◇Great Sage Momo’s Reflection◇
“Fuwaaah~…” (Momo)
I make a big yawn.
This is my own residence in the capital of Symphonia.
Lately, I have only been awake for around 2 days of the 7 days in the week.
The reason is because I, as a half vampire, can charge more mana when I am asleep.
It would actually be faster if I were to drink the blood of people though.
I just can’t get myself to drink the blood of others proactively.
…Aside from that person, Makoto-sama.
—A long time has passed since the defeat of the Great Demon Lord, Iblis.
The human Anna-san and the elf Johnny-san are not here anymore.
Close to a thousand years have passed.
Only a limited amount of species can live for that long.
You would have to be an undead like me, or a dragon like the White Dragon Master.
Now that I think about it, I haven’t met the White Dragon Master for more than 500 years already.
She looked after me until I became a competent mage.
In the battle 1,000 years ago, I could only stand there all nervous.
I think I have become stronger than the me of that time.
I am being called the strongest mage of the continent after all.
“I have nothing to teach you now, Little One. From here on, call yourself the White Sage.” (Mel)
When White Dragon Master acknowledged me as a competent mage, she told me this.
The ‘White’ must mean that I am the disciple of White Dragon Master.
It seems like when the disciple of a mage grows competent, they give them something that’s related to themselves.
By the way, the White Dragon Master has become a legend of this continent, the Holy Dragon-sama.
That Ancient Dragon is the daughter of a Demon Lord though…
Of course, Makoto-sama is not here.
He left to the ‘future’.
After defeating the Great Demon Lord, we went around the world, and drove off the Demon Lords around in the blink of an eye.
Moreover, in the free time there was, he would try to clear the Deep Sea Temple.
What’s making that person so hurried?
But well, his attempts would always not go well, and he would always return with his shoulders drooped.
The Black Knight Cain who was always going with him disappeared when Makoto-sama left.
“See ya, Momo. Let’s meet again.” (Makoto)
The voice of Makoto-sama resonates again in my memories.
Those are the words he said to me while he patted my head for the last time.
It has been close to 1,000 years since then.
(…I want him to call me by my name again.) (Momo)
Lately, I have been seeing that dream often.
The Dark Era where demons and monsters filled the place.
It was scary, but those days I travelled together with Makoto-sama…
They are all nostalgic.
I want to live together with him again.
I want to talk to him.
I want to hear his voice.
…But I can’t.
I feel as if a stone weight was placed on my heart.
Let’s get some outside air.
I exited my residence.
◇◇
Midwinter night.
This cold would be painful to the skin for humans, but unfortunately, I as an undead don’t feel anything.
The sky shows a full moon.
The reason it is considered an ill omen is because of Queen Nevia from the Moon Country.
She is now called the Calamity Witch.
Now that I think about it, that witch said she planned on reincarnating in the future too.
What a problematic thing.
Even though she already tossed the world about so much in the past.
I had all sorts of emotions in me as I walked around aimlessly in the garden of the Highland Castle.
“Great Sage-sensei?”
I thought no one would be here at this time, but I was spoken to.
“Noel, huh.” (Momo)
Golden hair shining with the light of the stars, and her clear blue eyes.
The beautiful second princess of Highland.
(They look similar…) (Momo)
The Sun Oracle that looks like the mirror image of Anna-san.
I can understand why they say she is the reincarnation of the Holy Maiden.
“What brings you here at this hour?” (Momo)
“I couldn’t really sleep and was praying at the Great Church. Anyways…will the Great Demon Lord really resurrect in a few years…? What should I do when that time comes…?” (Noel)
She was looking here uneasy.
—The Great Demon Lord Iblis that ruled the world 1,000 years in the past.
The incident where the Oracles of each country got an oracle at the same time.
Since then, plans have been on the making to oppose the Great Demon Lord with the Sun Country as the center of it.
The Northern Expedition was one such plan.
Until then, there have been troubles between countries every now and then, but right now we are joining hands and preparing ourselves to face the resurrection of the Great Demon Lord.
Even so…
“That’s a talk for the future. Don’t get too caught up in it.” (Momo)
“Okay…” (Noel)
Princess Noel hangs her head down.
She must be anxious.
The Holy Maiden that was in the party of the Savior that saved the world.
The Legendary Hero that founded Highland.
