"After everything I went through, you think I'm just gonna whip it out for shits and grins?" Matt snapped. "I pulled back that move as much as I could. It just hurt Geese, not killed him. Beyond that, I've got no intention of bringing that monster back."

"I hope for all our sakes that you do not," the Child said blandly.

"Fine, you've left your warning," R.D. said, stepping forward. "Now, Principality, I have questions for you."

"Yes, I imagine you would," the Child said, shifting himself back into a sitting position, on top of something they couldn't see thanks to the blackness. "I suppose that as compensation for both stopping one of the Seven Beasts, and for defeating an Avatar of Destruction, I'll answer whatever questions the two of you may have."

"Excellent," R.D. said. "Now answer me this. What the hell did the Chronomancer mean when he said that Lumiya was a copy of the Core!?"

"It reacted just like the Core when we were in the Eternal Sanctuary," Matt said. He waved his arms. "And could you get us out of this place? It's creeping me out!"

The Child did not grant Matt's request. "Do you know what the Eight Dimensions Council is?" he asked instead.

R.D. had no idea. Alasea, however, did. "Its a council consisting of Balances from eight different dimensions, this one included," she said. "Along with the Supreme Balances. They try and maintain the balance between good and evil throughout the Multiverse."

"That is correct," the Child said, looking at Alasea briefly. "Some time ago, one of the Balances in the E.D.C., Kuro, created a weapon with disrupted this balance. It was called the Sword of Destruction, and its power was terrible."

R.D. crossed his arms, listening to the tale that the Principality of Observation spun for them. "It is the duty of the Isle to maintain balance in the Multiverse, just as the E.D.C. does. They came to us, and commissioned the creation of a weapon that would counter the Sword of Destruction, one that would bring a balance back. The creation of such a weapon, however, is no easy feat.

"We required a weapon that would allow the user to overcome the destructive might of the Sword. One that empowered the user just as much as the user empowered it. Then, one day, we came across an artifact even greater than the Sword of Destruction, even greater than the E.D.C. and ourselves. We found the Omega Core."

Once more, the darkness disappeared, and revealed the image of the great spherical artifact, held aloft in the skies by a pair of great golden wings that moved slowly, despite there being no need. Its depths seemed to shimmer. R.D. could not behold its beauty like Alasea or Helena, who had not seen it before. How could he, when this thing tried to destroy them all?

"We learned much from the Omega Core. How it also was an entity of balance. Seeing our purpose, it allowed us to create a weapon. We based the design of our weapon on the Omega Core, and with its knowledge, took the souls of a destroyed dimension and synthesized them together, crafting them into something similar to the Omega Core," the Child explained. The image switched, and showed planets within a brilliant, glowing galaxy, planets that were covered in a strange, prismatic mist.

They seemed to soar through it, rush through it, and as they did, the mist became clearer, and they saw that it was no mist at all, but lights--billions of them, swarming across an entire universe as they were gathered into a single point. Light flared and blazed out, and then, the darkness returned.

"The Weapon of Souls, unlike the Omega Core, focused instead on the actual power, instead of the entire scope of manipulation of the fabric of reality," said the Child. "With the power weaponized, we placed within it a safeguard."

"The Seven Ciphers," R.D. said, his hand flexing. "Seven Ciphers to hold back the power."

"Yes. With the Ciphers in place, the body would grow accustomed to the power that the Omega Core and Lumiya brings, granting far more stable control over it. The power would suffuse into the wielder, strengthening him or her while allowing them to draw in more with each Cipher that is unlocked."

"And that's what prevents me from burning myself to a crisp."

"To put it mildly, yes," the Child replied, nodding. "You have had a taste of what happens when the power is uncontrolled."

Alasea looked over at R.D. He looked pale, suddenly, and averted his gaze from the Child.

The creation of Lumiya must have been another situation where the Core was judging how others would use its power, Matt mused. But it had revealed its purpose to them...why not him, the wielder? Probably just to test him.

"R.D., what's he mean by you had a taste?" Alasea urged, touching his shoulder.

He licked his lips, as his mouth was suddenly dry. "I..."

"R.D., in one particular battle against Ziatoch's forces, forcibly unlocked one of the Ciphers on Lumiya, desiring more power despite not being ready for it," the Child said.

R.D. flinched at the words, and said nothing.

