The day was nearing to reach Lucas' fated death. He had received a call from Sylvi to come to a certain location. This made Lucas conflicted.
Lucas had apparently made a promise to Naga to go to the holy city of demons, but now Sylvi was calling him as well. He had to make a dangerous decision to either not follow what Sylvi had planned for him and go to where Naga wanted him to go, or he could go to where Sylvi wanted and dismiss what he had told Naga.
After thinking for a moment, he deemed that going to Sylvi was the right choice in his head. Ultimately, Lucas had made a more important promise to Sylvi and that was to follow her every order till the end.
And so, Lucas headed to the mountain range of Zulion. There was a hideout made by Sylvi long ago and that was where he was ordered to go.
Lucas didn't know the exact location of that hideout, but Sylvi had given him an item that would lead him where she was.
Lucas went on a journey and left Windstone in the mindset that it might be the last time he sees its brilliant glory.
After two days had passed, Lucas had reached the hideout of ascendance. Tomorrow was the day when Lucas was fated to die, but he was not scared. The reason why he wasn't scared was for the reason that he'd likely be on Sylvi's side when that happens.
After landing on a platform and readying himself to meet Sylvi again, a strange shadow appeared on his feet. From it rose Naga.
Naga hugged the paralyzed Lucas as gently as she could. She whispered in his ear with a calm yet murderous aura "Why aren't you on your way to Proto apotypoma?" Lucas was speechless as he felt that Naga could actually kill him. That's how terrifying of an aura she was emanating.
Then Naga said "Come. Let us go to my church and we shall be formally wed." Lucas was starting to sink in the shadow that Naga made and it felt suffocating.
Then something came from the hideout and Lucas was teleported. The next thing he knew, he was standing behind his first love. She turned her head so she could see Lucas, lifted her veil and said "It's been quite a long time since we last met. I thought for years how we would be reunited, but I never expected it to be me pulling you from the hands of a homewrecker."
Lucas was speechless for a moment, and just when he was about to say something Sylvi touched Lucas' chest briefly while casting some sort of spell.
After she was done, Naga launched an attack that was aimed at Sylvi's head. Sylvi blocked it with surprising ease, which meant that Naga hadn't gone all out yet.
Sylvi said "I recommend you won't kill me, homewrecker." Naga gave a chuckle and said "And why wouldn't I do that, white bitch?"
Sylvi said "You really had to make an abbreviation of one of the insults that people put on me. Anyways, if you look a little closer, you will find out the reason why you should restrain yourself."
Naga looked at Sylvi for a while, analyzing her, and found out something. Then she said "You bitch. You had to make things more annoying, you bitch. I should have just come to you earlier and killed you before you notice, you bitch."
Sylvi just smirked behind her veil and said "You know even better than me that this was the most optimal choice for me and Lucas." Naga smirked back and said "Sure I do. That man would gladly die if you were killed without any magic being involved in the first place. Now hand him over to me."
Sylvi said "And why would I do that? We are just about to reach the end of my plan." Naga says "You're smart. Figure it out yourself. You should be honored that I'll take your husband away."
Sylvi says "Yes. Ultimately, I wouldn't mind lending you our beloved Lucas. But then poor Lucas would have to face the fact that all the killing he has done before now was for nothing. Worthless."
Naga says "I will give Lucas what he ultimately wanted. A peaceful life with his beloved wife."
Sylvi says "Even if you had wed your Lucas before, that doesn't mean that you have wed my Lucas. Isn't that right, another me?"
Lucas is confused at this and mutters "What?" Naga has an angry aura around her as she says "Of course you would figure this all out. After all, you are me."
Lucas asks "What are you two talking about? What do you mean that there are two Sylvis?" Sylvi says calmly "From what I can gather, she is me from another timeline. Universe? It doesn't really matter which. The point is that she isn't from this world originally."
Lucas asks "Is this true, Naga?" Naga is still angry, but she then calms down a little when she says "It doesn't matter at this point if I talk about it. "The cat is out of the bag" as they say. Yes, I am Sylviana Inertia from another timeline. A timeline where Sylviana reached her goal while losing the reason to continue on."
Sylvi says "You lost your Lucas." Naga has now completely calmed down, so she gives a sad smile as she says "That's right. I got to the end of the plan, but I didn't take into account a factor that was Lucas. And after failing to do so, Lucas ended up dying."
Sylvi says "So after reaching godhood, you used all the power you had left to come and find a way to bring Lucas back. And in the end, that ended up you abandoning your own world and came to this one in order for you to create a new timeline."
Naga chuckles and says "Not necessarily a new timeline, but to enter a world where I can be with my darling for the rest of eternity."
Naga looks at Lucas, who is still stunned after the news, and says "Darling… Now that you know the truth. Now that you know how it will all end, will you come with me and change your fate?" Lucas is silent.
Then Naga says "I'm the only variable in this world and that means I'm the only one that can change your fate. So… please… Come with me."
Sylvi says "A wise little fairy once said to me, "You have a man that is only capable of falling in love with you and no one else." And that is the one reason why Lucas could even fall in love with the now Naga. There is no contradiction. So Lucas, which one will you choose?"
