The Angel of Liberty contained his growing emotion and silently approached the girl with a kind expression.
—Hello, why are you crying? —His voice was soft and controlled; he thought it would be enough not to scare her.
But her calm tone wasn't enough to soothe the little girl. Hearing her right behind her, the child jumped off the swing and ran to hide behind one of the few trees in the schoolyard.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you, don't be afraid," the little girl peeked out and looked at her with her big blue eyes still wet with tears. "I just want to know why you're so sad."
"Why do you want to know? Adults don't care about us," she asked in a hoarse voice, probably from crying.
"Well, I have to keep acting, and the mask of a smiling, gentle woman is much better for dealing with children," she reflected to herself, but it was obvious that couldn't be her answer. "Do adults ignore you?" The best way to avoid a question is with another question.
The little girl looked away and replied with a snort:
—Not everyone. Mom and Dad treat me well... but the teacher always tells me they only put up with me because I'm their daughter—she whispered, but the Angel, with his heightened senses, heard her perfectly.
"A teacher mistreating his students, how classic," Morgana tilted her head, feigning thought. "Has no one noticed his behavior? Or does he only say those things to you?"
"Everyone," she replied uncertainly. "But we've always been told it's bad to contradict the teacher. And since he warns us not to tell our parents anything, we keep quiet."
Morgana raised an eyebrow; the childlike naiveté was well portrayed. But if she reasoned correctly, although this space manipulated the scenarios, it couldn't create them out of thin air; that meant all those events had occurred in the past, and their unfolding was the only thing altered by her presence.
"I wonder what the outcome of this matter was," she said, pushing those thoughts aside and focusing her attention on the girl. "Has no one really spoken?"
The girl's expression turned sad and she looked away.
—A friend did it, but in the end he was the one who ended up getting expelled.
"Why does this sound like that university philosophy where contradicting a professor is a death sentence?" he thought ironically.
"Well, you can always try to catch him red-handed. If that doesn't work..." her smile turned malicious, "there are always other ways."
The little girl bowed her head, still too young to understand the message.
—To catch him red-handed? —she repeated curiously.
"Yes. For example, if you can get your parents to see your teacher's true character, they certainly won't stand idly by. And once there's a convincing witness, everyone else will believe it too, and the teacher won't be able to avoid the repercussions," he explained patiently. "That way, your doubts about your parents' love for you will also be cleared up. Isn't that great?" That's what everyone called "killing two birds with one stone."
—Does that really work?
—Yes, I used it a lot with my older brother...
Angel's expression froze, as did his entire body. Letting such a personal detail slip was not good; it absolutely shouldn't have happened.
"I let my guard down," I couldn't believe she'd gotten so caught up in the conversation. "This is dangerous."
"Do you have an older brother?" she asked with bright curiosity.
—... —she remained silent, weighing whether she could risk speaking~~If I stay silent now it will be too suspicious.
Luckily, he didn't have to answer. The space around him transformed back into a sea of colors. As everything changed, the Angel unconsciously let out a sigh of relief and lowered his gaze; his mind searched for the reason for his slip-up.
"It just slipped out," he admitted resignedly. "I can't let my guard down again."
The kaleidoscope of colors finally receded, revealing the Angel's new surroundings. She was no longer in the village that had been her first setting. She had no doubt that this time the change had taken her much further back in time than she could have imagined.
The enormous trees rose up, completely covering the sky. But they were strange; unlike any he had ever seen, resembling giant ferns more closely. The air felt heavy, as if laden with oxygen. It was as if he were no longer on Earth.
—Forests of ferns, too much oxygen… exactly how far back did I go? —Morgana had a strange premonition. —The forest is very quiet, apart from a few sounds… one of them is coming closer; is it crawling?
The Angel decided to take a few steps back, moving away from the clump of ferns from which the noise originated. As he expected, a creature—an enormous insect—emerged from among the leaves. For a second, a shiver ran through his body at the sight of the giant centipede, but the reaction was quickly suppressed by his divinity; the slight fear in his eyes vanished, returning to his calculating gaze.
"It's in moments like these that I'm glad to have divinity," she reflected as she watched the insect approach. "If it were my human self, I would have already screamed at the top of my lungs and run away. Ha... even the fear has disappeared."
She couldn't help but recall her youth when she was just Melody, an ordinary human with her own fears and aspirations. One of her greatest fears was insects; though she tolerated most, some filled her with panic at the mere sight of them. Now, as a mythical creature, that fear had been almost entirely erased, leaving only minor repercussions easily silenced by her growing divinity. As for her aspirations... they had changed long ago, for they could no longer be fulfilled in a destroyed world. Nor did she lament; she had already found others equally important.
Morgana tensed again when she felt a weight on her right foot. Without even checking what it was, she jerked her foot up, sending whatever was on it flying against the thick trunk of a fern.