And once more, images began to play. In a distant canyon, green light flared, and once more they were rushing to it. Ileyna felt her heart jump in her throat as the canyon came rushing up at them, and soon they slowed, showing a seething mass of black in both ends, slowly converging on the center, where someone stood. Light began to glow within the center of the canyon, and spheres of power shot up and spiraled in an intricate design before crashing down upon the source. Brilliant light flared, and unholy power scoured the canyon clean of life, leaving nothing but death and destruction in its wake.

The image seemed to burn into their minds. "This selfish act broke open not one, but two of the Ciphers on Lumiya," the Child said cooly, quietly. "It nearly cost R.D. his life. The only reason he survived is because Ondal managed to hold the power at bay long enough for the Sixth Cipher to buffer it. Ondal too nearly lost his life. As it is, he still recovers at the Isle."

Helena just stared.

"We were outnumbered," Hugo said. "If R.D. didn't unlock that Cipher, we'd all be dead."

"He also could have escaped along with you via Chaos Control," the Child said pointedly. "Donovan's forces were en route upon detecting the enemy force."

"I just know I had to stop them," R.D. said quietly, finally looking back up to the pitiless swirling eyes of the Child.

"You yourself already know how close you came to destruction that day," he said. "That lesson you have already learned."

R.D. could only nod.

"If Lumiya is created from the Omega Core," Alasea said, "Does that mean its sentient, like the Omega Core?"

"No. There is no sentient intelligence within the Weapon of Souls."

R.D. could only sigh in relief at hearing that.

"That was not one of the things granted when Lumiya came into direct contact with the Omega Core at Beanbean Kingdom," the Child continued.

Matt arched an eyebrow. "...what WAS granted, then?" Was he talking about the giant robot R.D. summoned?

"How in the hell did they come into contact in the first place?" R.D. yelled, sounding rather distraught. "How!?"

"Because of the accident that occurred upon arrival in that world," the Child explained. R.D. remembered it well--Matt had turned Alasea, Helena, R.D., and himself into Toads for a short time.

And Lumiya had been absent in that shroom-like body.

"Wait... I remember that," Alasea said slowly. "R.D. said that Lumiya was missing. Does that mean...?"

"Yes, it does. Lumiya was moved, likely by the Omega Core, into Matt Willard."

"That's crazy," the girl said. "If he had Lumiya AND the Core, why couldn't he use them both?"

"Because of the Cipher System," R.D. spoke up. "Right? Because it would've reset while within Matt."

The Child nodded. "And while Lumiya was within Matt, an irreversible link was formed between the two artifacts," he said. "Among what was granted by Lumiya was a limited control over the Omega Core's reality manipulation aspect. The mechanoid, Omega, and the Shell Bullet, are products of this granted ability."

"So what did the Core get, I wonder?" Matt said.

"Who can say?" the Child responded. "You already know of the Core's capabilities."

"If the Omega Core and Lumiya had a link, why did the Essence damage Lumiya?" R.D. asked.

"Simple. While we never intended for the two artifacts to come together, Lumiya could only ever safely interface with the Omega Core in its most complete state."

R.D. frowned. "Then what's going to happen to me? To Lumiya?"

"Lumiya has undergone its reparations procedure. The Weapon of Souls, in time, will restore itself to full capacity," the Child informed him. "But now, the danger is even greater. Press it too much, and Lumiya will destroy itself, and you along with it."

"Well, that's cheerful!" Matt said.

Helena folded her arms. "So...how do you know all that information about Matt and R.D.?"

"It is our duty to know," the Child said cryptically, telling her nothing. "Our powers go beyond that of mere mortals."

Edited by RisingDragon on April 11, 2009 at 16:36:30.

"I want to know what Matt hasn't told me," Helena said.

"W-what?" Matt sputtered. He raised his hands in defense. "Helena, look-"

"No, Matt!" She thrust a finger at his face. "You're always hiding something from me. You know the truth about what happened to me, but you won't spill. And if you won't tell me, then maybe he can."

"What is it you desire to know?" the Child asked, looking directly at Helena.

"What really happened to me at the Eternal Sanctuary," Helena said. "If I really did go there at all."

Hugo glanced at Matt, who had fallen silent.

"As your companions have told you, you were destroyed by Core Genesis when you attempted to rescue R.D.," the Child said. "Your remains were also destroyed during the remainder of the battle, and eventually the entire region was consumed by the vortex created by the Avatar of Destruction."

R.D. frowned. Not exactly a lie at that, he thought.

"Then how did I come back to life?" Helena pressed.

"That remains to be seen," the Child said in return.

