Each new perspective brought a new thought into Subconscious' mind. Each time he visited a new citadel that the shades had resided in, he was reminded of how complex the mindset of organisms can truly become. Each mind has its own mind. They all start to fight and think differently when there's a difference in opinions.
After exchanging their parting formalities, Subconscious left the club to stroll again. In his head, there were only two more people left to meet.
Thus began the journey to move forward. There was a sense of motivation in his eyes, for he could see that it was just a healing process. It could have easily spiralled out of control, but the ones who he thought were going to be causing problems all seemed to be holding on pretty well, trying to heal in their manner. Some seemed to be rather given the circumstances of the scenario.
"What if it is all because they are alone, handling their own domains and keeping their distance because they don't want to revert back?", that was another thought that entered into Subconscious.
As he continued on his journey, he came across another flowing stream, with the other bank seeming to have another one of those massive populous areas. Skyscrapers and massive floating palaces seemed to dominate the area.
"This seems like a fun area to explore…", Subconscious told himself, chuckling and crossing this stream.
Across the stream, Subconscious continued to explore this vast city-like creation. However, he could not put off this one thing that was present… A random gateway that was leading underground. For a city that seemed to be built upwards, it was strange to see something that was built down into the ground.
"Hmmm- I wonder…", Subconscious pondered as he began to get down the stairs to explore the labyrinth that was present underground. The dark and desolate place only seemed to get darker. "Is there even a point to get darker? We don't need to even see it. It's our mind.", Subconscious thought until he realized what the darkness meant. "Clouded judgement. I know exactly who is residing in this place."
Pushing forward in this labyrinth of a place, Subconscious felt a random tug, as he was pulled over into another location and then thrown into another room.
"I didn't expect you to find me so soon.", the voice greeted him.
"I thought it might be you, Gatherer.", Subconscious stated with a smile on his face. He knew the way to approach these shades was to give them some form of positivity. All of the shades have faced the massive brunt of all the incidents, that have led to all of them splitting up.
"What do you want? Why did you traverse all the way here to meet me at my dungeon?", the Sixth Blade asked.
"I just want to check up on how everyone is. So, you chose to reside in a dungeon of all places? Why?"
"I keep information. I hold the most knowledge out of everyone. I keep secrets that no one should know. It is sometimes painful to know all this information, and still be unable to do anything about it. I cannot even tell it to any of the other shades, for the only ones that I report to are Six, and you. You know the power that information contains. It can shape worlds, as well as the same ability to destroy them.", Gatherer broke down in front of the Advisor. "It feels like a prison cell at times. I cannot let go of anything that I hold, and everything that I hold is dear to me."
"This is from where the main problems begin, I see…", Subconscious thought about it to himself. "You do realize that you can relax. It is not as hard as you make it out to be. Complicating your task will only land you further trouble.", he explained to Gatherer.
The Sixth Blade knew that there was truly nothing that he had done wrong. He just stuck with his tasks, and yet the outcome couldn't have changed anything. No matter what information he relayed to the others, it wouldn't have changed the outcome at all, for what is done, is already done. "Reality is truly disappointing, isn't it?", he questioned it.
The Advisor sat down next to Gatherer and took a deep breath. "If I am being completely honest, you all do so much work, I feel so bad being locked up in this body. I just act as an advisor, and at times as a babysitter for you guys. I do not have any real action when it comes to saving this body. All I can do is prevent the damage from being lessened, for as you stated… what is done, is done."
"Holding the entire multiverse's worth of information, on even a subnuclear level, it starts to change you. No matter which higher-order dimensional being you are, I already know information about you purely because it is my task to know that. I am bound by my work and it wears me down like anything."
"None of us have a forgiving task. All of us have to suck it up and deal with it. Ruler has to deal with the politics and relationships of so many people. Facades have to make sure that the act always pulls through. Same with you, you have to make sure that whatever you do, your task helps the rest of us. We cannot function without you Gatherer."
"That is easier said than done. These eyes, make me see everything. I was expecting you to come and find me. I knew that once you finished meeting up with the Fifth Blade, you started to head down in my direction. I bear the second curse of this body."
"Curse can also be made into a boon if you work hard enough with it. Trust me. You may be the youngest one of us, but the job that you have is not any less demanding than what the rest of us do. There's not one of us who doesn't appreciate what you do."
"Then why did that take place at the round table? Why was everyone mad at each other, if we do not appreciate each other?"
"Simply put, we all have disagreements within the mind ourselves. We cannot let go of some decisions that we have taken, and all of us are grieving the fact that we are responsible for some of the most heinous things possible. The fact of the matter is that we cannot even chalk it all up and move forward with our lives. It all boils down to how we react to everything."
"You must have been having a tough time yourself then, haven't you? I can only imagine how hard it must be for you to keep witnessing this body break down and re-heal itself. How many times have you had to forgive yourself for the mistakes that you have made? That sort of self-acceptance really can put you in a calmer position."
"I am more worried about the others outside reacting to everything rather than myself. I will be fine, for I am just a figment of the mind-space. But you guys are a figment of the main body. You cannot falter."
"Then it doesn't help knowing that we have truly lost her. Facades' words are ringing in my head now, what he told me at the table. It shows, that we all cared for them, and we feel like we've let everyone down."
"Most importantly, we've let ourselves down. That's our main objective right now, to get back up on our feet so that we do not feel this way anymore. I know that this topic can lead to some unexpected results, but I was surprised to see that most of you guys didn't need this."
"To be fair, everyone is relaxing in their domain. It is just those who know the main truth who are truly suffering. Look at Facades, he is a pure lair… I don't think you were able to decipher it. He managed to lie to himself. He was truly grieving from within and constantly beat himself up that he wasn't able to do anything about saving our daughter. We all suffer from the truth, Advisor."
"The truth is bitter. That is exactly why we cannot take it lightly, can we? All we can do is make sure that the damage caused by it is minimal. Imagine how much more damage it could have caused had our daughter not stepped up in that situation."
"I do not want to imagine that world to ever take place.", stated Gatherer.