Two days quietly passed, Arthur and Lucy did nothing special and merely enjoyed their time in a famous inn. They would visit artifact shops mayhap they find something that could be useful in restoring Makaze to its original form.

The evening of the second day, Arthur and Lucy were sitting next to each other while inspecting a large chest that laid before them.

When he stumbled upon Zodiak's tomb, he found three peculiar chests next to the coffin. Two of them had these gold coins with various colors but they had one thing in common and it's the dragon symbol carved on them.

The third chest was full of colorful crystals that emitted soothing energy but even after appraising them, Arthur couldn't determine their purpose.

"Why was he particularly interested in these?"

Arthur took a handful of these coins and looked at them closely but he wasn't able to see how they would benefit someone like the Joker. With no real and knowledgeable person to ask, Arthur turned to Claud, the copy which resembled him in appearance.

Surprisingly, Claud actually answered this time.

"Honestly, I don't know what they are but I'm sure they have something to do with the Void Era. In any way, it has nothing to do with you so don't dig in too deep. Somethings are better left hidden from the world."

As he used the ARK to speak, Lucy was able to hear him and probably for the first time since their last meeting, she asked Claud a question

"Then what can you tell us about the Joker? Why was he not aggressive as you had previously proclaimed?"

Claud remained silent for a minute or so before replying

"He is.... a very strange entity, neither human nor devil. I don't know how but he killed countless of the God Race in the past thus he was named the Godslayer. He has many titles such as the Playful Magician, The Evil Trickster, however, what people do not know is that he is the one and only survivor of the 4th Universe, known as the Omega Universe."

"Fourth Universe?!"

This sudden reveal shocked the couple. They have limited knowledge about the specifics of the outside world but almost everyone, who's not a mortal, knows that there are only three universes since the beginning of time.

"Why yes, a fourth one did exist a long time ago. Possibly hundreds of millions ago."

"What happened to it?"

Intrigued, Arthur asked his copy only to receive an immediate answer

"Destroyed, turned into nothingness while all its inhabitants died with its fall. I don't know how all the records about it were erased but whoever did that, they sure don't want such a tragedy to be exposed."

"How was it destroyed?"

"Most people say it's due to the supernova of the biggest star in the Omega Universe. There are theories about the appearance of a black hole but I say these are all lies. No black hole nor supernova could cause a Universe to be destroyed, after all, the natural laws of a universe cannot easily be broken."

"Alright, tell us more about the Joker, all you've been talking about is his origin."

Arthur changed the topic since it seemed Claud wasn't so informed about the Omega Universe' destruction.

"All I know about him is either, seen, heard, or read from old journals. But what surprised me is that knew you so either he met you in the future or the past which means there's a big chance you'll time travel... tsk tsk!"

Claud started clicking his tongue annoyance

"It's getting very complicated. I cannot see a reason for you to time travel but then again, if he time-traveled then time wraiths would be chasing after, however, he didn't seem too anxious so it's not him who traveled through time."

Arthur remained silent and didn't too much about the whole matter. If he resorted to time travel then it must have been a serious matter. For him to risk imminent death then it's either something is going to his family which would force him to go back to the past to fix things.

'I must take more precautions! No mistakes can be made!'

Arthur was fully aware that everything is going to crumble once 'it' starts. Very soon, the Holy Dominion will locate him, 'X' would get out of seclusion once the Nameless Knight disappears again. There's also the matter with Lucy's family and Makaze. Everything will pile up together and crash into him like a wave which is why he should prepare for everything and be ten steps ahead of everyone.

Think of a plan for everything that's going to happen, figure out the best solution and the correct path to tread.

*****************

Two women sat facing each other, one had with a sky-blue hair and noble aura while the other had an expressionless face and eyes that resembled a bottomless abyss.

"Conflict, there's also conflict of interests. Right and wrong are not what separate us and our enemies. It's our different standpoints, our perspectives that separate us. Both sides blame one another. There's no good or bad side. Just two sides holding different views. If so, then why would people resort to killing and fighting? Because they need more power than they already have, more money, more fame, more glory... there is no end and there never will be."

The Water Empress quietly listened to the Region Ruler. She didn't know what the Death Lord was talking about but she still kept her silence and carefully listened.

"Many thought with the creation of the eighteen regions and the High Rules, there will not be any infighting amongst what remained but they were merely idiotic and hopeless fools. The Hour of Creation was never the end but the beginning of a new era, a prosperous era. You came knocking on my door to know about the past but first, do you know why the Great War occurred? Why did everyone unite to destroy the evildoer? Who won and who lost?"

The Empress took sometime before answering

"It is said that, before the eighteen regions were created, the world used to be much bigger. An evil lord appeared and slaughtered countless people thus everyone united and fought him until they prevailed."

"Then, if they won, why were the eighteen regions created and where's the old world?"

"The records talked about how the world was beyond repair after the disastrous fight so they used their last bit of power to create the eighteen regions then died after leaving a few legacies."

Hearing this, the dark-haired woman scoffed and said:

"That's nonsense. There indeed was a Great War but it was not between those parties. It was an almost ever-lasting fight that spread to all corners of the world, massacring everyone. If only you knew the number of souls I harvested back then.... a terrible tragedy it was, a sad story it was...."