Chapter 1: Questions Remain

I walked around the building for no apparent reason. It became my coping method after he died. I don't know what my feelings towards him are but all I know was that I've never felt like this.

I always said to myself that he would've wanted me to move on but for some reason, I don't think he would say that.

He can't have died.

That's what I keep saying to myself. A man like him couldn't die just like that and even if he did he would've left something for me like a clue to bring him back or something to ease this heart of mine. I tried to think of all the possible ways he could've done it but they remained theories.

Cynthia is back but she isn't how she was before. We all changed after his death and not only because Levantes wasn't here but because something returned to us.

Our memories.

Cynthia, Arthur, Levantes, Lilith, Avetrium, Thanatos and Lambda—The First Generation Prodigies.

I only know where four of them are and three of them I don't. Levantes's whereabouts are unknown and so are Thanatos and Lambda's. Thanatos seems to have become extremely powerful.

There is one other person that almost no one knows about.

Lexus Novel Arnoux.

Lexus Novel Arnoux is an extremely powerful and intelligent being. While they were all in Gehenna, Lexus and Levantes were on par with each other however now I'm sure that Levantes is stronger but Lexus is still the second most powerful being, excluding the Primordials.

"Oh—"

I suddenly bumped into Arthur and the impact was strong enough to make us both fall to the ground.

"Sorry, Arthur." I apologised as I brushed my clothes and stood up.

"It's fine, Pandora." Arthur said as he did the same.

He then walked past me without looking back. Ever since Levantes was executed, Arthur has been cold to me. He only ever talks to Cynthia and never speaks to anyone else unless it's something important.

"Arthur!" I called out. Arthur stopped in the hallway and slowly turned his head around to look at me.

"What is it?"

"Do…do you really believe that he's gone?"

Arthur sighed out of frustration. He turned his body around and started to walk towards me. I felt chills run up my spine but I stood still nervously. I don't know why I felt like that but as I saw Arthur slowly walk towards me, I grew scared for some reason.

"Pandora." He spoke softly. "We've talked about this. There's nothing we can do other than accept the fact that he's gone—"

"But he can't be!" I yelled. "How can you believe that someone like him can die just like that—"

"I know okay! I say it to myself every fucking day but we can't do anything to prove it!" Arthur yelled back. He looked vexed. It seems I wasn't the only one who felt like this. "I was his best friend, Pandora!"

"If you were his best friend then why are you just standing idly!"

"Because we can't do anything!"

"Do you even care about him, Arthur?" I yelled. Arthur didn't reply. He looked down at the floor almost as if he tried to avoid my eyes. He then looked up at me. I have never seen Arthur's eyes look like that.

"How can you even ask that? After all, we've been through together…" Arthur spoke softly. "HOW COULD YOU THINK FOR EVEN A SECOND THAT I DIDN'T CARE ABOUT HIM!"

I stared at him with tears dripping from my eyes. I knew I was in the wrong but what else could I say? I was too much in rage that I asked if he cared about him. Of course, he did, they were best friends after all.

"THEN WHY WON'T YOU TALK TO ME? I MISS HIM AS WELL!"

"There isn't anything we can do, Pandora." Arthur said before he walked away.

I then turned around and walked in the opposite direction. I then found Lilith eavesdropping on our conversation at the corner.

"What happened there?" Lilith asked. She stared at my eyes which were still pouring with tears. I wiped them away but they still came back.

"It's nothing." I said before walking away.

Where the hell are you, Laertes?

"Pandora wait!" I stopped in the hallway and turned around to look at Lilith who ran towards me. "Let's go back to the Sanctuary."

* * * * * *

We both sat down on the sofas and looked up at the ceiling.

"So why did you bring me here?"

"Remember my mom?" Lilith asked.

"Of course I do."

"She died on your ninth birthday."

What? My ninth birthday? How? I saw her in Yggdrassil.

