Chapter 135

Arc 14 - Absolute Wish - Part 18

Plymouth:

It was afternoon and Emma was standing in the kitchen, waiting for the food to be cooked, so she took out her phone and scrolled through her social media apps as she leaned against the kitchen island.

As usual, people were bickering about Nazar, so she rolled her eyes.

But in the sea of nonsense, she noticed a news article which had been published mere moments ago.

“The Fall of the Arab World?”

Curious, she taped the link and opened it.

However, before she could read it, Laura entered the kitchen, while humming.

“Sup~?” Laura greeted cheerfully.

Inside this large kitchen, each wall was fitted with cabinets, and on the opposite side of the door, there was a big stove and a cooker. At the centre of it, there was a large kitchen island fitted.

“Hi.”

Emma locked her phone and placed it on the kitchen island.

“You seem cheerful today,” Emma chuckled.

Laura remembered what Nazar said about how she made a great addition to this house, so she was feeling a little happy.

“It’s nothing,” Laura shook her head and changed the topic, “Anyway, I was going to ask about… Where is your cousin? The red-haired one?”

“Ahh,” Emma straightened her posture as she nodded understandingly with a faint smile. “Aria went back to Germany.”

Question marks appeared above Laura's head as she received her answer.

In the original timeline, Aria used to live in Italy before she was placed under suspended animation.

“Oh, I thought she was from Italy?”

Emma shook her head.

“She was born in Australia in a family vacation home. Our family moves around the world quite a bit. I was born in London, Aeron and Nazar were born inside a lab somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. It’s kind of like a... uh, family tradition, I guess?”

Laura squinted her eyes as she nodded slightly.

“I… see.”

She was not sure how to feel about it.

There was nothing wrong with moving around too often, but she found it slightly weird that everyone is born in a different place. Doesn’t it get complicated, she wondered.

“I kind of wanted to see her again.”

“You missed your chance, haha.”

Laura nodded with her lips pouted to a corner of her lips, “Yeah,” she sounded disappointed.

“Anyway, there is a personal question I wanted to ask,” Laura added. “If that’s alright with you?”

“Shoot.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

“Yes, but I haven’t been in contact with him for a while now.”

“Ahh, I see...”

“Why?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to know how he reacted to the whole thing with Nazar.”

Emma tilted her head quizzically. She was wondering what Laura meant.

“Why?”

“For reference,” she replied without hesitation.

“What?”

“You see, I was thinking of telling my parents about Nazar and I but… I am not sure how she will take it. So, that’s why I was wondering...” she shrugged with a wry smile.

“No, sorry to disappoint you.”

“!”

Laura’s smile stiffened.

“I think I might have asked an insensitive question… Sorry.”

“Nah, I don’t really find anything insensitive. Really.”

“Oh great,” she relaxed her smile. “That’s good, I guess.”

“It sorta is,” Emma nodded. “Anyway, did your parents react strongly to your previous boyfriends?”

Laura took a second to think about it.

“No, I never introduced them at all.”

“Oh...”

“Yeah… I don’t know how they would react if Nazar wasn’t in this mess… But they never asked me before.”

“Hah. They probably think you are doing nothing but studying, right?”

Laura smiled bitterly in return.

“When I went back after my third year - when I was 19 - she asked if I had someone and I was like “yeah, I just broke up with my fourteenth boyfriend” and the next moment, she stopped staring blankly at me and said, “fucking whore”. Whenever I call, she either calls me ‘slut’ or ‘whore’ instead of my real name...”

Laura sighed heavily.

Emma was not sure how to react, so she smiled stiffly. “Must be tough.”

Laura nodded with a chuckle.

“Leaving that aside, when did you two get together?”

“October. Why?”

“Oh, it’s just I asked him and he said he wasn’t sure.”

“Huh?”

A worried look spread across Laura’s face.

“I don’t know, he said something about having a major gap in his memories. Very big gap.”

Laura’s eyes widened in horror.

“Is that… so?”

She turned away from Emma.

“Where is he now?”

“Oh, he is still talking to mom… It’s been hours. I guess she wants to know him better.”

“...”

Laura breathed out and relaxed.

“I guess she cannot be blamed. She would want to know her child, no?”

Emma nodded.

“That moron-- If only he had been smarter since the beginning...“ she cursed him. “None of this would have...”

She hated how sometimes she doesn’t recognise her own brother.

“Did you know, my mom always used to be very cheerful and easy-going?”

Of course, Laura did not know, so she shook her head left to right, answering her rhetorical question.

“You could say that’s where I got it from. I am like her a little… except I seem to cry a lot,” she added with a bitter chuckle.

