Arcturus felt like bolts of lightning in a thunderstorm with the way he wanted to strike down those who harmed people he cared about. His hand on Mebsuta's neck was a swift motion, like lightning striking down the tallest object facing the sky. He was someone who didn't like hurting women either, but Mebsuta was an exception. He only hurt the wicked and she was one of them; her gender didn't matter in this situation.
Mebsuta only smiled at his actions. "Yes, I can sense your despair. Are you willing to join us?"
"Shut your trap!"
She started humming. "But, I don't understand why you're hurting me. I'm not the one who burnt his house down; that was Ras."
"You played a factor into this! I bet you ordered your husband to search for Nova since you couldn't leave the island!"
"Right you are!"
"Did it have to be to the point where you had to burn down his house?"
"Hey, I'm not the one who did that! Ras did that out of his own volition! If you have complaints, go talk to him!"
She pointed towards Arcturus's right side, to which he turned his head. His eyes widened when he saw raging fire consuming a cottage in a forest. Forest animals were fleeing the vicinity and smoke permeated the area.
"What the hell…?"
Polaris uttered out, "How can you show this memory? It's not yours, but Ras's!"
When Arcturus turned back to Mebsuta, her form had changed into an ailing man with gray eyes. Surprised, Arcturus released his grip and took a step back. He was sure he had Mebsuta's neck in his grip and not this man's.
"Who are you? Ras Leonis?"
"Yes."
"Where's Mebsuta?"
Ras suddenly changed back into Mebsuta. "Here!"
Arcturus was perplexed. "What are you?"
"Me? Silly boy. We're the core of this realm." Mebsuta started to change her appearance into various people. "We have no inherent form. We're just an amalgamation of despairing souls. We can be whatever and whoever we want as long as we exist in this form and continue to be in despair."
The scenery changed from the burning forest to the familiar green realm. She pointed to all of the souls wandering about. "They're us too! We can become anyone in this realm!"
The scenery changed back into the burning forest and she changed back into Ras. Arcturus stared into the fire. He suddenly heard eerie wailing noises that caused him to react poorly.
"What is that noise?"
"That's the sound of the wailing of passing souls," Polaris responded. "Ras Leonis had burned a portion of the Forest of Passing Souls when he was searching for Nova. Because the forest is connected to the Spirit Realm, the souls were crying out in pain."
Polaris then pointed to a scene of Nova wrapping his tail around Ras's neck. Nova looked a little different than his current self, but Arcturus still recognized him. He noticed how furious he looked. It was a mix of anger and sadness–it looked as if he was in despair. A realization came to him as he turned to Polaris.
"Hey, Polaris…"
"Yes?"
"How sad was Nova when he saw the forest and his house burn down?"
"Very."
"How important was his home to him?"
"It was very important. Nova liked his solitude and to have someone disrupt it makes him uncomfortable."
Arcturus lowered his head for a bit before placing back into position as he marched towards Ras.
"Are you interested in joining us now?" Ras asked as he reached a hand out towards him.
Arcturus slapped it away. "I'm not your target at all. Your real goal is to get Nova into despair, right? That's why you took him into your realm and separated us. I'm nothing more than a means to stall time. By showing me memories that paint Nova in a bad light from your perspective, you're trying to convince me he's bad and not worth the trouble."
He then grabbed Ras by the collar. "Well, you're wrong. Nothing you will do can change my mind. I strongly suggest you stop stalling and tell me where he is. If you don't, I don't think I will hold back anymore."
When he released Ras, he just smiled. "I'm surprised you were able to figure it out so quickly. That's a Laminan for you–such terrifying intelligence." He then hummed. "However, I'm not too keen on letting him just go yet. I need him to experience the greatest despair. I thought that probably having you turn over to our side would work, but you're extremely stubborn in making that happen. No worries, though. I've got other plans."
"What plans?" Polaris asked.
Before Ras could respond, he was thrown onto the ground due to Arcturus's fist swinging onto his face. Ras was shocked as he placed a hand onto his stinging cheek.
Polaris was shocked by such an action. "Arcturus?"
"Polaris, can you fight?"
"What are you trying to do?"
Arcturus grabbed Ras by the collar once again and lifted him up. "Instead of caring about what his next plans are, just beat him senseless. If he is the core, that means this realm will disappear if we destroy him. And if this realm is destroyed, we'll be free from it and that's how we'll reunite with Nova. It's as simple as that, right?"
Polaris started chuckling. "That is such a smart plan. Why didn't I think of that sooner?" He started cracking his knuckles as he treaded towards Ras and socked him square in the face. When Ras fell to the ground once more, he found himself at the mercy of two angry men drilling holes into him.
"Tell us where he is," Arcturus demanded as he prepared his fists.
"If you don't…" Polaris responded as he rolled up his sleeves.
"We'll beat it out of you," they said in unison as they started striking.