Psycho dipped his entire ethereal head inside a black, slime-like substance, looking for the information that connected his soul signature with Zack's. But to his disappointment—except for the stranger's name (Zack)—he couldn't find anything about the Broken Soul. "Who is he, and why are we looking for him again?!" he asked, his voice filled with disgust. "I don't like this stream, you know."
"You should be more concerned about your imagination!" Lux frowned. "Who imagines knowledge to be that of sewage!?"
"For the millionth time, focus on the Artifact," Solgrave said, gritting his teeth. "And what kid? A newbie, I am unaware of. Since when are we hiring again? Wasn't Quazy your final straw?"
"Something happened?" Azrith asked Virith, who shrugged in response.
"Kid!" Lux held onto the sliver of memory, not sure why, yet never letting go.
"My artifacts!" cried Psycho, not fully knowing why.
"Another boy," scoffed Bazuka.
"What's a boy!?" Pinky asked, excited.
DJ Rizz materialized a guitar, stroking a heavy yet soothing tune that disrupted the negative energy fields around the group. "Buzz... goes the alarm, so fret not, for I am here! To remind, refine, retune, and disband."
Unlike the affected, the caster, Zack, had to visualize the concept as an object before severing the bond. Thanks to his father's foresight, the severed 'thread of connection' between Zack and the group remained visible to Zack's sight for a longer duration.
Already present in Zack's Core, the sword switched off Zack's emotions, forcing him into a neutral state and implanting more information about itself.
"Hey!" A nervous male voice shifted Zack's attention.
Zack ripped his room—his Core—apart in shock; the sensation of dread forced him to act rather than analyze the situation.
How could he stay level-minded when someone bypassed all his defenses, triggering the final alarm that was placed inside his Core?
"I am your dad," a fuzzy, glowing ball of light tried to convince Zack. "The real one. The one who abandoned you as a child—for your protection—the greater good of our world. The one I thought you shouldn't be part of... also, why are you here again?!" It fired off rapid questions.
Those final words made Zack relax, but then he remembered that anyone this deep within his Core could alter his perception, feelings, memories, and essentially everything.
"Why should I trust you? How did you come here? What are you, really?" Zack kept blurting out questions until the 'Light' erased the mouth drawn on the mannequin sitting at the study desk, instantly taking away Zack's ability to speak.
"I'm the sword—artifact—your dad," Mr. Myers corrected himself. "There is no way for you to remember my previous form. My body. You know, because I had to morph it so many times for work. I don't remember how I looked, so I chose this form to contact you, in case I die and you inherit the sword, that is... Congratulations on immortality, by the way—it's the stupidest decision you could've made."
As Myers mumbled on, Zack's internal thoughts made a tiny sprout grow into a tree, which then dropped an apple—a measuring scale already present on the floor.
"Apple doesn't fall far from the tree!" Myers said, frowning at Zack's imagination. "You're definitely my kid, alright."
Myers waved his hand, recreating Zack's mouth before he could visualize any other ridiculous quotes.
"Well, duh!" Zack blurted out, surprised that he could speak. "What did you expect?" He pulled his cheeks wide, inspecting his mouth for anything amiss. "Hey! My wisdom teeth."
"You meet your father after so long and—oh!" Myers realized, switching Zack's emotions back on.
The atmosphere in Zack's Core grew still, with dark clouds obscuring the imaginary light source illuminating his Core. The clouds formed a massive vortex as Zack's complex, contradictory memories revealed themselves through the flashes of lightning within. Soon, all these memories condensed into a single raindrop, aimed at the ball of light which was Myers. Only Zack stood dry in his room, the rest going from drenched to flooded, while Myers took on a dim blue hue, frustrated with his choice of not including a way to hug his son. But then, what was the point? It wasn't as if he could sense the depth of his son's broken soul. Nor could he give him half hope—a fake hug.
Instead, Myers disconnected Zack from his feelings again, to reveal the limitations of the curse he left behind as a blade.
