"Since you're here, I'm guessing you've made your decision, right?"

Inside the ARK, Arthur's copy stood before him, looking at the grim yet serious expression of Arthur. Hearing no reply from the other party, the copy resumed talking:

"I can tell you the worse has yet to come but you already know that, I can tell you that you're going to lose but you're aware of that too. Arthur ah!… Arthur, you've become quite weak, so weak to the point of choosing such a path, one without a return, without a happy ending."

Arthur still didn't reply, he stared at his copy, who waved his hand, changing the endless space into something else, just like last time.

The two of them were standing on the roof of a skyscraper. In the past, this was the headquarters of Arthur's main company, it was situated in Seoul. Arthur passed most of his time in his office, managing his companies and doing his job as a CEO.

"Tell me, Arthur, do you know why 'X' chose you? There are trillions of people in the system's Universe alone, so why choose you out of everyone, out of all those who suffered more than you? Those who fell into endless despair that you could never imagine. Have you ever wondered about that? Did you think you're special? Or perhaps you thought it was just pure luck and nothing else? Reincarnation isn't a simple thing, even for someone such as 'X', only Fate is capable of reincarnating people, so 'X' only had one chance and he chose to gamble on you, Arthur Bilgart, a human from Earth… betrayed, vulnerable, vengeful, angry, and so goes the long list… why is that?"

Arthur wanted to reply but he couldn't find the right words, there was no answer to such a question.

"Let me clarify this for you, from 'X's point of view, you were the perfect subject for his experiment, that's it. As to why he thought you were the perfect subject, it's because someone told him about you and ordered him to take care of you but 'X' opposed that order and decided to use you instead."

"Who's this 'someone'?"

The copy laughed heartily and said

"A close friend of yours I would say. You will meet him, or more precisely, you'll meet him again as you've met in the past. The concept of time is difficult to understand and hard to explain, timelines are interconnected so you'll definitely meet him sometime in the near future, if you do not die, that is."

"Does this friend have a name at least?"

Arthur didn't like how his copy was talking in puzzles, not spitting the truth straight out but circling around the subject as if purposely hiding the truth.

"Knowing too much is a sin, don't you know that? I can tell you something about him though, he's known as 'The Nameless Knight'."

Arthur tried to remember if he read or heard about this name before, alas, no matter how much he searched through his memories, he found no one with such a title or name, not even in Zodiak's notes or books.

The copy clapped his hands as if to wake up Arthur, then he resumed his long speech:

"Let's talk about your decision now, could you tell me why you chose that path?"

"Astria is my home, I do not wish to see its destruction. I simply want for my family to live a peaceful life in this world."

The copy let out a small chuckle then retorted with a scorning tone

"Bullshit! That's not the true reason. You could build a home in any other world, there exist millions of worlds that are devoid of fighting and wars and you know that too. Lucy wouldn't insist on living here if it means risking your life. You are against fleeing because you know that those who will leave this world will be homeless, if Astria is obliterated by the beasts, all its citizens will either be killed or transported to another world, where they'll perish too, one way or another, sooner or later. You do not want that to happen, you're simply denying that fact and forcing yourself to think otherwise."

The copy didn't even let Arthur retort before he continued

"Mayhap you think differently, but those inside of you yearn for their home and its safety. How many people, beasts, and plants did you possess? The majority of them were born on Astria, sure, you were not affected mentally but they are still a part of you, after all, you obtained everything from them, their stats, talent, experiences, and of course, memories. Did you think such a heaven-defying Racial ability comes with no cost, you must've guessed the consequences when you started experiencing their lives, from their birth to their miserable death. The Parasite is affected directly by the law of equivalent exchange, you get something, but you give something in return. You wonder what is it that you give? It can be a small piece of your soul in exchange for a part of their soul to merge with yours, you provide their memories a place to rest at, a place to exist forever.

When you first reincarnated, you only harbored anger and hate toward all living beings. Fortunately, you met Lucy and learned how to differentiate between bad and good and spared those who should be spared, but in my opinion, that is the wrong way to proceed. Lucy always agreed to your decisions because she loves you, if it were up to her, she would kill anyone who annoys her, she just holds herself and follows your steps, a wise and obedient woman. The Soulbond Lucy cast saved you, however, it created a small gap that allowed those lost souls you collected to dive in and stay in that gap. Their presence there affects your decision but in a minuscule way. To be honest, this was the first time they affected your decision."

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

"To explain to you why this is happening. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against your decision, in fact, I'm quite eager to see what will happen, but I want you to know that being a parasite is a double-edged weapon, and in more than a way, the consequences it can bring are more than the advantages."

No response was heard from Arthur, he looked at the skyscrapers all around him, then he gazed down, seeing all the cars and humans crossing the roads, in a hurry to go to work.

He merely looked at this scene for a couple of seconds before he decided to leave the ARK, not wanting to remember his life on Earth.

Before he left the ARK, his copy stopped him, muttering a few words into his ear then disappearing after giving him the usual friendly smile.