"Then it is nice to et you," I said, extending my hand.
Xeron chuckled softly and reached forward to take it. His grip was firm, far stronger than his hunched fra suggested. For a mont it was nothing more than a simple handshake between two people eting for the first ti.
And then it happened.
The mont our hands touched, a sudden flash tore through my mind.
A mory.
It ca with such force that the present vanished for an instant, replaced by an image from far in the past.
I saw Dante again.
His body was already failing when that mont happened. I rembered the exhaustion written across his face and the effort it took for him to even lift his arm. Slowly, with visible strain, Dante had raised his right hand and pressed it against his forehead. His fingers trembled violently as he forced sothing out of himself.
A faint blue glow had erged from his head. A small orb of light, pulsing softly like a fragile heartbeat.
When he opened his right eye again, it had t mine directly.
"These are my mories," he had said, his voice weak but steady. "Store this in your mind."
A faint smile had appeared on his lips.
"Don't read it yet… there are so embarrassing monts in there."
He had tried to laugh, but it had turned into a rough cough.
"One day," he had continued quietly, "it will help you."
The small orb had floated toward slowly. I rembered hesitating for just a heartbeat, unsure whether I should accept sothing so personal.
But the sincerity in his gaze had settled the matter. I allowed the orb to rge into my mind.
It had sunk deep into my soul space, settling beneath the runes of Ti where it remained dormant.
"Thank you, Billion," Dante had whispered as his strength faded.
"I'm glad I t you three. Vaythos will have a bright future ahead."
The mory ended as abruptly as it had appeared.
Reality returned.
I was still standing above Base Thirty-Four, my hand still clasped with Xeron's.
But sothing had changed. Deep within my soul space, the dormant fragnt Dante had given began to tremble. Before I could even react, the fragnt surged upward like a living thing. The small cluster of sealed mories burst free from its resting place and shot outward through my consciousness.
In the next instant it left my body completely. A faint blue spark flashed between our joined hands. The fragnt of mory rushed directly into Xeron's mind.
Xeron's eyes widened for the briefest mont.
Then they closed. His grip on my hand tightened slightly as his entire body went still.
Xeron's eyes remained closed as the mory fragnt rged into his mind.
For a few seconds nothing moved around us. The void remained quiet, the two Naga ships hovering nearby, their crews still tense from the brief clash that had almost erupted. Behind Xeron, the soldiers who had caught Xebec watched carefully, uncertain whether they should intervene or simply wait.
I did not move either.
My hand was still clasped with his, but my attention had turned inward.
The mont the fragnt left my soul space, sothing else had followed it. Not the whole mory Dante had given , but a tiny splinter of it, sothing that had remained hidden even from until now. It drifted upward through my consciousness like a sealed letter finally opening.
The world around dimd as the fragnt unfolded.
A figure appeared.
He stood alone in a pocket space. The man wore flowing white robes that moved gently as if stirred by a slow wind. His face was hidden behind a smooth black mask, the kind that revealed nothing of the person beneath it.
Yet the mont I saw him, I knew who it was.
Dante.
He tilted his head slightly, as though looking directly at through the veil of ti.
"Billion," he said calmly. "This is for you."
His voice carried the sa quiet humor I rembered, but there was sothing heavier beneath it now.
"If you are seeing this, then that ans the Dante you knew is no more."
For a mont he paused, then let out a soft chuckle.
"But Dante is just one," he continued. "It is not ."
He clasped his hands loosely behind his back and began walking slowly across the empty space.
"You see, I am being hunted by the Pri Galaxy," he said in a conversational tone. "I have made so very powerful enemies there."
Another short laugh escaped him.
"So I used an ancient technique."
He lifted one hand slightly.
"I split my soul and scattered my clones across the universe."
He turned slightly toward again.
"The Dante you t was one such clone."
There was no regret in his voice when he said it.
"Each clone carries a fragnt of my soul and a part of my mories. Most of them will live their own lives, unaware of the others. So will die. So will grow powerful. A few might eventually find one another."
His masked face tilted again.
"And I hope that one day you will et another one."
The space around him dimd slightly as the mory began to reach its end.
"The mory I shared with you carries more than just information," he continued. "It contains a small fragnt of my soul."
"That fragnt will recognize another fragnt if one is nearby."
He raised one finger.
"When that happens, the mories will awaken and help that clone understand who you are."
Another soft chuckle escaped him.
"You can treat that person as another Dante as well."
The mory began to dissolve.
"And these mories will help him… or her… or whatever form I take next…"
His voice faded slightly.
"…beco familiar with you."
The vision vanished. I was once again floating above Base Thirty-Four, my hand still holding Xeron's. Across from , the old Naga's eyes slowly opened. For the first ti since we had t him, the playful confidence in his gaze was gone.
Instead there was recognition. And sothing dangerously close to disbelief.
He stared at for a long mont before speaking.
"Well," he said quietly, a faint smile slowly spreading across his face, "that explains a few things."
Behind him, Xebec was still glaring at , unaware of what had just happened.
But Xeron's eyes remained locked on mine. And now I understood why the old Naga had felt familiar the mont I saw him. Another fragnt of Dante's soul had finally found .
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