Chapter 312: The Multiverse of Bounded Hearts (2)

[A/N: FYI, I won’t use terms like "True" or "Real" Akasha when the scene features his actual body. Lol, I’ll remind you when needed, though, that the body within Pantheos is only his "surface."]

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"You know," Akasha said, standing at the back of his Mountain near the racial pond. He took a glance at his women, who had already returned to the Land of Elsewhere.

"There’s no real difference between my two selves..."

The cocoons hung quietly over the water in a neat line, cradling Melvin, Harlan, Liliana, Calista, and the others in a shared bundle of light.

Beyond them, the Land of Elsewhere stretched out in all its glory—the brilliant white sun, four distant stars, sprawling grassy plains, tranquil ponds, and the gentle... almost dreamy presence of the Mountain.

"Sure..." Yume replied with a hint of sarcasm, crossing her arms as she gazed up at him. "But during our short trip here, we’ve all reached the same conclusion."

"A short trip, you say?" Akasha said, shaking his head.

Describing their passage from the outside into the Land of Elsewhere as "short" was quite the understatement, especially considering the transition had been entirely instantaneous.

"Well, regardless of how fast it was.... Master, you will not touch us with that "surface" you again," Yume said, pointing at him playfully.

"From here on out... Only the full.... and whole thing."

"I can agree with that," Akashi said with a laugh. "Even though it’s truly no different, it feels like our connection is weaker with that version."

"Indeed, it’s too strange," Luna replied with a soft laugh.

Akashi shook his head, smiling faintly.

"Have it your way then," he said with a shrug. "It doesn’t matter to me."

He looked at his mother for a moment, then let his eyes go back to the cocoons so the question would not land like an accusation.

"Mother... about that ’game,’" he began, knowing there was still so much he wanted to discuss about the truths he’d uncovered regarding his origins.

Even though he had witnessed her life from the time she was sixteen, the reality was that she had done little and spoken to almost no one—except for the occasional visitors who stopped by now and then.

Now, with his journey in Pantheos truly beginning and the moment approaching when he would set his companions free into the world, he felt it was time to confront some of his lingering questions.

"The one involving the other Unus—what’s the ultimate goal? And what’s your role in all of this?"

"Fufufu~ It took you long enough to ask," Akashi said with a laugh, as she knew this time would come eventually, and she had no intention of withholding anything she knew.

She fell silent for a moment, considering how to choose her words, while the mountain oasis seemed to relax around them.

Leaves drifted down slowly, the distant sound of waterfalls clear in the air, and even the scent of flowers and his herb garden seemed heightened in that moment.

"My son... the game surrounding your birth," she began at last, "it actually has very little to do with the Game my father and that author created."

She went on to explain that, in short, the Game involving him and the Unus—his distant relatives—was something conceived by her older siblings, with her father merely permitting it to take place.

However, when it came to the actual purpose and meaning behind it all, the truth was far simpler than he might have imagined: it was created purely for entertainment.

"They’ve got some ridiculous wager going on," she said, shaking her head, unable to imagine what beings at their level could even bet on.

"Basically, it’s about who can reach the Land of Origin first... and also the Ineffable Clan."

’Hmm,’ Akasha nodded to himself, thinking, ’Well, that doesn’t sound entirely bad... Honestly, I could lose the Game and not care in the slightest.’

Since the Game offered him neither real benefits nor any significant drawbacks, he saw no reason to bother playing—especially just because his uncles and aunts had decided they were bored.

’Maybe... if I don’t participate, those bastards will come to visit me,’ he mused.

It wasn’t that Akasha disliked his family. Still, he certainly had unfinished business with the two uncles who had convinced his mother it was a brilliant idea to throw him into a living hell for eighteen years.

"And your role?" he asked, keeping his eyes fixed on the cocoons.

"Well," Akashi replied with a shrug, "Nothing... which is pretty boring, I must admit."

Akasha, Luna, and Yume each raised an eyebrow in unison, and even the cocoons seemed to glow briefly, as though those inside were equally surprised.

Ignoring their shock, Akashi pressed on, knowing her role was vacant solely because of Akasha himself.

"As you can see, my son, your mother... has no rank," she said with a teasing lilt.

"That’s because I was born at the peak of power."

Those words hit even harder than the first, leaving them more stunned than before.

Akasha’s eyes narrowed in sharp focus, while Yume’s arms, which had briefly loosened, folded tightly again. Luna’s pink hearts gave a single spin before freezing in place, as if holding their breath along with everyone else.

"You’re at... the peak of power?" Akasha muttered, more to himself than anyone else, as he had always known his mother was strong.

Not only that, from his origins, he understood that his entire clan possessed great strength, but hearing they stood at the peak of power could shock anyone.

The Peak of Power had always seemed distant and shrouded in mystery, a goal many believed to be nothing more than a myth.

Yet learning that his mother had been born at that pinnacle was almost surreal.

"Not that it matters, though," Akasha added with a slight pout, "unless you let me join you on your journey, I’ll be completely sidelined."

Akasha stayed quiet at those words, understanding that what she meant wasn’t simply tagging along but actively helping him cheat.

It wasn’t something he minded, but deep down he knew the path he had started walking was one she couldn’t interfere with—at least not yet.

Ever since becoming the Otherness Unus, his destination had become unknown to Pantheos, but even if it wasn’t entirely clear to him, he knew the direction.

And with that knowledge, as long as both he and his mother remained connected to Pantheos, her help would be pointless.

At this moment, Akasha’s connection to Pantheos was his Star.

This was also why he could alter the meaning of "Divine" when it came to artifacts, powers, or anything he imagined—except his Star.

At this point, he still needed six more paths added to his Star before Yume upgraded again.

After a while, he began to speak, ready to ask his next question about the idea that he was the Main Character in his grandfather’s story, but before he could finish, Akashi interjected.

"Son... you truly think too much," she said with a chuckle before continuing.

"No," she stated plainly, "From what I know, you are not being controlled or manipulated."

She understood his next concern—that if he was indeed a Main Character, how much of his actions were truly his own.

Yet, Akashi dispelled such thoughts before he could even voice them.

"Alright," Akashi said, satisfied he’d learned enough, and turned his focus to those before him.

"You can all come out now."

HUMMMMM!!!!!!