Difference between revisions of "MVR Round 2 P4"

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Lens put the phone back and tapped a module on her belt, as her outfit changed to the gear she was wearing back at the Sanctum. A crimson leather jacket, shoulder pads and black tights. A pair of blue goggles appeared around her neck.
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Lens put the phone back and tapped a module on her belt, as her outfit changed to the gear she was wearing back at the Sanctum. A pair of blue goggles appeared around her neck.
  
 
"Very Mason." I commented.
 
"Very Mason." I commented.

Revision as of 07:17, 21 June 2021

With Guardian Merrow Rivenlight, Fury, Warchild, The Floating Man, and Sammy sent to Folia to rescue the hostages from Mogul, Remnant 9 Lucius "Brickhouse" Cassidy has been sent to the Champions Universe to investigate a potential Remnant. However, this Remnant is unlike any other.


R9

Marcel Franklin Soni.

According to the reports by Sammy and Merrow, Marcel is a super in Millennium City, currently working as a hero for UNITY as well as the Champions along with a large multitude of other heroes. The nature of Marcel's powers are healing based, and apparently, he's able to manipulate his life force.

Unique to Soni, is that he is an otherworlder, just like me. One who is not from the Champions Universe. When Soni arrived to Millennium City, he was whisked there along with his classmate, Cybil Chase. The two were given powers by a mysterious apparition, but at some point, Cybil's powers corrupted her. Marcel is now at war with Cybil, and from the looks of it, that war continued well on into the future, where Cybil tricked Marcel into making love, and ended up with Cybil becoming pregnant with two children.

Lena Soni and Fraser Soni.

And from there, my investigation of these two had begun.


I sat on Pariah, as the blade continued zipping across the country to Millennium City. It has been eight years since my fight against Prime Aspect Mogul, along with my brothers. We lost viciously. So hard, that Arman of all people abandoned who he was and left us to get stronger.

When Merrow told us that Arman had left, she was devastated. It hurt me so much to see her in that state. And it hurt me also to know that Arman, the guy who stood for righteousness and honour, the guy who was our moral backbone and was always true to himself no matter what, decided to turn a 180 into the darkness.

I clenched my fist as several black and red spikes protruded from my forearm.


From that battle, Mogul told us that he was interested in our power, and gave us ten years to prepare. Not like it mattered. We were all destined to be slaughtered. Even the seer at Corinth confirmed it.


But even so, even if we were going to fight a battle we could not win, we had to do our best to hit him as hard as we can.

Because if we aren't around, who will stop Mogul?

No Paladins.

No Guardians.

No Acadians.


Mogul would be free to rampage not just his world, but all the worlds, in all the multiverses.


Me and the other Remnants are all that stand between Mogul and ultimate destruction.


I noticed a big billboard, advertising a man called James Harmon. I was here.

"Pariah. Halt." I commanded, as the blade stopped. I leapt off of it as I held out my hand. The blade spun and I caught it, strapping it to my back.


Lena Soni and Fraser Soni. Sister and brother. From what my sources could gather, they were at war with each other. Despite being siblings. While Lena wanted to follow her father's footsteps in being a hero, Fraser decided to take after his mother, and become a villain.

Convincing Lena might be easy. But convincing Fraser will be a whole different story. I'd have to ruffle him up a bit.


I took a deep breath and focused.

APEX HUNT.

My eyes became bestial as my senses heightened and my heart rate went up. I began searching. Hunting. For Lena and Fraser's signature.


Weird. I wasn't sensing Fraser's signature anywhere. Or Lena's. Could it be that they were time displaced? I never honed down my Apex Hunt ability to that degree. It took two years to discover it, and another year to develop it to the level it is today.

If I could find Marcel, maybe I could pinpoint where Lena was.


I shifted my hunt, and pinpointed a young healer near Westside.

"Found you."


I leapt into the air as I calculated my trajectory. Closing in fast on a young man wearing a leather jacket and black goggles. He was in the middle of fighting a powerful foe alongside three other heroes.

I cocked my fist back, as I waited for the monster to raise its head.

Bingo.

I slammed my fist down, so hard that the creature's skull buckled and a shockwave blasted the windows around apart. The creature slammed into the pavement as it went limp. Marcel and the other heroes stared at me as I got to my feet.


"Marcel Franklin Soni." I said.

"Hero Name: Mason. Is that right?"


Marcel hesitated, as he cladded up into his armour and charged an attack. The other three heroes did the same.

"Who are you."


I raised my hands.

"I'm not here to fight. I just want to talk."


Marcel raised an eyebrow, but one of the heroes became cocky.

"You took our kill. And now you're making demands? Someone oughta teach you a lesson."

The man stepped forward. He was wielding two swords. A dual weapon user.

Just like Arman.


My chest hurt momentarily.


I kept my hands raised.

"I don't want to settle this with violence, sir. I'm just here to speak to Mason."

"Settle with violence? Are you threatening a hero?"


I narrowed my eyes.

APEX SCAN.


The Champions Universe follow a certain metric to gage out a fighter's abilities. HP. MP. Level. And Class.

Judging from this guy, he had around 15k HP. 120 MP. Level 40. And was a melee.

My battle intuition was telling me that this guy was geared to take damage, and to deal damage as well. Most likely the type to duel other heroes.


"No. That's not what I mea-"

The hero didn't give me a chance to finish my sentence, as he instantly ripped a chunk of rock from the ground and hurtled it to me. I dodged it, as he lunged forward with a flying kick. But I dodged it too.


Okay. Fuck it. I'm not going to play pacifist any longer.

I spent many years learning to control my temper, but I guess some people were an exception.


I leaned back and continued dodging as the hero's swings became more and more aggressive.

"Stop dodging! Hey!"

There wasn't much he could do. Maybe if he was fighting me from eight years back, he would have gotten a hit in. But I doubt he would have been able to break through my invulnerability.


But now, I was a whole different beast.


My evolved reflexes continued to dodge the hero's strikes, as the other two joined in. But none of them were able to land anything.

I brought my foot back and slammed my fist into the ground, as I summoned my Quasi Organic Spike Clad to rip through the cement and send spikes into the air, piercing each hero and sending them hurtling into the air. The heroes crumpled to the ground one by one as they went unconscious.


Marcel aimed a blast of poison at me and fired, but I stopped it with the palm of my hand.

"Enough, Mason. You can't hurt me."

I closed my fist and extinguished the flame, as Mason stumbled back.


"What.. do you want. I'll comply, as long as you don't hurt my friends."


I sighed, trying to calm my nerves.

"Like I said. I just want to talk."


"Broken... builds..." One of the heroes muttered deliriously.


"Uh. Will these guys be okay." I muttered.

Marcel nodded. "Yeah. They'll come to eventually. If you want to talk, come with me. I'll take you to the Sanctum."


We walked through jungles and vines in an old arcane region of Vibora Bay.

"Where are you from, Lucius?"

"Classified. Sorry." I replied.

"It's cool."

Marcel continued walking.

"But I can tell you're not from this universe."

I paused.

"What gave it away?"


Marcel tapped his temple.

"You don't have a Level. When I try to see your stats, it just gives a blank. You're rated a Cosmic. Despite walking around like a hero. That's a dead giveaway that you're abnormal."

"Oh..." Shit. Merrow never mentioned this part of going undercover.

"But that's okay." Marcel smiled. "I'm an otherworlder too. So I understand. It usually takes a lot to make me surprised."


Marcel spoke too soon, as the moment he opened the door to his hideout, a young woman was standing at the table, inspecting some books. The first thing I noted was that she was extremely attractive. To the point where my first instinct was to make sure Sammy wasn't around to act like an idiot, or Thomas was around to have a sudden nosebleed. She had brown auburn hair which flowed to her shoulders neatly. Her bangs covered one of her teal eyes. I had a feeling it was intentional. She wore a short sleeved jacket similar to Mason's, but it was blue red and white like an American flag. Her leggings brought her her curvaceous figure, which were lined by two red streaks along her thighs, going down to her knee high white heeled boots.

Tribal tattoos decorated her arms similar to Mason's whenever he used his powers, and she wore fingerless gloves, along with her mascara gave her a delinquent appearance.

If someone like me, a man who already professed his love and marriage to another woman, had this first impression, I could only imagine how Sammy or Thomas would have reacted. There was also no telling what the other Remnants would say or do, since, I know it's kind of mean, but Kanade decided to let his testosterone kick in at the worst possible moment with his one night stand that one day.


No wonder Merrow sent me here alone.


I was the only one out of all my brothers who was loyal.


"D- Dad...?" The girl muttered, her teal eyes wide as she dropped the book.


Marcel froze at the door.

"Who the hell... what are you doing in my hideout?"


The girl put her hands in the air.

"N- No! It's not what it looks like. Oh god. I've made a mess. I'm- I'm-"

"You're trespassing. I'm calling the police."

"No! Please. You have to listen to me." The girl ran forward to try to latch onto Mason, but Mason pushed her back.


"What are you trying to do? You stepped into this place unannounced, trespassed on this sacred property. You're lucky I haven't decided to blast your head off!" Mason shouted, as the girl recoiled back.

"M- Marcel... I..." The girl's voice broke, as I noticed her eyes were starting to get teary eyed.


"And calling me Dad? What kind of sick joke is this? Are you accusing me of being unfaithful to Cybil?!" Mason's voice got louder, as veins began to appear on his head. He was getting really upset, and the girl looked like she was about to cry.

"Hey. Calm down Mason. I'm sure there's a reason why she's here-"

"You stay out of this Lucius! You have no idea how important this place is to me! To Cybil! To us... to..." Mason gasped for air, as he rushed forward and tried to dust off the books and realign them. The girl began to shudder, no doubt attempting to conceal her sobs.


Mason turned to the girl, as she gasped and jumped in terror. But I stood in front of her and put distance between the two.


"Mason. You need to calm down."


Mason's hands powered up with green energy.

"Don't. Stay out of this."

"Or you'll what, Mason? Attack me? You're facing a Cosmic threat, you said it yourself. Can you fight a Cosmic all on your own as a mere healer?"


Mason fell to his knees, as tears streamed down his eyes.

He was finished.


The girl and I watched as Mason walked back to the desk and dejectedly put the books back.

"Do what you want. But please. Just... don't touch these things. They're really important to me. I'm... I need some time alone."


I sighed, as I turned to the girl, who rushed out of the hideout in tears. I followed her as I found her sitting on the ground, knees to her chin as she sobbed.


I knew who she was. Just from how she called Mason "dad".

So that made one of the two I needed to investigate.


"Lena Soni?" I asked.

Lena stopped crying as she sniffled.

"How do you know my name?" Her voice was hoarse.


I knelt down in front of her and pulled out a tissue from my jacket pocket. Lena took it and blew her nose.

