Chapter 384: No Turning Back (1/2)
Whoosh!
As Aurus disappeared from the sights of the three, Felix and Eleanor initially had the thought of following him, knowing very well that they could definitely do so with the level of power they had. But as they looked at Argentum standing there in a daze, the two decided to stay put, wanting to know what was going inside Argentum's mind.
Naturally, he was seething with rage, seeing how his original body had gone ahead and killed people that would help out in his goal to establish a place for them to live in without worries. Though, the more he thought about it, the more peculiar the incident felt to him. From what he felt, Aurus was definitely there in body. But as for his spirit, he felt like it was not even there, as if another being was piloting his body while he was away.
In any case, he knew that all of his doubts would be solved once he met up with Aurus once again, deciding to place these thoughts and grudges at the back of his head as he decided to focus on the current matter at hand, appeasing the people of the town.
Seeing that Argentum had returned to reality once more, Felix and Eleanor looked at each other for a bit before Felix decided to ask, ”Are you alright, Argentum?”
”Yeah, I'm alright. I'm just a bit…confused,” Argentum responded, albeit a bit meekly. Nevertheless, Eleanor ignored that as she decided to ask the question that both of them had all this time. ”While we were fighting against him, you told us not to kill him. Is there a reason as to why you asked us that?”
Hearing the question, Argentum went silent, pondering as to whether or not to tell them. Eventually, he decided to go with the former, having an idea of their personalities after interacting with them for so many times. Even though the answer was something only he and a select others knew, to him, it felt like it was time to tell a few more beings about it.
With a hint of hesitation, he then explained, ”The reason behind that is because…”
”Aurus…is my creator.”
”Your…creator?” Eleanor said in response, not understanding what he meant by that. ”So you're saying you're his puppet or something? But you're a Pseudo-Animate, no? Isn't he just an Inanimate?”
Fortunately, Felix understood what Argentum meant, saying, ”What he's probably saying is that Aurus is the one that gave him life in this world. I don't know what kind of method he used to do something like that, but is there anything else we should know about you and him?”
Seeing that they were somewhat accepting of the new fact, Argentum became a bit more at ease as he replied, ”He and I share the same thoughts and memories. If you disregard my body, then you could say that I'm an exact copy of him.”
Of course, Aurus had originally made Argentum as an Animate version of himself, an independent clone of sorts. But after knowing the true nature of the skill, which instead infused the thoughts and memories of Aurus into a Pseudo-Animate vessel, it was more accurate for Argentum to explain it that way to them. Naturally, both Felix and Eleanor went silent as they tried to understand his words piece by piece through their own means.
Eventually, a gaze of understanding appeared in both of them as they lightly nodded to Argentum, showing that they now had an idea in their minds. After that, Felix asked Argentum, ”So, how did Aurus end up that way? Surely you know how that happened since you two share thoughts, right?”
”It's more of an active ability for me to share thoughts and memories with him. Unfortunately, throughout these past couple of weeks, I was completely immersed in the development of the town, which means that I have no idea as to how Aurus turned out like that,” Argentum replied. ”Though, his crazed state reminds me of…”
Just as he was about to continue talking, he realized that his next words were only something he, Aurus, and other person knew. Thinking of the multiple possibilities that might happen if he also spread it to others, he decided to stop, prompting Felix to ask with a hint of impatience, ”Of…what? Is it something we should know?”
”Uh…just disregard my last statement,” Argentum said, to which Felix narrowed his eyes in suspicion for a second. Eventually, he shrugged his shoulders, deciding to leave it be as he knew people had their secrets. As for Argentum, he could not help but mutter inwardly, 'Only now did it occur to me that Aurus's state was similar to the prophecy Torvas gave me. If that's the case, then how should I help out?'
'Now that I think about it, Torvas didn't tell me any way to help Aurus out so that he could escape the prophecy,' he continued. 'I should probably pay a visit to the Origin Pantheon once I have the time. Let's just hope the problem doesn't worsen.'
”So, what's the next order of business?” Noticing the awkward tension between the two, Eleanor decided to ask to break the silence, making the two look at her with a hint of gratitude in their gazes. Pondering about it for a bit, Argentum responded, ”Well, we'll have to appease the anger of the people, telling them that you two were able to apprehend the culprit.”
He then continued, ”After that, I'll probably announce the establishment of a defensive barrier around the town so that something like this wouldn't happen again. Though, you two should hide your faces since the townspeople don't know of your identities yet.”
”Speaking of which…” As he said that, it was only at this moment that another person popped up in his mind, a person that accompanied him before he decided to join Delmann and Valstra. ”I'm pretty sure Helios was in this town while Aurus was around. Where is he?”