Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Alberu, Choi Han, Rosalyn, Ron, Lock, and Beacrox had gathered in the palace. They needed to discuss on who dared to bomb the Roan Kingdom during the King's birthday.

"Alberu-nim, I know that you are stressed, but you need to take a break."

"I'll take a break eventually."

He grabbed an envelope from a pile of various of other envelopes. This one differed a bit from the others, but they all look different anyways, so he brushed it off.

'Hello, Alberu Crossman. I greet the shining sun of the Roan Kingdom, the destined one of this shining kingdom, the one who will help us all, who will prevent me from sleeping because of how bright and lovely you are this wonderful day, to come to a place where you can rest for as long as you want. If you do not respond to this immediately after you open this, then you will be teleported to a very special place, along with all of your companions, and some others.'

Alberu slightly cringed at the beginning, but was a bit concerned at the bottom part. There was no way he could reply to this immediately, but no one could actually do that..right? Suddenly, bright letters appeared in front of everyone who was going to be teleported.

'The invitation has been opened. Commencing now.'

A blinding light had engulfed various people.

"Alberu-nim! Do you know what's happenin-"

The light had already taken him, leaving nothing, and eventually took them as well.

Tap. Tap.

``Is this thing on??``

"Who the hell are you?!"

"Do you know the price for kidnapping me?!"

"Where the hell are we?!?!"

A bunch of nobles started yelling, but Choi Han was trying to find his companions.

"Lock! Rosalyn!"

"Choi Han! Over here!"

All of his companions had formed a small group.

``CAN YOU ALL SHUT UP?!?! Y'ALL ARE SO GODDAMN LOUD SHUT UP!``
The voice got everyone's attention. It immediately got quiet.

``Thank you. Anyways, I welcome everyone to my humble abode!``

A figure jumped from a box hanging in the air, and landed on the floor. Various people couldn't tell if this was a girl or a guy.

"Sir, or uh, ma'am, where are we?"

Alberu was the one who had asked the question. This individual seemed powerful, since they kidnapped this many people.

``You are in my cinema.``

"AHAHA! YOU SEEM STRONG, FIGHT ME! FIGHT ME!"

Toonka had yelled, and lunged at the person immediately.

``Ack!!``

Toonka swore he hit the person, but knocked into a wall instead.

``Noooo! My cinema!!``

The person glared at Toonka.

``You bastard, you'll pay for breaking my cinema!!``

Suddenly, a box configured around Toonka. He was trapped in the box, with no obvious escape. He rammed into the box's walls various times, but had no luck breaking it.

``You're gonna stay in there for soooooo long! Now I gotta fix my wall.. sob..``

The person waved a hand at the wall, and it fixed immediately. A bunch of nobles were confused.

``Why did I bring so many people?? I don't need you here, or you, not you either, not you, or you, and you guys, and you.``

Over half of the room was taken out of the cinema.

``Ahem. Once again, I greet everyone! You may be wondering why you are here, and it is to react to your fate! I mean, another world's fate, but it's similar to yours, except yours is a lot more devastating.``

"Our fate..is devastating?"

``Correct, Choi Han! Also you don't need to worry about the people that were taken out, they have gone back to where they came from, but will have no memory of this ever happening.``

Alberu was slightly relieved, he couldn't deal with all those nobles being confused, especially the ones that saw him there.

``Ah, I forgot about the rules! How could I forget about the rules??``

"Rules? There are rules here?"

``Of course there are! These are the rules:

1 *𝓝𝓸 𝓕𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰.*
2. *𝓝𝓸 𝓓𝓲𝓼𝓬𝓻𝓲𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷*
3. *𝓝𝓸 𝓚𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓰, 𝓗𝓾𝓻𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰, 𝓸𝓻 𝓓𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓻𝓸𝔂𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓷𝔂𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓸𝓻 𝓪𝓷𝔂𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓲𝓭𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓪.*
The consequences will be decided based on the reason you did it.``

"That's not fair! I WANT TO FIGHT YOU, AND YOU TWO AS WELL!"

Toonka yelled from the box.

"No. Now shut up before I put some actual duct tape on your mouth."

"What's duct tape?"

'How does this person know about duct tape?!'

Choi Han was questioning if this person was from his world or not.

``Duct tape is uh, it's a thing that uh, uh... ANYWAYS! My name is Shiro, and I can be referred to as Author, Writer, or something along the lines of that. You can use she/her, he/him, they/them, I really don't care! ``

(Almost) everyone nodded.

"So, Author, when can we get out of here?"

Alberu asked.

"I have lots of work to do. Along with that, if I abandon the kingdom, it will go into chaos."

``Hmm...I see. Well, shouldn't be too big of a problem. Usually time is stopped or something like that in here. We'll probably get to the reactions in an hour or so.``

Shiro snapped their fingers, and doors appeared.

``They all lead to somewhere, and the place where it goes to will be at the top, in of course the language you understand.``

People started to explore immediately. They were a bit too calm for being kidnapped, but that wasn't really her problem.

``Please come back here in the next hour! I thank you all for attending. Now, away I go!``

A portal appeared behind him, and Shiro fell inside it, waving.

Chapter Text

"Now that Author is gone, what do we do?"

"HEY!! LET ME DOWN FROM HERE!!!"

Toonka shouted, interrupting Choi Han.

"I'm not sure... Some people have started exploring already."

There were already people visiting the different rooms, that varied to bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms, bathing rooms, (separate ofc), galleries, working areas, to even wine storages, which Bud and Cale headed to immediately.

"I don't trust that person."

Lock never trusted easily anymore. He only had Rosalyn and Choi Han left. Pendrick had died, his family, everyone. You can't blame him, really, though.

"I know, none of us really trust them either. But he can't keep us forever, and if we follow what he says, then Author will probably let us out."

"Yeah, but.."

Lock grumbled, saying it was unfair.

~Meanwhile~

"Hey! You like to drink too?"

"Don't touch me."

"Awww, so cold."

Bud was bugging Cale, who was looking at the wines.

"Can ya hold your alcohol well? Wanna be drinking buddies?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"..."

'Is he giving me the cold shoulder now?'

'Should I throw a bottle at him?'

"Leave me alone."

Cale grabbed a bottle of wine and left. He spotted a room which said "Healing". He headed into the room, which was empty.

"It feels nice in here."

It sort of looked like a nurses office, but they don't know what that looks like. Suddenly, a portal opened right next to Cale.

``Heya-``

They both fell.

``Ouch, that was not planned. You alright, Cale?``

"What does it look like?!"

He had landed where his injury was, and it hurt like hell.

``ACK!! Sorry! Here, I can heal you!``

"There's no need."

``Then why did you come in here?``

"...To find a place to drink in peace."

``Ahaha, you're funny. Come here and sit down.``

"Ugh."

Although he was acting like that, he sat down anyways.

``So, do you want pain relief or a full heal?``

"I can choose?"

``Of course you can! So, what will it be?``

"Pain relief."

``Oh? Alright.``

The injury immediately stopped hurting.

"Huh. It really does work."

``Of course it does! I take pride in my work.``

"...Thanks."

He mumbled.

``Ooh, what an unexpected development! Ahaha, no problem!``

"What's that supposed to mean?"

``..Nothing. Anyways, do you have any requests for me?``

"I don't want to be near that brute, Choi whatever."

``Alright, would you like a box in the air like Toonka? Oh, but of course it will be furnished, and be provided with anything you need. Or would you like a corner or a certain area?``

"Whatever's easier."

``Alright! Ehe, you're so nice, this is why so many people like you``

Shiro smiled.

"What do you mean?"

``Oop, it's time to go, you have 30 minutes left!``

A portal appeared behind Shiro, and she disappeared.

Chapter Text

''It has been an hour, everyone! I do hope everyone is he-''

Everyone was staring at Shiro, who just dropped out from a portal on the roof.

``Ahem. It seems everyone is here. Did you know that I am an extremely indecisive person? Well, now you know! I will be doing a wheel of names, and whoever it lands on, is who will choose the chapter you are reacting to!``

People were murmuring, wondering what they meant. A wheel appeared in front of Shiro, and everyone saw their names on it. He spun the wheel, and it landed on... Taylor Stan.

``Oh crap, I forgot to remove his name..`` She snapped, and the name disappeared.

Cage silently cursed, staring at Venion. Venion smirked a bit, he was guaranteed the position of Marquis.

``AHEM. Ignore that.``

They spun the wheel again, and it landed on... Cale Henituse! (srsly it did for my wheel of names)

``Cale! You will be choosing a chapter! Of course, I will prevent anyone from trying to rig the votes by telling you what to choose. Here is the list!``

A list went in front of Cale. He started to scroll through the chapters, and eventually chose Chapter 19, Saw a Dragon (2).

``Ooh, what an interesting choice! Cale has chosen Chapter 19, Saw a Dragon (2)``

'"A DRAGON?!"

Many people were surprised, because dragons were extremely rare, to the point people thought they were myths. The dragons were interested, though. Which one of them did they see?

[ The location that the kittens, On and Hong, buried the black orb was out of Cale's expectations. ]

"Wait, why is my name there?!?!?"

"Why is his name there?!"

"Why is that trash's name on the screen?!"

Everyone was confused, besides the dragons. The human kingdoms or whatever was their problem, not the dragons.

"HEY! YOU SAW A DRAGON? WAS IT STRONG? CAN I FIGHT IT?"

``I swear Toonka, I will literally make your box sound proof so you can't be heard when I rip all of your GODDAMN HAIR OUT.``

He went quiet after that nice threat.

"Cale, do you know why your name is there?"

"Your highness, I do not."

"Hm. Alright."

[ The Viscount's villa was 30 meters away from the dragon's cave. On and Hong had buried the black orb 50 meters away from that cave, in an area filled with trees and shrubs, making it very difficult for the orb to be located. "You two are kind of amazing." "Something like this is a piece of cake." On was saying it was easy, but Cale could see On's nose twitching in joy. Cale, Choi Han, On, and Hong crouched around the location that the black orb, officially known as the Mana Disturbance Tool, was located, and looked toward the cave entrance that was 50 meters away, as well as the Viscount's villa that was farther away. ]

"Wait wait wait wait wait wait why am I with him?! He insulted my family, there is NO way I'd be near even 10 feet of him!"

``No comment.``

"Ugh, I wouldn't even be 20 feet near that damn brute. HE BEAT ME HALF TO DEATH."

