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Chapter 362: Fate Intertwined
🕑 Added 2021-11-19 17:10:54 +0000 UTCNICO SEVER
I marched from Taegrin Caelum’s primary tempus warp chamber through the castle’s cold halls, moving purposefully toward Agrona’s private wing. Servants bowed and pressed themselves to the walls as we passed, and even the many elite soldiers and high-ranking military leaders shrank back in fear of me—as they should. I was in no mood to be disturbed or interrupted; I wanted answers, and wouldn’t be dismissed until Agrona himself delivered them to me.
I took the spiralling stairs to Agrona’s chambers two at a time, my grip firmly around Cecilia’s wrist as she lagged behind me. The stairs opened up on a hallway that connected the main body of the castle with Agrona’s private chambers. Unlike the cold stone halls we’d just come from, this chamber blazed with warm light.
The walls were covered in artifacts and souvenirs of Agrona’s many victories. Scattered among the dead relics and artifacts of Agrona’s favored highblood families were more gruesome keepsakes: a phoenix wing, mounted so that it was spread out, displaying the feathers that still gleamed red and gold; a headdress made of pearlescent dragon feathers over an ornate necklace of claws and fangs; and a pair of dragon horns that sprouted from the wall.
I stopped short. The way forward was barred.
“I am here to speak to Agrona. Move, Melzri.”
The other Scythe pressed a hand to her heart and let her mouth hang open mockingly. “Now is that any way to speak to the one who trained you and took care of you after we got you back from that trashy little island, little brother?”
I scoffed, letting a murderous intent seep out into the fancifully decorated hallway where Melzri stood guard. Though I glared at her, she only smiled back, looking exactly as she always had: perfect silvery-gray skin, pure white hair plaited into a thick braid that ran down her back, and dark lips and eyes that matched the two pairs of shining onyx horns that sprouted from her head and curved sharply back, a smaller pair directly beneath two larger horns.
“I’m not your brother,” I said waspishly. “What are you even doing here, anyway?”
She gave me a simpering little giggle, which she knew I hated and did purely to irritate me. “Just some Victoriad business. Viessa was here too, but she left only minutes ago, I’m sorry to say.” Her red-black eyes, the color of congealed blood, drifted to focus on Cecilia. “Ah, the famous Legacy. You wear the elven girl’s skin well, I must say. That hair is to die for.”
I growled, stepping between Melzri and Cecilia. “Shut up and leave her out of this.”
I felt Cecilia shuffle next to me. “Nico, it’s okay. Why don’t we just go wait in our rooms?”
Melzri’s smile sharpened into a predatory grin. “What’s wrong, little brother? Not willing to share your plaything…although, I suppose really she is the High Sovereign’s pet, right? Which makes you…what? Her nanny? No…” Melzri put a hand over her mouth as she gave another little laugh. “You are her plaything, I think…”
“I don’t care what you have to say, Melzri,” I said, trying to sound like I meant it. I thoughtlessly reached for Cecilia’s hand, but she dodged it, and the anger rushed out of me like air knocked from my lungs.
Melzri saw, but instead of mocking me, she gave me a disappointed frown and stepped back to block the way forward. “The High Sovereign is not available to speak with you at this moment. You may wait here or return to your room.”
“This is urgent—”
Melzri sniffed. “I’m just looking out for you, little brother. If you storm in there and interrupt the High Sovereign’s meeting with Dragoth and Sovereign Kiros, you might find yourself with something other than your little feelings hurt.”
This caught my attention.
“The Sovereign of Vechor is here?” It was rare for the Sovereigns to leave their dominions. Although I was paraded around before each of them when I was named a Scythe of the central dominion, I had never met any of them again.
Melzri didn’t bother to answer, and so I turned my back on her and walked to the farthest corner of the room, next to the stairway door, where I stood and glared at a matched pair of ruby blades, crossed over the crest of some long defunct highblood.
Did the members of this ancient blood see the end coming for them? I wondered. Did they feel safe in their nobility, as if they had carved out a place for themselves in this world, or were they always waiting for someone to put a knife in their back?
I played through the events at the High Hall again, trying to make sense of it. There wasn’t a single doubt in my mind that this blond, golden-eyed Ascender Grey was really my Grey, despite the change in appearance. But I didn’t understand why Agrona hadn’t told me the name beforehand.
Was it some kind of test?
I had been tested often, and experimented on, and pushed to my limit. Sometimes these trials were painful, even cruel, but they had always made me stronger. There was always a reason.
I sighed deeply, failing to understand.
Cecilia had followed me, staying by my side but never touching me, never offering comfort…
Needing to look anywhere but Cecilia or Melzri, I let my eyes wander up to the ceiling, where an enormous fresco stretched the length of the hall.
It showed the flight of the Vritra from Epheotus, depicting the dragons of the Indrath clan as monstrous beasts swarming in a blood-red sky, while people—both lessers and the Vritra Clan basilisks—cowered behind Agrona, displayed here in shining platinum armor and radiating a golden light that kept the dragon’s at bay…
“Nico…?” Cecilia asked from my side. I could feel her gaze on my cheek, but I didn’t turn to look at her. I couldn’t. If I did, I was worried I might break.
It shouldn’t have been like this. I had spent an entire life trying to protect her, first from her own monstrous ki and then from the many people who sought to use her, and this new life had been dedicated to completing the reincarnation ritual and giving her a second chance, but when I’d finally accomplished it, it seemed like everything had gone wrong for me.
