Chapter 29: Truth or Lies

To be honest, I was prepared for many scenarios, but this one really surprised me. I was enjoying my day training on the beach alone when Cagliostro approached me from behind. It appeared she wasn't going to fight.

"Hey, is what you said the truth?"

"You really want to know the truth? Then you must seek it for yourself. Asking others often leads to answers you aren't satisfied with. But if you still want to ask, then ask anyway: what truth do you seek? Don't worry, as a bonus, I'll answer anything you want to know, because I quite like you, the same guy who turned into a girl."

"Wait, you're the same as well? That's funny, but yeah, a woman's body is the best, isn't it?"

I smiled slowly, knowing Cagliostro was that type of girl. I nodded slowly as I continued training, swinging my wooden sword.

"Yeah, while having less muscle than when I was a man is a problem, it really gives a lot to desire with the use of alchemy and Symphogear."

"I know that feeling. So when Saint-Germain asked me if I wanted to be a girl, I nodded, because it was my dream as well."

Well, that was informative. I wonder if the original Cagliostro is the same, since I noticed that while this world has some similarities with the original one in the anime, there is a slight difference to it. And when you add my existence, I'm pretty sure this isn't the original world anymore, because I'm sure if I went to another parallel world, I wouldn't find another me there.

I know that the artifact that lets us go to parallel worlds is already active because of Carol, so it's only a matter of time after the last event that the girls will probably visit a parallel world. But that opens another question: will they find out that I'm not really a resident of any parallel world?

While I can tell them that my world is already destroyed so we can't teleport there, in the end, only time will tell. I can see that Cagliostro is still showing off her body, as she really moved her hand along her curves, which, to be fair, her body is indeed hot to me.

"Well, just like I said previously, the truth doesn't care about you, whether it will hurt or even make you happy, since truth treats everything equally. While sometimes some can misunderstand what the truth is, it will still be there waiting for them to eventually arrive at the truth, but if you don't seek it, the truth will never give you the answer."

My answer made Cagliostro, who was showing off her body, calm down, as her gaze turned serious. I slowly put down the wooden blade and gazed at her.

"So, are you prepared to hear the truth, no matter how painful it is, Cagliostro?"

"Yes, I'm prepared for it, which is why I came here to find you alone."

"Fufufu, that's what I like about you. But then, which one do you want my answer to? Or are you going to be greedy and ask everything? That's fine as well."

I smiled slowly, closing my eyes and waiting for Cagliostro to answer. When I opened them, I saw she was staring at me with a focused gaze.

"Is it true that Adam has been manipulating us all this time?"

"Yes, Adam has been manipulating you, even the group he created, to reach his goal."

"Does Adam even have a slight care for humanity?"

"No, in fact, he loathes humanity, as his creator abandoned him for them."

My answer made Cagliostro's eyes widen in surprise, but she slowly took a breath before gazing at me.

"Is Adam an Autoscorer?"

"No, but he is indeed a being close to it."

Cagliostro slowly flicked her tongue, hearing my answer.

"Who created Adam?"

"An old race named Custodian."

"Does this race still exist?"

"In this world? The answer to that is both yes and no, since the last of the race is the one who created what you all call the Curse of Balal."

"Why does the Curse of Balal exist?"

"It is to ensure humanity never shares a single language, to prevent the revival of a Custodian who planned to rule the world."

Hearing my answer, Cagliostro took a few steps back, sweat beading on her cheek, but her expression turned grim.

"I see... then what is Adam planning next?"

"Oh, it's simple: to prove that he is equal to his creator. So, he plans to enslave humanity, and probably destroy it."

Hearing my answer, Cagliostro grew furious, stomping her feet. I simply crossed my arms and waited for her to calm down, which surprised me by not taking long.

"What is divine energy?"

"Hmmm... I haven't reached the truth of that yet, as it's extremely complex, but at the same time, has a simple answer. Basically, it's the type of energy Custodians use for spacefaring, and it was used to create both Adam and humanity."

Hearing my question, Cagliostro looked shocked, her mouth forming an 'o' shape.

"Wait, Custodians created humanity?"

"The answer to that is yes. At least, prehistoric humanity was created by Custodians because Adam was too perfect in their eyes. So they created humanity, which included every quality they liked and disliked."

Cagliostro's legs began to wobble, and she slowly knelt, murmuring something. I slowly closed my eyes.

"Is that all?"

"How come you're so calm about this?"

"Because I can't do anything about it. Just like I said, the truth doesn't care about your circumstance, whether you are rich or poor, strong or weak, sick or healthy. The truth treats all the same."

Hearing my answer, Cagliostro started tearing up, which made me feel bad. But seriously, all the things I'd said recently made me feel like a philosophical person, even though, in fact, I just quoted words I once saw in my past life. In fact, I'm not even sure if it was the same, since some of my previous life memories have already started to blur recently.

I slowly moved forward and crouched in front of Cagliostro, then wiped the tears from her cheek.

