He tried to focus harder, to grasp at the dissolving memory.

Luna's incarnate squeezed his hand more tightly.

He turned and found her face mere inches from his own. Close enough that he could see individual flecks in her moon-blue irises.

His breath caught as he stared at her face that had gone slightly red.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly.

For several moments, he couldn't form words. His throat had gone dry, and every previous thought in his head had scattered like leaves in the wind.

"I'm okay…" He cleared his throat and nodded, leaning back slightly to create space as he tried to regain his composure.

"—Look at that!" The Head Champion's voice broke through the moment. "The Holy Son has succumbed to her guile! Can't you all see it? He's been bewitched, compromised, his judgment is clouded by—"

The Holy Son's usual stoic mask returned instantly. He stood, and his aura surged violently, cutting off the Head Champion's words mid-sentence.

Their eyes locked across the table.

"You seem to be mistaken," the Holy Son said quietly. "Do you think I need your approval to take this step?"

The temperature in the chamber dropped noticeably.

"I simply prefer not to rebuild my base of Champions from nothing when I ascend to full Godhood." He paused, letting that sink in. "We're already connected through the Shadow God's divine essence. Having you all as my Champions… my significantly more powerful Champions…"

Greedy looks appeared on multiple faces.

"...will be far more efficient than starting over," the Holy Son finished. "The choice is now yours, and yours alone. Die with your stubbornness intact." His eyes hardened. "Or choose life and power beyond anything you imagined achievable."

.

.

.

Miles away from the Shadow God's Temple. Somewhere in the mountains.

Finn felt his divine essence surge out of the blue, taking him off guard and making him stop frame-skipping abruptly.

He forced the resonance of his essence to mellow, calming down the surges that had suddenly appeared.

What's that about? He thought silently, standing alone in the woods with the bag of supplies slung over his shoulder.

His mind went to the gaze he'd felt on himself back in the market. The person he had felt a trace of divinity from.

He wasn't an Incarnation, though… and neither was he a champion. That much Finn was sure of.

He'd felt the gaze and sensed the curiosity behind it. Even when he engaged a bit of his [Null Perception] spell with his normal error magic, the gaze has still kept on him.

It wasn't until a carriage passed by, blocking him from view for a moment, that he activated the spell fully and disappeared entirely.

Finn was sure the fellow would try coming after him, but for some reason, they hadn't. Was it his luck?

Finn looked up at the sky through the forest canopy.

A sigh escaped his lips as he thought back to what happened at the breach four days ago. He had pondered the reason why the other Transcendents had done what they did, but up till now he hadn't come up with a logical explanation.

Thalia had proved unhelpful too. She couldn't remember what Casmir had said to her to cause her such anger and pain, and that fact bothered her for days as she tried over and over, using her Order magic to try undoing Deacon's enforced Truth.

But it proved futile. Now she had retreated into herself, and Finn couldn't blame her. He was the same. Their abode in the mountains was always silent. Each to their own thoughts, doing their own thing, all semblance of trust utterly lost on both sides.

Only Ailin remained oblivious, still lost in her own world of unconsciousness.

Finn calmed his divine essence down and continued on his way, frame-skipping the entire distance to their mountain abode.

It was nestled in the side of a mountain. A place very secluded from view, drawing no attention from any angle. It blended naturally with the surroundings, and the opening wasn't visible until you were within tens of feet of it.

Finn entered through the small opening, frame-skipping the way through what would otherwise be an uncomfortable squeeze through such a small space.

He appeared inside the chamber. A natural cavern within the mountain, vast and spacious enough for three people to have their privacy.

Finn headed directly towards the only light source within the dark cavern. A soft light from a flame that shone some levels above. He focused on the ledge he could see above and frame-skipped, landing expertly where he intended.

Thalia was there, standing and looking at Finn with the most range of emotions Finn had seen on her face for the last few days.

"What happened?" Finn's sense spread before he even asked the question. And he quickly found the answer as Thalia turned her body slightly, allowing Finn to see the fireplace.

There, one of the three logs of wood surrounding it, Ailin sat, her back towards Finn, watching the flames quietly.

She's awake… Finn thought blankly as he stepped forward. He hadn't sensed a trace of her before. Not even now. His senses couldn't feel her existence at all. But his eyes could, causing a dissonance that made Finn begin to frown slowly.

He stepped around her slowly, then stopped, calling out to her carefully.

"Ailin…"

Her head had reverted back to a normal size, but the stretched out skin hadn't. Now it hung loosely on her face, giving her an aged look more than her years.

She looked up from the fire and stared at Finn, meeting his eyes directly.

And for the first time in Finn's life. He felt… naked. Thoroughly and utterly so. He was bare. Without secrets. Those eyes of hers peered directly into his core identity. Into who he really and truly was. Her eyes showed an understanding that was deeper even than what he knew of himself.

And as she stared at him, her eyes began to water, tears started to flow freely, horror and terror colored her face.

But she kept staring. Never withdrawing her gaze.

Until eventually, even she could go no further.

Her mouth opened first to a wordless scream. Then her breath caught and she fell backwards, screaming with such horror and pain it sent shivers down Finn's spine.

Thalia rushed towards her, confused, but trying to pacify her. Everything had happened within the span of five seconds at most. So to Thalia it looked absurd.

"What's wrong Ailin!" She yelled, holding down the thrashing girl, preventing her from doing something dangerous to herself.

"Help me Finn!" Thalia called out.

But Finn was rooted to the spot, confusion coloring his face.

What did she see?

She saw all of me. She knows exactly who I am… yet that hadn't bothered her like what she saw.

Finn could tell that with certainty. He knew the exact moment when she saw him as Finn, not as Arros in this alien God-world, or their own world either. Not even the Finn from the future timeline. But the Finn from Earth…

Yet that hadn't bothered her.

Something else had. Something deeper than what he was now…

What did she really see?

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