Chapter 43: Knowledge Of Past Times

'Not creepy. Not creepy at all.' Sora thought with sarcasm as the doors shut themselves.

Unlike the rest of the sanctuary, this room was lacking in gold and the likes. Instead, it resembled a library with dozens of books on the many shelves and a bed at the far end of the room.

'Deja vu.' He thought, remembering when he first moved into his apartment.

In the middle of the room lay a pedestal with a see through glass covering the top. Underneath the glassy surface, he could see a book titled 'The Chronicles of Aldous'.

'Is there a way to open it without breaking the glass?' He thought to himself, noticing what was supposed to be a keyhole by the side.

He noted that it's shape was similar to his necklace. Getting an idea, he brought the necklace forward and put it in place.

The case glowed a bright green before the glass case disappeared, leaving the book behind.

Sora picked up the book as he inspected it from every angle. He opened the book but it was blank. Flipping through the pages, it was still the same empty pages he was met with.

'Why display an empty notebook in such an important manner?' He thought as turned on his sharingan, words appearing before his eyes on the page.

'So it's protected so that it can't be read by normal eyes. That amount of secrecy usually means something big.'

'So simply put, it's a diary.' He noted as he read but the first line he read caught him so off guard that he almost dropped the book.

"Hello, my fellow reincarnator…" It read on the first line, causing his face to twist in shock.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zatanna and the old man looked at the closed door, the latter with a look of anticipation.

It had been a full minute since the door closed and they hadn't heard any sound coming from inside. The room may be soundproof but they'd never know.

"Does this place have any libraries on magic books?" Zatanna asked the man after the five minute mark passed.

"Of course. In fact there is a particular book I think you'd be interested in. Follow me." He said as he led her out of the deserted hallway.

The walk wasn't more than ten minutes as they entered a large hall. The hall was much larger than a basketball court and had shelves that reached the ceiling, leaving Zatanna speechless at the amount of books she saw.

The mana in the air tickles her senses as it filled the atmosphere. She walked towards one of the shelves only for the old man to grunt.

"This way please." He said, drawing her out of her momentary trance as she followed him to the end of the library.

They stood in front of a door that had no handle or keyhole. She could sense something powerful behind it but she couldn't tel what it was.

"How do we open it?" She asked, looking at the man in confusion.

Silently, the man reached out to the door, tracing patterns on it as every place his finger touched lit up in blue light.

Almost a minute later when the door was filled with pattern, he withdrew his hand as the door made a creaking sound before sliding open.

"That's….complicated." She commented as she observed everything.

"Where is this place? Why is it separated from the main library?" She questioned as they entered, keeping her guard up as her mana was ready to heed her call should she wish.

The room was small and empty except for the small stool that stood in the middle of the dark room.

Zatanna raised a hand as a small ball of light floated out of her palm, shedding light to the room as they saw what sat on the stool.

Or rather what floated above it.

"That single book is this library's most valuable possession. The grimoire of Lord Aldous. His personal collection of spells that he had amassed and created over the years." The man explained causing her eyes to shoot open.

That had been a regular occurrence today and this didn't seem to be last time it would happen.

"Then what is it doing here? Shouldn't it be in his personal chamber?" She wondered aloud.

"I thought so too but he always did things that we didn't quite understand. Before he left for battle, he specifically stated that this book is to be studied by you, Miss Zatara." He said causing her to turn to him in caution.

"I don't recall telling you my name." She said as her hand was illuminated with magic.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Do not panic while reading this. By now you should know that I am Aldous, your predecessor in more ways than one." The book read as Sora's shaky fingers held it.

'Don't panic my foot!!! What the hell is going on!? There's another reincarnator!!! How many more are there!?' He fired rapidly in his head as he continued reading.

"I know you must be wondering 'How many others were reincarnated as well?'. To put it simply, we are the only ones."

"Your reincarnation was not by accident. After my natural death in my past life, I was offered a second chance. A chance that came with a duty. I wanted a companion, someone who would assist me in my new duty and understand what needed to be done. That's where you come in."

"It wouldn't feel right snatching some lad who was happy with his life to join my crusade so I searched for someone who had nothing to lose. Someone who would also benefit from a second chance. It was then I found you."

"You were alone and in pain. Suffering from a loneliness that would eventually be your undoing so I chose you. The being who reincarnated me was a bit annoyed at my wasted wish as he called it so he decided to make things a bit difficult."

"What more to make my task harder than to reincarnate us centuries apart from each other. By the time I realized what it had done, there was nothing I could do."

"I dedicated my life towards studying all forms of magic. I studied under different teachers and slave drivers to become a force to be reckoned with. That was when I discovered my high affinity for clairvoyance."

"Maybe it was the fact that I knew most of what was to come but nonetheless I made use of it. My clairvoyance is not dissimilar to that of dr strange using the time stone. I can see alternate futures and the actions that needed to be done to achieve those futures."

"In one of them, I had finally found you. Of course your skillset and powers made it obvious that you were my companion but there was no way for me to make contact with you so I did the next best thing."

"With your knowledge of where your powers come from, there was no way you wouldn't be drawn to the name of the Akatsuki. I followed the necessary steps that would ensure that you found this place."

"Though I am truly sorry for what you have gone through, there are still much more that you will have to face. I must warn you of what we are tasked to do."

"Two beings of great evil are coming. Trigon being the first is more powerful than he was portrayed to be. The second is almost as dangerous as he is, Aamon." Sora's eyes widened even more as he read that last name.

'Aamon…' he thought, recalling the demon at the church who claimed to be his subordinate.

"You should have already heard of him if what I see is true. Of course I wouldn't let you do it all on your own. I prepared this organization as a gift to you to assist you in this in my absence."

"Forgive me for placing this burden on you." Sora grit his teeth as he read.

He always wondered how he was reborn and why. Was it because he was lucky or rather unlucky? Was it a punishment from fate itself?

Now he knew why and the answers had left him with complicated thoughts.

On one hand, had he not reincarnated, he would have died in peace and none of this would have happened.

On the other hand, he wouldn't have known what it felt like to have a family no matter how short it lasted.

In the end, he could say that there were two sides to every coin. Though he resented it, he was grateful for what he had done.

'It seems I still have more work ahead of me. Mother, grant me strength…'