Chapter 752: Interlude 8 – 4: Fragment
Arthur tumbled out into a vast room with smooth, brown wooden walls and countless floating screens orbiting the space, each displaying scenes from different places.
In the centre of the room stood a table flanked by two chairs facing each other. Seated in one was a figure so perfectly androgynous that Arthur couldn’t tell their gender.
From one angle, ’they’ appeared to be a man, and from another, a woman. ’They’ had short crimson hair that matched ’their’ red eyes and wore a neutral expression on ’their’ face.
Before a single word could be exchanged, Celestia materialised beside Arthur and screamed out.
[GIVE IT TO ME!!!!!!]
"??"
Arthur grew even more confused at the sound of her scream, but before he could process it, cosmic energy erupted from Celestia’s blade, causing both his literal eyes and Lostvayne’s figurative eyes to widen in shock.
["Wait, what?!"]
Both the Sword and its wielder exclaimed in disbelief at the sight of Celestia releasing cosmic energy, and for good reason.
As an Ego Weapon, Celestia had her own magic power reserves, separate from Arthur’s, but those reserves contained ONLY magic power. She didn’t have cosmic energy like Lostvayne did.
That’s what made her sudden outburst of cosmic energy so shocking. Even Lostvayne couldn’t believe what it was witnessing.
While Arthur and Lostvayne were still busy being stunned, the box on the table before them exploded as something inside was violently torn out by an unstoppable force.
It moved so fast that Arthur only saw a blur, and he only got a proper look when it came to a stop in front of Celestia.
As the cosmic energy surrounding it dissipated, Arthur studied the object now hovering in front of her.
’...a broken piece of metal?’
The only noticeable feature was that one side was perfectly straight and exceedingly sharp.
’Kind of like a swor-!’
As soon as that thought crossed Arthur’s mind, his eyes widened with realisation.
"Celestia, is that-?!"
[It’s mine.]
Celestia answered before he could even finish the question.
That two-word response was all Arthur needed to understand.
The shard of metal before them was one of Celestia’s missing fragments.
Immediately after that, Lostvayne projected its voice outward, asking another question.
[Lady Celestia, is it-?]
[No. It’s not a memory fragment.]
Celestia interrupted Lostvayne once again, her voice devoid of its usual vibrancy.
At that, Arthur quickly understood why she fell silent the moment the fragment reached her—it wasn’t the one she had been searching for.
Celestia was clearly disheartened.
The small hope she had clung to had been utterly shattered.
From the very beginning of her existence, Celestia instinctively knew she had been with Arthur.
From the moment she first appeared in his hands, she understood that the bond between them had existed since his birth.
This was far from normal, as people weren’t typically born with Ego Weapons embedded within them.
Her Ego was also far more advanced than her strength would suggest, and on top of that, she was acutely aware of her incomplete state.
There were countless mysteries surrounding her existence, and these uncertainties constantly gnawed at her.
Not knowing her origins, lacking any memories from before she awakened in Arthur’s hands, and fully understanding that her existence was fractured, with pieces scattered across not just the universe, but the entire cosmos, and not knowing why this was the case.
All of this was enough to weigh heavily on someone’s mind, and Celestia was no exception.
That’s why she reacted the way she did when she sensed one of her fragments, only to be disheartened upon realising it wasn’t a fragment containing her memories.
Celestia understood that her fragments could be classified into three types: Memory, Power, and Hybrid fragments.
The one before her was just a Power Fragment.
More specifically, it contained her ability to store and manipulate cosmic energy, though she had no way of knowing that since she didn’t have the memories of what abilities she possessed.
But, if she were to be honest with herself, she would have preferred a Memory Fragment. It was the only way she could finally get some answers about who she truly was and whether she was the same entity Lostvayne believed her to be.
As for Arthur, he was less focused on the type of fragment and more concerned with its presence.
His mind drifted back to what Celestia had said earlier, back when they were still on planet Cecriri:
[Um... well... I’m getting this strange feeling I can’t quite make sense of. It’s like... I was sure something was NOT somewhere, but I looked away for a bit, and when I looked back, it suddenly felt like it was, but I can’t properly tell since something is obstructing my perception.
Something like...a mass of cosmic energy?]
Knowing that Celestia could vaguely sense the locations of her fragments, Arthur realised that her confusion stemmed from suddenly detecting one in this place.
The reason she couldn’t sense it clearly was because the dimensional walls of the space they were in were interfering with her perception.