"What? You mean you don't KNOW? You're supposed to know everything about us and you don't even know that?"

"Calm down," Hugo said, tapping Helena on the shoe. "Maybe once we're done, we can get the Chronomancer to look into it."

"It is my job to know what happens to one of the Seven Perfect Weapons," the Child corrected. "As the wielder of such, it is R.D.'s progress I must follow."

"Yeah, how nice of you," R.D. muttered. "How about actually giving a damn for a change?"

The Child deigned not to respond to R.D.'s irritable comments.

Hugo readjusted his pickaxe. "Anything else you want to tell us?"

"I think I'm done here, in any case," Matt said.

Helena nodded. "Yeah."

"If that's all..." the Child stated, letting it hang.

"It's not," R.D. said, frowning.

He stepped forward, then pointed a finger back, at Ileyna's chest. Surprised, the girl looked down, seeing that he was pointing at the gemstone in the pendant she wore.

"I want to know what that is," R.D. said. "I need to know. Those Ao-Gems power Tamaran, and the Dragon Spirits, I know that. But they're like the G-Stones we saw. And I've seen the symbol inside them. There's more to them, isn't there?"

"I would have thought you'd have figured it out sooner, R.D.," the Child said. "Ao-Gems were created by the Dragon Tribes thousands of years ago, using an artifact they had found falling from the heavens. With that artifact, they learned much. The Binding Ritual. Mechanical contruction. Other things. Ao-Gems were created as an attempt to duplicate the artifact that they had found. Though they could not fully replicate its capabilities, what was created was of much use to them."

"So what are they?" R.D. pressed, getting fed up with the Child's statements, which told him much and nothing at all.

"The Ao-Gem is, essentially, artificial Omega Essence."

Artificial Omega Essence...how was that even possible? "I don't get it," Matt said. "I can understand copying the Core, but Omega Essence?"

"The Dragon Tribes of old had no idea what they had found," the Child said. "How could they know it was only one of many pieces of a much greater whole? Furthermore, it was small, compact. While the Omega Essence contained massive amounts of information, the Ao-Gem had a different function, the ability to access critical amounts of information at times of need. That way, those who wield its power can unleash impossible acts in the face of all odds. And it held infinite amounts of energy. It was perfect for the energy generation they needed to power the God-killer they had created."

"God-killer?" Ileyna asked, her voice wavering.

"Yes. God-killer. Of all things in the universe, only the Ao-Gem, and the Omega Core, can produce the divinity-negating substance known as Crystalis," the Principality of Observation clarified. "Tamaran turned that substance into a weapon, one capable of destroying any god."

"How could the Dragons have even gotten their hands on the Omega Essence?" Alasea asked, disturbed. "The Core was shattered only recently!"

"You can thank Dragon Drive FINAL for that," the Child said dryly. "Time has no constant flow throughout the Multiverse. When Dragon Drive FINAL was defeated, Matt wound up in the future of a dimension he had yet to visit... though the inhabitants already remembered him visiting it."

R.D. nodded a bit at that. The Child continued. "Nearly four months had passed after those events for Matt. Yet only one whole week for R.D.. And Hugo? Hugo hadn't seen Matt for more than two years since Dragon Drive FINAL was defeated at the Eternal Sanctuary."

Needless to say, Alasea was stunned at the revelation.

Edited by RisingDragon on April 11, 2009 at 19:06:39.

"That we already know," Matt pointed out. "The Omega Essence is scattered across time and space."

"Indeed. So, are you prepared?" the Child asked.

"Prepared for what?" R.D. countered, arching an eyebrow.

"For the consequences of it being scattered through time. The Omega Essence has forever left its mark on the Multiverse, milliennia before the Omega Core was shattered. You will find signs of the Omega Essence's usage throughout your journey. Are you ready for when it may stand against you?"

Matt scoffed. "Son," he said, spreading his hands, "I've been doin' this for a while. I know things are gonna get tough, but I'm not going to quit. The balance of the Multiverse is at stake here."

"I wouldn't have come along if I didn't know what I was getting myself into anyway," Hugo added.

"The real question is if you really do know what you're all getting into," the Child retorted.

The darkness seemed to lurch around them. The Child's own form seemed to shift, warp for a briefest of moments; making them unsure if they had seen it happen at all.

R.D. blinked, and suddenly, the darkness was gone, as if it was never there. He looked around, feeling suddenly disoriented, as the Child was no longer there.

"Was he... always like that?" he heard Alasea asked, who was bringing her hand to her head.