Cameraman Never Dies-Chapter 62: Judge: ’Did I Just Die?’ Clio: ’Not Yet, Drama King.’

Judge needed a break, he had been fighting nonstop and now of all time, he had to meet Clio. And he still has not found a good psychiatrist. "Clio," He knitted his brow and spoke honestly. He could not still move his body, but changing facial expressions was possible, and moving his head was possible, though only slightly.

"I have been in a nonstop drama— Starting from the Déjà vu, to talking to you" He sighed internally.

"Do you know how much trouble that Percival caused? That guy turned back, now he turned into a monster," Judge’s voice was raising, "and he even decided to attack my mother... and what even is a ’Nubes Draco’?"

"Judge, calm down." She said seriously.

But he was anything but calm, "That time turner bastard, I don’t even know what happened to my mother." His eyes showed pure signs of panic.

"JUDGE!" Clio shouted, and that got his attention, he stopped talking to listen to her. "Calm down first." She seemed down for some reason.

Judge took a deep breath, it seemed he could move his internal muscles. "Okay... I am calm" He then sat in silence, allowing her to speak. He hated her for being such a child, joking around at such a hard time.

"Judge, listen to me now." She was definitely not in the lively spirits that she usually had, she seemed rather sad than anything. "Time travel is never possible, even by a god. The happenings of the present are recorded in the Memoria Mundi, which in your previous world, it is called the akashic records. And those can never be changed unless you can access the said records"

"Then how?"

"It is not time travel... You are all in an illusory world. You still have not been born in the real world yet."

This was a time where Judge should be confused, but his head was calm, and could think clearly, it was the work of Clio, he was sure. Thinking back, people sometimes acted out of character, and he could sometimes not think clearly to form a plan.

When he first saw Hawthorne signing the contract, all flustered. He thought it was something that the paper reveal. But after he read it, that was just his name. Hawthorne was a being too prideful to bow down to some who just found out his name.

They were certainly anomalies, and he did not even care about them. It was like his mind was clouded... as if he was just in a dream, a dream in which he could think, but not properly.

As he was deep in his thought, Clio continued on with her explanation. "You are in a world created by the god of night and false realities— Tenebris. He was also who was trying to possess Percival."

Judge tried to nod his head, all to no avail. He was in deep thought, absorbing all that Clio was saying.

"The outside world is frozen, nothing except time moves there. Tenebris was trying to descend onto the mortal world through possession, but it is more complicated than just possessing someone.

"For a god to possess a person, they need a strong resonance, which is, of course, a rare phenomenon even among rare things. Next was that they need to possess an abundance of the god’s power, which can achieved through blessings.

"The last thing was the willingness of the victim. Tenebris and Percival met none of these, but there was one thing that connected the two. And that was his extreme faith in the god of night, and possessing a unique divine power, one that was similar to the power of Tenebris.

"So Tenebris took a gamble and created an illusory world with Percival as a medium. All because he wanted to walk in the mortal realm once more."

Judge listened in attentively, his expressions softened, "I am sorry Clio." he was having trouble finding the right words. He had shouted at her for being immature, but the one actually being immature was him. He felt sorry for her, who had to put up with him.

She smiled, it was genuine, and he did not feel annoyed or the usual warmth. "Don’t be, Judge. I am honestly happy whenever you spend time with me."

Judge looked conflicted, but finally smiled and spoke "I will take that as a compliment." he did not say ’thank you’, he did not want to dampen the mood any longer.

"Now listen to me carefully, I need you to understand a few things before you are actually born."

"I’m listening."

"I could only communicate with you because you were still in the illusory world. The same goes for both your and Selena’s parents." Her smile was bright, it was doing a bad job at conveying what she had just told him.

"You mean!"

"Yes... I won’t be able to visit you and talk to you anymore"

The whole place went silent, Judge felt a familiar tight feeling in his chest. He just had a vulnerable moment with his master, and now the vulnerability was returning.

He tried to speak, but nothing came out. His voice was hoarse, his eyes started to become blurry.

Clio came forward and held his head in her arms, "Don’t cry, Judge... This is the fate of every being. Goodbyes are a natural part of life, you have to accept it and move on." She said as a drop of fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.

