183. “…Are you serious?”
Fafnir was moving at high speed inside his Vault, a giant place bursting with gold. There was a roof but no walls, like an endless hall. There were piles of treasures in it. It wasn't only weapons and artifacts, but also things like money, jewels, and accessories.
Anything that had even a bit of gold on it was there. Fafnir flew through the treasury until he reached a door that contrasted greatly with the rest as it was entirely made of dark steel. He stopped in front of it and hesitated for a second before opening it.
Behind was a dark room with a cube, no more than thirty centimeters high and large, silently sitting in the middle. It was wasn’t made of gold but there were still some golden gears rotating on its surface.
Fafnir inhaled and his body transformed. In an instant, he turned into a tall human with golden hair and eyes. He approached the cube and grabbed it from its pedestal. When he did so, something else appeared in front of him.
He looked up and saw a small girl floating in mid-air. She had a smile that was both childish and cold. "What is your goal? Tell me your target," she uttered and Fafnir immediately opened an exit to his Vault.
"I'll show you," he replied and leaped through the portal he had created. He reappeared where he had left before.
When Arima saw a golden-haired human coming out of the Vault, his expression changed immediately. It took him a few seconds to understand that it was Fafnir. ‘Why…?’ Arima was perplexed then spotted what Fafnir was holding in his hands.
A single glimpse of that cube was enough for him to step back. His eyes showed how apprehensive he was to stay in front of that thing.
"{What's wrong? Do you know what it is?}" Night asked and Arima nodded slowly.
"…That thing appeared in many fictional stories in many different worlds. Movies, books, songs, poems… everything has a source," Arima snickered. "Through all those lives I assimilated, I can say this for sure. Nothing that has ever been fiction somewhere doesn't actually exist. "
Fafnir smirked. "You're right. We live in a world where anything can be real and where most things can become legends for the weaker-willed," he followed. "And when an object with a large spiritual presence or aura is created, its name will be transmitted to every world and plane."
Fafnir snorted then glanced at the small girl who had not disappeared from his sight since he took hold of the box.
"Are they my target?" She asked while staring at Arima and also past the mist, straight at Jorga.
"They're strong," she said. "Especially him," she pointed at Arima. "He's scary…" She mumbled and Fafnir frowned. He looked back at Arima with dubious eyes.
"Are you still hiding your power from me?"
Arima smiled when he heard that. "Perhaps," he answered and Fafnir's frown became deeper. "But I have morals. There are magics that I don't want to use if necessary."
‘Morals?’ Fafnir was stunned. ‘What kind of magic could force someone to hold them in just because it goes against morals?’
While he was thinking that, the girl turned from a scared child to a curious one as she floated around Arima with wide-open eyes. Even Arima seemed to not be able to see her. As a matter of fact, he could only feel some presence around him.
"{She's floating over your head right now,}" Layla's voice suddenly resounded in Arima's head and he was so startled he almost lost balance.
"…when the hell did you get inside my soul?"
"{Just about when you ignored me and went on to fight with Fafnir,}" Layla answered a bit annoyed.
Arima sighed and abruptly froze. "Wait… How did you get inside my soul?" He asked what should've been asked in the first place.
"{I don't know, I just could,}" Layla indifferently said. "{More importantly, the little girl inspecting you so intently right now, do you know what it is?}"
Arima was thinking hard about how Layla entered his soul but when she mentioned the girl, he immediately rolled his eyes toward the box in Fafnir's hands.
"That thing is a weapon. To be exact, it's the mightiest weapon in the entire universe; The Eye of Discord. The girl you see is the weapon itself. It's its sentient projection," Arima explained out loud and the girl backed away in surprise and returned beside Fafnir.
"So, you know about it, huh?" Fafnir remarked and Arima didn't answer. He then turned toward the girl. "Your verdict?"
"I'll do it. It'll be half of your Vault if you want me to get rid of both that scary guy and the big guy behind," she answered and Fafnir's expression twitched. Half of the Vault meant that she would take half of the original models he had. Meaning that he’d lose half of his gold, unable to duplicate them again.
He gritted his teeth. "Do it," he said. "I'll just have to get my gold back after they’re dead."
