Shun stared at the familiar words echoing in his mind, a peculiar mixture of heartbreaking pain and comforting relief swelling in his heart. Yet, this feeling faded quickly, pulling him back into reality.
Around him, everyone observed with a range of expressions, their eyes drawn to the glowing black sword in his hand. The Creator appeared slightly larger than the Harvester, with the Distributor Orb embedded in the hilt, casting an enigmatic glow.
"What just happened?" Emilia asked, confusion etching her features as she glanced at Elysia's bright smile.
Shun looked down at the sword he held. Despite his expectations for an overwhelming power, he felt only a calm steadiness. Without turning around, he admitted, "Emilia, I've been lying to everyone. Imaginative Reality was not my true ethereal arm."
Before Emilia could respond, Otto cut in coldly, "You are the owner of the Harvester, is that right?"
Shun nodded slowly. There was no longer a need to hide the truth. After the King had revealed it to the entire kingdom, his identity felt more like a badge of honour than a dangerous threat. From the situation, he also understood that the two 0th complete ethereal arms were fundamentally different from ordinary ones; they would never vanish and could be passed down according to their owner's will.
"Elysia, did my grandfather pass the Distributor to you?" he asked flatly. If that were true, it meant Elysia had hidden the truth from him before.
To his relief, Elysia shook her head. "The Distributor was passed to Glenn Belkarn after your grandfather passed away. I'm still trying to figure out the reason behind that. Interestingly, it seems Glenn didn't pass it down directly to Glynn Belkarn. He had just gotten his hands on it recently. And regarding the King's true abilities and the reality of ethereal arms, we were all clueless."
A voice interrupted from inside the plane: "excluding me, hehahaha."
Shun looked up in surprise; he couldn't mistake Dharma Leyndra's rusty voice.
"Shun!" Dharma popped his head out from inside, his face alight with a weird sense of excitement. Unlike Elysia's joy for the reunion, Dharma radiated a sense of pride and achievement. "Don't blame me for not sharing the truth; it was too dangerous—for you and many others, including me."
Shun shook his head softly, relieved that Dharma had kept this secret to himself. Yet a spark of curiosity emerged: how could a rogue like Dharma grasp the hidden truth beneath the kingdom's surface? Was it because of his father, the commander of Tyrant Kolgwyn's army?
Dharma sighed in relief. "Weird, weird, weird. I thought someone like you would be furious with me."
Kael Franklin scoffed, "I don't know about him, but I'm definitely angry with you."
Dharma laughed wildly, "Don't be too harsh; being secretive is also what Nathaniel Haven and Alfred Eldran wanted. You could even say I was being 'loyal' to them"
Elysia sighed, disappointment evident in her voice. "It's still disappointing. Given our history, you could have been more honest."
For a moment, a shadow of sadness crossed Dharma's face—a rare display from someone who typically oscillated between happiness and fury.
"Enough talk," Kael interjected, sensing the tension in the air. He waved dismissively. "We need to get to Haven as quickly as possible. Save the explanations for the journey back." He turned to scan the interior. "The seats should be sufficient."
Shun shook his head, signaling everyone to pause. His eyes glinted with determination as he summoned the World Walker in his hand, extending it towards Otto Morphy.
Otto regarded Shun with suspicion. "What is this?"
Dharma's smile widened. "How did you get your hands on that, hmmm…"
"This is the fourth complete ethereal arm, Noah Heeden's World Walker. It seems he was murdered by Antonio's forces, then passed to August through the replicated Distributor," Shun explained. "After March and August's deaths, I absorbed all the ethereal arms they possessed, yet its abilities were inexplicably deactivated."
Otto frowned but his tone softened as he examined the fourth complete ethereal arm in his hand. "So why are you giving it to me?"
"I want to see if you can use it," Shun replied. With his newfound powers, he entrusted the ethereal arm to Otto. He felt an instinct that it would activate in someone else's hands. He wasn't typically one to share his harvested ethereal arms, but with Antonio Valdis posing a significant threat, if others could also use multiple ethereal arms, it would surely increase their chance of victory.
Despite Otto having saved his life, Shun still couldn't trust the soldiers as much as his companions of SIGMA Academy. But one thing was for certain, these soldiers were training to become future pillars of the military, and this was enough to explain their potential. With Otto's mastery of MEAs, he could wield the fourth complete ethereal arm better than anyone Shun knew.
Otto's gaze shifted to Shun, this time softening. "Wise decision to choose me; perhaps saving your life was a decent decision." With that, he donned the glove, momentarily causing his face to twitch in an odd manner.
Once he composed himself, he lifted his hand, and a portal sprang to life before him.
"It worked!" Emilia exclaimed, examining the shimmering portal. "This could lead us right to Haven, couldn't it?"
"Just remember to teleport the plane back; it's quite valuable," Elysia added with a smile. "The reason you weren't given a plane on your journey to Sila was due to its delicate nature. While they are epic inventions, they're also extremely costly, and even the smallest damage can render them useless. This one, though, can fly high enough to exceed the range of most projectiles."
Beside her, Kael displayed a hint of excitement. "Shun, you killed Sora Tiamat, correct? Do you have her ethereal arm? Is it possible to give it to me?"
"Are we all getting shares too?" Joe chimed in from behind.
Shun sighed, having anticipated this reaction after demonstrating his power. Everyone looked at him expectantly, except for Silver, who stood quietly with an unreadable expression.
"I will in the future," he stated, "but for now, let's get back to Haven first." He wasn't afraid that he would lose control of these ethereal arms. With the acquisition of the Creator, he felt that all ethereal arms in the world practically belonged to him.
"With the true 0th complete ethereal arms, we will crush Antonio's forces," Elysia suggested cheerfully, though they all knew it would be far more challenging than that.
From this point on, the conflict transcended a mere battle between two armies; it transformed into a competition between Antonio and Shun
A competition of who could kill and harvest more.
Currently, Antonio was clearly leading, yet Shun felt no fear. If the situation demanded it, he would do anything to secure his victory.