by L. M. Kerr
“So, Simone… tell me…” The Nirvana Saint’s golden eyes gleamed as he seemed to pierce right into Simone’s very soul.
“How exactly do you know about the Guinevere Plan?”
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Chapter 35
The Nirvana Saint was not supposed to be here.
At least, not compared to Micheal’s original timeline.
In his first life, the Nirvana Saint spent several months during the Fourth Wave solidifying his position on the First Layer. Specifically, reinforcing the position of the Purgatory Church in the chaos of the war between the Godfather Organization, the Angels Arcadia, and the Nightrunners.
Thanks to his guidance, the Purgatory Church never officially picked any side during that war and managed to stay as a neutral party, successfully avoiding any direct confrontations as they quietly grew in strength. While every other force grew weaker, the Church only became stronger as their beliefs spread.
However…
That war still happened, but ended in a matter of days, much faster than it had before.
As a result, there was no reason the Nirvana Saint needed to remain on the First Layer.
And because of that, he had gone up to the Second.
“You can’t be a subordinate of his. Why would he want someone like you here… what could your purpose possibly be? To kill me in case he dies? He would never be that stupid.” The man casually waved his hand to the right as he spoke aloud to himself, his piercing gaze still maintaining its soul-crushing intensity.
Immediately, a floating book appeared in the air next to him. This book was beautiful to behold, covered in gold leaf and intricate carvings along its back and front. Faint white light glowed out from its pages as it opened up, its pages riffling in the air.
“Let’s check our records… Simone Alto… An ex A-Ranker from the First Layer with the Silver Scaled Snake Type Ability, renowned for her ‘Battle State,’ who personally fought and nearly died against a Monster Class Morenkai before the creature was driven off by a team from the Nightrunners. That’s where you got the scars that you refuse to heal.” The man paused as he nodded at her face. He then continued,
“The leader of the Rury Group, yet another team that was challenged and defeated by Baron Rex, and then poisoned by the subordinates of the Divine Might Sect. By this last report, you should be out wasting your time trying to find some type of ancient treasure ground.” He shook his head.
“You can’t be one of Irin’s subordinates, that doesn’t make sense.” He frowned in frustration, as if unable to understand the situation.
Simone, in the meanwhile, stared at the man with open shock coloring her gaze. She looked at the floating book that had told the man everything he needed to know about her, and then back to the man, her eyes betraying a hint of fear. She barely registered what the man said about how she and her Group had gotten poisoned, her eyes widening in realization.
The hairs on the back of her neck began to rise as she realized what kind of situation she was in. The strange man in front of her hadn’t threatened her or anything but… she was vaguely aware that she was in extreme danger.
He was not someone she could take on.
She was mere moments from death if she said the wrong thing.
“I know because…” Simone began to stutter out a reply, entirely unsure how to respond. She stumbled over her words as she spoke, blinking furiously.
“I know because I know.” She finished lamely. She was torn between simply saying Legion had told her or keeping that a secret. Part of the oath she had sworn to follow involved her not betraying him. Because of that, she was unsure if she was even allowed to mention how she knew.
“I don’t know what the actual plan is. Just its name.” She offered up the one piece of information she felt was safe to share, desperately hoping it was enough.
“You… hmm?” The Nirvana Saint paused as he took her words into account, rubbing his chin slowly.
“Then why are you here?” The man asked after a few seconds, his eyes watching her thoughtfully.
“I’m… I’m here to bring a message to Archbish-, to the leader of the Church.” She modified her words mid-sentence. Legion had made it clear that the message needed to get to the head of the Church, and if the Archbishop technically wasn’t the head of the Church anymore, that meant the message wasn’t for him.
“I was supposed to say that to get me to see him.” She went on, feeling slightly more confident as she came up with her excuse.
The Nirvana Saint sat on his chair for several seconds, his gaze growing unfocused as if he was lost in thought. Simone watched him nervously, trying to think up anything else she could say to alleviate the situation.
“Ah!” The man exclaimed out loud, startling Simone.
His dark gaze transformed into a brilliant smile as he looked at Simone, his rather frightful glare vanishing.
A second later, he began to laugh.
The dreadful atmosphere that had surrounded him, one that made Simone’s heart palpitate in horror, vanished as well. A mix of confusion and relief clashed within Simone as she took this in, at a loss on how to respond.
As the man finished laughing, his cheerful smile became even more brilliant, somehow, his eyes dazzling her with golden light.
“I see now. Everything makes sense.” He nodded at her in a comforting manner.
Simone stared at him, truly dumbstruck.
“It-it does?” She was beginning to question the man’s sanity.
“Yes, it all adds up now.” He clapped his hands together.
“It’s impossible for you to know what you know. Irin did not lie when he said he’d shared that name with only me. Even if his mind had been read, he would have sensed it.” He smiled as if that made perfect sense.
“There are, however, a few rather… unreasonable ways that exist.” Simone didn’t know how it was physically possible, but the man’s smile seemed to become even more brilliant.
