Superior Vessel

Expected Rematch

Apologies for the late chapter, school is holding me on gunpoint. Anyhow enjoy.

∧,,,∧( ̳• · • ̳)/ づ♡ I escaped! Ë̷͈͕͔͇̫́̆̍͊S̷̡̛͔͇͐̈́͠C̶̛̺̐̇́̒̀̏́̓͝Ȧ̶̧̨̰͎̠̝̼̪̳̆̆̉̈̈̚P̵̛̦͗̂̉̒͊́̅̅́̏̕̕͝Ę̵̛͇̻͚̺̬̅͋͒̈̑̽̔̋̎̿͊̑͘͝D̷̺̠̜̤̤̆͑̉̑̾̉͜ ̶̢̢̡̻͈̗̳͖̙̰̣̥̆̄̆̏̃͋̄̐̍̓͑̏́̌͘Ě̸̢͚̙̥̬̓͝ͅS̸̱̹̭̮̈́͑̾̓̈̈̂̐̆̈́̉Ç̴̭̗̰͕͇̩̓̊̔̊̕Ä̵̧̡̰̪̱͖͔̆͗͛̄̓̐͂̃̄͛̚ͅE̸̺̙̲͔̝͉͖͖̖͚̟̼̋͑̀̈P̸̧̤̞̱̓̾̐̒̒Ḑ̷̛̹͚̮̟͖͎͚̀̆̅̃̆̐̈́̇͒͘͠D̶̛͕̯̔̿̎̉̓̑͌̅͒͂͋̍̏̕

Virion Leywin

The raging wind tousled my ashy brown hair with a playful brush, akin to a greeting of a close friend. My movements remained light and efficient as I moved throughout the vast environment filled with a mixture of all colors that perfectly blended together to create what one could only assume to be art in my old world.

This wasn't art, not in the slightest-this was real life. A fact I had to engrave into my mind, again and again, to keep myself from slipping up. My eyes followed the rough bark of the trees, ancient and weathered. If they could speak, their long years would tell bittersweet, yet thrilling stories to any child willing to listen.

Then again, children typically wouldn't want to be out here in the middle of nowhere in the first place. Mana beasts prowled, clashing with each other for nourishment and territory-an instinct passed down through decades upon decades into these wild creatures

The rest aren't spared either-even asuras are not exempt from this truth. It's our survival instinct at work, warning us of dangers lurking around every corner, hiding in every shadow. The need to survive takes over, and when faced with the whispers of death, everyone regresses to their most primal nature.

And wasn't that just life? In my old world, such instincts were heavily restricted, if not outright controlled by the government. Killing was prohibited, seen as taboo by the society everyone witnessed-or perhaps, deluded themselves into believing was the only reality.

Yet, long ago, before governments were formed, killing was the natural order. People were hanged publicly, and spectators cheered for the loss of life and the spilling of blood. Which path was truly right? The old ways, where anarchy and freedom reigned supreme, or the modern world, where everyone walked with a leash around their neck at all times?

I was no stranger to death, not in this life and certainly not in my last. I believed that every individual had the right to live, and if that meant killing someone to protect that right, why suppress the urge? Of course, this only applied in certain scenarios-I wouldn't mindlessly kill anyone I deemed a threat to my well-being.

Oops... When I'm bored, I tend to think-sometimes about seemingly useless stuff like outdated memes or fanfictions from my old world. Well, maybe useless isn't the right word. I enjoyed them, even though their knowledge wouldn't help me in any practical way. Except for some, including the very fanfiction I am currently in.

Anyway things were heating up during the war, with more armies deployed and lives snuffed out without a moment's hesitation. This, of course, meant that Arthur would return in a few weeks, his training in Epheotus cut short. It also meant that my return to the floating castle was pretty much imminent.

I can't deny that I missed my family. Experiencing memories and feelings through a clone may feel similar, but something is always missing-like a puzzle that appears complete at first glance, only for you to turn it around and discover a piece missing from the back. So it's for the best that I return to the castle; I've already accomplished everything I needed to do outside.