Agrona had once fawned over me the same way he now treated Cecilia…but he had turned dismissive and sarcastic toward me. He had sent me to the High Hall knowing who this Ascender Grey really was. He must have, or why else chose me to go, and with so little information? But I didn’t understand his motivations. Was it nothing more than a cruel game?
He should have told me what he knew, or suspected.
My mind flinched away from these thoughts, rejecting them, because to linger there meant I would have to acknowledge the creeping fear that was stealing through my mind, corrupting every dark corner of it. Fear was unacceptable. It was weakness. The other Scythes, the Vritra…they could all smell it, and to show fear here meant being devoured alive.
“Nico,” Cecilia said again, moving to be in my line of sight.
“What?” I said, more coldly than I’d intended.
“How…” She trailed off, biting her lip. After several long seconds, she took a deep breath and tried again. “I want to know about my death.”
My jaw clenched and I ground my teeth together. Although I wanted her to understand—wanted her to hate Grey as much as I did—I couldn’t bring myself to speak.
“Experiencing the memory of a death can be quite traumatic,” Agrona’s rich baritone said from the end of the hallway, announcing his sudden arrival. “But I think you are ready, Cecilia.”
Melzri slid aside, putting her back to the wall and keeping her head down. Agrona’s red eyes took in everything within the hallway with an easy sweep, a placid movement that almost seemed like laziness, and yet I knew in that instant he had read everything in the room. He moved with an unhurried grace, obviously expecting the world to stand still and wait for him to arrive. As he passed Melzri, he reached out and ran a finger along one of her horns, but his attention was otherwise entirely on Cecilia.
“Do you really—” My mouth snapped shut at a glance from the High Sovereign, my argument dismissed before it could leave my mouth.
I wanted to wrap my arm around Cecilia, draw her close to me so I could comfort and protect her, but instead, I did nothing as Agrona approached. He brushed aside her gunmetal gray hair and placed his fingers against her temples. She closed her eyes as her body went stiff.
Although I couldn’t directly experience what the High Sovereign was doing in her mind, I knew well enough. Agrona was a master of direct manipulation of the mind, able to both remove and alter memories, and even able to directly control another person’s body to a limited extent. Right now, he was giving Cecilia back the memory of her death…in only a few moments, she would know.
She would remember.
I forced back the nervous, guilty energy tingling through my body. It would have been better if I could have told her all the truth from the beginning…but it was too great a risk. I knew that Agrona had twisted the memories she’d received, highlighting my role in her life while diminishing Grey’s. She just had to have someone in this world she could trust entirely, implicitly. Adjusting those little memories made sure she had that…in me.
This memory, though, the memory of her death…even I didn’t want it in my head, and I wished, not for the first time, that Agrona would help me forget it. Cecilia shouldn’t have to remember it either, but she had to see, she had to know what had happened. With Grey alive, it was only a matter of time until they crossed paths. She needed to know who he really was. It didn’t matter how many names he’d taken or lives he’d lived…inside, he was still the same cold, selfish Grey. The man who chose kingship over his only friends—family—in the world.
I wouldn’t let him take her from me again.
Cecilia began to tremble. Her eyes stayed shut, but a pained whimper escaped her lips. Her knees threatened to buckle.
“Stop, she’s—”
A crushing force wrapped around my throat, choking off my plea. My hands clawed at my neck as I sank to my knees, but Agrona didn’t even look at me.
Cecilia was falling, tumbling backwards, but he caught her, scooping her up and holding her in his arms like a child. “Hush, Cecil. I know, and I am sorry to burden you with the truth of your death. Rest now.” Agrona lowered his forehead until it touched Cecilia’s. There was a spark of magic, and her breathing became even and slow, and the whimpering ended.
Melzri was by their side, and Agrona handed Cecilia—my Cecil—to the Scythe. “Take her to her room. Guard her until she wakes, then return to Etril.”
“As you command, High Sovereign.” Then she was marching away, and taking Cecilia with her.
Only when they’d gone did the invisible fist around my throat release. I coughed and choked, falling to my hands and knees, gasping for air. I felt the dark aura building within me, angry and eager to burst out, but suppressed it utterly. With angry tears in my eyes, I looked up at Agrona. His face was impassive.
After my coughing had subsided, he said, “You forget yourself. You are so terrified of losing your fiancé for the second time that the fear is ripping you apart from within.”
I stood, finally, and raised my chin to meet Agrona’s eyes. “You were hurting her.” I nearly bit my tongue in half in frustration as I heard my own plaintive, whiny voice. “You swore that you’d—”
“Nico.” My name left his lips like a javelin, and I felt it pierce me somewhere deep within. “Do you understand what Cecilia is? What the Legacy is?” He shook his head, the decorative chains hanging in his horns jingling softly. His large, cold hand brushed the side of my face, but there was no warmth in his gaze. “Of course you don’t. She is the future. But you, Nico…there is room in that future—in the world I will build with Cecilia at my side—for warriors, but not for weak lessers who succumb entirely to their own stubborn impulses.”
I tried to swallow. It stuck in my throat, almost as if I were being choked all over again, but it was only my own rage, fear, and disappointment…My stubborn impulses, I thought bitterly. It wasn’t fair. My anger and rage had been cultivated since I was an infant, harnessed and turned into a weapon—by Agrona. It was the purity of my fury that made me powerful. Without it…
I knew I had peaked as a mage, that I couldn’t continue to grow stronger, and obviously Agrona knew it too.