[ "You remember the plan?" Cale had explained the plan on their way over. Realistically speaking, there wasn't much of a plan. "There are a total of 6 people on guard at this time." Cale recalled the information he ----------------------------. The Black Dragon was smart, like most dragons. It had been gathering information for the four long years it was held captive, and there was a reason it attempted its escape two days later at around this time. ]

"Who dares to hold captive a dragon?!"

The elves were enraged.

"..."

A very malicious aura came out of the dragons.

"Someone dares capture a dragon? Our proud race? How dare they."

Rasheel didn't really care about other dragons, but still, no dragon should have to live in captivity. Meanwhile, Eruhaben was peacefully making murder plans in his mind.

[ There were, approximately, a total of 30 people residing in the villa. Originally, there were close to 100 people, but it slowly went down as they realized during the last four years that nobody really came to this area. Of course, among the 30 people, there were 3 high-leveled knights at the Vice Captain's level, as well as 7 mid-leveled knights. There were also soldiers, the torturer, and random laborers. The number of people here showed just how much attention the Marquis has been putting onto this location. However, Cale had Choi Han. Choi Han was someone who could take down the strongest knight in the Roan Kingdom in 10 moves. Someone like that was on their side. ]

Alberu made note of this. There are 30 total, 3 high-leveled knights, 7 mid-leveled knights, soldiers, and the torturer. It was also a villa that was owned by a Marquis, but there were a few Marquis' in the Roan Kingdom. He had a slight idea who it was, though.

"Am I really on his side?"

Choi Han asked.

``In that universe, yes. That's all I will tell you.``

No noble was too surprised at Choi Han's strength, he had showed it during the Plaza incident.

[ "Let me explain one more time. There is one high-leveled knight and two mid-leveled knights at the cave entrance, as well as two soldiers. Inside the cave, there is just one high-leveled knight, and the torturer is at the end of the cave." Choi Han flinched after hearing the word torturer, but Cale did not care. Cale did not care to know about the things that were going through Choi Han's mind right now. The important thing was that the black orb will activate soon, and that they needed to move quickly in response. "The magic recording devices located from the villa to the cave entrance will not work for 40 minutes thanks to the black orb that On and Hong buried. That is the same for the alarms, magic traps, and anything else. Nothing will work for 40 minutes." ]

"A magic recording device, alarms, magic traps, and maybe other things. He also has a black orb, which does something like stop magic."

Alberu was writing everything down. It wouldn't be useful since it was the past, but they don't need to know that.

"Who's On and Hong?"

``No comment. You should've paid attention earlier. Any other questions?``

No one asked any other questions.

[ They needed to domesticate this dragon, the greatest magic using creature in the world, but they could not ask any mages for help. That was why Marquis Stan chose to fill this area with magic items instead. The reason that there were only a few guards around the entrance was also because they trusted their magic items. That was why the dragon had no choice but to cause a mana explosion to escape. 'An eye for an eye, and money for money.' Since the Marquis used money, Cale used money as well. Cale patted the magic bag on his waist. This was a magic bag that allowed you to store a lot of items. Inside this bag were all sorts of magic items, useful tools, and objects. ]

"They really think they can domesticate a dragon?"

"Venion Stan. I do hope you can explain this."

He gulped. Everyone had piercing gazes on him, and the dragons had their aura leaking out slowly.

"T-there's no violence allowed here!! Or harming others, so you can't do anything to me!"

``Oh, you can go for it, go ahead. I don't care about that disgusting roach. Oh, but you can't kill him. Not yet, you can torture him though. Any takers?``

Cage immediately lunged for him, beating his ass.

``YEAH CAGE! GO FOR THE FACE! MAKE HIM PAY!!``

Venion was being beat up by Cage for a good 30 minutes, with everyone watching.

``I put a barrier, so no need to worry about the noise! Oh, and Cage can stay in there with him, do whatever you want; just don't kill him yet. If he's not dead yet, I can heal him and you can deal with him to your heart's content. Anyone else wanna go for him?``

A few of the dragons raised their hands, and Tasha raised her hand too, with Choi Han.

``You'll get your time, but we gotta get back to reacting.``

[ "I just need to take out the guards?" Naturally, Choi Han would be doing the battling. Why would Cale even try to fight when such a strong person was next to him? Cale thought paper-cuts hurt a lot, so he didn't want to even think about getting cut by a sword. "Yes. You are the only one I can rely on to cover my back." 'At least for now.' ]

"There is no way I'd ever say that. Is that someone else? Because that definitely isn't me."

"What does he mean for now?" Choi Han didn't know why he felt a bit hurt at that.

[ Cale looked at Choi Han with a serious expression, and Choi Han nodded his head and sincerely responded back. "I will definitely live up to your expectations." "Yes. As I mentioned, make sure they see our outfit and then knock them out. Don't kill them, and don't show them your sword art. You remember what to do after that, right?" Choi Han's unique transparent black aura should be easily camouflaged by the darkness, if he uses it carefully. Cale believed Choi Han should understand, since he had already told him many times. ]

"He knows about my aura?"

"He has an aura?"

They both asked at the same time.

``I don't know, what's it look like?? YES.``

"What outfit are they wearing?"

``It's uhh, how do I describe it..``

A book came out of a portal and went into his hands.

``Huh...where is it..``

People could hear the book's pages flipping.

``Here it is! The black outfit had a single red star and five smaller white stars surrounding it on the chest area. ``

Choi Han's mind immediately went to the organizations that destroyed the village.

"Why the HELL am I wearing that thing?! AND HIM?"

``Ehe, you'd know in the last chapter, but Chapter 19 was chosen instead of 18. Maybe when it's your turn you can choose it.``

[ "Yes, I remember it all." "Good, I'll leave it to you." Cale patted Choi Han's shoulders, before handing him the voice changing device. It would be bad if he had to talk during the fight and they recognized his voice. "It's expensive, so don't break it." "Got it. You do not need to worry about it." Cale then looked toward the kittens. Cale responded to their wagging tails, that seemed to be asking for something. ]

"Oh, so they are kittens?"

"AW, SO CUTE! THE KITTENS ARE SO CUTE!"

Hans had exclaimed. He loves kittens. Some people scooted a bit farther away from him.

``Ding ding! On & Hong are kittens who Cale has taken in! His children! They are from the Cat Tribe, and almost died from starvation before Cale came and helped them.``

"Is this true, Cale?"

"Oh, let me just tap into my other universe's self. Hey, did you do that? I DON'T KNOW DAMN IT. THIS IS A DIFFERENT UNIVERSE, NOT THE CURRENT ONE?? DID YOU NOT GET THAT??"

Bud looked away after he said that. Some people laughed at his sudden outburst.

'Why am I even here...my life is about to end anyways..'

Eruhaben thought. He hadn't spoken at all, and he hardly knew anyone there since he never really affiliated with humans.

[ "I will give you meat once it is over." That did not seem to be the right answer, as they snorted and turned away. Cale didn't think much about it, instead verifying the time with his watch. 'Five minutes left.' The sky had already gotten dark, and it was night time. Cale then recalled the conversation he had with Billos. 'The magic items that have been influenced by the Mana Disturbance Tool will instantly stop working, and most of them will turn off to prevent it from blowing up. However, the highest quality magic items will start beeping to signal that they are broken. It isn't like alarm magic, instead, it is more like a clock alarm.' ]

"So a Mana Disturbance Tool, huh? That might be useful in the future."

Alberu wrote that down too.

"Billos? Didn't we see him a month ago or so?"

Choi Han asked. He gave them some stuff, but he wasn't sure what happened to him.

'Ugh, this sucks..'

Cale thought.

"Author, do you have any other wine?"

``Oh, of course I do! I'm underage so I can't drink any though, haha. I just keep it for people to drink. Here ya go.``

A bottle appeared in front of Cale again.

``You're limited to 2 bottles per reaction, by the way. I really don't wanna clean up puke or deal with a drunk person. That applies to everyone, by the way.``

Cale grumbled. Oh well, at least the wine was decent.

[ 'It will probably be loud?' 'I don't know where you plan on using it, but it should be loud enough for the enemy to hear.' Billos started to smirk and continued on. 'However, if there are a lot of magic items in the area, it will probably get chaotic with all of the alarms going off at the same time.' Chaotic was enough for Cale. "Get ready." The kittens also covered themselves with charcoal to cover the color of their furs. They then left Cale's side and disappeared into the darkness, such that Cale could no longer see them. The two of them would not be showing themselves in front of the enemies today. However, Cale knew that they would follow the plan and be around him. Choi Han folded up the handkerchief he was using to clean his blade, and put it in his pocket. Once all of the preparations were finished, Cale stood up. Brrrrrrrrrrrring. Something started to vibrate right underneath where Cale had been sitting. The black orb had started to activate. Click. Click. The seconds hand of Cale's watch slowly approached the set time. And finally, the last click. "Let's go." At Cale's order, Choi Han followed the plan and ran ahead quickly, while On started to create fog in the area. Cale was at the center of the fog, making it difficult to see him. At the same time, Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring- The black orb finally activated. "I guess they aren't all highest quality magic items." ]

"So On can create fog. Okay."

Alberu wrote it down.

'I can train the cats if they are here.'

"Author, I would like to know something."

``What is it, Ron?``

"Are those kittens in our world as well?"

``Of course they were! Choi Han actually encountered them, but left them. So now they are dead, because of all of your guys' negligence of the poorness in the country.``

"Damn it."

Choi Han knew what he was talking about. It was the cats that he almost tripped on when he first arrived to the Henituse County. Fate led them towards him, but he ignored it, too blinded by revenge and hate.

"No, the poor kitten-nims! I hope they are living better."

Rosalyn silently paid respects to the kittens. Lock clung to Choi Han.

[ Some of the magic items started to ring loudly to sound their status. Cale followed behind Choi Han with the fog surrounding him, and headed toward the cave. Starting now, it was a battle against time. Choi Han was already fighting against the knights in front of the cave. 'Scary bastard.' In that short amount of time, the soldiers already had injuries on their arms and legs, and were knocked out on the floor. "Who are you? How dare you come to this place!" Choi Han easily dodged the attack of the high-leveled knight. He then took a step forward and made a deep cut on the side of the knight. He then avoided the blood spurting out of the cut, and used his elbow to attack the knight's back, followed by the back of the knight's neck. The knight fainted instantly. "Shit! What the hell is going on?!" The high-leveled knight inside the cave soon showed up as well. ]

"Yikes, I better not get on your bad side."

