another person? Didn't I ask you to clean up the mess yourself? I am busy here, so it better be important or I will personally come to 'talk' to you," speaks the man on the hologram. He was wearing a green suit. His face looks quite aged despite only being in his late 30s.
"Sir Wade, we have a situation here. Actually, the opponent is far stronger than we anticipated. He was hiding his true powers. Miss Leena is safe right now. The person who has Miss Leena wants to talk to you," he summarised all the points in a single exchange.
I move in front of the screen.
The man had a slightly angered face with a tinge of regret.
"Sigh...always knew this was going to happen someday. In any case, what do you want? Is it money? Or power? I don't know how much I can give to you, so please don't go overboard with your demands," he speaks with a small smile as he looks at me.
"Aren't you going to ask why a child is negotiating with you?" I ask him with a humble smile.
"Haha...As if a child could defeat multiple platinum and gold rank adventurers. Even if someone helps him, why would the helper send a child for negotiation? Clearly, you are anything but a child," a chuckle escapes his mouth as he explains his reasoning.
"What you did was wrong, Wade. Sigh...I am not negotiating but proposing a deal. I will cure your daughter in exchange for 3 'simple' tasks you have to do for me. I am Morpheus by the way. Your daughter...she doesn't sleep at night, does she? And once a week she cries in a corner for more than 5 or 6 hours, doesn't she?" I propose my deal.
"How did you...no, you said that you will cure my daughter, didn't you? I accept...I will do anything if it means my daughter can be cured," speaks the man getting slightly excited as his smile turns from a sad smile to a joyful one. He looked quite younger now.
"Aren't you gonna doubt me? I might be simply using you, you know?" I speak knowing what response I will get from him.
"Hahahahaa...You are funny, you know? To ask a person, who even made a deal with Devils just for a small hope that his daughter would be cured, if he can trust someone or not? That too after showing a glimpse of your capability. Listen Morpheus, I'll take all the chances, after everything I have been through, I'll take all the chances I can to save my daughter. She is the last reminder of my wife. I don't think I am capable of losing her," he speaks as he looks at me with that same small smile.
"All right, these are the 3 things you need to do: One, pass a message to this location to Lucy Farcel. Two, stay at the South Gate from now on, I'll be sending your unconscious daughter there. I'll come after finishing this quest here. The third one is more time dependent, the attack of the Devils that is supposed to happen in Eslaine this week. I need you to create a barrier at all the gates that prevent the escape of High Devils or lower from that place," I speak my demands.
He looks at me with a serious face then sighs before speaking,
"Okay...I don't know what are you trying to do but if it's this much then it is possible," he answers.
"Won't you become the enemy of the Devils like that?" I question him with a smile
"Only if they know who did it," he answers as he smiles back.
The hologram closes after that.
The others are looking at me as if I am a freak.
I look at the adventurer who had that pendant and ask,
"Explain in one sentence about this pendant. Everything you know," I ask him as I look at him.
"Arcadia dungeon. That symbol embedded inside on it belongs to the Hidden Arcadia dungeon," he speaks that in 2 sentences.
"That was 2 sentences..." I pause as I look at his stupefied face.
I shake my head as a chuckle escapes my mouth,
"Lisa, this completes our exchange, this should give you a direction to move forward, so I guess it's time for us to separate...where are you going to next?" I ask her.
She looks a bit stupified before shaking her head.
She shrugs her shoulders.
"I don't know where I'll head from here but I'll continue looking for my father. Honestly, Arcadia dungeon is harder to find than the pendant itself. Still, thanks for the help Morpheus, let's meet again someday," she speaks as she looks at me with a thankful expression.
"Okay, see you again later," I speak as I look at her.
Soon we all leave to our own destination.
...
BACK TO PRESENT:
'Well, that completes half of the plans I had. Now for the next move,' I think as I look at the man in front of me.
"Let's go, Wade, show me the way," I ask him to direct me to Leena.
