There is a plan

“There has to be a plan. He always has a plan.” Fenri said, her voice devoid of the overwhelming despair filling the room. For a moment, the hate filled gaze he held for Fenri faded as he gave her his grudging respect. Even in the face of such horrific conditions, she trusted Verdi. “Fox bitch, what was the plan after you fixed up muscles?” She asked, looking to Tristiana. Her tails flicked around, deep in thought before shaking her head.

“He told me that he split the Legacy into countless shards since he knew no one person could handle all of it. He did tell me Eren has the largest shard out of everyone.” She said as they realized Eren wasn't the only person Verdi had named a successor, nor was their world the only one in danger. “He said he believed all of you could work together to stop it, but he didn't give me any real path forward.” She continued as Fenri clicked her tongue.

“Why did he send you here of all worlds? What was so important in this place?” She asked, trying to discern Verdi`s original plan to stop the Ancient Dungeon Core. They needed a plan, not blind faith that his successors could rise to the occasion. This time, it was Eren's turn to speak.

“He sent us into this world to-”

“Us!? There were others!?” Daria exclaimed as Eren sighed, visibly annoyed at being interrupted.

“Rael, Leraje, Orchid, and the Hornet Empress were sent into this world with me to find Doctor Kara Nicholas’ reincarnation.” Eren explained, casually dropping off most of the targets Verdi was told to eliminate for the Light save for one. Halicarnassus, the carnation seneschal. Despite that, Citrinas could more or less deduce why Verdi was told to eliminate her as well.

“He was looking for Carnachias, wasn’t he?” Citrinas asked quietly as Eren nodded. Time distorted everything. Even names. Doctor Kara Nicholas and Doctor Melody Noche had become Dark Gods Carnachias and Melanoche, two Ancients of such renown that even with no proof of being divine, they were worshiped as gods.

“What's so great about this bitch?” Fenri asked.

“She was brilliant. She crafted spells that could buff allies and harm enemies. She created nearly every monster species in existence and forged the first Blessings that could be given to people without divine pacts. She created artificial soldiers called Emanations that could replicate the skills and abilities of heroes. She even designed Blessings like God's Eye to fight the machine before turning people into gods.” Eren explained, each feat he described being one of the Divine Blessings “Ariel” had offered Verdi. Were these abilities Carnachias had granted him in his previous life?

“She MADE the gods?” Bell blurted out before looking up, half expecting to be smited for even knowing this.

“Not all of them, but she uplifted the first gods. Others just copied her process.” Eren explained, the truth of their gods finally exposed. They were just humans of immense power that had survived the collapse of their civilization.

“God's Eye? Why would that be remotely useful in the war? Everyone can trick that skill.” Citrinas asked, far more interested in why Eren and Verdi had named that one skill in particular. It was the worst of all appraisal skills, yet the two of them described God's Eye as some trump card.

“You can't hide emotions from that ability.” Eren explained, shedding light into Verdi’s odd skillset. God’s Eye was one of the weakest appraisal skills, and could only be used to read the emotions of others. The only time it would be remotely useful would be to identify emotionless machine hybrids from normal humans.

“So she was the one he thought that could save us all?” Varrick asked as Eren nodded.

“He said 40,000 years ago, she created a hybrid with greater potential than anyone else.” He said almost regretfully. “A Sin Eater hybrid. If she had time to train and master her powers, she might have become an unstoppable ****. He said his greatest shame was letting the machine get her.” He said quietly, the thought that this nightmare could have ended 40,000 years ago aggravating him to no end. They had come so close to victory, and it had been snatched from them.

*Are Sin Eaters really that powerful?” Tristiana asked, the kitsune herself ignorant of how powerful the species was.

“They can consume the souls of others to gain their skills, traits, and experience. They can also summon the souls of those they consumed to fight for them. He also said their regeneration was superior to his.” He said as Fenri scoffed.

“Come on. Verdi’s coming back from fucking MIST. How much better can you get?” She asked as Eren casually grabbed his left index finger. With a flick of his wrist, he snapped his finger off, ripping off the digit like a scab. Everyone winced, watching blood flow from his finger as he pressed his stump finger to the bed. After a second, his finger regenerated, boring a hole through the bed as he held his hand up, wiggling the fingers. It was incredibly fast but compared to Verdi or Evangeline, his healing was lackluster.

“That was quite good my dear, but that is nothing special.” Evangeline said, dismissively before squinting her eyes and looking at the bed, staring at the hole bored through it. She recoiled, suddenly realizing something as Eren nodded, as if to confirm her theory.

“To regenerate, you need biomass. Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorous, and sulfur.” He said, listing out the components of humans. “Sin Eaters can break atoms to convert any matter into biomass.” He continued as Citrinas studied the hole in the bed. It was a perfect mold of Eren's finger. His regeneration truly was stronger than Verdi's. He could even regenerate from the air molecules if he so wished it.