Bud said, hiding behind Glenn.

"Don't hide behind me!"

Glenn pushed him away.

"Tch. I'm right, he is a scary bastard."

That was one thing that Cale thought he could agree with.

"YOU'RE STRONG, FIGHT ME!! AHAHA!! LET'S GO ALL OUT IN A TRAINING ROOM!"

``I SAID SHUT UP TOONKA, I WILL PULL OUT YOUR HAIRS ONE BY ONE WITH TWEEZERS AND WAX YOUR HAIR OFF.``

[ "Poison." Cale spoke through the voice changing device. The fog surrounding him started to expand, and Hong started to stealthily move around and spread the poison to paralyze the enemy. The fainted individuals would not be able to move for a while, even if they did wake up. Cale then made eye contact with the high-leveled knight and said one word. "Cover." Choi Han instantly stood in front of Cale and darted toward the cave entrance. Cale followed behind him. "Block them!" At the high-leveled knight's shout, two mid-leveled knights immediately charged toward Choi Han. Their swords started to glow, showing that the knights had inputted their aura into their swords. However, those two swords were instantly cut down. Clang. Clang. The upper half of both swords fell down to the ground. "W, what the? Is he a swordmaster?" ]

"Why are they shocked he's a swordmaster? Wasn't he revealed already?"

Eruhaben had cut in while Lock was talking.

"Well, he's in disguise, for one. He also had a voice changer. Plus, it's dark. So it wouldn't be too obvious, now would it?"

"I guess that makes sense.."

``Yep, I couldn't have explained it better myself, Eruhaben-nim!``

'...Are they gonna ignore the poison in the first part..or?'

[ Both shock and despair was in the voice of the high-leveled knight. The only thing that could cut through an aura-filled sword was a swordmaster's aura blade. After instantly cutting through the enemy weapons using his aura, which was camouflaged in the darkness, Choi Han used his sword and scabbard to attack a mid-leveled knight's neck and stomach at the same time. "Ugh!" "Guuh!" '...He just needs one hit per person.' Cale could not hide his amazement as he crouched behind Choi Han and continued to move. At that moment, they could hear some ruckus from far behind them. "Intruders!" It was coming from the villa. Cale turned his gaze back forward. The mid-leveled knights staggered before falling down. Cale made eye contact with them. They had been poisoned by Hong's paralysis poison. "P, poison...!" "A, assassin!" ]

"So Hong can use poison. It's a shame we don't have them here.."

Alberu trailed off.

Cale couldn't hide his amazement either. Sure, he beat him half to death, but anyone could, really. But one hit to take down a person? That was impressive, even though he loathes him.

"Are they saving the dragon?"

``NoOooO, they're just breaking in for fun. OF COURSE THEY ARE.``

 [ Choi Han made them faint before quickly rushing toward the charging high-leveled knight and swinging his sword. Cale used that opening to go through the cave entrance. Even while he was doing that, he made sure the mid-leveled knights who called him an assassin saw the six stars on his outfit before fainting. "Ugh! Where did these people come from!" "So loud." Choi Han easily avoided the mana-filled sword of the high-leveled knight. He was dragging this out on purpose. While Choi Han was acting as the distraction, Cale entered the cave behind the Cat Tribe children, who had stealthily entered earlier on. After verifying that Cale had entered, Choi Han moved to the front of the cave entrance. He then called out to the high-leveled knight. "Come." Of course, his gaze was not looking at the knight, but all of the enemies coming from the villa with torches. "I leave it to you." Choi Han could hear Cale's changed, yet still calm voice behind him, and started to smile. However, he quickly focused on releasing only some of his strength. Dark Destruction Sword Art. This sword art consisted of two components, darkness and destruction. Of the two, the force of destruction started to surround Choi Han. "Nobody can get past this spot." He was someone who always kept his word. ]

It's true. Rosalyn and Lock both can confirm that Choi Han always keeps his word.

"He seems cool."

Mary kept quiet to prevent any attention, but she decided to speak just a little bit this time. Choi Han had used the darkness attribute, and he was considered a hero. Maybe she could...no. No matter what, there will always be discrimination against them. She crushed her own hopes to prevent it from being crushed by others.

"He does, doesn't he?"

Tasha put her hand on Mary's head.

[ While Choi Han was protecting the entrance, there was someone else protecting something in a different manner in the cave. That person was none other than the torturer. He was the one to protect the dragon's prison. By the time Cale arrived inside, he was already in a state of chaos. "Why, why?! Why is the Magic Crystal Ball not working?!" The Magic Crystal Ball that the torturer held onto was one of the emergency backups that Venion had prepared in case something went wrong. ]

"So it was Venion in particular."

Cage started to use her curses with her connection to the God of Death. She was going to have a lot of fun.

"Hey, Author."

``Yes, Cale?``

"Does the full heal also heal mental pain or just physical? And can it recover limbs?"

``No, not mental pain, just physical. And yes, it can recover limbs.``

"You hear that, Cage?"

Cale yelled, and Cage stared back at him.

"It can recover limbs, so you can cut any part of him off as long as he's still alive."

Cage nodded, and gave him a thumbs up. Equipment used for torture appeared in the box, with a little note. ~Just a tiny gift, from your favorite Author <3~

She smiled.

"Thanks."

Ron and Beacrox were a bit shocked when Cale did that. He was like a puppy, he never showed acts like this, so why the sudden change?

"Ho, our puppy young master can act like this too.."

Cale heard Ron say that.

"Don't call me that. You broke connections the second you left with him. I am not your young master, nor a puppy."

Cale looked bitter.

"..."

``Uhh, let's continue, shall we?``

[ "D, don't come here! Do you know what is in here?!" The torturer was shaking violently while looking at Cale. He had no choice but to be scared. If the torturer received an attack higher than an average person's strength, he would instantly blow up. It was one of Venion's safety measures as well. The strength of the blast would make the prison key and the prison itself blow up with the torturer as well. Naturally, the torturer knew about this. "If you come, everyone here will die!" Tsk. Cale waved his hand while looking at the shaking torturer. Once he did, fog started to form in the air and headed for the torturer. On, the owner of the fog, was hidden in the shadows of the cave and still hidden. "A, aaaaaah! Go away!" The sounds of battle from the cave entrance. The approaching fog. Of course, the inside the fog was completely filled with poison. The paralyzing fog quickly surrounded the torturer. "Just what, ugh, p, poison...!" ]

"Very thorough, I see. I shall do that as well, when it is my turn." Eruhaben's thoughts started to leak out. He just couldn't turn a blind eye to a dragon being tortured, especially if it's 4 years old.

[ Ugh. The torturer's body started to shake as he fell to the ground. The torturer looked so terrible, being unable to speak or move as he forcibly shook on the floor. Cale approached the torturer and rummaged through his clothes. If you could not attack him, you just had to hit him with poison. Either that, or make a deal with him to hand the key over. However, he didn't want to use the latter method. 'Here it is.' Cale grabbed the key and closed the eyes of the torturer, who was starting to lose consciousness from the poison. Cale wondered if they had used too much of the poison, but didn't really care. 'I don't think he will die, but if he dies, oh well.' Cale snapped his fingers. Two little black bundles fell from the ceiling almost instantly. It was On and Hong. Once they came under the torch that Cale was holding, he could finally see the two of them clearly. Cale verified that On and Hong were safe before heading to the farthest corner of the cave. Once he arrived, he could see a curled up black existence inside this now-useless magic prison. It was the dragon. The thing that shocked Cale more than the dragon itself was the blood covering the dragon and the scent of blood in the air. ]

Some people looked away. It looked terrible, a dragon, being reduced to such a state.

"How caring, that you still care for the cats, Young Master."

"Shut up, Hans."

Cale looked away, with a tint of red on his ears.

"When did you get here?"

``Me? I came in here the last time you all spoke. You seemed like you needed a hug.``

"I do no-"

Shiro hugged Cale, and smiled.

``It's alright.``

"...I will allow this for today, and ONLY today."

No one was used to seeing Cale like this. Ron hadn't seen Cale like that since his mother died. Choi Han was shocked he could even make an expression like that.

[ Cale quickly approached the prison. The dragon continued to keep its eyes closed, even as Cale approached. The dragon was probably in a state of chaos right now. Cale put the key into the lock and opened the door. Click. It unlocked with a light noise. Cale slowly opened the iron gate, and entered into the prison. It was pretty large to be called a prison. There were whips and other torture tools, as well as the luxurious couch that Venion sat on to watch. Cale headed to the corner of the prison. ]

"Huh. A luxurious couch that someone can watch him being tortured."

``You got it!``

A couch appeared in front of Cage and Venion.

``Any volunteers?``

Eruhaben raised his hand.

``Eruhaben-nim! Okay, you can watch it from behind the barrier, I don't want you to get any blood on you. Here's some food as well, I do hope you like it.``

"Thank you."

``No problem!``

[ A small figure about 1 meter long was laying on a stack of hay in the corner. The inner eyelids of the dragon were shaking as it laid there with its eyes closed. There were chains on all of its limbs, and the mana restriction chain was on its neck, making it unable to use any strength. "Hey." Cale crouched in front of the dragon. The dragon did not open its eyes even after Cale called out to it. Cale verified his watch. It was time to leave. He continued to speak to the dragon. "Let's leave." Cale used the key he had obtained from the torturer to undo the chains. The dragon opened its eyes at that moment. Cale started to smile after looking at the dragon's eyes. It was still a very strong gaze. It had not lost its will to live just yet. It was not the dying gaze that Choi Han --------------------. It was still a gaze with a strong desire to live. That was why it was filled with energy, anger, and resistance. ]

"Wait... no way."

Choi Han trembled a bit.

"What's wrong, Choi Han?"

"That's the dragon... that I killed."

[ It was the gaze of a dragon. "What a nice gaze." Cale lifted the dragon into his arms. ]

Chapter Text

This story will be on hiatus because my laptop broke and I can’t write on my phone. It might come back soon, depends though. I’m sorry!

Chapter Text

IM BACK! MY LAPTOP WAS FIXED ALSO HAPPY VERY LATE PRIDE MONTH EVERYONE! im sorry for the very long hiatus and i will be posting more now!

Chapter Text

"What do you mean you killed that dragon...?"

Rosalyn trembled. A high and mighty being, killed? A slight aura from dragons came out.

"I-I encountered it while going to the capital. It went out of control. It wouldn't listen to anything, and it's eyes were dead.."