"The thing is, after the illusory world shatters, nobody would remember what had happened inside. Not even the caster.

"So, Judge. Please forget about me and live peacefully, the time you have spent with me till now is more than what I could ask for."

Judge could not speak, he wept in her arms silently. He did not know why he was crying, he never liked her that much to begin with, he always found her annoying. But here he was, unable to utter a word, just because she said they could not meet again.

"Forget about me, but don’t forget to provide me with stories okay? I feel quite lonely with nothing to do."

"Yes..." He sniffed the words out with difficulty. "I’ll... I’ll make sure... to provide you with the best ones."

"That’s my boy," She retrieved her arms, Letting him fall towards the floor, which absorbed him inside. "Don’t forget to care for yourself okay... Love you... Judge." She spoke in a happy tone even though she was crying herself.

Judge remembered a line that he heard long ago.

"If you want to be kind, you are tested with cruelty,

If you want to be strong, you are tested with difficulties

And...

if you want to love, you are tested with loneliness"

The scene of a lonely Clio, sitting in a dark room, alone and sad came to his mind, she was crying.

He was trying to take it easy in this life. He was just joking around with the idea of world domination.

But now he had a new goal, a new purpose. He had to see her smile again, the smile of someone who hides their loneliness, he had to make her smile genuinely, and for that, he had to become a god. No matter what it took or how much it cost, he had to meet Clio again.

He knew what it was like being tested with loneliness, and she had lived for eons, he could not begin to understand her pain, he had to bring her joy.

———

Selena still could not get up, some force was holding her back, wanting to nurse Judge. Her mother had already died, but she fought against the forces, her urge to run to her mother was strong.

She was in a daze, she could hear someone screaming, it was her own voice. Her throat hurt, she had no strength left in her. But she got up and slowly walked toward her mother, tears dripping down her weak face.

She could not discern between reality, she wanted to believe— no, hope that her mother had not yet died. But she knew that it was not true. She fell to the floor weakly, she saw the man who had killed her mother and held up her wand.

The ruby etched on the handle started to glow as she chanted.

R𝑒ad lat𝒆st chapt𝒆rs at free𝑤ebnovel.com Only.

"From the skies, the servants rise,

Seraphim, with wings of fire,

Heed my call, O angels wise,

With your light, descend and sweep,

Reap their souls, may sinners be punished."

Crimson fog started to come out of her pupils, "Trumpets... of apoc..." She fainted before she got the chance to finish her move. Before fainting, she saw a tall figure out of the corner of her eyes.

...

Gereon was late to arrive at the scene, he saw a young girl fainting near his grandson just as she had finished her chanting. There was a body lying on the floor, it was split in half, and he knew the owner of that body.

It was Seraphis, his son’s childhood friend, along with Eleyn and Corwin. They all went to the academy together. He prayed silently for her to rest in piece, he knew the world was an illusion at the moment when the whole world turned black. But he did that out of habit.

He looked over to the man who was floating in the air as if he was high on some drugs. He marveled at the strength of the entity that was holding.

The possession was not even quarterly completed, and it was nearing his strength in his human form. He had felt the energy of this being before from the cultists that attacked the dragons.

Back then, he felt as if he had to transform into his dragon form to defeat his enemy. But that was just the feeling he got from the energy of this being’s blessing.

Without waiting even a moment more, he decided to strike. He could not let such a powerful being roam in the world. And there was no shortage of being this powerful. One more would definitely hurt.

...

Tenebris, the god that was trying to descend through possessing Percival, tried his hardest to complete the possession faster. It was almost a quarter way through, while complete possession was a challenge, he could not take chances. There were at least a handful of beings in the mortal world that could rival the gods.

He sensed a strong entity near his descending place, an entity that could rival the gods.

Tenebris (Now Percival) looked to the side to see a huge, towering dragon beside him. He tried to rush the possession even faster. He could not always put his hopes in the regeneration.

...

The dragon Gereon inhaled slightly, the enemy had noticed and was trying to rush the possession. But now that he found him, there was no escape.

Geroen smiled, but it was not visible with a dragon’s face. "Me and my Devil" He muttered, and the whole place went cold.