Fractal Plane: Purgatory Survivors

Chapter 15 - Reunions

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The woman with a half-ponytail vanished, her fleeting scream melting into the background. Kiyone Shijo's bisected form turned into shadows that dispersed into the air.

With its handiwork done, the rapier slowly dissolved, and Guren Izaya was left with a quizzical look.

"You never cease to amaze me, Magna Arbiter. That's all expected, coming from an Ascended One."

He stared at his palms before looking forward, into the thick fog.

"The fog is the key to it all, isn't it? It infiltrates one's system, and it induces an emotional response from the victim. The toxins bind to the body's receptors and neural pathways, triggering a response bordering on hallucination. It was when you choose the form to take, and holding onto the memories of humans, you hijack their brains and pick the ones that will leave the victim most vulnerable. Even the humans with the strongest wills cannot resist your provocation."

He paused, remembering how those shadowy hands operated.

"Very creative of you. Even without your main body, you posed much trouble. In fact, you had become even more dangerous in this form."

It was not difficult to determine the source of this power. Having gotten a taste of human memories from the Temple of Recollections, all the Magna Arbiter needed was a way to interfere with human senses before its manipulation of the senses started.

What remained of the Magna Arbiter to be exact.

The super Nullity, in its full form, was gone, defeated by the combined efforts of those group of teenagers and his rapier. Still, the core essence of an Ascended One remained, and that's what he's after.

The power in his hands was still incomplete, and without hunting down the host body where the Magna Arbiter's remnants took refuge in, he could never open the gate to Babel.

"Your play could have worked out three years ago had I chosen to go after you instead. Unfortunately for you, it is no longer my mind nor my emotions that govern my body. It is my purpose. It is my identity as the sole chosen one who would pave the way to a bright future. The savior of humanity will never fall to such trickery."

Fixing his eyes on where the shadows last were, he gave it a wave of goodbye before walking down the hallway.

Walking into a large, empty hall, Izaya got the chance to reflect on the trial he had just gone through.

There was no doubt about it. The Kiyone that he had just dismantled felt real.

The shadow illusion was no trap. He did not trip any triggers, nor did he unleash excessive magical energy at a certain point. Its appearance felt deliberate, so there had to be a puppet master. A puppet master that stood in wait from a far distance.

The Class B Nullity, the being created from the remnant of the Magna Arbiter's power. Its host could likewise be here, but even if he somehow weren't, that encounter gave Izaya a brand new idea.

The puppet master's power could be his key to getting a new ally to his side, one that he would likely need in his grand undertaking.

This could be his chance to show the girl what he meant with his goals. She would certainly not reject a world where her brother lived, and this Fragment was the perfect demo of that reality.

Strangely enough, no Nullities confronted him even after he had walked the length of the hall. The first change in the otherwise quiet and monotonous trek was a desperate cry.

The silver-haired man flicked his body towards the direction.

With the sound of magical energy adding to the echoing footsteps of his, the rapier appeared in his hands once more.