“Why did he need to find Carnachias if he could turn you into a Sin Eater this whole time?” Varrick asked as Eren looked away.

“He said his cores were inferior to hers.” He said, visibly pained to state the fact as Citrinas bit her lip.

“If he made it, then it's top quality.” Citrinas stated flatly, her face growing hot as she tried not to glare at him. He ignored her as he looked at his own hands.

“The machine doesn’t tire or relent. At any given moment, he’s stuck fighting across millions of worlds and having countless battles. The gear he builds are subpar because he's too distracted to properly build anything.” Eren explained as Citrinas shut herself up, unable to argue with the logic.

“Was she really that good?” Daria asked, still unconvinced by the Ancient’s skills.

“He told me she was the one who hybridized him.” Eren answered, the sole example he gave silencing any doubts they had of Carnachias’ skills.

“So where is she?” Fenri asked, smirking to see that she was right. They had a plan. It was only Eren’s sullen expression that caused Citrinas to hesitate.

“One day, he told me her reincarnation had either forgotten her past life or was uninterested in continuing the war. Either way, she would not help.” Eren answered with a sigh, more tired than angry.

“We can find her. Did he tell you anything about her?” Belsach asked, refusing to let their one lead die without a fight.

“He said she was quiet, introverted, skilled at alchemy but likes working with others despite her skills. She loved sex, but she's also too shy to ask people to fuck. Was a bit of a loner, and tended to talk to plants rather than people.” Eren said with a shrug, his description near impossible for them to track her. There were millions of women who fit that description. If she had reincarnated and forgotten, then it would make tracking her nigh impossible.

“That is vague as all hell. Can’t you tell us anything important?” Citrinas asked as Eren shrugged.

“She also loves the smell of flowers, vanilla, and mint.” Eren said, describing the three incense scents the cult to Carnachias burn while spreading the good word of their goddess. It was pointless. Everyone loved those three scents.

“Fuck… So we can’t even find her. There’s gotta be another way.” Belsach grumbled as Eren shook his head.

“I already have an answer to our problem.” He said, somehow finding a path forward during the conversation.

“And?” Belsach asked, hope filling his eyes as Eren chuckled while raising a fist.

“I’m going into the Gates and killing that thing.” He said before elaborating on his plan. “He fought his way to the core and saved all of us. If I have his power, I should be able to kill that thing.” He explained, looking down at his fist as if he could see the new powers he had.

“You’re going to spend eternity fighting in there. You said yourself time flows faster the closer you get to it.” Varrick said, unwilling to let Eren enter that hell. It was nothing but pain in the Apollyon Gates. She drove them mad with but a look. To fight her would demand someone with an impregnable will.

“Someone has to stop that thing.” Eren answered while looking at his hands.

“Does it have to be you?” Varrick asked, his voice almost childish as though he were begging his father not to go on a trip.

“I have to try.” Eren said, a hint of fear in his voice. Even he didn’t think he had a chance in hell of winning. It was an impossible enemy. “Tris, how long do we have?”

“We’re ahead of schedule. We were supposed to ambush you in the Amazonian lands in a month, and he left you 3 months to get your affairs in order.” Tristiana answered as Citrinas frowned. Amazonian lands? What exactly was so important in the Amazonian lands?

“Amazonian lands? Why would you be there?” She asked, trying to think of just what was in there as Eren shrugged.

“Machine tells me to do things, I do it. Who knows what that machine was after?” He asked to nobody in particular, uncharacteristically casual about his past actions. Pelrin seemed to shift, as if knowing something before sighing, the mercenary leader shaking his head in disbelief.

“So why are you here?” He asked as Eren rubbed his chin to think.

“The machine told me to come here and capture Citrinas. Maybe she knew Tris was the linchpin of his plan and wanted a hostage.” He theorized with a shrug, unwilling to give a concise answer.

“You weren’t here for Verdi?” Citrinas asked as he shook his head.

“Even the Ancient Dungeon Core thought he was dead. Nobody expected him to live.” Eren answered before frowning. “Hey, why is he even here if he lost his memories?” He asked, the hero himself not knowing how fate had drawn them together. At that moment, Citrinas told him of their journey, how they had met, and everything Eren had missed. She could see him crack a smile when she talked about their adventures together. As she finished, he almost looked ready to cry.

“I'm glad he had fun here.” He said, **** up slightly as Citrinas asked him the question burning in everyone's minds.

“Eren, why did we meet? Was it all just a coincidence?” She asked, still unsure what had drove the two of them together. Was this just the hand of fate or someone else? As she asked that question, Eren’s face contorted, the hero deducing everything in seconds.

“Fucking Deceit. Everyone thought he was dead, and that fucker knew he survived.” He said, finally unveiling the mastermind controlling them all. Had the hero of Deceit had sent her to Verdi so he could protect her from Eren?