"It must be painful to know the truth, right? To know all the things you do are eventually pointless. Which is why I pity you, and at the same time, envy you."

I slowly stood up, gazing at a confused Cagliostro.

"You see, I am a human from a parallel world."

Cagliostro went silent as I slowly took a deep breath.

"And that world was already destroyed because of an invasion from another world. Which is why, looking at you like this, I envy you, as you still have friends that still live. While I indeed made friends in this world, it doesn't change that I was the sole survivor of my world."

Cagliostro stared at me for a moment, but before she could say something, I slowly put my finger on her lips.

"Which is why, if you don't want any regrets, make sure to tell everything you need to tell to someone you hold dear, like your two comrades. So for now, go back to your teammates before they get suspicious. As for whether they trust you or not, that is fine as well, since you already know the truth and can act upon it."

I slowly walked toward the wooden sword I'd dropped and started to swing again. I could see in the corner of my eye that Cagliostro was bowing before breaking the teleporting crystal in her hand.

After a while, Carol slowly appeared from her hiding place, which surprised me that Cagliostro never noticed her at all. This proves that, while it still wasn't comparable to when I use Symphogear or the Faust robe, the effect was still effective.

"About what you said earlier..."

"Yeah, it's all true."

"So, are we all just puppets dancing on a stage?"

"Not exactly. You see, even though the Custodians created prehistoric humanity and ruled over them, one of the Custodians fell in love with a human."

"Don't tell me that human was..."

"Yep, that human was Fine. In fact, in the parallel world where I come from, she's my mother. That's why I can control divine energy to some extent."

"I see, so that's why..."

"Yeah, but the funny thing is, humanity was created using the DNA of one of the Custodians. When that Custodian planned to turn humanity into her own semi-immortal data so she could revive endlessly, the Custodian who loved Fine fought her but ultimately failed to completely destroy her."

"I see. So, in his last attempt, he used the Curse of Babel."

"Exactly. The reason that Custodian could revive using humanity was because humanity spoke a single language. When the Curse of Babel was activated, it separated humanity's languages, preventing her from reviving."

I glanced slowly at the moon, which wasn't visible in the sky.

"Which is why the only way for her to revive is to either use a person cleansed of the curse, or..."

I slowly pointed at myself.

"Use people from parallel worlds that the curse doesn't affect in the first place."

"Wait, does that mean you..."

"Yes. Everything I've done has been to prepare them to eventually face her. That's why I've taken every measure to make them strong and gather as many allies as possible."

I slowly stabbed the sword into the sand and stared at Carol with a serious expression. She looked away and spat.

"Sure, but I'm not doing this because of you."

"I know, and that's fine by me."

"Tch... this is why I hate you. Oh, and I almost forgot: Fine sent me here to tell you that the prototype of the thing you sent her is almost ready, so come pick it up for a test drive."

"Sure."

I then proceeded to take a few swings with my sword, and I saw in the corner of my eye that Carol broke the same crystal that Cagliostro had broken and teleported back.

"Man, alchemy in this world is so convenient. Even if the materials don't exist, they can make good enough substitutes that are ready for testing."

Thinking about it, I started to imagine riding a flying robot while singing, just like in the anime Cross Ange. In fact, if it manages to copy the original's power, then I basically won't need Gjallarhon to go to parallel worlds, as the original has the power to open a portal, after all.

"You don't need to be so harsh on yourself, Mamoru."

"Well, that's true, Morgan, but I've noticed something recently."

I slowly glanced at Morgan's shadow, who was smiling.

"You're not really Morgan, are you?"

"Why do you think that, Mamoru?"

"Because if you were really Morgan, and you were really in love with me, there's no way you'd be silent most of the time. So, who exactly are you?"

"Well, Morgan is Morgan, but indeed, she is not the Morgan you know. I'm basically your projection of Morgan because you can't stand losing her."

"Does that mean..."

"Let's just say, like your memories, you tried to use alchemy to revive both Hibiki and Morgan, Fullmetal Alchemist style, and it failed because at the time, you still weren't used to alchemy and controlling that amount of divine power, which resulted in me being created."

Morgan slowly winked at me as she floated around.

"While I do inherit Morgan's memories, it's only from after she met you. Before that, there is nothing. Isn't that enough?"

"I see..."

I slowly glanced at the sky before stretching my arm towards it.

"It's quite a surprise, but it just shows how much I've changed, still, for me to lose those memories... I wonder if that's for the best."

"Of course. While I am not the same Morgan, knowing her memories and her feelings, even I know that if she and Hibiki knew that you were tormenting yourself because they tried to protect you, they would gladly be forgotten if the memories of them only existed to torment you."

"Somehow, I feel like that was slightly different from Hibiki, but since it was a parallel world, I wonder if that is the normal Hibiki. Still, glad to be forgotten, huh..."

I started to wonder what would happen if I completely remembered what happened back then. Since my other self said it was dangerous, I wonder how insane I was back then...

Thinking that, I glanced at the sea, where the waves were moving in rhythm.