Chapter 138: The Truth [1]
"Is... isn’t that too much?"
Selene looked with wide eyes at all the plates covering the table.
Multiple types of meat, salads, fruits, some sweets, and her favourite, strawberry milk.
I shook my head, looking at her with a smile.
"Nothing is too much for you, Selene. You can eat as much as you want. I promised to feed you like a fat princess today, didn’t I?"
P
Hearing my words, Selene squinted her eyes and looked at the food suspiciously, even though I knew she was barely holding herself together against the food.
Just then, my smile flattered when her gaze landed on Glutton who was standing on my shoulder.
[Shit!]
Selene asked: "Why isn’t he eating?"
I raised an eyebrow, acting as if I didn’t understand her question. "What do you mean? I made all that for you — why would he eat it?"
Her eyes squinted sharply as she asked: "Since when did he care about that? Tell me the truth. I know you won’t do that without a specific reason. Don’t use the dungeon incident as an excuse, you already gave me a lot of EC for that."
Hearing her words, I had to admit, she could think with more than her muscles and stomach.
I underestimated her self control, but it’s alright, I was planning to tell her eventually anyway.
It was also that fucking bird’s mistake!
[What did I do! You told me to not eat, it’s not my mistake.]
I let out a sigh and admitted: "This meal will refresh your body and let you stay awake for 2 days at least if you wanted. Sorry for not telling you."
Selene raised an eyebrow, looking at me with confusion. "And why do you want me to stay awa—!"
All of a sudden, her eyes widened as if the realization hit her. Then her eyes softened and a wry smile tugged at her face.
It wasn’t hard to guess what was in her mind.
"Oh little Ray, are you still scared of that nightmare? I wonder what you saw for all that."
I bit my lower lip, turning my head away and muttered: "Yes."
Well, if you considered that I had seen someone of the Dark Order in my dream, then yeah, I didn’t lie and was definitely scared of that nightmare.
Selene crossed her arms and legs before asking with a wide grin: "And do you want me to stay awake to hold your hand like your mother as you sleep, little Ray?"
My eyes twitched, but I didn’t show it.
That was starting to get annoying. Unfortunately, I had to endure it. I needed her for my own safety at this moment.
And what did she mean by little Ray? Couldn’t she see herself in the mirror? She was just a little longer than dwarves!
Hiding my annoyance, I scratched my hair. "I just want you to keep watching me tonight. If you notice anything about me, even a slight squint in my eye, then please wake me up... if you don’t mind, of course."
I wasn’t stupid enough to meet Isaac without a backup plan.
According to Glutton, my face twitched a few times when I was dreaming, which meant that my emotions there affected my body.
I didn’t know if someone could wake me up in that state, but if Selene noticed that I wasn’t waking up, then I was sure she would ask for help at least.
That was better than dying there, right?
So why didn’t I rely on only Glutton to watch over me?
Obviously, because we had an unbreakable bond. Glutton shared some of my senses and couldn’t stop that even if he wanted. What if Isaac did something to me that affected Glutton as well? Wouldn’t I be in big trouble then?
As I always say: better be safe than sorry.
"Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you overcome your nightmare." Selene said as she started eating like an animal.
I rolled my eyes: ’I knew she was barely holding herself together, ha!’
As she continued eating, the time flew by quickly.
She finished all the plates in 5 minutes, surpassing even Glutton’s speed, then we talked for some time about runes to pass time.
Eventually, the midnight arrived.
•••
"Is this really necessary?" I asked, hiding my embarrassment under an indifferent face.
Selene nodded, moving her cold hand softly through my hair. "Just trust me and relax. It helped you before, right?"
"...."
I didn’t argue anymore as I closed my eyes. It was time to sleep.
For the second time, I was in Selene’s cold lap as she embraced me gently.
Just like how she hugged me yesterday when I woke up, she believed that this position would help.
It wasn’t like I hated it. In fact — ignoring how cold her body was — this position was really too comfortable even more thana king’s bed, but as a man, that was a little too embarrassing.
Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t a pervert or anything, I could easily control my body, emotions, and even blood, but I still had some manners that made this position annoying, unlike a specific bird.
[Eh? I’m not a pervert if Lunara was the one in love with my cuteness!]
I rolled my eyes inwardly, but didn’t respond to Glutton.
’At least she will be so close this way. More safety is always welcomed.’ I thought, looking at the bright side of this.
’Glutton,’ I called Inwardly, ’Don’t even think about blinking. As much as I hate to admit it — my life may actually be in your and Selene’s hands if something went wrong there.’
[Yes sir!]
Glutton responded quickly as he teleported to above my chest, his eyes locked into mine.
A few moments later, I finally fell asleep, but almost in an instant, I woke up to find myself hovering in a dark void.
All of a sudden, a pink mist covered the void, turning the scene around me to the bar from my last dream.
I let out a sigh: ’... he is really here.’
"You don’t look so happy, haha."
Isaac suddenly appeared in front of me, holding a cup of wine and taking a sip of it.
He looked at me with his usual calm expression and asked: "Did you go to the library? I guess you believe me now if you willingly entered this dream."
"Yes, I do believe in all you said now," I lied without a change in expression, "Everything there seemed wrong. There is a lot of hidden information and too many theories about things that have been there for decades."
Seeing his smile reaching his eyes, I barely held mine from appearing.
I used the same technique I trained with Cel of believing my own lies, and fortunately, it worked even in the dream.
The trick here was having my emotions stable. In other words, I’d lose this ability the moment I lose control over my emotions again.
I had to make the most use of it quickly.
"But that doesn’t mean I trust you," I continued, looking at Isaac sharply, "What if you all were a bunch of liars. You didn’t even tell me about your future title or all the stuff about the children of fate and the chosen ones. I can’t even make a guess about them."
Isaac’s smile widened. "Haha, it’s good that you think that way. Never trust anyone blindly just because they are right, that’s good."
Taking another sip of wine, he continued: "I’ll explain everything to you. It was a mistake that I contacted you yesterday, but it may also be a chance to get a valuable member. Let’s start with the origin of knulls, or what you call demons."
P
With a flick of his hand, the scene around us changed, showing many people of different races rolling on the ground.
"First, tell me, Raylin... do you believe in Fate?"
At Issac’s question, I raised an eyebrow as I answered: "I’m not sure. If you’re talking about its existence, then yes. Unfortunately, I don’t know anything else about it."
Isaac nodded. "It’s understandable. All the people in power made sure to keep her a secret."
’Her? That’s the second time he says that.’
Hearing my thoughts, Isaac confirmed: "Yes, her. I’ll explain everything gradually. First, do you know what Fate is?"
As I shook my head, Isaac pointed at me. "You were born as a genius. You had 3 affinities, 2 traits, and 2 soul-bound artifacts. That’s Fate."
Then he pointed at himself. "I had Dream
Affinity. I fell in love with Maya. I had a daughter, and eventually, I’ll die. That’s all Fate."
Then he pointed at the people rolling on the ground. They suddenly began to accelerate like a video. The dwarves became taller, the elves lost their long ears, the mermaids got 2 legs, many other races had similar changes, and eventually, they all got horns in their heads.
"These people got infused by a new energy. For us, yes, this energy appeared out of nowhere, but for the individuals who were busy with their stupid war, it was a mistake that they were afraid of."
"Because of them, all those people got a new Fate. They were affected by what we now call anti-mana, and turned into knulls. This is all Fate."
’Wait, a war?’
Isaac nodded. "Now let me tell you what happened hundreds of years ago. The war that started all this. The war that caused billions of deaths, the appearance of anti-mana, the birth of knulls, and most importantly..."
Isaac paused, his eyes becoming sharp as he continued:
"...The war that caused the split of the one who was responsible for producing mana into Eldoria and protecting the order of everything in this world."
"You can call her... Fate."