New Game+

"Meryl?! But why?" Lennox frowned.

"Because of my path."

"Because of your Path? Do you see Meryl being of greater importance in this coming war? Will she be of greater importance to the Unlocked armies?"

"Not to the Unlocked armies. To me."

"To you?! What nonsense are you talking about? You\'re not even dating that girl or seeing her! So why have you suddenly decided to make her important?!" Lennox\'s voice boomed against Arthur, and even the electrical energy around him grew unstable.

"Father. Didn\'t you once tell me that the moment you met mom, you already knew she was the one? You said you already saw your future together and knew that happiness you never thought possible would be there?" Arthur calmly asked.

At that moment, the lighting ceased.

Lennox\'s expression changed.

He was a man of numbers. But, like Arthur, Lennox was a very prudent and insightful man who used to have wild desires. He wanted to rule the world and, thus, made his name in the Underworld. He controlled politicians and affected the history of the world without the world knowing about it.

But a simple, elegant, and shy girl suddenly halted the numbers and calculations he chased to be a king.

For the first time, Lennox couldn\'t see the numbers. He despised seeing a future dictated by the cold cruelty of math and probability. Instead, he had hope and saw a future full of unlimited possibilities.

It was then that the man who could have conquered a country stopped his plans and sought a life to cherish the love that he had. But, unknown to him, it was at that point that the Near-Overcomer had crossed the threshold and became an Overcomer.

Even up to the untimely death of his wife, Lennox could not find himself regretting his choice. Because when he saw numbers, this woman made it to life.

Lennox understood what Arthur meant.

"...You saw your future with her! You calculated it!" Lennox exclaimed.

"I did. Ever since I have trodden on the Path in the Lion\'s Den, I saw that future. And at my level, you can\'t imagine what I saw. The future that I see pertaining to her is so real. I would dream of it. It was breathtakingly captivating. It was perfect."

"It gave you something to hope for and something to live for."

"That\'s right. All the power in my hand, all the power of my Path... They never gave me this. They never gave me a desire for uncertainty. But she always did. Every time I fall into the daydreams of what our future together could be, it always branches out in numerous ways. Father, I saw lifetimes with her. Lifetimes with different possibilities. And in all of them, I was happy." Arthur smiled as tears filled his eyes.

Lennox saw the expression of Lennox and realized that a long time ago, this was perhaps the same face he had made.

"You\'re in love with her."

"It\'s more like I was made for her. And she for me. I tried to block these visions. I tried to escape it. I tried to keep myself from communicating with her and even allowed Danny to have time with Meryl and make them fall in love. Because I know this could be a weakness when I pit her life over everyone else. I could have lived with not being with her with all that I have seen what we could be. But..."

"You can\'t live without her."

"Yes."

"...I understand." Lennox sighed.

"In the end, it seems we\'re all a little selfish. Alean is pursuing to save the man she truly loves despite the arrangements of the present, which places her with Lynd. And you are fighting to save a woman you never had and gave away in some sense. How ironic."

"It is, especially with Zeraphine in the mix. Alean\'s actions are triggering my reactions. Perhaps this is one of the answers to our survival. With me fighting Alean and harnessing our paths, perhaps a way to a safer future will open. That\'s why I need to summon the future Zeraphine here. I need to know why she has chosen not to reveal herself yet. She is unwilling to do so and even plans to take over the present Zeraphine and live her life. What does that tell you?"

"It tells me that she is afraid. She fears the reaction of the two Seekers. Perhaps because she is inside the soul of Seeker that she really knows the conflicting desire of Seeker. There is still a large chance that Seeker won\'t be gracious and forgive her. And so, unless it will cost the life of Seeker, she won\'t reveal herself. Even when I warned Seeker that I saw no future where we would survive, she hasn\'t made any appearance."

"What a scared little brat. She fights, but a part of her is willing to accept death. Perhaps learning about heaven and hell has made her desire a life with Seeker in the afterlife."

"Nevertheless, if she refuses to appear to help us, I will force her. The medium Lara will draw the soul of that Zeraphine, and we can have our little talk."

