Regnum Aetern: Dual Rebirth

Chapter 151: Heretic

After a while, Kodam and that boy were both sitting at the table, facing each other.

Seeing the boy looking at him expressionlessly, this situation reminded him of the moment they had sat like this five years ago.

Just like back then, the room was dark, illuminated by the single candle burning in the middle of the table.

But the boy himself had changed significantly, no longer seeming like a child. His short hair had grown long enough to reach below his shoulders, and he now wore a bluish-black cloak.

There was a lot he wanted to say, but Kodam chose to start with some small talk. He looked around to find a topic for small talk, and his eye suddenly fell on the white bone bracelet the boy had on his left hand.

Kodam smiled softly.

"That bracelet... if I recall correctly, it used to be a fragment relic in the cult’s treasury, right? What was its function? I don’t quite recall."

That was a lie. He wouldn’t be careless enough to forget something like that. Still, he had asked that to progress the conversation.

The boy glanced at the white bracelet as he replied.

"It’s a Grade Two fragment relic that makes me feel a stinging pain whenever I am in danger. Nelliel had gotten this four years ago as a prize for her devotion to the Truth. But she forced me to wear it, saying that she already had me to protect her."

Kodam nodded lightly. He was aware of all these details.

"The two of you are like ‌real brother and sister."

That was a casual remark from Kodam, but the boy paused as he heard it.

"We are real brother and sister, Lord Prophet," he said evenly. "Everyone in the cult is my family."

Those words... he had spoken them expressionlessly, but somehow, he could feel the sincerity behind them.

Kodam pursed his lips.

"Everyone in the cult has long accepted you, boy. But I... I’ve only made your life here harder for no reason. Will you forgive this old man for that? My eyes have opened now, so I will do better from this point."

"No, Lord Prophet." The boy firmly shook his head. "You have no reason to apologize to me. If you could not accept me until now, it must’ve been because I was not good enough."

’This boy... really...’

Emotions welled up inside him, making his chest feel heavy. How could he have tormented a person like this for so long? He even began feeling a bit of self-hatred.

Maybe after looking into the future for so long and always knowing everything that would happen, he had simply lost his ability to trust others in uncertainty.

’I am not going to live like that anymore. I will trust this boy even if my soul screams at me to doubt him. I will not be ruled by baseless intuitions.’

And so, Kodam spread his arms wide, as though asking the boy for a hug. Seeing that, the boy stood up from his chair and hugged him. Kodam gently patted the boy’s head while the boy’s hand rubbed his back.

He couldn’t help but smile.

’If only I had done this sooner—Ugh?!!’

He suddenly felt a sharp, stinging pain in his back, causing him to instinctively push the boy away. Not having controlled his Phase Five strength, the boy was flung back and crashed into the wall.

Kodam could suddenly feel something squirming inside him. It mixed with his blood and began flowing through his veins. Soon, the substance reached his heart. But the moment it did, it wrapped itself around his heart tightly. Bound by that strange squirming substance, his heart could no longer beat, causing him to gasp.

"Gaagh-! What is this-?"

Just then, the boy stood up and looked at his hand.

"Hmm... looks like it worked. Trusting that vampire was quite a gamble, but it wasn’t like I had any other choice." The boy turned to Kodam. "Using mana would’ve alerted you, so a sneak attack was impossible."

Kodam suddenly began feeling dizzy as blood stopped circulating through his body. He clenched his teeth, giving his all to staying conscious.

"W-what... is happening...?"

The feeling that something was wrong had become stronger than ever. Moreover, the atmosphere around the boy had changed. His piercing grey eyes were sharp as he looked at Kodam.

The boy slowly parted his lips, still expressionless.

"You... can’t use your Origin ability to look into the future anymore, right?"

Chills ran down his spine as he heard that, causing him to lose balance and fall back to the floor.

The boy was correct. By using his Origin ability so much, he had accumulated a massive amount of debt. It would take at least three months for that debt to be paid off, so he wouldn’t be able to use this ability for that time.

The boy took another step.

"Judging by your expression, you really can’t."

Kodam couldn’t breathe, only taking occasional gasps.

He finally realized that his intuition had been correct.

’But... but...’

"It... it doesn’t make sense. What about those futures... I-I saw."

In every future, the boy had been loyal. No matter how much he was betrayed or suffered, his attitude never changed. The same was true when the two of them were alone with Kodam in a vulnerable state. The boy had so many opportunities...

"...So, why... why didn’t you act then? Why... now?"

With his blood circulation completely stopped, Kodam’s skin began turning blue. Keeping himself conscious was becoming harder with every passing moment.

The boy sighed.

"At first, it was hard. Knowing that you could look into the future, I felt rather helpless. The actions that I take could be foreseen. And since your ability isn’t recorded in the compendium, I didn’t know its limits either. In the end, I was forced to play along."

He then pointed to the white bone bracelet he wore.

"From the moment I wore this fragment relic, I had been constantly feeling the stinging pain, regardless of the situation. It simply never stopped. I was confused at first, wondering what was posing a danger to me. But it didn’t take long for me to realize that the source of danger was your ability to see the future. Because as long as you have this power, my current actions will affect my past self, and my future self’s actions will affect me. So I decided that I would play along no matter what happened so that my future self would do the same."

He took another step.

"But today, for the first time, the stinging pain stopped, which means that the source of danger—your Origin ability—was somehow gone. There was no way I was going to miss this chance."

’This... this madman...’

The futures Kodam had seen were very much real. Which meant that this boy had indeed died while playing along all those times. It was insanity.

"T-this can’t be..."

The boy suddenly grabbed him by his hair and brought his face closer.

"Don’t you realize it? This is the Truth."

"No..."

He had been so cautious, so careful. So how could he end up in this situation?

The boy’s piercing grey eyes met his own. All Kodam could see in the boy’s eyes was his own reflection.

"I am the vessel of your god. I am your god. I am the Truth."

Kodam’s mind could now barely process the boy’s words.

"What... blasphemy—"

"How dare you deny the Truth," The boy cut him off. "You are a heretic. You don’t deserve to live."

Those were the last words he heard before light slowly faded from Kodam’s eyes.