Chapter 46
Rocas's body, which had lost its left arm, slid down the dark red wall and finally sat on the ground against the wall.
He thought to himself, "It wouldn't be bad to die from excessive blood loss," but the survival instinct that had been lingering for years finally forced him to take out a roll of bandage from the ring, and he used his right hand and teeth to bandage the wound on his left shoulder with great difficulty.
After bandaging, he was confused again: "What am I doing..."
[There's no way I can die like this...]
The soul is seeking death, but the instinct is struggling.
After all, I have survived all the way to this day. No one knows better than me how difficult it is to survive until now, so as long as I have one breath left, I don’t want to give up on my own initiative.
[But what is the meaning of living like this? ]
What should I do?
After sitting in the corridor of the Akunela mansion for a while, Rocas stumbled to his feet and left.
"He didn't even feel the slightest bit of guilt for killing you." Leon said unhappily.
Miel ignored him, but did not chase after Rocas. Instead, he stood where he was, at the door of the study, carefully examining the blood foam on the walls and carpet of the study.
I can make out the fragments of Bross's coat, but I don't seem to see any fragments of my own clothes?
Until Rocas moves too far away, the scene automatically switches.
Rocas went straight to the cafe that the dark-skinned man told him to go to.
His wounds had not yet completely stopped bleeding, and wherever he went, the smell of blood filled the air.
The moment he stepped into the cafe, he immediately attracted the attention of everyone inside.
But the good thing about Snow City is that most people will turn a blind eye to this obvious anomaly to avoid being involved.
So those eyes quickly turned away as if nothing had happened.
Rocas didn't want to disturb the customers in the cafe, so he found a secluded corner and waited patiently.
The dark-skinned man didn't make him wait too long.
Just five minutes later, that magnetic voice sounded.
"Locas Akunilla."
Hearing the call, Lucas instinctively looked up, and the dark-skinned man appeared out of nowhere in front of him, sitting across the table from him in an elegant and relaxed posture.
Rocas looked into his eyes. Those eyes, set in the inky black of his face, were impossible to discern; they seemed excessively bright.
The pain had a huge impact on Lucas's perception. As his attention focused on the man, everything around him became vague and unclear, and the people coming and going became blurred afterimages.
In the entire cafe, apart from Rocas, only the outline of the dark-skinned man was clear.
Rocas didn't seem to care when the man appeared in front of him. He said calmly: "Bros is dead. I killed him with the Fist of Yog-Sothoth. Is there anything else you want me to do for you?"
"Is this made for me?" the dark-skinned man confirmed with him.
"I think so. I'm sorry if I didn't satisfy you."
There was no guilt in Rocas's tone, only numbness.
Unfortunately, what the black man said came true - he lost his target and turned into a walking corpse.
But this is predictable.
At least Miel wasn't surprised by Rocas's current state.
But the subsequent conversation between the two still surprised him.
"To be honest, I hope you can enjoy the pleasure of revenge." said the dark man.
"I enjoyed it." Rocas said expressionlessly.
"Really? I didn't feel it."
"Because I am an introvert."
“…”
The dark-skinned man seemed speechless, but after a moment he laughed out loud: "You have a talent for telling jokes."
"Thank you for the compliment." Rocas continued expressionlessly. "So, besides chatting with you, you don't have any other tasks for me?"
"Hmm..." The dark-skinned man raised one hand and touched his chin.
His skin was dark enough to blend into the darkness with ease, but his features were delicate and beautiful.
At this moment, curiosity and confusion were intertwined on this beautiful face, like a knowledgeable scholar who encountered a difficult problem he had never encountered before.
After a moment's silence, he confirmed with Rocas, "Are you willing to do whatever I ask you to do?"
"No sex, but anything else is fine." Rocas responded bluntly.
"So, what if I want you to call me Master?"
"Master." Without hesitation.
"What if I don't enjoy your body, but just let you strip naked here in front of everyone?"
After a brief hesitation, Rocas used his uninjured right hand to lift up his clothes, revealing his eight-pack abs.
“…Stop.” The dark-skinned man raised one hand and covered his face with one hand, with an expression that said “you win”.
Miel was also surprised that Rocas was willing to go this far... Was he really willing to do anything except have sex?
"Locas, you..." The dark-skinned man lowered his hand covering his face, his tone filled with helplessness, "You are truly a 'slave'."
Rocas: “…”
"I clearly don't want to be a slave again in this life, but I can't survive on my own without a master. How pathetic, how lowly and incompetent."