He gets up and nods as he looks at me with eyes full of hope.
We move inside the house where a girl was lying unconscious on a bed placed in the centre of the hall.
There are 3 men who are probably guards and a few doctors who are checking her condition but looking at me and Wade they take a step aside.
Their faces are full of doubts.
'Looks like he was waiting for me, eh? Well, that makes things easy for me,' I think as I look at Wade before moving towards Leena.
'This is going to take a 'bit of time' for me...sigh...but...'There can only be good in saving a life' huh? Isn't it what Elain always said,' a smile forms on my face as I think about my past.
All of them have their eyes fixed on me.
"[Mana Domain: Inverse Oblivion]" I chant as all the circuits in my body start rotating anticlockwise and amplifying my body function. Everything around me turns blurry, for me as well as everyone, due to the sudden disturbance in the mana present in the air due to my circuits.
"[Mana Eyes: A Particle Beyond Life]" I channel mana into my eyes and a wide array of magicules form around me.
Thousand of dust like magicules became visible around me.
"[Original Magic: Let there be Light]" I create original magic that filters out the magicules to only show the Light Magic and Life Magic.
I take out my dagger and absorb all the Light Magic specifically.
Then I cut my finger with the same dagger and force Life Magic and Light Magic into them.
The others are extremely shocked at this point.
-Time stop-
Then I touch the forehead of Leena and connect my mana with hers.
"[Domain Magic: Intrare thy sinciput]" I channel my mana into her brain.
Everything that she has seen became visible to me.
Everything that she has been through, I too passed through that.
Everything that she has suffered, I did too.
Every time she killed someone and felt hurt, I did that too.
Everything that was hers, passed down to me.
I changed her memories, changed her brain, changed her ideals.
I changed her to her core.
All the sad memories she had, I changed it to happiness.
All the time she cried, I changed that for a laugh.
I made her strong. I made her normal.
I redefined her. It may as well be not Leena at all.
But if I were to simply give her sanity back, she will commit suicide.
How do I know it? Because I have seen it. What she will do? What she won't do? I have seen everything.
One time? No. It was 100s of scenarios. I lived through them. Finding them over n over, again n again. And in the end, there was no such thing as a good ending.
This is the most I can do for her father.
As for her, to be erased and renewed, this is the most appropriate path...
'But if it's you, then you can. Because you are the only one I believe.'
'Huh?' Where did that...Elain, huh?... She did say something like that...Haha....hahahahahahaha...
Determination takes over me.
'All right. Let's try again...'
100s...1000s...10000s...100000s tries and then...I found a path...that sets everything in stone.
It's a path that no one will be happy on.
But a path with which everyone will live.
They will grow
They will adapt.
They will become normal.
It is not the most ideal path.
You could even say that it is the most unideal path.
But...
I guess this is the most I can do.
'Brain, you there?'
-Yeah, I am obviously.
'Erase all the memories I have taken from Leena,' I command it.
How many years have I lived as Leena now? It's not something that I would like to have in my brain. Morally or physically it is not correct for me to have someone else's memories.
-Sure.
An unknown amount of time passes in my brain.
-Aaaannndd done.
-I have erased your memories as you said Aether. Congratulations, you saved another life that was fated to suffer forever.
'Did I?' I was slightly shocked at it.
-Yeah, Elain helped. But there was a simple catch and that is...
'Haha...Of course, it's her,' a chuckle forms on my face as I think back about Elain.
Then I think about the catch, then open my eyes.
-Time Start-
I bring my fingers away from her forehead.
Instantaneously, she wakes up and looks at me.
"You are cured," I speak to her.
"I know, but I want you to kill me. I know that punishment won't be enough for me for all the atrocities I have committed. But, honestly, I don't think I can live this life. Morpheus, dad, thank you for everything," she speaks as she looks at us.
"I have already given a punishment to you," I speak making her look at me with a confused expression.
"I have...." I look at her as I tell her what I did.