“Uh…” Simone stuttered out a half-hearted response, giving up on trying to understand what he meant.
“It’s fine, I’m sure you can’t explain anything else about it, right? You must have a very interesting friend.” The Nirvana Saint looked at her, his eyes giving away nothing. He continued to speak.
“Now, you’ve given the first part of your message. I’m assuming you have a second part, right? Something of vital importance?” He stared at her expectantly.
“Um, yes, right.” She cleared her throat,
“It has to do with a magical plague that is about to hit humanity…”
.. .. .. .. .. ..
A short amount of time later, Micheal found himself loping through the Woolen Forest. He had successfully managed to evade the Reemer Tribe’s sentries again, his Life Orbs coming in handy once more.
There was a skip in his step as he ran by, actively distorting time to accelerate his pace as a smile couldn’t help but form.
Today seemed like it was his lucky day.
His feet ate away the miles as he travelled, carrying himself through the better part of an hour. His pace was quick, almost never deviating from the mental path he had plotted.
Along the way, he finally ran into a patrol from the Silent Sword Sect. It was an elite group of 6 Byren Martial Artists, dressed in the grey leather armor bearing the insignia of a glowing white sword on its chest, the emblem of the Silent Sword Sect.
Thanks to his powerful sense of awareness, Micheal was able to detect them before they found him and dodge off to the side. As of right now, he absolutely needed to avoid any interaction with the main powers of the Byren race. As much as he loved fights with pure Martial Artists, his ‘Legion’ specialty, he couldn’t afford any distractions.
Some furtive ducking and scrambling led to a quick escape, dodging any sort of confrontation.
Later on, he also encountered a Low-Tier Magic Beast, a Blue-Tailed Cougar. The dark-skinned creature had been in the midst of terrorizing a small pack
of white rabbits when Micheal swooped down on it like death itself. The poor cat was barely able to utter a peep before it was literally torn apart by Micheal’s adept metal threads, cashing in on a small supply of Points that he dearly needed.
Like that, the last bits of Micheal’s morning and afternoon faded away to evening as Micheal successfully journeyed through the Woolen Forest.
And finally, as dusk was just starting to inch its majestic presence into existence…
A familiar lake gradually appeared in his vision, surrounded on most sides by a peaceful forest.
Crystal-clear water gleamed as light danced across the surface of this calm lake, small fish flying beneath its hallowed surface. Just to the south of this lake was a small clearing, full of lovely purple and white flowers. A couple of well-worn dirt paths cut through this tiny meadow of nature, crisscrossing as they made their way to the lake.
Micheal’s heart began to beat faster as he saw this, his breath catching. It looked exactly like he remembered it looking so long ago. In fact, he could-
Before his mind could finish processing whatever it was he was about to think, Micheal froze.
Out of nowhere, with no build-up or time to prepare, a dainty female Farian came into view.
She was dressed in a tight white shirt with a set of rolled-up sleeves and a loose white skirt. The skirt was stained a myriad of colors, all gained from the care she’d paid to the field of flowers the woman was now walking through.
This Farian had had long blonde hair that was tied up in a pony-tail, warm brown eyes that he could just barely make out, standing above the delightful freckles that dotted her cheeks. Her small nose complemented her warm smile as Micheal watched her kneel down and pick up several petals that had fallen free from one of the flowers.
She tucked those petals into a pocket in her skirt, standing back on her feet as she began to look around her small field of flowers.
“Isabelle…” Micheal stared at the woman, dumbstruck.
He had thought he would have at least had some time to mentally prepare himself, time to think of how he might react or to ready his mind. The odds of her arriving right after he did... well, they certainly weren't high.
All of these thoughts, and more, flew from his mind as he looked at the scene in front of him, his heart growing still.
For the first time since he had come back to life, Micheal’s sense of purpose began to waver.
He gazed on at her petite figure, feeling lost all of a sudden.
He thought he had moved on years ago.
Indeed, he had moved on years ago, accepting that she was no longer alive, and that there was nothing that could be done, that there was no going back.
When he buried her body all those years ago, he had buried his heart alongside her.
There were some scars that no potion could heal, no Spell could cure, no magic could remove.
It had been the impetus that truly inspired him to throw himself into his training with an obsession that was nigh unrivaled. His entire life became a mission to get as powerful as possible, determination that could move a mountain finding a home within his heart.
Deep down inside, he knew why he had done that in his first life. It wasn’t for some greater altruistic mission or because he had a grand vision to save humanity.
It was to get back at the being that forced such pain upon him. To stand and fight against the fiend that had dragged him into this hell… All for a chance to share the pain he lived with, every day, on those he saw as responsible.
The agony of losing those he loved simply because he was too weak to protect them.
His goal was dark. It was harsh. It was selfish.
But it was the only thing that kept him going, for a long, long time.
All that for a chance that had, in the end, seemed to be for naught.
But life is full of its mysteries.
And because of that, he now had a second life… and a second chance at everything all over again.
