Arcturus wasn't concerned if his fists would work on a soul. He didn't care how much time or how many punches it would take to destroy the core. He just kept punching and also threw some kicks in there. He wasn't concerned that the person he was striking at was a feeble man; he was in a realm away from where human rules and laws were applied. He didn't care if his opponent wasn't fighting back as long as he got rid of him. He then noticed cracks appearing all around Ras's body and smirked at the sight.
Does this mean we're close to destroying the core?
With one last kick, Ras shattered and disintegrated into speckles of emerald green light alongside the memory that they were in. A sense of satisfaction came to Arcturus as Ras laid limp on the ground as he slowly disappeared. Suddenly, Ras grabbed his ankle and looked up at him. Arcturus got a good look at his face. It was as if he was being unmasked as a portion of Mebsuta's face could be seen the longer his face kept disintegrating.
His voice was still his. "Don't get cocky. You didn't defeat me–you only defeated a part of us."
"How long will it take to destroy you?" Polaris asked.
"We won't be defeated."
"Well, we defeated a part of you, meaning that there is a chance. Nothing is impossible, after all." Arcturus gave the core an ominous smile.
The core reacted in a way he didn't expect. It took the form of Mebsuta by discarding the disintegrating Ras like a reptile shedding its skin and running off like a coward. He could only gawk at the sight. He wanted to chase after her, but Ras's hand was still on his ankle.
He had a distraught expression as his grip tightened. "Why…?"
Arcturus slowly knelt down to listen in on what he was muttering.
"Why…do they exist?"
"Who?"
"That lavender-eyed man…and the dragon…why do they exist? If they didn't exist…I wouldn't have felt despair…"
"If Nova and Souhait didn't exist, you wouldn't be here…"
"I…always knew she'd choose him over me, yet I still did what I did to make her happy…"
"Was it really to make her happy? Or was it because you wanted to be happy?"
Ras's eyes widened as his grip started to loosen.
"I love her…but she doesn't feel the same…even now…she chooses him over me… I wish…she chose me just once…"
Polaris stepped in. "The person in this realm is only a version of Mebsuta who is feeling despair like the person you are currently. I've seen both your memories and Mebsuta's. I can assure you that she loved you as well."
"Are you sure…?"
"I don't lie."
Ras took in the information to his heart as he released Arcturus's ankle and placed a hand to his chest. "You're right. She did love me. She would tell me her deepest secrets that not even our daughters know about. She'd take care of me when I was in a terrible state due to my illness… Yeah, she did love me…" With a smile, he now became speckles of emerald green light floating up.
Arcturus stood up to take in the sight. "Did you really lie to him?"
"Words can be taken in as truth or lies depending on the person. I only spoke honestly."
"You got a point…"
Remembering what Polaris said, Arcturus let out a smile, knowing that those words were like granting his wish in a way. He hoped Ras would finally be at peace.
Arcturus suddenly had his guard up as he heard eerie noises. When he turned around, he found himself back into the Realm of Despair and the souls approaching him. Polaris was on his guard too.
He heard a mumble, "...too…"
"Huh?" He concentrated harder to decipher what was being said.
A voice muttered, "Please do that to us too…"
"We want…peace…" another person mumbled. Arcturus noticed tears slowly forming and trickling down his eyes.
"He's crying…?" He then saw other souls crying as well.
Polaris remarked, "It must be because these souls were gathered by the core unwillingly from their despair. I bet that the core just wanted to gather all their despair because it didn't want to be alone."
"Just what is the core?"
"I don't know myself, but I want to."
Polaris closed his eyes and then opened up as he got into an idle stance by gathering his legs together and waved his hand to manifest a rapier that he rested in front of his face and with his other hand hidden behind his back.
"If they want peace, we must grant their wishes." He got into a battle stance with his rapier by his side. "Let's do it, Arcturus."
Arcturus fidgeted with his bangle, but nothing happened. Each passing second the souls closed in on him and it made him panic. In a state of shock, a pair of daggers manifested into his hands, perplexing him. They were the same ones he had used in the real world.
How did I do that? Regardless of his confusion, he got into a battle stance.
"Let's do this, Polaris."
"Right."
The two started hacking and slashing at each soul that came their way. Some tried to fight back but others didn't. What Arcturus noticed was that the more they tore into the souls, the more the world slowly became a one of color. Emerald green speckles floated up towards the void. It was a sight that reminded him of a star-speckled sky.
He then turned his gaze to look at Polaris who was looking up with intensity. He looked down to see him gripping his rapier tightly. What he had noticed about his sword was that the blade was viridian. He found the color nice as the blue-green hue was a lot more easy on the eyes than the emerald green hue of this realm.
Polaris spoke up, "These souls are remnants of the souls that the masters eliminated if their wishes aren't deemed befitting to grant."
"The rules and such, right?"
Polaris nodded. "Not only that, but it's also to bring peace to them. Those with corrupt wishes or those without any are eliminated in hopes of the masters wanting them to end their suffering and find peace."
"Do you think they'll be at peace now?"
"I hope so. I wouldn't want to see them in the Spirit Realm again after all that transpired…"
The two turned around. They had only destroyed a portion of the green realm as they kept seeing green beyond the horizon. If they wanted to destroy the core, they must destroy the souls so that the core wouldn't use them and would be weakened, so they ran towards the green horizon as they slashed through every despairing soul they could find.