I hadn’t been a powerful warrior or ki user on Earth, not like Grey or Cecilia. When I realized my potential in this new world, before my memories were stripped from me and I was transformed into Elijah and sent away, I was ecstatic. My new life would be nothing like my old one. I would have power, real strength—physical, political, and magical, and all because of Agrona. He had given me everything I needed—training, elixirs, the strongest runes, a body capable of channeling the basilisks’ decay-type mana arts—to make sure I would be strong.
But now, those I cared about were still reaching beyond me and leaving me behind. Again.
“Do you know why you were reincarnated?” Agrona asked, turning away from me to look at one of the ornaments hanging from the wall. “You were reincarnated because you were close to her. You and Grey both. To maximize the potential of the reincarnation—to make sure the Legacy was able to fully integrate into this world—a sort of array had to be formed between her lives. I needed anchors to hold and bind the Legacy’s spirit. That’s all you are.”
I couldn’t help but shake my head. “No, you said—”
“You see and encourage the lies I tell Cecilia, and yet you don’t think I would do the same to you?” Agrona smiled, a nonchalant, disarming expression that showed no guilt or regret. “Utilizing what I learned from the Relictombs, I looked across worlds until I found the Legacy, and next to her, you and King Grey.”
I flinched, my anger flaring at the reference to Grey’s kingship, won by taking Cecilia’s life. “But you needed me. You said so yourself. Grey’s reincarnation showed you how to bring me here. Without me, you—”
“I attempted the reincarnation on Grey first, that’s true, but his soul never arrived in the chosen vessel. A simple miscalculation, I thought. He had been alive still, back in your home world of Earth, while my preparations for the Legacy had assumed a soul passed on from its mortal sheath.” Agrona cocked his head to the side slightly, his tongue running over his sharp canines. “None of this matters now, you realize? There is little to no point in discussing it. But…I suppose I can humor you, Nico, if only to watch you struggle to understand.”
I glared back at him. His cool words—not cruel or mean spirited, but curious and demeaning, like a disappointed parent humoring their child’s foolish ideas—cut sharper than any knife, but I wouldn’t show it. I, too, could be cold and dismissive if I wished. “Tell me. I deserve to understand.”
Agrona shrugged his large shoulders. “Although I can explain it, I can’t make you understand it. Taking what I’d learned from attempting to spark King Grey’s reincarnation, I began the process of your own reincarnation next, into the body of a newborn child from a prominent magical family with some lingering Vritra blood. You arrived, as planned.”
Keeping my pace empty of emotion, I sat down onto a cushioned bench that ran along one wall of the hall. Leaning back against the wall, I crossed my legs and waited for him to continue.
“But I needed two anchors,” he continued, “and Cecilia had been close to no one else. We tried a few others, but none of their souls were strong enough to be reincarnated, and so eventually I set the experiment aside. Without the appropriate anchors, the Legacy’s reincarnation was too much of a risk; a proper vessel could not be forged.”
I thought back to my childhood in Alacrya, to the endless training and experimentation. The thought of having Cecilia back allowed me to endure any torture. Although I hadn’t known the full truth about my reincarnation and purpose, she had always been the carrot Agrona dangled in front of me, promising that, if I grew strong enough, some day he would be able to reincarnate her as well. That promise kept me from going insane.
“What about me, then? My childhood? Everything you did to me?”
“We didn’t know what benefits your reincarnation might provide, so I kept you here, ordered that you be raised and trained among the Vritra. We tested you, experimented on you, and you proved that a reincarnated soul was indeed extraordinarily potent. It kept my hope up that, some day, I could return to my plan, and the Legacy would be mine to control. And so…”
“Arthur…” I felt a twinge as I said the name, and memories of our time together at Xyrus Academy came rushing unbidden to my mind.
“Yes. Arthur. Somehow born a Leywin, a continent away, outside of my dominion.” Agrona shook his head with apparent amusement, causing his ornaments to jingle again. “Ah, Sylvia. Always the clever one. Hidden away in the wildlands of Dicathen, fatally wounded, and yet still a thorn in my side.
“It wasn’t until Cadell found her that we learned the truth. I’m sure Sylvia thought she had hidden the boy, but in the bare instant before she used her cursed aether art to freeze time, he saw. Who else could it be? What human child could be so important that Sylvia would drain herself of energy and reveal herself to my hunters in order to save them? As soon as I learned what had happened, I knew.”
“And so you took my memories and sent me to Dicathen, to Rahdeas…” My life as Elijah had begun with the dwarves, a blank slate. Even my real powers had been suppressed and hidden from me. I wondered, now, what I might have become if those years spent as Elijah hadn’t been stolen from me.
Would I have still reached the peak of my abilities so soon?
I didn’t think so. Agrona had stolen that potential from me, all just to bring me close to Grey.
“Couldn’t you have sent me as a spy? Why…” I swallowed hard. “Why take my memories? Why take that time from me?”
“Do you think you could have kept yourself from attacking Arthur the moment you saw him?” he asked with a taunting smirk. “Could you have forged a true friendship and bond in this life, if you were carrying the prejudice of your old life?”
“For Cecilia, yes. Anything,” I answered, wanting desperately to believe it, for Agrona to be wrong.
“Your anger was an unwanted variable. Why would I take an unnecessary risk just for your sake? By taking your memories—your knowledge of your own reincarnation and birth in Alacrya—I could more safely bring you together, the two anchors for the Legacy’s reincarnation.”
I put my head in my hands and pictured ripping Agrona’s horns free from his skull and plunging them into his chest, again and again until there was nothing recognizable left of him. “How did you know I would even find him…Arthur?”
