"Jin Nidou..."
A raspy voice echoed through the room. It was Markitus’s own voice.
"I will not... thank you."
The man seemed intent on maintaining his defiance to the bitter end.
"But... before I perish... there is something I wish... to say."
"I’m listening."
Jin knew all too well that even the most advanced magic was powerless against the natural end of a lifespan.
"I... refused the 'consciousness transfer' proposed by the assistant automata."
Jin wanted to ask exactly what a consciousness transfer entailed, but he remained silent. He felt it was better to let Markitus speak while he still could.
"Part of it was a distaste for relying on technology, but more than that... I was apprehensive."
"Apprehensive?"
"Apprehensive....Within me, another persona lies dormant. It is I, yet it is not I."
"..."
Jin waited for Markitus to elaborate.
"Even if my physical body perishes, that other self will likely remain."
"...What do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what I said. He is the 'root cause' of... well, I won't say everything, but the majority of it."
"What?"
Jin wanted to dig deeper, but in that instant, the very air around Markitus shifted.
"Heh... Jin Nidou, is it? You’ve finally made it this far..."
"Are you... Markitus's other persona?"
"You may call me that if you wish... though I am likely not of this world."
"What!?"
At this unexpected revelation, even Jin could not hide his shock.
"When the consciousness of this body's master was dominant, I was suppressed, but I have finally been able to surface."
Gradually, the being that claimed to be a secondary persona began to speak with increasing fluency.
"Just who are you...?"
When Jin D asked the question, Markitus sneered.
"Heh, hahaha! Jin Nidou, so there are things even you do not know!"
"Of course there are. There is more in this world that I don't know than what I do."
"...Oh? An interesting way of putting it."
"I make the effort to learn. That’s only natural."
"On that point alone, I agree."
Surprisingly, Jin and the entity within Markitus were able to carry on a calm conversation for the time being.
"You asked who I am. Unfortunately, I do not know either. When I first came to my senses, I had been absorbed by this man... back when he was but a child."
"Does that mean your magic patterns matched?"
"Heh, that is likely the correct answer."
Jin wondered if it was a phenomenon similar to his own connection with the Predecessor Magi Craft Meister, Adriana Barbora Tsetse.
"But a match in magic patterns should only occur with an impossibly small probability."
"Indeed. That is why I consider myself fortunate. Though it was likely a misfortune for this man."
"In other words, did you... possess him?"
"Jin Nidou, you use fascinating expressions. Possession, is it? Indeed, my state is likely very close to what you call possession."
The entity seemed to accept the term.
"Then, what happens to you if Markitus's physical body dies?" Jin asked, pressing the most immediate issue.
"I will simply leave. And once I am free..."
"What will happen then?"
"I can move as I please. I can do whatever I wish with this world."
Jin remained skeptical. "Is that really true?"
"What?"
"I have never heard of, seen, or felt the presence of such a spiritual entity on Ars."
Jin pointed out that if such a being existed but could not be perceived by anyone, it was essentially the same as them not existing at all.
"Mmm..."
"Since you aren't a spiritual lifeform, you probably can't even interfere with matter."
"What!? What did you just say?"
Suddenly, the entity became agitated.
"Spiritual lifeform? Jin Nidou, what do you know of them?"
"What do I know...? As I mentioned before, in another universe, there are 'spiritual lifeforms'—an ancient race that escaped the bonds of matter and grew weary of their own immortality."
"..."
At that, the entity fell into a heavy silence.
Since the assistant automata said nothing, Jin assumed the physical body’s condition hadn't taken a sudden turn for the worse.
Eventually, the voice returned.
"...It seems I was a fragment of those 'spiritual lifeforms'. Your words have jogged my memory."
"What!? You... are a spiritual lifeform!?"
Jin was genuinely startled. However, the entity was just as shocked.
"Jin Nidou, do you truly know of the spiritual lifeforms!?"
"Some time ago, when this universe underwent a partial superposition with another, I 'fell' into that other universe."
"What did you say!?"
"There, I encountered the spiritual lifeforms, spoke with them, and they sent me back to my original world... this universe."
"That such a thing could happen..."
"Afterward, the spiritual lifeforms should have taken measures to ensure such a superposition contact would not occur again."
"...Ho, how interesting."
As Jin explained, he recalled his conversation with Ichi in that other realm.
"They mentioned using something like sub-ether waves."
"I see. That makes sense, as we spiritual lifeforms are existences of a sub-ether nature."
But then, Jin realized a potential problem.
"If superposition contact no longer occurs, does that mean you cannot return to your original world?"
As far as Jin was concerned, he wanted this spiritual lifeform—which seemed impossible to destroy—to simply go back where it came from.
"Ah, I see. Then it cannot be helped. I shall simply wait in this world until another appears who can be 'possessed'."
"...And when will that be?"
"Who knows? Perhaps in two hundred years, or two hundred million years."
Since it could not be destroyed, there was no other choice.
However...
* * *
Back on Hourai Island, Laojun spoke softly to Jin’s main body.
"My Lord, it may be possible to eliminate an existence of a sub-ether nature."
"What?"
"Previously, we sent My Lord's original body back four hundred years. Following that logic, we have reached a certain research milestone regarding the handling of sub-ether."
"And what is that?"
"A space vibration device based on the 'Hanna theory'."
"The 'Hanna theory'?"
"Yes. It is a product of Hanna-chan's research. Her work is extensive, ranging from predicting the discontinuity between free ether and sub-ether to the methodology of manipulating sub-ether itself."
"Hanna did that... I see."
"Using a device based on that theory, it should be possible to open a 'hole' in Space."
Laojun reminded him that they had already applied similar principles to send Jin back four hundred years.
"But the other side of that hole might not be the world he desires, you know?"
"We can only leave that judgment to the individual. It is a matter of a dimension that we cannot confirm from our side."
"..."
Jin fell into deep thought, deciding that the matter required careful consideration.