Lucas stares at the two Sylvis for a moment and asks this world's Sylvi "You are letting me choose?" Sylvi says "I love you, so I don't want to bind your fate to something that you can avoid by going the other way. If you choose to go with Naga, I won't stop you."
Then Lucas asks Sylvi from the other world "What about you?" Naga says "While I have the overwhelming urge to force you to come with me, ultimately, I feel like I have lost something if I use force. Hence, I let you make the final choice. Even if you choose to go the path where you're destined to die, I won't stop you."
Lucas has to make the ultimate choice. Go with how fate has ordained everything to go by following this world's Sylvi, or go change his fate by following the other world's Sylvi.
In these types of moments, the timeline can split into two.
In one Lucas Knave could go with Sylvi.
In one Lucas Knave could go with now Naga.
In this timeline Lucas Knave chooses to go with Sylvi.
Lucas says "I'm going to go with the current Sylvi." There is a small silence for a moment until Naga closes her eyes and says in a sad tone "So it should be." Then she opens her eyes and looks closely to Sylvi and says "I hope this timeline will be different. Even if it's not for my sake." Then Naga disappears like a shadowy mist in the wind.
Sylvi gives a deep sigh of relief and then turns around to look at Lucas. She says "Thank you for choosing me."
Lucas says "I thought that I was free to choose." Sylvi says "You were, but I can be a little selfish sometimes. Shall we go in? My bed has been waiting for you."
Lucas smiles and says "I assume you come in that package." Sylvi says "You wish." Lucas bumps into Sylvi and says "You really are going to play like you don't want to?" Sylvi says "Fine. It has been some time after all. But just know that if I sense you have gotten somehow better in bed, I'm going to be disappointed."
Lucas says "You have to make things that complicated." Sylvi says "Of course! The only other person you have slept with in recent times is the other me, and if you somehow improved by doing so, I will not be happy about it."
Lucas says "You know… Perhaps I may know how your body works better after those times with Naga." Sylvi gives a glare behind the veil and gives an aura of disgust as she says "You really don't get what I'm talking about, do you?"
Lucas stays silent for a while, and then Sylvi sighs and says "I guess it is my fault after falling for a man like you."
They reach the bedchamber and spend the night together.
The next morning in bed. Both had woken up, yet neither of them wanted to leave. Lucas says "Good morning" and Sylvi answers "Mowning" while rubbing her eyes.
After laying in the bed for a while and slowly waking up, Sylvi says "Can I tell you something?" Lucas answers "I'm always willing to listen to what you have to say."
Sylvi is a bit nervous for a moment. Lucas senses that something is bothering her. He says "I will never abandon you, you know."
Sylvi calms down a little and then says "I'm the cause of the 500 year war." Lucas gave a simple answer "I see."
Sylvi says "I made sure that your two sons would be killed and that Thosos would go down the bath of annihilation." Lucas gave a simple answer "I see."
Sylvi says "I made sure that the war would last as long as possible until the gods decided to act. I made sure that in order for me to achieve my grand plan, I needed all those demons and monsters dead for their cores." Lucas gave a simple answer "I see."
Sylvi then says "Aren't you disappointed? I made your legacy go down the drain and grumble to dust just because of my own ambitions." Lucas says "I would never be disappointed in you. I will love you no matter what you do."
Sylvi rises up from the bed and shouts "Why are you like this?! You also loved your sons! You also loved your people! I ruined it all for the sake of my own greed! Are you not able to harbor any negative feelings towards me?! Why do you love me so much?!"
Lucas rises from the bed, takes a hold of Sylvi's hands and says "I don't care about anything else in this world. If you wished to destroy the world and leave nothing remaining, I would do my best to respond to your wish. For me, you are absolute. Lucy once called it obsession, but I have never seen it that way. I will, until the end of time, love you."
Sylvi starts shedding tears after hearing what Lucas said. Lucas embraced Sylvi and let her cry her heart out.
The tears Sylvi shed weren't because she was happy that someone would accept her being. She has known this fact for a long time. The tears Sylvi was shedding was that, even though the paths were endless, Legul Ranan never had a choice to choose anything else but Sylviana Inertia. It is as the people in the demon territory once said, Legul Ranan is just a slave to that white witch. This is what made Sylvi cry.
After calming down a little, Lucas said to Sylvi "Are you okay?" Sylvi calmly said "I'm fine, but that's not the issue. But nevermind that, the time is nearing the end of my plan. Let's get dressed and go to the hall of ascension."
They both dress up and Lucas follows Sylvi to the hall of ascension. The room is massive and holds thousands, if not millions, of magic cores.
Lucas asks Sylvi "What are you going to do?" Sylvi answers "I'm going to compress all of these magic cores into one singular one." Lucas asks "Have you made some sort of spell for it?" To which Sylvi says "Yes. Wait here."