Meanwhile...

Down the depths of the ocean, below the rocks and stones of the earth\'s crust, and into the lithosphere... was an ancient city.

There were no humans in the place as the former survivors all died out, leaving only the bones and the rich culture engraved in the rock.

Alean and Zeraphine sat down in confusion. Zeraphine watched the amazing view of the dome above them. Somehow the heart of the city was preserved when it fell to the earth by mysterious means. The city did not just sink; it was as if this entire city was brought down and buried far beneath the earth\'s crust that even the oceans could not fathom.

Zeraphine was amazed at what she saw. She then turned to Alean.

Alean was amazed at first, but soon, her thoughts appeared to have gotten the better of her, and her expressions kept shifting to fear and horror.

"I have to say Zerahpine... at first, I could somehow guess where we were going on those first jumps. But I didn\'t know the Void Realm had such... strange creatures."

"That... wasn\'t normal. We have never seen those things before." Alean spoke with a low voice, still horrified at where they were.

When they fled, Alean only had a few charges to open a portal and travel through the Void Realm. But on their last and desperate jump, the Void Realm changed. They saw massive swords of fire moving back and forth within the Void Realm. And a strange power was drawing them into the flaming swords. The swords gave way, and the pair was able to travel on the guarded Path.

As lights flashed out, they found themselves in the mysterious ancient city.

"...Alean? Where exactly are we?" Zeraphine finally asked.

"I\'m not sure... I\'m trying to piece out everything that the Progenitor said..."

"He said something about this?"

"He basically proved everything in the book of Revelation and the prophecies of the Bible to be true. You see... we are definitely somewhere under the sea."

"Could this be that place?" Zeraphine asked.

"I have to hand it to you... This power you call your Path is amazing! I mean, you had little techs available, and we were moving so fast that I thought you were just making random turns. But you found Atlantis buried beneath the thick crust of the earth!" Zeraphine added.

"It\'s obviously Atlantis! But that\'s not my concern!"

"Discovering an ancient city is not your concern? Well, I guess that\'s true. Not when a Principal is headed here." Zeraphine chuckled.

"That Principal is the least of my problems! Look at the buildings around! Kings lived here! And not just one! But many! But here\'s the horrifying part. Those bones are from large humans. Giants!"

"Giants? Meaning...?"

"The Greek for Giants is Gigantes. And that is the term used to translate a certain Hebrew word you should be familiar with. The Nephilim! This place was a city of Nephilims. Half-breeds! Half-human and half Nefilus!"

"Nefilus?! You mean the creature that Nimrod met!?"

"Yes! Apployon seemed not the only one who had the idea of intermarrying with humans. The ancient philosopher Plato spoke of this place! He did so with allegories, and it was unclear whether this city was real or just a personification of his beliefs and ideals. He wrote of Atlantis and included myths about why this city sank! But now we have an actual answer!"

"What are you talking about? We have an answer for why Atlantis sank?" Zeraphine asked.

"Yes! This city that we believed to be a myth until now! But the bones of this place indicate that the Nephilims ruled this place! The Bible tells us that the earth could \'swallow\' something. It happened in the Old Testament when Moses got angry at the Israelites after the Golden Calf thing... The second was when the Ancient Dragon chased after the woman in Revelation 12 until the earth swallowed it! Atlantis did not sink! The Earth swallowed it! But unlike the Greek myths where the gods got angry, the real reason was this! This place, like Babel! It was an upfront offense against God, just like Babel was! And it forced the hand of God to move! The heavens attacked this city! While Babel managed to flee, this place was defeated, and it sank!"

"What are you talking about?!" Zeraphine was confused. She was still unaware of what the Progenitor told them and was doing her best to keep up!

"There!" Alean suddenly pointed to the city\'s very heart, where a massive emerald monolith stood.

"That is a seal!"

"A seal? What\'s it sealing?"

"! I sense great terror from that thing! So I know that under it is something so scary! The First Beast. The First Beast of Revelation This is the only explanation!" Alean spoke with fear in her eyes.