~I would say I blame you, but I can't, because it was not understanding anything. You gave it the freedom of death. ~

'But it's not the freedom it desired.'

''It is now resting peacefully. And in another world, it is living happily.''

Shiro smiled. 

~Now, who will be the lucky winner of the wheel this time?~

He spun a wheel with everyone's name, except Cale's.

~You can only choose 1 chapter, so choose wisely.~

It landed on Paeston. (I swear I didn't plan this it really did land on him)

~Oh crap, isn't he dead here too? Ugh, this is a repeat from last time..~

The name disappeared again, and she spun the wheel again.

~Ooh, the person chosen is... Lock! A screen will appear in front of you, and you can choose a chapter!~

"Eh? Choi Han, what chapter should I pi-"

''No interferences, only you can choose, with no one else influencing you. I thought I explained this already.''

"Hey, that isn't fair! Ugh."

Lock just skimmed through the names of the chapters.

~What an interesting choice. Chapter 113, Great and Mighty.~

Choi Han looked at Lock. He shrugged.

"It looked interesting."

[ Cale!

Cale could hear Raon's voice in his head.

He was in pain.

He had never felt this much pain ever since ---------------------. ] 

"What just happened to me? It JUST started, and I'm already in pain?!"

~You're alright...I think? ~

"What do you mean I think??"

"Who's Raon?"

"That's what's concerning you?? Not the fact that I'm in pain?"

'Raon.. Raon.. the name sounds familiar.. It kind of sounds like Korean, but Cale wouldn't know Korean...right?'

~Raon is something very great and mighty.~

[ "Ugh."

The black blood continued to drip down through his fingers and onto the castle wall. He could not stand up straight, as he continued to spit out blood.

"Cough."

"Ca, Cale-nim!"

A hand quickly grabbed onto the hunched over Cale. It was Choi Han. Choi Han subconsciously tried to stand Cale up after seeing Cale look like he was about to fall off the wall. However, there was someone preventing him from doing so. ] 

Some people looked away. 

"Are you always putting yourself in danger?"

"Well, it certainly looks like that, your highness."

''So, I'm going to point out some things you might've missed! 1. He's on a castle wall, and he almost fell off, but did not due to Choi Han catching him!''

"He did that? To be honest, I'm surprised he didn't let me fall to my death."

"...I wouldn't let you die."

"You let others die, why would it be different for me?"

"I-"

[ "Stop."

"...What is it?"

Choi Han and Ron made eye contact. Ron continued to speak with a cold expression on his face. However, the corners of his lips were pale.

"What will you do if the blood goes down the wrong pipe?"

Choi Han let go of Cale. At that moment, Choi Han could see a bloody hand grabbing his arm. It was Cale. ]

Ron was shocked.

"So I didn't leave him there?"

'What changed my mind?'

Cale had a pale look on his face. He didn't expect Ron to care, especially after the incident. Even if it isn't in this world, he's glad at least that Cale had Ron to care.

~We have a special guest!~

Everyone looked up. A person came out of the portal, and immediately went to Cale. They hugged Cale, and left. (For you, TCF_fan <3)

~A special request, from someone. People care for you, Cale.~

"..."

[ Cale looked toward Choi Han and Ron with a pained expression.

"H, hurry up and- ugh."

'This damn blood!'

Blood continued to fill his mouth, preventing him from speaking properly.

'Why is the blood not stopping?'

He was in so much pain after the fire thunderbolt had landed. However, he was no longer in pain after about a minute, as the --------------- started to heal him. ] 

"I noticed this before, but why is some of the text censored?"

''I don't want you to see it, so it's censored. That's it.''

"It's really sickening to see myself like this. Blood does not suit being on my body."

Cale commented. 

[ However, there were still two problems. First, he still continued to cough up blood, and second...

'So hungry.'

He was hungry and felt like he had used up all of the energy in his body. He felt like he had been starving for a few days. It was similar to the pain that ------------ had felt prior to getting used to not having food for long periods of time. ]

"YOU'RE COUGHING UP BLOOD AND YOUR MAIN CONCERN IS THAT YOU'RE HUNGRY??"

Bud yelled.

"You went without food for a long period of time?"

Choi Han asked.

"Why would you care?"

Cale huffed, drinking some more wine. 

[ "Choi Han ... hurry and go!"

"What are you saying, Cale-nim?! We need to take care of your first!"

'Go bring me some bread. I'm so hungry.'

That was what Cale was trying to say, but Choi Han's vicious gaze made him say something else.

"Go take care of the tamer. Hurry up." ]

"Even in pain, you're worried."

Litana said. 

"Who the hell are you?! God, you scared me."

Cale jumped at the sound of the voice.

[ At that moment, Cale heard someone screaming.

"Aaaaaaah! My, my skin!"

It was an old man's voice. He was certain that it was the tamer. However, Cale could not see what was going on, as he was hunched over and coughing up blood.

But he could still hear the screams, as well as the scent of burnt flesh.

However, Choi Han could see what was going on.

The location that the red light had struck was burnt black with a large fire continuing to roar. He could not see any lifeforms above the fire. ]

"Author-nim, what does that last paragraph mean?"

~Hmmm, that's a great question Alberu! You will know soon, probably. If you can put two and two together you should be able to get it. ~

[ The range of the thunderbolt was very wide. The secret organization members who were in the rear were all gone without a trace.

"My, my baby soft skin! Ahhhh!"

Choi Han's gaze turned cold. The tamer and magic spearman must have succeeded in using blink, as they appeared from outside of the thunderbolt's range. ]

"Is this in the future or in the past?"

~Uh, let me think. Let's see, the plaza incident just happened, and this happened around then... It's the future.~

Alberu started to jot down notes instantly. 

"Were they hit by a lightning bolt?"

~Ooh, Bud got something right! That's correct!~

"What do you mean by I got something right?"

[ But they seemed to still have been affected by it, as the magic spearman's brown hair was all burnt and his spear was gone. He also seemed to have gotten burnt on his right hand.

"Kill, kill them all! It hurts, it fucking hurts!"

However, the magic spearman was not as hurt as the tamer. The blink must have gone wrong, as the tamer had a deep injury in his arm and his face was burnt. Choi Han remembered what Cale had said before they headed over to the Elf Village. ]

"The...Elf Village?"

Eruhaben had looked at the screen. One of the elf healers had lived in that village, so did that mean that it was going to be destroyed? 

"Hey, hey, this is still in the future right? Not now?"

Alberu panicked.  

~Yep, still in the future!~

"Who's the magic spearman? Why is he attacking the Elf Village?"

~Uhh, I dunno his name, I totally forgot.~

'...Is she serious?'

~He is a part of Arm, an organization you may be familiar with! Arm is the one who organized the uh...oh yeah! The Plaza Incident that just happened.~

Cale looked instantly at her. Basen had been the one to go. Information spread very quickly, and Basen was on his way back, supposedly gravely injured.

"Author, can you bring my br- can you bring Basen here? And heal him?"

~Uhm, that might be hard, but I can try! He might come after you guys are done with this chapter, or the next chapter. Depends, really.~

Cale closed his eyes. He destroyed his own reputation for them, so Basen can't die like this.

[ 'I earned an ancient power and I want to try it out. So, everybody retreat to the back once we get to the wall.'

It was an amazing power. Even he could not create such damage with a single blow. That was why Choi Han understood why the Elves were standing there with a blank expression.

"What are you doing? Hurry up and go."

Choi Han turned his gaze after feeling a tug at his arm. He could see that Cale's gaze was still calm, even though he could not stop coughing up blood. His eyes seemed rational.

He was telling Choi Han to go while coughing up blood. ] 

'An ancient power so strong that even Choi Han can't make? I thought ancient powers weren't supposed to be this strong..'

Alberu thought. 

Choi Han looked up, and saw Cale. He still had his eyes closed, but he seemed tense. He noticed that he asked a question, but no one really paid attention. 

"How valiant."

Someone mumbled.

[ "Hurry up and go. Are you going to let the animals continue to suffer like this?"

Cale was clenching onto Choi Han's arm with what seemed to be a lot of strength based on the veins on the back of his hand, but there was no power in the grasp. That made Choi Han's expression become even stiffer.

'He was like this in the capital too.'

Choi Han was thinking about how Cale always put himself in danger in order to save others. Cale always tried to do the difficult things himself, even if he would suffer in pain like this.

Who cares if the power is strong when it causes this much pain? ]

"I was there for the capital plaza incident?!"

If he was there, then that means in the other world, Basen wasn't hurt. And based on how Choi Han was treating him, he didn't beat Cale up either. So that means whoever that Cale was, he was changing the future that they knew of.

A bunch of people were thinking of the same thing. This other 'Cale' had changed their own past, and is changing their bleak future.

[ However, Choi Han understood Cale's feelings. At that moment, Choi Han heard Cale's voice in his ear.

"Only you can do it."

Cale could see Choi Han removing his hand from his shoulder.

Choi Han really was the only one who could do it. ]

Cale looked disgusted at what the other self was saying. He'd never say that, mind you. 

Choi Han felt a bit reassured at those words. He's heard them before, but it sounds.. sweeter, warmer, from the other Cale. He looked up at Cale again, and they met eyes. Cale rolled his eyes, looking away. 

'Of course, our Cale would never say that.'

[ Cale thought about making Raon do it, but Raon was a bit odd right now.

Raon's voice was consistently echoing in Cale's mind.

T, this! B, blood!

'What is he trying to say?'

Raon could not speak properly, instead, he just continued to say that over and over. At that moment, Cale heard Choi Han's voice.

"I will come back soon."

Choi Han did not wait for Cale's response before disappearing.

Aaaah! Ugh!

Cale soon heard a lot more screams. It was most likely Choi Han's work.

Cale wiped off the blood in his hands and put some strength into his legs. He then quickly gave an order.

"Ron, dead mana." ]

~Did I reveal who Raon was?? Hmm...~

No one was listening to the Author rambling, they were more focused on the dead mana, the fact Cale knew about it, and how Ron was touching it.

Alberu gulped. Was he going to be revealed?

[ "...Yes sir."

Ron's left arm, which was made by the necromancer Mary, was able to collect dead mana because it was not alive. Cale was planning on selling this precious dead mana to the Dark Elves (and the crown prince) ]

Only Alberu saw the last part. He knew. That Cale knew. No one was supposed to know. And he knew about Mary. Cale knew about Mary too. He glanced at Mary, who was deep in thought.  

