Chapter 1486 1486: Look Around

Oriole came to visit while Arthur was still studying in his office. The alchemist seemed to be more weary than ever. Deep shadows hung beneath his eyes, while his clothes were stained in multiple places. If Arthur didn't know better, he would've assumed the man worked at an oil rig.

"You look a mess," Arthur said with a laugh as he rose, hugging his friend. "I'm beginning to wonder if Julia is working you to death."

"You look great, too," Oriole said in sarcasm. "I heard that you were back, and already leaving in a few days."

The two broke off their embrace and Oriole pulled a chair to sit down, while Arthur closed his book and placed it aside. He took a long look at the alchemist.

Oriole was disheveled, but any sign of his teenage years were gone. He had grown by a few inches, and underneath the brown garment of his suit was a well-toned muscular body.

"What can I say? The world never stops needing to be saved," Arthur said. "You've changed since we last met. Have you been training?"

"Do I look like the type to actually hit the gym?"

"Monsters, then?" Arthur raised his brows in surprise.

"Even less likely. It seems you stopped knowing me during your short trip," Oriole sighed dramatically before smiling. "I've been enhancing my body by using potions."

"Oriole…"

"Don't look at me like I'm one of those buff bros on steroids," Oriole laughed. "The enhancements I've been making are without any side-effects."

"You're that confident?" Arthur asked with amusement.

"Well, I wouldn't be if someone didn't give me the Examine rune," Oriole said in gratitude. "It has been the greatest gift in the world."

"I'm more than happy, but I still think you should've picked a combat-based rune. In future battles, the Examine rune wouldn't help you survive."

"I'm not a battle-mage," Oriole said with a shake of his head. "My fight will always be against wretched ingredients and their clash against one another."

Arthur sighed. "Well, I can see that you aren't totally unreasonable. At least you've been enhancing your body."

"I'll need all the strength I can get before my next project begins," Oriole said with a flash in his eyes. Arthur looked at him for a long moment.

"Ark?" he asked. "You still plan on bringing him back?"

"It was never an option not to, Arthur," Oriole said. "When you merged the two timelines, Oriole was a replication of me. I don't know whether it's his memories or I'm just losing my mind… but every day comes with a new memory of his. I hear him calling for me in my dreams."

"I'm sorry for even implying you shouldn't do it," Arthur said. "Tell me if there's something I can help you with."

"That's why I'm here. Can you extract his memories from me and give them to his body once it's done?"

"I can," Arthur said with a nod. "Are you already done with creating his body?"

"Far from it. I have just used my blood to create the initial sample. Thankfully, I already know the right ingredients. But… he'd never be human without a soul."

"How did you achieve that in the previous timeline?"

"That's a secret I haven't shared with anyone," Oriole said as something dark and raw flashed across his face. "I succeeded in creating the body of Ark. But he was a vessel, with the soul of my master."

"Your master?"

"I arrived to Alka almost eleven years before you did. I was blessed with the fact that I arrived away from Alva and avoided the worst of the demi-human war."

Arthur grunted as he recalled the terrible memories from his time with the demi-humans. Despite what happened to him, he didn't hold it against them. After all, it was years of hatred between them and humans.

"My master was an alchemist that I stumbled upon while working in a small town in Freda. He was traveling toward the capital, and I asked to accompany him.

"I won't bore you with the details but it was a long journey filled with secret societies and the Fallen. My master's son was a Fallen himself. He tried to save him, but ultimately failed."

"I can deduce what happened from there," Arthur said. "Does that mean your master is still alive out there?"

"I doubt it. You might've merged the timelines, but his fate was always intertwined with the Fallen," Oriole said. "And that never ends well."

"What about my father? How was he involved with the creation of Paradise?"

"I was already struggling to find other people to fight against Nameless, especially knowing what happened to Ellen before we were sent to Alka," Oriole said with a sad smile. "Seref came in time to help me create the group of miscasts that have been touched by the Nameless."

"I see," Arthur said while glancing at the closed box on his desk. "You used your master's soul and placed it inside Ark. I must admit, Oriole, that this might be the greatest act of blasphemy I've ever seen."

"Says the hobo running around and killing gods," Oriole rolled his eyes, and the two of them burst out laughing. Then, he paused. "That's why I want you to take a part of my soul and place it inside Ark."

Arthur's laughter died down as his expression crumbled. Oriole met his gaze and saw nothing but determination within them.

"No."

Arthur refused without even offering a reason or attempting to change the alchemist's mind.

"And if you do it behind my back," Arthur began, "then you aren't my friend anymore."

"Don't do this to me, Arthur. This is what I want."

"Fuck what you want," Arthur snapped. "Souls aren't meant to be cleaved in half. You would die in three years, if not less. Your body would wither and you would—"

"I know what would happen," Oriole said. "But that's the only way that Ark would actually be my own. I want you to give him my entire soul so that he would live as long as possible."

"If that's the case," Arthur said with a pause. "Then fuck you for even asking me to do this. You know I can never do it, and if I did, I would never forgive myself for it."

"I can see the wrath that Diana mentioned," Oriole said with a weary chuckle. "But you know what, Arthur? You're a goddamn hypocrite. Diana just broke down crying because she knew you're going to awake in the legacy or whatever that means. But I do know what it means: you're turning yourself into a slave for a cause, one that none of us asked you to do. I should be telling you to fuck off, but I'm not. Instead, I want you to think about what I just asked. Fucking tell me, Arthur. How is what I asked any different than what I'm asking?"

"It's not even comparable!" Arthur shouted, almost slamming his fist on the table. "You are asking me to kill you. If I do this, it will save us all."

"When did you become the savior?" Oriole asked. "You damned your father every day because he became the villain so that you become the savior. You refused to abide by his plan and fucked everything up for what? Just to become exactly what he wanted you to be?"

"This time, it's my own damn decision," Arthur said as his expression turned ice cold. "That was the difference between choosing to become something and having it shoved down your throat."

"Well here's a little reality check, Arthur. We're all in this together. But we are all here because of you. I didn't even know a single person in this guild but I came here because of you, and that's the case for the vast majority of us. That's what you do to others. You pull them in like a goddamn magnet, and then you ignore their existence. When was the last time that you checked in on Yuran? He's a mess since Tiara left him. What about Li and Julia? Did you bother to ask them what's up with them? Suyin? The goblins? The shadow army? Seraphine? Rae? Sier?"

"I can't be there for everyone," Arthur said through gritted teeth. "I know that I'm not here most of the time, but it's not like I can help it."

"I know," Oriole said with a laugh. "You have gods and demons to worry about. You are doing everything you can to save everyone. But next time you go out, take a look at what you're saving."

Arthur was silent. Then, he reached out toward his own face and rubbed it. Then, he let out a sigh.

"I'm going to lose," Arthur said as he dropped his hands to the side. "The last time I fought against a god, I almost lost. I only won because he was in a realm not his own, and severed the connection he had to that realm, and it paralyzed him. If I don't reawaken the legacy," he said while looking at his hands. "I'm going to lose everything and everyone."

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