It did not take long for Lukas to arrive back at the Sanctuary, he doubted that it would ever take him longer than a minute to travel to his destination ever again. He took a short look around at the giant white pillars that held up the palace overhead. The Sanctuary was always a sight to behold every single time that Lukas saw it from a slightly different angle. Despite the lack of colour in everything, he couldn't help but grow to love the sight of it all. "So, are there any specific questions that you're going to ask Core?" Bethany questioned Lukas as he landed and slowly approached the huge door that lead to the core chamber. "There are quite a few things... but I'd rather save them for when we're speaking to them." Lukas explained as the door opened before he could even begin to reach out and push it.
A sudden overwhelming sadness pushed itself onto Lukas seemingly without reason which made him halt his movement as he tried to catch his breath which was immediately pushed out of his body during these events. "Lukas, what the hell is happening to you!?" Bethany asked as she appeared to be panicking. Lukas clutched his chest as he couldn't keep his breath in for long enough in order to form words for a response. Slowly, tears began to fall from his eyes as his skin felt like it was freezing and forming an icy prison around the rest of his body as the colours that he could witness before him became monochrome... although it was kind of hard to tell as the space surrounding him had barely any colours other than white.
Somehow, Lukas felt like he had felt like this before. It was exactly how people back at his old home assumed that death made one feel as the end slowly approached. "Oh... oh god no." Bethany said as she seemed to be focusing on something behind Lukas. At that moment, Lukas felt a cold hand similar to his own at that moment in time that was now holding his shoulder. All of the emotions that he was feeling suddenly ceased their assault on his mind and everything stopped moving. With a shivering jaw, Lukas attempted to speak any meaningful words that may get the being behind him to respond. "W-W-What... who...?" Was all that Lukas could manage to get out. "What's the matter, Lukas? Did I really break your mind that much to the point where my presence alone terrifies you?" The being questioned Lukas in a familiar voice... although he couldn't exactly remember where he had last heard them.
The strange being slowly walked in front of Lukas... and that's when he finally realised who he was talking to. A body that seemed darker than darkness itself, a white robe with orange stripes, a single eye that was hidden behind a silver mask. "Z-Zero?" Lukas asked as he wasn't entirely sure if what he was seeing was real or not. "Eanaro did tell you about my survival, did he not?" Zero ignored Lukas' previous question before asking one of his own. Lukas had to take yet another moment to process everything whilst the pure terror was trying to claw its way out of his mind. "What the hell are you?" Lukas inquired as he began to force himself to back away. "I believe Eanaro also told you the answer to that question as well; I'm a Seeker and I'm certain that you're the one that I needed to find." Zero responded as he took one step forward for every one that Lukas took away from him.
"You were just meant to seek me, not kill me!" Lukas exclaimed before he suddenly noticed that nobody else appeared to be moving... just himself and Zero. "I did not attempt to kill you, that was merely a test to see if you possessed the strength that the person that I've been ordered to seek does." Zero explained as Lukas blinked only for his opponent to disappear. After a moment of frantically looking around, Lukas tripped and fell onto his back only to find himself staring up at Zero who was standing over him. "Believe me, if I was ordered to kill you, I wouldn't be holding the majority of this negativity into my own body. What you're feeling right now is but a small part of the fear and anger that I feel." Zero stated in it's seemingly emotionless voice.
"Just shut up!" Lukas yelled as he summoned forth his weapon as he swung it at Zero's face and stood up in one quick motion. Zero simply took a few steps back before he acted like nothing had even happened. "You're still just as foolish as before. I may be damaged by your positivity but I can recover from it... and your hatred only makes me grow stronger. You cannot kill me, it's as simple as that." Zero spoke as he once again began approaching Lukas. "Well if you're not going to kill me then what are you going to do?" Lukas asked as he pointed his weapon at Zero. "I will be informed of that once I've gotten you into a position where you can't run." Zero stated as he drew his weapon.
"For god's sake, why can't you just leave me alone!?" Lukas yelled as his other blade manifested in his empty hand. Not a single word was spoken by Zero, it's blank stare pierced through Lukas' soul to the point where he could sense a shiver crawling up his spine. "All I ever wanted since that day was a happy life... but ever since then, beings like you keep crawling out of the darkness to rain hell down upon me. Why? Why can't you all just leave me alone?" Lukas asked as his voice became weaker and the grip on his weapons loosened. Zero didn't move an inch, they just gazed at Lukas although it was hard to tell what they were feeling from just how they looked at him. Slowly, Zero sheathed their sword again before speaking.