Mary perked up. She had helped someone? He didn't think she was cursed? 

"Noona, look! I helped and wasn't called a cursed existence!"

Tasha smiled, at pat her head. Maybe he wasn't so bad.

[ 'I can't give up this free money.'

Cale hated working for free.

Cale put in a lot of effort in turning his head. He was so hungry that even doing this was difficult right now. He could see Lock and the kittens. ]

Now Tasha was doubting herself. He was a bit bad, but dead mana is precious.

Some people laughed, and looked at Cale.

"What? I don't like working at all. And if I had to work, I wouldn't do it for free.'

[ "Go."

Although it would be normal for them to flinch after hearing Cale's indifferent voice, Lock immediately jumped off the wall and started to run behind Choi Han. On and Hong, who had been in Lock's arms, headed toward Cale.

Meeeeeeow.

Meeow.

They tried to rub their bodies on Cale's legs. However, Cale avoided them. He didn't want the black dye to come off their bodies. Cale tapped them with his now clean hand to urge them on. On and Hong meowed a few more times before revealing their fangs and following behind Lock.

Cale watched them leave before he slowly raised himself up. He could finally see the bottom of the wall. ] 

Lock was confused. He was there too? 

"Do you know why I'm there?"

Choi Han looked at him and shook his head.

[ 'Hmm?'

Cale flinched, and his sight became blurry for a moment. Whether it was because he had spent all of his energy or because the sight in front of him was shocking, Cale staggered to the side.

'Was the Fire of Destruction this strong?'

He could see the fire on top of the scorched ground.

The results of using the Fire of Destruction at full power was beyond what Cale had expected.

Cale started to think as he staggered.

'This is pretty good.' ]

Alberu noted that down, that the name was Fire of Destruction, found near an Elf Village. 

"Does this kid have more than 1 ancient power? He seems familiar with them."

~Ehe, I dunno!~

[ It was worth the two hundred thousand silver coins. However, contrary to his satisfaction, Cale could not put any strength in his body. He did not even have the power to stop himself from falling backward. ] 

"TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND SILVER COINS?!??!"

Bud's eyes widened. How many beers could he buy with that?? Too many, that's what.

Cale coughed on his wine. He knew the Henituse County was rich, but this rich??

Alberu thought that was a lot, even for him.

Choi Han and Lock can't comprehend the numbers.

"Do you really need two hundred thousand silver coins to get this..power?"

~Not necessarily, it just strengthened the power even more!~

...

["Young master-nim!"

"Shit!"

Pendrick and Beacrox reached their arms out to catch him. However, Cale did not fall, even though they did not manage to reach him. ]

"Huh??"

Cale coughed. People actually tried to help him, what a surprise. 

Eruhaben looked at Pendrick's name. Pendrick was the elf healer that heals him every now and then. He recently came.

[ No! Cale! You cannot fall down!

Cale could feel a head supporting his back. It was the Black Dragon, Raon. ]

"So he DID save the dragon. Did he tame it as well?"

Some of the dragons stared at the person who said that. 

"You think that a human can TAME us? How arrogant."

Everyone stared at Rasheel. 

"What?"

They looked away immediately, with his aura leaking out.

[ He could feel Raon's round head on his back as his back started to get wet. Raon seemed to be crying.

Cale started to frown.

'This is bad.'

The Dragon had descended. Cale looked toward the Elves behind Pendrick. They were all still blankly staring below the wall. However, two Elves, the Guardian Knight and the Chief, who had come much closer, slowly turned toward Cale.

At the same time, the Elementals next to the two Elves, a half-transparent Blue Elemental and a White Elemental, both started to shake in fear. ]

'Shit, is the other me gonna be discovered for having a dragon? I don't know too much about elves, but I've heard they worship dragons to the end of the world..'

He shivered. 

[ "Cale-nim, are you okay?"

Pendrick's hand was covered in a white light. It was his healing power. Pendrick's hand immediately headed for Cale's back, but it ran into something invisible.

"What the?"

Pendrick mumbled in shock.

'Just a Dragon's body.'

Cale started to speak to Pendrick in order to divert his attention. Cale was not bleeding like before, but a small amount of blood was still seeping out of the corner of his mouth.

"Once we get rid of the tamer, I think it will be better for the Elves to take care of the animals. They have lived with all of you for a long time." ] 

'Good, divert the attention, god why is the other him so prone to trouble.'

"So this Pendrick is an elf who's a healer?"

~Correct!~

"And is the tamer taking control of animals of the Elves?"

~Wow, observant. Yep!~

[ Pendrick stopped moving. He looked toward Cale and was at a loss for words after seeing Cale's calm demeanor. He finally understood why Cale had not used that red thunderbolt, the power that he needed to sacrifice his own strength to cast, on the animals.

He was feeling sorry for the animals.

He had proceeded with this difficult and painful method so that the Elves, who had been living in harmony with the animals for a long time, could peacefully say goodbye to them.

Cale ignored Pendrick's gaze and started to think about how he had to do all this even though he was starving. Cale looked back down at the bottom of the wall. ] 

"What a huge misunderstanding."

Cale nodded. 

"Damn it."

The other him had been causing trouble. Apparently not for the first time. His hard work, crumbling..

[ "Haaaa."

Pendrick could see Cale let out a sigh-like laugh as he looked at the battlefield.

"I picked a difficult path."

Choi Han and the rest were fighting very well. Cale could see Choi Han's black aura cut through the tamer's stomach.

"B, blood! Brown! Come protect me!"

"Shit!"

Bang!

Choi Han nimbly dodged the magic spearman's sword. The magic spearman had taken a sword from one of his subordinates in order to be able to attack, as his spear had been destroyed by Cale's thunderbolt.

"I'm already busy because of those blonde twins! Why are these bastards always getting in my way?!"

The magic spearman swung his sword in a way that looked like he wanted to vent his frustration, however, his attacks did not manage to land on Choi Han. Cale looked away from the indifferent Choi Han to see the others, who were also fighting. With him not there, Lock, the kittens, and even Ron were like fish in water.

Actually, vicious might be a better word to describe it.

All of them were fighting without holding back. The battlefield was filled with blood.

Cale got scared at the sight and repented.

'I stepped in for nothing.' ]

No one had spoken. The fight scene had been all of the attention. 

"Damn it, he really did step in for nothing. Now all of my hard work...is being destroyed..."

Cale mumbled. 

"He says that there was no reason, but he severely weakened their opponents."

Litana said.

He jumped at that. He kept forgetting most people were here.

[ Yes, there was no need for him to do that. He chose the difficult path for no reason.

Looking at his present situation after stepping up to test the power of the, 'Fire of Destruction.' Cale regretted his actions. All he had to do was use these experts under his command.

Cale found it difficult to even stand there without any strength. He wanted to go to sleep. Although he was not in pain, he really wanted to eat.

This was the first time he felt like he was going to faint after receiving the Vitality of the Heart. ]

"He has another ancient power??"

"That's not good. Vitality of the Heart is the only thing keeping him alive right now."

Cage looked instantly at the screen. Vitality of the Heart? That was the one that Taylor had. Did he steal it? Was Taylor alive? Was he dead? She needed to know more. But for now, she'll stay quiet.

"All this talk about food is making me hungry.."

Cale murmured. Food appeared in front of him. 

~A smile came from the Author.~

[ Pendrick, who had misunderstood Cale's bitter smile for a different reason, hesitated multiple times with a complicated expression on his face before finally starting to speak.

"...We will never forget your and everyone else's benevolence, young master-nim."

However, Cale could not respond to Pendrick's statement.

"You crazy bastards!"

Beacrox, who had approached Cale, shouted loudly as he swung his longsword. Cale, who quickly turned around, could see a white bandage in front of him.

It was the assassin, Number 1. ]

'An assassin got pass me?'

Beacrox thought. He could understand if he got past his father, he was in the battlefield. But him? He definitely needed to get stronger.

"More misunderstandings? I guess he's misunderstood, and in a good way."

'That's not what I wanted though!'

Cale thought.

[ He seemed to have run forward without looking back while the red thunderbolt struck down. He was so stealthy that he managed to get by Beacrox without getting noticed.

Cale made eye contact with the eyes visible underneath the bandage. At that moment, he heard an angry voice in his head. The voice sounded like it had been crying.

I'm going to kill him.

With that, the white bandage flew backward. Cale blankly stared at the individual that got thrown back without even touching him.

Beacrox did not need to swing his longsword. Raon had used his strength. The white bandage that was floating in the air tried to move in fear, but he could not do anything. 

"W, what is this? You're a mage?"

Cale thought about his answer, but did not say it out loud.

'No, a Dragon.' ]

Cale smiled. He really didn't like the good attention, but at least a dragon nearby would keep him safe. He could trust a dragon. He looked at Ron and Beacrox. 

'Unlike some people.'

[ A vicious voice continued to speak in his head.

I will never forgive any of them.

Cale wondered who the, 'them,' Raon was talking about was.

Human, I will not appear, just like you asked. However, in return, do not look. It will be difficult for a weakling like you to watch.

Cale happily did as Raon asked. He made sure to say something, just in case Raon went crazy.

"Okay, I'm going to take a nap."

Cale closed his eyes.

He didn't have any strength to even keep his eyes open anymore. Cale felt the round reptile head and paws supporting his body as he fell asleep.

"Aaaaaaaaaahh!"

A pitiful scream echoed in the valley.

Bang!

It sounded like something blew up. In fact, it sounded like a human body blew up. Cale debated whether he should open his eyes and watch. However, he had given them orders prior to their arrival at the Elf Village. With the victory in their grasps, he knew that these people, who were all stronger than him, would take care of everything. ]

Some people looked away. 

"Oh god, that isn't what I was imagining..."

Rosalyn said.

Rasheel smiled. This dragon knew how to be a dragon, at least. Doesn't excuse him for being with a human though.

[ "A great and mighty being's protection......!"

Cale lost consciousness after hearing this new voice. He felt like his body was slowly being laid down as he prayed.

He prayed that he could have at least one slice of bread when he woke up.

However, when Cale woke up, he was laying in an extremely beautiful, almost to the point of overwhelming, flower garden. There was even a weird leaf crown on his head.

It was a crown made from the World Tree's leaves.

Cale was nervous at what might be going on. ]

"What the fuck."

Cale said out loud.

"The elves trusted him enough to show him where the World Tree is, and bring him into their village?"

Rosalyn asked.