"My name is Lucius Cassidy. I know you're going through a lot right now. But I need to have a word with you."


Lena stared at the ground.

"What do you want? I never disclosed my name to anybody, yet you somehow figured it out. I'm guessing you're not from around here."

"No, I'm not. And neither are you, Lena."

"I know that." She muttered.


I stood up.

"No. I don't think you really understand what you are."


Lena shot to her feet, her eyes turning demonic as blue energy surrounded her body.

"Excuse me? I know why I'm here. I don't need some peasant telling me I don't-"

Lena's eyes widened as she stopped herself.


"S- Sorry. Old habits."


"It's okay."


Lena took a deep breath.

"Lucius. I know what I am. I'm time displaced. My father, Marcel Soni. I was whisked back to his timeline along with my brother. I'm here to save my Mom from herself and turn her back to the path of the light."


If only that story was all there was to it.

But as I looked at Lena more and more, I could see it.


It made no sense.

That day when Merrow assigned me to the Champions Universe.


It was because she spotted something. And during my eight years, I learned to evolve my senses past its limit. To the point where I had something similar to Lightning Reflexes. I could sense things no other human, being, Remnant could sense.

And with Lena, I could sense it.


I work with my brothers to find others of my kind. With the help of Merrow, Skylar, and Kyrael's Inquisition.


But when I was told there was a Remnant here, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It took using Apex Hunt to see it for my very eyes.


I looked at Lena's teal aqua eyes. So dazzling, just like Mason's. But her face, beautiful and kind. Innocent like an angel, just like her mother.


She looked nothing like them.


There was no way she could be like them.


She was a girl.


Who she came from, was it possible? Was it possible for one to be a different gender from its creator?


But that feeling. My senses. They all pointed to her.


"Lena Soni." I said, as I reached out and put my hand on her shoulder, as the last of her sobs went through her.

Lena looked at me, as I took a deep breath.


"You are a Remnant of Decen, Lena. You are my sister."


R9

She slapped me.

I hadn't forgotten that day. When Arman had told me that I was a Remnant. I had responded aggressively, violently, and threw him into the ring to fight. At first, I always thought that was just because it was who I was. An angry, temperamental, egotistical teenager who always had a chip on his shoulder.

Turned out being confrontational was a common trait thanks to Dad.


"Creep!" Lena exclaimed, as she leapt back and made distance. Her body began to emanate darkness similar to how Sammy used his powers.

"Lena. You need to calm down." I said, but she was not having it.

"Me calm down?! You're the weirdo who's claiming I'm your sister! What would that make Fraser?"

"It's hard to say." I said, as I bolted backwards, dodging several of Lena's Ebon Ruins as she began firing them at me relentlessly.


"There's a chance he could be a Remnant or not. Paladin Decen's soul could have entered him too. But if he wasn't, he'd still be your brother. Meaning he'd be a stepbrother."

"Gross!" Lena yelped, as she phased out of the darkness and slammed me in the chest.


"I- Yeah. You got me on that one." I muttered, as Lena continued her barrage on me. She didn't land a single hit, but I was not getting anywhere with her.


I let my power course through my veins, as my corrupted arm began to glow red at the cracks. Red electricity jolted from my body as I shot forward and grabbed her wrists, pinning them against the wall as Lena gasped for air.


"Lena. That's enough. There's no benefit in me trying to do anything to you. I have a fiancee and I'm happy. I don't need this."


Lena began to stop struggling, as she started to calm down a little.

"Can I trust you enough to let go?" I asked, as Lena reluctantly nodded.



Lena led me to a quiet sector in Renaissance Center, behind Club Caprice, as we sat on a bench. I watched as a couple of heroes took to the skies, others in flying vehicles, and some were straight up bounding around with their super jump without a care in the world.

"That's a badass looking sword." Lena commented.

"Yeah. Its name is Pariah." I took the sword out of the sheathe and inspected it.

"Can I hold it?"

"It's too heavy for you."

Lena smirked. "Bet."

"Your funeral." I said, as I handed it to her, but I didn't let go as she took the blade.


"Be careful, Lena." I told her.

"Lens."

"What?"

Lens looked at me with those teal eyes.

"My name is Lens. That's what Defender and Witchcraft call me. I don't... like being called Lena."

"Oh. I'm sorry Lens."


Lens smiled, as I let go of the blade. Immediately, the sword slammed into the ground and sliced through the concrete as Lens yelped in surprise.

"What the hell?!" She exclaimed as I snickered.

Lens tried to lift the sword but she wasn't able to make it move.


"What is this made of?! Neutronium?!"

"Celestial Steel."


Lena let go as I walked up to Pariah and picked up the blade, mounting it back on my shoulder.

"Celestial Steel?"

"Yeah. It was a material made by the old gods. In the town of Amod, the sword was used to kill celestial beings. It belonged to my- our eldest brother. Until it broke in two. This is half of it."


I could tell Lens was still uncomfortable with me saying I was her brother. I decided to drop it for now.


"If half of the sword is that large already, I can't even imagine how large the full version is."

"It was a hell of a sword. It's seen some crazy battles."


Lens sighed, as she sat back on the bench. She was dressed casual. A black wool top, jeans, and a pair of brown fur boots. Her long brown hair sat neatly on her shoulders. In many ways I could see why she would automatically assume I was some pervert who wanted to try things with her. She must have gotten that a lot.


If she came back with us, I'd have to keep her away from Sammy at all costs. Hell. I'd have to keep her away from everybody at all costs when I think about it.


"You okay?" I asked.

Lens closed her eyes as she ran her hand through her hair. A habit that I had too back when my hair was long.

"Look. I still don't believe you're my brother. I've lived my whole life being trained to hurt others by Mom. I know for a fact that we don't share the same parents. But... if such a possibility were true..."


Lens rolled up her sleeve, revealing her tribal tattoos.

"That would make Fraser family to you too. I know I'm not in the right place to ask you this, since we just met. But before you take me back to the Remnants, there's something I need to do first. And... I could really use your help, Lucius."

"What do you need my help with?"


Lena clenched her fist, as the tattoo on her arm began to glow blue.


"I need to defeat Fraser."


Beep beep. Beep beep.


Lens pulled out her phone from her pocket.

"Cosmic."

"Cosmic?"


Lens put the phone back and tapped a module on her belt, as her outfit changed to the gear she was wearing back at the Sanctum. A pair of blue goggles appeared around her neck.

"Very Mason." I commented.

Lens smiled, but it looked pained.

"Yeah." She whispered.


"I'm sure Marcel didn't mean the things he said. He's probably been through a lot."

Lens straightened her back, her face getting a little brighter. "Yeah. He has. I'm not giving up on him. I'll become a hero just like he is and save Mom."


Lens and I made our way to Irwin to teleport to one of the Cosmic battles, but Lens stopped me.

"Wait. You're rated a Cosmic threat right?"

"Yeah. Is that bad?"

Lens nodded. "You'll stick out, like a sore thumb. I'm surprised you haven't been caught already, walking around as one."

"Are Cosmics really that bad?"

"It takes around forty to fifty heroes to take one down, and that's assuming we have a mix of hero types. So yeah. They're pretty terrifying. There's only three major Cosmics we fight since they seem to like causing trouble. Kigatilik, Qwyjibo, and Teleiosaurus. There's also other Cosmic threats like Grond, but he's been pretty tame lately. And now there's you."

Lens pointed at me.


"Great Lucius Cassidy. The Arbiter of Poor Fashion Sense."

"That's hurtful, Lens."

Lens shook her hands frantically.

"N- No! I didn't mean to hurt you. Sorry! If- If it makes you feel any better, I have insecurities about myself as well."


She just straight up assumed I had insecurities of my own. Of course, I didn't tell her that.

"And what's that?"


Lens stared at the ground, her face bright red.

"I think I weigh too much. My waist and thighs are too wide." She said, quietly.

"They look fine to me." I replied.


Wait. No. What am I even saying? Should I even say that to a woman? I spent so many years training my power and my skills, that I never really spent much time out. The only girls I spoke to were Merrow, who found my poor social skills to be hilarious, and Sophia, who simply agreed with everything I said, thinking it was adorable.


Lena's face turned even more red.

"Do you think so?" She whispered.


I scratched the back of my head, awkwardly.

"Uh-"


Lens' eyes widened as she realized what she was doing. She coughed and slapped her face with her hands.


"Sorry. I- I went off track. Ahem."


Lens looked away from me as she brought tapped on her phone. Instantly, my vision lit up with stats.

"I've never tried this before. But since you're friendly with us, there's a chance I could lower your power just by setting you as a sidekick."

"You can do that?"

Lens nodded. "Mm. But you'll be weak as hell though."


My stats began to decrease as the sidekick system changed my power, adjusting it until I found myself fighting at a small percentage of my power.

"There." Lens said.

"You're now a Level 40 like me. With less than average abilities."

"Thanks... I guess..." I muttered. I didn't like how the power that I spent so many years learning to grow was just suddenly chopped away like it was nothing. But at least now I could help out with Lens' issue with Fraser, without letting other heroes in on our business.


The first Cosmic we had to stop was Kigatilik. The moment I arrived, I was greeted by a large horde of heroes. I found myself clinging onto Lens to make sure I didn't get lost. It was a bit embarrassing, considering I was older than her, both from Remnant Normalization and even here. From the files Merrow had on her, she was 18 here. I'm 23.


I took out my sword.

"Do we engage?"

"No." Lens said, as she pointed at the four dogs that were by the giant being's side.

"Our first objective is to kill the dogs. Then we go for Kigatilik. But..."

"But?"

Lens frowned.

"Why is he looking at you like that? Do you think he knows?"


Kigatilik was glaring at me from his throne. The other heroes didn't seem to notice, as they were all getting ready for the battle.

"Maybe." I replied. "Only way to find out."


I lifted my finger and pointed at him.

Kigatilik acknowledged me, as his voice boomed in my mind.


You are an otherworlder. Just like this girl's father.

I nodded.


But no ordinary one.


"Yeah." I replied, in my mind.


I am the ancient being of the north. To many, I am considered a Demon Lord of Ice and Snow. To these worthless heroes, I am considered a god. But you do not seem fearful of my power. Cowardice is perhaps a possibility, but my intuition tells me you conceal your power.

"Yeah. I'm not fearful of your power. Because I happen to know a Demon Lord myself. And I can confidently say he'll kick your ass if he ever met you."

A fellow Demon Lord exists with power that possibly surpasses mine? How laughable.

"You doubt me? Kigatilik? Surely you've heard of the Devourer of Worlds."


Kigatilik was silent.


Come. We shall speak, away from the heroes.


Lens was peeking at me, her face confused.