The weight of being called the reincarnation of that must be too much for a girl in her teens.
“Uhm…can you tell me of the heroic deeds of the Savior-sama?” (Noel)
“Again…?” (Momo)
I let out a sigh.
The general public thinks that I have an Inherit Skill that allows me to receive the power and memories of the previous generation Great Sages.
But the reality is that I am the person herself and am an undead.
The highland royalty and a number of nobles know of this.
“Can’t be helped. I will tell you the story of when we defeated the Immortal King Bifrons.” (Momo)
“Yes!” (Noel)
She looked here with sparkly eyes.
(I actually was just watching how Makoto-sama and Anna-san defeated him though…) (Momo)
It pains me a bit.
But if this lightens the heart of Noel, I shall tell her as many times as she wants.
I speak of this epic while mixing a bit of dramatization.
After that, time passed once again and…
—A notice of otherworlders appearing had arrived.
The ones who appeared were the second Light Hero after Anna-san, and otherworlders with powerful Skills.
However, Makoto-sama wasn’t within the otherworlders that came to Highland.
But it is okay.
I have heard about it.
How to meet Makoto-sama.
◇◇
“Uhm…Great Sage-sama, are you really going through the trouble of going to Laberintos?”
“That’s right. Got a problem?” (Momo)
When I -someone who rarely comes out from my residence- went to the castle to tell them what I wanted to do, the King and the Prime Minister frowned.
“No no! There’s no problem at all! But even if a Taboo Dragon has appeared, I don’t think it is a matter that would require the Great Sage-sama herself to go…”
“It is my decision. If you are against it, stop me by force.” (Momo)
I glared at my surroundings, and the nobles and royals avert their gaze.
The ones here know that I am a member of the Savior’s party.
It is the authority that I rarely use, but I will use it when the chance requires.
“P-Pleasure working with you, Great Sage-sama.” (Sakurai)
The current era Light Hero, Sakurai Ryosuke, speaks to me with a nervous countenance.
The Hero that came from a parallel world.
(…Strong.) (Momo)
I could tell from the aura around his body.
I could tell that he has potential that can exceed Anna-san by a lot.
But as natural from someone that has just come to this world, he doesn’t know how to use his power.
“This will be your first campaign. If you are in trouble, I will help you.” (Momo)
“Thank you very much.” (Sakurai)
He is a polite good boy.
“Great Sage-sama…are you really going to Laberintos?”
“You are Highland’s strongest fighting force. Please reconsider…”
“I am done talking.” (Momo)
I closed the conversation forcefully, and accompanied the group in the subjugation for the Taboo Dragon that appeared in Laberintos.
—The first time I met you Momo was when you went with the future Light Hero to Laberintos.
The knowledge of the future that Makoto-sama told me about.
I definitely must not let this moment escape.
(I can finally…finally meet him…) (Momo)
I even felt as if my stopped heart was going to move.
And so, the Light Hero-kun splendidly subjugated the Taboo Dragon in Laberintos.
There were some dangerous moments, but it was acceptable as his first campaign.
And then…I found him.
◇◇
“Excuse the intrusion…”
Black hair, black eyes, and thin.
This single young man that gives a slightly unreliable impression and is a novice adventurer had entered my tent.
(……Aah.) (Momo)
I felt like crying.
I desperately try to stop my voice from coming out.
(We…finally meet.) (Momo)
I asked the Light Hero-kun, who is a friend of his, to call over the otherworlder Takatsuki Makoto.
The person that was judged to have the weakest Stats and Skills within the otherworlders.
Because of that, he wasn’t invited to the Sun Country.
Not only that, all of the countries judged him as someone unworthy and didn’t take him in.
Because of that, he stayed under the care of the Temple, and was on the verge of being forgotten.
This information reached my ears quite a long time after the otherworlders came to this world.
When I heard this report, I doubted whether this person was really that same Makoto-sama.
But…
(Aah… It is Makoto-sama…) (Momo)
There’s no doubt.
It is that same person in my memories.
“Come closer. It is hard to speak from there.” (Momo)
I desperately try to not let my voice tremble here.
The Makoto-sama in my memories was more bold, but the one in front of me seemed to be a bit nervous.
(I see… The Makoto-sama here doesn’t know about me…) (Momo)
Remembering this, I regained my calm a bit.
