EnCoffin Me Chapter 89
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 89
All memories had returned to him. He clearly recalled everything from ten thousand years ago, as well as everything he had experienced with Alexio in the present era. For him, this time with Alexio felt like a strange, dreamlike memory. They lived together and spoke to each other every day.
No one could come between them anymore.
He liked that sentence.
Now, he faced Qizhi's eye in an exceptionally relaxed posture. He guessed Qizhi must have been a little startled that his memories recovered so quickly. But Qizhi soon calmed down again, shifting its eyes to continue staring into the void.
【I hope you still call me ‘Pupil’ before I take off.】
The saint smiled.
“Do you like this identity?”
【…Yes.】
It did not reject its duties, but that did not prevent it from enjoying its days as ‘Pupil.’ There were cute stickers, many people talking to it, movies made from scenes and characters it had once seen, and… it could see Alexio every day. Qizhi was happy with such a life, so before truly reviving and ascending, it was willing to exist as ‘Pupil.’
“Then, I will remember this request. Consider it a small bonus for our transaction,” the saint said calmly. “Now, let's talk about our previous deal.
“The first plan failed. We couldn't stop the destruction of the three pillars of darkness, nor the arrival of the firestorm. But so far, the second plan was progressing smoothly.
“There was a slight deviation with the eastern faction's imperial son, but in a positive way. We no longer faced a completely unfamiliar imperial son, but one like me, a resurrected being. I was glad about that. Other than that, everything was exactly as we expected.”
【Yes, everything's going well. You've saved the ‘spark.'】
“That's not the ‘spark,’ it's Alexio,” the saint immediately corrected. “That part isn't included in our deal, but my personal will. I remember that Alexio's survival was a prerequisite for our deal. Confirming him as the spark came later.”
【It's rare to see you so selfless. I'm naturally pleased.】
“So we've reached a consensus on the premise. Next is your side, how many times can the Goddess intervene?”
【Twice. There are two remaining violations allowed before the gods can step in.】
“And then the War of Gods?”
【No, you think too highly of it. If not for the rules, Her Majesty Galotti would crush us like insects.】
The saint nodded.
“I will try my best to induce violations. Theo is a good way. As for the imperial son, I'll speed up his awakening, so you can ascend sooner.”
【I have no doubts about your abilities. But please be sure to follow Alexi's pace. He is the spark. The direction he unconsciously chooses is the right one. Don't try to rush things.】
The saint agreed and then decided to end the conversation. This meeting was originally just a greeting with Pupil after his memory recovered. If anything happened in the future, Pupil couldn't move anyway, so the saint could come by anytime.
Before leaving, he reminded him once more.
“Don't forget the conditions I set.”
【Of course. Leviathan will tell Ui'falucy how to reach the dragon tomb. I will grant you immortality. In this regard, gods are far more trustworthy than humans.】
With that, the saint departed without lingering. His white cloak fluttered as he left the central area. Pupil only heard him whisper softly, “Regardless, even if your true intention was perhaps to use me as a tool ten thousand years later, I'm still very grateful that you resurrected me… after I revealed the apocalyptic prophecy to Alexio.”
He was gone, but the floating eye showed a trace of confusion.
【But I… didn't resurrect you.】
Rain poured down heavily. Lucius listened to the storm warning from his lightbrain and hailed a car through an app, preparing to get home as fast as possible. It was hard to put his feelings into words. After regaining his memories, what had once been shrouded in mist had become clearer than ever. He now understood the conspiracy with the gods, the soul retrospection on both sides, and even the things he had failed to recall before… everything related to Alexio.
The opening of his memory floodgates seemed to stem from the shell ring Alexio had mentioned on the phone. With that old item as a connection, he recalled everything on All Souls Day, closely tied to his soul. The ring reminded him of the water nymph who once cared for him, a being so pure and innocent, always waving a shell ring and smiling at him. That was his earliest impression of dark creatures.
However, being exceptionally gifted, he was soon taken away by the Holy Temple, and the shell ring was left forgotten in some corner of his memory. He had almost believed he had lost all recollection of it.
But he hadn't. It was during the Carnival before the firestorm fell — a day that changed his life completely.
He boarded an unmanned hovercar and arrived near the home he shared with Alexio in just ten minutes. Hovercars were banned from entering here, so he had to walk in. He refused the umbrella device the car offered and stepped directly into the rain. The raindrops pressed against his eyelashes, but his thoughts were clearer than ever.
Yes, that Carnival, the one before he and Alexio broke ties, the Carnival he had been waiting to spend with Alexio as usual. On that morning, he could no longer resist the nagging doubts and chose to re-enter the area he had barely stepped into before being scolded.
He used every skill he had developed. He expected to return empty-handed because the Holy Temple he served was so pure there could be no darkness over it.
But he was wrong.
