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Chapter 342: Duality
🕑 Added 2021-07-16 16:00:32 +0000 UTCTESSIA ERALITH
It was cold. Really cold. But the sensation of frigid air biting at my skin—my skin, I had to remind myself—was exhilarating. It reminded me that…
I’m alive.
Resting my bare hands on the icy-cold railing that ran around my ten-foot-wide balcony, I stared out at the endless range of snowy mountains, miles and miles of jagged peaks that rose up from the earth like the teeth of an enormous dragon.
No, not the Earth, not anymore. Despite reminding myself of this startling fact at least a hundred times, I have yet to come to terms with it. Who could have known there were other worlds out there? And that you could be…reborn into one.
My gaze was drawn to the series of runes marking my bare arms, glowing faintly with warm light. These arms were more slender than those I’d had before…
Before what?
I closed my eyes hard against the fog in my head, squeezing until I saw stars before opening them again.
It had been worse—much worse—the first time I had seen the thin arms and the tattooed runes. Nico had been there, standing over me—although I hadn’t recognized him, of course. His alien eyes had stared into mine from beneath his new, dark brows. I had immediately vomited all over his shirt before passing out…
In the distance, a winged creature the size of an airplane was wheeling around one of the peaks, hunting. What had Nico called the creature?
A mana beast.
As I watched, letting my attention move entirely away from my own body and the glowing runes that marked my now fair skin, the magnificent monstrosity suddenly tucked in its wings and dove, vanishing in the dips and valleys. I wished I could join it, flying through the mountains, nothing between me and the jagged rocks but the magic I’d inherited with this body.
Of all the amazing things I’d seen and learned, flying was definitely my favorite.
Flying, though, made me think of my first battle in this new world, of the impossible strength of our enemies, and a chill ran through me that had nothing to do with the cold, raising gooseflesh along my arms.
We hadn’t expected an attack…I had barely known what was going on still, only that my new friend Agrona—the one who gave Nico and me another chance at life—needed my help. I simply repeated what they told me to, until…
I flew, I thought dizzily. I’d never done that before.
Turning suddenly, I whisked back into my room and shut the door against the cold and the alien landscape. A twisting sense of vertigo threatened to overwhelm me, so I threw myself into a chair in front of the blazing fireplace, rubbing the bridge of my nose forcefully, my entire body rigid against the nausea.
An unwanted memory surfaced. I was walking across the school campus on a day like any other, when my body began to ache and tremble, the swelling ki washing across me like waves over a stormy ocean, and when those waves of ki broke land…I was lying on the floor, my body jerking and twisting within a cocoon of dark, spear-tipped vines, the angry presence hidden within me lashing out, roaring with hatred and confusion…
Shaking my head violently, I recoiled from the images, tucking my legs up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them.
Breathe, just breathe, Cecilia.
This dizzying sensation of wrongness had been common at first. Nico said it was just my mind acclimating to my new physical form, but—
A knock at the door made me jump.
Unfolding from the chair, I stared at the back of the door. “Yes?” I asked after a few seconds.
“Cecilia, it’s Nico. Can I come in?”
I turned back to the fire, dancing in shades of orange and yellow, and took a deep breath to push back the lingering dizziness. “Yes, of course.”
The heavy wooden door swung smoothly inward, revealing a figure a head taller than me, with alabaster skin and jet-black hair. He stepped inside and let the door close softly before crossing the room to sit stiffly on my bed.
Nico looked so different, and not just his physical features. Whatever had happened to him in this new life had been hard on him. It had made him hard.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, his piercing eyes burning into me as if he were trying to see my soul, hidden beneath the skin I was wearing.
“Fine,” I replied, too quickly.
Liar.
“I had an attack of vertigo, just now,” I admitted. “But I’m okay.”
Nico was off the bed and kneeling beside me in an instant. When his hand came to rest on mine, I pulled away as something inside of me recoiled.
“Sorry,” I whispered, but I didn’t put my hand back.
“No, Cecilia, it’s okay. It’s fine, really.” The obvious hurt this caused him shone back at me from those unfamiliar eyes, but he took his hand off the arm of my chair. “I know this is all so confusing.”
Confusing doesn’t begin to cover it.
“Do the exercise,” Nico suggested.
Nodding, I closed my eyes and began to focus on the orange glow of the fire playing across the inside of my eyelids. Then, breathing deeply, my focus followed the breath in through my nose and down into my lungs, where I held it.
As I breathed out, my focus stayed on my lungs, on the way my sternum shifted as my chest rose and my stomach expanded, causing an intricate interplay of the muscle, bones, and internal organs. There, I searched for my mana core, trying to feel it, to be consciously aware of it.
It took a minute, but eventually I found it near my solar plexus. Once I had it in my mind, it felt impossible to miss: a ball of white hot power, waiting for me to draw on the gusting hurricane of energy contained within. Sort of like my ki center, but…more.
But there was something else there, too.
Within the core, I could sense another will, separate from my own, just like in the memory. Angry green tentacles wriggled, making my stomach churn.