And then, I notice there’s two girls at the back of Makoto-sama.
(Aah, he has girls around him again…) (Momo)
I got a bit irritated there.
When I used Appraisal to check who these women were, I saw that one was a half-demon and the other a lamia monster.
Moreover, the red haired girl is the great-grandchild of Johnny-san!
I can’t let this one go…right~?
I gifted the red haired elf that is terrible at controlling mana with a magic tool, and I gave advice to the lamia girl that seems to not be familiar with the use of her Change Skill.
(…I ended up sending salt to the enemy.) (Momo) <TLN: basically means giving help to the enemy.>
A phrase I learned recently from the otherworlders.
It is apparently an aphorism from the homeland of Makoto-sama.
Even so, it has been a millennia since I managed to talk to Makoto-sama.
Aah, I want to talk to him more.
◇◇
After that, I would find any chance I could get to meet Makoto-sama.
Or so I say, but as the Great Sage, it was difficult to create that opportunity.
That person, every time I met him, he would get stronger.
He managed to utilize a Great Water Spirit in an instant.
Saved every country he went to.
And even defeated a Demon Lord.
He was becoming the Makoto-sama I know.
And then…Makoto-sama finally travelled 1,000 years to the past.
I am sure he will save the past human me.
And then, I will fall in love with him.
I have been in love with him for 1,000 years…all this time all this time all this time all this time all this time all this time all this time all this time all this time all this time all this time all this time all this time all this time all this time all this time all this time all this time all this time all this time all this time all this time all this time all this time.
I am now in front of the black coffin deep in my residence.
“Just when…are you going to wake up…?” (Momo)
I mutter powerlessly.
When I opened the coffin, there was Makoto-sama frozen inside with ice magic.
Ice that is being protected by a Great Water Spirit.
I can’t melt it.
“It has already been…1,000 years, you know…?” (Momo)
I touch the ice.
It is hard, inorganic, and doesn’t have any warmth at all.
“When are you waking up…?” (Momo)
No response……or at least that’s how it was supposed to be.
“Shrimp? Are you crying?”
“?!”
A blue skinned beautiful woman suddenly appeared in front of me.
I, as an undead, can’t see Spirits.
But a Great Spirit that’s a mass of mana is a different story.
“Undine…?” (Momo)
“In the short time I haven’t seen you, you now have quite the grandiose appearance.”
It seems she is talking about my Great Sage outfit.
“What’s ‘short’ about this?!” (Momo)
I ended up shouting.
A 1,000 years is ‘short’?!
This is why Spirits who have no sense of time are just…!
No, right now that’s not important.
(That Dia showed up must mean…!!) (Momo)
I hurriedly returned my gaze to the coffin.
“Ah…Aaah…” (Momo)
The ice that didn’t melt for 1,000 years was disappearing without a trace.
My ears picked up the *thump thump* from the palpitations in Makoto-sama’s chest.
Slowly…very slowly, Makoto-sama opened his eyes.
◇Takatsuki Makoto’s POV◇
(Takatsuki Makoto, order the Great Water Spirit to freeze you. Then, you can just wake up 1,000 years later.)
The instruction of the Destiny Goddess-sama was truly sloppy.
“Cold Sleep, huh…” (Makoto)
It is not like I didn’t think of this.
Or more like, I thought that was the only way.
What’s scary is that I am defenseless while I am sleeping.
Also, the point of ‘can I properly wake up 1,000 years later?’.
(It is okay! Have Momo-chan watch over you while you are in your cold sleep.) (Ira)
“Have Momo keep watch?” (Makoto)
“Me what…?” (Momo)
The Great Sage-sama made an anxious look at my mutter.
“Momo, I leave myself to you!” (Makoto)
“Eh, y-yes! I don’t understand that well, but leave it to me!” (Momo)
She responded energetically.
She is a good girl…
I will explain to her properly later.
“What should I do to wake up 1,000 years later?” (Makoto)
(Ask the Great Water Spirit.) (Ira)
“Momo won’t do?” (Makoto)
(Momo-chan won’t be able to undo the spell of the Great Water Spirit. It is either you wake up yourself, or have the Great Water Spirit wake you up.) (Ira)
I see.