“Great, least there's one decent god who didn't backstab him.” Fenri said as Tristiana snorted, her tails flicking around as if Fenri had made a joke.

“Deceit sent us walking into a trap 9 years ago. That bastard is the one who caused this whole mess.” She said, Eren silently agreeing with her words with a nod.

“The fuck? Whose side is Deceit on?” Fenri exclaimed as Eren sighed.

“Their side. The goddess of Deceit has got her own plans. Her heroes are just pawns.” He answered, the goddess of Deceit just as mysterious as ever. If she wanted the machine to win, then she could have just left Verdi alone on the mountain he woke up on. If she wanted Verdi to win then she should not have attacked Eren. Was she after both sides?

“Great. Another fucking god after him.” Fenri said dismissively as Eren shook his head.

“The Goddess of Deceit is different. She's worse.” Eren growled quietly.

“Been saying that from day one.” Belsach grumbled to himself.

“The gods attack him out of cowardice, but they were never his friends.” Eren spat, disgusted by the mere mention of the gods. “But that traitorous whore worked for him back when she was human. She was one of us, then turned on him.” He said, the air vibrating at merely speaking of the Goddess of Deceit.

“So what about Champ?” Belsach asked, changing the subject.

“What about him?” Eren asked, deducing who Belsach was talking about in an instant.

“Is he coming with you?” He asked as Citrinas stiffened. Verdi's past self had planned to return to the Gates. He was going to leave to fight the machine.

“No. He’s staying here. He’s weakened. He will officially own everything I own in this world, and he is going to retire here.” Eren declared, casually discarding a small nation's worth of wealth. As he said that, Citrinas felt herself calm down. Eren was going to take his place. He didn't have to go.

“Shouldn’t we be talking about how to get his memories back?” Daria asked as pain ran across Eren’s face.

“No. He doesn't need to remember anything. He doesn’t need to continue fighting.” He answered quietly while avoiding everyone's gaze. Even Citrinas could see Eren wanted to restore Verdi's memories so they could have a proper reunion, but he knew better than anyone else that he would return to the Gates if he remembered everything.

“He's probably the best fighter here. You can't let your emotions cloud your judgment.” Pelrin said, looking at the situation with the usual cold objectivity he looked at everything.

“He doesn’t remember anything. He can only use ice magic. He can’t-” Citrinas began only to have Pelrin interrupt her.

“He took down Varrick, Belsach, Daria, and Bell. Then he fought for centuries against that thing while we were on the ground crying just from looking at it. Then the moment he got back to our world, he took down Eren with that thing and the Goddess of Equality helping him.” He countered, reminding them all of Verdi's combat prowess. He had fought nearly everyone in the room and came out on top despite all the restrictions placed upon him. He was leagues ahead of them in pure combat skill, and they all knew it.

“The second we leave the city, any one of us could beat him.” Citrinas shouted as Varrick's sword began vibrating, serving only to downplay her argument. Everyone looked away from her, yet she could see Eren focusing on her, a soft expression on his face as if he confirmed something.

“We can’t **** him to go.” Varrick said, unwilling to address the reaction of his sword. “But we can’t stop him either. If he wants to go back to the Gates, he’ll go.” He continued as Citrinas snapped at him.

“He hates his own appearance because of his hybridization! Every god is out for his blood! The people he protects don’t even know he exists! He’s gotten nothing but pain and suffering from this war!” She shouted, looking at everyone as though they were insane. They heard from Eren that this war robbed him of everything, and that he was hated by everyone. And here they were, asking him to continue the war.

“Why would he go back to that hell just to be abused by the people he protects"!?” She shouted, earning only looks of pure pity as though she asked a stupid question. There was silence before Varrick took a step forward, his helmet concealing his pained expression.

“Because he's a hero.” Varrick said quietly, his sword unmoving as he spoke.

“He’s no longer a hero. That ended when he gave up the Legacy. He’s free now. He can live his life as a normal person.” Eren said as Varrick’s sword began to vibrate at the lie.

“He saw that thing. He knows it is alive, malevolent, and powerful. You think he'd just ignore it?” Pelrin asked as Eren's face stiffened.

“I will stop it. He's staying here and he's going to be happy.” He answered as Belsach shook his head, the hobgoblin reaching forward to grab his friend’s shoulder.

“The world, hell, every world needs Champ. You know that better than any of us.” He said, hoping to sway Eren to his side. Instead, it only seemed to steel his resolve, his demeanor changing entirely.

“I’d sooner burn the fucking world than let it fuck him over one more time.” Eren said as power leaked out of him, the air growing thick as everyone fought to even breathe. Citrinas stumbled out a few numbers, trying to cast a spell to stun him, yet she couldn’t hope to calculate anything as the world spun around her. Everyone else was in the same condition, falling to their knees and clutching their throats. No, not everyone.