~Well, he did save their village, and he has a mighty being protecting him! The great and mighty Raon!~

"I guess that makes sense.."

~Alright, let's wrap it up! Free time for everyone!~

Chapter Text

Cale had been doing fine in his little box. Perfectly fine. He had everything, a place to sleep, alcohol, food, and although he'd never admit it, it was comfortable. Until Author decided to teleport the worst person ever to "mAkE thEm rEcOnciLE". 

"There is no way that I will be talking to this- this- thing. Unless you do something for me, Author."

~Oh? You're negotiating with me? How bold.~

She smirked.

~So, what do you want?~

Cale waved her over and whispered in their ear.

~Huh. You already asked that, but alright, I'll make it happen right now.~

Basen appeared, along with Lily, Deruth, and Violan. Everyone was shocked, and started looking around. They saw familiar faces, but that didn't really help. 

~There you go!~

He coughed. A lot.

~Don't- *cough* mind me Cale! Just some *cough* technical difficulties. I'm gonna need to rest after I heal Basen.~

Shiro made another room for the whole family as she explained everything. They understood pretty well, especially with the promise of healing Basen.

~Okayy! *cough* Let's get started.~

A faint light started to appear from Shiro's hands, and it turned red. Slowly, the burns were disappearing, and internal wounds were being healed.

"Oh my god...please, Basen, please be okay."

Violan whispered, with Deruth comforting her and Lily clinging to her side.

~*cough* Alright. I'm done. He should wake up sooooooon. I'll be *cough* back soon! Don't miss me too much!~

A portal appeared and took her away. Before that, Cale noticed blood seeping out of her mouth.

~Damn, I really shouldn't have done that, my health is going down the drain. Meh, oh well.~

Shiro shrugged it off. 

Basen woke up. He woke up scared. But he was assured everything would be okay. 

"I'm so glad you are okay."

"Hyung, I was so scared when I saw your body! That uh, lady or uh person helped you!"

Lily and Violan were hugging Basen. 

"I'm glad you're okay, my son."

Deruth pat his head. Basen noticed Cale in the back.

"Father, do you know why that person helped me?"

Deruth hesitated, but shook his head.

"I do not. But I would like to know. Do any of you know?"

Lily was still burying her face but managed to shake her head. Violan also said no. He looked at Cale. 

"What?"

"Do you know?"

"..No. Why would I?"

Cale walked out of the room. As long as he knew Basen was okay, he'd be fine. 

"That's a bit cold for your family."

Cale glared at Choi Han.

"Rich for a peasant with no family to say that."

Choi Han gripped his scabbard. 

"Oh? So you're gonna break the rules? Or are you actually gonna finish the job this time? And then take my family?"

He gripped it even harder.

"Go ahead. It's not like anyone would care, in fact I think they'd be glad."

Cale looked bitter. He really didn't care anymore. 

"What? Suddenly you feel pity, or are you really that weak that you won't do anything?"

Choi Han let go of his scabbard, and turned away. 

Cale huffed. 

"Damn bastard."

Cale walked aimlessly, hoping not to run into anyone he doesn't like. Disclaimer: he doesn't like anyone.

"Damn it."

Cale had seen Alberu and Rosalyn, along with Lock, Ron and Beacrox. They didn't see him, luckily. He turned and bumped into someone. 

"Watch where- oh my god why the hell am I seeing everyone today this sucks I don't like any of you"

Choi Han was standing there. Looks like fate brought them to eachother again.

"Did you follow me or something? God, just leave me alone."

Cale stood up, and was about to leave when Choi Han's group approached him. 

"Nope. No."

He turned and sprinted, as far as he could get.

"Huff, huff, what the hell is with everyone."

Cale had stopped at a door, which was labeled "Music". He hated the music at parties whenever he went, so he always stirred them up. Maybe this world would be better. He headed in.

The room was a large one, for sure. There was speakers in the corners, computers around, and headphones everywhere. There were chairs, a mini fridge, a couch, and a bar which had nothing in it (Shame).

"What the hell are some of these things?"

He was not going to question things anymore, there never seemed to be answers. He sat down on the couch, and spotted instructions. 

- Instructions -

These are earbuds. They go inside your ears, but are not harmful.

There was a picture on how it looked.

-Next, once you put them on, choose music. If it is too loud or too quiet, use these.-

A picture of the sound symbol showed. 

-Up for louder, down for quieter.-

"At least it's detailed, I guess."

Cale put the earbuds in and played a song. [You can use your imagination but personally think he'd listen to Daddy Issues because, uhh.]

"Huh, I guess it's calming, which is at least what it should do."

He laid down on the couch, and fell asleep.

Only one person was not present when the reaction was going to start.

Chapter Text

"Excuse me, Author? Where is Cale?"

She looked over to the person asking.

~Why would you like to know?~

"Well, all of us are here, except him."

'As expected from a trash.'

~He's resting at the moment. He'll be back eventually, probably?~

"Ah, alright."

~OH yeah!! It has come to my attention that no one communicates with eachother, so I will be having a raffle for rooms for 3-4 people to share!~

Silence filled the room. 

~Come on, it's not that bad, is it?~

"Could we just react?"

~Ugh, fine, y'all are boring. I'll do it in the end then.~

Shiro spun the wheel, and the name landed on Bud. 

~Alright, Bud. Choose your chapter.~

"Yes! Finally, it's my turn! I gotta choose carefully..."

The choosing took over 30 minutes. In the end, he chose one that was near the beginning, wasting lots of time.

~You chose: "Returning the Favor", after THIRTY GODDAMN MINUTES.~

"Did I choose right?"

Glenn smacked the back of his head. 

"You wasted lots of time, I can tell you that much."

~Let's just get on with it, shall we?~

[ Instead, the Black Dragon just slowly crawled back into the path. While Cale was watching the dragon in disbelief, he could hear a quiet voice piercing through the wind to reach his ear.

"...I was ... just passing by." ]

"Aww, how cute! So it did follow Cale, huh?"

~Yes, Rosalyn-nim!~

[ "Tsk."

The Black Dragon's back flinched after hearing Cale click his tongue, but Cale did not have time to pay attention to the dragon. The cave's wind had a cycle of 3 hours of strong wind and 3 hours of weak wind. This was the moment that the wind started to get weaker. Of course, it would still become stronger the closer he got to the center.

Swiiiiiiiiiiiiish.

"Quite scary."

The wind was still pretty strong to be called the, 'weak phase.' The [ REDACTED] mentioned that the 150 year old man walked through this strong wind to get to the rock tower.

Cale turned his gaze back to the center of the cave. The large underground area. In the middle of the tornado was a half-stacked rock tower. It looked like there were no winds over there. Next to the half-stacked rock tower were numerous other rocks.

'I need to stack all of those rocks up.'

The issue was getting to the tower. Stacking the rocks would not be a problem.

Cale looked over the shield and the wings surrounding him, before taking a step forward.

Tang. Tang. The rough wind clashed against the shield. Even though the silver shield was transparent, it sounded like the wind was hitting a real metal shield.

That noise made the Black Dragon that was looking away slowly turn around to look at Cale.

"...But you are weak..." ]

"Hold on, he has another ancient power? Not just one?"

Eruhaben asked.

"Huh? It seems like that, but why?"

Alberu asked. It wasn't everyday you got to see a dragon, and talking to one was even harder. 

"Well, you explode if you only have more than two ancient powers. There's a reason no one was recorded having more than one."

"WHAT?!?"

Some people glanced over at Deruth.

"MY SON IS IN DANGER? GOD PERSON, WHOEVER YOU ARE, WHERE IS CALE?"

~In this world, he's perfectly safe at the moment. He is just resting, please, calm down. I brought you here in request of Cale to heal Basen, so please do not make anything more difficult for me.~

'...He asked this person to heal Basen?'

'Oraboni asked them to heal me?'

[ The Cale that the dragon could see was having a difficult time, even though the shield and wings were protecting him. The wind that could not be blocked by the shield and wings was making his clothes flutter. The wind that seeped through the bottom of the shield made him stop moving every so often as well.

However, Cale continued to step forward one step at a time. Then the dragon saw it.

Cale was smiling. This human, that was nothing compared to that strong tornado, the same human that was weaker than even the kittens he was traveling with, the human that was the weakest out of everybody he was traveling with, was smiling while pushing through this wind.

The dragon had never seen such a silver shield before. He had never seen such wings either. The dragon took a look at his own wings. It was very different from his wings. It was extremely beautiful. The dragon was curious as to what that power might be. ]

"Ho? He's strong enough to impress a dragon?"

Ron was amused. His youn- The young master was strong. He kept it hidden well enough to even fool him.

'It isn't easy to impress a dragon, but the dragon was very young and kept confined, so no wonder it was interested.' 

[ However, the dragon was focused not on the holy and magnificent shield nor wings. Its full attention was on the smiling Cale.

And the target of the gaze, Cale, was continuing to smile.

'It's doable. It's comfortable.'

It was a bit difficult and slow because of the wind, but it was actually a breeze. Compared to how Beacrox was almost killed by Ron while being taught his sword art, this was child's play. ]

People stared at Ron and Beacrox. The only thing they said was:

"Oh, he knew about that?"

'Scary old man.'

Shiro thought. No wonder Cale's scared of him.

[ This made Cale once again feel like it really was best to earn something without putting in much effort.

There were no physical or mental strain endured when using the Indestructible Shield. There would be a short strain if it was to break, but it was not in any danger of breaking right now.

'It just gets pushed back.'

The shield just got pushed back if the wind was strong. Honestly speaking, Cale had expected to be pushed back multiple times. That was why he had originally lowered the strength of the shield and enlarged it as much as possible. He had been planning on slowly shrinking the size of the shield whenever he got pushed back.

However, this shield was working better than Cale had expected. That made Cale a bit smug, but when he had reached about the halfway mark to the center of the tornado, he had to get rid of all side thoughts. ]

"This ancient power is strong, he must have been very lucky to find it. Where did he find it?"

Alberu asked.

~You'll know if you choose the right chapter!~

They smiled at Alberu, who looked back at the screen.

[ The [REDACTED] had said that you would hear a voice once you got close to the center. It was supposed to be the voice of an old man.

Cale was waiting for that voice. The tornado was supposed to get stronger once the voice started to appear.

- I regret it.

He could hear the voice. But it was a bit odd.

- Ahem, I regret it.

It was a sad old man.

"Tsk tsk."

