The World's most Overpowered Side-Character

"That's impossible," Sol started walking away from the estate while Ikaris followed at his side. "He smiled at their neighbours and nodded while they waved, but since his scaring of their son, the people had yet to utter a single word to him; they were polite but silent. "How could there be anyone else there? You checked; isn't Atla still in the middle of getting purged?"

"I said there was another, I did not say there was someone else," Ikaris had her hands neatly folded before her; although Talia was in his grasp it felt like they were taking a stroll on Arkadia again, a danger on the horizon, uncertainty behind every new decision, yet the moment they shared was peaceful even with their current problems, she looked at him with that same calm smile.

"I think it was you who was left behind." She finally admitted the direct problem, and Sol stared for several seconds, searching his memory before the contract came to the forefront of his mind.

"The reason you were weakened after taking me back here to earth in the first place? Sol's eyes widened in shock. "Him?"

"Correct, it was much weaker back then and easier to manipulate, I never imagined that recreating a copy of your soul would cause such a misunderstanding," Ikaris chuckled. "It is quite ironic, he gained sentience and woke up all on his own, he is no longer just a soul-"
Experience tales at m v|l e'm,p| y- r

"He hurt you." Sol stopped walking. "I have to get rid of him, if he's capable of harming you once he'll do it again, this is only the beginning," he stared at her.

"He is in hiding, I don't know how much of what has happened he is aware of, but he is you, Dear, if there is a chance he can be saved-"

"He isn't me, Ikaris," Sol shook his head. "He is a variant, a hostile one, just think back, what did I do after we left Atla?"

"You promised to live to the fullest of your abilities, but that was because you left, he was left alone in an empty void, likely reliving the same ten years over and over again for two whole years he never got the chance to heal, he never got the chance to live again,"

Sol couldn't refute her argument, it was sound logic; so instead he went along with it. "All the more reason to get rid of him, Ikaris, I couldn't harm a hair on your head back then, you could have done anything to me but you chose to serve me instead."

"And that is the best decision I ever made," She smiled.

"He's harmed you, that means he's strong; strong enough that you were terrified of his existence, and doubted everything you'd done for me to this point."

Now she was at a loss for words, there was one Sol on the outside who cared for her, and a doppelganger within Atla who wanted to see her and everything she had destroyed, the only options were to destroy the fake Sol who had yet to be freed from his pain, or release him into the Khalla-Nova Collective and let him roam, the problem there was the fact that him leaving didn't guarantee that he wouldn't immediately turn around and try harming her again.

Sol didn't want to risk it, but looking at Ikaris's expression he could tell this woman was truly his devoted, even a malevolent Sol was exempt from her hate, even though he was confirmed to be a variant that she unwittingly created two years prior.

***

"There's no way of telling what'll happen if I let him go, he tried killing you, Ikaris, he attacked your soul directly!" Sol paced around in the lounge area, with him were the other gods, Keele Usami and her family, along with Renia and Eve.

Ikaris was seated in the middle with her hands clasped and her elbows rested against her knees.

"I agree, he is not Sol, not truly, he may cause irreparable damage if we unleash him into the collective.

"He shares all your memories up to the point of his creation, he has all your scars and wounds, how can we simply kill him for rightfully being angry?" Ikaris rebutted. "From his memories, I promised to take him away from Atla and then I trapped him there for two years, his anger is justified-"

"Ikaris, he has the powers of a Godslayer, he's an angry me; a furious me, if we don't destroy him he's gonna escape on his own, I'm telling you, he's better off dead, just think how awful the fight with the demons were, now imagine all that hatred being directed at you, he can't live."

Sol reached for Ikaris and she reclined and held out her hand in a gesture of mercy.

"Please reconsider, Master it is eating me up from the inside, why must a broken Sol Vestic be harmed, he is innocent, just as you were!"

"This feels like an intervention." Dina looked at Arla and the latter nodded with a worried frown.

"I agree with Sol, ikaris, what waits inside of your Atlan universe is not the real Sol, please look at it logically, he will wreak havoc on everyone and everything the light touches if he's freed and allowed to do as he pleases." Adonai offered advice.

"If I lose him I lose all of the contract which binds us!" Ikaris snapped and hugged herself when Sol raised his hand and tried reaching for her again.

"Ikaris... For fuck's sake he tried to kill you!" Sol cursed and spun on his heels grabbing his hair and screaming to the ceiling. "This is too dangerous, think about Talia's safety!" He snapped in frustration.

"I can't react to a threat I don't know about, I can't sense him because he's being protected by another small collective within you- let me do this before it's too late, it's not a hard decision, if what worries you is the contract, we'll form a new one, I'll renew every vow and remake every promise I'll turn time itself backwards and do everything all over again."

"It won't be the same-"

"Ikaris."

"Sol, please understand." She held her hands to her chest and fell to her knees before him. "This tether is the first free choice I ever made, my very first act of freedom, to destroy it would psychologically alter me," she begged him.

"Only if you believe it will, Ikaris; you're not just a Divine, you're Vatui, your mind is your greatest weapon," Sol replied kneeling before her and holding her cheeks.

"Ikaris, I don't want to lose you to something avoidable, I don't want to lose you at all; your family, your descendants, your friends, we're all here before you, we aren't going to leave you or treat you any differently, trust us; trust me, this is what's best."

"You certainly have a way with words..." Ikaris averted her eyes and stared at the small golden ring before Sol's chest as it slowly grew larger. "Is there truly no other way?" she asked.

"We can't let him stay there, he's a threat to your eternity; to our family."

"A malevolent Sol Vestic, what a terrifying thought," Renia stared at them as they stood and barely floated off the ground.

"Why were we gathered then, it seems he could have handled it had he just used their contract from the start." S'mael shuffled, but Dr'ul at his side shook her head and sighed.

"Not once have I ever seen or heard him force her to do a thing, from the moment they first arrived on Arkadia Sol has been leading her with her free will at the forefront of his mind, he called us here to help him persuade her; she is stubborn," Dr'ul admitted with a softened expression, barely smiling as she watched Sol take Ikaris high into the sky and then the two of them vanish in a flash of gold.

"That is correct," Arla affirmed the Goddess's claim. "Master did not want to break his own vow and force her to do anything so he went through the trouble of personally asking you all to be here when he spoke to her, to prove to her that we are her family, and nothing internal or externally would change that fact."

"For setting aside what you had and coming all this way; thank you," Dina stood before them all and bowed, and at her side Arla did the same while Sara also followed.

"When he said he needed help with Ikaris I wondered what the problem was, but after coming here and getting the full story I understood what was at stake, just as much as she needs Sol, he also needs her to be herself, they are dependent on each other, one does not exist without the other and there can only ever be one of each."

Dr'ul went back inside and sat before the television set.

"Now that they are out of sight we can only wait and see what comes of this prickly situation."