Life Hunter

"This will be the center of the formation" Arima said and bubbles came out of his mouth. In that water, even without being a powerful being, you would be able to breathe and speak.

"What is that formation going to be?" Layla asked and Arima threw a sort of small stone tablet at her. She looked at it and tilted her head. There were multiple dots carved on it and some were bigger than others. The whole thing seemed to make an intricate pattern "What is this?"

"The map" Arima responded "Each dot represents a star. We will arrange the actual stars we currently have as they are depicted on that map. Also, the size of the dots defines the size of the star which will be used. For example, the dot in the center of that formation is the biggest. So, the star I"ll use is the biggest out those you collected"

Arima waved his hand and wisp of energy came out of his palm. It went through the water like a torpedo then burst into a large discharge of light far away. After a few seconds, the light was consumed by something else. A burning ma.s.s took its place. It definitely was a star and even if it was submerged under water, there wasn"t any reaction.

Layla gazed at the giant star and Night shrugged "So you"re asking us to place those stars as it"s told on this map?"

"Yes, I"ll give you access to my dimensional storage, you just have to take it out" Arima answered and Karma hummed strangely.

"Wait a second… you"re not going to do it with us?" She inquired and Arima smiled innocently.

"I won"t"

"Huh?" Everyone exclaimed "Hey, what are you saying? If the scale you put on this map is exact, it will take us days, maybe weeks to finish" Night"s expression darkened "And that"s only if we a.s.sume that you"ll do it too. I"ll remember you that we can"t teleport in this place"

Arima sighed "Listen, I have something else to do. I can"t help it. I"ll change the flow of time here, when I"ll come back, it should be over"

"You can do the opposite too! Don"t you dare-!" Before Night could finish his sentence, Arima departed at a speed which even he couldn"t follow. His eyes twitched and he rubbed his face. He groaned and stared at the star burning in the water "Let"s start… we have a lot to do" He muttered and memorized the map of the formation before leaving in one direction.

Karma wryly smiled and went in the opposite direction. Layla gazed at the map she had in his hands and looked up. She squinted her eyes and activated her Unblinking Eyes. She was expecting to see where Arima had gone but she surprisingly got nothing. But she was sure that Arima was still in this soul realm.

"(If that"s the case… where did he go?)" She mused and went toward another section of the formation they were building.

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Arima kept swimming upward at incredible speed. Even his own companions wouldn"t be able to see his figure at that speed. But he still continued to go up. This ocean first seemed to be endless but Arima appeared to be looking for something, or to exact, he wanted to reach a certain place.

After hours of movement, which could be converted into a distance far exceeding millions of miles, Arima finally came out of the water. His eyes glowed and the water on him immediately transformed into vapor.

The place he resurfaced at wasn"t anything like you"d expect at all. If you antic.i.p.ated seeing a clear blue sky or the beautiful horizon over the sea, you would be extremely disappointed. But also, very lost. The place Arima arrived to was a cave. Just a small cave. There wasn"t much water too. At best, it was the size of a pond.

In that cave, there was just a small platform on which you could stand and a simple door on the wall. Arima stepped on that small area of firm ground and approached the door. He breathed in and put his hand on the k.n.o.b. He turned it and opened the door.

Arima didn"t move afterward. After all, the room he had just opened was incredibly small and narrow. And the only thing inside was a human-sized monster made of blood. It was chained to the walls, the floor, and the ceiling.

The monster opened its eyes and looked at Arima with its four pupils. The agglomerate of blood changed shape to something resembling human and a mouth was formed on its face "You came to me, huh? Do you maybe want something?"

"Not really. It"s just as I thought" Arima sharply observed the creature in front of him "Ahura was mistaken. It"s not that I lost my memories from the past. You actually made it so that I wouldn"t get your memories and you would be able to survive as a pseudo-ent.i.ty inside me. You"re indeed quite sly, Angra Mainyu"

The Demonic Spirit laughed "I am you. You are still my reincarnation. I"m just a remnant of the past" He stopped laughing and gazed at Arima "What do you seek from me?"