The elderwood guardian’s beast will…
My eyes snapped open as I was shunted out of the meditation by the queasy feeling the beast will gave me. From the corner of my eye, I saw Nico watching me closely.
“Better?” he asked when I opened my eyes.
I only nodded in response.
“Anyway.” Nico stood and took a hesitant step back. “Agrona would like us to join him for dinner in an hour, in his private rooms. Want me to wait for you to get dressed?”
I shook my head this time, then tucked a stray lock of gunmetal hair behind my ear. “No, I’ll…see you there.”
With a nod, Nico fumbled behind him for the door handle, then backed out into the hallway, not taking his eyes off me until the door had snapped shut.
Sighing deeply—something I couldn’t remember doing often in my past life, but felt the need to do frequently now—I sank down into the chair and moved my feet closer to the fire, close enough to be uncomfortable.
Like the cold, the sensation of the too-warm flames licking at my bare toes made me feel…
Alive?
Remembering what Nico had said about dinner, I jumped up and dashed through a door on the other side of my bed that led into my own private dressing room. Inside, there was a desk with drawers full of perfumes and makeup, several mirrors, three dressers for different types of clothes, and a closet that ran the length of the room.
It was, I thought a little guiltily, my favorite place in Taegrin Caelum.
I’d never had my own stuff before, not really. Or at least, I didn’t think so. So much of my previous life was still a blur, although Nico and Agrona assured me that it would all come back with time. But I remembered the orphanage, and Headmaster Wilbek, and I remembered the testing…
Pulling away from the memories to avoid another fit, I began to sort through the clothes hanging inside the closet. It contained mostly dresses and strange robes of a hundred different colors and designs, and all just for me.
My fingertips brushed a simple, onyx-colored dress with black runes along the back that I thought would make my new hair stand out, but dismissed it for an ankle-length green dress with golden leaves embroidered up the side.
As I quickly changed, I prepared myself for a conversation with Agrona, ordering my thoughts and preparing answers to the bombardment of questions I knew I’d receive.
Once I was dressed, I started the long walk through the fortress to Agrona’s private rooms without even glancing in the mirrors to check my appearance; looking at the stranger’s rune-covered body and unfamiliar face staring back at me would only give me vertigo again.
Taegrin Caelum’s halls were always bustling with activity: hundreds of servants rushed about, tending to the needs of the many soldiers, aristocrats, and military leaders who frequented the mountain fortress. The castle was like a city unto itself, contained within the towering walls of dark stone.
Each hall was lined with paintings and portraits, or artifacts hung in rune-marked glass cases. Stuffed mana beasts were common, every one posed as if it were about to lunge and attack passersby. I was fascinated by the grotesque and alien forms, and had mapped out much of the fortress by learning the location of the many stuffed monsters, but there was no time to linger and examine them today.
Wherever I crossed paths with a servant who was polishing an artifact or scrubbing stains from the scarlet carpet that ran down the center of the hall, they would press their backs against the walls and bow deeply until after I’d passed.
Early on, I’d tried to talk to a few of these servants, but they wouldn’t speak to me, except to answer direct questions, and they never made eye-contact. In fact, aside from Nico and Agrona, I had no one to talk to.
They want you to be isolated, to see only what they’re showing you.
I shook my head, knowing this wasn’t a fair observation. Too much stimulus overwhelmed me, especially after the attack…They had to introduce this new world slowly, and even then I found myself having a hard time retaining information.
Like where things were in the huge fortress.
It was when I passed the lunging form of a feline beast with two heads and three tails for the second time that I realized I’d turned myself around while lost in thought.
“Was it the second right after this cat-thing, or the third?” I muttered to myself, peeking down corridor after corridor.
Turning at the third corridor, I increased my pace, hurrying to the door at its end, which I thought opened into a narrow, spiralling staircase that would take me up several floors to the level on which Agrona maintained his private rooms.
Instead of a staircase, I found a large, dimly lit suite. Surprised, I froze in the doorway, my eyes tracking slowly across the chamber as I tried to figure out where I was.
“Who's there,” a thin, tired voice said from deeper in the chamber. “Just leave whatever it is by the door and go away!”
“I’m sorry,” I replied. “I’m a little lost. Do you—”
Something was scrabbling against the floor near the corner, and I could just make out a lithe silhouette unfolding from where it lay and stalking toward me into the ring of light from the open door.
I stepped back out into the hallway, my heart suddenly pounding in my chest, although I wasn’t quite sure why.
The woman seemed to fill the doorway, despite her stick-thin stature. She rested her hands on the frame on either side of the opening and scowled out from behind thin, greenish-black bangs. I was taken aback by how ill and…inhuman she looked.
Her cheeks were sunken beneath dark, red-rimmed eyes, and when she sucked in a hissing breath through her thin, gray lips, I saw that her teeth had been filed to sharp points. The black robes she wore exposed her arms and sides, which were skeletally thin.