“Eren, calm down.” Mathias demanded, his sword drawn as Eren looked around, the entire room on the verge of **** from his mere presence. There was no bloodlust in Mathias’ eyes, but Citrinas could see that there was no fear or pain either. He could resist Eren’s passive destruction aura. Taking a deep breath, Eren let his power dissipate as he restrained himself once more, allowing everyone to breathe.

“Sorry.” He apologized, doing his best to control his emotions.

“For now, let’s just calm down and wait until Verdi wakes up.” Tristiana offered as everyone nodded, realizing that Eren was not in the mood to discuss the topic any further. Citrinas turned around, leaving while everyone else guarded the door in the off chance Eren was still under the Ancient Dungeon Core’s control or if she sent anyone to kill the newly revived hero. She ascended the stairs, making her way back to Verdi’s room as Harvin gently opened the door and ushered her inside.

“Lady Citrinas. Welcome back. I take it Master Eren is awake?” He asked as she entered, finding Verdi still **** in the bed. She grasped his hand, his body still cold while his heartbeat was absent.

“Yes. Do you mind if I spend some time with Verdi alone?” She asked, taking a seat next to him as Harvin nodded.

“Of course. I shall prepare a fresh kettle of tea then. Take as much time as you need.” Harvin said, bowing at the waist as the scent of tea leaves filled the air. She looked over to see a steaming cup sitting next to her, the porcelain teacup sitting on the nightstand in the blink of an eye. He left the room, closing the door behind him as she sat by Verdi’s side, trying to process all that she learned of him.

The warrior who saved the world 40,000 years ago from that cursed machine. The mentor of the strongest hero in their world’s history. A hybrid crafted by the great Carnachias to stop the apocalypse. A hero of the greatest civilization who ever lived. The sole protector of all life against the greatest evil to exist. She tried to see any of those things in the person before her, his past life akin to a fable or epic.

Yet, as hard as she tried, she could not see those people when looking at his face.

She could see the person who bragged over winning a stupid tournament in a shady bar and treating a small handful of silver coins as a fortune. The hard working mage who got excited over improving his cast time of ice magic that practiced with her. The happy go lucky alchemist who worked with her to make a camera and dreamed of building a fortune from his gadgets. She couldn’t see him as anything but the person she loved. At that moment, she saw his eyelids stir as color returned to his face.

Thump.

Thump.

His heart began to beat as warmth slowly returned to his body. His pulse was slow, almost uneven as though his body was unaccustomed to it. His chest moved as he took his first breaths in days, his body somehow resetting itself after days of dormancy. Instead of waking up, it felt like he was reviving from the dead.

Citrinas tensed up as Verdi jolted awake as he opened his right eye to scan the room. She felt chills run down her back when she saw his face. He had no emotion at all. There was a manic, almost focused look in his eyes despite waking up from a coma. He looked less like a person and more like a tool. No, not a tool. A desensitized weapon of war. His eye eventually fell on Citrinas, opening wide in disbelief as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. His mouth opened and closed, his throat unable to vocalize for a moment before he reached up to her, gently caressing her cheek as if to prove to himself she was real.

“Citrinas?” He asked, unsure whether he could believe she was there. Why wasn't he opening both eyes? Did he remember everyone? What happened to him in the Gates? Was he okay? She had a million questions to ask, but the words couldn't escape her lips. She didn't know what to say to him.

Are you okay?

Yes, it's really me.

You're safe now.

We won.

What should she say to him? The words couldn't escape her lips. At that moment, she thought back to when Eren woke up. How everyone else had greeted the hero.

“Welcome home.” She said, diving forward and hugging him. He could feel him tense up, as though he were being attacked. Every part of him was stuck in combat mode, the mere act of touching invoking responses honed over centuries. It took him a full minute to process what was happening before his mind overcame instinct.

“I'm back.” He said quietly, his voice choked up as Citrinas hugged him tighter. She felt a single tear fall on her shoulder as he returned her embrace. He clutched her tightly, as though he were afraid she'd leave if he released her. He trembled in her arms, his body still ice cold.

“I'm back.” He repeated, his voice a half whimper as she reached up and stroked his hair to reassure him. He sounded to be on the verge of tears as he repeated those two words, yet he refused to break down in front of her. She felt her chest hurt as she watched him try to remain stalwart after all he had been through, hiding the mental scars left by the machine. He had shrugged off all manner of injury and **** with only mild complaining before forgetting all about it, yet here he was on the verge of breaking down crying at the knowledge of his freedom.

How could they even think about sending him back into the Gates?

“It’s okay. You’re safe now.” She said, those five words causing him to clutch her even tighter as she continued to stroke his hair. He didn’t say anything else, the two holding each other in silence.

He didn’t want to go back into the Gates.

And she would never let anyone **** him back as long as she lived.