"Give me what you"re still keeping"

Angra fell silent and closed his eyes. Only his mouth was left and for some reason, it took the entirety of his face "So you want me to die completely and give everything to you?"

"Indeed"

"You want to become Angra Mainyu?"

"No" Arima abruptly retorted "I won"t become Angra Mainyu. I am him already, aren"t I? What"s the point of becoming something you already are" He snickered "In fact, I don"t care about that name. In this life, I"m Arimane, or the "Kind Demon", as they like to call me"

Angra moved a little and the chains shook "Then what is your goal exactly?"

"You are a power I detain and one that I plan to use" Arima coldly said and the blood monster laughed again.

"Would you dare to use the power of true evil?"

"What are you talking about?" Arima snorted "Evil? Do you think that I"m obliged to consider that every time I use my strength? I admit that there are many uses of magic that can be considered taboo. But there"s absolutely no moral restriction when it concerns the source. In the end, that"s how you use it that will make it evil or good. Don"t tell me that an ancient being like you doesn"t even know about this kind of truth which even a kid could tell?"

Angra sneered "Perhaps. I"m a pretty narrow-minded individual; I completely a.s.sume" He raised his arms "Fine! I intended to give this power to you anyway. I have nothing to do in this world anymore. Even Ahura already has given everything to the next generation. It"s time that I do the same" He seemed to be disappointed.

"Seriously…" His voice deepened and he started trembling oddly. Arima frowned "No matter how many times I tried; I couldn"t get the control of your body. Heck! Even from the time you were an infant, I was already trying to overtake you! But seriously, what the h.e.l.l?! You were a baby! Can you explain to me why I couldn"t beat a baby and take over his mind?!" He snapped and complained. He seemed to be really tormented and shocked about it.

Arima looked away. It sounded quite tough actually "And the worst thing out all of this is that each time I failed, your subconscious and soul would push me back even more. It confined me until I was chained in this freaking place! How"s that possible, huh?! You were supposed to be the perfect vessel for me! Since when a simple human has enough mental and soul power to drive off an ancient spirit like me?!"

"Okay, I get it" Arima shook his head "I"m sorry but it"s your own fault for trying to be reborn like that"

Angra clicked his tongue "Get out of this place. The moment you step out, I"ll disappear forever and you"ll get what you want. I"m tired of this s.h.i.t"

Arima wordlessly turned around and put a foot in the water "…I will give you one last warning" Angra raised his voice and Arima halted "You"ll receive my memories soon but there"s something you won"t get. And that thing is any information about the Creators"

Arima raised an eyebrow and looked over his shoulder "I don"t know much myself why. But the Laws will erase that kind of information the moment it leaves me. Maybe the Creators wanted to reduce to the maximum the number of people knowing about their existence"

"In any case, if you want to defeat those abominations, my power will be far from enough. I know you also want to use the essence of realities but it"s uncertain. I never actually met them but along with Ahura, I am one of the oldest beings, even in all realities. So at least, I know one thing" Angra declared and paused.

"…The Creators are not some kind of omniscient and omnipotent powerhouses. They were also not the ones who created the world you know in general. Well, they"re indeed capable of giving birth to mortals as easily as breathing and certainly have the power to create and destroy realities. They also have the ability to control Laws"

"But they are not the ones who made them. They"re actually incapable of creating Laws or even modify them. They are also unable to directly manipulate mortals. Basically, they are just some sort of administrators who can see the code and purge it if necessary but are not the ones who made it and they cannot change it"

Arima faced Angra again "What do you want to say? That there"s something above?"

Angra laughed "There"s always something above. That is another rule. There are things above the Creators and even more after that too. We"re just weak and small. It"s impossible. Mark my words. No matter how strong you are, even if you think that you"re a true G.o.d who gave life to the world, it"s inconceivable to not have something above you"

"What I"m telling is just this, this is my warning;" Angra stood up and pulled on the chains "You are not fighting the apex. So don"t try to do it. That"s the only way you"ll beat them" Angra pushed Arima and made him fall in the water "That"s my warning and my advice. Good luck. Convey my greetings to Ahura…freaking human who tortured me for years…" He cursed under his breath at the end. Arima heard those fading words and snickered.