"You'd better find some way to stop doing that." Bethany stated as Lukas opened his eyes. "I can't help it, it just sort of... happens." Lukas explained as he looked around only to find himself out in The Multiverse. "Why are we out here?" Lukas asked as he attempted to completely wake his mind up from whatever fever dream he had previously. "Well, you fell asleep and then everything in that universe just froze, then you got carried out of there." Bethany said. "I got carried out... by who?" Lukas inquired with a yawn as he looked around. "That weird dude who showed up to defend this universe from that other guy the last time that we were here." Bethany responded. "Oh, that guy. Um, what was his name again?" Lukas questioned himself. "Eanaro." A male voice spoke from behind which made Lukas jump and turn around quickly to find the man that he and Beth were talking about.
"Oh, Eanaro... right." Lukas said as he attempted to calm his nerves. "I'm sorry that I couldn't talk to you much the last time that we met... but I was in a bit of a rush." Eanaro explained with a voice that was a lot slower than the quick pace that he had the last time. "Yeah, you did say that you were trying to stop the Multiverse from collapsing, didn't you?" Lukas asked mainly to see if he was remembering correctly. "Well, that is correct, I did say that but I was mainly looking for an excuse to get going as soon as possible and I knew that you wouldn't interrupt me if I told you that everybody's life depended on my actions." Eanaro replied with a straight face. "You were pretty convincing." Lukas stated as he began to completely focus on the conversation.
"Well, I'd prefer to get right to the point, is there anything that you wish for me to tell you?" Eanaro asked as he rested his umbrella against his arm. "Uh, yeah there is something... practically everything about you is unknown to me!" Lukas exclaimed as he looked upon the face of Eanaro who seemed almost completely calm and composed. "That is quite a broad topic, could you narrow your questions down to any specific details?" Eanaro politely requested. "Um, how about your powers? I've never seen anybody use that much power so effortlessly before." Lukas suggested as a conversation topic. "My power can be easily explained if you remember what I told you before about the Systems." Eanaro explained as he gazed over at Niko's universe.
"Oh, right, the Systems... uh, what are the Systems again?" Lukas questioned Eanaro as he seemed to have completely forgotten. "I suppose I did only give you a brief explanation on them. Would you care to hear me explain them in much greater detail for a few minutes?" Eanaro answered with another question. "Sure, I'll try and keep it in my head this time." Lukas stated as he lightly tapped the side of his head. "Alright, we may be here for a while so I suggest that you get comfortable." Eanaro suggested as he clicked his fingers and a solid, floating floor appeared beneath his feet which he then sat down on.
"So, long, long ago, just before the entirety of reality was created, there existed two beings known as Noxus and Xeroc." Eanaro began explaining. "Wait, how does this relate to what we were just talking about?" Lukas asked as this clearly seemed like a completely different topic. "Believe me, it will make sense as to why I'm bringing this up as long as you let me finish explaining." Eanaro informed Lukas who silently agreed to remain quiet. "Anyways, Noxus and Xeroc were siblings but they had a third brother whose name I do not know. The three brothers fought over an object that supposedly gave the one who held it unlimited power. Eventually, whilst Noxus and the unknown third brother were fighting each other, Xeroc took the object and used its power to cease the conflict and create reality itself." Eanaro slowly explained. "Wait, they existed before reality did? How does that make sense?" Lukas inquired as Eanaro's story already seemed to have a few contradictions.
"Say what you want about what I'm telling you, just know that I'm telling the truth no matter how impossible it seems." Eanaro replied. With a sigh, Lukas kept quiet as he continued to listen. "Well, anyways, Xeroc used his newfound power to create life... however the beings that were created quickly fell apart like ashes that found a sudden breeze as they had nothing holding them together. To fix this issue, Xeroc created something that is referred to as the System which was connected to every living being that was created from that moment onwards." Eanaro explained as he adjusted his feet slightly. "So, how did Xeroc and the others manage to keep their bodies together before a System was created?" Lukas asked out of curiosity. "I'll admit that I do not know the answer to that question. Maybe at one point I could've told you but as of right now, the memories are long gone." Eanaro stated as he seemed to ponder the question for himself for a moment.