“Are…” I trailed off, my voice failing as I struggled to overcome whatever instinct was urging me to flee from the woman. Swallowing heavily, I tried again. “Are you okay?”
“Am I…? Am I okay?” she hissed, staring at me as if I’d suddenly grown a third arm. “You speak to Bivrae, last of her blood…and ask if she is okay?”
“I’m sorry,” I muttered, unsure why the woman repulsed me so completely.
She looks just like him.
This thought took me by surprise, but the moment I had it, I knew what it meant. I could picture the man, puffy and skeletal at the same time, with seaweed green hair and sunken pits for eyes…
Bilal. The retainer. Her…brother?
“I’m sorry for your loss,” I choked out, overwhelmed by a strangling collision of emotions I couldn’t explain. “Forgive my intrusion.”
Bowing slightly, I fled back down the hall.
“Wait!” she screeched, but I didn’t stop, rounding the corner and nearly colliding with a servant woman.
I dodged around her and was halfway to the next corridor before I heard her yelp of surprise, then increased my pace still more, practically flying through the halls, hammering through a door and shooting up a winding staircase.
Only after I’d burst through another door into a wide hallway with an elegantly curved roof covered by a long, detailed fresco did I skid to a stop, breathing hard.
“Cecilia?”
Jumping, I spun around only to realize that Nico had been standing near the stairway door, admiring a gold and silver shield hung on the wall.
His expression fell when he noticed my heaving breaths, and what I assumed was a wild, panicky stair. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“N-nothing,” I stammered, working to collect myself. “Just…got turned around—didn’t want to be late.”
“You’re perfectly on time, actually,” a deep voice said from down the hallway, the rumble of it carrying through the stones and vibrating up into the soles of my feet. “No need to have gotten yourself worked up, Cecilia dear.”
Turning toward the voice, I bowed deeply, but the motion made my head swim as a wave of vertigo crashed around me, and I stumbled forward. A powerful, marble-gray arm caught me, and I felt myself being lifted like a child and set firmly back on my feet.
Standing in front of me, his hands on my shoulders, was Agrona, his vibrantly scarlet eyes staring right through me. The lord of the Vritra clan, and my new home of Alacrya, was handsome, with smooth skin and a sharp jaw that reminded me of an actor. His frame was lithe and graceful, and he moved with an easy confidence that drew your eyes to him.
Enormous horns sprouted from the sides of his black hair like an elk’s antlers, except shiny and black, each prong coming to a spear-sharp point. Several gold and silver rings wrapped around the many prongs, and bejeweled chains traced the lines of the horns. On anyone else, it would have looked gaudy, but to Agrona, it only added to the sense of power that hung from him like a cloak.
Lost in the twisting vertigo, I couldn't help but stare as his presence overwhelmed me.
“Oh, those pesky memories,” he said softly. “Riling you up again, aren’t they? Let me help.”
No! Please don’t—
Then Agrona was in my head, in my mind, poking around like a potter molding clay. The confusion of memories and thoughts that weren’t mine began to recede, as did the cascading avalanche of emotions.
As his mental fingers kneaded my brain, I took a deep breath and let myself relax. First, he removed her memories, pushing them away and burying them down deep, then he began to sift through my own, giving a tug here or a prod there to help me remember things from my previous life.
A rush of images played in my mind’s eye, flashing by in quick succession:
Nico, just a boy, inviting me to play with him and his friend, even though I was too shy to even speak.
Nico dodging between blasts of ki energy, moving faster than his age should have allowed, to press a gloved hand to my stomach, saving me and everyone else in the orphanage from the surging unstable ki threatening to explode out of me.
Nico handing me a medallion that he’d made just for me, to keep me safe, his nervous smile speaking more than his words ever did.
Nico saving me from violent men in an alley, men who wanted to take me away, who were willing to kill to get me.
Nico, his arms wrapped around me in congratulations after we’d been accepted into the military training institute we attended together.
Nico, his arms wrapped around me in…
My eyes snapped open and I took a quick step back from the towering Vritra, who gave me a knowing smile before straightening. “There there, all better now, isn’t it Cecilia.”
“Yes, Lord Agrona,” I replied calmly, the noise in my head finally settling. “Thank you for your assistance.”
Next to me, Nico’s fingers were fidgeting at his side, and I knew he wanted to reach out and take my hand, but he held back. I didn’t make any effort to encourage him, appreciating the distance. For some reason, physical contact with Nico, no matter how innocent, always triggered the sickening sense of vertigo.
“Now, I’ve had an exquisite meal prepared for us,” Agrona went on, turning and gesturing for us to follow. “Star fruit and moon oxen from Elenoir—bit of a rare delicacy now, all things considered—but that’s not the reason I wanted to speak to you both.
“I know you want to get out and see the world, Cecilia dear. This all still seems very alien and otherworldly, and I don’t want you to feel like a bird trapped in its cage. Which is why I am sending Nico—with you at his side, as it should be—to investigate some strange goings on at the High Hall within the Relictombs.”