The little girl smiled and the box's gears started spinning. Mechanical sounds reverberated from within the box as it left Fafnir’s hands and stopped hundreds of meters above him. He watched the box for a moment then focused on Arima before turning back into his original form.
"So, that's why we cannot survive without Jormungand?" Arima commented.
"{Yes… it looks like it,}" Layla affirmed. "{I couldn't see it clearly but there's no mistake.}"
At the same time, the azure mist appeared again and was even denser than before. Then, a huge mass of darkness covered the stars above them, a snake-shaped one.
"{Arima, The Eye will not activate right away. I want you to do something. One way or another, separate, for at least a second, the cursed gold from Fafnir's body. I will only be able to make a move once so I have to care of both simultaneously.}"
A calm and powerful voice penetrated Arima's mind and instructed him. "No problem," he promptly accepted. "But I'm also mearing my limit…"
"Layla," he called and she exclaimed in surprise inside his soul. "Come out," when he said, Layla instantly appeared on his shoulder. There wasn’t even a moment of hesitation.
"What do you want me to do? I don't think I can be of much help. My mana is virtually depleted and my 'Eyes' are also tired," she said.
Arima shook his head. "Don't worry about that. It's really simple. I want you to perform a Resonance with me," he declared and Layla suddenly trembled.
"…Are you serious?"
"Of course, you're strong enough now. I determined it was possible when I saw your fight against the Téra on Fantasia," Arima responded. "Now let's do it. Since Lanya and Lilis performed a resonance as well, you should know how this works perfectly. I’ll have you take the lead since it’ll be my first.”
Layla listened wide-eyed then chuckled. "I never thought about it before. I'm really curious as to how it would be to make a resonance with a freak of nature like you," she quipped and Arima groaned. She laughed lightly. "Shall we?"
Arima shook his head and snorted in amusement. Layla beamed and they both released their aura and spirit.
"{This is going to be interesting…}" Night commented.
It wasn’t just a simple Resonance; it was a Resonance between Arima and Layla. Both of them were the result of a combination of two beings. Arima was in a 'Final Resonance' with Night while Layla had been born from Lilis and Lanya's fusion.
Two people resonating; four people into one. It was a fascinating concept.
When Layla and Arima started glowing with a powerful light, Fafnir finally acted. At first, since he had already triggered The Eye of Discord, he wasn’t planning on doing anything else. But his opponents’ actions suddenly made him feel threatened. He feared that he would not be able to survive before The Eye could be completely charged.
He had also noticed the colossal serpent hidden in the mist, but he hadn’t felt any combat aura coming out of it. So, he ignored it and concentrated all of his efforts on Arima and Layla.
"[Full Release]," Fafnir intoned.
"[The Castle is Sieged and the King is Desperate]," he seemed to be telling a story as countless golden portals rotated into existence around him.
"[The Walls are Crumbling and the powder Permeates the Air]."
"[Our Soldiers are Yelling for the Kingdom]."
"[They are Drowning the Cries of Pain and Anguish]."
"[The Last Order of the King]."
"[Open the Vault! Give them Everything!]."
"[We will Vanquish the Enemy!]."
Fafnir roared and his wings shined as he deployed them. A sea of golden weapons and artifacts surfaced behind him. Swords, spears, chains, shields, bows, cannons, guns, the Bell of Mictlan, potions, all sorts of accessories, and a dazzling quantity of money that started drifting in space…
Everything was out of the Vault.
At the same time, two other roars resounded, even stronger than Fafnir's. The gilded dragon almost choked in surprise. Before he knew it, another dragon had appeared. Arima had also changed appearance. He had a slightly smaller frame than before but his body had become more human-like.
His scales were now a mix of black and silver and the mane he had in his back was white instead of silver. The second dragon next to him had the same appearance and size. The only difference was that the colors had been inverted.
Any scale that was black for one, was silver for the other. Additionally, the mane of the second dragon was not white or black but a mix of the two.
The two of them were, of course, Arima and Layla. But neither of them was talking at the moment. Their eyes were in a daze as if something had struck them hard. They remained like this for a short while until Arima coughed blood and Layla roared like a true dragon as if she was in great pain.
