A palpable silence permeated between Isaac and Forget Me Not. For a few brief moments, that silent confrontation went on between the two — with neither initiating anything. It was a standstill.
That was until Forget Me Not spoke, nudging his glasses at the process. "I see... So you are not from this era, am I correct?"
Looking at Druvis, who was clearly distraught and was being woken up by Vertin from her stupor, Forget Me Not made an educated guess just from the limited clues laid out in front of him.
It was easily inferable. Unless someone like Isaac had any prior information, he wouldn't have gone such lengths as to confront Forget Me Not just for the sake of covering Druvis, making the latter think that the former had either been someone roped in to their cause or had been with them altogether.
Furthermore, Isaac's words only made his reason more plausible, indicating some sort of acquaintanceship between him and Druvis — and now, possibly Vertin.
Hearing his words, Isaac didn't deny any of it and answered honestly, entertaining the conversation. "That's right. I'm just a fool who doesn't belong to this era. What about it?"
Forget Me Not shook his head solemnly, maintaining his collected demeanor — unlike the maniacal display he had been putting on earlier while exploding the bodies of other humans.
He turned to Vertin and spoke. "The absurdities of this era, truly laughable. But I must hand it to her for still clinging to hope in this bleak scenario, for thinking she could still change the outcome."
"The "Storm" is coming, if you aren't aware. With it, this era would evaporate like rainwater, reducing it to naught." He explained, looking at Isaac. "Since it's all ending, why bother stopping me, no, us — the Manus — at all? It is utterly pointless."
"What did it matter if they perished by Manus hands or by the Storm's? In their eyes, both were the same."
Isaac did not immediately give his reply.
Indeed, this was the twisted philosophy of Manus Vindictae. They go from era to era, changing major points in history to accelerate the arrival of the Storm and altering history as they do it. Along the way, countless perish from their actions — either directly or indirectly due to the Storm — yet that doesn't deter them at all at their pursuit of their supposed "revenge."
To them, if an era was destined to be swallowed up by the Storm would inevitably be altered and perish, why not accelerate it and have the chance to reap their own benefits?
It would not matter if many perished anyway since they were destined to do so with or without their interference — as such, they held little value to the eras they sabotage.
But still... Even in the face of certain doom, people deserve the freedom to live their lives — however short — without manipulation.
Isaac strongly believes in this ideology. Not because of any shallow reason, but rather, because he knows what it truly meant.
Looking at Forget Me Not — who was from this era, the year 1929 — Isaac really couldn't blame him for wanting to side with Manus. Knowing a bit of his background from his game knowledge, Isaac knew the destiny he endured that led up to this moment. He suffered discrimination and endured hatred for a long time, breeding a twisted sense of disassociation with this era. But that still doesn't give him the right to destroy it.
After lingering in silence for a while, Isaac finally spoke, his voice clear and audibly sincere.
"Destiny isn't an excuse for cruelty or interference." He spoke, a clear burden weighing his words. "Even a doomed era has meaning through the choices it makes. Removing choice is a moral violation, even if the outcome doesn't change."
This history was flawed, yes, but ultimately, it was what it was — just a history. Humanity experiences it, goes through hardship, learns from it, then finally overcomes it.
Histories weren't tragedies. They were lessons.
Looking at Forget Me Not, Isaac's words reached him, his intentions clear as day. "Just because the end is written doesn't give you the right to hold the pen."
"..." Forget Me Not remained silent after hearing Isaac's words, a soft, inaudible sigh escaping his lips as he did so. After a while, however, he spoke — a clear trace of indignation laced in. "I shouldn't have bothered, you wouldn't understand. Clashing of beliefs would only lead to poverty."
With that said, Forget Me Not took out his wand, and soon, a group of Manus members appeared, donning their black masks that gave them their eerie looks.
"How could someone like you, from beyond this era, know what it feels?" Disdain laced his words — almost hissing at Isaac. "No, you simply don't. You don't know that feeling of a reticent rage incinerating you from the inside."
