"Hello? Is anybody there?" Ezrah continued to call out into the darkness, hoping he wasn't dreaming about them again. Unfortunately, his dreams were already out of his control.
"You shouldn't have said that to your friend. He may be a Segato Evelnoke, but he isn't that Segato Evelnoke, kid," another Ezrah Enkay look-alike spoke after he walked out from the shadows.
"It's hard to unsee everything you've all shown me. Why did you show me everything?" Ezrah muttered. He clutched his head in agony at the memories shown to him by this otherworldly entity who shared his likeness.
The other being sighed before he replied, "We were always one of the people at his side. He always said that we held him back. We'd always say it was our job to hold him back. Now is a rare opportunity to help your Segato who doesn't know the full truth to continue on the path of righteousness and justice. It's not too late to save his soul."
"Do I have the right? Do him and I deserve to live--" the other being put 2 of his fingers on Ezrah's trembling lips as if to silence him.
"Do not misunderstand your friend. We showed you what can happen simply because we don't want it to happen again. The destruction of entire realities and timelines. Back then in the beginning, our Segato made a lot of enemies. The story dates back to the 'original' Ezrah Enkay..."
"Guys, I have something I need to tell you. Please don't get mad... I came up with a plan to get rid of all of our enemies in a single go," Segato said with his signature smirk plastered on his face. Ezrah was smoking off in a corner. At this point, he had gotten used to his friend's crazy schemes. Shame not everybody else shared that thought.
"Not happening. Whatever you're planning, it's a bad idea," Hydra groaned in response.
Legend sighed while he held his golden- haired chin, before he reluctantly asked, "Does the plan involve harming innocents? You already know I won't back it if it does." Segato locked eyes with him for a moment, but he looked away after Legend narrowed his eyes to show he wasn't budging on his morals.
"No, or rather I hope not to... I want to have our empire abandon Flipside." Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at Segato in disbelief. "Now, I know what you all are thinking. Casually telling an entire universe to scatter amongst other worlds and timelines is a bit much, but if we use it to lure all of enemies here, we can explode it--"
"Your Segato really is a lunatic," Ezrah interrupted with gritted teeth.
"Who do you think created the Lunatic Arcs?" The other Ezrah mockingly retorted.
"Wait, really?" Ezrah couldn't help but be surprised, as he felt that lunacy didn't match the Segato he knew.
"It's an issue of translation. They're called the Lunatic Arts, not Arcs. That guy got stronger by making everyone hate him, even his allies and friends. In return, he did become the strongest in existence at one point, but at the cost of almost always being alone at the top. Even when a powerful enemy showed up, he'd outsmart them or find a way to overpower them without fail."
Ezrah frowned, but still decided to ask, "Then how did your Segato lose?" The other being laughed so hard that it made Ezrah stumble backwards on his bottom.
"He never lost. In fact, he inherited an even greater power and purpose. He became the End Of All Things's successor. He is the current TEOAT. At best, maybe a flicker of the original is out there somewhere in your friend. However..." The other being picked up Ezrah by his collar and glared him in the eye. "I should warn you. He is not somebody you'll be able to get as an ally. Not after what he had to do. Lancaster made him destroy the old world. The only reason why we were able to even survive is because our Segato created a failsafe-- if 2 or more people who went 'Beyond the Human Limit' in their past lives gather in front of an Artifact of Origin like that painting, the remnants of the past are accessible. Humanity can only fight back and win easily when its strongest members are gathered in a single place." The other Ezrah started to fade back into the shadows, before he spoke one last thing: "Your Segato needs the 10 Dragons Awakening Techniques. See to it that he gets those unlocked."
Ezrah woke up from his dream in a cold sweat. He quickly got ready for the day.
I still don't know if I can view Segato the same way I did before ever again, he thought to himself. Even so, the current Flipside needs its protectors. He grabbed his pistols, but then hesitated. I want guns like the ones those other versions of me have. They called that materialization power of ours Dimensional CAD, right?
"Layla, can you set up a meeting with Hooligan? If possible, I'd like you to to get all 10 Dragons to come to it, as well," Segato inquired with a grave expression. Layla just stared at him as if he spoke a series of obscenities towards her.
"Do you need to be slapped like I do to Speedrun? After the weird things happened at Rei's place including you and Ezrah's disappearance, both of you started behaving very abnormally," Layla pointed out. Segato briefly showed a hint of surprise on his face before quickly suppressing it, but Layla did catch it. Her expression softened and she sighed before she said, "Tell me what's going on with you two. Maybe I can help."
"Setting up that meeting is how you can help," Segato bluntly emphasized. "Leave Ezrah to his own devices. He'll check back in with us later... I hope." Layla wanted to slap Segato to shake him out of whatever was making him play ball with Hooligan willingly, but she could sense this was something beyond the Potato Wars.
"I can set up the meeting. Although if you step too far out of line, I am not sure if I'll be able to protect you from everyone." In the end, Layla trusted her intuition and receded her worries, but not without confirmation that Segato heard her warning. He silently nodded with a determined face that made his orange eyes glow brighter than usual.
Kikai could only watch Ezrah train in awe. He refused her assistance in training, even though they were on better terms than before. Ezrah was quickly creating all sorts of things, including things she didn't recognize. The first thing he did was craft 2 larger, luxurious looking pistols. Then he materialized other various guns, cannons, crossbows and more.
How would he use all of these at the same time, and where did he summon them from? Kikai wondered. She unexpectedly got her answer when she watched all the weapons instantly disappear. Ezrah then briefly held out his hand, and one of the guns from earlier popped into his hand as instantly as it disappeared.
"So this is Dimensional CAD, the ability to virtually simulate things from other worlds and dimensions. At first, this seemed like a weak unique Ordinance, but knowing what I know now..." he fired the virtual gun with ease at a large Boulder in the forest clearing, instantly shattering it upon impact of the single bullet. "It was only weak because I didn't know there was almost no limitation to what I could craft. More importantly is that there was never a limiting factor of what I could use for inspiration. " Ezrah put away the gun and looked at Kikai. She understood what her childhood friend was going to say.
"... You're going to ask to enter the Potato Wars, aren't you..." The girl's sorrow was clear as day on her face. She didn't want to lose Ezrah like she did her mother.
"I know what the Potato Wars did to your family. However, I am certain that I won't lose. I am not gonna hold him back anymore," Ezrah confidently spoke.
"Him?" Does he mean Segato? Even if he did, what does he mean by "anymore?" When did he in the first place? Kikai sighed. She felt Segato is making Ezrah also go crazy.
"Even if you are confident, they're gonna want results, Ez. Let's fight. If you can legitimately beat me at full power, they'll consider your last-minute request," Kikai firmly shouted. Ezrah's grin widened.
"... Don't blame me if you're in a lot of pain after you lose, Kikai."