"How do you remember all of this but you don't know anything about that one specific detail?" Lukas questioned Eanaro as everything that he was saying seemed to be more fictional than it ever was. "I was getting to that part, please just let me answer one question at a time." Eanaro requested as he rested his head in his hand. Lukas was about to ask yet another question before he stopped himself and simply nodded. With yet another sigh, Eanaro continued. "Like I said, every living being is attached to that same System that Xeroc created. I'm not exactly sure what happened immediately after that but I do know that Xeroc began to create more Systems that were specifically designed to only be tied to one being each. The people who were connected with these Systems would be able to use an extraordinary amount of power without the System breaking." Eanaro explained even more.
"Systems can break?" Lukas inquired as he was not aware of that fact up until that point. "If somebody uses too much power, they will put immense pressure on a System which can cause it to shatter, I did mention how Gaster's System had broken did I not?" Eanaro asked which Lukas thought about before realising that Eanaro was right. "Well, yeah, you did say that but you also said that without a System, any and all living beings would fall apart right? So how come Gaster still has a somewhat physical form?" Lukas questioned Eanaro. "Determination." Eanaro simply said. "So, you're telling me that he's managed to survive without a System just because he refused to accept it?" Lukas asked in confusion as Eanaro's statement seemed completely impossible to him. "No, not emotional determination... Determination is a substance that lives within all living beings, it's normally incredibly weak but through some means that even I'm not entirely sure about, Determination becomes stronger in certain beings." Eanaro clarified as if he completely understood Lukas' confusion.
"So Gaster was able to survive because he was born with a lot more Determination than normal?" Lukas asked just to see if he truly understood what Eanaro was telling him. "That is the conclusion that the average person would come to... but that is incorrect. Gaster was born with practically no Determination at all. He stole all of the Determination that he needed to survive from other living beings." Eanaro corrected Lukas. "Gaster just... stole Determination on other living beings? Surely that would have a negative effect on everything that he took it from, right?" Lukas questioned even though he wasn't entirely sure if he had misunderstood or not. "Well... to put it simply; yes you are right. A being with a lack of Determination cannot survive for long. Although, a being with too much Determination will have their body melted much like Gaster himself." Eanaro confirmed Lukas' guess to be right.
Lukas just remained silent as the fact that anybody would intentionally doom an uncountable amount of people to die just so that one could sustain their own life was beyond his comprehension. "Wait a minute, if Gaster's System is broken then that means that he was one of the beings that Xeroc created specifically to be tied to a System that was made just for them!" Lukas exclaimed as he suddenly came to that realisation. "It's good to know that you were actually listening." Eanaro said jokingly as he prepared to explain some more to Lukas. "What were these guys created for? You mentioned them briefly but never really told me what they were." Lukas said as he awaited an answer that would clear everything up.
"I don't remember much about this topic but I'll tell you what I do remember. There were four beings that were given their own separate Systems... these beings are Gaster, Zero, myself and..." Eanaro was saying before he stopped himself. Lukas looked over at Eanaro with confusion as he saw that his eyes were wide open as if he had just realised something. "Is something wrong?" Lukas asked as he tried to look at Eanaro's face. After a brief moment, Eanaro quickly blinked before looking back at Lukas. "Huh? Oh, right, right, h-his name is Tabuu." Eanaro stated quickly with a very obvious stutter. "Are you sure that you're al-" Lukas began to ask before Eanaro began speaking once more. "We're called the Seekers because we were apparently made to track somebody down but I have no idea who that is anymore, Zero and Tabuu apparently seem to think that it is you that they were meant to track down." Eanaro explained whilst completely ignoring Lukas.
"They tried tracking down me specifically? Why would they do that?" Lukas asked as he was at a complete loss. "I don't know anymore, I've lost most of my memories that revolve around that topic. I'm completely unsure if the person that we were made to track down is, in fact, you or somebody else who they have forgotten as well. All I know is that you're not safe for as long as they live." Eanaro seemed to ramble on without paying attention to Lukas. "What about you and Gaster?" Lukas inquired as he felt all of the unanswered questions taking an effect on his mentality. "As I have explained already, I've forgotten my purpose, I'm not even sure if it's you who I'm supposed to find and as for Gaster, he's most likely focused on staying alive more than anything." Eanaro said as he slowly stood up before the platform beneath him disappeared.