Emma folded her hands in front of her big chest.

“Either way, I hate how she has become… Stressed, sad, guilty, a little depressed, worried, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. It sucks because I wanted to spend a nice usual happy summer with my mom again. But then this… It all went to shit. Nobody’s fault but...”

Emma paused for a moment as she did not want to say those words.

She wanted to keep those words to herself for the rest of her life.

But for once, she couldn’t control her mouth and the words blurted out.

“Why do we have to suffer for it?”

Laura understood, even if she did not think much about this whole situation since she was not affected as badly.

“I can’t even go out, I can’t even get in contact with my friends or anyone else for that matter… And I don’t even want to contact my own boyfriend because I am scared of what he will say.”

“It sucks,” Laura broke off Emma, “Right?”

“Yes, a lot. I don’t think it will get better any time soon… I just hope it doesn’t get as bad as the old world. That will be...”

Emma bit her lip in anger as she remembered the old world.

After Nazar regained his powers, he killed many people. The world was scared of him, but he was not on Earth. He was living on the moon.

But Emma, who lived on Earth, paid the price for it.

Emma was shunned away by her friends and classmates. She was avoided by everyone around her.

A teenager growing up in such an isolated environment, especially since Emma was an easy-going and a people’s person, was hard.

So, she is scared the same will happen here.

No, it has already happened.

“Yeah, me too,” Laura walked closer to her. “I hope it doesn’t become like that world.”

That world was a terrible place for all of them. It could have been worse if not for Nazar.

However, he is also one of the reasons why the world became that bad for them.

“I am sure he will fix it,” Emma said with her voice breaking off. “But why can’t he do it quicker?”

With tears streaming down her face, she crouched down.

Laura quickly hugged her.

Patting her on the head, she tried to console her.

“Just bear with it for a few more weeks, I am sure, he will fix it.”

In this situation, her words felt very flat and unnerving, but Laura really meant that.

“I… Hope so,” Emma forced out those words.

“Me too,” Laura replied slowly. “Me too.”

လလလ

Just a few short meters away, Nazar’s head was resting on his mother’s knees.

Looking up, he saw her beautiful eyes which were a little wet, not of sadness, but happiness.

“I want to ask… Why do you not want to be a hero?”

“I...”

There was a long pause while he thought.

“I cannot become a hero.”

“Why is that?”

“I have dark and dirty desires which I cannot control. I am not a good person. I don’t want to help people because it’s the right thing to do…”

She seemed quite disappointed.

But at the same time, she thought he couldn’t help it.

“Plus in a world where everyone can do anything, they don’t need me anyway...”

“I see… It can’t be helped, then.”

He nodded.

“But at least try… For me, please?”

He nodded with his eyes.

“Okay.”

“Thank you,” she smiled widely.

Another half-assed promise… He thought painfully.

“Anyway, where is that girl? The redhead one who makes...”

Aya remembered the things Solace said in front of them and made a disgusted expression.

“Solace?”

“Yes, her...”

“Unfortunately, she is miss--!!”

His eyes widened as his whole body stiffened.

Sitting up, he rubbed his chin in a worried manner.

Shit… I should have... That completely slipped my mind...

He activated the mightiest ability in creation yet a very important task slipped his mind. He forgot to search for Solace.

He had to ask a simple question: Where are you, damn it?!

For a split second, he thought about reactivating Absolute Wish and searching for her.

However, he decided against it. Any smart person would do that.

Furthermore, Solace is plenty strong, so he is not too worried. But that is a problem on its own.

Just where are you? I need you.

Solace was an important figure in his life. She helped him with his emotions, kept his powers under check, was a close friend to him, assisted him in everything, and more.

No, I don’t need you!

Without Solace, a lot of things could have gone wrong in his life.

But he does not need her right now.

I miss you. So, please… Please come back.

He misses her greatly.

She was there when he was a child, and she was here until now.

When Nazar exiled himself into another dimension, she watched over him closely so he won’t go insane.

When Nazar was experiencing his worst nightmares in the 「Dream Sphere」, it was Solace who saved him.

She is the light of his life.

She isn’t a robot, a toy or an assistant.

She is everything to him. And vice versa.

Please, just send me a signal. ANYTHING! Please.

To everyone else, she is just a robot.

But to him, she is different.

I just hope…

She has died many times, but every time, Nazar felt immense pain he did not show it on his face.

He hates that he killed her recently simply because she was being manipulated by his enemies.

He should have found a different way for her.

To begin with, she shouldn’t have been involved with his enemies.

That pained him greatly.

