Limitless The Strongest Revenant

"I didn't get to speak much to Luciano. He was always in meditation most of the time. I did, however, get to speak to the one who accompanied him."

Exa showed us the images of the people Zanele was describing. Luciano was the 2nd Successor Zanele met after Sibu. The main difference is that the first one began his journey as a Successor with Zanele present.

Funnily enough, the woman that accompanied Luciano was white. She was beautiful, just like all the other Sins we have seen. But when one considered how the last story went, the girls and I weren't too eager to hear what happened next.

Jo then said something we never expected. "She was an Astral, wasn't she?"

"What?!"

The rest of us were caught off guard by my Darling's comment. It wasn't that the woman was a Linker. But an Astral. That meant only one thing. Unlike Jo and Vela, who had a friendly relationship, this woman was a Revenant who dominated her host.

"Yes. She was. I am surprised you knew. Were you familiar with Luciano Lady Jo?"

"No, I am not. But since the Sirens were always killing themselves after a certain point, anyone alive would be the only thing different. So, the only other possibility was an Astral."

"But Jo, does that mean that the Linker, the Sin who housed the Astral, is already gone?"

Jas, who looked beside herself, asked in a frantic manner. Her worry naturally stemmed from the implication of a Reaper becoming an "Astral."

"Probably. Before I ascended to a Specter, Vela told me that I had to bear part of her soul. And that if I couldn't, I, Josephine Benelli, would simply be overwritten. I dunno how it is for the other Classes. But every Linker runs the risk of getting replaced by their Astral."

Hearing Jo's words, I quickly came to her and took her hands in mine.

"Jo, I didn't know. I'm so—" "Darling, stop." she interjected.

The Stella Cadente gently caressed my cheeks as she smiled. My Italian lover's radiance washed away all the guilt that suffocated me. Her gorgeous smile made my heart melt.

"Darling, I was lost and miserable all my life. I met you. I found love, family, and everything I could ever ask for. I love you and would do anything for you. You need strength. I am your {Kindred}. Then I will give my all to fulfill it. Nothing else needs to be said. Okay?"

"Okay, I love you, Jo," I quietly muttered.

"Hehehe! Not as much as I love you, Darling!"

Once again, I was reminded of how wonderful this woman was. I gazed into her deep emerald eyes and just got lost in them. I drew her soft hand to my lips and kissed it.

"Ehem. Not to interrupt you, moment nutjob. But you need to share such details so we can help the other Linkers in Hellsgate. But we concede that you get Honey for the rest of the day. Can we please get back to the story now?"

Bella's interruption reminded me that we weren't alone. Jo and I looked at each other and chuckled. We then intertwined hands and took our seats. Lilly sneakily took my free hand and pinched me. Her {Kindred} link got clouded by the color green.

'Hmph, Dearest, while Rulers do not have such a risk, I won't forgive you if you cast me aside. I want you to remember that I exchanged a lot too. And though I do not shamelessly ask for recognition, I wouldn't mind hearing it now and then…'

I turned toward her and stole her lips. I then spoke out loud for everyone to hear.

"I love you so much, Lilly."

Unfortunately, my words were met with scathing comments from the others.

"Lilly-sama. It's vile and revolting to gaslight everyone to back off for Jo, then swoop in like an opportunist. Whatever happened to your so-called noble dignity?"

"Puta." "Two-faced pervert." "Get stuffed, pervert!" "Lilly, that was unbecoming of you."

"What? I didn't even say anything; Dearest just loves me. How is that my fault?"

Fearing things might get out of hand, I tried to help. But I ended up having to do impromptu affection maintenance. When everyone was settled in, Zanele was able to continue with her story.

"However, with the interruptions, we might need a week to get through all five successors."

"As I was saying, Lady Jo is correct. The woman accompanying Luciano was no longer just a Reaper but an Astral. She called herself Saraswati. I only learned years later that Saraswati was the Hindu goddess of wisdom. Back then, I just thought all Europeans behaved like her.

"Sara was kind and knowledgeable. She was the one guiding Luciano on where to go and what to focus on. And they came into this area to await a Sin."

Jas ended up scoffing as she commented sarcastically, "That seems like quite the story. You mean that an Astral went out of her way to educate you on the Sins and Successors? How convenient. Did she also tell you how to kill Revenants, too?"

"She did it for the next Successors. If a goddess of wisdom joined the Sins, only two outcomes would follow, depending on her knowledge. She would either try to stop it or help it succeed," Bella explained, fixing her glasses.

Zanele gasped and covered her mouth. Then she nodded and said, "It is as Lady Bella guessed. Sara believed that the Successors and the Sins were a necessary part of the Revenant project. And she said she chose me to be an agent of her will."

'Again, someone connected with IRIS mentions the Revenant Project.'

"What is the Revenant Project, Zanele-san?"

The Soldat matriarch shook her head and replied, "I do not know; I am sorry."

'But clearly Blanche and Roland knew? Why didn't she? Does she lack clearance or something? Seems like a dead end. Let's focus on Sara for now,' I said to myself.

Hearing how Saraswati acted made me believe she was the goddess of wisdom. It was a common theme in anime and manga. There were cases where the protagonist could not win against evil. But that only applied to a specific point in time.

So they would use whatever excuse the writers came up with to find a way to extend time. They either sent someone back in time or froze themselves and woke up in the future. By then, an epic confrontation of mythical proportions would ensue.

Seeing characters from different times, universes, and realities come together to defeat a big bad was special. It was a beatdown of monumental scale. But I also saw the same example being used as a way to preserve the past or to guide the future.

'To think, I would be involved in a story as epic as that.'

"Then just what are the Sins? And what are the Successors, Zanele?" Liv asked impatiently.

"I am sorry; the rules that bound Astrals made what she could share extremely limited. It amounted to three things. First, Successors must be male Formless Reapers. They carry humanity's fate on their shoulders. They will also keep returning until they succeed.

"Two, each Successor will always have seven female Sins. And three, they will always find each other and spend a night. Those are the rules Saraswati shared. When I asked what all of it meant, she just said that I must act independently and learn on my own."