"Um, Lucius? Is everything alright? You and Kiga have been staring at each other for almost five minutes."


I turned to Lens.

"Yeah. I've got something to tend to. Sorry I can't fight the Cosmic with you."

Lens looked disappointed. "Oh."

"I'll find you again. Don't worry, Lens."

Lens gave me a grateful look. "I'll keep that in mind. I'll see you around, Lucius."


I found Kigatilik near a mountain in a smaller form. I had to change regions to ensure no heroes were around.

Kigatilik had his arms crossed, as he regarded me from the distance. His demonic horns were detailed, and there was no evidence that snow was covering them despite the weather. Skulls lined his belt. If anything, he reminded me a lot like a Shaman.


"Otherworlder." Kigatilik said, as he approached me. His footsteps melting the snow around him as we stood face to face.

"How do you know Demon Lord Samael."

I smiled. "He's my brother."


Kigatilik's body began to hum with power.


"No. This is impossible. Unless..."

Kigatilik's eyes glowed, as he unleashed a blast of frost in my direction, completely levelling the mountain as the entire lands shook violently. Snow blasted all over the place. Kigatilik watched as the destruction cleared, revealing me standing in the middle of it, unharmed.


"You are a Remnant of that accursed Paladin."


I brushed off my t-shirt, as I made a fist.

"Mason gaged me as a Cosmic threat. But I don't think that's accurate. For one thing, I'd say I outclass you a fair bit."


Kigatilik's face contorted in anger.

"You dare make a mockery of a Demon Lord?"


"I don't care about your antics, Kigatilik. I've got shit on my plate right now, and I don't have time for this. If you want a fight, I'll finish it quick. Best to leave your ass whooping to the heroes. At least that would be a longer fight."


Kigatilik roared, as he blew me back. I smashed into another mountain as my body flopped, creating a crater along the side.


"Remnant or mortal. You are just a man. No greater than the millions of Shamans I have slaughtered for amusement. And I will kill you."

Kigatilik materialized in front of me and slammed his fist into my chest, smashing me deeper into the mountain as we levelled it, creating a massive avalanche.


"You dare put yourself on my level, mortal? You shall regret your words today. For they will be your last!"

Kigatilik reeled his fist back and landed a devastating uppercut under my chin, launching me violently into the air. I broke through the clouds as I soared up high. The Demon Lord then blasted above me and slammed me back into the ground, as I created another ginormous crater.


"This will be your final moments, Remnant."


Kigatilik powered up another frost attack, and blasted it right at me, but I lifted up Pariah, intercepting the blast and absorbing the magic.

"For someone who gets beat up by heroes regularly, it's a little hard pressed to claim to be a god, Kigatilik." I replied, as I emerged from the debris. Kigatilik stared at me in disbelief.


"You-"

I jolted to his position, reeling Pariah back.

"Just my luck. If you're a Demon Lord and a self proclaimed god, that would make you a celestial right?"


Kigatilik clenched his teeth.

"What are you saying, Remnant. That you possess a weapon that can defeat me?"

"Yeah. Kigatilik..."

I slashed down, the blade cutting right through the Demon Lord's chest, severing him in half.


"Meet Pariah. The Celestial Slayer."


Kigatilik exploded into numerous ice shards as his mouth opened, his voice escaping him.

"Great Paladin Decen..." He muttered, as he disappeared.


I stood at the top of the mountain, overlooking the lands of an alternate Canada. I remembered the conversation I had with Merrow just before I was sent to the Champions Universe to investigate Lens and Fraser.


"Merrow, I really think we should reconsider. How is it even possible for a Remnant of Decen to be a girl? Isn't a Remnant a part of Decen? I get Kanade. Decen wanted to be a good person moments before his death. But Lena? Isn't that pushing it a bit?"

Merrow shook her head.

"Lucius, we can't risk her being captured by Mogul. Even if it is the smallest possibility, Mogul will take that as an absolute."

"I still think you should send me to the Remnant 2 and 15 retrieval mission. We need more people over there. There's no guarantee Sammy will be able to make it back given it's such a time displaced ravaged universe, and if Mogul sends the Acolyte Heracles, I don't know if Deacon can hold him off, let alone protect the fifteenth."

Merrow silenced me with a glare.

"Lucius. Mogul will hurt her if he finds her. Are you really going to say you are going to let that happen?"

"No, but this is ridiculous! Think about it, Merrow. A female Remnant of Decen. Does that make any sen-"

"And what if that girl was Sophia, Lucius? What then, will you do?"


I stopped, as my eyes widened in surprise.

Merrow sighed and got up, putting an arm around my shoulders.


"Lucius, this isn't about the mission, is it."

"I..." I was at a loss for words. I was under a lot of stress at the time. It was just everything coming at me like a train at once.


Merrow chuckled.

"No matter how old you are, how mature you claim to be, you'll always be the same delinquent Lucius Cassidy who tried to hit on me when we first met. I've known you for so long, you don't think I can't figure out what makes you tick?"

I sighed.

"Okay. You got me, Merrow."

Merrow patted me on the shoulder, as I felt a sense of sisterly warmth.

"I'm proud of you, Lucius. We all are."

"I know, but I don't know if it was a good idea. I know I'm not going to live-"

"But Sophia agreed to it, didn't she?"


I paused. She did. She accepted right away when I revealed it to her that day.


Merrow laughed.

"Sophia agreed to marry you, Lucius. Because she knows everything will work out in the end. You can't keep putting yourself under fire so much. You may be the most durable of the Remnants, but you're still a man. And in my eyes, you're still a kid."

Merrow ruffled my hair as I squirmed away.

"Cut it out, Merrow. I'm twenty three. I'm old enough to handle these things on my own."

"Oh. Watch out everyone! He's getting married! He's better than all of us!" Merrow teased, as I pouted instinctively.


"Sophia is going to be part of our family now, Lucius. And you know how important family is. We can't leave Lena and Fraser out there to Mogul. You know that."

Merrow pointed at my chest.

"Your heart knows. In the end, it was your heart that helped pull this group of Remnants together. And it will be your heart that leads us. So trust your heart, Lucius.


"Bring Lena home."


R9

I found Mason in the hideout.

I knocked on the door cautiously.

"Mr. Soni? Can I come in?"

Mason was quiet for a few seconds.

"Yeah."


I opened the door as I stepped inside. The place looked like a sanctum all right. It had druidic decorations all over the place. It kind of reminded me of the old seer's place back when I frequented it a few years ago.

"Nice book you're reading. Is it good?"


Mason smirked, as he closed the grimoire.

"I shouldn't have yelled at her."

"It's okay. She understands."

Mason sighed, as he ran his hand over the grimoire's cover.


"This is confidential, but I feel like I can trust you."

"For what?" I asked.


Mason gestured me to sit, as I propped Pariah against the wall.


"I'm an otherworlder. From another Earth. To the people here, it's an alternate Earth, but to me, it will always be my home Earth."

"How did you end up here?"

"I was whisked away. Along with Cybil."

"So you knew Cybil, for a really long time."

Mason nodded.

"I knew her, even before we came to the Champions Universe. Before we got our powers. She and I were classmates in high school."


A faint echo appeared in the Sanctum. Arcane whispers which illuminated the room with an ethereal environment.

"I loved her, and I still do." Mason said, quietly, before clearing his throat and continuing.

"On the day I decided to have the courage to confess my love, a magic circle appeared before our feet. And before we knew it, we were in a countryside. The Champions Universe. When we arrived there, a voice appeared in our heads. It called itself the Apparition, and it instructed us to choose between two powers to begin our new life. I don't know if you've watched anime before, but it's kind of like an isekai."


Thank god Thomas wasn't here. He would definitely not have been able to shut his trap upon hearing anything anime related. But I kept my calm demeanor.

"Yeah. And you ended up with your powers and Cybil got hers?"

"That's not the entire story."

"How so?"


Mason stood up and looked out the window. From his reflection, his cyan eyes glowed in the dark.

"We were supposed to choose. One of the powers was the ability to control the heavens, but only for good, as well as bending the laws of the world. The other power was to manipulate life force of oneself."

"Controlling the heavens for good doesn't seem that bad."


Mason managed a weak smile.

"We both wanted that power. But the Apparition said only one of us could choose. I saw it in Cybil's eyes. She looked so longing for such a cool ability. Even when she played videogames, she always loved celestial based characters. I wanted to make her happy, so I chose the lame power."

"That's really sweet of you, man."


Mason shook his head.

"I thought so too. For a time, Cybil was so happy. The look on her face whenever she used her powers to help others. To heal. To defeat the bad guys and save townsfolk. She was like an angel, and she always made sure I was never forgotten, despite being her sidekick due to having a weaker power. I loved her for that.


"Seeing her happy made me happy. Of course I wanted to be able to do something so cool, so awesome. To have followers and to be a hero to the townsfolk. Everybody wanted to be one, anybody who wanted to be isekai'd all wanted to be a hero. But what I wanted more, was to see the girl of my dreams have the best time of her life.


"But over time, I realized Cybil was becoming darker and darker. Her methods had become more and more ruthless. She went from sending the bad guys to the guards or police, to beating them up and injuring them severely. I wanted to say something, but Cybil was so happy. I didn't want to ruin it for her. So I let it keep happening. Until one day..."


Mason went up to the desk and pulled out a scarf. It was stained with blood.


"This scarf belonged to a man called Leon Belladonna. He was a man who committed theft to make money for his family.


"Cybil killed him."


Silence hit the room, as I could tell Mason was struggling to keep it together. But he took a deep breath and continued.

"She said that it was because his kids could not find out what he was doing. They had to live free from their father's sins. Otherwise, at some point, the father would snap, and he would lash out on his own family one day. Just like how her father did to hers."

Mason put the scarf away.

"When Cybil killed the man, I was in shock. I couldn't stop her. Then she went even further, and killed his kids in cold blood. I can never forget the look on those children's faces. Or what they said. They asked Cybil where their daddy was. And Cybil told them that he was free, and soon they would be too."


"And you couldn't stop her from doing it?"


"No. After the kids and wife were slaughtered, I finally lashed out on Cybil. I demanded why she would go so far as to kill, and that was when she revealed to me her past. Her abusive father, and how he abused her every single night after a stressful day. At some point, her mom died from heartache, watching her own daughter get abused by the man she loved and there was nothing she could do about it. I never knew. I never knew Cybil was hurting so much, and that was when I realized it."


Mason clenched his fists.

"The Apparition tricked us. It didn't tell us about Cybil's true power. The ability to bend the laws of the world were never under her control. They were under the Apparition's, and he made her bend the laws of her own celestial powers to allow her to use them to kill. I told Cybil to stop, but she didn't listen, and accused me of betraying her, saying that I was all she had, and now I was dead to her. We fought and I lost, then hid for nine years.