"That doesn't make sense, Lilith." I said. Lilith sat up and looked at me. "I saw her in Yggdrassil many times before."

"Oh yeah, that's something my brother made when he found a vial with my mother's mana inside."

"Levantes made it?"

"Yeah."

Levantes seems to have always been a genius. Now that I think about it, what was his goal?

"Remember when that cult came and my brother killed them all with his katana?"

"Yeah, how can I forget that? That was when he first found out how to use it."

"Well…" Lilith paused almost as if to add suspense and it worked. I then caught a glance at her face and tears were dripping from her eyes. "Levantes's katana was too strong for him to handle and while time was frozen the only person who was powerful enough to move was my mother."

"Your mother stopped the katana from absorbing all of Levantes's mana and instead her mana was sucked out from her and soon she died."

"How do you know that?"

"I saw it. I thought it was a dream until now but back then I was somehow powerful enough to see in frozen time but I couldn't move."

After that day I'm sure that Levantes replaced my memories with other ones because he didn't want me to think that I was the reason for his mother's death. Now I am blaming myself because there isn't anyone else to blame. I bought him the katana which led to his mother's death.

The realisation made my eyes water again.

"You alright?" Lilith asked as she stared at my eyes which were now red.

"Yeah…I'm fine…" I said with a brittle voice.

Wait. If our memories were supposed to return to us then that means that Levantes must've somehow planned this. He must've planned something with Arthur before he fabricated our memories which means Arthur knows something I don't.

Something only Levantes and Arthur know.

But what could it be?

I stared blankly at the floor as I was deep in thought. It was only after Lilith tapped my shoulder that I realised that I was muttering things to myself in the elven language.

"Oh sorry, I was just thinking of some stuff." I said before creating a portal back to the school. "Thanks for that, Lilith." I said before entering the portal.

I stared back at Lilith's confused expression as I slowly walked through the portal.

Levantes and Arthur know something about Aunt Hemera.

* * * * * *

"Must be hard, Arthur." Cynthia said as she sat up from her bed.

"Must be hard for her you mean. At least I know that he isn't dead but she's having a hard time dealing with it. She might even think she's going insane over some guy."

"That guy always gave us instructions without telling us what it meant and when we did do them we always discovered something we never thought we did—It was almost as if he wanted us to find it which also means that anything we find has already been discovered by him."

"That's a nice way to put it, Cynthia."

I hadn't told Cynthia everything Levantes told me before he fabricated our memories. I was hoping she'd have worked it out by now but now I'm thinking about why she hasn't tried to confront me.

"Arthur, you haven't told me the full story."

I spoke too soon.

I looked back at Cynthia who was staring back at me. I tried to avert my gaze but I couldn't help but feel her eyes pierce my soul.

"You know I can't tell you the full thing. Levantes' plans are always like that. He gives you a part you do and you do it and then you find out what you did."

"Who's Lexus Novel Arnoux then?"

I stared at Cynthia. Even I didn't know that name. Who was he?

"Who?" I asked while tilting my head sideways in confusion.

"Don't you remember?" Cynthia asked. She looked at me for an answer but my expression has said enough. She then sighed before speaking. "Remember when that celestial being destroyed that place and he was speaking to Laertes."

Ah yes! I remember!

I sat down on a chair next to her bed and listened attentively to what she had to say.

"Laertes said that a being by the name of Lexus Novel Arnoux is going to destroy their race." Cynthia explained. "But all I'm thinking of is who were they and who is Lexus Novel Arnoux."

At that time, Levantes didn't have any future visions or anything of the sort. That would mean he had a plan. A plan which he made from then. This would change everything.

"Then that means…"

"Yeah, Laertes knew something we didn't and kept it to himself and it's not like he didn't take my hearing skills to account."

"That means that he knew you were going to be kidnapped and he knew he'd be killed or executed and so he made it that our memories would return back to us after that happens."

"Meaning he's not really dead is he?"