"Welcome back," Solgrave said before Zack appeared. "Mind explaining your stupidity?"
Zack's Core was a mess; his emotions were off, yet troubling, and he really wasn't ready to deal with more Clowns.
SNAP!—Solgrave flicked his fingers, trapping Zack in a time loop where he sulked for a decade before Solgrave could complete the snap. "There!" He said, smirking, while his eyes glared furiously. "If nothing else, your ability to sulk has gotten a huge upgrade. So, if you're done, explain!" He pressured.
Zack did feel lighter; the time spent in the loop had helped somewhat mute his emotions. He wasn't sure how time magic worked—the concept was missing from every journal and blocked within the stream of knowledge.
"You can't see," said Zack. "I blocked you out... the way you blocked me." He smiled and added the information to his personal journal.
Note to self, and only self—Zack placed a barrier, blocking the already present journals from copying his private notes. "Stream of Knowledge within the energy realm is comprised of information that was and is, updating with every minute change, and this ever-growing knowledge can be accessed, unless someone has blocked it with a barrier." As Zack noted down his findings, he wondered if making a 'Slot' specifically for barriers would be a wise move.
On closer analysis, he deemed himself sub-par, handing over the job to the shield Artifact—his mom—instantly making his barriers impenetrable by clowns such as Solgrave.
"Based on the barrier, you can find out who's blocking the information." Zack continued noting. "While the clown searching for the information will be aware of the prober's intent and power."
Zack smiled at Solgrave's failed attempt at bypassing his mother's shield.
"Smart kid!" Solgrave returned the smile. "A weapon able to cut anything." He probed while observing the Clone present in Zack's real Core. "A shield that can defend against anything." He confirmed two of his suspicions.
Zack realized he was giving away secrets, but once Solgrave pinned down his 'True Soul' in the fourth layer of reality, Zack had lost control over his 'Emotion keyboard'—the 'Auto' button pressed against his will.
"The only way to kill an immortal." Zack gasped in realization; the bookshelf toppling over and revealing the technique inscribed inside the journal—a single word that filled the page: "Suicide!"
The difference between a Soul Hunter and a Soul Snatcher became painfully clear to Zack this day, not to mention the stupidity his father talked about during their brief interaction. Losing a fight in Sani was something far worse than death, as the simple instance of getting into a fight meant questioning every truth there is, has been, and has to be. It's like living in a simulation where everyone is aware of their insignificance. Aware that they are in a dream controlled by a bigger Clown, who's using them to entertain himself with their consent.
"Had to be the first to break him!" Pinky clicked her tongue dismissively. "You must've earned some kind of title by now."
"Better me than someone who doesn't care how deep the cracks grow," Solgrave responded, almost apathetically.
Azrith looked at Virith, a glimpse of concern shaking loose from their stoic appearance thus far, for only she focused on the 'almost' part.
'There's something there.' Azrith sent a telepathic message just to Virith, while Solgrave was missing out on their private conversation.
At first, Virith wanted to dismiss the outrageous claim; they had been together for so long that all secrets between them should've been solved ages ago. But Solgrave's delayed reaction at honing in on the sisters' privacy— 'There's definitely something there!' Virith confirmed.
"What is?" Solgrave finally noticed and invaded their private channel.
The sisters, with a stoic face that fooled Solgrave's detection skills, nodded at Zack.
"Oh, def!" Solgrave nodded along. "I am already pissed at your parents for creating such a nonsensical artifact." He told Zack, getting weird stares from everyone else except for Zack, who still stood entranced and hurting.
"What?!" Solgrave waved everyone off dismissively. "Every artifact is... and we are the good guys, so we need to know everything there is about this and any other artifact out there."
"Agreed." Psycho took Solgrave's side.
"Okay, maybe now I see the problem with my stance." Solgrave took a step back alongside his wishes—his 'Will' enforcing others to agree also fading away.
"Happens every time he agrees with you." The sisters chuckled.
———<>||<>——— End of Chapter Eighteen. ———<>||<>———