Everything.
The whiplash of emotions that had settled upon his shoulders was almost impossible for him to understand.
To see a loved one that you buried with your own hands appear before you, in real flesh and blood, alive and hale once more… There was no way Micheal could be prepared for this, no matter how much he tried.
Micheal’s gaze never wavered as he looked at Isabelle, his heart taking in a smile he had not seen in nearly a decade.
He walked over to a small rock next to the lake, one sitting right next to a tall tree that would keep him mostly out of sight.
He then sat down on this rock and began to think.
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Chapter 36
The march of time is inevitable.
Micheal sat on that rock for hours, cool logic in his head battling with the flames of emotion that burgeoned in his heart. Anger, loss, hope, excitement, a myriad of thoughts and feelings settled within Micheal, leaving him torn with indecision as he watched Isabelle tend to her flowers.
He did not know what to do.
The evening light gradually began to fade as night approached, Micheal’s form ever-present and just as still as it had been three hours prior.
In that time, Isabelle had cleared out a sizable number of weeds, carefully sorted several new flowers she implanted into the ground, and even taking a short break to fish using a makeshift rod she’d crafted from wood and plant fiber.
Isabelle had been a headstrong girl, and a powerful warrior in her own right, but one of her favorite hobbies was gardening. She took great delight in growing and caring for flowers of all kinds, one of the few ways she had to escape the violent existence that was the 7 Layers.
Seeing her do something as ordinary as pulling out a weed caused Micheal’s heart to physically twinge.
‘How can I still miss her this much..?’ It made no sense to Micheal. It had been so many years since everything happened here, yet he still didn’t understand how he felt.
His mouth twisted as he tried to figure out what to do, frustrated with his own inaction.
He was supposed to be the confident one, the man with the plan, able to react to anything and everything with cool logic and precision, no matter how dire the situation.
Yet now, a feeling of helplessness had settled upon his shoulders.
He did not know what to do.
‘Could I take her with me right now?’ He discarded the thought almost as soon as he brought it up.
She was her own person, not his slave. She had her own dreams, desires, and goals she wished to pursue. She was vibrant and full of life, while the path he walked was one stained black with blood. What right did he have to drag her along with him?
Shin was his best friend and comrade for his journey through the 7 Layers, while Sophia was someone that wanted his help to find her little sister. Both of them joined him willingly, without any coercion.
If he wanted to convince Isabelle to join him, he would first have to become her friend and her ally. That was a process that had taken him weeks in his first life, through a series of coincidences that were extremely unlikely to happen again.
Micheal gazed upon her dainty figure as Isabelle clapped her hands together in the distance, a gentle smile appearing on her face. The Farian then turned around and began to walk away, headed back home.
After a few seconds, Micheal got up from his rock and began to guard over her as she travelled, ensuring she made it home safely. He battled with his thoughts and emotions throughout this, constantly trying to figure out a plan of action.
‘The Farians have the potential to be humanity’s greatest ally, if I play our cards right…’ Micheal began to think, his mind racing ahead of him as he used his Life Orbs to hide up near the branches of the trees.
His original plan involved him preventing the Great Disaster from truly taking place. In order to orchestrate that, one of the most important things was to start making peace with the other races.
The By
rens were his first pick, while the Farians had been his second.
Creating an alliance with all six of the Great Sects was completely unreasonable. Allying with the Divine Might Sect wouldn’t be impossible, however, not so long as they saw humanity as equals. This would give humanity an extremely solid foundation to work with, making their future that much more secure.
Forging an equal alliance would be a tall order, however, given how the Divine Might Sect held one of the almighty Six Lords.
'Almighty for now, anyway.' He tossed the thought aside. The Six Lords would remain in power for a while longer; there wasn't much he could do to change that.
On the other hand, with the Farians, the fact that they were destined enemies threw a wrench into things. Allying with them would mean publicly committing to a war against the powerful being that had thrown all of the races into the 7 Layers. There was no telling whether the various Tribes of the Farian Race would agree to that.
In his first life, the tension between the humans and the Farians had escalated too quickly for such a thing to occur. In this life, however… perhaps he could change that.
‘But would this truly be the most optimal path, or am I just convincing myself that it is… I can’t gamble humanity’s future for the sake of my desires…’ His face was stony as he continued to mull things over.
While Micheal was arguing with himself, Isabelle made great time as she snuck through the forest, breaking out into a graceful sprint. In roughly 12 minutes, she arrived outside of a cleverly hidden treehouse, built up high from the ground.
Micheal recognized it instantly. Three large main branches supported a bedroom, a dining and cooking area, and a place to sit down and look out at the setting sun from up on high. It was a cozy home that brought back memories.
Isabelle clambered up the tree and went inside of the home, moving out of sight. Micheal watched her go as he hid himself up in a tree, still contemplating his future.
He hadn’t realized how badly he wanted a second chance to fix everything with Isabelle. His heart physically ached as he saw the only woman he had truly loved appear before him again.