Smiling up at the Vritra lord, Nico and I followed him into his private dining chamber, eager for the opportunity to prove myself to the High Sovereign.
A/N: FOR DISCORD USERS, PLEASE DO NOT DISCUSS THIS IN CHANNEL #NOVEL-TALK AND KEEP TO PATREON-ONLY CHANNELS UNTIL THE CHAPTER IS RELEASED ON TAPAS TO PREVENT SPOILERS. THANK YOU. <3
Comments
why do i feel cecilia will team up with grey to fight asuras and then nico will join them inorder to pay back both grey and cecilia for messing up
It's like possession and not reincarnation at this point looool
Nandan
Yep... the italic shows Tess is still around there and Agronass hasn't been able to evict for good. Starts at "They want you to be isolated, to see only what they’re showing you." and ends at "No! Please don’t—" But Cecilia seems to be a high-maintenance woman er... consciouness, and I don't think the High Sovereign will always be there to keep Tess's consciousness and memories from rearing up. I have high hopes she'll be back one of these days.
Yeath that's it and I think Nico is the worst idiot ever. Back on Earth Cecilia was a tool she died to escape and he reincarnated her here to be what : A TOOL (what a surprise) in the hand of the Vitra. Not only that but also messing with the memories make him a really ****
Wait so doesn't this actually mean that she doesn't love nico but actually gray cuz almost everything that she saw wasn't of young nico on earth but young gray on earth they are really messing with her head but im glad to see that tesses is still alive eventho she doesn't have control over her body
Ohhhhhhh!! The italic is actually Tess, when she said bilal that confirmed it.
Yesssss!, finally, some insight on what exactly happened to Tess!! So excited to read this!
I believe so. The fact that she still has massive bouts of confusion seems to indicate that both Cecilia and Tessia are stronger mentally than Agrona accounted for.
ShadowPillow
I miss my boy Elijah. :( Nico was already a dead dude. I can't help but feel that he killed Elijah; he's entirely different. Cecilia doesn't even know what's going on and is being manipulated. Hopefully she realizes it, since she's been in a similar situation before, just people trying to exploit her for her power. Damn Agrona for pulling out those modified memories and putting down Tessia... Arthur was the one who did many of those things. T.T I'm glad she feels an unease about it. I miss Tessia already. I was really hopeful that this was actually her POV and that whole /I'm alive/ line tricked me for a bit until I read on. It's crazy. I had also been hoping Gray could get in contact with Cecilia... but at this point she'll just feel vertigo if she does and won't remember him. Damn Agrona.
FeyOne
I agree. I suspect she will bond HARD with Tess if she can awaken all her memories. Based on her past life, she would probably even be willing to allow herself to fall away and give Tess her body back. She had a sense of justice closer to Grey's/Arthur's than Nico's, and I can't imagine her being happy to realize she has literally stolen someone's life.
FeyOne
Hi Zaiuddin, I have been on the fence about Nico for some time. I get what you are saying, but until this chapter I have always come down on, "If he had an ounce of actual love for either of the people involved he would just ASK Aurther/Grey why he did it instead of making an assumption about him that is so out of character from their life to that point." However, after this chapter, I have to wonder if Cecilia is the only person who's memories Agrona messed with. LIke, if you read through that bit with Cecilia's memories, those were wrong. Agrona was writing Nico into her memory in places where Grey had done things. That is subtle, and a really big deal. For all we know, Agrona did something similar to Nico and Nico's memories are actually twisted as well. So yeah, previously I didn't like Nico, but I didn't have much sympathy for him either. After this chapter, though, I have to wonder how much of a victim he may be in all of this as well and I find myself a bit more open to sympathy.
Gonnna be honest, not a fan of nico but I feel like everyone's hatred of him is shallow asf, like I get what he's doing is despicable but considering he didn't know the nature of cecilia's death, I find it fitting he's doing what he is to get back at Arthur because if someone I considered to be my best friend killed my fiance, I would stop at nothing to make them suffer. He doesn't know the full story just like cecilia and agrona is using their confusion and emotions to manipulate them at his will. Gonna say it again, not a fan of nico, but please have some understanding for a character. Like this is coming from a guy who can't fucking stand Rachel from tower of god, I don't just hate characters who are enemies to the MC.
Sallai Péter
I have 2 answers to this: 1: Arthur was born into a new body not into one that has been in use by someone else 2: imo Arthur's reincarnation was a natural reaction to Nico's(since we know Elijah was older than Arthur), but even if it wasn't a reaction I still think it was just natural reincarnation, but Cecilia's was forced into a body that was previously someone else's.
Does that mean that Arthur’s body was meant for him? I say that because he doesn’t hear another voice in his head. Of course that voice at the beginning would’ve been a child unable to speak but with time it would’ve developed. But instead there is no voice, maybe because somebody with the true knowledge of reincarnation (a higher being than agrona) made Arthur’s reincarnation perfect
NerdyMama4
He's manipulating her memories of the past so she won't remember Grey! Yes it's still in there, so when she finally sees Arthur/Grey will she actually remember?