"I may not be afraid of them anymore, but I still don't like being touched by such disgusting things. I'm an Angel, how could I be defiled by something like that?" she justified herself, as if defending herself against someone. "What kind of Angel would I be if I couldn't quickly deal with such a low-level creature?"
The excuses sounded convincing, but anyone who knew her would know she was just trying to deceive herself to avoid admitting the terror she felt when touched by the creature. The insect writhed in pain as it fell and quickly escaped, disappearing into the dense vegetation.
"Okay, considering the environment, perhaps I'm in the Paleozoic era... the Carboniferous period?" He frowned, trying to rummage through his memories. "This must have been about... 299... 331 million years ago? Why is this space sending me here? I don't understand."
He muttered a curse, feeling lost. All his knowledge of that prehistoric era came from a documentary he remembered watching as a young man, one he hadn't paid much attention to.
"Who can blame me? I never imagined I'd ever travel through time. Besides, I was so young; what kid enjoys watching science documentaries for more than an hour?" He let out a resigned sigh. "I didn't even think the space-time chaos of this place would be so powerful that it would take me so far back in time."
He bent down, picked up a rock from the ground and examined it, trying to distract his thoughts and entertain his mind, but it didn't seem possible.
~I suppose the chaos created by a Pillar of the Universe cannot be taken lightly... and this rock is quite normal too —he paid no attention to her strange leap of thought.
Bored, she threw the stone back forcefully, perhaps to release some of the accumulated stress, but she didn't expect such a simple action to have such enormous repercussions. A loud explosion resounded behind her, making her spin around in surprise. She gasped as she glimpsed the column of fire that rose and spread like a raging wildfire.
"Ah, that's right," he murmured, recalling a chemistry lesson. "Oxygen can rekindle a nearly extinguished flame. Which means: (large amount of oxygen) + (sparks) = (massive fire)."
Morgana blinked as a sudden thought struck her.
"Did I just start a damn fire by throwing a rock? Was it flint?" he questioned, turning to the pile of rocks where he'd picked up the other stone. "What kind of luck do I have to pick flint out of dozens of ordinary rocks? Doesn't Father control good fortune?"
She was about to move away from the nearby fire—she wasn't about to fix it—when the colors surrounded her again, making the surroundings disappear.
"Again? It had just changed a few minutes ago—still it wasn't so bad; I wouldn't have to watch one of his stupidities destroy an entire forest, however illusory it might be. It seems there's no fixed timeframe for changes."
This time the landscape was snowy. The snowdrift reached a little above her ankles, but judging by the trees in the distance, further ahead it might be higher than her waist.
"From a wildfire to a snowy day. What a whimsical place," she declared sarcastically. "What is this place now? Ice Age?" she joked, remembering those movies she loved as a child. "Should I find that squirrel and help her get that acorn once and for all?"
As she was joking with herself, she heard a loud roar behind her. Turning around, her eyes fell upon two robust felines, resembling tigers but with enormous fangs, eyeing her warily as they took up positions to attack. She recognized them immediately: saber-toothed tigers.
Morgana raised her head and observed the not-so-clear sky.
—The Ice Age thing was a joke, you know?
The felines began circling her, not daring to attack. Tired of being stalked, she stole their thoughts of attacking and, in doing so, their thoughts of fleeing. They both stopped, confused, as if they didn't know what to do. Those moments were enough for the Angel to approach and begin petting them.
"Their fur is softer than I thought," she said, stroking one and then hugging it; it felt like hugging a pillow. "I prefer them a thousand times over that disgusting insect."
The felines remained still; each time the thought of attacking or fleeing formed in their minds, it was swiftly stolen by the Angel, who continued to embrace one, unwilling to let go. Finally, weary of the icy surroundings, she stole the animals' memories, located her lair, and led all three of them toward it, effectively erasing the distance between them.
By the time they were back at their home, the saber-toothed cats were so tipsy they didn't even care about having a stranger with them. Of course, this was Morgana's doing too: she had robbed them of the perception that she was a threat, making them see her as just another companion, allowing her to stay by their side without any thoughts of flight or attack arising.
"The minds of animals can be quite simple. If instinct doesn't warn them, then they let it go," he said, resting his head against the soft fur.
The cats were now resting on the ground with her on top of them. They seemed tired, because after a few minutes they fell asleep, and she planned to follow them soon too.
~I wonder what's next. Heh, at this rate, what other weird, ancient place will it send me to? —She closed her eyes, accepting those few seconds of peace before the chaos sent her to another, possibly even more annoying, spot.~~ It's a shame they're fake... otherwise, I'd take them to use as my personal pillows.
It was his last thought before drifting into a light sleep. If anything happened, he was confident he'd wake up immediately; now he just wanted to take advantage of those enormous felines. Who knew if he'd ever have another chance to embrace an extinct creature?