"And here I am now. Trying to find her again, but while I got stronger, so did she. And her followers have been attacking me ever since. Lucius, I don't know what to do. Cybil's too strong, but I want to save her."


I had an idea now of Mason's circumstances.

"And this Sanctum, I'm guessing it's really important to you because it was shared by you and Cybil, right?"

"Cybil and I used this place to bug out. But eventually, we called it home. Just the two of us, living together. We had our ups and downs in this place. So seeing her... just waltzing in and touching our stuff like that..."

"She didn't mean to, Mason."

"I... I know. I'm sorry. And to have her claim I'm her father? I just... It's too much, Lucius. I'm trying to get Cybil back. I will always be faithful to Cybil and never choose another woman in my life. Never."


I glanced at Pariah. I remembered how I got the blade. It wasn't because I was being honorable. Or heroic. Quite the opposite, actually.

I got Pariah because of a mistake I made. I chose to leave alone, and Arman had to bail me out.

By fighting Prime Aspect Mogul alone.


"You feel guilty, don't you. You made a choice, and it resulted in all of this."


Mason raised his eyebrows.

"How... how did you know?"


I smiled.

"I went through something similar." I got up, as I took Pariah and strapped it on my back. Then I held out my hand to Mason.


"I'll help you get Cybil back. But first, we need to help Lens. I know it's hard to believe, but she isn't lying. She's time displaced."

Mason took it as I shook his hand.


"Lena Soni is your daughter from the future, Mason. And right now, she needs her father to stop her brother, Fraser. Let's take it one step at a time. Alright?"


Mason took a deep breath and gave me a smile.

"Yeah. Thanks Lucius. For everything."


I nodded, as we made our way out of the Sanctum.



"Oh good. You two losers are finally out." A young man greeted us from within the shadows.


We stopped, as the man stepped forward. He had similar tattoos to Lena, but were bright cyan like Mason's. A bright strip ran down the side of his face, as they were complemented by snow white hair streaked with purple.

His purple eyes glowed through the darkness, reminding me of the photo of Cybil from the report Merrow had compiled.


In his arms was a girl who was unconscious. She was bleeding and injured from a hundred places. My heart raced as I quickly realized who that was.


"Lena!" I shouted.

Fraser chuckled.

"Dear sister. She thought she could beat me, after finally achieving her fortieth level. She thought she could defeat me after working hard to become dear old dad. God. You're such an annoying little bitch."

Fraser spat at his little sister's face, as she moaned in agony. The entire right side of her jacket was soaked crimson.


Mason's eyes were wide.

"How could you do this to your own sister? She's your family!"

Fraser glared at his father.

"You don't know shit, old man." Fraser snarled, as numerous zombies appeared from all directions. We were surrounded.


"What do you know? Huh?" Fraser grabbed Lens by the collar and dragged her across the ground. She must have lost a lot of blood, because her whole face was completely pale.

Mason tried to keep calm.


"Look. I don't want to fight. Lucius told me everything. You two. You're both time displaced right? As your father, please. Just stop this."


"Shut. Up." Fraser said, as the zombies began to prepare to fight. I took out Pariah but didn't attack. Not when Lens was in this condition. I couldn't risk her getting any more hurt than she already was. It didn't take much to know she was in critical condition.


"As my father? You were never around. Mom told me everything. Your sick tricks. From the very start, you were against her. She was trying so hard to escape her past. All she wanted was to make sure no child would suffer from the mistakes of their parents. That was all she wanted. But no. You had to fuck it all up for everyone! Where the hell were you when we were born? Where the hell were you when I lost my first tooth? Where the hell were you every time I felt like shit because I wasn't living up to mother's standards?! And now, you're telling me you want to be a father?!"

Fraser's voice was getting louder and louder until he was practically shouting.


"Fraser. The Mason here isn't the Mason from the future." I said, calmly, but Fraser glared at me.

"Oh no. And now there's also you. Lucas Cassidy."

"Lucius Cassidy."

"I don't fucking care what your name is! It's bad enough Lena got influenced by Mason. Now she's being influenced by you. I've seen how she looks at you. Her little subtle blushing. It's like every time I run into her, she's got something new to piss me the hell off. But I've had it. All I'm doing is ranting. If I wanted to rant, I'd do it during the last few moments of your dying breath. Marcel Soni. Lucius Cassidy. I'm going to do to you, just as I did to Lena!"


I brandished Pariah, as the zombies closed in. One swing sent them all hurtling into the air, while Mason charged forward to get Lens. But Fraser intercepted his father and landed a kick which sent him flying into a building.

"That all you got? You're nothing compared to mother."

"I never said that was." Mason replied, as his armor began to crack with teal lines, shattering and revealing his glowing tattooed figure. Mason flew into the air and blasted Fraser with poison bolts, but Fraser's tattoos began to glow as well, as he held out his hand, creating a conical funnel which siphoned all the poison out of the air.


"Do better. Dad."

Fraser fired a force bolt which caught Mason in the chin, launching him away from the battlefield.

A zombie tried to bite my neck, but its teeth shattered against my skin. I turned around and swung my fist, as the sheer force of the strike blasted a whole legion of minions away.

I couldn't use my spikes without hurting Lens. I had to use my other abilities. Thankfully, I didn't just spend those eight years honing down one power like an idiot.


I concentrated, as red electricity discharged from my body. I jolted forward and grabbed Lens and zoomed across the other side of the battlefield while Fraser was distracted with Mason.


Lena's head rested against my chest as I carried her to a nearby shelter. Her head lulled as she tried to wake up from her daze.

"Fraser... I just... want Dad to be happy. And I know Mom will be too..."

I sighed, as I laid Lena on the ground. She was delirious from taking such a brutal beating from her brother.

"Lena. Get some rest."

Lena's eyes rolled to the back of her head as she lost consciousness again. I felt terrible for letting something like this happen to my own sister. But I had to get back to the fight.


Fraser needed to be stopped. And I knew for a fact that Mason was no match for this guy.


Mason and Fraser faced off on the roof of the Sanctum. Mason was doing surprisingly well, and I realized why.


"God dammit. You're supposed to be a healer. You're not supposed to take a hit!" Fraser muttered, as Mason flipped and retaliated with poison blasts of his own. Fraser was starting to lose his advantage as his body began to weaken from all the poison in his system. But that wasn't enough to prevent Fraser from launching Mason everywhere with his force attacks.


Mason finally lost his edge, as Fraser had secretly wound up a surprise of his own. Mason leapt in, as I reached out.

"Wait! Don't!"

Too late. Fraser let loose a devastating force cascade which blasted Mason point blank. I watched as the healer hero went through two buildings and crumpled into the debris. His armor destroyed and blood was spilling all over his face.


Fraser smiled as he walked up to Mason, powering up a finishing force cascade.

"Damn. Like daughter like father, eh?"


Fraser fired, but this time I was close enough to close the distance. I jolted to his position and caught Fraser's FC with one hand. The ball of force was vibrating violently in my palm as Fraser's face was shocked.

"What the hell?!"


I clenched my fist, bursting the ball of force, then opened my palm, striking Fraser and causing him to slide back.


"What are you?"


I took out Pariah, and slashed at Fraser's consecutive force blast attempts and closed in again, materializing in front of him.

"It's over, Fraser. We can talk once you're properly restrained." I gently struck him in the midsection, but I guess I didn't know my own strength, because Fraser's eyes rolled backwards and the kid slumped into my arms like a ragdoll.

"Oops. Shit." I muttered, as Mason managed to get to his feet, his healing topping him off instantly.


"Lens." I told him, as Mason nodded quickly, rushing to Lena's side and healing her.


I regarded Fraser's unconscious face.

So much anger and hatred. And resentment.

I knew that look all too well.


"Sorry kid. But this is the only way for me to get you to listen. You're gonna have one hell of a migraine, but at least you're not dead."


R9

I'm never having kids.

Not even if Sophia is the one who asks for them.

Because it's just not gonna happen.


No one told me that this mission was going to involve looking after two siblings who did nothing but bicker with each other. But here I was.

Sitting in a room with Fraser and Lena, who were both glaring at each other as if they were going to go at each other's throats at any moment.


"Well isn't this great. Now I've got both of you in the same room together. It's almost like a family reunion!" I said, awkwardly, attempting to force Merrow's upbeat style into my own.

Neither Fraser nor Lena said anything, as the air was tense. I had to lighten the mood up a bit.


The only problem was, I was usually the one who made things tense. This was way out of my alley.


"So... uh..."

I awkwardly scratched the back of my head.


"Which one of you is the older twin?"

Lena and Fraser both raised their eyebrows.

"What?" Lena asked.


Fraser crossed his arms.

"This is a waste of time."


Lena looked away.

"Agreed. My phone has been pinging me this whole time alerting me of another Cosmic invasion attempt. And I'm missing out."


"Come on." I said. "I'm just trying to lighten the mood. Come now. Who's the older twin. Spill the beans guys."


Lena and Fraser looked at each other, then at me.

"I am." They said at the same time.


"Huh?!" Fraser said, his face contorted in annoyance.

Lena's face scrunched up too in irritation.

"I'm the older one."

"What the hell are you talking about? With your baby face? I'm clearly the more mature brother."

"If by mature you mean a petty kid who started this whole war just because mommy didn't give him kisses at night."

"You're one to say. Look at your taste in men." Fraser pointed a finger at me.


"This guy? Seriously? No. Absolutely not. I'm not letting you have sex with-"

"Excuse me?!" Lena squeaked, her face beet red.

"Who are you to tell me who or who not to date? And Lucius? He's not even that hot! I can't believe you just said something that disgusting. Ugh, I think I'm going to throw up."


"Hey!" I protested, but neither twin gave me any sympathy.


"You're insufferable, Lena."

"You're irredeemable, Fraser."

"Ignorant."

"Petty."

"Delusional."

"Childish."


"Oh my god! Shut up! Shut the hell up!" I roared, as the two twins instantly went quiet, sitting back in their seats. I facepalmed as I tried to calm my nerves.


The good news was, now I had Fraser in my custody. Meaning whatever Mogul planned to do, he wouldn't be able to harm either one of them directly. The only problem now was, Fraser was very attached to his mother, Cybil. And Cybil was out there somewhere. If Mogul got his hands on her, that would basically undo everything I did.

If only Merrow was around to give some guidance. But there was no point wishing for the theoretical.


It was all on me to get this mission done. And that's what I'll do.


"Okay." I said, as I turned to them both.


Weird. I wasn't getting the same tingly feeling I got from Lena whenever I looked in his purple eyes. I would always have some strange feeling whenever I looked at a Remnant of Decen. Something in the bottom of my heart that instinctively wanted the best out of them. A familial urge. But with Fraser, I couldn't feel that.

