NOVPUB"Something interesting happened far from here recently." Sol sat with his back turned to a large screen displaying their location outside of the Khalla Cluster.
"Recently?" Ikaris who was actively piloting the ship they sat in asked, turning to him with a raised brow.
"How recent is recently, Master?" Arla asked as well, leaving her desk entirely and walking over to his seat taking the empty chair next to him and getting comfortable.
"About a week ago I sensed Umbra, clear as day in the direction we are headed towards, not just him but Giza as well, along with a third entity nothing like I have ever come across, it felt like something I would go out of my way to avoid unless it was absulutely necessary."
"Why are you only telling us now then?" Dina who had been unoccupied with any task asked from the small table further in the back of their small vessel where her and Usami were in a previous conversation. "Master, what if he has gained allies?"
"Umbra?" Sol crossed his arms in thought. "That is highly unlikely, Giza is more inclined to seek an ally than that guy, and considering what she is that's saying a lot, I didn't say anything because it was only for a few minutes and they were too far away to do anything about it either way." He answered honestly. "He's become much stronger though, it was an unprecedented evolution; something akin to my growth into Godslayer."
"All the more reason to say something," Usami shook her head. "What if he decided to come after us in that instant?"
"Wait," Ikaris interrupted the Spear Hero, crossing her arms and staring at Sol who returned a knowing glance at her. "He is headed towards the Nexus."
"Yeah."
"You already knew?"
"I did," Sol admitted.
"Then, why would you keep this from us?" Ikaris asked. "They are most definitely going to seek shelter in the arms of the Emporium, they will ally against you, Master, this is bad!" Ikaris stood, staring at him with a sense of urgency that led the others to almost fall into a panic.
"For this same reason." Sol replied calmly, sating her nerves with only his stare. "I can't lock on to his mana and just jump into a fight, Giza still protects him, and telling you all that there is a chance our enemies may collude in the face of our advance would have just caused an unnecessary conversation, much like this one." He pinched his forehead and sighed.
"It changes a lot, yes; but at the same time this changes absolutely nothing, we are still advancing towards them, we will get there, and we will turn every last one of them into a memory," He spoke matter-of-factly, leaving no more room for a rebuttal.
"That's easy for you to say, you've always been strong." Usami slowly mumbled, but then caught herself after she saif it and covered her mouth, knowing well that this has never always been the case and he had been through more than anyone ever should. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."
"Well, you're not entirely wrong though," Ikaris shook her head. "He has a certain strength within him that has always been present, even at his lowest."
"True," Dina confirmed.
"Anyways, I wanted to stop by the area that they were to investigate what I sensed last week." Sol changed the subject.
"What for, they have long left, correct?" Arla chimed in again. "Do you seek knowledge of the being that he fought against?"
"Exactly so," Sol reached over and tapped her head. "I don't know what it was, but from where we were at the time, I was not supposed to be sensing it, yet it was there, and it was powerful, irrationally powerful at that, or... no," He shook his head wondering how he could explain the unease in a way that made sense. "This creature is an abomination against time and life itself."
"By the light..." Ikaris saw goosebumps rise across Sol's hand while he spoke and shuddered as well. "Do you not think he killed it then?"
"Killed it?" Sol repeated her words, leaning back in his seat with a vacant stare at the ceiling. "Not a chance, what I sensed was not a being capable of death, it was like staring at everlasting life from afar, true immortality; an existence exempt from the end of reality; unkillable."
"I would have discovered such a monster if it truly existed," Alpha appeared at his side. "Master, mayhaps you misread the signals from such a vast distance, I was not even aware of it."
"No, I've personally danced that line before, there's no mistake, I know what I felt was the absence of mortality, that's why I know that they didn't kill it."
"What else could they have done to an unkillable being?" Usami asked, knocking over a toy she had taken from Gia before leaving her inside of the Sol Collective.
"Trap it, obviously." Dina answered with a scoff.
"That's right," Sol nodded. "A monster that not even Giza can easily destroy, they encountered something like that and then it disappeared moments before they did, not to mention..." He waved his hands causing a map of the area to appear. "An entire universe disappeared off the sensors, as it it never existed at all leaving only traces of antimatter, I might not know what he did, but I know he tried his best to kill it and that would mean-"
"A skill ensuring death by all means on the scale of a universe was utilized, and it did not die." Arla, remembering how Sol had defeated Sitri on both accounts mused.
"That's right, and after failing to kill it he trapped it somewhere that not even the most powerful being can easily escape."
"A nightmare realm..." Ikaris finished the picture he was crafting and dropped her fist in the opposite palm. "Sol, this is outrageous, it is a bad idea!"
"Master!" Dina snapped as well.
"I must also oppose this horrible plan, there is no guarantee that you could befriend, convert or even control it!" Arla shook her head.
"Uh, what the fuck is with you three all of a sudden?" Usami asked.
"He intends to free Umbra's enemy and make an ally out of it, if it is in the Nightmare Prism then Master will be able to find it since it is a space that he originally created and has total mastery over." Dina answered her.
"Oh..." Usami, finding herself completely out of her depth again just nodded and thenshook her head. "Please reconsider this, Umbra sealed it for a reason, right?"
"And until I know what that reason is, I'm of the opinion that there's a chance." Sol chuckled.
"Goodness, he has already made up his mind." Arla sighed.
"There is a place Called Uon on the way there that might be interesting to visit as well," Sol spoke up after a few minutes of silence. "A world that has never seen a single day of strife, bloodshed, killing or war since the inhabitants gained sentience, that's amazing."
"That sounds impossible, are they living inside of caves, eating pollen and drinking dew?" Usami chuckled. "It's impossible to live without some kind of conflict survival to any degree depends on the cycle of life and death."
"And that's why I'm intrigued, so before we reach the missing universe, Makka, I want to visit Uon for a few days, maybe I can learn something from them."
"Conveniently, their neighbour is our next target."