A heavy hand rested on the top of my head, and I closed my eyes. “You two were bound by fate. You, Grey, and Cecilia made up the three points of the array. I was certain you would find your way to each other. But I set my spies into motion, regardless, and they expanded our network across Dicathen, and I waited.
“It was years before he resurfaced in Xyrus. But our people were well placed there to find him, and once he’d revealed himself, there was no mistaking the signs: impeccable swordsmanship, a quadra-elemental mage, awakened at only two years of age. And he wore a dragon feather around his arm.”
“Rahdeas’s sudden insistence that I become an adventurer, despite my age…” I muttered, already understanding the rest. “And it was our closeness with the elven princess, Tessia Eralith, that made her the perfect vessel for Cecilia’s return. Just like on Earth…a girl who loved Grey first, who only even saw me because I was standing next to him…”
Agrona’s strong fingers wove into my hair before suddenly and painfully jerking my head up so I was staring into his scarlet eyes. “What did you expect to happen, Nico? That you and the Legacy would retire to a cabin in the woods and live the rest of your days carefree and peaceful, frolicking and copulating and forgetting everything that had ever happened to you? After I dedicated such time and resources to her reincarnation? No. You had a purpose, which you dutifully, albeit unknowingly, served.”
He released me and began walking away down the hall, but I wasn’t finished with him yet.
“What about Grey?”
Agrona stopped and turned, giving me a confused frown, as if he couldn’t possibly understand why I would ask about my arch-nemesis. “King Grey…Arthur Leywin…Ascender Grey…his name no longer matters, because he no longer matters. His role is complete, just as yours is. I suspect he survived because my daughter somehow sacrificed herself using the aether arts of her dragon mother, which serves me well. Sylvie was always the greater danger than your little quadra-elemental friend.”
“But how did you know this ascender was the same Grey? Why…” I took a deep breath, holding onto that image of Agrona desecrated at my feet. “Why send me to the High Hall if you already knew?”
“Seris told me some time ago,” Agrona said nonchalantly, as if he were referring to some mundane, unremarkable rumor. “She thought like you—that Arthur was somehow important, that news of his unlikely survival should matter. You lessers and your silly grievances. Ever since Dragoth’s retainer was slain in Dicathen—what was his name? Uto?—it’s been, ‘Let me kill him, High Sovereign!’ ‘Oh no no, please, give me the honor!’ There was a time when he could have been a threat, perhaps—when he had the asuras in his pocket, because of my daughter—but that time has passed.”
I felt the foundation that had held up my entire new life shift and begin to crumble beneath my feet. In both lives, Grey had been my closest friend and most hated enemy. Even more than Cecilia, his very existence had completely changed the course of my lives. I wouldn’t simply allow him to live, knowing what he had done.
And what he still might do, I thought. As long as Grey lives, Cecilia isn’t safe.
And yet Agrona dismissed him, dismissed us both. Why did he not understand the threat Grey posed?
“You are wrong,” I said coldly, standing and slowly approaching the towering Vritra lord. He smiled in amusement. “Please, allow me to hunt Grey down, High Sovereign,” I said, trying not to beg, but very aware of how my words were an echo of his own mocking imitation. “I thought he was dead once, but somehow he escaped my revenge. Let me have another chance. After everything you’ve done to me, you owe me this. You owe me Grey.”
Agrona’s smile twisted into something sour, almost pitying. “You are owed nothing. But if you wish to run off and reenact your revenge, be my guest. Perhaps killing him will do something to quench your eternal inferiority complex. Assuming he doesn’t kill you first.” Agrona shrugged as if he truly didn’t care either way. “First, though, return to the Legacy and relieve Melzri. And do not forget. Cecilia is the future. Make sure she has everything she needs.”
Agrona turned on his heel and moved with unnatural swiftness down the hallway, leaving me to stew in my disappointment and anger. I do not need your approval. I will find Grey. I will find him and I will kill him, and this time, he will not come back.
Comments
I don’t really like how Niko‘s being Portrayed here. Nico is a character who would sacrifice anything to make sure Cecelia is safe. his whole ark of Niko on earth was protecting Cecelia. Trying to get her back from people that were pretty much using her as a lab rat. Now Agrona is trying to do the same even telling Nico he will turn Cecelia into a mighty weapon. Furthermore Nico knows the torture and pain he makes people go through to reach their potential. Don’t get me wrong I love this chapter, the background it is giving as well as the foreshadowing is great. But I do feel that Nico shouldn’t have taken Agonas Plan laying down. I Kinda of wish we could’ve gotten some sort of inner monologue showing doubt for him bringing Cecile from basically one government lab to another.
Carolyn R
"Agrona was a master of direct manipulation of the mind, able to both remove and alter memories, and even able to directly control another person’s body to a limited extent." Woah there. Hello, foreshadowing. Fantastic chapter, as always!
LiveMe
Fun.
Demian Buckle
Thank you for the Chapter.
nico’s about to get his shit rocked
I can already guess who is going to die
FraJuh
So excited to see Grey overwhelming Nico or maybe (very unlikely) him begging to help Cecilia like in his previous life
Love how Agrona still thinks that greys weak
is it possible that when nico realizes that agrona will take his girl away, that he will team up with Grey/arthur to rebell against him? it is far fetched and a lot needs to happen but it is a possiblity
Yozora
we knew that nico have been having obcession of hate but now with 100% certain we know have been having a inferiority complex toward art and seeing how he treats cecillia I think that he never loved she, shes a trophy for him. I think that he knew that grey liked cecillia.