Meaning I struck out with finding the other Remnant.


Fraser wasn't it.


"Lucius? Are you okay?" Lena asked.

"Yeah." I replied, as I walked back to the table of the Sanctum. Mason was quiet the entire time. I get he was doing his best to keep it together, but imagine having two 18 year olds bicker in front of you who happened to be your children you knew nothing about it. I would arguably be kind of freaked out too.


"Right now, we need to get Cybil back."

"She's not going to listen to some stranger, if that's what you're thinking about." Mason said.


"Cybil doesn't know me, but she does know you. Maybe we could restrain her and you can talk to her?" I suggested.


Fraser scoffed.

"Restrain her. She's way out of our league right now."


"Maybe out of your league." Lena muttered.

"What was that, you thot?"


"Hey! Cut it out you two." I ordered. I couldn't believe I was having to be the parent when their biological dad was right in front of them. But then again, he was sort of... not in the right timeline to say these things.

"I've tried talking to Cybil before." Mason said. "She didn't listen. She just wanted me dead."


"That makes two of us." Lena said.


"Three." Fraser muttered, his eyes were full of pain.


I remembered how Fraser had described Cybil. And what Lena had said. Fraser was so fiercely loyal to his mom, so desperately wanting her attention, but she never gave him any. Now to be treated like all the others, a hostile. It must have hurt a lot.

"Fraser, you tried speaking to Mom?" Lena asked gently.


Fraser irked.

"Yeah. I told her that I was here to crush you. And to swear my loyalty in crushing Mason. She said she wanted nothing with someone who didn't understand her mission. Whatever the hell that meant."


"It meant you didn't understand why she's doing the things she does." Mason said.

"Neither one of you two knows why Cybil is the way she is. Only I do."


Mason walked forward and put his hand on an orb, as it showed an image of Cybil and Mason back when they were still teenagers. They were out exploring and saving the town from an army of monsters. Cybil had a smile on her face as she fought them off and protected the weak, and Mason looked so happy, fighting alongside the girl he loved.


"She looks like Lena. Almost like an uncanny resemblance." Fraser said.

"She's really pretty." Lena commented.

"I just said she looks like you. There's no way she's that pretty."


I glared at Fraser, who immediately shut up.


Mason continued.

"Freedom. That's what she fought for. Freedom for those who deserved to live a good and kind life. When she was little, she was a really well behaved girl. But over time, she began to develop alcoholic problems because of the influence her father had on her. Her father was a heavy drunk, and oftentimes would come home to abuse her. Right in front of her mother. Even from a young age, Cybil wanted to be free. Free from her father, and free from the guilt that had ended her mother's life."

The image shifted to Cybil slaughtered numerous families.

"I still remember that day. What she told me. 'Do you think his kids will ever forget the things he did to them? Do you really think they will move on?' She wanted to kill the children too, because she thought that would be the only way to free them from their memories."


Mason closed the hologram as he looked at all of us.


"What Cybil is doing, at least what she thinks she is doing, is delivering divine justice."


Divine justice, huh.


"Where is Cybil right now?" I asked.

"No idea." Mason admitted.


"I do." Fraser said, his face grim.

"You do?" Lena asked, surprised.


Fraser walked up to the map on the table.

"During my time in this past, I amassed my own troops to try to offer to Mom in exchange for a chance to work as her right hand man. I know a lot of how her forces are stationed. If we're talking about where she is, or where her base is for that matter, it's here."

Fraser pointed at a region on the map. It was a separate island, and Mason gasped.


"Cybil is in Destruga?!"

"Yeah. Why?" Fraser asked.


Mason stepped back.

"Do you know what this means?"


Lena closed her eyes and leaned back.

"God dammit."


"What the hell? Why are you two reacting like that?"

Lena ran her hand through her hair as she took a deep breath.


"Fraser. Destruga is where Doctor Destroyer resides. If it's true that Cybil's base is stationed there that means she's working in line with the most powerful super villain in the Champions Universe."


Lens' phone rang again.

"Cosmics?"

Lens took the phone from her pocket and read the message.

"No. That's strange. I've never seen an alert like this before."


Mason's wristband also lit up as he inspected it.

"Because it isn't a Cosmic, Lens. It's something else."


We heard a huge boom from the distance as we ran up to the window to see.

"What the hell?" Mason asked, as we watched a massive black hole appear in the sky. From the heavens shone a being that emanating black electricity but a heavenly celestial golden aura.

"Mom?" Lena whispered.

"I guess we can forget about heading to Destruga now. She came here to us." I said, as I turned around.


"Alright. Let's head there right now. We can stop Cybil and bring her to her senses and where did Fraser go."

Fraser was missing as Lens and Mason were looking everywhere for the missing super.


My blood pressure spiked as a vein popped out from my forehead.

"Are you kidding me?!"


We rushed out of the Sanctum and made chase for Fraser.

"That idiot! Why is he trying to go in there without a plan?!" Lens exclaimed.

"If he rushes in without thinking, he'll get killed!" Mason said.


"Fraser..." I muttered.

"How far will you go to gain your mother's affection?"


A hero waved at us, and greeted Mason.

"What's the situation? Any idea what's going on?"

The hero, Silvus, shook his head.

"No idea. We've never encountered something like this. That person over there looks like someone's nemesis."

"Ah." Mason muttered. "That's crazy."


"Any alert go out as to what we should do?" Lens asked.


Silvus shook his head.

"Nope. So far, no one has been able to breach the barrier that leads up to her lair. We just don't have that kind of DPS. We're all just fighting off all the minions that are busting up Millennium City right now. They're all incredible powerful. Whoever's nemesis this is, they've pissed her off real bad. I've never seen nemesis minions this powerful before."

"How powerful are we talking?" Mason asked.


"See for yourself." Silvus pointed at a group of heroes who were holding off a team of minions. They were all fully geared and maximum level from Apex Scan. They were barely holding on.

"We need everybody in this fight. For the first time in decades. Feels like we've got our backs against the wall with this one. The only time we've had to do something like this was when the Cosmic threats became stronger and prompted us to form massive teams of heroes to take them down."


"What the- nemesis minions?!" A hero said, as several zombies began pushing Cybil's forces back.

"Fraser." Lens grumbled.

"Lucius, you can hunt Fraser down right?" Mason asked me.

"I can't pinpoint his location. Apex Hunt only works on beings who aren't time displaced."

"It doesn't take a genius to know where he's headed." Lens said, as she pointed at the base of the barrier, away from the heroes. A kid was there firing force cascade after force cascade against the walls, trying to breach it. Cybil's minions were trying to stop him, but Fraser's own minions were fighting them back.


Silvus put his hand on Mason's shoulder.

"I have to go back and help the other heroes. You should help out a team too. We need your help guys. Otherwise this world is doomed. I don't know what happened or how this nemesis got so powerful, but we need everybody on board for this one."

Silvus nodded at Lens.

"I never had the chance to tell you this, Lens. But you've earned my respect. Even if your powers are the way they are, you've proven to me that what makes someone a hero is their heart. Go get em, kiddo."

Lens smiled, as she thanked Silvus. Silvus flew into the air and rushed to the nearest team.


"What do we do about the barrier?" Mason asked.

"I can destroy it. I'm strong enough. But we'll have to be extra careful once we're in Cybil's lair. We have no way of telling how strong her minions are now." I said.

"And Fraser?"

"Leave him." Lens grumbled.

"Now Lens." I said.

"I know. I know."


We found Fraser struggling to hold off Cybil's forces, even with his own platoon of minions. His zombies were being folded like cardboard faster than his ranks could join their leader.

Lena held out her hand and unleashed an array of shadow tendrils which cut into the minions while Mason began healing Fraser's zombies.

"I didn't need your help." Fraser growled.

"I wasn't asking for it." Lens retorted.

"Shut the hell up and fight!" I shouted at the both of them.


We continued fighting off the forces.

"Mason. Bring Lens and Fraser back. Shield them with your powers."

Mason nodded without question, and flew in to grab the two kids and made distance as I took out Pariah.


I faced the entire legion of minions on my own as I lifted the great sword into the air.

"By the Paladin Code of Acadia..." My corrupted arm began to glow red as black and red electricity burst from my body.

"Acadia...?" Lens muttered, as she stumbled, clutching her head. Mason grabbed her before she could hit the ground and conk her head on the cement.


"Lens? Lens! Are you okay?"


I wanted to check on Lens, but I needed to do this. The cracks on my corrupted arm continued getting brighter until the entire region was illuminated blood red.


"You have been eliminated. Legion Slayer Avalanche"

I slammed the blade into the ground as a massive wave of spikes erupted from the cracks, completely overwhelming the thousands of minions that Cybil had sent into the city. The waves then ripped out of the ground and transformed into spiky serpents, each emitting a deafening roar and chasing the remaining minions as I regained my posture, slowly putting Pariah back into its sleeve on my back.


I turned around and faced the portal as I walked up to it. Then I reeled my fist back and slammed the barrier as hard as I could as the impact emitted a shockwave that blew Mason, Lens, and Fraser back. The barrier erupted and formed a local hole for us to enter. I could see why Silvus said they didn't have enough DPS to breach it.

I pretty much went all out with that punch and I was barely able to break it.


I grabbed the group and jumped through, as the barrier closed behind us. We were clear.


Lens' face was pale as she looked at me in terror.

"Who... who are you?" She said, terrified.

"Lens." I knelt down in front of her, putting my hands on her shoulders.

"You saw him didn't you. You saw our progenitor."

"I don't understand. I don't." She stammered, as her eyes brimmed with tears.

"Am I not Mason's daughter? Am I not Cybil's kid? Why... I don't get it! I don't get it Lucius! How am I a Remnant?! That man has nothing to do with me!"

"Lena!" I shouted, as I brought her into an embrace. She began to shake.


"Listen to me, Lena. It doesn't matter what you saw. You're a Remnant of Decen. But you're also the daughter of Mason. Is it wrong to be both? Hm?"

Lens slowly began to calm down.

"I know you're confused and scared. But you need to be strong. You want to stop Cybil, right? You want to help Mason. If that's the case, you need to steel your resolve."

Lens sniffled as she pulled away.

"Y- Yeah." She said, straightening her back. I stood up.


"Good."


I glanced at Fraser, who was staring at the distance. His face was sullen, but was full of resentment.

"Remnant of Decen... huh."


"Fraser-" I said, but Fraser cut me off.

"We'll talk about this later. Right now, I need to have a chat with mother."


Fraser walked off on his own as we followed.


Mason clenched his fist.

"I could appreciate an explanation too. From the both of you."


I nodded. "Yeah. Once this is over, I'll explain everything. I promise."


