SPELLCRAFT: Reincarnation Of A Magic Scholar

The Constellations had just said something unbelievable.

It was so absurd that everyone who heard them took a while to fully absorb their words, and the consequences that came with them.

"Legris Damien does not exist? That makes no sense! He clearly does."

Kuzon was the one who spoke up, revealing what everyone else thought in their mind.

He tightly gripped his new hand as he spoke, recollecting how he had lost his limbs and almost his life to the fiend.

How could the Constellations say something so absurd now—especially after all they had just experienced?!

"Ahh, perhaps I used the wrong word there. It's more akin to the fact that he does not exist the same way everything else exists."

That didn't do much to explain what Aquarius meant, so confused faces greeted her still.

"Everything that exists in this Tree comes from the Root. The same applies to the Nether Tree. There are only two of those trees in existence, a duality that maintains an intricate balance…"

"I thought Legris was from the Nether Realm." Serah said, her brows raised slightly.

"He… isn't. At least, that doesn't seem to be the case. He does not exist within any of the Trees, and so he is not connected to any Root. Legris has no ties with the only sources of existence, which is why I said he doesn't not exist."

Once Aquarius explained it like that, a majority instantly understood what she said.

Still, that raised even more questions.

"Before we delve more into the topic, we would like to render our utmost apologies to you all." Aquarius stated to all her comrades, and much to the surprise of the mortals, all the Constellations slightly bowed their heads.

An apology from twelve boundless entities… it was overwhelming for the ones who watched them do so.

"N-no, it's fine!"

"Really…!"

"It couldn't be helped!"

They instantly recoiled, muttering their respective excuses as to why the Constellations didn't need to lower themselves so much.

"To be honest, we are still surprised that he could invade our domain. If he is capable of such, it simply means that nowhere is safe from his influence."

The Constellations raised their heads, making the atmosphere more bearable.

Though, the tension remained.

"How long had he been planning this? How was he able to execute his invasion so seamlessly? There remain questions we do not know…"

It was rare to see boundless entities utter words like "We do not know," yet it seemed like that was the case at this point.

"We are well aware that we have not completely gotten rid of him, even with the destruction of his hundred variants. And that is because his very existence rejects our power."

Once again, Aquarius was met with curious stares, but she ignored them.

"The endgame of his invasion eludes me. He didn't seem to have an endgame in mind, but… that is extremely unlikely."

"Ciara said he was stalling for time. Maybe that has something to do with it!" Jerry spoke up impulsively, quickly realizing the weight of his actions.

He shrunk back the moment attention was pushed in his direction.

"I see…" Was all Aquarius gave as a response to the observation.

In the end, that still gave them no headway into figuring out his true motives.

He was stalling for time? Why?

The question remained unanswered.

"You still haven't told us why you can't resurrect our fallen Gerard and Z'ark. I'm personally curious about your reasons." Ana suddenly spoke up, flexing her glasses as she stared at the twelve.

"I have my suspicions as to why, but you should know more than I do."

The Constellations all looked at Aquarius, who had been their mouthpiece thus far, and she nodded while giving a momentary sigh.

It was finally time to divulge the truth.

"Anything Legris affects loses their connection to the Root and takes on his qualities . As a result… they cease to exist."

The black stuff that Legris used was the architect behind this phenomenon.

"Legris mentions how the effects of their nonexistence will spread throughout the Tree if he leaves. How true is that?" Serah asked.

"He isn't incorrect. Even now, the effect of Z'ark and Gerard's nonexistence will affect the history of your world, especially in events that they previously participated in, or indirectly influenced."

An example Aquarius gave was the Demonic Incursion, as well as the Nether Wars.

Without Gerard and Z'ark leading their respective squads, even more casualties would have occurred, and by extension, more damage would have been wrought.

"That sounds terrible!" Aurora gasped.

"Indeed. Fortunately, we managed to contain the ripple effects of their nonexistence… at least for now. That is the best we can do, given the situation."

"In essence, the good news is that our reality will be safe from Z'ark and Gerard's existential erasure, but the bad news is that they're gone forever." Ana asked, her tone as grim as it was inquisitive.

"I suppose you could put it that way."

"I see. I see."

An awkward tension hung in the air. The people did not know whether to grieve for the permanent loss of their allies, or to brace themselves for what would come next.

"Legris is an extremely dangerous—"

"Did Jared know about this?" Kuzon interrupted Aquarius with a question.

His tone was borderline disrespectful, but the suppressed annoyance within his voice was not for the Constellations.

It was directed at someone else.

"That is not in our place to say." Aquarius responded.

"Don't mess with us! It's a straightforward question, isn't it?" Kuzon suddenly yelled, his annoyance evident on his face.

However, once Ana placed her hand on his shoulders and slightly shook her head in disapproval, he slowly began to calm himself.

"I apologize for raising my voice. However, do you want to know what I think" He still had a frown on his face as he spoke.

No one said anything. Perhaps they already knew what Kuzon was driving at before he said anything.

… The fact that Jared knew this truth all along

*

*

*

[A/N]

Thanks for reading, everyone!