One Piece: Wild Hunt

Chapter 99: Reflection

Though it was a weekday, meaning he should be training, Thomas found it difficult to separate from the trio of similarly sized magical girls. He hadn't fallen for them or anything. Rather, much like the owner of a cat whose pest had fallen asleep atop them, Thomas felt a peculiar obligation to wait until they had awoken and decided to move on their own before doing the same.

With a few hours to think and reflect, Thomas expected that he might regret his actions. Instead, he felt strangely...liberated. He didn't know how to describe it, but now that he had crossed yet another line he never thought he would cross, he felt like there wasn't much stopping him from doing anything.

Since his arrival in the world of One Piece, Thomas had killed, at the very least, seven people. While not a particularly large number, he could only imagine murdering people in his previous world. Not without some pretty serious consequences. Now, unless he fell into a trap or willfully turned himself in, the only thing preventing him from killing anyone who got in his way was his morals.

Though similar thoughts had crossed his mind in the past, Thomas, now, more than ever, realized he was in a completely different world. A world where, if he were powerful enough, the only people who could hold him accountable were himself and those closest to him.

Looking down at the sleeping faces of Illya, Miyu, and even Chloe, the notion that he 'should' protect them briefly crossed Thomas's mind. They looked so innocent at a glance, but, in reality, they were some of the most powerful people in the entire world. Rather than his protection, what they truly needed from him were his cooperation and resources...

Though he was probably overthinking things, Thomas couldn't shake the feeling he had fallen into a carefully laid trap. He had always planned to help them restore Miyu's world and return home, but it was never his top priority. Now, rather than viewing them as baggage that was preventing him from behaving as he pleased, he felt as though they were in the same boat, working toward the same goals.

"I really am overly sentimental..." muttered Thomas.

Demonstrating she wasn't actually asleep, Chloe softly replied, "That isn't a bad thing...you should embrace it rather than pretending to be someone you're not..."

Shifting his gaze to the pink-haired nymphette, Thomas found Chloe with her eyes closed, nestled against him with a faint smile on her face. After a few seconds, she slowly opened them, looking up to meet his gaze as she asserted, "It's because of who you are that so many people feel they can trust you. Do you really want to be some unfeeling 'alpha male' that uses people and throws them away without feeling anything?"

Closing his eyes, Thomas exhaled a faint sigh through his nose before answering, "I just don't want to be taken advantage of...nice people aren't exactly known to come out ahead in most situations..."

Instead of refuting Thomas's words, Chloe replied, "That's true. However, that's only the case if they're weak. You have the potential to become one of the most powerful Mages across all realities. Once you attain the Third Magic and transcend Time and Space, who could possibly take advantage of you without your consent?"

"..."

After pondering Chloe's words for several seconds, Thomas replied, "That's assuming I can attain the Third Magic. Hasn't the Einzbern Family and their ancestors been trying to acquire it for like 2000 years?"

"Mmm...I have some theories about that..." said Chloe.

Rising to a seated position, Chloe took a moment to stretch her arms above her head while peeking at Thomas to see if he would stare at her breasts. Now that they had crossed the line, she was curious to see how he would react.

Seeing through Chloe's intentions, a faint but teasing smile developed across Thomas's face as he flatly remarked, "Pettanko..."

Instead of being offended by Thomas's remark, Chloe narrowed her eyes and snickered. Unlike Illya and Miyu, who had a slight complex about the size of their busts, Chloe was thankful for her unchanging form. She had a penchant for pouncing on and rubbing against people, so as much as she enjoyed teasing girls with larger busts, she wouldn't change a thing about herself, Illya, or Miyu.

Cupping and pushing up her palm-sized mounds, Chloe stared at Thomas as she asserted, "You might have a preference for girls with plump thighs and large breasts, but you can no longer deny our appeal. Astolfo's three sizes are 71, 53, and 75cm. Mine and Illya's are 69, 49, and 72cm. Given the thirty-centimeter difference in our heights, that makes the three of us fairly 'fleshed out,' wouldn't you agree...?"

Returning to the original topic, Thomas asked, "What did you mean when you said you had some 'theories' about the Third Magic?"

Poking out her tongue, Chloe ceased fondling her breasts and explained, "Though the Einzberns claimed to have achieved it first, the Third Magic was originally discovered around 100 BCE. It's said that the person who discovered it died during the transitory period between the Age of Gods and the Age of Man, but if you understand the nature of the Third Magic, that doesn't make sense..."

Shaking her head, Chloe went on to explain, "While the Third Magic is stated to 'show the future,' its Domain is the Manifestation of the Soul. The Soul contains the memories, mind, and, in most cases, the blueprint for a person's Magic Circuits. The physical body serves as an anchor to the World itself, preventing it from dispersing and returning to Akasha, the Root of Origin."

Adopting an uncharacteristically serious expression, Chloe asserted, "If a person were to attain the Third Magic, they would be able to prevent the inevitable dispersion of the Soul, regardless of whether or not they had an anchor. It is the truest form of Immortality, and due to the boundlessness of the Soul as a container, anyone who attains such a state would be able to draw in and contain a functionally infinite amount of Mana, becoming a singularity capable of subsuming reality itself..."