-----------------------
The dreamlike city continued to function like a play that goes on without its main protagonist. That protagonist now sat facing the intruder who had come to remove him from the stage and reveal the truth hidden on the other side of the curtain.
Zhou Mingrui lowered his head; his eyes closed tightly as his mind tried to process the entire story he had just heard.
"Is it true? This whole story that seems like it's from a novel... is it our truth?" she asked in a trembling voice, raising a hand to press between her eyebrows and calm some of her stress.
The magician bowed his head, smiling at the illusory waitress who brought him his order.
—As I said before, it's up to you whether you believe it or not—Merlin replied as he looked at his iced tea on the table.
Although everything was an illusion, including the food, the wandering wizard could not help but enjoy this drink that he liked so much and that he had not been able to taste since he began his fight against the Worthy Celestial within his dream.
"Accepting your story... means believing that the world truly faced an apocalypse, that everyone I ever knew is dead, and that you... are me," Zhou Mingrui said, his voice weary and his eyes exhausted. "It sounds too crazy."
"I won't deny it. Who would believe that his soul was kidnapped by a god for resurrection, but that he actually ended up confronting him to take his place, and that in the middle of the fight, due to a mistake by that same god, he ended up traveling through time with only a fragment of his soul?" Merlin smiled at the irony of the whole story. "And we can't forget that now that same fragment is fighting to change the imposed destiny and complete his soul along the way." He looked at Zhou Mingrui attentively. "What do you think?"
"It sounds ridiculous when you put it all together in one sentence," he replied immediately, leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling with a defeated expression. "And the worst part is, I believe you."
Merlin blinked and put down his sweet iced tea to give the programmer his full attention.
"Really?" He hadn't expected her to accept it so easily; he had imagined much more rejection and resistance.
Zhou lowered his head to stare at him.
"You already showed me proof that my current life is just a dream," he began, recalling how his hand had passed through someone's shoulder. "And now you tell me a story that sounds like it came straight out of a fantasy mystery novel, where I'm the protagonist of a time-traveling adventure, first to the future and then to the past." His dark eyes focused on Merlin. "It sounds unreal, to say the least… that a mere computer programmer like me would experience all those events and even aspire to godhood… so why does something inside me compel me to believe you?"
Merlin raised an eyebrow at the sudden information.
"Spiritual intuition? Could it be that our connection as parts of the same soul allows us to unconsciously tap into each other's powers?" Merlin theorized, but he didn't dare interrupt the man in front of him.
"I find myself at a crossroads: follow my mind or my instinct," Zhou sighed, closing his eyes. "I'm more of the former, but I'll choose the latter, not only because of the obvious evidence that this place isn't real, but also because of the hope that in the future I'll find another place I can call home."
"Do you want connections?" Merlin asked, aware that aside from the desire to return home, the yearning to protect had been his second driving force. That strong desire also originated in Zhou Mingrui, and Klein's soul had only strengthened it.
Zhou nodded.
"Yes. What kind of being can live without connections? Didn't you mention that even the Gods need anchors to maintain their sanity? That's also a kind of connection." Zhou Mingrui smiled for the first time since meeting Merlin.
The keyboard warrior gently extended his right hand, offering it to the future Lord of Mysteries, to his other half.
"I know myself, and I know I would never unnecessarily involve others in dangerous situations. And from what you said, that was one of the reasons we ended up alone," he said, his eyes filled with indescribable emotion. "Now that we know there's no going back and that everything could disappear in the future… what do you think about us ceasing to hide from connections and leaning on them a little?" Zhou smiled nervously. "I mean, you're the one with the most experience, so I'll leave it up to you, but I think it would be best; that way at least we'll have made good use of our time and we won't have any regrets even if we fail."
The Lord of Mysteries remained silent before letting out a loud laugh.
"Are you giving yourself advice?" he raised his hand, ready to take Zhou Mingrui's.
—Of course not, that's crazy, and we're still separate fragments—both hands clasped—. Now, is when I can no longer do it.
The modern man's declaration shook the dreamlike city. Dark, deep cracks began to appear everywhere; some even floated in mid-air.
"Aren't you afraid of what will happen now? Of ceasing to be yourself and being absorbed by me?" Merlin asked before the dream completely collapsed.
"What being doesn't feel fear? But since I've come this far, I'll keep going." Zhou smiled and adjusted his glasses with his free hand, ignoring the city crumbling around him. "As for losing myself... you and I are parts of a whole. Wouldn't our union simply be me becoming myself again?"
Merlin smiled and nodded energetically.
—Yes. Someday we'll be "me" again. We just have to wait.
