Chapter 217 - Calm yourself

After honoring the dead Ren took one of Lisa's swords and started running at full speed towards the Serbek Kingdom. As he was running Ren suddenly felt a bit lethargic, he was hearing the voices of his past incarnations but he decided not to listen as he continued onward. Yet the moment he stepped forward Ren was forcefully brought into the realm within his soul. His living body fainted but was releasing mana that defended him from attacks.  

Once inside his soul, Ren was surrounded by ten of his past incarnations four of which he recognized. There was, of course, Leonard tranor, the other three were Rei Kuraki, Edge Regius, and the original incarnation the one whose name has been lost in the passage of time. The others don't seem to be pushovers as well.  

"What are you doing? Why did you force me here?" Though Ren was talking with a calm voice, he was anything but calm. 

"Ren, we understand the pain you are going through at the moment. We all have the same experiences of loss, but we want you to cool your head a bit." Leonard was the first to speak among the present incarnations. 

"You understand my pain?! I have witnessed thousands upon thousands of deaths. I have buried many of those close to me. I have been assaulted in every form. Yet none of those have given me such pain as I feel right now. Such anger, that I wish for nothing but the deaths of those who took from me!" Ren shouted at his past incarnations. 

"How foolish, for one that has lived for far longer than most you are such a fool. Do you think that you're the only one to receive such pain? Do you think that you're the only one suffering? You're such a hypocrite." One of the unknown incarnations spoke.

"Fine, I'm a fool! But I don't care if I'm the biggest fool of them all! If it means that I can quench this thirst for vengeance, then I will be the fool you speak of."  

"Even this side of you we understand, for you, are us and we are you. We have all done foolish things in our respective lives, and the reason for it was no different from yours. But this time is a bit different and we cannot allow you to make this move." Another incarnation chimed in.

"You people are such hypocrites! As expected of my past incarnations! Nothing but selfish hypocrites! Tell me if you were in my position would you have done differently?!" Ren looked at each incarnation present and each one of them didn't blink as they stared back at Ren. Seeing as none of them was responding, Ren began to laugh. 

"HAHAHA! I knew it, nothing but hypocrites! You people that have defied the very nature of destiny! You people that have charged forward with smiles on your faces as you face your inevitable demise! You people are like me fools without a cure! How dare you stop me from doing this!" 

"Ren is right aren't we all the same as he?" Leonard happily stood beside Ren. 

"Yes once upon a time we were the same as him. No, aren't we still the same fools, that wish nothing more than to change fate itself." One of the unknown incarnations sided with Ren. 

"I'm sorry, but I cannot allow I repeat of what happened before." Rei Kuraki spoke with resolve.  The other incarnations gave out their opinions as well. Four of the incarnations sided with Ren, while the other six stood to oppose him. 

When the tension of both sides was on the rise, and each one of them looked about ready to fight, the original finally spoke. 

"Enough!" The voice of the original was not loud but it echoed in everyone's ear. It was a voice full of authority and resolve. 

"As I said before, usually I wouldn't care what you do. But knowing that the ORIGIN is moving in this timeline, I cannot allow any mishaps to happen to you. With your current strength, you might be able to subdue those demons. Yet at the same time, you might also lose. You might think that you're powerful enough to handle this situation, but against opponents like those, you still have a chance of dying. I cannot riks your death while the ORIGIN is active."

"Hmph, if you and I are really one and the same, then you know that a little bit of risk such as that won't ever rattle me. Also this mission regarding the ORIGIN it's your mission, not mine. You might be the originator of our soul, you might be the basis of all of our personalities and abilities, but you and I are still different people. I have my own will and my own values! I'm not a puppet that bends to your will!" 

When the past incarnations heard what Ren said they were all jolted awake. Even the original felt like his face was slapped and started laughing a wild laugh. On the other hand, all the other incarnations showed a vicious smile. 

"I see! Of course, of course! How could I forget, obviously you are not a puppet that bends to my will, none of you are. We might all be the same, but we are still different. You're right, you are the current incarnation so it is your choice, not mine on how our fates will unfold. Such a simple thing, but I have forgotten it. Very well, we shall delay you no longer. Seek out retribution if that is your wish." 

Once the original said those words, Ren was finally able to leave his soul realm and once again started running towards the Serbek Kingdom. 

...

The ten strongest incarnations stood in front of each other waiting for the original to speak. "It would seem that the weakening of our soul, is affecting even our minds. I can't believe that I actually thought of suppressing the current incarnation."

"I see, so that's what's happening." Edge Regius looked a bit worried as he spoke.

"I know this was going to happen sooner or later, but knowing that the end is truly near, makes me a bit relieved."

"I just hope that we're able to fight until the last fragment of our soul fades."

"There's no doubting that. Isn't fighting until the bitter end, just our normal routine. Going out with a smile on our faces suits us just fine."