Cale clicked his tongue. None of these ancient powers were normal. Why did Taylor think the old man's voice was sincere? Cale could not understand Taylor's train of thought. ]

"So he did know that Taylor was looking for it! Then why is Taylor still alive in there, but not here..?"

Cage didn't know what to feel. Maybe Taylor didn't need it in that world? Was he really okay?

"What the hell, ancient powers can talk??"

Bud yelled.

"Mine never talks to me!"

"You have an ancient power?"

"..Oops."

Bud shut his mouth and looked away.

[ However, Cale stopped clicking his tongue and stopped moving.

- The one that has a power that I am familiar with, I am hoping that you do not get this power.

"Hmm?"

'The one with a power I am familiar with?'

That phrase had caught Cale's attention. At the same time, the wind started to get stronger and swept through the area.

Tang. Tang. Tang. The wind clashed even stronger against the transparent wind and made loud noises. However, Cale's concerned expression was not because of the wind. His hair continued to flutter in the wind.

'Is he talking about the Indestructible Shield?'

The only thing that Cale could deduce about this, 'familiar power,' was the Indestructible Shield. [REDACTED]  Did the owner of this ancient power know the owner of the Indestructible Shield? Multiple thoughts flew across Cale's mind at once.

However, Cale still chose to step forward for now. The wind would only get stronger if he delayed any longer.

- I pretty much betrayed my comrades! I was a terrible person! Ahem, I stayed alive on my own and got old. How shameful am I?! ] 

"Are we gonna watch this person blow up?"

Toonka asked.

~OH crap I forgot you were here, what the hell-~

"AND CAN YOU LET ME OUT??"

~You can have 1 person with you and I'll make it bigger, take it or leave it. And they have to agree.~

"I'll just stay here by myself then. MAKE IT BIGGER THOUGH!!"

~Ugh, fine. And here, maybe this will help.~

A punching bag was put inside the cube, with a note saying "punch me if you dare"

Toonka immediately punched it, and it recovered almost instantly.

"WOAH, THIS THING IS STRONG!"

~That'll keep him occupied.~

Choi Han's thoughts were a flurry. He stayed alive on his own, while the whole village died. Was he a bad person..?

[ Cale could only hear the old man's voice every so often as he was having difficulty stepping forward one step at a time.

- I was always hoping for everyone to come back to life. However, my wish was something that could not be achieved. I could only lament and cry! That was why I could not finish my rock tower.

"How annoying."

Cale found the old man's lamenting voice to be annoying. Screw sincere, it was like he wanted to die. It was the style that Cale hated. Epicureans were so much better.

Cale centered his body after being slightly pushed back, and put some strength into his legs. He could hear the voice once again after taking another step.

- This restoration strength is useless. It is only capable of protecting myself. It is not helpful in any other way. I am a trash!

Cale ignored the cries of the old man that rang through his mind. The power to protect himself was most important to Cale. Who cares if it made him trash. None of it mattered as long as he could live.

Just five more steps. The center of the tornado was right in front of him.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The sound of the wind that was clashing became stronger. It was as if a human was punching the shield.

'It might break.'

Cale thought that the wind might now be strong enough for the shield to break. It should be doing more damage than just pushing him back now. The moment Cale thought that the wind might cut him, he realized something else as well.

- I did not die even when the wind cut me like a sharp blade.

It was the fact that the owners of these ancient powers were all extremely chatty. ] 

"Are ancient powers real people?"

~...I dunno. Any other questions?~

"Does Cale hear the voices of the powers in his head after he gets them?"

~Yes he does, it's quite frustrating sometimes, y'know?~

"Does anyone have this ancient power in our world?"

~Uhhhhhhhh... yesn't. Someone had it but he's dead now. So I have no idea.~

[ Cale immediately curled up and decreased the size of the shield. Boom Boom. The shield was now smaller, but in return, it was much stronger. It was able to push back an even stronger force of wind.

Cale reached out toward the transparent shield and clenched the transparent handle on the inside of the shield as he continued to move forward.

One step.

- Restoration is a cursed power.

Two steps.

- My heart was always beating. But I could not move on.

Three steps.

- It was because I was afraid of death. ] 

"Who wouldn't be afraid of death?"

Cage looked at Lock. 

"Not me, that motherfucking god of death.."

Cage whispered.

[ Four steps.

- I was afraid of pain because I had always been injured, and I was even more afraid of death, the end of that pain.

And finally.

Cale took the final fifth step.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-

The inside of the windless area sounded like it was raining all around Cale. The eye of the storm. The winds were swarming the area outside this calm center. He could hear the old man's voice along with the sound of the wind.

- I chose to throw everything else away so that I could continue to live.

That was the last thing the old man said.

"Tsk."

'Who cares about anything else? Living comes first.'

This old man had a lot of useless things to say. Cale clicked his tongue and returned the shield back to his heart. The silver light surrounding him instantly disappeared.

He headed toward the half completed rock tower and crouched down in front of it.

It was a normal rock tower that you could find at the top of a mountain. ] 

"How interesting."

[ However, all of these rocks were black. Just like the man-eating tree, these rocks that have existed since ancient times were different from normal rocks. Just like the wind surrounding this area.

"Whatever." ] 

"Hold on, man-eating tree? Did he fight a man eating tree for the ancient power or something?"

~Something like that, I guess?~

Deruth thought of the rumor of the man eating tree near the slums, but Cale would never go near the slums, so he ruled that out and kept quiet.

[ Cale, who had been thinking about making it aesthetically pleasing, changed his mind. That would be too annoying. He took out a pair of gloves from his pocket and put them on before picking the rocks up to stack the rest of the rock tower.

Clack. Clack. Clack. The rock tower was being built up, one rock at a time.

It did not take that long. Even Taylor had completed this part pretty easily. However, Cage, who had not come into the central area and had instead waited outside the eye of the storm, suffered quite a bit. This central area, like with all ancient powers, was somewhere that a person could only enter on their own.

"It's easy."

Cale picked up the last black rock and gently put it on top of the rock tower. It was at that moment.

Flash!

The black rocks slowly turned white. At the same time, Cale got up and looked around.

The wind was slowly dying down.

"...Huh?" ] 

"Dang, that thing really does look hideous." 

"I know, right? There's no saving that thing."

[ Cale ignored the confused voice of the dragon and waited until all of the wind died down. He then crossed his arms and listened to the old man's voice. He had no choice.

- I tried to fight with them. However, I did not know that I was so weak against pain. They were not people who served the lord. I only realized that after we all went our separate ways and I ended up alone.

The words of the old man caught Cale's attention. He then recalled the words of the owner of the Indestructible Shield.

'The people in the Forest of Darkness who called themselves servants of the lord only gave me terrible food.'

He had a bad feeling that he had learned something he shouldn't have learned about.

He had an odd feeling that the things he just heard were things that he should not tell anybody else about in his entire life.

Cale started to frown even more as the old man continued to speak. That voice was something only Cale could hear, thus making the dragon hesitate while looking at the silently standing Cale.

-

I piled the rocks. I piled them up hoping that I could turn back time, hoping that I could be happy. But then I destroyed it.

-

I hated my selfish self for thinking about my own happiness after betraying my comrades and running away.

"Sigh."

Cale let out a long sigh. This old man really was frustrating. Cale started to speak in frustration.

"It is human nature to be selfish." ]

The dragons nodded. The countless amount of times some human snuck in, trying to steal their valuables was tiring. 

[ The old man's voice disappeared for a moment.

'Is it over?'

Cale started to smile thinking that the old man was finally getting to the end. However, the sobbing voice continued once more.

- Ahem. My older sister said the same thing. She was a really wonderful older sister. She was more reliable than anybody else. Ah, my older sister. Sob!

...The old man was crying.

"I'm going to go crazy." ]

"God, does he have to listen to that thing whine all the time? I'm surprised he didn't go insane with that."

~Yep, he does listen to it whine a lottt.~

'Taylor never told me anything about it talking to him. Was he just hiding it, or did it really not speak to Taylor?'

[ Tap Tap. Tap. Cale was impatiently tapping the ground with his foot. Cale did not want to keep standing here like this. After crying for a while, the old man showed his thanks.

- You, the one with the familiar power. That rude personality of yours makes me think of my older brother. I am very envious of how rude you are.

And, finally, the old man said the final words that Cale had been waiting for. These were the same final words the old man had said to Taylor.

- Break it. Then you will, 'overcome,' your limits. ]

"This keeps showing up, but who is Taylor?"

Bud asked.

~Taylor was a part of the Marquis Stan family, and was killed by Venion Stan. His best friend, Cage,~

He pointed to Cage.

~Slaughtered the assassins, and got her wish. But Taylor did not.~

"So how does he know about this?"

~Resuming!~

[ Cale started to smile and instantly kicked the rock tower without any hesitation.

Tang. Crumble. Boom!

The white rocks flew away to hit the ground and the wall. The dragon that had been watching Cale flinched and stared at Cale as if he was crazy. However, the following scene made the dragon gasp.

"Wow."

The broken rock tower.

A white light floated up from underneath the rock tower.

Ooooooooong.

The gentle vibration that pulsated throughout the cave could be felt under Cale's feet. At that moment, the light rushed toward Cale.

Cale reached his hand out to grab the light. The moment he grabbed it, the light shot toward Cale's heart like an arrow. The light arrow pierced through Cale's heart before flashing and disappearing.

"Huuuuu."

Cale let out a deep breath. He then lowered his head to look under his shirt. The fancy shield tattoo that was over his heart had disappeared and had been replaced by a red heart. ] 

*COUGH*

Some people coughed, most of them looked away.

"That tattoo isn't that bad, I'm not gonna lie."

Bud commented. Glenn shoved his head down.

"Hey, what the hell?!"  

[ Cale could immediately feel the new vigor inside of his body. This vigor from the, 'Vitality of the Heart,' would make the shield even stronger. He would also recover at a much faster speed than normal people, even when he got injured.

Unlike the shield, which was a superpower, this was more apart of the physical strengths of the human body. This regenerative strength was so strong that it managed to last since the ancient times to be passed down like this.

Cale brought forth the shield again.

"Just as I expected."

Cale started to smile. The pattern on the shield had changed to a heart. The only difference from the tattoo on his chest was that it was silver and not red. He then returned the shield, before immediately starting to walk.

"You."

Cale had walked toward the dragon, that was pretending like nothing was going on and instead kept staring up at the sky. Cale just continued to stare at the dragon that was crouched down on the ground. He then stoically asked the dragon, as if he was throwing a rock into a lake.

