BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!
The incredible energy that Rey had stockpiled throughout his conversation with Emil finally reached breaking point, and he sent everything charging in the stunned Adrien's direction.
"W-what? What are you—?!"
Normally, Adrien would confidently take the attack, certain no harm would come to him.
Now, his face was pale.
The reason could be traced to the bizarre sight taking place right before Rey's eyes. Adrien's body was swelling in multiple directions, with spiky shapes coming out of all sides—as though Emil was attacking him from all angles.
"Are you crazy?! You really want to die? You're going to die because of HIM?!"
Adrien's voice echoed in the void of space as the destructive blast neared both him and Emil. His eyes flashed with horror as he swiftly did his best to erect a dark barrier at the last minute to protect his incredibly unstable body from the attack.
However, the ultimate ray easily tore through his blast and pushed him towards his machine, the intensly concentrated blast finally beginning to eat through all of the seemingly overwhelming resisteance that he had prepared.
"E-Emil, stop! Wait! Please!"
At this point, it was Adrien who pleaded with the Familiar.
Due to the rules of the System applying very loosely to her, she could disobey her new master without consequence. However, due to the both of them being bound, whatever damage Adrien received would be received by Emil.
Perhaps not by her physical body, but her soul would sustain equal damage.
And now that she was intentionally peeling off her layer of protection from Adrien, it meant he was free to receive all the damage he was confident in rejecting.
The result was devastating.
"ARRRGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Adrien screamed, feeling his body deconstruct as his barrier all over his machine began to whittle down.
Within a fraction of a second, the entire thing crumbled, and both Adrien and his machine exploded in white fiery light that resembled a supernova. Rey erected a barrier that protected the planet from the radiation and intense heat that the explosion undoubtedly released, his eyes on the collapsing machine and eviscerating Adrien.
Amidst the light was Emil, whose body was now turning to dust since Adrien was dying.
Rey made a sad smile as he looked at her.
'I wish things were different.' A sigh escaped his parted lips. 'I tried to save you.'
However, the case for Emil was too different from Lucielle, so he couldn't properly revive her. He had no choice but to watch her burn in the light, hoping that she felt no pain throughout the entire process.
Then, finally—
FSHUUUUUU…
—The lights dimmed and the explosion fizzled out, returning the world of darkness to its initial state. Rey's eyes narrowed as he looked far into space and found nothing—no trace of Adrien or the machine.
By using an Ultimate Ray that could destroy an entire planet, his goal was to destroy even the spatial anomalies that would cause a black hole to swallow the universe. From the looks of things, he had succeeded.
Hence, there was no Adrien… no machine… and no grand evil plan.
It was over.
'Yet why do I still feel so uneasy?'
Before long, his question would be answered in the form of a shimmering multi-colored blot in the vast darkness of space.
'Hm? What's that?' Rey's eyes narrowed, struggling to comprehend the complexity of the mixtures of light he saw.
He couldn't understand the colors and their combination.
He would have liked to call the colors by name, but their definition eluded him. The colors formed shapes that were foreign to him as well. Some were, of course, familiar to him—as were some colors—but there were also strange ones that made his head churn in ignorance.
Amidst this confusing display, something that had the resemblance of a human being emerged from the expanding blot of confusion.
This humanoid entity made sounds that Rey did not understand.
It spoke in words that he could not comprehend.
Then—
"Can you hear me now? Ah… much better…"
—The glitch subsided, with the shapes and colors stabilizing to form comprehensible concepts that his mind could process. The blot in space was actually a wormhole, filled with a collage of various colors that contrasted so finely with one another.
As for the entity that emerged from swirling gate… it turned out to be none other than a human.
And not just any human.
"Adrien…" Rey frowned as the boy materialized right before his eyes. "So you didn't die."
"Obviously."
Adrien now looked much older than before—having the appearance of a man nearing his forties. His dark hair had turned gray at the sides, and while his eyes had some wrinkles around them, he still maintained a fairly youthful appearance.
His previously naked body soon had clothes on, and he was completely clad in an all-black suit covered in a black cloak.
His all-black eyes focused squarly on Rey and he finally spoke.
"You were foolish to try and stop me. If you had succeeded, everything and everyone in this world would have been trapped in its decaying existence. But, thankfully… right as you were about to destroy everything—myself and my machine—the process within it was completed and it fused with the embers of my dying self."
"And that caused you to age an extra twenty years."
"No… not really." Adrien chuckled. "My body was sent to other realities, and I spent what you could call decades trying to find my way back."
"I see."
"How long has passed here? I'm guessing only a few seconds."
"Yes…"
"Fascinating, isn't it? I went through all of those experiences for a great deal of time, and that time was insignificant for you. I wonder… how the concept of space and time applies to those who dwell above." Adrien cast his gaze up. "Even now, I can't help but wonder…"
"So those decades didn't quell your obsessions."
"Quite the opposite, actually. My motivation has intensified after coming across so many worlds—too many to count. Some are quite similar to ours, and yet others are so vastly different. I have seen things, Rey… things you couldn't possibly comprehend, so believe me when I say this reality is meaningless."
"...."
"It's not too late. You can still join me in my ascension. Let's do it together. Let the both of us rise to that realm. You say they have bad intentions, but what if we banded together and protected each other as we rose to their ranks? We'd be unstoppable!"
The more Rey reasoned, the further he thought.
'I wasn't so sure before… but now I'm certain: Adrien was the one meant to be chosen by Ater.'
To be honest, back then, when Seraph had first summoned everyone, Adrien could have been the third to speak up—asking the question he had asked.
'If that had happened, perhaps H'Trae would not be in this state.'
A combination of Adrien and Ater… surely, this world would have been liberated already.
But—
'I was the one who was chosen… not him.' Rey's eyes hardened. 'And because of that, I have to take responsibility for this world and those whom I have come to care about.'
There was no guarantee those people would have lived if Adrien had been the one to get [Doppel].
And for that reason alone, Rey was certain he was no mistake.
'Even if I was nothing but an Extra throughout my life, I have finally decided to change the world… not run away from it.'
Unlike Adrien, he was never going to abandon H'Trae or the ones he loved.
"So, what do you say, Rey?"
With a broad smile on his face and determination etched in his eyes, Rey took a fighting stance to show his disposition. As if that wasn't enough, he opened his lips and declared his intentions.
"NO!"