Chapter 1083 Hard to Believe
Things were easier for the young lord before he met Alexie, who made him experience the suffering of others as if it were his own. Dorian had denied what the demon said about Karmic Resonance, the curse of suffering what he did to others, but he could no longer continue to do so.
In his aimless roaming of the forest, tailed by the feline who kept his distance, Dorian found peace. Isolation from the world allowed him to experience no pain as he could neither hurt others nor be hurt by his curse.
The peace allowed the young lord to be enlightened about another matter, emotional self-preservation. Humans had managed to survive so far because they were separated from one another. If every human could feel the same pain as others, he would lose his mind. Being separated was what allowed humanity to survive, which made Dorian realize the fate he had met.
lightsΝοvεl ƈοm "This can only be the karma for my actions," whispered the man as he walked through the empty forest, cradled by the darkness. "I have hurt so many people throughout my life. My arrogance knew no bounds until it could no longer shield me from the world."
Karmic Resonance might have been a turning point for him, but it was nothing but a curse. Seraphine explained that this was based on his unwavering beliefs after witnessing the suffering of others, but Dorian wished to forget.
The forest was a painting of black ink where nothing could be seen, so the two were surprised when they saw lights in the distance. It was green and warm, shining like a haven in this forsaken land. As the two approached it, they realized that this was a house.
"A house in this place?" muttered Whisker with confusion. "We should be careful lest it"s an enemy. A house shouldn"t exist on Cloudreign Island since it has been here for less than a day."
"Since we are lost in this place, we might as well find shelter," said Dorian as he walked toward the small house. The green lights seemed to heal his mental scars and vanquish his worry. After a moment of thought, Whisker followed.
Ding, Dong!
As the two pressed the bell, the door soon unfastened. A man opened the door, looking no older than fifty. His kind grey eyes and receding hairline made him seem like a normal human, which confused the two even more.
"Excuse us, sir, but do you live here?"
"Yes?" muttered the man in confusion before he turned toward Whisker, and his eyes widened. "Whisker, is that you? How did you get here?"
"…Old Robert? That should be my question," said the feline with confusion as he brushed past Dorian to get a better look. "I thought you looked familiar, but you have aged! We met only a few months ago, so why do you look ten years older?"
"That has a long story, friend," said Old Robert with a smile as he opened the door and gestured for them to enter. "You and your friend are welcomed to have a seat and some food. It"s cold out there."
After a moment of hesitation, Dorian saw Whisker nod for him to trust the man. The two entered, embracing the warmth inside the house. Their muddy feet splashed over the wooden floor as their eyes took in the cozy and ambient furniture inside the house.
"As before, you sure know how to furnish your house," said Whisker with a smile as he took off his cloak, revealing his feline features and tail. It was the first time Dorian saw the feline so relaxed as he even pulled a chair and leaned back with a nostalgic smile. "How did you survive for so long, old man?"
"A little bit of luck and knowledge," said Old Robert as he pulled his coat to warm himself. "I cannot express how happy I am to see you."
"The feeling is mutual," said Whisker with a snicker as he gestured toward Dorian to sit and introduced him. "This is my friend, Dorian. He is going through somewhat of a spiritual journey."
Although he hated the introduction, Dorian still took a seat after bowing to the man. The table seemed to encompa.s.s a painting of its own, but Dorian could not understand what it was depicting. As he was mesmerized by how unique every piece of furniture was, he noticed that the man was silent and staring at him.
"You are Dorian Stormblade," muttered the old man with widened eyes. "I knew that you would visit this forest on one of your journeys, but never thought I would meet you so soon. As I said, a little bit of luck."
"Do you know him, old man?" asked Whisker with surprise as he glanced at Dorian. "Are you that famous to be known in the third floor?"
"I heard about him elsewhere," said Robert with a smile as he pulled a chair and sat down right opposite to Dorian. "To be specific, I heard about him in the future."
"…is this old man okay?" Dorian asked the feline, but the latter seemed silent as his smile disappeared. Then, he spoke about a completely different topic.
"This reminds me, old man. I found the man that you mentioned before," said Whisker. "Although he has two arms instead of one, his eyes are golden, and he knows about the book."
Clatter! Thud!
Robert seemed to have heard shocking news as he rose to his feet, knocking down his chair and the vase off the table. He seemed unaware that his hand was slammed on the table as he stared at Whisker with wide, disbelieving eyes.
"…are you certain that it"s him?" he said in almost a desperate tone, lips trembling and face losing its color. "Are you absolutely certain that it was him?"
"I asked him the question you gave me about the book," said Whisker with a nod. "As you predicted, he answered that it was about Temporal Fissures. Although I don"t understand what that was about, it was the same answer you gave me."
"There is mistaking it, then," said Robert as he touched his chest, which seemed loud enough for the other two to hear. "After almost thirty years of searching, I found he who remains! Please, Whisker. You have to let me meet him."
"Golden eyes?" asked Dorian with confusion as he turned to Whisker, who gave him a nod. "How can you tell that this man doesn"t wish him harm?"
"This brings me to my second question," said Whisker as he leaned forward and glared at Robert. "Despite the relationship that we share, that man obtained my absolute loyalty. If the time arises, I would give my life for his sake. This makes me question the reason you are looking for him."
Instead of being offended, Robert actually laughed with relief. Then, he turned to pull his chair and sit down again. "Even in this forsaken place, it seems he is the most charismatic man. However, even if I tell my story, it would be hard to believe."
"There is no other way than to tell us, is there?" asked Whisker with a smile as he leaned back in place. "However, I would still like one of your famous sandwiches as we hear it."
"A pleasure," said Robert before he rose and began preparing some sort of food for the two of them. As he grilled and chopped up onions from the small kitchen counter, his words floated to them.
"Until my early twenties, I was living on Earth, the same world the man you follow belongs to. This happened almost thirty years ago, and at that time, Seika had yet to be born."
"Seika?" muttered Dorian with confusion as he turned toward Whisker, who nodded at him. "Is that his real name?"
"His real name is a mystery to me too, as I have only uncovered so little before I was transported to a different world and timeline. This might be the most complicated story ever told, but… we have time."
After that, Robert told them how he got transported to a different world, where he lived his life without revealing his ident.i.ty. Seika found him and took his book about Temporal Fissures. However, only a few months later, Seika changed the entire world.
"Everything happened suddenly, and I found myself awakening almost thirty years earlier, young and healthy, with all the knowledge of my past life. After countless travels and research, I managed to find out that a man with golden eyes and a single arm, Seika, was the one to destroy the timeline."
"What do you mean, destroy the timeline? How can such a notion be possible?"
"For Seika, that notion was the choice he had to make. As he found himself in a time paradox, where he had to give the enemies a part of his strength, he chose to erase the entire timeline and transport the memories to a different one."
"…this is absurd," said Dorian with shock. "A man cannot be this powerful. Even a G.o.d should not be able to do such a thing easily."
"Seika did not destroy the timeline; he made a simple choice that made the timeline impossible to exist. The only thing he did, a favor to mankind, was to transport all memories to their alternate versions, including his own."
As the two heard the story, they indeed found it impossible to believe. The fact that the man in this story was someone they knew made it even more impossible to believe. However, Robert had more to his story.
"After obtaining these memories, I had to find a way to stop temporal fissures. I knew it was a matter of time before I get transported to a different world."
"This doesn"t make any sense," said Dorian as he stopped him. "If he just transported memories, you should have received them when you were as old as you were in the different timeline."
"The two worlds had different timelines, as Alka was behind Earth. Seika did not just change his choice… he changed the entire universe forever."