"You want to come with me?" ]

"Aww, he acts so cute! Does he have a name?"

~Yes he does have a name! But I will show you in the future if I don't forget.~

[ "...You are so weak that you need protection. But I do not like humans."

The dragon answered, that way before starting to turn invisible. It had used its invisibility magic again. Cale just snorted at the disappearing dragon.

"What a fickle punk."

He was also fickle for asking the question after telling the others to ignore the dragon, but this dragon was just as bad. However, he could not just ignore the dragon after it had jumped out earlier to try to save him.

Cale looked around the cave, which no longer had any wind storms raging about, before turning around and heading out of the cave. Of course, he had to crawl back out as well. He returned the vines back to their original spots, and covered up the cave entrance properly.

He then turned around and started to speak while walking away. His gaze was directed toward a grassy area.

"I can see you standing on the grass."

He could see four imprints on the grass, each one representing one of the dragon's four paws. These paw imprints then quickly disappeared. The dragon had flown up into the sky. Cale shook his head.

'I guess my family grew in the end.' ]

"He has other kids?"

~Huh?~

Deruth asked. His son, a father?? Or was he talking about them as their family??

~Oh yeah, I forgot you guys weren't here. He has adopted three children, one is this dragon, the others are two from the cat tribe. Their names are On and Hong.~

Deruth sighed with relief. 

[ Cale could not help but let out a deep sigh. It was obvious that the dragon would continue to follow him in that invisible state. Just why was this dragon such a noob when it knows ancient magic like invisibility? Cale had thought that all dragons were intelligent, but that seemed like it might not be the case.

After walking back down the mountain, Cale could see Choi Han's judging expression. Choi Han looked at Cale silently, before finally asking.

"Did you... roll around the mountain?"

'Shit.'

The wind had made his hair a mess, and his clothes were dirty after crawling across the rocky and sandy cave entrance.

Cale sternly responded to Choi Han.

"Yes. I rolled around." ]

"PFFT, he actually believed that?"

Rosalyn laughed.

Alberu looked at Choi Han.

"Would you really believe that?"

Choi Han looked away, and his ears went red.

"Of course not.."

[ Choi Han looked toward Cale with concern. Cale just avoided the gaze.

That night, Cale told the kittens to deliver a message. It was a letter that was created with magic, which made it impossible to determine the handwriting of the writer.

"Make sure they don't see you."

Late at night in a small two story house in the outskirts of Puzzle City. The only light in the area was the light on the first floor of this small house, shining out through the windows. Marquis Stan's eldest son, Taylor, the owner of the house, started to frown.

"What is going on?"

"Damn it. Ugh. Hold on. Don't talk to me right now."

Cage, the priestess of the God of Death, was clenching her head in pain. ]

"Hey, it's me!"

[ Clang.

The beer cup in her hand fell to the ground. Taylor and three of his people approached her quickly.

"What? Is the lord saying something to you again?" ]

"..and Taylor."

[ Taylor looked toward her with concern. The God of Death spoke to Cage from time to time. This had suddenly happened one day and would sporadically appear like this. Cage had hidden this fact from the church, and only Taylor and his three subordinates knew about it.

"Ah, so annoying!"

After struggling for a while, Cage jumped up and headed to the back door of the house. She was moving pretty quickly. She was still clenching her head and staggering a bit, but her gaze remained focused on the back door. ]

"Wait, that damn god is talking to me without me sleeping?"

"You can talk to him?"

Alberu asked.

"Ugh, yeah I can. That motherfucking piece of shit wants me to be his saint, and I obviously turned him down. He's so damn annoying sometimes."

"Does he not hate you for cursing him?"

Bud asked.

"Sometimes I wish he did, so then I wouldn't have to act so saintly at the Church of Death. I got excommunicated here, being a part of Church is way too damn tiring."

[ Taylor told his subordinates to stay back as he pushed his wheelchair and followed behind her.

'Did someone break in?'

They may be in a small house, but there were magic alarms set up everywhere. Taylor was too paranoid about his younger brother to sleep without these alarms.

After having both of his knees destroyed by a hitman in his own room at the Marquis's estate, there was nowhere that Taylor considered to be safe anymore.

"Cage. What is going on?"

"Hold on."

Slam!

Cage slammed the back door open. Taylor could only see a peaceful backyard. It was calm and tranquil, as always. There were a couple of lamps lighting the garden up, making it the most lit area in the property.

Cage started to rush into the backyard and Taylor followed behind her. Cage walked all the way to the fence at the boundary of the property and let out a gasp.

"Ha!" ]

This was the location right outside of the range of the alarm. On top of that fence was a small rock tower made of five small rocks.

It was just large enough for the single knight staying at this house to find when he went on his patrol later.

"... Crazy shit. It was real." ]

"What was real? The suspense is killing me!"

"You are interrupting it, Bud. If you shut up, maybe it'll tell us."

[ Some rough words came out of Cage's mouth. Taylor arrived next to Cage in his wheelchair and started to look at the rock tower on top of the fence with confusion.

"What is this?"

At Taylor's question, Cage read the message that was written in chalk next to it.

"'Break this if you want your wish to be granted.' That's what it says."

Confusion and curiosity both filled Taylor's face simultaneously. Cage let out a sigh after looking at him and pressed her temples with her finger.

"I vote that you break it. No, it sounds crazy, but the lord says to break it."

"...What?"

"This is the first time the lord has not said some bullshit. Why is he talking so much these days? He usually speaks to me maybe once a year."

"What does this rock tower have to do with it?" ] 

"Yeah, what does the rock tower have to do with it?"

Choi Han asked.

'Was it Cale?'

[ Cage turned to make eye contact with Taylor.

"The turning point of our lives. That is what he said."

The God of Death only came to Cage when she was sleeping. Sleep was similar to death. That was why sleep was a path of sorts for the God of Death. However, this time, she had heard her lord while she was drinking.

Cage thought that the God of Death was angry at her for drinking too much beer. That was why she had welcomed it. She wanted this god to stop paying attention to her. However, the God of Death had a different message for her.

"'The decision is yours to make. However, don't break it if you want to live a peaceful life.' That's what he said."

She looked toward the rock tower. There was something underneath.

"There is a letter underneath the rock tower. I think they piled this rock tower up for the letter."

She turned back to look at her best friend, Taylor. He had to look up from the wheelchair, so, although he could see the rock tower, he could not see the letter underneath it.

"I don't feel any strange powers surrounding the rock tower."

Although she was not as sensitive as real mages, using divine powers allowed Cage to be pretty sensitive and perceptive toward her surroundings. She would be able to feel if there were any curses or negative energy surrounding an item or a place. She was, after all, a servant of the God of Death. ]

"That's quite handy. How do you feel about helping the chu-"

"By all due respect, I decline, Your Highness."

Cage put her fake smile on. 

"I will not be going back to the church."

[ She was waiting for Taylor's response.

Taylor looked up at the night sky, before slowly turning to look at Cage.

"Destroy it."

Cage immediately punched the rock tower in front of her.

Tang. Tang. Tang.

The rocks on top of the fence all fell down. Taylor just blankly watched it happen.

'Don't break it if I want to live peacefully?'

Taylor had never lived peacefully. He also had no desire to live peacefully. He was going to find a way to get his legs fixed and continue to push forward. And then-

'I will overturn this damned family of mine.' ]

"Why is he saying that?"

~Because Venion crippled his legs and killed him. And his father just watched, and thought it was like a sport.~

"Are all humans like this?"

A dragon asked.

~No, just this family and a few others in particular.~

[ Taylor reached his hand out and Cage handed him the envelope. Taylor immediately opened the envelope and found that letter was written using magic to prevent people from recognizing the sender's handwriting. Nobles frequently used this item.

Taylor opened the letter without any hesitation. The first two lines of the letter, that were visible through the lamps in the yard, immediately caught his attention.

[The crown prince is in possession of an ancient power. It is called the 'Star of Healing,' and is useless to him. It is a one-time use power that can heal any type of injury.]

[He is looking to trade it for a method to hold the second prince and third prince in check.]

"How does this person know that..?"

Alberu looked down.

"You have an ancient power, Alberu-nim?"

Choi Han asked.

"I do. I still do."

[ Taylor's hands started to shake. 

"What is going on?"

Cage stiffened up after seeing Taylor's expression and his shaking hands. However, she soon relaxed.

"Ha!"

It was because Taylor started to laugh. He then handed her the letter.

"it will definitely be a turning point in our lives."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Cage took the letter from Taylor and started to read. She stopped for a moment after reading about the ancient power and the crown Prince, but then continued to read the rest. She then jerked her head up after reading the bottom part of the letter.

[Your legs might not move, but your head, arms, eyes, and mouth can. The rest of you is still very much alive.]

[The decision is yours to make, Taylor Stan, eldest son of Marquis Stan.]

'Maybe if I said these words, Taylor wouldn't have plunged into despair. Maybe, he'd be here next to me. Maybe he'd continue looking. After he found the ancient power and found it was useless, it was heartbreaking, especially with what he had to go through. Why couldn't he still be here with me?'

Cage thought, with a single tear rolling down her cheek. She couldn't cry now, she still needed to avenge him. Make sure he was put to rest.

~That's it-~

A portal appeared in front of the screen.

~What the hell?~

Someone came out of it, with Cale in their hands. 

``You said you were looking for Cale. Here he is.``

~Oh yeah! Thank you, petrichor_arz!~

Petrichor hugged Cale, and pat his head. 

``Goodbye, everyone.``

A portal appeared underneath, and they fell, leaving everyone in the room stunned, and Cale in Shiro's arms.

~Hey! Oh well. You were asking where Cale was, here he is! He was resting, so please be quiet.~

Shiro floated over towards a room, and placed Cale inside. 

~It's time for the raffles, everyone.~

Chapter Text

Do you want ships in this story? If so, which one(s)? And if I see harem/a proship I will ignore you.

Chapter Text

It took a while to reply, read and count all of your comments, but it’s always nice to read some nice comments after a bad day, I love you all <3

Here are the results:

No Ships- 15
AlbeCale- 5
AlbeChoiCale- 3
ChoiCale- 4
MaryCale- 1
WitriaCale- 2
RosalynCale- 1
HansCale- 1

So there will be no ships, and it will stay Gen. Thank you to everyone who voted/suggested ! New chapter coming soon (hopefully)