Fafnir was shocked. "What’s going on?"
Arima growled and hurriedly healed her before using another magic. "[Fourth Black Art, Secundi Versum, Alligatum] (Second Verse, Confinement)." Layla stopped howling and then panted violently as if her lungs were threatening to explode.
When they performed the Resonance, Arima didn't pay enough attention to one certain detail. To be exact, it was not that he didn't think of it, rather, he had assumed that it wouldn't do much. That thing he overlooked was the state of his magic circuits.
During a Resonance, the souls were connected by a strong link. The souls would then collect the information from the other and change the body in consequence. But during that process, among other things, the magic circuits of the two resonating are combined to form a new network.
Eventually, it really didn't cause much trouble, as Arima had predicted, but it provoked a totally unexpected side effect.
During the alignment of their souls, Arima and Layla received the memories of the other. Arima was not affected too badly and he only coughed blood because he was the one with an injured body. But Layla got all the memories he had gathered in his Life Judgment in one go.
Fortunately, Arima managed to seal most of them with the Fourth Art. But Layla had nonetheless assimilated around 20% of his memories, including his life as a human.
She turned toward Arima and trembled involuntarily. She was still going through what he had experienced during the trials. She breathed in and gradually calmed down.
"I'm fine," it was the first time she had spoken as a dragon. It sounded a lot graver but still feminine in its own right. "I'm sorry I lost my cool."
Arima's eyes widened and he smiled faintly. "I see," he had also received both Lanya's and Lilis's memories. So, he was obviously aware of Layla’s feelings. But it wasn’t something he had learned just now. But receiving it directly through memories was a different experience altogether.
"How do you feel?" He asked.
Layla smirked. "I'm overflowing with power… it may be the most accurate way of describing it."
"It turned out perfectly in the end. We can take care of him now," Arima said and deployed his wings. "We'll talk later."
Layla nodded. "I'm fine with that," she replied and followed Arima as she flapped her wings.
At the same time, every artillery on Fafnir's side was fired and The Eye of Discord had already started producing ripples on the space-time dimension.
183. “…Are you serious?”
Fafnir was moving at high speed inside his Vault, a giant place bursting with gold. There was a roof but no walls, like an endless hall. There were piles of treasures in it. It wasn't only weapons and artifacts, but also things like money, jewels, and accessories.
Anything that had even a bit of gold on it was there. Fafnir flew through the treasury until he reached a door that contrasted greatly with the rest as it was entirely made of dark steel. He stopped in front of it and hesitated for a second before opening it.
Behind was a dark room with a cube, no more than thirty centimeters high and large, silently sitting in the middle. It was wasn’t made of gold but there were still some golden gears rotating on its surface.
Fafnir inhaled and his body transformed. In an instant, he turned into a tall human with golden hair and eyes. He approached the cube and grabbed it from its pedestal. When he did so, something else appeared in front of him.
He looked up and saw a small girl floating in mid-air. She had a smile that was both childish and cold. "What is your goal? Tell me your target," she uttered and Fafnir immediately opened an exit to his Vault.
"I'll show you," he replied and leaped through the portal he had created. He reappeared where he had left before.
When Arima saw a golden-haired human coming out of the Vault, his expression changed immediately. It took him a few seconds to understand that it was Fafnir. ‘Why…?’ Arima was perplexed then spotted what Fafnir was holding in his hands.
A single glimpse of that cube was enough for him to step back. His eyes showed how apprehensive he was to stay in front of that thing.
"{What's wrong? Do you know what it is?}" Night asked and Arima nodded slowly.
"…That thing appeared in many fictional stories in many different worlds. Movies, books, songs, poems… everything has a source," Arima snickered. "Through all those lives I assimilated, I can say this for sure. Nothing that has ever been fiction somewhere doesn't actually exist. "
Fafnir smirked. "You're right. We live in a world where anything can be real and where most things can become legends for the weaker-willed," he followed. "And when an object with a large spiritual presence or aura is created, its name will be transmitted to every world and plane."
Fafnir snorted then glanced at the small girl who had not disappeared from his sight since he took hold of the box.