Narrowing her eyes in a mischievous smile, Chloe mused, "Not exactly the characteristics of someone that would simply 'disappear' without a trace, are they~?"

Furrowing his brows, Thomas asked, "What are you suggesting? That they abandoned their original worlds to create one of their own?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Chloe replied, "It's impossible to know for sure. A few things are certain, though. The ancestors of the Einzbern Family were the disciples of the Third Magus. They attempted to recreate the Magician of the Third Magic in the form of a Homunculus. Their efforts eventually resulted in the accidental creation of a Homunculi with even greater potential than the original Third Magus. However, while she was able to recreate the Third Magic, it wasn't cost-efficient since the Souls of Homunculi are 'incomplete.' In other words, to become the 'true master' of the Third Magic, one must be human..."

"Are you saying that humans are the only beings who possess Souls? That doesn't make a lot of sense," remarked Thomas.

Shaking her head, Chloe replied, "If the nature of the Soul were such a simple thing to understand, it wouldn't have taken us nine hundred years to 'accidentally' create a proper vessel. What we 'do' know is that beings such as Gods, Spirits, and Elementals do not possess Souls as they are an extension of the 'World.' Without specific conditions being met, they can't even exist in what we perceive as the 'real' or 'physical' world."

Directing her gaze to Illya, Chloe's expression softened as she added, "That's why the birth of Illya and myself was such a big deal. We are the byproduct of the Einzbern Family's attempt to recreate Justeaze and a human Magus. Before, it was believed to be impossible for a Homunculi to get pregnant as they have more in common with Elementals and Spirits than humans. However, just as humans were able to procreate with Spirits in the past, resulting in Demi-humans and other impossible existences, we came to be, making us the Einzbern Family's ultimate creation..."

Returning her gaze to Thomas, a wry smile marred Chloe's face as she appended, "Fortunately for us, the miracle of our conception allowed our mother to break free from our family's programming, freeing us from the fate of becoming sacrifices in the Heaven's Feel Ritual. The downside is that her actions came at the cost of more than 2000 years of alchemical research and advancement. Make no mistake; I'm 'extremely' grateful for that. It's just that the original goal of the Heaven's Feel Ritual was to save humanity. Not completing it feels...wrong..."

Though he had long forgotten the specifics of the Fate Stay Night games, Chloe's words reminded Thomas of the interaction between Justeaze and Zouken, one of the three people responsible for concocting the Heaven's Feel Ritual. Their goal was to allow humanity to transcend their physical bodies, allowing them to become independent from the world and beyond the reach of death. Fate/Apocrypha had a very similar premise. However, while it was true that humanity could be preserved by immortalizing their souls in the physical world, it severed the cycle of evolution and progress, ultimately leading to stagnation and madness...

With such thoughts in his mind, Thomas surprised Chloe by saying, "While I kind of get where you're coming from, it was never your family's right to decide the fate of humanity. Not everyone wants to live forever, much less in a stagnant world that never changes. Even if I managed to acquire the Third Magic, I have no intention of using it to perform grand feats such as immortalizing the souls of everyone in the world. Instead, I would use the power to explore and experience life in various worlds before relinquishing or passing it to someone else once I got tired of living..."

After staring blankly for several seconds, Chloe regained her usual impish grin as she mused, "How selfish of you...I kind of like it..."

Adopting a smile of his own, Thomas replied, "Back in my world, there was a show called Rick and Morty. One of the most common themes in the show is that nothing matters and that trying to 'fix' everything often makes things exponentially worse. The only way to attain true happiness is to prioritize the people closest to you, particularly family and friends. The more you involve yourself in things unrelated to those, the more you learn to hate life..."

Though she didn't agree with everything coming out of Thomas's mouth, his emphasis on family and friends was something Chloe could empathize with. It sounded a little contrary coming from a man who had abandoned his previous family and life, but it was apparent from how Thomas treated those around him that he cared greatly about such things.

Returning to her place at Thomas's side, Chloe snuggled up next to him, making herself comfortable before closing her eyes and softly muttering, "You should keep that in mind as you make decisions moving forward. I'm sure you had your reasons for coming to this world, but the more you get involved in its affairs, the greater the burden you will experience. Instead of toppling the World Government and spending decades installing a new one, you would probably be happier passing the reins to someone else and accompanying us to our world. At least until you go off on your next journey..."

Furrowing his brows, Thomas was about to say that was impossible, but Chloe beat him to the punch, adding, "We just need to create a gateway to ensure you can spend time with Vivi and hop over if things suddenly go south. I think...she would really like...Japan..."

As Chloe's words trailed off, seemingly succumbing to fatigue, Thomas found himself seriously considering her proposal. For Illya, Chloe, Miyu, and Shirou to return to their world, it was obvious they would need the assistance of Zelretch or another power capable of linking worlds. The Third Magic should provide such a means, so if he could acquire it, he could potentially link multiple realities, allowing others, not just himself, to traverse them freely...

...

..

.

(A/N: Probably not the smartest idea, but it's certainly a possibility...)