"Of course, there’s no need for you to give us an answer right now."
"But Balance is supported by Five Pillars."
"Four of those pillars have already been destroyed."
"The final pillar won’t last much longer, either. If you’re going to make a decision, it would be best to do so soon."
"As for the transformation technique, it has already been perfected."
"You can transform your past..."
"And you can transform back as well."
"And besides, brother, not only are you the heaviest weight on the scales..."
"You’re also the one hidden most deeply."
"I doubt anyone besides Yog has even noticed your existence."
"The other Moon Sovereigns are no exception."
"Heh... those beings who long to shatter Balance so they can permanently profit from it—if they learned about this transformation, their jaws would probably hit the floor."
Minato Kiiro’s beak clicked together with a series of sharp clacks.
"All right. I understand."
"But why are you telling all this?"
"What exactly is your objective?"
Rei’s question was answered not by Minato, but by Yuna.
"Big Brother Rei..."
"In the prophecy, Balance will be completely destroyed three years from now."
"When that happens, both the gods and the Moon Sovereigns will descend into the world because of Balance’s collapse."
"The Moon Sovereigns themselves are divided into two factions."
"The Guardians..."
"They advocate preserving the world exactly as it is, without destroying it."
"Yog belongs to that faction."
"Because if the forces of destruction truly descend, countless mysteries that could have been solved will instead be buried forever."
"The Destroyers, on the other hand, seek the destruction of the current world."
"Well..."
"Perhaps ’seek’ isn’t entirely accurate."
"They may not personally desire destruction."
"But if they wish to descend into this world and obtain true freedom..."
"Then this world must perish alongside their arrival."
"Among the Destroyers, the foremost should be the Witch who embodies all destruction..."
"Shiro."
"And the Light that wishes to purify the entire world..."
"Jua."
"These Moon Sovereigns who long for destruction are deeply connected to the Nests..."
"Big Brother Rei, I know what you’re worried about..."
"Yog is the Moon Sovereign of Knowledge. Its very existence depends upon civilization."
"It should be the Moon Sovereign that least wishes to see civilization destroyed."
Yuna lowered her eyes.
"I’m not saying this for any other reason."
"It’s just..."
"After becoming a Sage and learning that the apocalypse may fully arrive in three years..."
"I’ve been terrified."
"I don’t know who can still save this world."
"The Moon Sovereigns sche against one another and restrain one another."
"Perhaps the end of the world won’t co as quickly as the prophecy says."
"But even so..."
"I can’t feel any sense of security."
"Whenever I think about that prophecy..."
"I always end up thinking of you."
"For so reason..."
"I always feel that if it’s you..."
"You’ll create another miracle."
Rei turned to look at Minato.
The bird-man rely spread his wings.
"Why are you looking at ?"
"What bad intentions could I possibly have?"
"I’m trying to help you, and you’re still unhappy about it?"
Rei nodded.
"All right."
"I understand."
Minato shrugged.
"Fine by ."
"Anyway, that’s everything I wanted to show you."
"If you make your decision, just co find ."
"You shouldn’t have any trouble locating ."
"All right, all right."
"You don’t seem to like looking at anyway, so you should get going."
"You’re making it sound like I’m actually trying to hurt you."
His beak rattled away nonstop, sounding thoroughly dissatisfied.
Turning his head aside, he muttered to himself.
But when he turned back again...
Rei and the others had already disappeared.
...
[Land of Moonwatch]
Feeling a slight pressure in his head, Rei rubbed his temple.
This trip had given him far too much information to process.
After returning to the Land of Moonwatch, birds soared across the vast sky, their shrill cries echoing overhead.
Rei stood alone on the shoreline.
Waves crashed endlessly against the rocks, filling the empty coastline with a lonely silence.
"What are you brooding over?"
Luluvi erged from a spatial rift, one hand resting casually on her hip.
Rei smiled bitterly.
"I’m thinking about troubleso things..."
"So you really learned Phase Magic too."
Luluvi glanced at the rift behind her as it gradually shrank shut.
It was the Phase Passage Rei had created.
"So Big Sister Luluvi has already seen soone besides use Phase Magic."
Luluvi waved her hand dismissively.
"Who else could it be?"
"Him, obviously."
She never spoke his na aloud.
Yet both of them already knew who she ant.
Izparut.
Rei wasn’t surprised by the answer.
Instead, he asked,
"When did Master learn Phase Magic?"
"I’m not exactly sure."
"It should have been around nine years ago."
"When I first arrived at the World Tree at the center of the world, Iz was already capable of using Phase Magic."
For Izparut, mastering Phase Magic was never particularly difficult.
However, it still required certain conditions for inspiration.
He needed to encounter Phase Creatures before gaining the necessary insight.
Of course, it was also possible that sothing else had inspired him in the sa way.
"I see..."
"I heard that this spell is incredibly difficult."
"No other mage has been able to reproduce it."
"They can only barely imitate it through the magic circles he left behind."
"But as expected..."
"You can cast it directly too."
A trace of helplessness appeared in Rei’s smile.
"Yes... I can."
"But I almost couldn’t anymore."
The revelation of the Answer to the Origin had dealt him an enormous blow.
It had severely hindered his ability to cast all forms of magic.
His entire magical system was now in complete disarray.
"Almost couldn’t?"
"What do you an?"
"...It’s nothing."
Rei had no intention of telling Luluvi too much about the Origin.
The true answer concerning the Origin was not sothing that should be spread casually.
Although not every mage would suffer catastrophic consequences rely by hearing it...
Knowing that answer would inevitably burden them.
Not to ntion that, in the near future, the Origin itself might undergo trendous changes.
Better not to spread unnecessary knowledge.
Crack—
Another rift opened nearby.
Yuna stepped out from within.
The mont she saw Rei standing there, she let out a long sigh of relief.
"Big Brother Rei..."
"I was worried you were going to disappear again."
She looked up toward the sky.
The enormous radiant moon hung overhead.
"So this is the Sea of Moonlight..."
"The Kingdom of Loren..."
"And Lotdan..."
"For so reason..."
"It almost feels like coming ho."
The three of them now stood together by the sea.
But Yuna was already a Level 8 Erudite.
The instant she set foot upon this land, the overwhelming majority of its information had already beco part of her knowledge.
Luluvi’s gaze was equally sharp.
As a Level 8 Archer, a single glance allowed her to see through the entire continent.
Although they had entered a completely unfamiliar environnt...
The two of them beca familiar with everything around them in an instant.
Rei spoke quietly.
"If neither of you has anything else to do..."
"You can rest here for a while."
"I still have sothing I need to handle."
"I’ll be back soon."
Rei glanced toward the people imprisoned within World of the Self Alone.
He first needed to settle the matters concerning the Expeditionary Army.
As for becoming a monster and everything related to that...
He had no intention of making a decision now.
His understanding of the Origin had left deep cognitive wounds.
The highest priority was repairing that damage first.
Otherwise, casting magic would remain unbearably troubleso.
And besides...
The Supre Staff of Fortune also needed to be forged as soon as possible.
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