"Are they my target?" She asked while staring at Arima and also past the mist, straight at Jorga.
"They're strong," she said. "Especially him," she pointed at Arima. "He's scary…" She mumbled and Fafnir frowned. He looked back at Arima with dubious eyes.
"Are you still hiding your power from me?"
Arima smiled when he heard that. "Perhaps," he answered and Fafnir's frown became deeper. "But I have morals. There are magics that I don't want to use if necessary."
‘Morals?’ Fafnir was stunned. ‘What kind of magic could force someone to hold them in just because it goes against morals?’
While he was thinking that, the girl turned from a scared child to a curious one as she floated around Arima with wide-open eyes. Even Arima seemed to not be able to see her. As a matter of fact, he could only feel some presence around him.
"{She's floating over your head right now,}" Layla's voice suddenly resounded in Arima's head and he was so startled he almost lost balance.
"…when the hell did you get inside my soul?"
"{Just about when you ignored me and went on to fight with Fafnir,}" Layla answered a bit annoyed.
Arima sighed and abruptly froze. "Wait… How did you get inside my soul?" He asked what should've been asked in the first place.
"{I don't know, I just could,}" Layla indifferently said. "{More importantly, the little girl inspecting you so intently right now, do you know what it is?}"
Arima was thinking hard about how Layla entered his soul but when she mentioned the girl, he immediately rolled his eyes toward the box in Fafnir's hands.
"That thing is a weapon. To be exact, it's the mightiest weapon in the entire universe; The Eye of Discord. The girl you see is the weapon itself. It's its sentient projection," Arima explained out loud and the girl backed away in surprise and returned beside Fafnir.
"So, you know about it, huh?" Fafnir remarked and Arima didn't answer. He then turned toward the girl. "Your verdict?"
"I'll do it. It'll be half of your Vault if you want me to get rid of both that scary guy and the big guy behind," she answered and Fafnir's expression twitched. Half of the Vault meant that she would take half of the original models he had. Meaning that he’d lose half of his gold, unable to duplicate them again.
He gritted his teeth. "Do it," he said. "I'll just have to get my gold back after they’re dead."
The little girl smiled and the box's gears started spinning. Mechanical sounds reverberated from within the box as it left Fafnir’s hands and stopped hundreds of meters above him. He watched the box for a moment then focused on Arima before turning back into his original form.
"So, that's why we cannot survive without Jormungand?" Arima commented.
"{Yes… it looks like it,}" Layla affirmed. "{I couldn't see it clearly but there's no mistake.}"
At the same time, the azure mist appeared again and was even denser than before. Then, a huge mass of darkness covered the stars above them, a snake-shaped one.
"{Arima, The Eye will not activate right away. I want you to do something. One way or another, separate, for at least a second, the cursed gold from Fafnir's body. I will only be able to make a move once so I have to care of both simultaneously.}"
A calm and powerful voice penetrated Arima's mind and instructed him. "No problem," he promptly accepted. "But I'm also mearing my limit…"
"Layla," he called and she exclaimed in surprise inside his soul. "Come out," when he said, Layla instantly appeared on his shoulder. There wasn’t even a moment of hesitation.
"What do you want me to do? I don't think I can be of much help. My mana is virtually depleted and my 'Eyes' are also tired," she said.
Arima shook his head. "Don't worry about that. It's really simple. I want you to perform a Resonance with me," he declared and Layla suddenly trembled.
"…Are you serious?"
"Of course, you're strong enough now. I determined it was possible when I saw your fight against the Téra on Fantasia," Arima responded. "Now let's do it. Since Lanya and Lilis performed a resonance as well, you should know how this works perfectly. I’ll have you take the lead since it’ll be my first.”
Layla listened wide-eyed then chuckled. "I never thought about it before. I'm really curious as to how it would be to make a resonance with a freak of nature like you," she quipped and Arima groaned. She laughed lightly. "Shall we?"
Arima shook his head and snorted in amusement. Layla beamed and they both released their aura and spirit.
"{This is going to be interesting…}" Night commented.
It wasn’t just a simple Resonance; it was a Resonance between Arima and Layla. Both of them were the result of a combination of two beings. Arima was in a 'Final Resonance' with Night while Layla had been born from Lilis and Lanya's fusion.
