"..." Levi was silent for a moment, before shaking his head slightly.

"I..." he stammered.

"You spoke to... THEM." he said.

"And you got them to shut up." he continued. "I can feel it. My spirit barrier only has to deal with an occasional whisper, and even then, it's just... me overhearing something. They're not talking to ME, directly." he went on.

"...how?" he asked.

"HOW did you DO that?"

Levi paused for a moment, before shrugging.

"We'll see." he said.

He then accepted her hand and she saw the concentration in his eyes. Normally, anyone that would do such a thing would be driven mad in 5 seconds, 'seeing' her soul, outright, but Levi was different. For obvious reasons.

He held onto her hand for about 8 seconds, before he let go, staggering back and falling onto his ass, his face dripping with sweat.

"...just... j-just like... the nightmares I had... before I knew what I was..." he managed to get out.

"Well... m-maybe not JUST like, but... similar enough..." he clarified.

"Wasn't easy, but... nothing I haven't seen before." Levi admitted.

"And... some water would probably be nice." he told her.

As she went to get the bottle of water, something hit him. A realisation. Something that hadn't occurred to him before. And it was sending shivers of fear up and down his spine like there was no tomorrow.

When Mackenzie turned around with the water in her hand, she saw that Levi had scooted back a little, and was starting to sweat.

He also had severe unease in his eyes, bordering on terror.

Levi responded by shaking his head vigourously.

"N-no, no." he said.

"I... I'm sorry." he apologised.

"I'm not threatened by you." he told her before pausing. "Er... well, I kind of am? Maybe? Threatened? Is that the right word?" he then wondered, before thr word came to him.

"Intimidated!" he exclaimed.

"You... you got them to shut up with such ease." he commented. "Your power... your strength... it must be unimaginable, even for THEM." he said further, his pupils shrinking a little.

"...am I in the presence of one that could just end existence with a clap, or something...?" he asked her frightenedly.

Levi seemed a little relieved when she said that, but paused when she mentioned worlds crashing.

And he thought for a moment.

Before his eyes then looked panicked. Again. This time MORE so.

"Wh-what!?" he exclaimed.

"The Elders and The Prodiga are going to war!?"

"Ohhhhh no, no, no..." Levi murmured.

"If ONE comes through, the other will as well to try and stop them." he said.

"And that will actually render this universe to nothing but dust." he went on, before pausing.

"...if I recall, this has happened in other universes as well... hundreds of thousands of ripples away from this one." he then said further, thinking about it.

"...I overhear what they say sometimes." he said.

"I pick up on the occasional tidbit."

Levi thought again for a moment.

"...wait..." he said.

"The ripples from that destruction can be found HERE?" he asked her.

"Like what kind of things are we talking about?" he asked further.

"Those like ME, existing? Conduits that are in touch with The Elders?" he inquired.

"....oh dear." Levi mumbled.

"That's... oh dear." he repeated. It was all he could say.

"Well, if anyone can bring your friend back, it's us." he told her, which he then saw her sneer a little when he said that.

"...eh?" he mumbled.

"Have I ever once called him my 'friend'?" Mackenzie asked him.

"...I gather you two aren't fond of each other then." Levi commented.

"...I see." Levi responded.

He then paused for a moment, thinking about that a little more.

"So... do you remember all of your past lives?" he asked. "As well as him?" he asked her.

"And... if so, have you hated each other through the ages?" he asked further.

"Or... is this something that changes from cycle to cycle?"

Levi nodded and stood back up.

"Well... that calms my nerves about YOU." he said.

"Doesn't do much for them in terms of the future..." he mumbled.

"I mean, I have faith in the Unit, but... maybe I need to take that 48 hours off to de-stress." he went on.

"...and make sure I DON'T tell Ally about this." he then said.

"She does NOT need to know what I now know."