Rocas lowered his head and remained silent, with no intention of refuting this statement either in his mouth or in his heart.
Miel took a deep breath to stop himself from slapping the image of the dark-skinned man.
"You know? The moment he put his hand down, I almost thought he was going to comfort Rocas," said Miel.
The result was humiliation.
This is really...
I almost couldn't breathe.
Because he could understand Rocas's current situation, Miel accidentally put himself in his shoes.
But he and Rocas are indeed different people.
No matter how much he wanted to die, he would never casually call a strange person "Master", nor would he do such shameless things as lifting his clothes and exposing his body in public.
However, thinking about the beginning of this memory world, how Rocas escaped from the cage...
He may not like some of Rocas's actions, but he has no right to judge them from a high position.
Because Rocas has been able to survive until now by greatly lowering his own dignity.
"Locas, give me your hand."
Suddenly, the dark-skinned man said, extending a hand towards Rocas, palm facing up.
Without hesitation, Rocas placed his right hand into his palm.
Almost at the moment when their skin touched——
[…It doesn’t hurt anymore?]
A hint of surprise flashed across Rocas's face.
The surrounding scenery became more stable as his perception recovered. Although the facial features of the people coming and going were still unclear, they had colors.
The dark-skinned man didn't give Lucas a chance to ask anything. After using some kind of power to dispel Lucas's pain, he immediately said in a commanding tone: "My poor Lucas, within a month, heal your injuries and go to the nearby library and wait for someone there."
"Waiting for whom?"
"You don't need to know. He will approach you when he sees you. Anyway—" the man sneered, "Except for having sex, you wouldn't refuse anyone who asks you to do anything."
Rocas was silent for a moment, then hummed, and then calmly said, "I hope this is an encounter that will allow me to die quickly."
"Yes," the man promised. "Death will embrace you."
After saying this, the man withdrew his hand, stood up and left.
Miel looked at him warily, afraid that he would look at him again.
As a result, what you fear will come true.
As the man passed by him, he looked towards him and smiled.
Miel: “…”
He can really see!
How did you see it?
This was a memory from another timeline! Their glance transcended time and space.
Miel didn't dare to breathe until the man was out of Rocas's perception and disappeared in a flash.
Looking at Rocas again, with a new goal, his pale face finally showed some color.
"hiss--"
Is the pain coming back?
Rocas touched his left shoulder cautiously.
It's really gone...
He sighed, left the cafe, and returned to the hotel where he had stayed for a few days. He obediently rested his wounds for more than half a month, and then went to the library that the dark-skinned man mentioned.
Miel fast-forwarded through his memories until Rocas stepped into the library he knew so well and missed.
"I used to come here all the time," he said, "especially when I had my magic powers—it was the only library in Syracuse that let you borrow magic books."
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, a high elf with long silver-white hair passed by where he was and passed through his body.
Miel was stunned for a moment and turned his head subconsciously. He could only see the other person's long silver hair and the blue ribbon that gently tied up the hair.
But even so, Miel confirmed his identity at the first opportunity.
——It’s himself in another timeline.
Is he really resurrected?
Miel chased after him, and Anna and Leon followed silently.
Miel from another timeline walked straight towards Rocas who was sitting in the corner.
Seeing him from a distance, Rocas was first dazed, then suspicious, and finally showed a surprised expression.
"you……"
He had barely uttered a word when Miel interrupted him, "Rocas, born a slave, was taken in as a servant by the Saint of Glory City, Amiraisyana. His true identity is the illegitimate son of Snow City Lord Bros Akunela and an unknown human woman."
Rocas closed his mouth and looked at the other person quietly.
Miel came to the chair opposite him: "Can I sit down?"
After a moment of silence, Rocas said, "...Do I have the right to say 'no'?"
"Of course," Miel responded without hesitation. "Locas, even if you were once a slave, you are no longer one now. You have the right to say 'no' to anyone outside the Isyana family. If you're apologizing for killing me, then, as you can see, you didn't kill me. Although you did kill my father, I'm not here for revenge. Instead, I want to have a peaceful conversation with you and exchange some important information."
"I'll ask again—can I sit down?"
Miel looked at Rocas intently, as if he was determined not to sit down until he gave an answer.
Lucas hesitated to speak, but finally answered under the pressure of his gaze: "Please sit down."
So Miel sat down opposite Rocas.
He rested his hands on the table, fingers interlaced.
Without any pleasantries, he spoke directly: "I will first tell you an important message, and then ask you an important question."
