Chapter 137: You see? Wasnt that hard. (1/2)
After a few hours, Arima had already dispelled all of his parallel thoughts, the magic circles had become too complicated to be resolved by a secondary mind.
When there were only ten circles left, Chulainn and Karma had stopped decrypting the array since these two were the ones that had less technical knowledge.
Karma was given sentience by Arima but her ability in that area couldn't be compared to Night's who was Arima's soul beast. As for Chulainn, he was simply not suited for this kind of work.
The only people who were capable of continuing were Lanya, whose mind had been boosted by Chronepsis, Night, Lilis and, of course, Arima who had an unbelievable understanding of magic although he was born in a world without it.
After another few hours, there were only two circles left and everyone except Arima couldn't help but give up. The difficulty was too high, and the focus required was inhuman.
”How can he keep going?” Night mumbled whilst sweating.
Lanya inhaled to try getting back some mental strength and looked at Arima's back. ”I don't know. His focus goes beyond everything I can imagine.”
”Yes, I bet he couldn't even hear us if we talked to him now,” Lilis added. Meanwhile, Karma and Chulainn felt a bit awkward since they bailed out much earlier.
”Where does he get that energy anyway? Sometimes he's overly laid-back and at other times he's incredibly lazy. I'm sure he could get us out of here if he tried a little bit, but he insists on breaking the array,” Chulainn commented and Arima turned a circle into a green one.
He then touched the last circle without any other comment. When he interacted with it, every green circle around merged with the last one. After a few seconds, the last red circle became a huge one with a ten meters diameter. Arima rolled his eyes in a circle before resuming.
”I guess that he does things to the end once he starts them,” Lilis waited for Arima to continue before answering Chulainn.
”Hm, if you say so…” Chulainn responded and glanced at Lilis. ”I have a question for you, girl. Did you visit the Time Garden?”
Lilis's eyes widened in surprise and looked back at the small pup. She hesitated for a moment and nodded.
”So, did you see it?” Chulainn followed up.
”I did.”
”Saw what?” Lanya inquired. She was perplexed about what they were talking about.
”Arima's past,” Chulainn declared and Arima's hand trembled. The circle glowed and Arima's entire arm was crushed by an unknown force. His group reacted and was about to go toward him but he waved his hand and told them to not move.
”Just a rebound,” he said and looked at Lilis for a second. ”I will merely tell you this. My past is not something I like to hear or recount,” his voice resounded clearly in everyone's ears and Lilis perfectly perceived it as a warning. Arima shook his arm and healed it before getting back to work.
”I can't believe it. He was still paying attention to the conversation…” Chulainn muttered
After that, everyone just stared at Lilis. Now, they were all curious about Arima's past. Especially Lanya who had now taken an interest in it. But, she understood, as much as everyone else, that she wouldn't get any answers from Arima himself. Lilis smiled wryly and shrugged to them.
”…Did it laugh?”
That question suddenly came out of Chulainn's mouth and Lilis froze. She looked at him with wide-open eyes. ”How did you know?”
Chulainn merely sighed and shook his head. ”My father, the previous Kerberos, was much stronger than me. He was possibly the strongest one in Hell, even mightier than Hades himself. He brought me to the Garden once. There, he told me that there was a secret behind the Time Garden. You see, that place isn't some sort of intricate magic formation. A mythical and ancient beast had been sealed in there. Father said it had probably died a long time ago already, but its will and soul still remained. The beast was said to have been born at the same time as the Original God. It was feared not only because of its strength but also for its insight on the future and past. He essentially knew everything. It's also said that Jormungand is its descendant.”
Lilis and everyone else quietly listened and Chulainn breathed in. ”That beast was wicked. One that only found pleasure in destruction and blood. It would swallow a whole planet and its inhabitants just to have fun… Ultimately, during a reminiscence inside the Time Garden, if you hear laughter, it means that the beast is pleased and amused. It means… that the destruction within the displayed past is 'delightful' for it.”
Lilis didn't know what to say when Chulainn concluded. She was about to add the fact that she not only heard laughter but also clear words, but stopped. She just turned her to head to observe Arima, who hadn't reacted to Chulainn's words and remained silent. Feeling the heavy mood, no one spoke.
One very quiet hour later, Arima finally completed the last circle and the whole array shattered like glass. Only a second after that, they all started feeling that the flow of water was pulling them down. And it was growing stronger by each second.
Arima frowned. ”This attraction is strange. It's like the entire water around us is…oh,” he didn't finish his sentence and immediately swam upward at full speed. He didn't need to say anything for everyone to follow him.
As they were going up, the currents were turning even more odd and chaotic. When everyone reached the surface, they saw a sky totally different from Hell's. It had the usual color you would see in almost all worlds; a clear blue.
Arima didn't bother to look up though and immediately looked down. His group also imitated his action.
”What the…” Chulainn muttered as he witnessed the sea slowly getting farther from him. But it wasn't him going up but the sea itself going down.
After a while, a huge sound resounded everywhere, as if a meteorite had just fallen. The red water started steaming and slowly began to dissipate. Then, something 'emerged' from the water. It was a mountain peak.
After that, it was just a matter of time. As the water continued disappearing, mountains, rocks, trees, and even houses were revealed. The sea was drained until the ground was visible. Arima's group admired the scene thunderstruck.
”Hey, there are people down there,” Night remarked as he looked down.
The group followed his eyes and indeed noticed people anxiously watching the sky as if they were waiting for something.
”This is strange. Those houses didn't suffer any damage from what just happened,” Lilis commented and squinted her eyes. ”Also, those people are weak…”
”You're right,” Lanya nodded as her eyes shined with a blue-golden light. ”The strongest I see is only at the third level of the Mortal Realm.”
Chulainn hummed and floated toward Arima's shoulder before sitting on it. ”Hey Arima, I don't know anything about the true emplacement of Origin. But I'm sure it should be beyond the red sea. I don't know who said that first or how long ago it was, but I'm sure it's not unfounded considering all of Hell has been told the same thing.”
”Also, there's one thing I can say about this place,” Chulainn added and Arima nodded.