After witnessing what Arcturus saw through his eyes, Nova slowly opened his own. He accessed his current whereabouts. He was bound to a pillar of tendrils that secured his limbs, torso and neck tightly. He didn't see the core anywhere, so he pondered if he should escape right now or wait for his abductor to return.
We should escape. Souhait remarked. We need to reunite with Arcturus and Polaris and then think of a way to get out of here.
I think we should find the core. Destroying it is the only way we'll be able to escape from this realm.
I do not think it is able to be reasoned with. It is an amalgamation of despairing souls. All they will do is show off how miserable they are and would only pinpoint their blame on us.
That's why we'll destroy it. To end their suffering once and for all. It is a little ironic that we have to end the souls that we destroyed once again…
Very well, then. I trust your decision.
Nova nodded. He then mustered up all of his strength to manifest Souhait's tail to cut up his bounds. He fell and landed on his feet. After retracting his tail back into his body, he ran; he was stopped by Mebsuta who blocked him. She looked manic as she stared down at him with wide eyes.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Nova took a few steps back, shocked by how abrupt she appeared. Wary of what she'll do next, the dragon tail materialized again. He lunged the tail at her but she dodged his attacks and approached him so that their faces were in very close proximity–their noses were touching each other.
"No matter how many times I attempt to make you succumb to despair, you won't fall. Why won't you succumb?"
Nova only let out a soft chuckle as he took a few steps back. "Why do you want me to fall into despair? Because you hate me? For what? Not granting your wish that day?"
"Yes."
The small smile disappeared. He tightened his grip on her hands. He felt an overwhelming sense of anger within him. He was frustrated that he kept being blamed. No one wanted to understand why he had to do it and no one would ever give him a chance to speak up.
Calm down, Nova. She is trying to rile you up on purpose–to make you feel bad for your actions when you clearly did nothing wrong.
I know, Souhait… I'm just so frustrated. Everyone sees me as a liar, murderer and a bringer of misfortune. Why can't they see that my actions are based on the rules you implemented into this world?
It is because no one believes in my existence anymore…
Will we ever complete our goal? Will we ever convince the world we exist?
We can because we have a scarlet thread called hope.
An image of a smiling Arcturus flashed into Nova's mind as he did his best to not succumb into his anger. He took a deep breath and resumed speaking when he found himself less tense.
"Mebsuta, I'm sorry, but I can't and won't fall into despair. I've been dancing with it for centuries–far longer than you've been born, but now, I've stopped because I found a new dance partner."
"You should've kept dancing with it."
"Tell me something. If I were to fall into despair in this realm, what will you do next? Keep roaming around the ocean until you find another soul in despair? I'd find that life unpleasant. All these souls in despair are just mindless remnants of souls we got rid of because of their wishes not being ones we could grant."
Mebsuta shifted her gaze for a bit before reverting them back onto Nova's. "I…haven't thought about what's next. We're just a collection of despairing souls after all–wandering around is basically our remaining reason for existence."
"Have you ever thought about spending all that time reflecting on your past actions? Have you thought about why I rejected your wish and why you're stuck in this predicament?"
"I do think about it and I always conclude that it's your fault."
Nova let out a long and loud sigh. "It's always my fault, huh? Why? Because I don't do what people expect of me?"
Nova, please control yourself.
I'm trying…
"I guess it makes sense that you'd see me as a tool that only grants wishes. Your great-grandmother Penelope had idolized Souhait so much, after all. She hated the fact that I was favored by him and used that fact to betray me."
Mebsuta was offended. "My great-grandmother wouldn't do something like that! She's a noble and honorable woman!"
"Noble and honorable?"
Those words started to make Nova crack up. He couldn't remember the last time he laughed like this. He liked the feeling of how his lungs contracted air and how his throat was doing its best to take in and release air at a fast pace. He liked how his shoulders bounced with each beat of his laughter. Mebsuta was a true comedian to him.
"What's so funny?" She was disgruntled with how he reacted.
It took a while for Nova to calm down. He took a deep breath once he stopped his laughing fit. "Penelope may seem that way to you because you're her great-granddaughter. However, did you know that she stole something precious from me?"
"She would never!"
He took a step forward. "Oh, but she did!" He took another step. "Want to know what she stole?" He took a final step and leaned towards her. "She stole the original manuscript of Souhait's Lore that I wrote and rewrote it alongside eight other people that call themselves The Loreseer, which was the alias that I used to keep anonymous."
"Lies!" Mebsuta yelled in distraught.
Nova could tell she had a hard time accepting that her beloved great-grandmother wasn't the person she thought she'd be. Seeing such an expression made him feel gleeful. He couldn't wait to be able to show her his past.
Nova, if you show her your memories, you will be unconscious for a longer period of time compared to how you used up your energy for the dragon form.
I'm willing to accept that as long as we get out of here and I finally make Arcturus immortal. Besides, we have no other choice, right? What other alternatives do we have to destroy the core? Besides, Arcturus will be by our side afterwards.
Let's do it.
Nova wrapped his tail around Mebsuta and lifted her up so she wouldn't escape easily. He then closed his eyes and concentrated to allow his hair to start growing long. By the time it grew to around Souhait's hair length, the locks moved on its own and started to wrap around the already bound Mebsuta and also around himself. He then opened his eyes and locked his eyes onto Mebsuta's, immobilizing both her and himself.
As both were frozen, they couldn't react to how their surroundings started to meander and change. They remained in the same position even when the ground started to produce waves and tremors.