"First, some important information—like you, I can't use magic. I was also one of the victims who had my magic pool taken away by Bross. If you hadn't killed Bross and forced me to investigate his study, I might still be in the dark. So, I don't hate you."
Hearing this, Rocas' eyes widened in disbelief.
【……What? 】
[Bross didn't even spare his own heir? ]
"Then here's an important question - if I told you I had a way to allow you to travel through time and change the past, but at the cost of being targeted by something very dangerous, would you want this power?"
Rocas was stunned.
Miel from reality was also dumbfounded.
The power to travel through time and space...was it given to Rocas by him?
ah?
"This person, is it me?" Miel asked Csuanna beside him uncertainly.
C'Suana's response was: "It feels like it's you, yes, but it's Rocas's memory after all... At least Rocas thinks it's you, 100% you."
"Am I such an oppressive presence in Rocas's eyes?"
Miel actually felt a desire for control from himself in another timeline that was very similar to that of C'Suana...
Gentle control.
As gentle as water, yet tolerant of resistance.
But Rocas still tried to resist: "If you can really travel through time and space, why don't you do it yourself..."
"Because I don't have a past I want to change," Miel interrupted calmly, "but you do."
"I……"
"You just need to tell me, do you want this power?" Miel interrupted him again, seeming eager to get his answer.
Lucas pursed his lips and was silent for a while. Finally, he spoke with determination: "If you can really give me such power, then my answer is - of course."
Miel: "I must say, even if you change the past, even if you save the saint who has done you a favor, you won't be able to be by her side, because this power to travel through time and space can only allow you to travel physically, not spiritually. The you of today cannot replace the you of the past."
Rocas: "It doesn't matter. I don't care. I just want the Saint Lady to have a smooth life. As for what happens to me, I really don't care."
Miel: "Okay, then, it's your turn to tell me the information you have. How did you, who was deprived of the magic pool like me, use that powerful power to kill Bross?"
"It's a sacrifice."
Rocas responded, and without hesitation, he took out the Book of Sacrifice from his ring and handed it to Miel.
Is it strange to trust someone you killed so quickly?
But now he was like a man falling off a cliff grabbing a straw at hand, with no other choice but to believe that it was strong enough.
Miel took the book and, without the help of any dictionary, read the words on the cover: "Book of Sacrifice."
Rocas: "...Do you recognize this kind of writing?"
Miel: “I have learned it.”
Rocas: "Can I ask you a question?"
Miel: “Ask.”
Rocas: "How did you come back to life?"
Miel was silent for a moment before answering: "I didn't resurrect, I traveled through time and space."
"Huh?"
——This “Huh?” came from Miel in the real world.
In contrast, Rocas just listened quietly.
"I tried to kill... I did an experiment."
Miel, who was sitting across from Rocas, calmly changed his words mid-sentence. "After I figured out what Bross was doing, I did an experiment. I climbed a tower and jumped off. I ran at full speed against the wall and banged my head against it. I took a knife and stabbed myself in the chest."
"Guess what happened?"
"No matter how I try to kill myself, I wake up in my bedroom at the Akunela Mansion."
"At first I thought I was resurrected, but I couldn't find my body at the place where I died. And the injuries on my body, if they were sustained at the moment of death, will disappear. If they were sustained before that, they will remain."
"I never thought that after investigating Burrows's secrets, I would have to investigate my own secrets."
"Bros is a madman. He used forbidden techniques to deprive his own children of their magical energy, transforming himself into a monster. However, he cannot travel through time and space. This strange power of mine is not inherited from him. Therefore, it must have come from my mother."
"Locas, do you know the Yis people?"
Miel asked suddenly.
The race he mentioned was unfamiliar to not only Rocas but even Miel himself from the real world.
"...What is that?" Rocas looked confused. "I only know Isyana."
"No, it has nothing to do with Isyana. The Is people, whose full name is 'The Great Race of Is', are a very ancient race that hails from outside the Liye continent. Their souls can transcend time and space, exchanging bodies with creatures from another time and space."
Miel explained to Rocaskop in a calm tone, with no special expression on his face from beginning to end.
"My mother, her body was taken over by the soul of the Yith people—before she gave birth to me."
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The author has something to say: The original setting is to exchange consciousness, but because the setting of this article is that the power to travel through time and space comes from the soul, it was changed to exchanging souls.
As to why the Yis people can travel through time with their souls while Rocas can only travel through time with his body, the explanation will be given in the next chapter.
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