Dimensional Descent

Leonel stood in silence for a long while. He tuned out the world, lost in a bit of a daze.

Whatever nonsense Gregwyn was talking about reaping what you sow wasn't even worth listening to. Goggles' actions had nothing to do with Gregwyn or his words. Just logically speaking, that was a foolish conclusion to draw.

If Goggles was stupid enough to believe the words of a scorned fool, then he wouldn't have been nearly as close to Leonel as he was. Originally, he was Leonel's trusted aid. Because of his Ability Index, he almost had no choice but to be intelligent.

The more information Goggles had on hand, the better he could predict the future.

Honestly speaking, Leonel could understand if someone drew the conclusion. Technically, Goggles would be able to grasp that Gregwyn was technically telling the truth with his Ability Index.

But the fact Goggles only chose to withdraw now was the final nail in the coffin.

He wasn't leaving because he felt that Leonel wasn't worth following due to Gregwyn's words, he was leaving because he had already made an assessment. In fact, he had likely already made the choice to betray Leonel before he even stepped foot into this place, and he had always known that he would be able to protect his life.

From the very beginning, this was what he wanted to do.

Nature versus Nurture.

It was a line of thought that Leonel had wanted to ignore, that he had forced himself to ignore, that he had stuffed away into the recesses of his mind.

He was too intelligent not to see it, he just didn't want to see it.

they almost certainly become one way or another? Or were they shaped by

to be both... whether that was for the world

ability to change if you forced it hard enough. Why should who you were meant to be end up being decided without your input, at the hands of some amorphous power of

one would

to always be the same? To expect the same person to always make the same choice? To assume that the person he knew would always be the

He couldn't.

what he didn't

not for Goggles, he could accept it. In fact, had he not purposely ignored all of the signs, dead set in his way,

much higher level than Leonel's own and he had exceptional Dream Force talent as a

for so long,

if he had some great expert protecting him from the shadows it would have been possible. In fact, it was almost certain that the latter was true... the difference was that this "great expert"

Leonel, there was a reason he had

signs seemed to point toward the

this would happen. In fact, she had likely begun to lay out these plans long ago. She might have used the trump card that was Goggles earlier than she thought she would've

still wasn't the reason Leonel had shed a

make him regret this choice he made today, but he

festering wound he had ripped

somehow twisted fate and

even be