Not long after the black hole appeared, the entirety of Riarravar was sucked into it, leaving nothing unscathed or alive. Arthur's body and disintegrated and his soul magically vanished. However, neither his black robe nor his storage ring were destroyed and, instead, they were dragged into a small dark whirlpool which appeared only momentarily.

With the disappearance of Arthur's soul, the quad-spirit naturally clung onto its owner but the guardian couldn't do the same. Curtis tried to follow but he was suddenly grasped by an illusory hand. By the next second, the blond youth found himself inside a serene and beautiful forest, the personal space of Timos and the only area that wasn't affected by the black hole. The Black Devil took it with him and left Riarravar, at last.

"Fancy seeing you here."

A human with long brown hair and average appearance grinned while talking to the confused Curtis.

Seeing that the knight was still feigning ignorance and innocence, Timos clicked his tongue and said:

"Come on, it's pathetic seeing you try to act like this."

After a few seconds of pointless fearful behavior, Curtis' face became expressionless as he faced Timos, who took a humanoid form for convenience's sake.

"Every time I look at you, I feel disgusted, do you know that?"

Timos grimaced while talking to the blond and handsome youth before him. In response, Curtis fixed his armor and scanned his surroundings before saying

"What are you up to?"

Hearing such a random question, the man pointed at himself and replied: "Me? Nothing. I was just a bit surprised to see a comrade playing around here."

"Comrade? Hmpf!" Curtis coldly snorted, unwilling to acknowledge the connection between him and Timos.

"What? Mister 'Holy Godfather'… eh, Sedos, are you so bored to the point of sticking into a parasite?"

"I can do whatever you want, mind your business, devil."

The brown-haired man appeared hurt as he clutched his chest and staggered a few steps: "You wound me, Lightbringer. I was but a tad curious, that's it. Though I can see why you'd accompany Arthur, he is indeed an interesting person."

Before Curtis, or also known(in the past) as Sedos, the Strategist continued:

"However, being a spectator isn't your job, I'm sure you know that." His eyes narrowed to a dangerous agree, however, he didn't try raise his aura to threaten the blond youth, seeing no purpose in provoking someone stronger than him in strength.

"When the time comes, I will go on my way but for now, I want to see how it proceeds." Then, without waiting for the other party, Sedos was enveloped by a blinding light and disappeared from the forest.

As he remained alone, Timos shrugged his shoulders and mumbled: "Whatever, don't blame me if you're caught."

*******

"What's going on?"

Emir frowned upon seeing his people circled around a bloodied figure. He walked toward the unconscious Lucy but even before he reached her, his sense noticed her lack of pulse and breaking Dantian. It was too late to interfere or do anything that could bring her back. The wound she received from the Shogun was severe but it was the coin which rendered her body unable to self-recover.

A frail black-haired human woman was holding Lucy's body while examining her abdomen. The Archmage also felt the unborn life residing inside the womb but with her death, it won't be long before this new life is extinguished too.

He let out a sigh and asked again, this time directing his speech toward the woman:

"What happened?"

After an inordinate amount of time, Lissandra snapped out of it and spoke with a toneless voice:

"I don't know, she died the moment we arrived here."

Emir maintained a short silence before saying: "We'll provide her with a proper burial."

He signaled for the young female parasite from before then unleashed a bright blue light which exploded in the sky like a signal of some sort.

Lissandra and the young parasite were about to lift Lucy's body only for a strange portal open up next to Emir, startling him. Before he could react, a brown-haired man exited the distorted space and scanned the area before gazing at the lifeless Lucy.

"It's such a waste for a miracle to be buried before its birth."

He ignored the surprised parasites, who were about to attack only for Emir to stop them, and crouched next to Lucy.

"Sir Timos…"

The Archmage wanted to say something but seeing the serious expression of the Black Devil, he just swallowed back his unsaid words.

"I'll safe-keep it until our next meeting, pretty guest."

After saying that, his hand brutally stabbed the corpse's stomach and pulled a minuscule, unrecognizable lifeform. It was the size of his fist and enveloped by an unbreakable dome covered on the right by chilling ice and the on the left by golden fire.

Seeing the dome, the Black Devil laughed and said:

"No wonder… no wonder she died."

Lucy could have survived the coin's effect but the unborn baby would have perished so she used most of her powers to create this dome, which ascertained her child's survival.

Uncaring about the blood soaking his sleeve and hand, the man held the shiny dome and looked unsuspecting person.

"The path of Hope… what an unusual way for a fallen God, well good luck with that."

His words were obviously directed at the surprised Lissandra, who could do nothing but fidget around.