"No, he isn't…"

Just then we heard a knock on the door. I quickly used one of my skills to see through the door and found that it was Pandora. I walked over to the door and opened it and looked down at Pandora's face which looked like she had something important to say. She quickly entered the room and sat down where I sat before.

"You know about Lexus as well?" Cynthia asked Pandora. Pandora's eyes widened as she slowly muttered.

"How do you know who that is…?"

"Doesn't matter how we know but now we know that you know so spill the beans." Cynthia said.

"Pandora, please tell us all you know about Lexus because it could be a clue to Levantes." I said softly.

"Well I haven't met him personally but Laertes told me about him." Cynthia looked at Pandora as if she was saying in her head 'Of course he did'. "He used to be on par with Levantes in Gehenna but after Lexus went missing no one knew where he was. Laertes said that Lexus wouldn't be anywhere close to his level but would still be the second stronger being in existence after the Primordials."

On par with Laertes? He has to have been extremely strong.

"Well where do you think he is now?" Cynthia asked. We both looked at Pandora expecting the same answer but to our surprise, she had said something completely different to what we thought she would say.

"He's enrolling into this school in exactly a month."

"Enrolling?" Cynthia exclaimed

"Yes, I'm sure he will."

"Then we have to try and talk with him." I suggested however Pandora disagreed with my suggestion.

"We can't, it'll only mess up Laertes' plan."

What kind of plan does he have?

We are forbidden to talk with our only lead so how does he expect us to find him?

"Wait!" Cynthia yelled. "Arthur, do you remember why we reincarnated?"

"We reincarnated because Pandora was killed by Mauros and Pythius."

"Laertes would've easily been able to work out that those two were working together and would've killed them without any difficulty but he didn't." Cynthia added.

"What are you trying to say, Cynthia?" I asked.

"Levantes killed Mauros but didn't kill Pythius entirely, why?" Pandora asked.

"Could Laertes even be able to kill Pythius in the first place?"

Pandora and I both looked at each other in horror.

"Could that be the reason why he's allowed to just walk in peace?" I said.

"No, that can't be. It is possible that Pythius knew something about Levantes that he didn't want anyone else to know." Pandora said.

Did she work it out? It does make sense.

"Let's go find Pythius then." Cynthia suggested as she got out of her bed and stood up.

* * * * * *

"Alright, Pandora search for him." Cynthia ordered.

"Alright." I replied as I closed my eyes and focused.

I searched around half of our world and found Pythius on a planet far away from us. I teleported us to where Pythius was. There was a whole village on the planet and I could also feel Apophis' mana as well.

"Apophis is here as well." I added.

Arthur then teleported Pythius to us and made him kneel on the ground. Arthur then put his hand on Pythius' shoulder.

"Where is Lexus Novel Arnoux?" Arthur asked Pythius.

"You took me out of my eating—"

"Where the fuck is he!" Arthur yelled.

"Relax, Arthur, let me handle this." Cynthia said as she pushed Arthur aside. She then looked at Pythius and smiled. "Where is he?"

"Where is who?" Pythius asked but we saw through his lie.

"Pythius, we already know about him, our memories returned." I added. "We need you to tell us so we can find Levantes."

"Why the hell would you get that tyrant back?" Pythius said. "He erased a whole race and started a whole war which lasted 3,000 years all for what?"

We didn't have an answer to Pythius' question. We just remained silent as we thought about what Pythius had said.

"He must've had a good reason—"

"What reason is there to erase a whole race or to start a whole war?" Pythius hadn't let me finish my sentence but it didn't change anything.

"He's also the man who revolutionised magic and technology. He also kind of united parts of all the races." Cynthia said. "Stars cannot shine without darkness, Pythius."

"Wait exactly five weeks from now and you will have your answer." Pythius said.

"What the hell? Give us a straight answer." Arthur demanded.

"I can't, you know how that crazy bastard is with all those riddles."

"Alright then, exactly five weeks."