R9

We fought our way all the way up to the top floor. I could tell Lens was still a bit shaken from her vision of Decen. Mason was doing his best to cover up for her. As for Fraser...


"Come on! Is that all you got?! Come at me! Come at me, mother!"

Fraser fired force explosion after force explosion, rocking the minions around as I helped dispatch them.


I knocked the last minion unconscious, but Fraser had around broken through the door to the final level.

Fraser tried to rush forward, but Mason stood in front of him.


"I know you have unfinished business with her, but she's still my nemesis." Mason said.


The three of us stood before Cybil, who was sitting on a black throne. She had a silk gown on, which exposed one of her legs. She had a really beautiful figure and face, and her hair was white as snow with purple streaks, just like Fraser.


"Why have you come here, Mason." Cybil asked.

"Words won't get through to you. I know that. But at least let me say this." Mason stepped forward.

"Many people suffer every day. But no matter how badly they're suffering, it's not our call to end their lives. It's nobody's call."

Cybil narrowed her eyes, as she flicked a finger. The doors slammed behind us as the otherworlder got up from her throne. Celestial waves enclosed the circular room at the top of the tower, trapping us inside.


"You're wrong. Why do you think the heavens sent down calamity the way it does? Why do tsunamis take lives. Hurricanes destroy homes. Why do storms take families? Are you saying its wrong of them to do so? Are you saying it's wrong for nature to act the way it acts?"

Several goons appeared from the corner, but Fraser slammed the ground, and several zombies appeared, fighting them back. Then Fraser turned to Cybil and fired a force blast in her direction. Cybil weaved out of the way.


"Why are you here again." Cybil asked.


"When I was little, you taught us something. Something that I always kept in my heart. And that is showing the enemy no mercy is the easiest part. But identifying the enemy is what's difficult."


Cybil's face irked in disgust.

"I am not your mother."


"You will be. You created us. You created Lena and I so we could destroy Mason. But you made a mistake. You made the mistake of choosing Lena over me. I would have been the perfect soldier for you, mother. I would have done anything you asked. But it was all because Lena was the one who inherited celestial powers. All for that."

Fraser made a fist, which swirled with teal energy.

"And now you've just made your next mistake. You shunned me once more. Even after everything I have amassed for you. All these minions. I offered you my loyalty, and you spat in my face. I've now realized."


Fraser spread his arms and unleashed a powerful force explosion that knocked all of us back.

"Wait. Fraser, you're-"

Fraser cut me off, as I found myself trapped in a spatial restraint. A time based one. I couldn't escape. And neither could Lens or Mason.


"I don't need you. Mother. Why am I wasting my time trying to get the love of a person who never wanted to have me in the first place? Hell, even Mason that dumb turd bucket has given me more attention in the past few days than you have my whole life. I'm gonna make you regret everything. I'm gonna show you just how evil I can be. Everything you've done. All the neglect. All the pain you've caused me."

The entire room began to shake as Fraser continued getting stronger.


"You created a monster, Cybil. And now this monster is going to destroy you."


Cybil gritted her teeth, as she brought her hands up, summoning golden celestial energy, firing blasts of power at her future son, but Fraser was not like Mason or Lens.

He was out for blood.

Fraser roared and rushed forward, summoning two major gravitational singularities in each hand, sucking in the light as he charged Cybil head on.

"You-"

Fraser said nothing, as he brought his hands together, blasted Cybil point blank with a force explosion. Cybil fell back but landed on the ground. Fraser continued attacking and laying down the pressure.


Mason's mouth was hanging open.

"How is Fraser so powerful?"

"His feelings." Lens said, as we watched Fraser completely dominate the fight.

"All that hatred and resentment. Fraser isn't a complete idiot. He used anger to channel his power, and spent all that time working to get stronger. If we're talking power wise, I used to be stronger than him, and he had the higher tolerance to damage. But now, times have changed. When I fought him in Millennium City, I needed the help of three very high level heroes to barely take him down."


We watched as Fraser continued laying fire on Cybil, but by the eighth cascade, Cybil had pinpointed Fraser's next attack trajectory, and countered with a slash of her celestial sword. Fraser's eyes were wide in surprise as he leapt back, his vest was slashed apart and droplets of red sprinkled the ground.

Fraser's look of surprise turned into rage, as he tried to retaliate, but Cybil had managed to turn the tide. Around her golden aura, was a black and purple demonic essence.


"The Apparition." Mason said, as he struggled against the bonds.


"Dammit, Fraser!" Lens shouted at her brother.

"Why are you fighting Mom all on your own?! Let me out! Let me help you!"


"Shut up!" Fraser growled, as Cybil landed another strike that caught the kid in the side of the head. Fraser stumbled, and Cybil took full advantage of that, unleashing a celestial explosion which blasted Fraser into the wall.


"You can't beat Cybil! She's completely turned the advantage around!"

"I said stay out of this!"


I struggled against my own bonds as well. This entire time. I wasn't doing anything. Because Fraser's powerset as the perfect counter against my super strength.

Time and space manipulation.

My strength couldn't transcend time. Meaning there was nothing I could do. Only Fraser could undo my bonds.


Come on Lucius. Excuses excuses excuses.

First it was because I wasn't a leader. So I avoided leading the Remnants.

Then it was because I wasn't agile enough. So I avoided learning the way of the sword.

If I keep coming up with excuses, there will be no one to lead them.

"Grrrrr...... RAAARRRR" I growled, as I closed my eyes. Spikes began to rip through my clothes as my fangs began to elongate.


Lena stared at me.

"Lucius...?"


Bring out the beast.

Break your limits.

If Paladin Decen's powers transcended time, to the point where it could get to Remnant 2 and 15. And now Lena, then I had that potential too.


"Full. SPIKE. CLAD." I roared, as my restraints shattered before me. Fraser and Cybil stopped fighting to turn to me in shock.

My body was steaming with red mist, as it was completely covered in black and red jagged spikes. My breathing had become a low growl, as each footstep crushed the ground, sending a mini-earthquake everywhere I went.


Cybil pointed her finger, as minions swarmed me, but I roared, unleashing a shockwave from my mere movements. The force of the shock disintegrated the minions before they could even approach me.


Cybil brought her hands together and fired a beam of concentrated celestial energy, but the beam glanced off of my clad harmlessly as I made my way to her menacingly.

This is over. We tried to talk. You did not listen. Now we do things my way.


"How did you break my restraints?! Those things were supposed to trap you in the fabric of space and time!"


Cybil tried another attack, but I swatted my hand, as the otherworlder was flung across the room like a ragdoll, crumpling to the ground.


I turned to Fraser, who yelped.

I tore the fabric.


I went up to Mason and put my armoured hand around the teal rings the were keeping him restrained and ripped them off. Then I did the same with Lena.


I turned back to Cybil.

This ends.


"No. It doesn't." Cybil got to her feet, her silk fabrics were torn, and her body was full of wounds, but she breathed hard and regained her composure.


"The Apparition gives me power."


"No! You can't listen to the Apparition any more! Can't you see what it's doing to you?!" Mason exclaimed.

Cybil glared at Mason. "Yes. It gave me a chance to be free from my past. And it's now giving everyone a chance to be free. Everybody is now free."


"No, Cybil." I said, as my clad began to disappear.


"I think I know who this Apparition is. You can't let him take control of you like that. Nothing good ever comes from someone who claims to represent Sin."


AND NOTHING GOOD COMES OUT OF ONE WHO CLAIMS TO REPRESENT WAR.


We all froze, as Cybil and Mason's eyes went wide.

"Apparition..."


A tall, massive, dark figure emerged from the shadows. A horribly scarred face. Those blood red demonic eyes. That blood curdling smile.


"Prime Aspect Mogul." I said.


Mogul walked to Cybil's side.

THIS ONE CHOOSES ME. A FOLLOWER. IN THE END, IT IS IN A MORTAL'S NATURE TO SIN. I AM EVERYWHERE. I AM INEVITABLE.


I unsheathed Pariah.

"Mason, Fraser, Lens. We're falling back."


"Hell no! We just got here-" Fraser tried to protest, but I cut him off.

"We're falling back. Now that Mogul's involved, this makes this mission even more dangerous."


What the hell do I do.

What do I do?

Think Lucius.


I glanced at Lens, who was by my side. She was a Remnant. I couldn't let her anywhere near Mogul. But Cybil was with him.

If we fell back, we'd lose our chance to deal with Cybil. We'd have to find a way to storm Destruga.


Family first, right? But Fraser was Lena's brother. He'd be family too. And so was Mason. And Cybil.

If I chose to save those three, I'd sacrifice Cybil. If I went for Cybil, I knew for a fact that Mogul would go for Lens.


What would Arman do?


You shall not take my brethren, and you shall not lay hands on Lady Rivenlight. I shall see to this, with my life!


Those were Arman's words. The day he chose to save everyone.

The day he chose to save me.


I bit my lip.

"What the hell kind of game is fate playing, huh." I chuckled softly.

"Yo. Lens." I said, as Lens looked at me.

"Lucius?"

"When it hits, I want you to use your shadow powers to drag Cybil and get out of here."

"What? What are you talking about?"


Fraser gave me a look of disbelief.

"When it hits? Are you serious? We're not leaving you here! What the hell do we do when you've distracted this Mogul guy? Run for our asses? There's no way Cybil is gonna-"

"Cybil is going to go unconscious." I said, as I raised my fist.

"I'll make sure this blast will knock her out. But it's on you guys to get to safety, otherwise what I do next is going to be a waste."


Mason was silent the entire time.

"Lucius, you know we won't let you stay behind."


"This is the only plan I have." I replied, as Mogul grinned at me. This guy. He should have slaughtered us immediately, but he was taking his sweet ass time.


He was enjoying this. Because he knew exactly what I was gonna do.


After all, he already experienced this with Arman.


HOW NOBLE, NINTHBORN. HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF ONCE MORE. BUT NOW THE NINTHBORN PROTECTS THE TWELFTH. JUST AS THE FIRST DID FOR THE NINTH.


"Lens, do you have a team teleportation device?"

"Lucius... I-"

"Answer me, Lens!"


"Y- Yes. Yes I do."

"Form a team with Mason and Fraser. Grab Cybil and teleport back to Renaissance Centre. Find as many heroes and take shelter."


I held out Pariah.

"I can't guarantee I can hold him of-"

NO. YOU CANNOT.

"Wha-"

Mogul appeared in front of me. Such blinding speed for such a strong opponent...


Mogul swept his hand as it caught me in the side of my face. I spat out blood as I smashed through three pillars and crushed the wall behind me. I flopped onto the ground, but shot to my feet. Blood burst from a wound on my head and poured down the side of my face as I spat out a tooth.


"Damn." I muttered, as my vision was blurry.

"Took only one hit too."