When is the next chapter coming out
Bernardo De Cabrio
There is something I just noticed, that didn't catch my eye the last time. Nico's memories got taken/locked away, but after certain stimulus he was able to regain them. Makes you think if something along those lines might happen to a certain elf.
Klaudia Roszak
Can we talk about how Viritia just confirmed he might’ve change Nico’s memories. Doesn’t that give us apossibility that some of the memories awake more hatred than they should. Because you know, someone invaded in them.
I don't think people realise how much this chapter recontextualised the whole narrative. This chapter blowed my mind the same as the chapter where Agrona revealed himself in Sylvie's body, maybe even more. The thought that if Grey hadn't saved Tess or even continued being the cold and calculated king Agrona wouldn't have been able to find a suitable vessel really adds a ton more depth to the story. It literally does like a million different things at the same time. Info about the reincarnations, Nico's backstory, Agrona's character and the influence he has on the story (huge), and the build up to the conflicts later on in future chapters. Honestly not going to sleep after reading this.
This nico one-sided stubbornness is getting more and more frustrating, I hope they don't just battle it out, kinda hope Cecilia to remember everything and tell the truth from her perspective
sometimes
Really hope it all won't end Obito's way
dr yeet
I don't think Niko actually wants to kill Arther I think he wants to use revenge as an excuse to go to her and ask him to rescue Ciciliea. (sorry I'm really bad at spelling)
Jan
I hope if nico and grey fight that grey dominates the fight since nico is extremely weak for a Scythe and it would be weird if Arthur who himself says he can fight a scythe when he still couldn’t use his aether blade and wasn‘t in his second stage aether core would have difficulty’s fighting him
Bernardo De Cabrio
People talk about Agrona underestimating Arthur and I think so too. But what if he doesn't. I have this subtle feeling that something is wrong. Kezess Indrath was clear with his instructions concerning Arthur: He is either useful to them or he dies. But Agrona somehow feels off. He dismisses him just like that and says that Sylvie (who couldn't defeat a scythe on her own yet) was the greater thread. Not to mention, Cadell held back in his fight against Sylvie at the end of Volume 7. So either Agrona told him to do so and is scheming some ultimate plan involving Arthur or he didn't and Cadell is part of the resistance within Alacrya along with Seris (which doesn't sound plausible to me, given everything we know about him). TL; DR: Something is sus...
Aaron
Agrona is ignoring a fact. His thoughts are...legacy sounds like super awesome weapon thus me owning legacy = I win!...but he forgets that Cecil was the legacy before when Arthur killed her...so Arthur = a person who kills the legacy. It's hard to believe he'd disregard the person who last time killed the same trump card he's relying on this time
For all of Agronas smarts he still isn’t smart enough to see that our boy Arthur is the main character in this story. At some point he’s absolutely going to destroy a few scythes and Sovereigns using aether arts and then we can insert the surprise pikachu face for Agrona.
Does anyone else think that Agrona is lying?? Not completely.. i think he really does believe Nico is useless.. but i think he still believes Grey has value. In his conversation with Arthur through Sylvie he said some things that were suspect.. also he seemed genuinely disappointed that Arthur wasn’t stronger… he’s got some deep long game plan in mind for Grey / Arthur
Jesse Gibson
I think the biggest problem is that Arthur underestimates himself, from the view of the last djinn he’s basically his own worst enemy and is the only thing standing in his own way. If he opened his mind more to what aether nature was instead of treating it like mana, he would already be able to do all the things you said. He already has that ability, it’s just basically getting past his own limits he has set for himself. I think we are going to find soon that Arthur will hit that epiphany and will finally start to being the OP character we all believe him to be. He’s just got to get out of his own head. I hope the next post starts to show him doing just that, I hope we see him find something and BOOM, it finally clicks and we start seeing him really wipe the floor with his enemies.
Dennis
I know turtle wrote that Arthur is stronger now than he was at white core but I don’t think this is entirely true: he still can’t fly and doesn’t have any effective long range/area of effect abilities yet. In each dominion in Alacrya is a sovereign (vitra), 4-5 in total, plus the 1-2 scythes in each dominion. They all can fly and have long range spells. As of now, Grey can not beat an enemy flying out of his god step range in the air and raining spells down on him. Destruction would drive him mad and his aether canon is not flexible enough. Just think of the complex spells he used against nico+cadell. He can’t do that yet
ariel lima
Cecilia maybe was the legacy on earth but in Dicathen no one can challenge Art. Nico can’t touch Arthur the way he is now but maybe he will join him?
Carth
Poor Nico, Arthur is going to wipe the floor with him
Brasidas
I think the term "obsessed by hate" applies here. For Nico, Cecilia is now merely a possession that he can use to show his triumph over King Grey. However, he has made a deal with the devil and those deals always favor one party.
Jesse Gibson
I’m honestly really surprised at Nico. He was supposed to be really intelligent but yet still couldn’t even see a hint of what Argona was doing. When he gets back his memories… I don’t understand how he couldn’t realize, even a little, that he was basically handing over his fiancé to someone who was just like the people he was trying to protect Cecil from. It honestly doesn’t make sense to me at all how he couldn’t see at all. All the things Argona has done to Nico in that world and all the things he’s shown himself as wanting power… like… it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that Argona wants her power for himself. And even if he couldn’t see that much, the moment Argona’s attitude started to change and he started keeping Cecil closer to him that should have been a big ass red flag… like duh, you handed her over to him and allowed him to mess with her mind. You are now her biggest enemy and deserve nothing from her. Grey “killing” her is nothing compared to what you have now allowed to happen and continue to happen, and basically made sure it happened. He deserves no redemption, he’s worse than Argona as he has only done everything in his greed without care for others feelings. At least Argona doesn’t try to hide that he has shit personality or the fact that he’s a power hungry psychopath. I don’t think Nico deserves redemption at this point, even if he changes sides. He’s done too much damage. And I can’t wait for the moment when Cecil regains all her real memories and realizes that Nico had turned her into the very tool she so desperately, even killed herself, tried to get away from becoming. I hope she kills him, herself.
