The voice stopped talking, letting Arthur rest for some time and process what he just heard. He looked so shocked, his face incredibly pale and his body shaking intensely, clearly showcasing his turbulent emotions.

Arthur managed to calm himself down and raised his head, his eyes a bit teary.

"Please answer my question."

The Garden didn't delay and told him what he wanted a second later.

"Shen Shen MoonStar was thrown into the pit by the Shapeshifter Alister Rosw. That pit acts like a portal which sends the person in one of two places, either the place they deeply want to go to or the place they inwardly or outwardly want to avoid forever. In your daughter's case, it was the latter, unfortunately. Sometimes, the place people end up is non-existent or non-accessible, such as a nightmare or even a separate timeline, it all depends on the individual and their personal thoughts, fears, and beliefs. In most cases, it's either Heaven or Hell, it can even be this place, the Garden of Words.

Shen Shen MoonStar is currently in another plane of existence, totally different from the multiverse you exist in. That place is called the Binary Dimension. I cannot determine if she's safe or not but I can tell you she's alive."

"How can I go to that dimension?"

"I'm sorry but you've used all three questions."

Arthur clenched his fists but didn't insist as he knew that he won't be answered.

"Perhaps if you manage to break out of your cycles, I can tell you."

The man raised his head and looked at the book standing atop the short pillar, his expression complicated and unreadable. After a while, he bent his back and respectfully bowed before turning around and leaving this isolated place, which automatically opened and let him out.

…

"Did you hear what you wanted to hear?" Asked Quhea as she saw the grim expression plastered on the parasite's face.

Arthur stiffly nodded his head and bid her farewell as his time is limited inside the Garden.

Just as he was about to step out, the disembodied voice rang inside his ears for the last time.

"Arthur MoonStar, I wish you the best."

****

When he came back to his senses, Arthur was laying inside the dark cave, his body sweating buckets but, soon, a refreshingly cool sensation spread across his hole body, making him feel much more comfortable.

He changed into a new set of clothes and teleported back to the spirit boat, where Radolf was waiting for him.

The red-haired youth bowed to his master and said.

"Master, a few things happened in your absence. First…"

The Mythical being briefed him about Edward's situation then what Midolf did, to which Arthur just nodded without saying anything. After Radolf finished talking, his master retired to his room and told him to call Fariya and the roc as soon as possible.

The Parasite spent almost a day in his room, thinking about all the Garden had said. The method to break out of the cycles, how to evolve, how he granted someone the ability to remember all the past cycles, how Shen Shen is actually his daughter.

Now he understood why he felt a strange closeness to the little girl and why he got close to her so fast despite meeting her not long ago. The more he thought about the little girl, the more pained he became, especially now that the truth came out.

To think his daughter was next to him all along but he was oblivious and didn't protect her well enough. Arthur regretted it so much but, in the end, there was nothing he could do but grief and try to overcome the sadness, hoping that he'll be able to find her in the future.

…

The very next day, Arthur departed from that area, heading directly to Astria, where he, the original Arthur, and the second clone were supposed to meet after four months of their separation.

He learned that he was inside that separate boundary for close to 2 months, adding to that the time he spent in the prison and in the Ramel Kingdom, it adds up to three months, more or less.

He just needs to join back with the original Arthur and fuse back with him so that his memories become his and he evolves then breaks out of the cycles. He was sure that, just like him, the other two Arthur powered-up two and with Makaze back in his possession, he'll become much stronger, strong enough to become a true powerhouse even in a place like the Divine Planet or the Cloud Sea Universe as a whole.

******

At the same time, Arthur was coming back to Astria with Fariya and the two mythical beings, many things happened in the Cloud Sea Universe, most notably the complete annihilation of the White Specter Clan.

The Cloud Sea Sect initiated a very bold move and sent their best forces to the specter's ancestral land, stopping at nothing and ending up slaughtering the whole clan. With the Matriarch, Katrina, absent, their assault was easier than expected. Moreover, with the exception of one person, they took no prisoners.

