Before we continue, you're probably wondering: what the hell is that coffin, and why is it so important to Luminous Valentine?
The answer is simple, yet somewhat complex at the same time.
This artifact is called the Holy Ark.
A sacred coffin capable of isolating souls within itself, allowing two versions of the same being to exist at the same point in time without the laws of the world immediately collapsing.
Under normal circumstances, this would be impossible.
The world simply would not allow two identical existences to coexist.
But the Holy Ark was different.
It was a relic made of pure spirits, and the artifact was imbued with an absurd amount of holy power.
So much power that even a true Demon Lord would feel their body being severely burned upon making direct contact with it.
Inside that coffin was Chloe Aubert.
Or, more precisely, the adult version of Chloe.
What led to all of this was an event that would originally occur in the distant future.
An event that, thanks to Arthur's actions, would not happen in this timeline.
But one that did occur in another timeline.
After being struck by the fusion attack of Granbell Rosso, Hinata Sakaguchi died.
However, her consciousness did not disappear.
It was absorbed by Chloe.
This event activated Chloe's special ability:
Time Traveler.
As a result, the two of them were sent 2,000 years into the past.
Remaining faithful to the history they knew, they assumed the role of the legendary masked hero who sealed Veldora.
When the question arose regarding what Chloe's public name as a hero would be, she agreed to use the name Chronoa, which had been suggested by Hinata.
This served a specific purpose.
To prevent her real name from being revealed to the public.
Otherwise, the name Chloe Aubert might attract the attention of Leon Cromwell.
As a consequence of that decision…
The skill [Usurper], originally belonging to Hinata, was removed from her and integrated into Chloe's body.
Furthermore, the negative emotions Chloe had been suppressing began to take form.
They developed their own consciousness.
Observing this, Hinata reached a disturbing conclusion.
The entity known as Chronoa, Chloe Aubert's split personality, born from her ego and repressed emotions, was essentially similar to a monster.
During this period in the past, the two of them also became friends with Luminous Valentine.
Eventually, they told her the entire truth about their time travel.
About the impossibility of coexisting with their own future versions.
Faced with this extremely delicate problem, Luminous proposed the use of the Holy Ark.
After Chloe lost consciousness, Hinata took control of her body.
During that period, Hinata fought desperately to contain the raging Chronoa.
Until then, Chronoa had only remained stable thanks to Chloe's presence.
When the moment previously agreed upon with Luminous finally arrived, Hinata handed the Anti-Magic Mask to Shizu.
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[A/N: If I were to stop and truly explain this in greater detail, the entire explanation about their time travel would take up the whole chapter—and it would still be confusing for readers who aren't familiar with Tensura. Even Fuse managed to make it somewhat confusing, so I definitely don't want to make it worse.]
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What Arthur was doing now was something that very few beings in this world would even be capable of understanding.
He was directly manipulating the laws of reality.
Specifically, the laws that prevented two versions of the same existence from coexisting simultaneously.
He was rewriting those rules.
Despite the immense power of his Ultimate Skill, Arthur could not simply break and rewrite a law of that level instantly.
Even for him, it required some time.
—xXx—
Five minutes later, Arthur finally stopped.
He let out a small sigh as he removed his hand from the coffin.
"I'm almost finished, Luminous."
Luminous blinked a few times.
"Really? Wasn't that a little too fast?"
Arthur shrugged.
"My Ultimate Skill allows me to do many things… that are incomprehensible." He laughed lightly.
Almost unconsciously, he gave her another pat on the head.
Luminous's silver hair was incredibly soft to the touch.
Luminous, on the other hand, decided to completely ignore the fact that she was being patted.
She had something far more important on her mind.
"I have to ask… how exactly did you know about the Holy Ark and who was inside it?"
Arthur answered simply.
"It's because of my ability, Sha Naqba Imuru. It allows me to see all the paths this world can take. All I did was guide this world onto the path I wanted."
Luminous raised an eyebrow.
"You're telling me you saw the future?"
Arthur tilted his head.
"Something like that."
Then he turned his attention back to the coffin.
"Now, thanks to you, I can finish the operation."
He placed his hand on the Holy Ark.
In the next instant…
A bright light began shining from inside the coffin.
And then—
CRASH!
The Holy Ark shattered.
Fragments of sacred energy dispersed into the air.
Luminous looked at Arthur.
"What are you going to do now?"
Arthur replied calmly.
"Chloe and Hinata can't continue inhabiting the same body. That would be truly unfortunate."
He then opened a Gate of Babylon beside him.