It was clear at this point to Isaac that, no matter how much he tried to argue with Forget Me Not, he simply could not beat his affirmed belief.
Even more so because of his fog that makes arcanists harder to trust him.
"If that is so..."
With a delicate sigh, Isaac slowly spread out his hands and was just about to command the fog around them to heed to his will, when suddenly, two figures approached him from behind, abruptly interrupting him.
Sensing who they were, Isaac temporarily stopped casting his arcanum and turned to look at them, clearly glad that their ordeal was over.
Looking at Druvis, who seemed to have regained her mental clarity, he soon shifted his gaze to Vertin.
"Are you fine now, Ms. Druvis?"
"Yes, Vertin has helped me greatly." She replied tacitly.
He nodded and didn't inquire further; knowing that Druvis had already gained a new reason to live for — to witness the tomorrow promised by Vertin.
"Forget Me Not..." Vertin, meanwhile, looked at the man at the opposite of them who had several members of the Manus behind him. Hearing the conversation they had earlier, Vertin spoke to him tacitly. "Sooner or later, you will be destroyed by your own hatred."
Upon hearing this, Forget Me Not did not seem particularly offended. Instead, a tremulous chuckle escaped from his mouth as he spoke. "I know, but you won't live long enough to see it."
With that said, he clasped both of his hands and instructed the Manus around him, his voice clear and audible. "My disciples! Start cleaning!"
With that one simple command, the hordes of Manus members resembling lifeless puppets, or rather monsters, rushed over to the three — with a clear intent on malice.
Seeing the incoming onslaught, the three of them immediately assumed their battle formations.
Vertin stayed at the rear to provide support, whereas Druvis was at front to eliminate the enemies with her plants along with Isaac and his perpetual fog.
When the waves of Manus came crashing down on them, Druvis utilized her arcanum to summon various plant life to aid in her fight. Strong, durable roots erupted from the ground while vines hung from the above — efficiently disposing of the Manus Disciples as quickly as possible. The Disciples all ran up to her like mindless beings, but she was able to trap and eliminate them at the same time while maintaining her reticent expression.
Vertin, meanwhile, gave out instructions to both Druvis and Isaac. Although she had very minimal firepower in terms of arcanum, her physical abilities and strategic mind make up for it, enabling her to act as the core strategist of any team while simultaneously dealing with some enemies. With her commands, both Isaac and Druvis are able to finish off their enemies in great numbers in limited time.
Lastly, there was Isaac. Out of the three of them, he had the most fluidity and lethality in the battlefield. If Druvis was someone who lures, traps, and eliminates her enemies with roots that can be seen by enemies, then Isaac was the unseen monster in the fog — dragging his enemies in the grayish-white hell with no visibility whatsoever. Confusion was all that was present between the Disciples as they could only helplessly watch their numbers dwindle inside his thick fog.
But even with all of their combined effort, the Disciples just keep appearing. The battle just kept on going.
"How many more Disciples are there? There's too much." Vertin commented while dodging an attack.
"From what I'm sensing with my fog... A lot more. The battle won't end anytime soon, Ms. Vertin..." Hiding inside the grayish-white fog, Isaac's voice reached her, his body not seen anywhere. "But I also sense that some reinforcements for us are about to arrive... We just need to hold on until then."
"Reinforcements... Sonetto?" Upon hearing this, Vertin's eyes narrowed. A moment later, a resolute expression appeared on her face. "Alright, let's hold on until they arrive."
With that said, she immediately sent the two of them commands. "Mr. Isaac, continue eliminating those deviating from their group. Ms. Druvis, keep acting as bait and lure them in front."
"Understood." Both of them, in the middle of eliminating a Disciple, responded.
While Isaac did so, an amusing thought crossed his mind. 'Man, so this is what it feels like to be the summoned playable character...'
It strangely felt nice.