“Dia, can you wake me up 1,000 years in the future?” (Makoto)
“I don’t have a sense of time, so I am not that confident… Is 1,000 years around the amount of time the Divine Realm War happened?” (Dia)
(That’s 15,000,000 years ago.) (Ira)
“…”
“…”
Not good.
Looks like it will be hard for Spirits to have a sense of time.
15,000,000 years ago is the mythological era.
It wouldn’t be funny to continue sleeping for 15,000,000 years.
(Can’t be helped~. I will teach you Destiny Magic. Learn timer magic.) (Ira)
“There’s such a spell?” (Makoto)
(There’s not. I will create it for the sake of you, Takatsuki Makoto.) (Ira)
“…Sorry for the trouble.” (Makoto)
(Fufufu, be grateful!) (Ira)
And so, I was taught magic directly from the Destiny Goddess-sama.
Then…the day I was going to Cold Sleep.
There’s Johnny-san and Mel-san obviously, Volkh-san, Julietta-san, and the people of Laberintos seeing me off.
Momo was in a permanent state of tears, and it made me feel extremely bad.
And Anna-san is…angry.
“It would have been fine to stay together for a bit longer…” (Anna)
She said this with puffed cheeks.
But I have told her for a long time already that I would be going back to the future.
She has also accepted it.
She saw me off with a smile at the end.
“Well then, I will be going.” (Makoto)
I give my farewells to everyone of the past.
Anna-san, who had recovered from her bad mood, approached me.
“Makoto-san… Do you remember the promise?” (Anna)
“I do.” (Makoto)
“I won’t forgive you if you forget it, okay?!” (Anna)
Saying this, I was sent off by Anna-san.
That sad smile and the crying face of Momo were my last memories.
◇◇
When I slowly opened my eyes, an orange light entered them.
A dark ceiling spread before me.
The fires of candles were waving at the corner of my vision.
“…Uuuh…”
I could hear the crying of someone.
It was from right by my side.
Someone is closeby.
“…Ma…koto…-sama…”
A small white haired girl.
But it is not the Momo of the past that I remember.
It is the Great Sage that saw me off in the Great Church of Highland.
But the way she was burying her face on my chest and trembling slightly really is that very same Momo.
She was waiting for me.
All this time, for 1,000 years.
My body feels heavy.
Even opening my mouth was a chore.
I have been sleeping for 1,000 years.
Of course that would be the case.
But I had to say it.
I have to convey my gratitude.
“Momo…I am back.” (Makoto)
I somehow manage to squeeze out words.
“I have been waiting…always…” (Momo)
The voice of Momo was raspy.
“Thanks.” (Makoto)
I move my heavy arm and gently pat Momo’s head.
And in this way, I managed to return to 1,000 years in the future…to the present.
■Author Comment (10th arc afterword):
And so, this is the end of the 10th Arc of the Zero Believer’s Goddess.
How was it?
The amount of words for this arc are enough that even one book wouldn’t be enough, but I lost my sense of limit in the 10th arc, and stuffed in what I wanted to write.
So I say, but at first it was a plot where they defeated the Demon Lords one by one, so I trimmed it quite a lot.
In the middle I got anxious thinking ‘Can I finish writing this?’ and somehow managed to make the past peaceful.
From here on, I will be giving details about a number of characters of the 10th Arc.
[Momo = Great Sage-sama]
10th Arc’s Main Heroine.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I wrote the 10th Arc because I wanted to write the Epilogue of the 10th Arc.
But the heroine power of Anna-san increased by the latter half and she was being pushed away.
But Momo will have a spotlight in the last arc, so it should be okay.
The present has a lot of rival heroines, so it might be tough though.
I have uploaded an illustration of Momo on twitter, so please do check it.
It is the scene of ‘Come closer’.
I was sent to the cave where I was once raised by the Great Devil…
The day after eating together with my classmates from the Legendary Hero Department. We were…
My consciousness grew clearer, and could tell that I was once again imprisoned inside a…
Previous Chapter l Next Chapter Yugura…and his compatriot. These two have created special worth in…
Previous Chapter l Next Chapter My pet theory is that abnormal beings are born from…
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View Comments
Good news the author finally releasing chapters every after 3 days again
Thanks for the chapter~!
It's epilogue time. Dang this arc feels especially long, perhaps it's because there's no regular heroines.
