No matter the strength difference between transcendent concepts, there would always be a give. There would be a level of pushback that one would feel. It would make them know they had at least tried to impose their will. There would be a clash of authorities...

But nothing of the sort had happened back then. It had been a total and immediate cessation of his core error abilities. It was as though the world had simply decided that his power did not apply to that specific wave. It was almost as if...

...Arros. Finn glowered coldly. The name felt like a curse. This is the work of Arros.

The reason why the attack had worked so immediately and so absolutely was because Arros had already paved the way. He had built the bridge for that specific attack to work.

Finn felt inward, trying to sense the presence of the parasite within him. It was a futile effort, though, since Arros could only exist by deceiving the world that Finn was the Errant of this world, and not him.

He was a master schemer who’d set up everything from the onset, down to the last detail. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Finn was furious. His hands clenched involuntarily by his side, his knuckles turning white, and the green glow in his eyes deepened as he was lost in his thoughts of Arros and his scheme.

Finn was an Errant himself. He was the Errant Heretic from Earth. He knew exactly why he could not sense Arros, and he knew why Sue’s chaos attack had worked so effectively...

In conceding his identity to Finn in full, Arros had also had the leeway to add little flaws to that title — flaws he had revealed to the Chaos Bearer.

A low, cold chuckle escaped Finn’s lips and he ran a hand across his face slowly.

The flaw had to have been minute enough that it could solidify with the Errant’s identity without Finn being able to detect it early on, up until the moment when he would meet the Chaos bearer head-on.

Finn could imagine how this would have played out had he been fighting against the Chaos Transcendent instead of Sue. It was definitely why that Elara woman had come to stop the fight.

Finn’s mind lingered on the woman for a moment...

Elara.

There was no way that was her. If anyone should have recognized her, it would have been him. He had known Elara well enough that he was sure the woman from the rift was not her.

Elara had not even been a Transcendent or an Ossuarist in the first place. She had only been an Arcanist, so there was definitely no way that woman was her. The logic was sound... Yet there had been something about her that was enough to make him feel a sense of familiarity.

Finn let out a low sigh. He forced himself to put the matter of Elara to the back of his mind. He did not want to think about that now. If he allowed himself to think too deeply about her, it would begin triggering aspects of himself he could not afford to have active right now.

The truth about Elara would come to light naturally anyway. This was not the last time he was seeing that woman, he was certain of that. The next time they met, he would make sure to get his answers.

He put that issue out of his mind and quickly moved to the concluding point of all the rapid chain of events that had occurred. The main point that bothered him...

Motive.

If Arros had made a flaw as debilitating as that for the Chaos Transcendent to take advantage of, why then had he allowed such knowledge to spread among his cult members?

Even more suspicious was the fact that it was not just the knowledge alone that had been shared. The means to activate such an attack had been revealed to an Enforcer like Sue, and even that Elara woman had known the same secret.

Why?

It was safe to say that the Chaos Transcendent had presented this encounter on a platter for him. He surely could not expect Finn to think this was all a coincidence, could he? The whole thing was too perfect.

Finn did not for a second believe such a turn of events that favored him so perfectly was a natural occurrence.

The Chaos Transcendent had definitely known Finn would find out the truth after this. Perhaps he had even orchestrated the whole thing from the very start to reveal the flaw. Perhaps this was part of Arros’ plans too?

But for what purpose? Why would you show your hand before the final round? Finn rubbed his head with a groan. Such a move served no purpose whatsoever, unless the goal was not to kill him, but to educate him.

He wants me to know about this beforehand...?

Why?

Finn grit his teeth then released a slow breath. He stopped all thoughts of Arros, the Chaos Transcendent and whatever their complicated plans might be.

Arros can come later, Finn’s expression firmed then eased into its usual calm. No matter what Arros or the Chaos Bearer have planned, it does not change my goal at all. My path is my own.

His eyes scanned the battlefield. The dust was settling, and the silence was returning. He focused his senses on the area, feeling for the pulses of life that remained. He could sense the fear radiating from the rubble. He could sense the survivors who were pretending to be dead, hoping he would simply walk away.

Finn scoffed lightly, standing tall in the center of the devastation with Ryuga coiled behind him, a dark and silent sentinel, and Syf standing to his left, her massive head scanning the battlefield.

He took a deep breath, letting his voice carry across the ruins with the authority of the Errant:

"All survivors under the sound of my voice. Stand now or be killed."

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A/N: Don’t forget to vote with Power Stones and Golden Tickets. They help a lot. Also, if you’ve read this far, consider dropping a review. ⭐

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Astrl