"One more week." Zero stated. "What?" Lukas questioned Zero as the message that they were trying to convey wasn't clear to him. "I'll give you one more week to enjoy your life, during that time, I will not attempt to interact with you in any way and I'll do my best to hide my presence from you." Zero explained as it turned away from Lukas. "Wait, so... you're giving me a chance to live my life for a few days without you-" Lukas began saying before he was cut off. "I mean what I said, nothing more, nothing less. Although, do understand that the second that my offer is finished, I'll be coming for you." Zero spoke as it began to walk away from Lukas. "Yeah but... but why?" Lukas whispered to himself as he didn't want to seem like he was refusing Zero's offer.
"Aw, come on! That would've been perfect training for you and you could've killed the one thing that actually scares me, two birds with one stone!" Bethany exclaimed as Lukas looked down at his weapons. The loud noises of the crowd surrounding Lukas returned to normal as Zero seemed to release everybody from... whatever he had done to them as he took his leave. Quickly, Lukas made his weapons vanish which even he didn't know that he could do until that very moment before returning to the front of the core chamber. "One thing at a time, Bethany. I have some questions for Core first." Lukas stated as he passed through the door which quickly closed behind him.
Just like the last time Lukas entered that room, everything was dark for a while before he called out into the empty space." Core, are you there? I wish to speak with you." Lukas called out into the endless darkness. Suddenly, the core chamber lit up and the floor began opening up once more with that same ear-piercing sound of machinery whirring to life. Core slowly floated out of the hole in the ground before a soft white light emanated from their body. "Ah, Lukas, have you reconsidered my offer for you to join the Protectors?" Core asked almost immediately which annoyed Lukas slightly. "I will be considering it if you stopped rushing things along and explained a few things to me." Lukas stated with an irritated voice.
"Ah... right, I apologise. Please say what you want to be explained to you." Core requested with a quieter voice and at a slower pace. With a sigh, Lukas prepared to ask a multitude of questions in the hopes that some of the answers would repair the sanity that his confusion had broken. "Well, first thing, why do you insist on me becoming a Protector? I'm not even all that good!" Lukas exclaimed as Core's mannerisms had only just brought that point into question. "That's something that I could easily answer... but I'm afraid that the information that you requested to hear is something that I will not tell anybody who isn't a Protector." Core said in a way that made Lukas think that they were making their words needlessly complicated for no reason.
"Let me guess, you want me to join the Protectors and then you'll tell me everything that I want to know?" Lukas asked with a sigh. "You catch on relatively quickly." Core replied with that same annoying attitude which Lukas couldn't exactly pinpoint. "Alright then, how do I join the Protectors?" Lukas inquired as he already had a plan in mind. "Just simply say to me that you will join them and that'll be it." Core explained which made Lukas smile because of how easy this seemed. "Alright, I accept. Now, before you go forcing any expectations onto me, I'd like for my questions to be answered." Lukas said as he tried to hide the smile that was forming on his face. "Certainly. So, concerning your latest question, Dream told me that he had taken you to read a prophecy that was in a language which was foreign to all of us. Well, there are multiple prophecies like that and that's the main reason as to why we need you." Core clarified eagerly upon Lukas' previous statement.
Lukas stared at Core with a look of pure confusion on his face as he repeated their exact words in his head over and over again. "Am I seriously meant to believe that the only reason that you're trying to drag me into this mess is so that I can read a few books?" Lukas asked as he wasn't entirely sure if he had misheard something or if Core was leaving out a bit of crucial information. "Those prophecies aren't just 'A few books', those pages may contain vital information about events to come which could end up saving this entire Multiverse from destruction!" Core yelled all of a sudden as their body began turning to a crimson-red colour. "Come on, there's got to be more to my involvement in all of this than just to translate a few lines of words!" Lukas exclaimed in an attempt to return Core's sudden aggression. "Like it or not, that's all there is to it!" Core shouted as their body turned darker until it was pitch black before quickly reverting to white. "I apologise." Core simply said almost immediately after their last sentence.
"No, I see that these things mean a lot to you and the others if you're willing to yell at me like that just because I insult them in some way, I'm sorry." Lukas stated in an attempt to hide how he really felt as he needed to have Core's trust for just a little while longer for his plan to work. "Oh, this is gonna be so good!" Bethany exclaimed as she most likely read Lukas' thoughts. "Right... so, that is the main reason why I have attempted to recruit you, the other reason being that I have watched you fight and I must admit, you possess combat capabilities that far exceed most other Protectors and we could use that kind of power on our side." Core continued with their original statement which made Lukas feel quite proud of how far he had progressed in his mission for more strength. "Well, thank you, I wasn't quite sure how powerful I was when compared to the Protectors so it feels good to know that I'm making progress." Lukas explained with a smile.