The one they caught? None other than the Matriarch's daughter! Angelina. She was being used as a bait to finish the last person, who's Katrina. She's a really strong person and unless they kill her too, she'll cause them a real headache in the future, especially if she gets stronger.

Her execution was set a week after her capture and although many were against the ruthlessness of Cloud Sea, none dared to voice their thoughts out loud. Apparently, the reason behind the mass-slaughter was because, allegedly, The White Specter Clan was secretly working and assisting the parasites, which is something the inhabitants of the Divine Planet cannot tolerate, or so they said.

On the decisive day, Angelina, chained neck to toe, was put in a high pedestal, before the citizens of the Cloud Sea Empire. Moreover, the Emperor himself appeared and was the one proudly carrying the execution.

The silver-haired woman had an ugly scar on her face and her body was bloodied, her cultivation crippled and her face pale like that of a corpse's. The gracefulness and beauty she originally had were all gone, replaced by despair and sadness.

…

"Is this really the end?"

Angelina looked down at the white ground, she was sitting opposite of Claud, who sighed as he saw her in this condition.

"Does it have to be?"

He sat next to her and held her hand, causing her to lift her head and stare back at him, a soft and a bit forced smile was on her face.

"Although I cannot stop the execution, it doesn't mean I can't save you."

He tightly held her hand and made her stand up. He waved his free hand, changing the endless white space into a green plane and a clear blue sky.

"I can sometimes predict the future but it's always not mine, nevertheless, there will come a day when I'll be able to properly reincarnate you so…"

He smiled at her and continued, "Won't you stay with me here for a bit? I know of your reluctance and attachment to the outside world. How dearly you love your mother and sister but all things end, one way or another."

An inordinate amount of time passed before Angelina slowly nodded her head.

"Alright then. You're unjustly killed so, as your husband, it's my duty to retaliate, right?"

The man burst out in laughter and suddenly brought her into his arms, hugging her tightly.

At the same time, in the outside world, the Emperor of Cloud Sea unsheathed his sword and unhesitantly stabbed Angelina's chest, killing her on the spot.

It was supposed to be a glorious moment but none of the citizens cheered. The place was eerily silent as the Emperor smirked and whipped his sword to get rid of the fresh blood on the edges.

When everyone thought this was the end, an almost inaudible ticking sound came out of the dead Angelina. The ticking got louder and louder until it reverberated across the whole capital city then the whole Divine Planet.

At first, the Emperor frowned and crouched down to inspect but very quickly, his expression worsened and he hastily jumped back but it was far too late to escape the incoming doom.

The ARK had activated its self-destruction mechanism, unleashing a devastating bomb, so strong that it annihilated the capital within seconds, killing everyone.

The barriers and the powerhouses which were quick enough to defend themselves could do nothing but stare at the red shock wave coming straight at them and disintegrating them into nothingness.

The bomb didn't destroy the whole planet, however, the famous capital of the Cloud Sea Empire, along with the Emperor and many more people from the Cloud Sea Sect were killed on that incident. Close to a hundred million people perished due to the sudden explosion, which, later on, was said to originate from inside of Angelina.

Many saw it as God's retaliation against the Emperor, who cruelly massacred the White Specters.

In addition to the citizens of the capital and the people from the Cloud Sea Empire and Sect, there were many other powerhouses visiting places which ended up dying too so many factions directed their wrath as Katrina and started hunting her down. As for Lucy, very few knew where she was or if she was even alive, plus, her bad relationship with her family and how all of that caused a bloody war.

*****

A few hundred kilometers from the Capital of Cloud Sea, which turned into a charred black land with a constant grey fog, a toddler was traveling with his merchant father.

They were taking a break and the toddler was playing around in the grass only to stumble upon a circular black object, like a disk with many incomprehensible scribed on it.

"Father… father! I found something!"

He picked it up and waved it around, proud to have found something that looked exquisite and pricy.