Ezekiel2517
And that black aetheric armor man, Art's loaded for bear. Just needs to work on a counterpoint to Basilisk decay mana arts
xroninx
Tbh I see Grey in this, not Nico. She likely saw Grey’s future and basically told him a little bit of what the future held. Grey is that abandoned soldier with nothing to lose on Alacrya so nobody can truly hurt him there. He also has done plenty of bad stuff to reach an eventual end goal (torture, plenty of murder, stealing, etc). Idk, it just feels more like foreshadowing Ascender Grey rather then Nico who has basically everything to lose if Cecilia gets taken or killed again.
I'm interested to find out what death scene Cecilia ended up seeing. Since it is Agrona I can easily see it being manipulated to fit his plan and not showing her her actual death but rather something else. I feel like it was a scene to make Cecilia hate Grey and want to kill him or get her revenge on him.
Jacob S
Very informative chapter. Arthur’s enemies foolishly underestimating him. Unbeknownst to Agrona, Arthur not only wields Aether strong enough to defeat his scythes, but also has a way to revive Sylvie. We learned, as mentioned above, Seris continues to act as the faithful servant, however left out some rather important details, no doubt will benefit her own agenda. Additionally, we found out the identity of the final mysterious, female Scythe who as we read had been tasked with training Nico. If her horns are anything to judge by, she’ll be very strong. I’m left wondering whether firstly, if Nico will search out Darrin and Alaric in his hunt for Arthur, or perhaps stop by the Denoir’s residence for information - he would have found out from the high hall that they had offered Ascender Grey assistance. Secondly, with Nico being brushed aside by Agrona, will Nico rethink his allegiance to him? He’s never really agreed with Agrona’s agenda, only his means and resources in order to gain strength and reincarnate/protect Cecilia. Thirdly, is it just me or is Agrona overestimating the abilities of the Legacy, and putting far more faith and emphasis in her power than it deserves. I mean, what makes him so confident in it? What makes him believe she is the future? Based off their last pov chapters, Arthur’s manipulation of and potential in Aether still far outstrips her own with mana, grant you her ability to manipulate and control mana is impressive. Clearly Agrona, being as arrogant as Asuras are, was unaware of the possibility of Arthur forming an Aether core - aether presumably being the only power able to counter the Legacy.
Dragon Commands
He never made Arthur reincarnate, he made nico and Cecilia reincarnate Arthur reincarnated through other means, agrona probably thinks this was done by Sylvia(however she could just as easily not be involved and learned after the fact)
Caleb Mandrake
Yeah the revelations in this chapter are numerous from how Arthur/Grey plus the other reincarnations came to be, Slyvia's involvement, what Argona is plotting, and much more. But I believe a lot is shrouded in Argona’s manipulations and BS. There are a lot of my own hypotheses ahead that are not spoilers but if my fellow readers do not want to probe future possibilities and discuss but rather wait for TurtleMe to actually reveal the truth. Do not read from this point. I reject the notion or ideas that Argona does not have any idea about Arthur/Greys current abilities. We know from this chapter that Serius has revealed the existence of Arthur/Grey to Argona and she knows of his strange magic from Caera description of Grey when Caera was seeking Serius help from the Granbehls and trial. So it depends on what else she informed Argona. Even if Sirius has not revealed all she knew, Argona is too patient and through not to have investigated ascender Grey already. I believe his dismissiveness of Grey and Nico is a ruse to manipulate Nico to his advantage. You all must remember both Argona and Elder Rinia ability to see the future possibilities is good, but neither can see Grey/Arthur influence AT ALL. So Argona must use a direct approach to watch Ascender Grey – like a certain crippled Highblood professor. Furthermore, Argona already has investigated Grey because he know about the trial. This inability to see Arthur/Grey future is why Argona did not directly choose to kill Arthur during the Dicathen War, even trying to coerce him at the floating castle, MORE IMPORTANTLY when Arthur eventually kneeled believing his family captured by Argona, Argona left without saying a word! This confused Arthur and us. The most likely reason is Argona could not risk Arthur/Grey finding out Argona had deceived Grey then is because not only is Grey a threat to Argona but for his plans for the legacy - Grey is capable of killing the legacy, Argona’s future. Argona's cautious behaviour to Grey demonstrates how threatening Arthur/Grey is to Argona and Argona know it. Think about it, if you can see the future possibilites but for one person who is powerful and beyond your comprehension and control. How uneasy do you think you would be? This also does not mean like Argona now you would not fight and plot for your own victory. After all it is what all others who cannot see the future do like Grey/Arthur. I believe Argona dismissiveness is a ruse so he can goat Nico to go fight Arthur/Grey now, so Argona can have a better idea of Ascender Greys ability and how much of a threat “Grey” really is. Nico now is expendable and not as loyal as the other Scythe. Should Nico succeed in killing Grey that is a good thing, likewise should Nico fail, Argona has sole access to Cecilia and could use Nico’s death to cultivate Cecilia's loyalty and dependence on Argona. This scenario is a win-win for Argona either way. To finish off what do you all think Sirius is planning? She informed both sides of “Grey”. I still believe she a possible usurper rather than a ally? Did anyone else have the feeling that the “a headdress made of pearlescent dragon feathers over an ornate necklace of claws and fangs; and a pair of dragon horns that sprouted from the wall” could be an easter egg as to what happened to Sylvia?