"You're not just making progress, you're making history. Now, what about some of your other questions?" Core inquired as they seemed like they wanted to praise Lukas as much as possible as if that alone would affect his decision. "Well, for my second question, I would like to ask why you assigned me to look after that specific universe." Lukas responded as he leaned against the wall to make himself comfortable. "I was planning on making you become the guardian of a universe and my instincts told me to make you watch over that specific one." Core simply told Lukas as if the answer was obvious. With yet another look of confusion and a long pause, Lukas could only leave his mouth agape as he attempted to come up with a response that would express how he was feeling with the information that had just been given to him. "You... you just trusted your instincts for something like that? That seems a bit strange for a being like you who seems to do everything for a very specific reason and leaves nothing to chance." Lukas conveyed with the same dumbfounded expression.
"It may not seem like it but I've always just done what my instincts tell me to do. So far, that line of decision making has lead to the most advanced Multiverse ever witnessed in all of reality." Core stated with a smug sounding voice. "Wait, what did you just say? There's more than one Multiverse?" Lukas asked as he was just making sure that he had not heard incorrectly. "Oh... you weren't supposed to know about that. I trust that you will not tell anybody." Core replied which indirectly answered Lukas' question. "I-I promise." Lukas stuttered as the possibility of multiple Multiverses filled him with both curiosity and fear to the point where he wasn't fully paying attention to what had just been said. "Next question, please." Core requested most likely just to change the topic. "Oh, right... well, are you aware of any new arrivals into this Multiverse? Like, maybe a guy wearing a purple robe and another wearing a white one?" Lukas questioned Core as he was interested as to whether or not they were enlightened to Draedon or Signus' presence.
"Indeed I do know of them; Zemeer informed me of the meeting that you both had where you discussed their sudden appearances." Core answered without thinking for even a split second. "You know Zemeer? Actually, no, more importantly, you know about Draedon and Signus? Do you know what they intend to do?" Lukas bombarded Core with question after question. "What could you possibly mean? They simply intend to live in a safe place, nothing more." Core said with such certainty that it made Lukas shiver as he thought about how clueless everybody else was to the murderers that lurked among them. With a long, drawn-out sigh, Lukas prepared to ask his final question. "Okay then, for my final question, I must ask; do you know about the girl who I've heard and seen in my dreams, the one with the long blue hair and mostly blue clothes?" Lukas inquired as he hoped that, of all questions, he would be given an answer to this one.
Core fell silent for a moment, contrary to how they normally responded to Lukas within an instant. "I... do happen to know about her... but I'm afraid that she requested for me to specifically not tell you who she is and to let you find out for yourself. I apologise but there's nothing that I can do to answer that question the way that you want me to." Core spoke before falling silent once more. Lukas processed the information with his mind growing more and more irritated the longer his answer was denied. "What do your instincts say? If you listen so much to your instincts then why don't you listen to them now?" Lukas yelled out to hopefully get Core to cave in. "I'm sorry to say this but my instincts tell me to agree with her much like yours do the same for you." Core shouted back as they seemed as annoyed as Lukas was for no apparent reason.
"How could you possibly know about that?" Lukas demanded at least some kind of answer that he wanted from Core. Core once again became quiet as they did not attempt to respond. "Dismissed." Core simply stated as their body turned pitch-black and their voice became cold and harsh but somehow seemingly emotionless at the same time. Lukas attempted to think up a comeback but he found himself unable to do so... instead, he opted to make one final statement. "I quit." Lukas stated as he began to walk out of the door. "W-What? N-No, you can't do that!" Core stuttered as their body turned green. "Why not? I haven't officially joined the Protectors yet, I didn't sign any sort of contract that said that I'd have to stay in this group for the rest of my life, so I can leave whenever I choose to. Don't worry, I'll still continue on my missions that you've already set for me. With that, I bid you farewell." Lukas stated before walking out as Core began to call out, practically begging him to come back.
"Memories." Bethany said as if she had come to some sort of realisation. "What is it now?" Lukas asked as he seemed tired of not having enough answers and more questions wasn't exactly helping with that. "Those orbs that you've been touching that are gradually giving you visions, I knew that I had seen them before but I just couldn't remember where from. They're called memories, they're what's left after somebody dies, they contain some of the power and... well... memories of the person that they came from." Bethany clarified. "Okay... and how does that help?" Lukas rudely inquired as he felt like he just needed to sleep. "Well, you absorb the power from each of those memories that you touch, so you could eventually end up absorbing enough power to rival gods!" Bethany exclaimed in the hopes that Lukas would share her enthusiasm... needless to say; he didn't. "Can we discuss this in the morning? I'm barely taking any information in at the moment." Lukas requested as he began walking to his room. "O-Oh, yeah sure. You did great today, I guess you'd deserve to just collapse and get some sleep right now." Bethany approved of Lukas request.
"Don't mind if I do." Lukas said before collapsing onto the ground and falling unconscious. "No, I didn't mean that literally!" Bethany yelled only for Lukas' mind to ignore her words.
"Oh, the games that we used to play, surely you at least remember those days, right? If not... oh well, you will remember soon enough. I can't say if you'll enjoy it for certain... but at least I know that I'll have fun!"