The night passed quietly.

Neo did not know when it began or how long it lasted, but at some point, he found himself lying with his head resting on Elizabeth's lap.

She did not speak much.

She did not interrupt him either.

Her fingers moved slowly through his hair, steady and warm, as if she had all the time in the world. Neo spoke in a low voice, sometimes stopping in the middle of a sentence, sometimes going on longer than he meant to.

He talked about Tartarus.

He talked about what came after her death.

About how empty everything had felt when the Eternals made their first move, and how the dreadful it felt when he slowly began to lose memories of people.

He talked about Voraka Site, about returning to Earth, about the fight with the Universal Alliance and the Ancient Dragons. He spoke about Ultris, about choices that could not be taken back, and finally about Julie.

Some words were spoken with anger.

Some with regret.

Some were simply spoken because they had been buried for too long.

Elizabeth listened to everything.

When his voice broke, she did not react.

When he paused, she did not rush him.

She just kept caressing his hair, her touch gentle and consistent.

It was only when faint light crept in from the horizon that Neo realized morning had arrived.

The heaviness in his chest felt… lighter.

It no longer crushed him from the inside.

With that realization came embarrassment.

Neo stared at the sky for a moment, then let out a quiet breath.

He was older than all the current universes in the Cosmos.

And yet, here he was.

Depressed.

Needing someone to listen to him.

Elizabeth seemed to sense his thoughts.

"There is no problem with what you did," she said calmly. "Speaking your heart is a good thing. And if you won't tell everything to me, who would you tell it to?"

Neo looked up at her.

She was gazing down at him with a soft expression, as if what he had done was the most natural thing in the world.

He stared at her for a few seconds.

Then he smiled.

It was light.

Carefree.

He did not remember the last time he had smiled like that without forcing it.

"I don't even know how long it's been since I felt this calm," he said quietly.

Elizabeth's lips curved slightly, but she said nothing.

Neo shifted a little, sitting up properly.

"So," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "what are we going to do now?"

He had told her almost everything.

From Tartarus, to the Eternals, to his actions in Voraka Site. His return to Earth, his battles, Ultris, and finally Julie.

As her name left his mouth again, his expression darkened.

"I'm sorry," he said after a short pause.

Elizabeth glanced at him.

"For what?"

"Julie might be dead because of me."

A sigh escaped his lips.

Elizabeth hummed softly.

"Mhm. Don't think too much about it."

Neo blinked.

"…What?"

He tilted his head slightly.

"Are you not worried about your sister?"

Elizabeth stopped moving her hand.

The calm smile on her face slowly faded, replaced by a blank, distant look.

"She is not my sister," she said.

Neo frowned.

"What?"

"She is someone from another universe," Elizabeth continued evenly. "Or rather, she is 'me' from another universe."

The air around her distorted slightly as she spoke, like reality itself was reacting to her words.

"She came to our universe to give birth to Amelia, hide her, and then use her as a weapon."

Neo felt a chill crawl up his spine.

"She was planning to throw my daughter into despair," Elizabeth said. "And you as well."

Neo noticed how she referred to Amelia.

My daughter.

A small smile appeared on his face despite the heaviness of the topic.

Elizabeth had changed.

She was calmer now, her expression no longer sharp and frosty like he remembered.

But at her core, she was the same.

She still cared deeply about her family.

"Well," Neo said slowly, "it was just Amelia. She wasn't intending to use me. It just happened that—"

"No," Elizabeth interrupted. "She was planning on using you. And all other True Soul Weapon users."

Neo stiffened.

"What?"

He leaned forward slightly.

"What do you mean she was planning on using True Soul Weapons?"

Elizabeth met his gaze.

"Do you remember the replica of Poseidon's trident I had?"

"Yes," Neo replied. "You had it sealed under a mountain. You later gave it to me."

"Under that mountain there were murals depicting the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse."

Neo's expression turned serious.

He remembered the past.

He also remembered the novel he once thought he had entered.

That novel had Four Horsemen of Apocalypse.

"They were a warning left by my ancestors. A warning about four devils who would appear in the future and bring mass destruction."

"The Four Horsemen," Neo muttered.

"The Four Devils were a cover," Elizabeth said.

Neo raised his head.

"…A cover?"

"They were meant to be a smokescreen," she explained. "In case the Eternals investigated Earth. The Four Devils would hide the existence of the fifth Devil. The true danger."

Neo's jaw tightened.

"The Devil of Cruelty."

Elizabeth nodded.

"Does that mean…?" Neo began.

"Yes," she said. "The ancestor who drew those murals was Julie. She went into the past."

Elizabeth's expression twisted.

"She never once saw my family as family. Everything she did was part of a carefully crafted plan to make Amelia suffer and awaken as the Devil of Cruelty."

Neo let out a slow breath.

Her explanation made sense.

Too much sense.

But something still bothered him.

"Wait," he said. "My Fate should be impossible for Julie to read. So how did she know I would become one of the Four Horsemen?"

"She didn't," Elizabeth replied. "All she knew was that four Devils would be born in the future. She twisted that information and created the story of the Four Devils. They were never specific people to her. Just a narrative."

Neo nodded slowly.

His feelings toward Julie were complicated.

Part of him hated her.

Hated how much suffering people around him had gone through because of her plans.

Another part of him couldn't completely ignore the fact that she truly believed she was acting for the greater good.

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