Anyway here's full version of author's postscript:
Comment replies (Me: how do you guys think to translate 感想返し anyways? any answer?):
A: I see many quiz/theory about the reincarnation of the witch of disasters. Sometimes I say" Oh, there's such an idea!". The answer has already been decided, but if there's something that looks interesting I may switch.
Author's Comment (Arc 10 afterword):
*this part has been translated by Reigokai (and arguably the only important one). This is only MTL continuation.
[Jonathan Walker]
The origin of his name is from the whisky [Johnnie Walker].
It's my favorite brand.
At the time of first chapter, there's no plan for him to appear and only being used as Lucy's surname.
He's a mysterious person who sometimes mutters Japanese words.
Maybe the inside is a person who got transferred to another world, but don't worry about him.
[Hakuryu = Mel-san]
She's only supposed to be a vehicle in a thousand years ago, but when I realized it she has become a super important character.
Without you, I wouldn't make it to the end of 10th arc.
Thank you, Mel-san.
In the original setting, she's supposed to be the sister of The Ancient Dragon King, or his fiancee
Finally it was decided that she becomes the daughter of the Ancient Dragon Demon King.
[Black Knight Demon King = Cain]
You weren't scheduled to appear at the beginning......
A character that regretted naming it because "Since he's the enemy of Abel, let's name him Cain!"
i was thinking of making him Anna's sister, but then I became the believer of the demon king "I won't increase the number of heroines anymore!"
I didn't feel like a believers at all. (me: It's a little joke. the believers here also means fanatic or zealots, written the same as the title 狂信者 )
[Anna Highland = Hero of the Light]
Local heroine from a thousand years ago. (me: maybe local as in local wife/dutch wife, lul)
Originally a character that I want to do with one shot story "Brave Abel is equal to Saint Anna"
Let's decide her distance to Makoto as if she's a heroine while writing......then she became an actual heroine..
The previous [Would you like to marry Anna Highland?], the answer to that choice, the promise to Makoto, etc, she's a character that has left various mysteries, and the character that's most difficult in this 10th arc.
What happened to her after that...I'm considering of supplementing it with after story after the main story is completed.
For now, the plan is to touch it bit by bit in the main story.
[Goddess of Destiny = Ira-sama]
She still has solid role in the final chapter, so I won't talk much here.
To put it in one way, she's the character that went most off the plot and rampaged.
The update of 10th arc was delayed because of this goddess.
That's all for the afterword
"Jonathan" Walker ? Who the hell is that? Hahaha. It's the wonder of MTL. So there will be an after story ? Why not.
yeah, maybe we'll get an afterstory
so do you think Anna follows or not? especially if we're getting an afterstory
Maybe Anna will appear in the last arc and the detailed explanation about her comeback will be there OR Anna will only appear in the afterstory after everything is over.
The later would be a bit boring however.
The afterstory would be a good way to fill the things that weren't explained. Maybe the fight against the remaining Demon Lords would be done. Its priority should be low however. An afterstory only about Anna would be lacking. The author could develop it more with the relationships with his harem.
I'd accept an afterstory about Cain
Cain is really pitiful. He tried to repay her, but he just caused trouble for her at the end. However, it doesn't erase the fact that he killed the Heroes.
Now he back to the present, time to get new harem members while somehow he bring Anna here.
Freezing was something I never considered, I wonder why. Momo was really cute and the impact was great. I wonder what was the promise with Anna-chan, marry her reincarnation? Or somehow make her travel to the future?
Momo~.
Hehehe, Sa-sans reactions to this is gonna be priceless.
Now that Makoto is awake he damn well better give Momo headpats.
Y- yeah good thing Ira taught Makoto the magic equivalent of an alarm clock. Otherwise he'd probably really be stuck sleeping for 15 million years waiting for Dia to wake him up.
Speaking of that, I don't know how I feel about the method Makoto used to return to the present. Like freezing himself so he can be woken up in the future while being guarded in Momo's coffin was one of the first methods I thought of but it seemed so obvious that I thought there'd be no way the author would use it. Especially when other viable options were shown like the Time Spirits or the spring of life and star veins in Laberintos. Especially when Lucy and Sa-san were shown traveling to Laberintos in a side chapter around the same time Makoto in the past was also reaching Laberintos, I thought for sure there'd be something like after everything was resolved in the past that Makoto would travel to Laberintos after getting a vision of the future showing Lucy and Sa-san heading to the lowest level of the dungeon. Once there, either Makoto would submerge himself in the spring of life or have himself encased in those star veins at the very bottom of Laberintos and we would get a chapter of Lucy and Sa-san reaching the bottom and discovering Makoto there.