Sylvi starts chanting. "Mortalis enim sum, ad peccatum blasphemiae confugiendum est. Hos omnes nucleos magicos collegi ut ad altiorem me ascendam. Isti nuclei magici in unum singulare marmoris demonis potentiae congregabuntur. Cantate mihi chorum virtutis. Cantate mihi ultimum iter ad divinitatem. Animus paratus est et corpus meum ad hanc symphoniam honoratur. Psállite. Coro magicae Singularitas."
All of the magic cores in the hall start to glow and rise. They start to turn into a light that flows like water that is flowing towards a single point in front of Sylvi in a big spiral. The amount of mana that is used and transformed is on a scale never seen before in this world by a mortal. Lucas is at awe
This ritual lasts for a couple of minutes, until all of the magic cores are gathered in a single marble that can be covered by Sylvi's small hand.
Sylvi loses her ability to float for a moment and this startles Lucas for a moment. He asks "Are you alright?" To which Sylvi says "I'm fine. It just cost that much mana to make it happen. Now then…"
Sylvi then began to float again and then said "Now I need your magic core." Lucas then kneels and extends his right hand. Then a stone appears in the palm of that hand and it is tethered in the hand. Then Lucas says "Here."
Sylvi looks at Lucas for a second and then says "You know if I would just take it, you would die." Lucas says "I know." Sylvi sighs and then says "But for you to live, I have made a spell that will put your body into stasis where it can exist without the magic core. Are you ready?"
Lucas says "Of course." Then Sylvi takes a hold of Lucas' magic core and starts chanting "Pro hoc agnello amisso, requiescat in somnio sempiterno, donec propria vocatio evigilet. Princeps dormiens."
Then a course of energy flows briefly in Lucas' body, until it becomes motionless and Lucas goes into stasis. Then Sylvi takes Lucas's core from his hand and breathes deeply. Then she says "Here it goes."
Sylvi pours some magic into Lucas' core and puts it in her body. It is a very, very painful process that is usually done in a lot slower fashion. But since Sylvi is worried that the longer the core is out of the body, the more foreign the magic core can become to its original body. Whether or not this is truly the case, Sylvi hasn't been able to test out before, but now was not time to wait around and see.
After successfully inserting Lucas' core into Sylvi's body, Sylvi made sure that Lucas' core will stay independent but still in symbiosis with Sylvi's body. After a brief moment of making sure everything is nominal, Sylvi takes the condensed core in her hand.
Sylvi looks at the condensed core deeply, marveling at the amount of power it has. That small of a thing, with so much power.
The final step is about to begin and Sylvi can't help but be nervous. "Can I withstand the condensed core?" "No, Lucas is with me, so I think we will be fine." "But what if it fails?" "It can't fail or all the effort will be wasted." "No matter how I feel about this, something may be out of my calculations. Even though Naga succeeded in becoming a god, that doesn't mean I'm guaranteed to succeed as well. After all, I haven't foreseen anything after this, so perhaps…" "We will see. At least Lucas is with me till the end."
And so Sylvi put the condensed core into her chest and the process began. The amount of power that was surging from the condensed core was enormous and it was forcing its way towards Sylvi's and Lucas' cores.
For Lucas, this was similar to what happened with Luga, but this time, it was an enormous sun with no pull whatsoever. It was just excluding power at enormous pace and it was forced into Sylvi's and Lucas's cores. It was like someone forcing you to drink all the booze in a bottle at once. Simply put, the three cores inside Sylvi tried to achieve an equilibrium.
At this point, Sylvi had lost consciousness and was solely trying to cultivate the condensed core together with Lucas. Lucas could feel that Sylvi was suffering from the amount of energy that was flowing into them, so Lucas tried to absorb faster so Sylvi could absorb slowly. And it worked.
At one moment, Sylvi envisioned Lucas in front of her with his back facing her. Then Lucas turned around, smiled and started to fade away. Sylvi tried to catch Lucas with her hand, but Lucas was ever so far fading away.
Some time passed and the three cores ultimately reached equilibrium. Some more time passed and Sylvi finally woke up. She rose to a sitting position and tried to assess the situation they are currently in.
Then Sylvi heard a voice she didn't wish to hear. "It worked. Just as you predicted." Sylvi smirked and said "Didn't expect you to come and see how I was doing. Naga."
Naga says "I just wanted to come and witness how it turned out in the end. The only reason I left before is because I remembered that we too slept together the night before the ascension."
Sylvi says "So how do you like it?" Naga says "The regular." Sylvi becomes serious as she realizes what that meant. Then Naga said "Since you achieved the godhood you so desired, why don't you go with the second step necessary to end things."
Sylvi said "You are right." Then she saw Lucas's body lying flat on the floor. Then Sylvi put her hand on her chest and pulled out Lucas' core from her body. This would mean that Sylvi would become weaker, but her power was already as high as gods above god rank S without counting Lucas' core. This meant that removing Lucas' core wouldn't hinder the plan in any way.
It was really painful to pull something that had essentially become part of her, from her body, but Sylvi took out Lucas' core. It was emanating an energy that was in the range of god rank A being. This means Lucas will also become a god.
Sylvi was just about to put Lucas' core back to his body, but then *Shatter*