Two people resonating; four people into one. It was a fascinating concept.
When Layla and Arima started glowing with a powerful light, Fafnir finally acted. At first, since he had already triggered The Eye of Discord, he wasn’t planning on doing anything else. But his opponents’ actions suddenly made him feel threatened. He feared that he would not be able to survive before The Eye could be completely charged.
He had also noticed the colossal serpent hidden in the mist, but he hadn’t felt any combat aura coming out of it. So, he ignored it and concentrated all of his efforts on Arima and Layla.
"[Full Release]," Fafnir intoned.
"[The Castle is Sieged and the King is Desperate]," he seemed to be telling a story as countless golden portals rotated into existence around him.
"[The Walls are Crumbling and the powder Permeates the Air]."
"[Our Soldiers are Yelling for the Kingdom]."
"[They are Drowning the Cries of Pain and Anguish]."
"[The Last Order of the King]."
"[Open the Vault! Give them Everything!]."
"[We will Vanquish the Enemy!]."
Fafnir roared and his wings shined as he deployed them. A sea of golden weapons and artifacts surfaced behind him. Swords, spears, chains, shields, bows, cannons, guns, the Bell of Mictlan, potions, all sorts of accessories, and a dazzling quantity of money that started drifting in space…
Everything was out of the Vault.
At the same time, two other roars resounded, even stronger than Fafnir's. The gilded dragon almost choked in surprise. Before he knew it, another dragon had appeared. Arima had also changed appearance. He had a slightly smaller frame than before but his body had become more human-like.
His scales were now a mix of black and silver and the mane he had in his back was white instead of silver. The second dragon next to him had the same appearance and size. The only difference was that the colors had been inverted.
Any scale that was black for one, was silver for the other. Additionally, the mane of the second dragon was not white or black but a mix of the two.
The two of them were, of course, Arima and Layla. But neither of them was talking at the moment. Their eyes were in a daze as if something had struck them hard. They remained like this for a short while until Arima coughed blood and Layla roared like a true dragon as if she was in great pain.
Fafnir was shocked. "What’s going on?"
Arima growled and hurriedly healed her before using another magic. "[Fourth Black Art, Secundi Versum, Alligatum] (Second Verse, Confinement)." Layla stopped howling and then panted violently as if her lungs were threatening to explode.
When they performed the Resonance, Arima didn't pay enough attention to one certain detail. To be exact, it was not that he didn't think of it, rather, he had assumed that it wouldn't do much. That thing he overlooked was the state of his magic circuits.
During a Resonance, the souls were connected by a strong link. The souls would then collect the information from the other and change the body in consequence. But during that process, among other things, the magic circuits of the two resonating are combined to form a new network.
Eventually, it really didn't cause much trouble, as Arima had predicted, but it provoked a totally unexpected side effect.
During the alignment of their souls, Arima and Layla received the memories of the other. Arima was not affected too badly and he only coughed blood because he was the one with an injured body. But Layla got all the memories he had gathered in his Life Judgment in one go.
Fortunately, Arima managed to seal most of them with the Fourth Art. But Layla had nonetheless assimilated around 20% of his memories, including his life as a human.
She turned toward Arima and trembled involuntarily. She was still going through what he had experienced during the trials. She breathed in and gradually calmed down.
"I'm fine," it was the first time she had spoken as a dragon. It sounded a lot graver but still feminine in its own right. "I'm sorry I lost my cool."
Arima's eyes widened and he smiled faintly. "I see," he had also received both Lanya's and Lilis's memories. So, he was obviously aware of Layla’s feelings. But it wasn’t something he had learned just now. But receiving it directly through memories was a different experience altogether.
"How do you feel?" He asked.
Layla smirked. "I'm overflowing with power… it may be the most accurate way of describing it."
"It turned out perfectly in the end. We can take care of him now," Arima said and deployed his wings. "We'll talk later."
Layla nodded. "I'm fine with that," she replied and followed Arima as she flapped her wings.
At the same time, every artillery on Fafnir's side was fired and The Eye of Discord had already started producing ripples on the space-time dimension.