’She said she was sure it was NOT here... but when she looked back, it suddenly felt like it was.’
From that line, Arthur realised that the fragment hadn’t been here when they left for Valmone—meaning someone must have placed it here while they were away.
With that conclusion, he turned his gaze toward the only other presence in the space aside from himself and his Ego Weapons.
"You...how did you get this?"
The androgynous being frowned as ’they’ looked down at the shattered remains of the box that had contained the fragment. Then ’they’ raised ’their’ eyes to meet Arthur’s and replied.
[That’s a rude way to ask someone for something.]
"You opened that door the moment you brought me here against my will. So just answer the damn question, Aeturn."
Rising to his feet, the power of his Aspect of Destruction leaked from his body, flooding the room as he glared at the consciousness of the Apex World he called home.
"How did you get Celestia’s fragment?"
The destructive power that had unconsciously erupted from Arthur clashed with the ambient cosmic energy of the Core Dimension, distorting the space around him.
Feeling the adverse effects of the clash, ’Aeturn’ clicked ’their’ tongue in very obvious irritation and finally answered.
[Hyperion.]
"?!"
Arthur’s eyes widened at the name.
[Why would Hyperion have my missing fragments?]
Celestia asked in a dark voice, her tone weighed down by emotions threatening to spill over, and Lostvayne responded right after.
[If you think about it, it’s not surprising that Hyperion has some of Lady Celestia’s fragments.
That said, while I can’t say how many he possesses, I’m certain he doesn’t have them all.]
Arthur turned to the floating sword, narrowing his eyes. "And what makes you so sure?"
[Because I know where some of them are.]
Before Arthur could say another word, Lostvayne continued.
[I didn’t mention it because they are in the hands of an existence you can’t deal with right now.]
A brief silence followed, then Arthur asked, "Who is it?"
[...]
Lostvayne seemed reluctant to answer, prompting Arthur to narrow his eyes and repeat the question. This time, using his True Voice.
|Who is it?|
[...haahh...]
The Sword of Destruction sighed.
[One of the Knights of the Round Table of the Camelot Universe. He’s in possession of at least three fragments.
He’s the First Knight of the Knight King of Camelot. They call him Sir Lancelot.]
"Camelot? Where is that?"
Arthur had never even heard of that universe before, and Lostvayne’s reply wasn’t encouraging.
[The Fifth Multiverse? Or is it the Sixth? It’s in the domain of one of the Twin Eternals.
So not only is it a place you currently can’t access, you also don’t have the power to take anything from the one holding them.
That’s why I kept quiet.
For now, it’s wiser to focus on the one we believe is in Draco Sirus.]
Lostvayne had a point, and Arthur couldn’t disagree. The real problem was that they didn’t know anything about the situation surrounding the fragment Celestia guessed was in Draco Sirus.
For all they knew, it could be in the hands of someone even more dangerous than Lancelot.
[Are you all done? Now get out of my domain before that girl breaks this place open.]
Arthur had barely turned around before ’Aeturn’ waved ’their’ hand, ejecting them from the Core Dimension and sending them back to the planet’s surface.
The sight that greeted them was startling in more ways than one.
To begin with, there was a massive hole in the ground, with magma bubbling to the surface. But this wasn’t just a normal crater, it was a spatial tear, slowly mending itself while Creusery held back his younger sister from tearing it open even further.
It didn’t take long for Arthur to piece things together. Cattleya clearly hadn’t appreciated Aeturn dragging him off without warning and had been in the middle of cracking open the planet’s Core Dimension to get him back.
The instant he reappeared, her eyes snapped toward him, and she vanished from Creusery’s grip, reappearing in front of Arthur and grabbing hold of him.
"I’m fine, Mum. Just went to pick up a piece of my sword," Arthur said before she could say anything, holding up a hand to stop her as he went on.
"But before you say whatever it is you’re about to, I have a question that’s infinitely more important."
|Did another Progenitor come to this universe while I was away?|
"...How did you—?"
Her reaction said it all, and Arthur’s eyes narrowed.
"Was it Hyperion, the Progenitor Titan?"
Cattleya didn’t respond, but her silence was confirmation enough. So Arthur pressed further.
"What the literal Hell happened while I was gone?"
And like that, the roles completely reversed from what they were a few minutes ago.
What had been Cattleya pressing Arthur for information about his time in Valmone was now Arthur demanding answers from Cattleya about everything that transpired while he was away from Hell.