I feel it would be unlikely for Nico to be unaware of it. Because if he doesn't know, there is a pretty high possibility of him messing up and telling Cecilia about a past she isn't supposed to remember (kinda like "getting your story straight"). And Agrora doesn't seems like the kind of individual who would gamble their "plan" just to protect Nico feelings, and if he didn't care enough for it that he would be OK with Cecilia finding out, he wouldn't bother doing it in the first place. So yeah, Nico may had no choice (if Agrora pushed the plan on him, like to "elevate the probability" of Cecilia being loyal to them) considering his behavior in this chapter, but he's still pretty trashy for allowing it, Gray messed up enough in his past life to grant Nico the upper hand.
100% when she see’s are boi Arthur she will remember everything
its a different world...
I wonder if Arthur's ability to reverse time on inanimate objects will also evolve to affect animate objects as well. That way, he could reverse the state the Tess is in but would probably doom Cecilia.
I love this idea. Another reason why Regis is the perfect weapon for him.
Craig O'Hanlon
Goosebumps not gooseflesh
Adamski234
If Arthur and Tess meet each other couldn’t Regis just go inside of her and drag her consciousness out because he’s shown have abilities?
Yeah, he’s thrust cecilia right back into the same situation she killed herself to get out of, while usurping tess’s body. Makes my blood boil, even if it is fictional haha.
Pete Linux
The disgust towards Nico I am feeling right now can't really be put into words.
Relaxel
I do hope Nico isn't aware that Agrona is literally brainwashing Cecilia. Can't wait for Arthur to encounter them in the relictombs.
carson
Wow, Nico needs to die a death so gruesome it makes Lucas' fate look merciful. Really sick how he's not only okay with using the body of another unwilling girl to house his fiance, he's also willing to rewrite her mind and memories to better suit him, that's not love that's possession.
Also I think this 'vessel' stuff is nonsense. I really think that anyone of sufficient strength could've been a vessel. I think that Agrona has it out for Art and was trying to pick off his friends or turn them against him. Agrona is a snake. Hsssss.
Honestly, this makes me believe I may be onto something with my theory that Cecillia's and Nico's aren't actually reincarnations (specifically Nico, since we know Tess's wasn't) but a placement of the old soul into the body, i.e., as Tess was Cecillia's vessel, Elijah was Nico's vessel. Maybe far-fetched, but it makes sense as how Tess's behaviour suddenly changed, so did Elijahs. As opposed to Arthur who was born a new person (at least, or maybe was 'placed' into the body right as he was born?)... This is hella confusing, sorry, but its just a theory.
Jennie (Eirine)
Sounds like Tess is rejecting Nico!
I also think that her hearing "Grey" will do that. But I kind of think the reason Turtle may have used "Tessia" instead of "Cecillia" is to not give spoilers away since we usually see the first few words of each post, maybe?
Ezra
This was a lot. A bit disappointed that it says Tessia Eralith when it’s actually Cecilia. False advertising, TurtleMe. If it’s Cecilia write Cecilia. It’s a bit frustrating to get my hopes up, and then immediately crush them. I was hoping we could find out where Tess’ consciousness went. I’m not surprised that Agrona is manipulating her and messing with her memories. Can’t wait for her to find out that she’s back in the situation she was in her past life of enslavement and exploitation. Maybe this trip to the high hall and hearing the name Grey might trigger her memory. It’ll be good when she figures out what’s going on. I’m also glad that Cecilia doesn’t like Nico touching her and that it sends her reeling in vertigo since it would just feel wrong for them to do “anything” while she’s in Tessia’s body.
David Rafael Tamir
I'm SO HAPPY she gets vertigo everytime nico touches her. Keep ur hands off our tess u perv!
I'm not entirely sure why some people here keep commenting on how they shouldn't be running into Grey(Arthur) now. There are a plethora of ways and possibilities for them to run into him. Grey(Arthur) isn't being too subtle right now in Alacrya, and Agrona I betcha somewhat notices what's going on. I'm sure TurtleMe if he does let them see Grey(Arthur) in the next chapters, he'll figure out a way to make it sensical. Ya'll need to trust him more :)
Wow! another great chapter. I'm so glad the story is not going the way I expected. It's way more fun and interesting that way :D
You know what would be interesting. Since we are in Alacrya, it would be cool to bring in a relative of Cynthia Goodsky for Arthur to interact with, or let Arthur get revenge on Kai Crestless.
I do apologize. I am not good at writing succinctly, and I hope I haven't offended you guys with my thoughts. You guys have definitely raised some good points.