Well there is a possibility that Anna is there instead. Maybe Makoto promised that he'd travel to Laberintos after waking up in the future and head to the bottom of the dungeon to awaken Anna. For all we know, the rest of the group could have also gone there too to also wait until Makoto awakens them. We don't know what happened to Johnny and they just said that Cain disappeared. Plus history recorded that Mel was also said to have disappeared. There was one explorer who supposedly traveled to the bottom of Laberintos to search for Mel but couldn't find any trace of her but who knows if he really reached the bottom. Maybe there is an even deeper layer that Mel is on guarding Anna and any others in suspended animation or maybe the explorer really did encounter Mel and was persuaded to lie about not finding anything so that people wouldn't come searching.
Speaking of Anna I guess we now have to wait to find out how the author deals with the whole Highland royalty being her descendants. Either they'll be some random humans who just claim to be her descendants in order to stay in power and Noel looking like Anna is purely coincidental, Anna's human father had other relatives who show up and they're the ones who found Highland or at least help Anna found it or because Anna is part of a normally female-only species, she might be able to magically procreate. If magic is involved then Anna might not even need to go through pregnancy. I've read stories where people use blood or mana in some magic ritual and it magically turns itself or some medium into a descendant of the person either as a baby/young child or a full grown adult. I mean there's no way the author will have Anna have a baby with someone else after she confessed her love to Makoto and Makoto is trying to wait until the end of his quest before he loses his virginity and has kids (Momo wouldn't allow her favorite sports drink to become sullied anyways). For similar reasons I don't think the author would have her really be Noel's reincarnation because he doesn't want to NTR Sakurai and Makoto had previously expressed his disapproval of NTR when he thought Furiae was in love with Sakurai and Lucy or Sa-san suggested to him that maybe she had feelings for him.
As for the author comments at the end: I see, so the entire arc was made because he wanted to write the epilogue with Momo. I do have to agree that Anna's heroine power sorta started overshadowing Momo's heroine power though I think Ira-chan's heroine power overshadowed both. Mel's was more subtle and I figure that she'll be more of a heroine in the next arc.
My belief is that RPG Player's choices don't just show paths - they make paths. This is why Ira is so disturbed whenever the choices appear or Makoto makes one (especially one that should not be possible).
My guess is that Makoto chose 'Yes' - but then told Anna he would marry her if he encountered her (reincarnation) in 1000 years. Because of the power of RPG Player skill, whatever is necessary to occur to make that happen will now definitely happen. Because having chosen 'Yes' it is literally impossible for him *not* to marry Anna - even if somehow they must meet again 1000 years later.
As for Anna being the ancestor of Noel - recall that Anna is only half human. Her other half is the female-only Winged Folk race that does not need a lover in order to reproduce a nearly identical sister-daughter.
But this brings to mind another interesting idea: What is the lifespan of a Winged Folk? Given they are the angel-equivalents of this world who serve the holy gods, maybe they are extremely long lived, and after giving birth to her clone-daughter and raising her to be the queen, she left to live among her mother's folk until Makoto woke up.
That, or she made an arrangement with Ira or Athena to be reincarnated. Wasn't it mentioned that the 'processing' the soul goes through is what removes its memories? So in theory she could be reborn with some of her memories of her former life. But as who? I've seen both Janet and the receptionist Marie suggested. Given the next arc is the last, I can't imagine a 'new' heroine being introduced who turns out to be Anna's reincarnation, so my guess is either she will return directly (being long lived) or an already named female in the story will 'somehow' regain memories of her former life.
I don't use Twitter but tell the the author nice looking great sage he designed.
The Author has posted a new chapter in Syosetsu. It seems like we're heading to the final arc. The translator also forgot to add this but the Author is planning an After Story after the final arc(Thank God!).
Thanks for the chapter!
Thanks for this sweet chapter!
I really love Momo, she's the best.
Still worried about the witch reincarnation and eagerly waiting for the next arc!