"You said that I'm not safe but I actually managed to kill Zero... are the others even stronger than he was?" Lukas asked in an attempt to leave less questions in his mind. Eanaro looked down at Lukas with an emotionless face before speaking again. "Zero isn't dead, you accomplished nothing." Eanaro stated as Lukas noticed that his eyes had turned yellow. "How can Zero not be dead? It practically exploded when I stabbed it!" Lukas exclaimed as he recalled the events leading to Zero's demise. Eanaro leaned down until he was right in Lukas' face before he replied. "The Seekers, every single one of them, will defy death every single time that they possibly can. They will not stop their search until they find the one that they were ordered to eliminate. Even if you're not the one that they need to destroy, they will kill you before they move onto their next target." Eanaro explained in a cold voice without blinking before he suddenly vanished into thin air.
Lukas shivered as the words that Eanaro had just spoken had suddenly sunk in and the chilling voice and his face just freaked him out. "What the hell is going on!?" Lukas yelled out into the endless empty space around him. "Y'know, I've realised that you've been saying that a lot lately... if not, you've been saying something that means roughly the same thing." Bethany spoke as if she was completely unaware of how Lukas was feeling. "This isn't real, there's no way that ANY of this can be real!" Lukas shouted as he felt his own uncertainty in his voice. Once again, Lukas could feel his eyelids becoming heavier as his consciousness began to fade. "Oh no, Lukas, you have to listen to me! Stay awake, don't believe any other voice that you hear! Just keep your eyes open!" Bethany insisted as Lukas failed to process many of the words that he was hearing.
It wasn't long before Lukas heard that same female voice once again. "Everything is real, nothing is fake. You need to stop yourself from thinking like he did. I don't know what would happen to you if you became like him." The voice told Lukas. "You again? Do we know each other? I feel so calm whenever I know that you're talking to me... is that normal?" Lukas asked multiple questions one after the other. The voice laughed slightly as they seemed to try and hold back their emotions before responding. "Maybe that is a normal reaction for you but please don't try and think too much about me, it might cause you physical harm. There might end up being somebody who can help you later on but for right now, you need to listen to Bethany. Just remember, everything is real, and nobody's live deserves to be ruined just because of some sick, twisted psychopath's ideals." The voice quickly explained before fading away.
Surprisingly, Lukas didn't completely lose consciousness... in fact, he managed to keep his eyes open throughout the entire experience which shocked him when he realised what had happened. Bethany just stared down at Lukas as she was clearly expecting some kind of explanation. Lukas glanced back up at her before speaking. "You know just about as much as I do. I don't remember who that voice belongs to even though I feel like I know her." Lukas stated before Beth could even ask her question. "I did hear you talking to her before when you were just waking up but you seemed like you had completely forgotten about her... I honestly thought you were just pretending to not remember her." Bethany explained as she put a hand to her chin. "You know, this has been bugging me for a while now; how can you hear some of my thoughts and sometimes even people communicating with me telepathically but not all of the things that I think or hear?" Lukas questioned Bethany as he wanted to obey what the voice had told him and not think about anything involving her so he tried changing the topic.
"It's quite simple, I can hear your thoughts but not when you're completely asleep. You were just beginning to wake up the first time that I heard her voice so I only really heard the end of your conversation." Bethany clarified so that Lukas would understand. Lukas thought about what Bethany had said before realising that it was true that she had never heard any body speaking to him or any of his thoughts unless he was awake or only just waking up. Lukas folded his arms as he looked at the universe that Niko resided in as he began to think about what to do next. "Are you heading back in?" Bethany inquired as she laid back in the emptiness before putting her hands behind her head. "No." Lukas said whilst shaking his head. "I've got something I need to do before we go back there, we can continue this tomorrow." He replied before he started heading home.
"You're prioritising something else over your friends? Now that's caught my interest; that is so not like you. Would you mind indulging me in what you're doing?" Bethany asked as she suddenly got more serious. "Nothing much... it's just that I've got a few questions for Core." Lukas replied as he shot off towards the Sanctuary.
"Maybe it is possible that he'd be able to free us." "Don't be ridiculous, Draedon. You know as much as I do that this will never end and Lukas will not be able to change that." "You seem to actively be enjoying this... or is that just because you like to play with your food and spout lies at them just to confuse them before they finally die?" "It might be for that reason but I assure you, this time I'm having a lot more fun than I've ever had." "They call me the sadistic killer yet here you are sitting right beside me, enjoying this a lot more than I am." "I'm not sadistic, I'm just... more intelligent than you." "Say that again, Signus, I dare you." "No, I think I'll pass on that offer. I joke about being smarter than you but I'm by no means dumb; I'm smart enough to know when you're not joking around, Draedon."