Second later, Timos left along with the dome, leaving a bunch of dumbfounded parasites behind.

*******

"This is craziness."

Delia sighed and stated, her forehead sweating and her fists unknowingly clenched. Currently, she was at the main hall of the Kang Clan, waiting for the Patriarch to come and meet them. Surprisingly, just like Saly said, when they exposed their identity to the Kang clan, they were welcomed and told to wait here.

Unlike her, Saly remained calm and patiently wait for the man to arrive. As she saw the little girl, Delia still couldn't believe what was told to her a couple of days ago.

…

Along with Saly, Delia was with Juli, who was injured inside the Dragon's lair but seemed to have recovered almost all of her powers now. Juli didn't blame Delia for betraying the Holy Dominion and didn't insist on going back there and ask for forgiveness as she knew such a thing was impossible. So, Juli, the Holy Knight, decided to accept her situation and tagged along with Delia, protecting Saly while fleeing from their relentless pursuers.

Today, Saly started talking about her hellish training but focused more on the classes given by the Joker. The little girl didn't give up on Astrith so she told Delia that they have to go the Kang Clan, which will most likely aid them. When Delia questioned her, Saly forced them to make death oaths to not tell a soul about what she's going to say.

…

"Hey, focus!"

The Joker violently smacked the sleepy Saly's head before sternly saying:

"You have to memorize everything I'm saying!"

While rubbing her head with teary eyes, Saly meekly nodded her head.

"Ahem, as I was saying, in the past, I became friends with a special entity and even helped him hide. Now, tell me, who was it?"

Saly thought for a few moments before hesitantly saying: "I-it's the titan, right?"

"Indeed, the only surviving Titan in this age. However, Titans were peculiar beings and not all of them chose a material form… some preferred spirituality and others were actual worlds, literal worlds. The one I befriended… hahahaha a really crafty motherfucker-ops! Don't tell your uncle I cursed or I'll smack you."

He sneaked a couple of glances to the entrance of the room before continuing: "Anyway, that Titan was a world and that was part of the reason no one ever found him. Now then, Saly, what do you think his name was?"

Saly, confused, couldn't answer and only stared at the grinning Joker.

After some time, the teacher chucked and said: "His name was Astria, hahahahaha"

The little girl's round eyes fully opened in disbelief. She knew that her homeworld was called Astria which is why she found that name surprising.

"Yes, it's your homeworld! Isn't it fascinating?!"

He cleared his sore throat and resumed: "Now then, let's get to the good stuff. When I hid Astria, another party helped me, however, I never told them where I exactly hid it. They were the Kang Clan and ever since that day, they kept searching the Titan. Back in the 3rd Era, Astria helped them avoid total destruction so they remained grateful which is why they're trying to find him or 'it', and protect it from death. Recently, they seemed to have found it and are definitely more inclined to help, so, if something happens in the future and your parents are not there, make sure to head to the Kangs."

As the Joker insistently repeated this topic, Saly ended up memorizing all of his words. After she briefly talked about ti Delia and Juli, the Goddess and Holy Knight were dumbstruck, especially the former, who thought Astria was only a cast out world.

*******

At the bottom of a lake with unknown depth, a seemingly large white box started shaking, heavily affecting its environment and freezing the whole lake. What was worse a miniature golden sun dominated the night sky, illuminating everything and anything. The mortals living in a nearby village became frightened, kowtowing on the ground and praying.

They thought that was God was punishing them, however, this disturbance lasted for one night before the sun vanished and the lake returned to its monotonous serenity. That night, the villagers definitely saw a bright streak of light flying across the sky, leaving a trail of falling snowflakes in its path.

A few days later, at the execution of the lightning wolf Astrith, the Cloud Sea Sect prepared a grand ceremony as to show an example of the beast. Many citizens were present at the enormous plaza, even the Emperor himself was seated some distance away from the execution ground.

Although the Cloud Sea is a sect, they called themselves an ancient kingdom so the Emperor is considered their leader, that is, if you exclude the secluded ancestors, however, those old fogies rarely come out. Basically, the Cloud Emperor is the public ruler of Cloud Sea and the Divine Planet.

Most of the Marshals were present, including the two who intervened in the war between the specters and the undead. On a well-decorated stage, there laid a chained wolf which had a body covered in lightning, furthermore, it also had three tails, each emitting a different kind of thunder.

The beast growled as it was stared at by thousands of people, all eager to see the 'show', or so it was called. The executioner was a robbed individual who hid his face and held a big scythe which seemed to cut air itself.