I hope you are still alive.

No matter how many times she dies, she can come back.

However, he remembers every version of her. And he remembers how different each Solace was.

He remembers how different each version of Solace was.

He remembers how different the smile was. Or how each version curled up her hair differently. Or how different her hairstyle was.

He remembers how differently each Solace narrowed her eyes.

He remembers how differently each Solace teased him and made fun of him.

So, please keep up for a few more days. I am sure… I am sure I will find a way.

To him, every version couldn’t be more different than one another.

Somehow… Somehow, we always found one another, so this time, I am sure, we will find each other again.

But he loved all of them equally.

No matter which version it was, they were all Solace.

No matter how different their smiles were, it was a soothing smile that gave him life.

So, he clenched his fist.

So, please hold up for a little longer.

Seeing the serious expression full of regret and guilt, Aya wondered if she shouldn't have asked this question at all.

“I… I don’t know where she is, but I will find her again,” he swore with confidence. “No matter what!”

“I hope you find her soon, son,” Aya was still confused about Solace and their world, but even then, she smiled widely and assured her son. “And I am sorry about what happened to her.”

“Yeah… me too...”

Nazar stood up.

Forcing a proud smile on his face, he said, “She is strong, almost as strong as me and she can access my powers without me knowing, So I am sure, she will be fine.”

His voice carried a hint of uncertainty, which Aya picked up.

“But you still wish she was here instead of there, right?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “I just hope she is okay.”

“You care about her a lot, it seems. What is she to you really?”

Without hesitation, he gave her an unbelievable answer.

"My everything."

While the answer was vague, she did get an answer out of it. He cares very deeply about her.

After a short while, Aya broke the awkward silence by telling him something which she remembered a few seconds ago.

“In any case, there is a letter for you.”

“Letter?”

He was dumbfounded.

He has never received a letter before, but his official address is his apartment in London, so why send it here?

“One second.”

She stood up and walked to a drawer in the corner next to her.

Aya took out a letter and glanced at the name.

“It’s from a place called… Ah, yes. Camelot Palace.”

“Camelot… Oh, right. Buckingham Palace.”

She stared at him quizzically as she handed him the letter.

“It’s another name for Buckingham Palace since he became the monarch.”

She understood who he was talking about.

Sitting lightly on the sofa near, she asked, “Is he really real? Was he not supposed to be a myth?”

Nazar read the letter as he spoke casually.

“Hm, he is as real as I am and so is his sword. Back in the day, he disappeared when half of Europe was destroyed in a magical war. Aarin protected him but her otherworldly magic was a final catalyst that sent him through the timestream.”

To Aya, it still sounded no different than a fairy tale.

She is not aware that magic was an everyday thing before that war. Everyone used it but after the war, they realised how dangerous it was, so it was set aside and they focused on other means of advancement.

“After the war, people decided to not speak of magic or King Arthur. But some soldiers in the war did not listen or did not get the memo, so they told their children. Like that, the story passed on and drifted from what it originally was… Thus it turned into a myth. Or a fairy tale.”

It certainly made sense to her right now.

But even then, she had a hard time believing it.

“When he returned… Well, the rest is history, no?”

Aya nodded as she thought back to the events of last year.

Last year, 2020, Britain changed greatly when his coup d'etat killed the previous monarch and took the throne.

“So, what does it say?”

“Something about a meeting… Sigh. I was expecting this.” He placed the letter on the table. “Oh well… I guess I will drop by tomorrow. Can’t get any worse than this, right?”

“Just keep your emotions under check.”

He nodded, guilty.

“Last time I should have turned off my emotions to be safe,” he muttered under his breath.

❢◥ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◆ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◤❢

Outox Empire:

Rewind had picked up Weq by his neck and taken him to the library.

“Find me her schematics!”

“I...” he massaged his shoulder and neck because it hurt. “I don’t have it.”

“DON’T LIE TO MEE!”

From Rewind’s scream, a beam of red energy shot out like hellfire.

A faint light appeared around Weq.

His automatic shields had kicked in and protected him.

The same shields have failed against Rewind before, but his attack now was very weak. Perhaps he did not want to hurt him badly?

“I CAN RUN FROM THIS END OF THE MULTIVERSE TO THE OTHER IN AN INSTANT--- An instant, can you believe it?! - SO DON’T MAKE ME-- DON’T MAKE ME PUT THIS WORLD UPSIDE DOWN TO FIND IT MYSELF.”

While he could find it, he did not want to do it because this world and its reality is odd and that makes his job very hard. So, if he searched for it, he would accidentally destroy the world and the schematics will be lost forever.