From within the golden portal…
An artificial body emerged.
A body Arthur had created specifically for this situation.
He had used the knowledge he obtained from the Einzbern family's homunculus creation techniques.
"The moment you touched me and your ability had no effect," Arthur continued, "you subconsciously admitted defeat. It's confusing, but even that slight admission already gives me the freedom to activate my ability."
He smiled.
"That was enough for me to copy your ability [Asmodeus, Lord of Lust]."
Luminous was completely stunned.
"You… copied my Ultimate Skill…?"
"Yes." Arthur nodded.
"And thanks to that… I finally obtained the ability I wanted."
He then touched Chloe's head.
In the next instant, a white sphere emerged from her body.
It was a soul.
Arthur slowly raised his hand.
The sphere floated along with it.
He then brought the sphere toward the artificial body.
With an extremely gentle motion…
He placed the soul inside it.
As soon as he obtained Luminous's ability, Arthur immediately sacrificed it.
In exchange…
He gained a completely new ability.
An ability dedicated exclusively to the control of souls.
After all, it was only fair to sacrifice an ability that controlled the paths of life and death…
In order to obtain an ability that manipulated souls themselves.
—xXx—
Ultimate Skill
[Lord of Souls — Anubis]
A supreme ability that grants the user absolute authority over souls and their circulation between bodies.
The bearer of Lord of Souls — Anubis gains direct control over souls, allowing them to extract, manipulate, store, judge, and reallocate souls freely.
—xXx—
Luminous crossed her arms as she watched everything unfold.
Then she looked toward the distant battlefield.
The fight was still ongoing.
"You know… I really don't understand you. Don't you care about your subordinates?"
Arthur answered immediately.
"Of course I care."
He then pointed toward the battlefield.
"But did you forget? I can manipulate any kind of law." He smiled.
"Besides, you can bring those who died back to life."
It didn't take long before one of the bodies began to show signs of awakening.
"Hm… where… am I?"
Chloe, who had been inside the former coffin, spoke in confusion as she sat up.
She had not yet realized that she was completely naked.
"Welcome back."
Arthur spoke calmly.
Chloe looked at him.
"…Arthur?"
She seemed confused.
But then a small smile appeared on her face.
"Even if this is a dream… it's good to see that you're safe."
Before she could continue—
Tap.
Arthur flicked her forehead.
"This isn't a dream." He gestured around them. "Look carefully at your surroundings."
Then he pulled a cloak from the Gate of Babylon and placed it over her body.
"It'll take a little while longer for Hinata to wake up." Arthur then looked at Luminous. "How about we stop that fight?"
Luminous nodded.
"Yes. Let's stop them."
—xXx—
With Luminous's help, Chloe quickly put on some clothes.
Shortly afterward, the three of them walked toward the battlefield.
Arthur then clapped his hands.
"Okay, everyone… stop fighting now."
His voice echoed across the battlefield.
Immediately, everyone looked in his direction.
But at that moment…
The Ten Great Saints—or rather, the five who were still conscious—widened their eyes.
They stared in disbelief at Luminous walking beside Arthur.
Five of the ten had already been completely defeated, two of them were already dead.
The other three were on the brink of death.
But that wasn't the most shocking thing.
They also looked at the woman Arthur was carrying in his arms.
She bore a terrifying resemblance to Hinata Sakaguchi.
The only difference was the color of her hair.
It was white as snow.
If they could, they would have rubbed their eyes.
That woman wearing the magnificent gothic dress…
Was the Goddess Luminous.
How could she be calmly walking beside that man?
And who were those two women with them?
What was going on?
Arthur then spoke calmly:
"Now it's your turn, Luminous. I prevented their souls from dissipating."
Luminous smiled.
"It seems you really had everything planned from the start… I'm grateful for that."
She then approached Benimaru and Hinata.
Using her ability…
She revived them with ease.
When the wounds on Benimaru's body disappeared and his eyes opened once more…
Everyone was overjoyed.
As for Hinata…
Who had just returned to life, she was completely perplexed when she saw the woman extremely similar to her in Arthur's arms.
Benimaru slowly stood up.
"You really should start explaining your plans better, Master," he said with a smile.
Arthur laughed.
"And where would the fun be in that, Benimaru?"
Then he looked at everyone.
"Alright, children. Let's end this fake war here."
Without waiting for a response, he simply began walking back toward Nova Uruk.
Luminous followed him.
As if it were the most natural thing in the world.
And thus…
The war ended in the same way it had begun.
(End of Chapter)
It was the best I could get lol - Chloe (Future)