The loud cheering and surprised gasps were quietened down by the Emperor, who raised his hand.

"Today, we shall rid the world of another enemy of our prosperous empire."

He kept it brief as his golden eyes locked onto Astrith. The marshals orderly sat next to The Emperor's right while, on his left, there were two guests and some officials.

….

Amidst the clustered crowd, there was a dark-haired little girl who was getting very restless. As she saw the wolf's bloodied body and heard the excited yells of the citizens, Saly was about to jump in only for a hand to hold her body, totally immobilizing her.

"What did I say? You cannot and will not show yourself today, no matter what happens."

The one who talked to her was a man with very long dark hair. In fact, he was Gutcha, the pigolo, in disguise. The Kang Clan agreed to help them so all they have to do is sit back and watch from the sidelines, at least that's what their Patriarch said, word for word.

The anticipated moment finally arrived as the executioner raised his scythe while many soldiers tightened the chains around Astrith. The sharp-looking scythe was easily-handled by the professional, who readied himself then swung it down, aiming for the wolf's neck.

This scythe was a very special weapon which can even kill special beasts like Astrith, who can't be killed by physical attacks. It was a weapon stolen from one of the Grim Reapers long ago and although its efficiency lessened by a great deal, it was still able to kill almost anything.

When it was time for the beast to finally die, the sunny sky suddenly changed and an ear-deafening explosion startled every soul in the plaza. The mortals could not react in time but the Marshals and the Emperor saw a fast figure descend from high-up in the sky, like a meteor.

One of the Marshal stood up from his seat and went to meet the incoming invader, however, before he could do anything, his body was slammed by a monstrous force, sending him crashing into the ground, blood coming out of his mouth.

The scythe-wielding executioner's fate was more miserable than the Marshall. Before he could retaliate, he was engulfed by a golden flame and turned into ash within a second.

A graceful figure landed next to Astrith and instantly turned all the chains along with their holders into ice, which soon crumbled into thousands of pieces, releasing the wolf from its bind, at last.

"Mom-"

Saly was about to yell for her mother, who just caused a ruckus and came out of nowhere, only for Gutcha to hold her mouth and slowly back away from the crowd.

The Emperor looked at the silver-haired woman standing next to the wolf and spoke to the Marshal closest to him

"Isn't she Katrina's daughter?"

"Yes, your Imperial Majesty."

Before the Emperor even talked, all the marshals disappeared from their seats and surrounded Lucy, blocking all her escape routes. Seeing one of their own getting overpowered, they were forced to step up.

Moreover, they needed to show their dominance in front of the watching citizens so they could not go easy on Lucy.

Lucy remained unfazed as she glared at the marshals, nine ice lotuses floating above her head.

The marshals around her gasped in surprise as they her right arm drastically change. Scales appearing from her shoulder all the way to her fingers and what seemed to be broad shoulder guards emanating a dangerous kind of energy.

The woman raised lifted her head and released an ear-piercing cry echoing across the whole city. The unsuspecting citizens fell unconscious and the marshals blocked their ears and backed away, their faces totally pale.

********

"Ahhhh!"

The short girl who was the direct subordinate of the Water Empress, jumped in panic as someone suddenly appeared in the office, exactly behind her, like a ghost. With shaky hands and a pale face, she turned her stiff neck only to see a beautiful black-haired woman wearing a dress that matched her eye and hair color. She didn't know who she was but her master, the Empress, who was busy deciphering a document on the other side of the large room, stood up from her seat, appearing visibly shocked.

"Madam Death Region ruler."

She bowed and addressed her by her title as she didn't know the visitor's real name. The blue-haired tall woman didn't know the reason behind the guest' visit, nonetheless, she behaved courteously and talked with respect, aware that the Death Region ruler is an entity rarely seen and extremely dangerous, furthermore, she did help her last time she went to the land of death.

The black-haired woman gracefully sat next to the Empress, her face as expressionless as ever.

The two stared at each other for a while before the guest said:

"I need you to do something for me."

In response, the Water Region Empress retorted:

"Will I be able to do something you could not?"

The dark-haired woman smiled and said:

"Even for me, there are things I'm unable to do or achieve."

In reality, she was able to accomplish the task herself, however, she didn't want to, for various reasons, though she kept such thoughts to herself, of course.

After thinking for a bit of time, the Empress spoke: "If it is within my power, I'll try."

It's only natural to pay back an old favor, furthermore, the Empress felt that helping her would provide her with some clues to the forgotten history.

Without wasting any more time, the Death Region ruler, stood up and snapped her fingers, spawning a coffin, a very creepy and dusty one.