“So, find it!”

“I told you,” Weq pleaded, “he would never entrust something as important and dangerous to someone like me.”

“...”

It sounded believable to Rewind.

Almost.

“Nuh-uh. Nope. Nah. Nana. Non.”

Rewind was enjoying himself.

Or was he pretending to be enjoying this?

Weq couldn't tell exactly, but he had a feeling.

“Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…………….”

He crouched down next to Weq - but of course, he could only make out a blurring figure.

"Where. Are. The. Schematics?"

"I don't--"

A fist full of force slammed into the elf's face.

"Blrgh!?"

Broken bones and blood flew out of his smooth white skin.

“Where is it?”

“I--”

Rewind frowned and kicked the ground beneath him, sending tremors across the planet.

“Shut up!”

Healing factor of Weq kicked in and he started to feel slightly better.

The combination of elven magic and technology, it was working very fast.

“SHUT UPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!”

Rewind was here on an official mission from his new boss. They have promised him what he desires the most.

But if he fails this mission, he is not sure he will achieve his goal.

So, he is starting to feel anxious.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut upppppppppppp!”

Rewind cannot slow down, he can never move, but if he finishes this job, he can finally sit down and sleep and eat and do all sort of things.

But it seems that won’t be happening.

He failed.

“SHUT UPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!”

Weq heard the pain in his wails, but he did not offer any form of help.

If he wants to, he might be able to solve his problem, but it will take some time. And he might be able to do it even quicker if he works together with the Vanaha Empire.

But he does not want to help.

Why should he?

Rewind is one of the most notorious murders in the known universe, who kills for the fun of it, who kills because he enjoys it. He has shown no mercy to his victims before.

So, why should anyone show mercy to him?

“Damn it. Damn you! DAMN YOU ALL TO--”

Rewind cut off his sentence as he ran away to the farthest reaches of the multiverse.

Weq groaned as he stood up.

He breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Rewind is nowhere to be seen.

Rewind, the deadliest assassin, let him live. That was something to be proud of. An achievement so rare, Weq felt like he wanted to laugh and laugh for eternity.

Tapping his watch, he teleported into his personal room.

He sat at his desk and relaxed in his chair.

“Phew… How did he get through the barrier?”

This planet has a barrier around it which blocks any form of entry, including teleportation and dimensional travel.

In the history of this planet, only Nazar and Solace had succeeded before.

But now Rewind can get through it.

He had come once before but the barrier had a problem back then, so he did not think too much about it.

But the barrier had grown powerful since then, so he is wondering how Rewind managed to enter it.

“I will have to upgrade this once again...”

He let out a heavy sigh.

“Leaving that aside… How does he know about Solace’s schematics?”

It was a secret between him and Nazar. He created schematics for her because he wanted to make her exactly the same, just in case he ever forgot.

“Has Nazar told him or…?”

He sat in his chair for a few hours as he thought. No answers seem to come to his smart mind.

However, his train of thoughts was disturbed as he heard a beeping sound.

The sound was something he never expected to hear.

There is a problem.

He extended his right arm and spoke, “Treasury of Eternity.”

In front of him, a big orange doorway appeared and he walked into it.

Once inside, he saw many weapons of high calibre, magical books, and more. They were perfectly stacked in the room as if it was a museum.

In the midst of weapons and books, there was one book which shouldn’t belong in such a place.

「Guide to Superpowers」.

It was a book written by the fifth emperor of the Outox Empire which compiled the name and definition of every power and ability ever to help people have a better understanding of what they can do.

This is the original copy, so Weq left it in this treasury, which he shares with Nazar.

Compared to other books which hold great power, this was nothing.

But nonetheless, Nazar and Weq considered it very important so they kept it safe here.

“The schematics… are here… But...”

Nervously, he looked around.

What could have been stolen?

He checked everything in the treasury but nothing was stolen.

So, why did the alarm go off?

As he was searching, he saw a new weapon - Reality Breaker.

“That’s new...”

He looked at his palm and produced a holographic screen. With it, he analysed the new weapon. It was radiating with Nazar’s energies.

On the weapon, there was a note which explained what it is and that he made it.

“Oh,” he breathed out and relaxed his shoulders. “He didn’t have to set off an alarm to add a new weapon.”

They did not have to let each other know when someone took something out or added something new, so he thought it was accidental.

He immediately left the treasury and went back to his universe.

Once he left the treasury, the lights were dimmed.

In one corner, behind a shelf where there was no light, two red eyes flared brightly as a thin emotionless smile scattered on their face.

“Now then… Universe-11, I am coming.”