I acknowledge you do have a number of valid points, and I do think they help make what is happening more believable. However, I think we will have to agree to disagree as to whether it seems too contrived. I believe that with Grey's two lifetimes of experience, and Alric's help he could have hidden himself successfully without ever being found even with the relictombs treating him differently. Honestly, the numbers make it tough for me given that there are maybe only 10 to 100 people in Alacrya who recognize Arthur's face, and only 3 people who might recognize the name Grey, that out of the potential 1/2 billion people (roughly the number of people in North America used as a continent reference) that they would ever interact if Grey/Arthur doesn't want to. So, I'm not saying that your points are wrong. They are actually quite logical as far as I can tell. I just think that there are a number of things (like Grey meeting Caera who happens to be the mentee of Seris on his first time in the relictombs - this is a big one, the Granbels dying so tragically yet conveniently leaving one alive to "out" Grey - the author could have let the Granbels all survive for example, then having Arthur become a professor again to get some political protection making him more of a public figure, etc.) that make it seem too contrived to me. It seems clear to me based on these intentional story choices that the author wants Grey to be forced into the open before he is ready, and that frustrates me. As I said, I think you have made a number of good points, and I don't disagree with the the points, its just that when you take all of your valid points together it seems designed by the author to make Grey out himself. As a math person, the fact that only 10 out of 1/2 a billion could recognize him, and it seems like he will still be outed in less then a month or two in a Alacrya is a bit hard for me to stomach no matter how many special circumstances there are.
That wall of text was huge, anyhow... You are considering they will simply meet randomly without considering any of the factors let's see some factors leading up to the next few chapters: 1. A new ascender is reported to hugely increase the level of the convergence zone (assuming the Denoir, Caera, Daria, or even Seris might have spilled the beans) 2. Said ascender shows up again making a simple preliminary ascent a pro level ascent 3. Said ascender breaks chains deemed unbreakable (the professor's surprise in the last chapter is indication that that was a big deal) 4. Said ascender breaks yet another unbreakable cage and proceeds to leave a pile of corpses on the first floor of the relictombs (assuming the Grahnbels said something, which they probably did not) 5. Said ascender, out of nowhere, becomes a professor in the best academy in the continent (something that called the 'ascender's bureau' attention) So yeah, grey is already starting to become famous, unfortunately... We also have the major corruption scandal in the High Hall and it was mentioned in the very next chapter that Agrona would be involved if the violence escalated, which it did, in the very next chapter! Thus it is far from contrived the fact that Agrona is investigating this. Now you are also assuming that Cecilia will be walking an bump into Arthur out of nowhere which is in fact far fetched, she will probably just go investigate the High Hall and then the name Grey may instigate something inside her, a repressed memory deep down. Their encounter will probably be a consequence of this, not random chance
Agrona knows what the name Grey actually means tho, and if the news of an unnamed blood ascendere of ridiculous power by the name Grey reaches the walls of Taegrin Caelum you can bet he's gonna investigate it for real... Maybe even test how far his memory manipulation has rooted itself in Cecilia and Nico's brains by purposefully putting them in contact with Grey
I'm sorry, but Nico and Cecilia being sent to check on the oddities in the RelicTombs with the High Hall seems way to contrived, and statistically improbable for me (math says no...). It was already stated in a earlier chapter that Agrona historically wouldn't look into High Hall business. So, now he is going to look into it, and send Nico who is a Sythe no less??? If he historically wouldn't even look into it, then in the event he did look into it, he would send someone less important. Bringing Nico and Cecilia into contact with Grey so quickly in spite of how large Alacrya is seems really forced and as I said earlier statistically improbable. Realistically, with Alric's help, Grey should be able to stay unnoticed as long as he wants to. There shouldn't be a forced interaction until Grey is ready. It would be like mistakenly running into an old friend in New York city when neither of you live there, but you both happen to visit at the same time. Its possible, but once again, incredibly improbable... Realistically, if anyone "outs" Grey, it would be the Asuras from Ingrath after Sythe Seris' hint to Aldir.
Sean Defrank
I bet you there's going to be a moment where Cecilia touches Grey/Arthur without knowing It's him and feels calm rather than totally disgusted when she touches Nico because of Tessia, and that's how Cecilia gets memories back of Grey from her childhood.
Idk how to feel reading this
Felt rage reading this.
Ahhhh dont go after grey too soon, he still need some time to play with the dead relics, can’t wait to see what power he could get from them
Mandalomaster
Yes we can assume that the vivum can allow Arthur to create a whole body. All will depend on how powerful Arthur will be with Aether.
I really hope Arthur ends up finding a way to save Tess, he honestly deserves to have his promise with her fufilled after all the pain and suffering he's gone through. Maybe using his Aether he can find a way to create a new body for Cecillia so Tess can retain her own?
shawntw
Tess/cecilia is different from Nico/elijah. Elijah was nico from birth, as was stated by Turtle in the discord.
Mandalomaster
I think Tess can stay in the corner of Cecilia mind thanks to her beast will, it can be the reason Elijah can't resist Nico whereas Tess can resist for now. Maybe at some point Cecilia and Tess will be able to communicate through their minds.
