NOVEL NEXT Chapter 264 A Truth Behind the Lie
264 A Truth Behind the Lie
"Envious of what? Me?"
I asked, confused about her words. Vendetta slowly nodded her head before looking out of the window, staring at the dark skies that looked heavy and were about to fall as rain.
"Yes, I envy how you have someone you'd risk causing a time paradox for."
"... Right, there's that too."
I scratched my head.
If I saved Fatima, then the part about her defeating the Void Beast would become impossible to achieve. She and the Void Beast were connected, so its death was connected to her death too. Taking her out of the equation before the Void Beast died would cause a paradox in the timeline and maybe destroy the one we were currently living in during the process.
"You sound like you had one like that too..."
I couldn't help but feel the nostalgia within her words, so I asked her to steer the conversation away from me. Vendetta smiled sweetly but was tinged with bitterness.
"Yes. I [had]... I failed to save him, though."
"..."
Although she was trying to brush it off as nothing special, the quivering in her voice was evident. She must be in deep pain from that event, as there were still traces of it even after it was all over.
"He must've been important to you too."
Although I could understand her pain, I prayed that the same wouldn't happen to me. If I ever fail to save Fatima and forever lose her, then I'll probably regret it for the rest of my life too.
"Anyway, time travel, right?"
Vendetta quickly returned to the topic, leaving the little flashback-inducing conversation we were having. After clearing her throat with an "ahem," she continued to explain.
"There are basically three requirements you need to complete a successful intervention with the past."
She raised three fingers, denoting the number of prerequisites that she mentioned.
"One is to have an anchor, an object that was connected strongly to the past. We will use that to pinpoint the timeline you'd need to travel to."
At her words, the image of the gun and the fragment of the Sealed Space's core came to mind. Since I can't leave the gun behind, it's definitely the core that I need to present.
"Second is your blood. Rather than for you, it's actually for me. I need blood to gain enough energy to activate the skill and send you to the accurate timeline of your choosing."
"..."
Well, she's a vampire, so I guess it's normal that she'd require blood for energy sustenance. Anyway, that's not a problem, so that's another item cleared.
"And last, you need a tamed beast with powerful psychic abilities, preferably telekinetic."
"That one I don't have..."
I sighed, realizing that I couldn't meet all the requirements immediately. Just in case, I asked why we need a Psychic type, and the answer was a little puzzling.
"When you return to the past, you'd exist in an alternate plane separate from the actual timeline. Only psychic abilities are able to interact with the object in the past."
I nodded my head, even though I couldn't fully understand what she meant. Is it like we'll become "ghosts" in the past and be unable to touch anything without using Psychic abilities?
Either way, that still meant I would need to find and tame a psychic ASAP.
"That's too bad. Then you can go and search for one before returning here tomorrow At the same time and in the same place. I'll be waiting."
"..."
It can't be helped. After all, we can't just pick up a random monster by the side of the road and tame it if it's a psychic.
After some discussion, it was decided that I would be returning tomorrow with everyone. When we went out of the room and into the living room, Ember and Fina were still playing with the children, smiles covering their faces as they ran around energetically.
It was a pretty nice scene, enough that I would like to take some pictures of it and preserve it for all eternity.
"I guess playing with children is a nice change of pace."
Words left my mouth uncontrollably, and I stared at Ember and Fina, lifting the rascals and throwing them against the cozy sofa. A smile crept onto my face.
"Ember, Fina. Time to go."
I called, prompting a wave of booing from the children. The two of them seemed to be pretty popular, given that the kids were now reluctant to part with them. With difficulty, Ember and Fina were able to shake off the little guys that were clinging to their legs. Vendetta could only smile awkwardly as she held back the children, scolding them lightly.
After we left the villa and entered the forest path again, the weather started clearing up. Is the overcast sky some sort of illusion around that place? It feels like the weather was specific to that area alone.
While walking, Ember released a deep sigh, staring at the canopy of the forest with an unfocused gaze.
"Kids are nice, aren't they?"
"Yeah..."
I answered without much thought. From the corner of my vision, I could see Ember showing a faint smile.
"... I wonder when we'll have one? Kids, I mean."
"...!"
Ember entwined her body against my arm, causing my senses to send warning signals all over my head. Wait, what happened? Why the warning? Is it an attack?
I looked around, but there was nothing that could pose a threat to us. I guess the only things that were enough to make me scared were the fiery gazes of everyone as they stared right at my face, eyes sparkling in anticipation.
"If it's Leader, then I'm sure our kids would be cute~!"
"I'd prefer if they're strong, though. Strength is paramount to surviving in this world. My Lord, why don't we devise a training method—"
"Stop it, Igni. Kids aren't supposed to be drilled like soldiers; they should be showered with tender love and care! Right, Yorm, Judy?"
"If it's Master's kids, our kids, I'd definitely love them with all my heart~!"
Listening to the girls chat with giddy voices, I can't help but feel a little awkward. I mean, I did it with everyone a few times—other than Fina, that is—so thinking about having kids is way too early.
Rather, the knowledge of the future and the approaching doom caused by the "singularity", were making me unable to think about such a future.
"For now, we should try to reach God-level!"
I declared, trying to slip away from Ember's grasp; however, her grip was firm, and I was unable to. Soon, Fang grabbed my other arm, while Fina and Igni gripped the hems of my clothes at the front and back.
"U-uhh... Girls? We'd be late if we dallied any longer."
It was a pretty rare occurrence for me, having a cold sweat not from a threat but from being pestered by kids. Rather, it was my first time, and I didn't know what the correct response should be.
Due to the girls acting like horny rabbits, we were quite delayed. Just for the record, we didn't do it outdoors, alright? I just convinced them that we should leave the topic for now, as it was not the proper time and place to discuss such things.
After a while, we finally reached the front lines. The surroundings were just as dilapidated as they had been the day before. The fort, the gathering point for the tamers, was already empty. All the others had already left to man the walls, but one remained.
"Oh, WILL!"
Threya raised her voice, seeing us approach from afar. Her energy was something entirely different, as she even ran toward us, meeting us halfway.
"You're late! Everyone already took the good spots. We're left with this side, the one with the hole in the wall previously."
Her tone contained some blaming, but more than that, she seemed worried.
"Your face is pale. Are you alright?"
"Y-Yeah... Probably just from my hangover last night."
Of course, that was a lie. I can't tell her that I was forced into a corner by the girls wanting to drag me into having a "sexy time" out in the forest. I mean, if we weren't short of time, I'd happily follow their request. Who would refuse the approach of four girls simultaneously?
I'm having slight regrets about it now, but well, what's done is done.
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