Bernardo De Cabrio
I'm calling a Nico redemption arc. I know many people hate Nico for what he did and how he thinks, but I can't shake off the feeling that he and Grey might join arms. After all, they both more or less have the same goal: Free Tessia (Cecilia) from Agrona's grasp and give the basilisk the beating of his lifetime. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my ally. On another note, I think it's time to pull out Rinia's advice to Arthur again. "One: people do bad things for good reasons, so don't just take them for what they do on the surface and keep your mind sharp. Two: oftentimes, the scariest enemy isn't the one on the throne, leading the forces, but the abandoned soldier that has nothing to lose; for that, stay wary and don't be overconfident." - Rinia at the end of episode 249 "The Start, Part 1" on Tapas. I can't be the only one seeing Nico in these lines, especially now with what we know now, can I?
Lucky
"I attempted the reincarnation on grey first, that's true, but his soul never arrived in the chosen vessel. A simple miscalculation, I thought. He had been alive still, back in your home world of Earth, while my preparations for the Legacy had assumed a soul passed on from its mortal sheath." This wasn't actaully a miscalculation on Agronas part as when he attempted to reincarnate Grey he WAS dead at the time and he had died when he was still a king but in chapter 8 of the first book after falling off the mountain Grey returns to his old world and retires as king thus changing the past and making him live longer and all of this was never stated to be a dream. Also when grey retired as king he was 28 and he lived til he was around 40 and it is unknown how he died.
Might write a paragraph here, anyways. So i was basically thinking about how sylvia interfered with arts reincarnation for a while because of the fact that a higher being such as an Asura decided to give up her life with her only child for some human boy to go back to his family. That made 0 sense to me and I wanted to express it to a lot of people but thought I would get clowned on. I told my friend this theory and he kinda responded with a different one but now that this is true it also leads me to believe that Agrona is kind of being mislead by Seris just to prove her worth and at the same time prevent MAD. I like the fact that Agrona only sees Grey as a quadra elemental mage for the time being. I saw a comment about him godstwpping behind cadell at victoriad and saying “Sylvia sends her regards.” in bold and italic letters. That would be really cool but I feel like he needs to meet another Djinn crystal / get to the 4th ruin before then and I feel like he will just be in the relictombs for a while. We also might get a time skip or something along the lines of skipping to the next ruin etc etc. I am just really hyped for this next chapter and can not wait to see what happens next and I am wondering what kind of runes and abilities he will receive from the other ruins. ty for your time reading this and goodbye 👋
She did, but seems like she left out the Aether part. Seris is playing her own game, showed he loyalty to Agrona and left him off Arthur's back at the same time
Ezekiel2517
Loved this chapter, can't believe that Elijah was never real. Had hoped that Nico was suppressing him rather than the reverse. Kezess and Agrona both will suffer the wrath of the Djinn as they can only think from the perspectives of the Asura. Art and hopefully Tess (w/ the best parts of Cecilia) will exact some serious retribution.
Ezekiel2517
I'm hoping for some serious shock and awe when he cuts the head off Cadell at the Victoriad for all of Alacrya to see. "Sylvia sends her regards"
Breamson 𒉭
I just realized that Agrona still thinks Arthur is a Quadra elemental😭😭😭. He’s gonna shit his pants when he sees that Arthur has an aether core and an asuran body 😭
WetCarrot
I think she’s looking out for her best interests, she told him about Grey but not how strong he is imo
AntiMatterDynamite
he doesn't know seris killed uto... it's evident with how he talked about his death - he probably just thinks arthur killed uto
Okcrk
While I have no idea why Grey didn't end up where Agrona intended, what I think he meant is that it was easier to take Grey and Nico because they didn't die yet so he just grabbed them from that world and placed them in this, but with Cecilia being dead already it was harder to take her without first taking those that she was close with and "anchoring" her to this world. Again, just my understanding of it.
Bittu Sardar
“I attempted the reincarnation on Grey first, that’s true, but his soul never arrived in the chosen vessel. A simple miscalculation, I thought. He had been alive still, back in your home world of Earth, while my preparations for the Legacy had assumed a soul passed on from its mortal sheath.” - can anyone explain what was meant by 'while my preparations for the Legacy had assumed a soul passed on from its mortal sheath'? So Agrona tried to reincarnate Grey it didn't happen as expected because Sylvia interfered? So did Grey reincarnate during this try or later? Was Grey still alive in earth after the first try?
Great chapter. However I am starting to think that we might have misunderstood Seris. She did not save Arthur because she wanted to, she saved him on Agrona’s orders. Agrona needs Arthur alive to reincarnate Cecilia
Bittu Sardar
A chapter with heap load of important informations. I feel like turtle is setting Nico up for a redemption arc. He is definitely going to switch sides when he learns the complete truth. I'm also pretty sure Arthur won't kill Nico. He won't repeat what he did in his last life. A great chapter. Thanks Turtle nim.
Lorwus
Laugh while you still can Agrona, someone gonna show you what real power is
Anrike
So the truth is finally revealed about arts death, his reincarnation and his involvement.... that so awesome. I always like these psychological plays in novels. Arthur pulling up later with Aether Arts is going to be badass!!!