---
In Sefirah Castle, the future Lord of Mysteries opened his eyes and separated from the now-opened cocoon. He immediately placed his right hand on his chest and activated his spiritual vision; he noticed that his soul was in much better condition than before. Half of the previously rough edges, those that seemed to have been forcibly torn away, had been healed with the arrival of the missing part. The union had been perfect and fluid; the fragment belonging to Zhou Mingrui had offered no resistance, greatly facilitating the fusion. It was as if the result was direct evidence of the words Zhou had spoken to him before they joined: "Our union, wouldn't that simply be me becoming again?"
"We're closer... no, I'm closer to my full recovery," Merlin corrected himself mid-sentence. After all, he and Zhou had never been separate entities, only pieces of a puzzle seeking to be completed.
Heading towards the stairs, she began to descend. She could feel the excitement and will burning within her, along with the return of many memories she had unconsciously lost due to the separation. Her humanity had never been so alive as it was in this moment.
With a smile, the Lord of Mysteries left his castle and headed for a familiar place. His destination was the island where, in the distant future, he had performed his ritual to ascend to Sequence 1, and now that same island would once again be the chosen location for that same ritual.
—Utopia will be born eras before its original time—he declared with a smile as he turned every beast in his path into a puppet that he would later use as part of the ritual. I wonder what interesting story will be born from its creation.
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Extra 1: The Angel of Liberty and the Saber-Toothed Family
Morgana watched with shining eyes —something very uncharacteristic of her due to her divinity— as the small cub of both felines stumbled towards her.
"So cute! Why did it have to be fake?" She hugged the small creature tightly, but held back so as not to accidentally hurt it. A Marauder's strength wasn't very pronounced, but it was still an Angel after all. "What if I just take it out? Wouldn't it become real?"
She stepped away from the puppy and gazed at it intently, tilting her head to one side. The puppy mirrored her with a tender gesture that melted the Angel's heart, even though she reminded herself time and again that the tenderness before her was nothing more than a trace preserved only by time. Not even the Angel's divinity could prevail against the humanity awakened by the creature's immense sweetness.
As Morgana hugged the puppy again with a barely concealed cry of joy, the baby's parents watched from afar with resigned looks, like people giving up trying to prevent an acquaintance from doing something stupid that would embarrass them in front of the whole town. They were simply tired of that Angel who treated them like stuffed animals.
--------------
Extra 2: Zhou Mingrui's opinion on his strange relationship with the Red Glove of the Church of Eternal Night
"So, were we dating?" she asked suddenly, after Merlin told her how the Red Glove had even dug up her grave to check if she was still alive.
Only the skills of an angelic-level clown prevented Merlin from spitting out all the iced tea in his mouth. Even so, he couldn't stop a coughing fit from choking.
—Cough, cough! Why do you think we had a relationship with him? —she asked while wiping the remaining liquid from her lips.
"Wasn't that the case?" he blinked, confused. "I mean, I'm not gay and I have nothing against gay people, but I'm sure you put a lot of effort into describing his appearance, so we're not attracted to him."
"I admit that my dear poet is handsome, but... oh, no," she cursed, realizing her slip of the tongue.
"My dear poet? And you say you don't like him when you even use possessive pronouns in his nickname?" Zhou Mingrui smiled when he saw Merlin's eye twitch almost imperceptibly. "I don't mind becoming gay in the future, I just hope he lives up to our expectations. And judging by what we call him, I think he does."
Merlin quickly shook his head.
"He's just a foolish wolf who doesn't know when to stop chasing us. He keeps trying and persisting, even though he almost never catches us."
"But he does it in the end," Zhou remarked, his eyes twinkling with amusement beneath his glasses. "Devout, I like him. Does he know how to cook?"
Merlin was speechless. Since when had Zhou Mingrui become the matchmaker of her own soul? Her mind then processed the question he had asked her.
"Leonard and cooking? Unless 'disaster' is also involved, I can't put them together," she thought, recalling the day she'd taken a look at Leonard's homemade lunch out of sheer curiosity—if you could even call that abomination lunch. "Absolutely not."
Zhou shrugged.
—Well, nobody's perfect.
"He's terrible at poetry too. No matter how hard he tries, I've never heard a complete poem he's written that doesn't end in some jarring way," she complained, recalling this time the strange themes and endings that the Red Glove chose for his works. "Sometimes I wondered if he did it on purpose to make others laugh; nobody can be that bad."
"Doesn't that make him even cuter?" Zhou tilted his head. "He doesn't give up despite not having any talent. Do you think he'll be good at ca—"
"Changing the subject!" he shouted, interrupting his other half. "I haven't told you about our time as a pirate hunter yet."
Zhou raised an eyebrow and asked:
—...Shall we hunt the green-eyed wolf?
Merlin blinked in bewilderment.
"Uh, huh?"
—Well then, I'm not interested.
—...
Merlin was speechless... again.