What he saw was only the tip of the iceberg. Piles of dark creature corpses already covered the ground. He opened files covered in dust, their owners evidently long dead. As he looked back through the years, his trembling heart refused to believe that what the vampire had said was true.
【The Holy Temple and Theo are no different】, said the vampire with a torn wing. 【Do you know why I clashed with Theo? He wanted to use humans for experiments to see if he could breed a new army loyal to the dark forces. Before that happened, I never knew Theo was this insane.】
【You can check that area you mentioned recently. If they haven't done anything wrong, why would they guard against you?】
His hand paused over the files. The saint's trembling finger landed on the name of a small village.
【Captured water nymphs: three females, four males.】
It was gone. The shell ring was gone, and so was the golden fish tail from his childhood. What Alexio said was true. He had seen the harsh truth of the power pressing over them even earlier than him.
The difference was that Alexio had chosen to resist on the spot. But now, he only wanted to retreat, to deny, to…
See Alexio.
Fortunately, today was the Carnival, the night they agreed to meet once a year. Thinking of that, he grew impatient. The once-glorious and sacred Holy Temple now suffocated him. He wanted to escape. After erasing all traces of his presence, he passed through the vast main complex as usual. The diviners were performing their daily readings, and the evening bells tolled again and again. He wondered if the prophecies they wrote included the Holy Temple's corruption.
A flock of pigeons flew through the sunset. His footsteps halted. Standing before him was the only blind diviner he had ever interacted with in the Holy Temple.
He had a tragic premonition, which quickly became reality. In the deep, blood-like colors of the sunset, the diviner gave him a smile that was neither fully happy nor fully sorrowful.
【Lucius, do you… have time now?】
As he spoke, tears slipped uncontrollably down the diviner's cheeks.
【I have… an unbearably heavy prophecy…】
【I've finally made a prophecy…】
【I…】
The blind diviner could no longer hold back. He covered his face with his hands and wept silently.
【Why me? Why does it have to be me?! I've already planned how to leave the Holy Temple and live with her. Why me?!】
A routine divination.
A routine apocalyptic prophecy.
A prophecy that none of the highly skilled diviners had managed to make was now in the hands of the useless blind diviner, Noah.
【I can't bear the weight of this prophecy. I simply… can't be the savior.】
【I can only think of you. I want to entrust this prophecy to you, will you accept it?】
What else could he say? Both he and Noah knew all too well the consequences of revealing such a heavy prophecy. As the sun finally sank below the horizon, he learned from the diviner the details of the firestorm, the exact timing, and the path of destruction.
【Please, I beg you, let this world be safe…】The diviner choked on his words several times.【At least then, she can still sing and dance in it. You can definitely stop it. Besides you, I don't know who else could.】
The diviner knew his own weakness well. He could have hidden this prophecy and told no one. That way, he could live, but what meaning would stolen time have? He could also have reported the prophecy to the Holy Temple's archbishops. Yet Noah, a low-ranking diviner stuck at the Holy Temple's bottom, had a clearer understanding of this behemoth.
【Why… does it have to be me?】
The diviner asked this last question. Lucius grasped his hand. The diviner's fingertips trembled violently. The prophecy was so heavy that speaking it aloud could kill the one who leaked it. Starting from his fingertips, he gradually turned into dust or smoke, his fading face showing the expression of an ordinary person facing death—
Tears, fear, regret, and unwillingness.
He kept speaking.
【Go see her for me… but don't tell her…】
Lucius agreed. Finally, there was nothing left in his hand. He maintained the posture of holding someone's hand for a long time before slowly withdrawing it. His fingers seemed to spasm once, and in the twisting pain, he closed his eyes.
Alexio. The first name that came to his mind. He felt as if he stood at the edge of an abyss, with eternal ruin below, but this name kept him suspended.
He wanted to see Alexio. Maybe tonight they could visit the person Noah loved together. The prophecy couldn't be revealed, but if he insisted on taking action, Alexio would surely help even if he didn't fully understand.
He hurried through the Carnival crowd, surrounded by joy that was meaningless to his eyes. He searched among the people. Usually by this time, the vampire would have jumped out from some corner to startle him, but not today.
Floats paraded past him, and the crowd thinned as the Carnival came to an end. He released a shadow bat, which flapped its wings, circled once, then returned to his hand, its innocent red eyes wide open.
Sensing something, he hid the shadow bat and turned his head.
It was the Holy Temple's messenger.
“Why are you here?” The messenger was out of breath but smiling. “I have incredibly good news to tell you! Just now, our spy inside the Blood Moon Castle reported—
“Prince Alexio has been confirmed dead.”
Seeing him remain motionless, the messenger waited a moment before speaking with uncertainty, “...Sir?”
The saint said nothing. In the lights of the closing Carnival, he stood silently, expressionless.
He felt everything crashing down on him.
***
T/N: Triple kill Σ(꒪ᯅ꒪)