A voice, more ancient than anything, rocked Luke's brain.
Every letter, every word, and every sentence felt like someone was pressing a weight on his shoulders, making him remember Alexander Becking's ridiculous Quirk.
Soon, the message ended, and the blue hole disappeared, leaving Luke breathless.
Even Nyx, who had more Spirituality than Luke right now, was holding her head with her wings, letting out a suppressed caw now and then.
"The timing of this message matches the timing of the events you described that happened in the USA," Yoichi Shigaraki said, not giving Luke any breather. He also knew that they didn't have much time to waste. "The moment it had appeared, it had forcefully pulled us all out. The good thing was that young Midoriya had been sleeping at that time. Or… things could have taken an unpredictable turn."
The Vestige's words entered through one of Luke's ears and left through the other.
Even though he was kneeling on the ground, taking deep breaths, his pale countenance hadn't paled just because of his lack of Spirituality and the heaviness of Singularity's message.
The reason that held the greatest majority behind the touch of fearful paleness on Luke's face was one sentence.
— The Boundary has been breached!
As if nothing mattered anymore, that same sentence kept repeating itself in Luke's mind, making him paler by the second.
In this world, Luke's knowledge was an enigma.
First, he didn't belong to this world — but to another, where he had lost his everything.
Second, he was the only man in the entire world who had contacted an impartial, alien God… who had taken a glance at this planet.
And He, the great Mr. Fool, had told Luke that there was a boundary around this planet that had prevented even Him from looking out toward the vast cosmos from inside.
Only after learning of the overarching godly politics and disasters from the Tarot Club members did Luke learn how lucky this planet was for it to have such a boundary.
The mere presence of The Boundary meant that entities like Mr. Fool wouldn't be able to interact, influence, or infiltrate the planet.
So, when Luke heard that this domineering, infallible Boundary was breached, his heart gave out.
Who breached it?!
When was it breached?!
What were the consequences?!
Luke's mind shuddered at the mere thought of these questions.
As if that wasn't enough, the sight of that bloody, rusty door on the Moon returned to him, haunting his questioning mind.
A dense, nauseating feeling made Luke belch, making Yoichi, who was waiting for the boy to get up, frown.
He had expected Luke to show some reaction.
But wasn't this… just too much?!
Opposite him, knowing the true level of disaster that the world was facing because of this breach, if it was true, Luke got up.
He needed to consult with Miss Justice and Mr. Fool as soon as possible.
But, before that, he needed to get some answers.
Luke shared a glance with Nyx, making sure she was all right, and looked at the Vestige. "… What do you know about The Boundary?"
If Yoichi was feeling puzzled before, now he was utterly flabbergasted.
After all that reaction, and after hearing Singularity's words, this wasn't the question he had expected from Luke.
"… Not much," Yoichi shook his head. "Let me correct that. I know nothing but its literal meaning. You must not put too much emphasis on this message, though. Not all the contents of this message relate to the situation outside in the real world."
"What do you mean?" Luke asked.
"Well," the Vestige replied, holding his chin. "This is a recording… from the past. After my time, but much before Shimura's. Its appearance only means that some conditions related to its contents are met. Nothing more."
Luke's brows jumped. "… It can also mean that the conditions of all the conditions are met…"
Yoichi stared at the boy… and nodded. He still couldn't believe that Luke had shown absolutely no interest in the matter of The Radiants of Singularity so far.
So, when Luke asked his next question, the Vestige's shoulder finally relaxed.
"What are Radiants? And what is Singularity?" Luke fired the questions one after the other. "How are you related to it? Why did you hear this message?"
"Singularity… and Conformity," Yoichi replied, looking up at the blankness. "These are the two forces in our world, Luke. The Claws of Conformity that are active outside must be related to the Conformity. Which means, given the people involved in the USA's incident, the Radiants have indeed been called to the stage once more."
"… I am gonna peck this ghost's ass!" Nyx cawed, fuming. "Did you die because of excessive main character monologuing or something?!"
Yoichi's lips twitched. "To say that between Singularity and Conformity one is good and the other is bad would be counterintuitive," he continued. "However, in the ages of Quirks, and for the sake of simplification, we can safely assume Singularity to be on the side of the greater good."
In the ages of Quirks?! Luke noted.
"The force, Conformity, enjoys much freedom when it comes to manipulating Quirk users," Yoichi said, his voice gaining a grave tone. "With time, Singularity, who lacked such freedom, began selecting people who could exact justice in its stead, especially when it came to the imbalance caused by Conformity in the world."
"… Radiants?" Luke asked.
Yoichi nodded. "Unlike The Claws of Conformity, which is a newer term, The Radiants are an ancient Order, not bound by force but through ideals. Despite their individual sufferings and strayed fates, they choose to stand together for justice and righteousness upon Singularity's calling.
"They only have one purpose — to make sure the world's fate keeps progressing as it is expected to… toward peace and prosperity. A purpose that is challenged, time after time, by the vile meddling of Conformity."
Luke remembered the individuals on the battlefield.
If Stain, Shigaraki, and Kurogiri represented Conformity there, then Alexander Becking was… a Radiant of Singularity.
Then there was one more… similar to Bakugo, who had appeared out of nowhere.
Luke still hadn't confirmed the identity of that person. But now that he knew Singularity's message, it seemed he was a Radiant, too.
Suddenly, Luke's entire body shook, thinning out.
"I still don't understand one thing," Luke said hurriedly before he disappeared. "… Why did you get the message?"
Yoichi sighed.
"Because… I was the first Radiant," he said, making Luke's eyes widen. "… The Radiant of Hope."
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