Xandralas Chaos
Here is something that i will ad to that, altho it is not confirmed, only a theory: agrona provoket the dragons to attack the elfen kingdom with showing off cecilia in the open, making her acting as tess, what is making in my eyes like no sense cause the war is too 95% over at this point, so agrona and nico tell cecilia that the elfen princess tess agreed in her being a vessel for her cause she lerned the truth about the dragons and the ancient mages, and want to save her kingdom with cecilia's powers. so agrona sends nico and cecilia to the elfen kingdom to make the elfes surrender, but with that he triggers the attack from the dragon, given what we know agrona know Kezess for more than just a few 100-600years i guess, so he knows how he will react to that, and agrona said too art once that he is not liking making allies with force, but rather by thy onw free will. so with the attack and grounding of the elfen kingdom, cecilias kingdom, he and nico are showing her that the dragons give shit and less about the lesser and are ready too completly kill thousends of pp without a second thought, and mayybeee there are telling cecilia that the dragon lord is either stoping agrone from reinc more of cecilias old world friends like her mother etc and with that, just like agrona likes it, cecilia will be an allay of him on her own free will, and not via force... waddaya say? kinda far i know but given that agrona is 500+years old.... why not? we know he is damm smart and foxy
Carth
As much as we all dislike Tess, at least she’s able to subconsciously deny touch from Nico
Guarantee they are gonna meet Arthur is the relictombs
ZaA
can you guys imagine how disgusted Cecilia is going to be when she learns Nico basically forced her into the body of Grey's girlfriend/love interest person and that's whose memories she keeps forcing down? Should be epic.
Now, I could be wrong, but deep down I've always felt as if Cecilia still loved Grey, but when her life became to complex and Grey became out of reach, she let go and settled for Nico. I mean-- I'm not saying that Nico is the rebound, and that Cecilia would drop Nico as much as Tess would herself if given the chance at a real opportunity with Grey -- but that's exactly what I'm saying. If that turns out the be the case, I ALMOST (I really don't) feel bad for Mr. Nice guy Nico. All that anger and betrayal at Grey, going as far to even hijack Grey's girlfriend's body, and she STILL don't want you???? I iust KNOW Nico crying himself to sleep thinking about how Cecilia, the woman he claims whole heartedly loved him back, don't even wanna touch him. LMAOOO poor Nico.
edscifi
Come on Tess fight! I really hope when all is said and done Tess gets back her body and gets to be with Arthur (Not Cecilia)
In theory. But nobody besides Arthur can manipulate aether atp. So it's debatable.
Josh
Only one or two were Grey. He's mixing in true memories with the fake ones for a better lie
Polyester Bandit
I'm pretty sure that Art is like a fly compared to Agrona at the moment .... I love art but you have to respect the power scales ....
Soundd Wavess
If im remembering correctly wasn’t the whole reason agrona even cares about this because cecilia was like the strongest thing to ever live on her planet? So given enough time, won’t she pass arthur in power?
Soundd Wavess
Nico is such a worthless simp it actually sickens me can we get goku to reincarnate and nuke this entire miserable continent PLEASE
Breezy
Holy moly. So all those things Nico did in her memories was actually Grey, right? Yikes. Mega manipulation. Ulg.
Notice how it was a Tess POV and not a cecelia POV? Maybe turtle is implying that Tess till has some control as she was speaking to Cecilia? Maybe I’m just too hopeful
Tbh, I don't think Nico and Cecilia will meet Grey/Art in the Relictombs. But I do think both might realize the name "Grey" while investigating the incident in the High halls. So maybe Nico will start to suspect this "Grey" person.
Man, I wanna know what the power scaling looks like now. I wonder how strong Art is compared to Agrona and everyone else now.
T_Don
Well Tess got rekt and cecelia took over, called it months ago. Nico is still as cringe as possible. Agrona is sinister as can be expected. If cecelia doesn’t quickly realize that someone who can alter memories and does it so silly nilly isn’t your friend, then that’s on you. Would be interesting to see Arthur meet them in either the relictomes or the school and then watch him snap and maim nico, that would be enjoyable
FallenFlamingos25
Eeeshh personal opinion. I cant get behind the fact that shes in tess and i dont like it but oh well
How I wish we could get more chapters per week 🥲
Great chapter….So IMO the memory manipulation would have to be done in a constant manner cause it seems that when she uses mana Tess’s memories resurface ( bouts of vertigo, convulsions etc.,). She’s fighting back cause she is almost revolted by contact with Nico. Also the beast will is reacting as well. The beast will recognizes Tess as the master and not Cecilia and it took Tess a long time to gain control and she needed help from Arthur and gramps to gain control. Cecilia lied to Nico and told her that she was ok but she still wasn’t. Agrona playing with her memories and assuming grey is dead is gonna come back and bite him severely. Even with a different appearance, Tess (even buried deep) will recognize him and trigger Cecilias memories to reappear
Megan Arias
WOW THEY CHANGED THE MEMORIES... COUNT UR DAYS AGRONA
Jonathan Stolle
Agrona is terrible, though Nico's role is unclear to me (I might have missed details my first time reading through saying that Nico knows how badly Agrona is messing with her mind). To what extent is Nico brainwashed? (It's possible that he's not, simply because he's desperate to have Cecilia in his life again.) Even if not brainwashed, he might not know about Agrona altering Cecilia's memories; i.e., he might know about surpressing Tess' memories and hiding some things about her past life, but depending on conversations with those invovled, he might not know exactly what Agrona is doing. Nico's knowledge of the situation I think plays into his culpability --- i.e., he might just be an easy to use tool for Agrona, he might be complicit in manipulating who Cecilia thinks he is (the worst of the options mentioned), or something in between (guilty of manipulation, but it's maybe less serious because of intention --- i.e., maybe her own death would be traumatising, so Nico understands that this was erased and thinks maybe Grey's name isn't obvious to Cecilia, but maybe because Nico thinks that manipulating memories is difficult for Agrona and he thinks that Agrona tried to give her the most essential memories of their life together or some such --- this is possibly poorly explained).