With a confused expression, the Empress tilted her head, not knowing what to say or do so she just waited for an explanation.

….

Exactly a week later, the Water Empress appeared on a secluded archipelago West of her territory. This part of her region was rarely visited by either experts or cultivators, moreover, there were mostly mortals living her yet she was tasked to come here and find a person.

Her sense was strong enough to cover the whole group of islands, which were four, to be exact. Following the words of the Death Region ruler, she appeared on the island to the far West, which seemed to be some kind of wasteland, and located her target after a few minutes of thorough searching.

The blue-haired tall woman appeared inside of a small tent, barely able to chilly wind of the night, and stared at a young boy sitting on a corner. He had a bronze-skin, probably due to long exposure to the sun, a frail body lacking muscles, and hair as black as ink.

The teenager was startled by the Empress' appearance and the first thing he did was shield an old woman sleeping next to him. She seemed to be very sick as she kept coughing, unaware of what's happening around her.

Without beating around the bush, the woman took two steps forward and said

"Are you Jackob?"

The boy hesitated and remained tight-lipped but ended up nodding his head when he started feeling a suffocating pressure coming from the woman.

"I will give you gold if you do something for me."

On the mention of gold, the boy's expression changed, brightened, even. He enthusiastically and innocently nodded his head while standing up straight.

"You only have to hide a coffin somewhere on the continent East of here."

Back then, the boy, Jackob, didn't know what exactly he did, however, his actions led to many, many things.

*****

A woman with long silver-hair gasped for breath and supported herself with a silver spear as she made her way into a large temple which gave her the creeps.

Angelina fought endlessly against the insanely powerful shadow beasts yet even after killing thousands of them, they still kept coming. Only when she arrived in these temples, which were all the same, did they stop their assaults.

It was as if they feared the temples, not daring even to approach them. They glared at her from hundreds of meters away, circling around the temple and cornering her.

The white specter ignored them and entered the small yet luxurious building. The ground was made from white marble and remained clean even after a long time had passed. Inside the temple, there was nothing apart from several statues, each with a unique appearance.

Angelina didn't know how but she was able to read the runes engraved on the stones under each statue, and, from the looks of it, each one spoke of a certain being.

There was one of a large entity with tentacles and a creepy face, another was a handsome knight wearing a thick armor and holding a shield and a one-handed sword.

"Sedos, Timos, Dmitra... what were they?"

She gazed at the statues then focused her gaze at the central one, the biggest of all them and the creepiest, by far.

In total, there were thirteen statues and all were made from the same marble under her feet but the statue at the middle was created using metal as its left side was dark and the right side was white.

Unlike the description under all the statues, the central one only had two words.

"'The Watcher'?"

Moreover, it had the most basic appearance yet when she looked at its eyes, Angelina felt weakened and her soul shaken.

*****

The Wheel of Reincarnation is a mysterious thing, unaffected by anything, even time itself. When a soul died and is set to reincarnate, it's not necessarily uniquely in the future, it can also take form in the past. However, as most reincarnates come back in the future, everyone assumes the Wheel is also subjected to Time, which cannot be more wrong.

In the case of Arthur MoonStar, formerly known as Arthur Bilgart, his reincarnation was supposed to happen when he died on Earth, however, due to the machinations of his two brothers, he was sent to Astria, becoming a parasite. Now, with the destruction of Riarravar, the first-ever created world, Arthur died along with it and his soul was extinguished but pulled by the Wheel of Reincarnation and subjected to its effect, as it should have been a long time ago.

The artifact used by 'X' to reincarnate Arthur's soul was purposely made imperfect as to maintain Arthur's obliviousness. This caused Arthur's soul and memories to be reborn as imperfect, however, it was only temporary.

When he first opened his eyes, he saw a frail and pale-faced woman with long black hair. As for the figure of a father, it was missing, there was only the baby and the crying woman, his mother, gently holding him in her embrace.

"My dear boy… let not fate decide your path."

Her eyes were wet from all the years yet she brightly smiled and held the baby high in the air.

"Your name will be…"

The baby wasn't intelligent so it only looked at its mother, dumbly and innocently. Back then, no one, not even his happy mother, knew what the boy will become. He was born in a miserable environment and a cruel, abusive father.

Not long after that, the mother died, leaving the boy alone, suffering in this hellish world. It's a saddening story of someone bitterly hanging on a thread just to live, not even wishing for a peaceful or happy life.

He didn't have or need a last name… as for his name? It was Zodiak.

****

END OF VOLUME 9

VOLUME 10 : ZODIAK THE MYTHICAL