The concept of time was born when Arthur traveled to the past, exactly when the Twelve just came into existence. His appearance changed many things and allowed them to distinguish themselves using magic or names. He taught many things, beginning from energy to magic to creation, which they learned quickly and perfectly.

At that time, Bilgart, also known as the Watcher, was present and he, too, was fascinated by the things Arthur said. He was born before the Twelve but his knowledge was limited due to his age, which didn't increase as there was no concept of time before the parasite's arrival.

He watched from afar and mastered everything Arthur talked about, be it the dreadful Shadow Magic or the laws of space, which allow you to teleport and even mess with the space-time continuum. He also learned that there are many things that can threaten him, like the Time Wraiths, for example, which are remnants of past victims who succumbed to the punishment of the Time Laws.

The Watcher very much wanted to travel to the future but he refrained from doing so and gave more priority to the Twelve, which he considered as his children… the next generation that will pave the way for all the weaker races that are bound to appear.

Actually, it wasn't much after Arthur's departure that Bilgart witnessed the appearance of foreign races, creatures that have limitless potential, and hold great power. Xyktia and Dmitra tried imitating those races but the result was neither satisfactory nor strong enough to please their creator. Two of these races are the Dragons and the Vampires, the former had a greater number and were quite arrogant but the blood-sucking race was extremely secretive.

They held no enmity against Bilgart when he went to visit them and even spoke of their former world, a plane of existence separate from the multiverse they were in. As for the dragons, at first, only four appeared and they were respected by all the rest. The most memorable was a humongous Elder Dragon by the name of Sigradzomr and the father of the other three, which were, respectively, a Geo Dragon, a Black Dragon, and an Empyrean Dragon.

A millennium after their arrival, a new Dragon Lord was appointed, it was the Geo Dragon; Vizumat. The Black Dragon was his older brother Xedieg, and the Empyrean Dragon was the little sister Fryzai, though the age difference wasn't that big. The reason a new Dragon Lord had arisen was because Sigradzomr after a devastating fight with a highly intellectual civilization. When their battle over, the civilization completely vanished, leaving only their advanced machines and luminous golden cities, likewise, the Elder Dragon couldn't be found.

This was when the Twelve were creating their Races and Realms and familiarizing themselves with their powers. Bilgart wasn't interested in creating something special and only wanted to imitate Arthur, the time traveler who taught him everything.

At first, the result was pleasant as a baby male human was created but the Watcher couldn't calibrate the newborn's powers and ended up giving him many blessings.

"What's this? Is it yours?"

Timos happened to stumble upon the baby and the crow next to him, he inspected the crying baby before asking Bilgart.

In response, the crow flapped its wings and answered:

"It's just an experiment."

"Well, it can't be an experiment if the result is perfect, and in the first try, too."

After a brief silence, Bilgart said: "I created a flawless thing but 'he' wasn't devoid of faults."The mistake Bilgart made was that he made the young Arthur too perfect, he granted him everything and equipped him with every possible attribute and power that had ever existed. For most, the result was pleasant but the Watcher wanted to imitate the adult Arthur and not create a perfection test subject.

"It doesn't seem that you'll keep it so how about you give it to me?"-Timos

Bilgart didn't reject the Black Devil's offer and ended up giving him the baby so he can raise him. It was only a few years later that the crow went back to Timos to retrieve Arthur, finally realizing his mistake after pondering for quite some time.

Unfortunately, the baby drastically changed and was affected by the Cthulhu's savage aura. Timos also never expected the innocent newborn to be easily influenced and after only a couple of years, a monster was born inside of the young Arthur, totally changing his nature, twisting to an unimaginable degree.

Obviously, Bilgart was infuriated with Timos and ended up locking him into Riarravar as a punishment but the latter freed himself sometime later. As for the baby, which was named Sol'khin by the Strategist, he was taken by the crow.

Getting rid of the corrupted part was impossible without killing the victim so Bilgart had to use extreme measures. He separated the soul in two and sealed the evil part then brought the other part to a place that wasn't affected even by the Time Laws.

That second part was the very same Arthur raised by Bilgart, that courtyard was a separate plane in which Time didn't flow hence why his young appearance never changed even after a long time passed in the outside.

*****

"If we were to talk about your adventurous journey through time, there is a lot to talk about." Explained Arthur's copy, who sat opposite to him in this peaceful courtyard that existed everywhere and nowhere.

Arthur was more and more surprised the more he heard. To think that his last piece of soul was actually Sol'khin, the very same thing that Forne and Zodiak want to kill. It also explains why the Joker and Leiu refused to do anything and allowed the Black Seat and his group to come at them.

"You went back to the Era of Beginning twice. The first trip was when you taught the Twelve and the reason behind the second is… a bit complicated and better not spoken right now. Anyway, the soul is not split 1/3 for each, nay, you have 1/4, Zodiak has 1/4, and Sol'khin has 1/2, which is why he's able to absorb all your powers and can even control your dear brother."

"You said that Leiu is the reason I can't break free from my cycles… why is that?"

"He's fully capable of killing Sol'khin but if that were to happen, do you think you'll still exist? Each part of your soul is essential and without it, the rest will slowly disappear too. Considering that Sol'khin has 1/2 of the soul, if it were to vanish, the smaller parts will dissipate sooner or later. He knows that by killing the enemy, he'll end up killing his brother too."

"So what do you suggest doing?"

"Combine it together, of course. You and Zodiak can overpower Sol'khin and absorb half of the soul but only if it's inside Leiu's body. When Sol'khin's host dies, the soul will be severely weakened and it'll be the perfect time to attack."

"Are you telling me to kill Leiu?"

The man shrugged his shoulders and retorted: "It's one way or the other. There's no outcome where you both survive."

*****

BONUS: LORE

Arthur Bilgart: Created in the Era of Beginning by Bilgart (The Watcher), a being that's very similar to the human race but internally different. He was the perfect creation, surpassing even the Twelve and in possession of every magic that ever existed. Later on, he was given the name Sol'khin by Timos and ended up being corrupted by the savage and violent aura of the Cthulhu, his personality and appearance drastically changed and became very twisted. He was the incarnation of true evil and were it not for The Watcher's intervention, Sol'khin would've cause a big mess.

The soul was split in two, one was sealed and the other was taken to a special dimension, where it went back to its original and innocent appearance.

When the separation occurred, Arthur was no longer a perfect being and the abilities were split between the two souls. After an inordinate amount of time, Arthur was taken to Earth, where he was raised as an orphan in the Philippines. He grew up to become a successful businessman but, unfortunately, his end was tragic and miserable as he killed himself after months of torture planned by his wife, Claudia.

However, death wasn't the end for Arthur, who was reincarnated into Astria thanks to the Joker and the Nameless Knight's interference. They went to Heaven and threatened Fate, who forcefully put reincarnated Arthur to the world designated by the crazy assailants, who almost killed her.

Arthur was given a new as a parasite and as destiny would have it, he met Lucy, who will later become his eternal partner. One event after the other happened and the parasite evolved more than a few times, becoming a Soul Parasite, which is a Race that's slowly erasing his humane emotions.

Dark Soul Parasite: A new Race automatically created by the System when Arthur reached the necessary requirements. It's able to obtain double the stats of any hosts possessed and it allows the user to transform into anything(n the catalog) without needing a real corpse. Additionally, soul parasites cannot be killed by physical attacks, However, if their Health reaches 0 due to a physical attack, they will be severely weakened and their stats will significantly decrease for at least a day.

Soul parasites can avoid any physical attack if they remain in their soul form, however, they become very vulnerable to Soul and mental attacks so it is not advised to use this ethereal/soul form.