Breamson 𒉭
Great chapter, but I feel that we get a Cecilia pov next chapter, but I don’t want it 😭. I want an Arthur pov and not a pov of seeing Cecilia getting more and more manipulated.
Breamson 𒉭
„Prevent MAD“?
Brasidas
Seris is simply trying to prevent MAD. It is nice to see Agrona is as blinded by arrogance as Nico is by hate.
Breamson 𒉭
Agrona: “King Grey…Arthur Leywin…Ascender Grey…his name no longer matters, because he no longer matters. His role is complete, just as yours is. I suspect he survived because my daughter somehow sacrificed herself using the aether arts of her dragon mother, which serves me well. Sylvie was always the greater danger than your little quadra-elemental friend“; Arthur: *pulls up with an asuran body, aether core and having mastered fate; Agrona: *surprised pikachu face
Megan Arias
Awe I had hope that Arthur could bring back Elijah but Elijah was never real😥 But I wonder what side Scythe Seris is on🤔 Very confusing
Jon Chefitz
Argona being so sure of himself, makes the future chapters when he realizes that Art is a beast so much more satisfying, I thought I was mainly excited for Art to heroically return to Dicathen, but I'm now so excited to see Art crumble all of Argonas plans!
Jon Chefitz
This is about to be so lit
T_Don
lol Agrona thinks he’s smart, doesn’t realize that Grey gonna eventually god step in front of him and punch a hole through his chest and mana core with an Aether blade filled with destruction rune
I don't think anyone actually realizes the extent of Arthur's current abilities.
SKYNET REAPER
Wait 1st I am I reading this wrong or did Seris tell agrona Arthur was alive Second. Is Regis judgment going to mess up when art fights dragoth since he has uto memories like shouldn’t Regis know who he is since uto was dragoth retainer
I guess Seris forgot to mention the fact that Arthur uses aether now then or Agrona just dismissed her saying that Grey is no longer important.
OneTastyBagel
Great chapter
Evankhell
If Nico's power is truly fueled by rage, this scenario would refuel that rage and redirect it toward Agrona. However, I'm not so sure Nico will live.
Well dont be so sure there might be more to Agronas miscalculation dont you think?
this cements the fact that agrona is a lot more deadly than we the reader are lead to believe. He knows grey survived and is running around the relictombs, the only issue is that he underestimated the feats hes acheived. However his cockiness does not go unjustified, he's got an extreme amount of power and intellect, more than enough to make people dance on the palm of his hands. I'm curious what the purpose of this legacy is but he will prove to be an extremely powerful adversary for arthur.
Agrona, a mixture of satoru gojo and sukuna. Unreal strength, cruel cleverness, insane confidence and a botomless arrogance make him so enjoyable and fascinating as a character.
Bastian Cole
Well there goes my theory that Arthur was a natural reincarnation as the worlds way of counteracting Agrona's artificial meddling. This chapter was also kind of a mind blowing, originally i thought Elijah was merely part Vritra and agrona stuffed Nico into him as a vessel, but to find out that Elijah never actually existed in the first place and was just Nico without memories.
Two big and important chapters, thanks turtleme!
Murdog
I think Nico will tell Grey everything in the brink of death than Grey will tell Nico about Cecils death that she wanted it and than they both will try to save Cecilia
Hi Its Fire!
Oh what joy will come when Nico and Agrona see just how strong Grey has become and how stronger he's going to get Hahahaha!! I can't wait I need more ahhh!!
Can’t wait to see nico get his shit rocked
If Cecilia is half what Agrona has been saying, then our boy Grey is definitely gonna need that third layer ASAP
Soundd Wavess
Do you think nico will have a change of heart in the end to stop agronas shitty plans or hes gonna be a bad egg to the very last moment?
WOAH MIND BLOWN!!! Agrona really did reincarnate everyone even Arthur!!! Its sad that all these "higher beings" are so cocky I can't wait for Arthur to whoop their ass lol
I keep forgetting how everything nico does makes me hate him more and makes me more excited to see him get what’s coming to him and lose everything
Soundd Wavess
I think he HAS to know since he was able to figure out that he was alive simply from sylvie’s death. He also mentioned “ascender grey” so he knows he’s running around in the relictombs too. He knows that grey has been in contact with asuras multiple times so im thinking with his intellect he has some idea that arthur can manipulate aether somehow
Yuion
There it is.. The expected POV shift AARRGHHHH WHYYY Thanks for the chapter :D
Meer
great chapter
Soundd Wavess
Dude agrona might be my favorite character. He gives me a mix of handsome jack and sosuke aizen, where he knows everything but puts himself and his plans above it all. 10/10. Still cant wait to see nico get hit with grey’s instant transmission gumgum getsuga delaware detroit compton smash.
AntiMatterDynamite
OMG OMG OMG OMG
Evoker V
But what Agrona failed to calculate is our boy forging an Aether Core. Less of a threat than Sylvie? We’ll see…
David Harbert
Glad to see a Nico chapter. He really needs some anger management classes. We need grey getting a third aether layer and he would be exponentially stronger. I'd say his strength is a bit above white core now, and the third layer will be like 10x stronger than the 2nd layer
Varday Jacobs
Poor nico. Gonna get his smacked up a little Only to be spared because grey won’t be able to Kill his old friend.
Agrona isn't as all knowing as I thought, if he knew what Arthur can do now...
Kholas
I forgot how much I hate this guy but also feel for him. Dude just can’t move on
David
Nico never learns.
SKYNET REAPER
Dope chapter
SouperRiskyyy
Nice one
I was refreshing for a minute waiting for this
Fluxxx
first