Ezekiel2517
Agreed! Can’t wait to see how Art’s going to shape Fate! These 4 people are ones he has cared about deeply and knowing his sense of honor & justice, he will search for a way to bring each a satisfying end
AntiMatterDynamite
wow this episode.... so.... we know that tess isn't lost, we know that nico and cecilia will probably meet grey - while he's using that name, we know that they had to trick cecilia into thinking she likes nico and that means nico also might have been manipulated to hate grey
Jon Chefitz
This chapter was insane. Getting confirmation on what happened with Tess, has put so many questions to rest, and now allows us to look at the possible story points of Cecilia having Tess's body. So excited for next, week but even more excited to see the comment blow up, from us having a Tess POV. Thanks for the chapter Turtle, and see everyone again next week!
It’s torture waiting a week in between chapters D;
Damn so he can LITERALLY brainwash people
Rocco Mangiaterra
Manipulation tends to bite the oppressor in the ass in the long run. Silly Agrona trying to control things he has no business controlling. Assuming Cecilia gets ALL her memories back I don’t think she’s gonna be a happy camper finding out she’s once again being used as someone’s pawn. Can’t wait to see what triggers her memories of grey and her previous life
Bro imagine these two meeting art in the relictombs, he finna clap them hard asf. I wish to god for them to meet.
It feels like the reincarnation is possible through the runes on her arm. If we cut that out, would that bring Tess back?
ariel lima
Nico about to get his cheeks clapped
Rocco Mangiaterra
No I believe it to just be manipulation, that is safe to assume will backfire once Cecilia gets her memories back
TLDR: True confirmation that Cecelia is in Tess’ body, that Tess’ memories are just hidden underneath, that Cecelias memories of Grey have been replaced with Nico, and that Nico and Cecelia are going to investigate what’s happening in the Relictombs (What Arthur’s doing)
"Nico, his arms wrapped around me in…" oop wonder what's gonna happen in the relic tombs ;-;
TBATE Account1
Nice to see her instincts at least tell her something is wrong with her situation. Hopefully Arthur will reveal himself as Grey when they meet, and the truth will surge to the surface.
Finally we got a Tess pov and it's just 🔥 everyone is just manipulated by Agrona and it leads to an interesting plot... I wanna know so bad what will happen next
Nico is the worst kind of simp. Requesting ur lord to meddle with ur crush memories to only remember him and not the the whole story. Disgusting
She is not gone. She is right there
I don't like how he's playing with those memories and pushing Tess back☹ imma need Tess to fight super hard now to win control back over her body!
Daniel Canales
So, I feel from this that somehow agrona manipulated both Tess/Cecilia and Elijah/Nico mind. This gives me hope that nico and Cecilia will help Arthur against the asuras Also...... i... Idk how will art react knowing that his lover is (technically) gone 🥺🥺🥺
Pretty sure Nico gave the necklace to Ellie when he came to take Tess
Wow getting to see Cecilia reincarnated! Very interesting in moving the original trio of grey, nico, and cecilia back together within the relictombs
Bro agrona changing nico and greys role in cecilias memories was crazy. Was this a glimps of the fate power?
Tess still alive in there
oh shit, I wonder if they will come in contact with art soon.
Ezekiel2517
Holy crap….I really hadn’t expected anything this raw so soon. Struggling a bit to be sure as I loved Tess and all of her wonderful innocence and faults. Cecelia did love Grey and Nico…even with Agrona’s one sided manipulation what will be the trigger? Will she find the old necklace from Arthur? Will her feelings of gratitude to Grey for saving her from life of pain come through? Damn…Seris was right to move fast too since word of Grey is clearly starting to spread. Bloody well delicious…! Final thought, who/what brought Grey into the world and why in such a different way than Cecilia and Nico (who are actively reconciling their memories as Tess and Elijah)?
The high hall😟
😩
Hannibal Forge
Oooh I like this. So Tessia is in there quietly talking to Cecilia. I wonder what will happen to Cecilia.
Michi
Tess POV oh boy here we go the comment section will be entertaining
ExtraSwivy
AYOOOO TESS POV
FIRST!!
Luis Apolinario
First?
