"Mr. Azik, are you alright?"
In response to Klein's concern, Azik, though still somewhat dazed from the flood of past memories, offered a gentle smile. He looked at Klein and said, "I'm fine. In fact, while this memory fusion had its challenges, it wasn't a major issue. Perhaps one more fusion, and I'll recover all my memories."
"That's a relief." Klein said, exhaling. Though he had fully accepted the Death Consul's existence and believed Azik's essence remained unchanged, knowing how deeply Azik had once been influenced by that old fool, the God of Death, Klein couldn't help but worry about the memory fusion process.
Azik then turned to Alaric, a trace of gratitude in his voice. "Your mask was a great help. I truly don't know how to thank you, Lucifer."
The process of merging his past memories and emotions hadn't been entirely smooth. While the Death Consul of the past was fundamentally the same as Azik, he had been profoundly shaped by the God of Death's influence. This influence was barely noticeable when the Death Consul was summoned as a Shadow of Time, but in the true past, it was omnipresent, almost etched into his very being.
In the torrent of memories, there had been a moment when Azik nearly lost his sense of self, almost becoming the "Death Consul" of old... a puppet whose individuality was entirely suppressed, a mere tool in the God of Death's hands.
Yet, at the critical moment, the mask embedded in his soul pulled Azik back. The love it held, something the "Death Consul" could never possess, became Azik's anchor, allowing him to break free from the God of Death's influence and fully awaken, merging that past with his own consciousness.
"If you truly want to thank me, keep striving to live." Alaric said with a smile. "Merging past memories may be a great challenge, but the real difficulty lies with your other half... the soul fused with the Uniqueness."
This was true. While merging past memories was a significant hurdle, the issue of Azik's other half, the soul intertwined with the Uniqueness, was far more daunting. Otherwise, in the original story, the Evernight Goddess wouldn't have warned that merging with that half would turn Azik back into the former Death Consul.
If Alaric's guess was correct, that half of Azik's soul was likely the divine aspect of his being.
In other words, even if Azik fully integrated his past memories, losing the battle against his divine self would render it all meaningless.
"I know. I… will overcome that divinity and survive." Azik said, fully aware of the truth in Lucifer's words. He exhaled, showing no sign of despair. Instead, a thought seemed to strike him, and he smiled gently, his gaze sweeping over Alaric and Klein before settling on the Death Consul.
Azik looked at the Death Consul, who was holding a black chess piece, his eyes moving to the chessboard and then back to the Death Consul's face. That face, once perpetually impassive, now bore a trace of genuine warmth.
Azik paused, momentarily lost in thought. In his newly fused memories, he had never seen himself as the Death Consul display such an expression. The Death Consul of old was always cold, always composed, meticulously carrying out the God of Death's orders... because that was all he could do.
But now, something had changed, quietly and imperceptibly.
So Azik met the Death Consul's gaze and smiled warmly. "I believe I won't become that self-less puppet again, because the puppet has grown a heart."
The Death Consul froze, pondering for a few seconds before replying earnestly, "You still need to be cautious of Father."
"I know. I'll be extremely careful of Him." Azik said, nodding with a smile. "But I'm no longer afraid. The old me managed to cultivate a sliver of self under the God of Death's oppression. The current me will never let that self vanish completely."
Alaric raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at his lips as he said softly, "How fascinating!"
The Death Consul of the past, thanks to aid from the present Azik, had gained a true sense of self. In turn, this newfound self was clearly aiding the current Azik in some way.
Alaric even had a hunch that, in the future soul fusion, this sense of self from the Death Consul might prove crucial in preventing Azik's humanity from being overwhelmed by his divinity.
"Past, present, future... changed and unchanged…" Alaric mused to himself, finding it intriguing. "Azik's past hasn't truly been altered. Even with this sliver of emotion, it hasn't significantly changed his past. Yet, it might just alter his future."
"The past cannot be changed, but can the future be, even if that change stems from the past?" Alaric's thoughts wandered, his expression pensive.
Having intermittently summoned entities like the Ancient Sun God and the War Angel, Alaric had largely confirmed that altering the past in this timeline was as difficult as in his world. Small details could be tweaked, but changing key historical nodes was near impossible.
Otherwise, those around him, like the True Creator or Medici, would have already been affected by changes to critical historical moments.
Yet, despite the efforts of figures like the Ancient Sun God, the past remained largely unchanged. Minor details might shift, but the overall trajectory stayed the same.
History, it seemed, had an inertia of its own.
Of course, Alaric sometimes wondered what might happen if he were in those timelines, personally altering those pivotal nodes. Would things change then?
In the current era, the fates he had personally altered remained changed, while events he hadn't touched often reverted to the original story's course.
Unfortunately, Alaric lacked the ability to travel through time, so this remained mere speculation, untestable.
The situation with the Death Consul and Azik, however, sparked new thoughts. If directly changing the past was impossible, could a subtle, permissible change... like the one made to the Death Consul... be used to influence the future of the individual in question?
Alaric felt this was worth observing. He was curious to see if the Death Consul's newfound self would, as he suspected, become the key to Azik overcoming his divine aspect.
***
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