"Get out of here!" I yelled, as Mogul delivered another chop at his ridiculous speed. My body accelerated with red electricity to react just in time and intercept the attack with Pariah, generating a shockwave that blew everything back.

"Port out of here!" I shouted, as Fraser took full advantage of the chaos and walloped Cybil in the back of the head, knocking his future mother unconscious. Son of the year award recipient right there.


I began to sink deeper, as my feet crushed the ground.

"Grrr.... ARRRR AAHHHH!" I yelled, struggling as hard as I could. But Mogul was far too strong. Even after all that time I spent improving my strength.


It was no match for Mogul's.


Mogul launched an uppercut which knocked the wind out of me as it smashed into my midsection, but I clenched my teeth and ignored the nausea, rolling out of the way and slamming Pariah against his head. Mogul reached out but I bolted backward and leapt back inwards, my corrupted arm generating three massive spikes which I used to impale Mogul's head. The spikes shattered upon impact. Obviously.


Mogul swung his fists at me, as I intercepted them with Pariah, but with each blow that clashed, I could feel my bones rattling and pain exploding in my joints. My tendons couldn't keep up with the rate of force I was expected to generate to keep up my exchange with Prime Aspect Mogul.


What the hell was I doing? Fighting Mogul all on my own?

If fighting him with all fourteen of the Remnants was a useless effort, why would I be stupid enough to fight him all on my own?


"Everyone's here!" Mason shouted at Lens.

"Teleport! Do it!" Fraser screamed.

Lens had her finger over the device, but she was hesitating. Her eyes were glued on my fight with Mogul.


"LENS PRESS THE BUTTON!" I yelled, as Mogul grabbed my face and smashed me into the ground. Everything went momentarily dark as I let go of Pariah, my body going slack.


"Lucius I don't want to lose you..." Lens muttered.


Mogul turned to the group, as Fraser began firing force cascades desperately at Mogul, who tanked all the damage.


"This guy... he's got even more resistance than a damn Cosmic!"


YOU DARE COMPARE PRIME ASPECT MOGUL TO A MERE COSMIC THREAT? INCONCEIVABLE HOW IGNORANT THIS UNIVERSE'S MORTALS ARE.


"Urkkk.... grarrr...." I grabbed Mogul's foot, as Mogul turned to me. I growled as I tightened my grip and thrust myself into the air, launching a desperate punch at Mogul's face. Mogul's head recoiled as I yelled.


"YAAAAAAA"

I swung Pariah as hard as I could with an overhead slash, but Mogul grabbed the blade.

AH. CELESTIAL STEEL. SAID TO BE INDESTRUCTIBLE.


Mogul turned to Lens and made eye contact with her. Lens' hands were shaking uncontrollably.

LITTLE GIRL. SEE HOW YOUR FEAR HAS COST YOU. YET ANOTHER COMRADE YOU FAILED TO SAVE.


Mogul closed his grip and to my disbelief, The Great Celestial Slayer, Pariah. The sword which was made of one of the most powerful metals in the multiverse.


Shattered into pieces from Mogul's strength.


Shards of Pariah managed to pierce me in the chest and thigh as I roared in agony. The siphoning properties of the metal siphoning away my Spike Clad and Regeneration as I felt myself losing consciousness.


"LUCIUS!" Lens screamed. I held out my hand to her.

"You need to get out of here." I croaked.

"Protect them... Lens... stay alive for me..."


Mogul laughed as Mason grabbed Lens' wrist and forced her to press the button. The group began to teleport away as Lens screamed at me.

"NO!"


All that was left was me and Mogul. Mogul turned to me.

YOU ARE NOT AFRAID.

"Like... hell I am..." I muttered. I was losing consciousness. Any second now everything was going to turn black.


YOUR KIND INTRIGUES ME. YOU HAVE PROGRESSED FAR.

"Don't give me... that shit..." I gasped for air, trying to stay awake.


Mogul picked me up by the throat and made a fist.


BUT NOT FAR ENOUGH.

Mogul launched an uppercut under my chin as I shot to the sky like a comet. Everything went black as I soared at supersonic speeds, thousands of feet into the air as everything became small and insignificant.


R9

"Millions of lives. A Paladin reaps."

"For no soul. A Paladin weeps."


My eyes fluttered open, as a bright light shone from above. I was in a heavy daze. Where was I? How long was I out? What happened?


"Day by day, a contract to slay."


Who's voice was that? It sounded soothing, but strong. Commanding.


"For the better of Acadia. Our priests shall pray."


I tried to move my body, but I felt immobile. Someone was massaging it, applying some kind of ointment that made me feel sleepy.


"The strongest in the multiverse. For we see no defeat."

Someone was talking. I didn't know who this person was... but... this person knew all about Acadia. About the Paladins. I wanted to say something, but part of me wanted to wait for the next line.


"By the Paladin Code of Acadia...


"Contract Complete." I said, as the voice stopped. The massaging also stopped as I heard ruffling of clothes from someone getting up.


My vision returned as I sat face to face with a woman. She had wavy medium length brown hair which fell to her shoulders in a graceful way. It looked elegant. Her face was elegant too, but it looked worn, from battle.


"You awaken." She said.

"Who are you? Where am I?"


"Arcadia's Cliff, young one."

"Arcadia's Cliff?"


The woman nodded.

"I sensed another being similar to me. But not the same. Hurtling from the sky, like a fallen angel." The woman pointed at the clouds.


I remembered. I had lost to Mogul and he punched me so hard I went flying. I must have landed here. Judging from all the oils and ointment on me, I must have suffered tremendous damage in my fight against the Prime Aspect.


"War. I sense War in you, child." The woman said, as she tended to her plants. The bed was right out in the open, and I realized there was no roof. No shelter. Nothing. We were quite literally outside. Sun and perfect weather. If it so much as rained here, the whole place was drenched.


War.

She could sense it. She also recited something. Something told me she was more than just some hippie doctor who put questionable chemicals on my body.


"Who are you." I asked the woman again, as she turned around. Her eyes were warm, but her face was like one I had seen many times.


From veterans of combat.


"Before I answer your question, I have one of my own."


I didn't have time for this. I needed to get back to Lens, Fraser, and Mason. There was no time. If Mogul got his hands on them I didn't know what to do. But looking at this woman, I could tell.


I was no match for her.

Not to mention the fact that Pariah was destroyed. I had no weapon on me that could do significant damage.


I took a deep breath.

"Ask away."


"A poem of the Paladin Collective." The woman said.

"Huh?"

"You finished the last verse. How do you know about Acadia. I sense a power in you similar to mine. But at the same time, so very different."

"I... am somewhat acquainted with Acadia. With Paladin Decen."


The woman nodded.

"I see. So that is why I sense War within you. You are a Remnant of the Paladin of War."

"Yeah. So who are you?"


The woman regarded me with critical eyes.

"I am Nika. The Paladin of Strength and Resolve."


"Did you just say Paladin?" I asked, as Nika invited me to the edge of the cliff to overlook the landscape.

"Does it surprise you?" Nika said.

"Yeah. I thought all of the Paladins were dead."


Nika smiled. "Yes. The day the Paladins were invited to unveil the statue of Great Acadian Philion. Many came. Not a single one escaped."


"Then how are you still alive?"


Nika glanced at me.

"How was Paladin Decen still alive after the great slaughter? For he was not present during the ceremony, neither was I. The Paladins who were contracted and did not arrive to the ceremony survived the ordeal. But Prime Aspect Mogul made it a mission to hunt down the remaining Paladins."

Nika took a deep breath of fresh air.

"The land is beautiful in Arcadia's Cliff. My sweet Arcadia created such a gorgeous place for her progenitor."


"Wait. Is Arcadia your..."


Nika's smile confirmed it.

"But that's impossible! None of what you're saying makes sense! I thought Paladin Decen was the only Paladin aside from Elder Paladin Rolah who could wield the Power of the Paladins! How were you able to have a Remnant?!"

"My dear young Remnant, the Power of the Paladins exist for all Paladins for a reason. Surely it isn't called the Power of the Acadians. Or the Power of the Aspects."

"Paladins aren't pure though. That makes no sense."

"Do you accuse me of being impure, child?"


I caught my tongue.

"N- Nah. No. I don't. That's not what I meant."


Nika laughed gently.

"Paladins amount among the thousands. Many Paladins go unnoticed. Many have unlocked achievements that never see the light of day. Their accomplishments, never recognized."


I remembered what Fraser had said. All the work he put in. All of the things he did to get his mother's attention and recognition, but going unnoticed.

No wonder he turned to villainy.


"Are you telling me there are more Paladins out there?"

Nika shook her head.

"I must not say."


"Sorry. I. The last Paladin I met was Paladin Icarus, and he was revived from the dead."

"Yes. I heard of the tragedy."


We continued watching the sunset in silence. But suddenly something popped in my mind.

"Where is Arcadia now?"


Nika's expression saddened.

"She is no longer with me."

"I'm sorry."


Nika reached out to touch the clouds.

"Remnant Arcadia had her memory erased. For she wished to return to the world. Away from her shackles and isolation here. In hopes that Prime Aspect Mogul may never know of my whereabouts. She moved to Millennium City to become a Champion. One of the greatest healing Champions in the city."


Memory erasure. That must have been painful for her. It was basically like watching your own daughter leave you forever.

"I'm sure she's in a happy place right now."


Nika smiled at me.

"Indeed. And imagine the surprise, to know that the infamous Paladin of War, Decen of Acadia, managed to generate Remnants of his own."

"I- Uh. What was... Decen like?"

"He challenged me to battle. A Paladin of War against a Paladin of Strength. He believed he was superior." Nika recalled, as she put her hand under her chin.


"He was defeated."


I choked.

"He lost?"

Who was I standing with? She had the power to overwhelm Paladin Decen?! That meant she was even stronger than my progenitor. She could help me battle Mogul. But I didn't feel like dragging her into this mess. She was living a life of solitude. And even if I forced her to come along, what good could it do?

Legend had said that Mogul battled all two thousand Paladins at once during the ceremony, according to Merrow. He killed every single one. When I fought Mogul with my brothers and Paladin Icarus, the fight was even more one sided and didn't last long. Even if Icarus was weakened from being revived from the dead.


I couldn't imagine having Paladin Nika would help much. And I didn't want to get her killed.


Paladin Nika inspected me.

"May I touch your face, child?"

"Um. Okay."


Nika put her hands on my cheeks as her eyes scanned me. Her touch felt warm.

"Tempered fire." She said.

"What?"

"You emit aggression. Ferocity. And feral rage. But it has been tempered. Weathered over time. You have become wiser with age. Something Paladin Decen could not accomplish."

"I- You-" I was at a loss for words.


Wait. What the hell was I doing playing grandma grandson with a weathered Paladin?! Lens and the others needed me! I wanted to bolt out of here but I had no idea how to get back to Millennium City. And even if I did, Pariah was gone. I was still injured. And Mogul was now in the picture. I had no way of contacting the others because Mogul had shattered my portal generator back home.


"Look. Paladin Nika. I need to get back, but I don't have the sufficient power. If it's true you defeated my progenitor, is there anything you can do for me? So I could last even a bit against Mogul? Can you train me, please?"

Nika tilted her head.

"You wish to do battle against such a one sided opponent?"

"Y- Yes. Yes I do. If it means allowing them to escape, then-"

"You will end up like you are now, child."


Nika picked up a watering can and drizzled the plants around the garden.


"Self sacrifice is noble. But when used recklessly and without direction, it is simply foolish. I cannot give you the power to defeat Prime Aspect Mogul, and I truly do not believe battling him is a good idea. Even if I am a Paladin of Resolve."

"But even so, my friends need me, Paladin Nika. I can't just sit here and do nothing!"


Nika looked at me.

"Such a young fiery heart. I had to pull pieces of Celestial Steel from your body."


"So what?"


"From the way it was fragmented, and from the angle it had penetrated you, it was likely from an explosion. Your musculature suggests you are a melee fighter. So this steel came from your weapon. Is that correct?"

"It is." I replied, in surprise. She was able to deduce that much just from my wounds. She was the real deal.


"They say that Celestial Steel is among one of the rarest metals. Even among the gods."

"Where are you getting at with this?" I asked.


"What was the weapon's name?"


I paused. "Pariah. The Celestial Slayer. It broke in half in my battle against Paladin Icarus. I gave half of it to my elder brother, and kept the other half. Then this half got destroyed."


"I see. You fight with heavy weapons. If I were to train you, and guide you in your return, I will need to reteach you the ways in the sword."


"What are you talking about? I don't have a weapon, Paladin Nika. I doubt this little shrubbery has anything that is at Pariah's caliber-"


"Rigor." Nika said, as she held out her hand.


"Rigor?" My body began to surge with electricity as my senses dialled to eleven, indicating danger. I flipped out of the way just to narrowly dodge a massive great-sword which came flying into Nika's hand. It looked elegant. Broad. It wasn't like Pariah where it came with an armguard, but this weapon looked sharper and even heavier. Along the sides were Acadian scribbles. A prayer. It took me a few seconds to realize what was written on the sides of the blade was the same poem that Nika had recited to me when I regained consciousness in Acadi.

Nika inspected the blade.


"Paladin Decen attempted to fight me with sheer power without any technique. All of his attempts to destroy me were ineffective due to the exception defence capabilities of Rigor the Stoic. However, the blade, like Pariah, is comprised of Celestial Steel."

"That's not a problem. I can handle the weight."

"I do not think you can, Remnant."

"Just give it. I'll prove you wro- oh my god. What the hell?!" My arm dropped as I slammed Rigor into the dirt with a big


BOOM.


"How?!" I asked, incredulous.

Nika regarded me.

"Rigor is a special blade. Even among those that were smithed by the gods, Rigor was special. It was a gift from the Power Force."


"Power Force?"


"Yes. A gift from Prime Aspect Quinta of the Power Force. The reason why you cannot wield it, is because you lack the means to channel the Energy of the Prime Aspect of Ascension."


A weapon made by the Aspects?! This was ridiculous. I could see why this weapon was probably Nika's signature blade, and now I was starting to see why she could stand against and defeat Decen. But even so, as a mere Remnant, the chances of me wielding something that incredible...

"So you're telling me I have no way to wield it."


Nika frowned.

"Why do you say that?"

"You said it yourself. I lack the means to channel the Energy of Quinta. In the end, I'm just an annoying fly to Mogul. I'm worthless."


"Yet you asked me for guidance in fighting the Prime Aspect of Sin."


"Because I don't have a choice!" I yelled. Nika was unfazed as she regarded me with those empty tired eyes.


"Sorry." I said quickly.

"Look. I spent eight damn years training to get stronger. And the day I put it to use, I get rocked so bad I ended up in another Paladin's home. Lens, Fraser, Mason. Everybody is in danger from Mogul, and I'm just sitting here having option after option fly by my head because I'm still too weak after all that training I had done. I'm just super frustrated right now, Nika."

"Frustration is good, Remnant. Frustration leads to anger. Anger is what give you strength. But you need to learn to control that rage, or it will overwhelm you."


Nika pointed at my chest.

"You have rage. You have anger. But you never learned to control it. All this time, you learned to suppress it with calmness. Which is why you have explosive tendencies. In battle, these can be exploited. Which was how I defeated your Progenitor. Your first step in training, is learning to control those emotions."


"I- Okay. Okay, I'll do that." I said.


Nika smiled and gestured me to a small hut.

"Take your rest for now, Remnant. We will continue our training another day."


"But..."

"Your friends will be okay, child."

"How can you say for sure?"

"Because time flows differently in Arcadia's Cliff."


I reluctantly made my way to the hut, but Nika interrupted me.

"You are also incorrect in assuming you lack a means to wield Rigor the Stoic."

I turned around.

"What do you mean?"


Nika pointed at me.

"I sense it. You possess an Energy of Quinta. But not the Power Force.



"You have what it takes to wield Rigor and to battle Prime Aspect Mogul, Remnant of Decen."


R1

Kanade Asaoka.

The Sixthborn.


The devil was always attributed to the number six. Three sixes would be an omen.


But even so.


Kanade was pure.


More pure than me.


He stood for purity and kindness. And for a time, I always thought I had done the same. Because that was what I was taught to be from Pollux.


But I was wrong. It took seeing the other side of the war with the Silver City, to truly understand what I was. Of how much of a contradiction my ideals were.


What kind of man claims to be a holy priest when their hands were stained with the bloods of millions?


After everything I had done to the people of the Silver City. It was my fault I had slaughtered the Silver City Angels that day. To the point where their entire military force was crushed. It was my fault they were desperate. It was my fault that they found themselves resorting to reviving Paladin Icarus from the dead.


So I had decided to abandon who I was. Because I no longer stood for something righteous. No. I never stood for it in the first place. The one man who could truly stay true to themselves, was Kanade.


Who was I?

The eldest?

At this point, such a title was meaningless, because I had nothing to show for it.

I was weak and wasn't strong enough to defeat Mogul. I had the power of both Decen and Icarus at my hands. I was supposed to be the strongest. But I let these false ideals and morals get in my way. And because of that, Icarus had to destroy himself.


When I regained my memory after having my powers reduced in Rei's dimension, I had the option to return home. But I didn't.

I didn't deserve to call myself a Remnant anymore.

A warrior cannot call themselves righteous.

Because all warriors are murderers.

I was contributing to things more as a Cleaner with Tsuyuki-san than I did with my brothers.


"You're just going to throw away who you are for a girl?! And what happens when Mogul kills all of us? He's not going to leave you alone, Arman! He's going to find you and kill you too!" Sammy yelled at me.

The Remnants all accused me for staying in this universe because of Rei.

I remembered glaring at Sammy with eyes of pure malice. Something I could never have imagined myself doing back when I was known as Arman Wan.

"And so what if I am?!" I shouted back at Sammy, as I walked up to his face.


"What if I am running? I have no identity anymore. You keep calling me Arman Wan. The Firstborn. But what does that even mean?! That I'm the strongest? That I'm the most righteous? Is that what Lady Rivenlight told you? Is that what Brickhouse told you? That I'm somehow some holy priest who fights for honour? Such a thing does not exist Sammy. I'm sorry. But the man you're looking for doesn't exist."


"You're being so god damn childish. Do you seriously think you're the only one here who's hands are stained with blood? Do you seriously think hey I killed a bunch of people, that it's enough justification to abandon your comrades? We can't fight Mogul unless we are together! You know this!"


Sammy pointed a finger at my face.


"You and I. We're special. Even among the Remnants. We're the most powerful. We possess incredible strength that can turn the tide of any battle. But I alone am not enough to shoulder all of that weight. So what if you lose face? Huh? So what if we're murderers? It doesn't mean anything in the end! It's not a matter of who you are, Arman. I get self integrity is important. But do you seriously think cowering away is any better than getting your hands dirty to help your brothers?! You can still do the right thing and fight at the same time!"


I pushed Sammy away.


"I don't need to hear this from someone who doesn't understand the weight of taking lives."

Sammy's eyes widened in rage as his body swirled with black energy. I unsheathed Pariah and Loz-Q and transformed into my Phoenix Mode.


"You don't understand anything, Arman. Don't you fucking tell me I don't understand what it's like to take a life."


"Do you see? You came here to try to negotiate. But in the end, here you are unleashing your power in this world. That's our true nature. That's my nature. All we do is destroy. I can't. I don't ever want to take another life. I don't want to die knowing all I did was kill, Sammy.


"I want to live my last moments truly happy."


I was so happy. That day I was with Rei. In the festival looking at the bright lights in the night sky. I had filled the hole in her heart, reminding her of the time she spent with her mother playing those carnival games. For the first time in my life, I truly felt like I was helping someone.

Not putting up a fake mask as a "priest".

But by putting a smile on someone's face as a person.


I wanted to live my life as Samuel Mace along with the other members of the Tsuyuki Dorm forever. Because it made me happy. I felt like I was able to live free from the millions of lives I had taken with my bare hands. None of that mattered. None of the weight of being a killer mattered.

Even after the whole incident with Ksenia.

They accepted me and let me abandon Arman Wan.


But then, the Acolytes came.

Odin came.

He and other forces of Prime Aspect Mogul somehow invaded. Because Sammy's energy signature from creating a portal to our world had left a stain, allowing them to pinpoint our place.


I watched as James Cairo and Alex Merger were slaughtered before my eyes.

Again.

Because of the Remnants.


Because of who Arman Wan was.

Arman Wan and the Remnants were the reason the multiverse was in pain. If they all had just died, Mogul would have moved on. But because they were around, Mogul felt his business with Paladin Decen was left unfinished.

And it wasn't just that incident.


The whole ordeal with Ksenia's deception, her children, Nomi and Rei, being bred to become Acolytes. Forcing Rei to live a life of darkness and resentment to build her strength.

It was because of Arman Wan.


How could someone like Arman Wan claim to be doing the right thing, when just existing was enough to bring hurt to everyone around him?


But that day, Rei and I posed in front of a picture with Tsuyuki-san and the rest of the dorm.

They didn't welcome Arman.

They welcomed Mace.

Because as Samuel Mace, there was no room for Arman Wan. No room for Paladin Decen and the destruction and pain that he had brought with him.


This was something that the Remnants never understood.

I couldn't possibly go back to being Arman Wan. Because Arman Wan was a hypocrite.

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