Life didn't get easier, even in another world-Chương 422: Played by Fate

A storm of memories brushed past his vision in a split second that felt like a century to him. Roy blinked his eyes and took a deep breath. After a brief pause to sort out his thoughts, a smile bloomed across Roy's face.

"Seems like we were both played by Fate."

Could he really call it being played by Fate? He was the one who agreed with the contract, after all. A contract with Fate is only valid when both parties agree with it, that's the oppositional nature of Fate; while fate is forced upon people, Fate can not force anything on the living.

"...What have you done, Roy, what have you done?"

Samuel circled around himself, gazing at the pillar of light that was showing strange signs, and the sky which was gradually shifting colors. Colors drained off the man's already pale face, making him look no different than a ghost, however, his expression restored back to normal in barely a few seconds. Through gritted teeth, the white-haired Samuel mocked the other party with a sneer on his face.

"Do you think such a thing can change the outcome? It's a contract with Fate, right? What can a mere contract of fate do when Fate himself is unable to step up and involve himself in the matter?"

It was just as Fate mentioned. One second, and Samuel understood the whole situation inside out. There was no way Roy could outsmart him, not even after thousands of years of life.

Did that mean there was no way to defeat him? No. However smart this man might be, there are bound to be things he's not aware of, even after thousands of years of life.

Crackle

Crackle

The crimson pillar of light wavered and made noises. Golden cracks expanded inside, gradually spreading their light, resembling tree roots growing within solid soil.

"What have you been doing all this time, Samuel?"

A question completely unrelated to the situation.

"You've been going around, destroying the lands and wreaking havoc in various worlds; killing, annihilating... You've enjoyed yourself a lot."

Samuel stopped observing the pillar of light and turned back to Roy. Confusion clear on his face, he gave a tilt to his neck and watched as the redhead activated his power, cloaking his body in a red beam of light. He was preparing to teleport somewhere far away.

"That's what makes the difference. I was bestowed with the life of a precious little one, and I've used it well."

He'd been going from world to world, creating various devices, and testing various ways to save the world from destruction. In some worlds, he became a mysterious savior, and in some, he played the role of a god. In many of them, he wasn't even known or seen by people as he secretly prepared a barrier for them and left.

Roy and Samuel weren't the same. The former proceeded to save lives and maintain the endangered worlds while the latter left nothing but destruction on his course.

"Which one of us do you think has left a greater impact on fate?"

After the destruction of The Chain, Fate was what linked the universe throughout. The one having the greatest impact on it was the winner.

Bright crimson light lit the area as it surrounded Roy. The man's body dissolved in light and just like the flash it was, vanished form sight, leaving only one sentence behind.

"That's the true form of Fate's contract."

. . . . . . . .

"... Something just happened."

Kairen's dulled senses told him that a huge change had occurred in the flow of energy within the chain created by the connection of devices. He couldn't clearly discern what that abrupt shift in power was, but he felt the burden on his body loosen up a bit.

"Huff..."

He raised his trembling body up and gasped several times. Now that he could breathe a bit easier, Kairen cast a fleeting glance at his surroundings. The temple was almost destroyed, mostly due to the power clash with chaos and partly because of his brother who was wreaking havoc outside of the barrier. His body wasn't in a good state either, with it being thoroughly cracked up and about to shatter.

'It's still better than that time...'

The scene he experienced in his memories was a more painful and dreadful one. Kairen could tolerate this much. It was fine as long as he didn't experience a sudden death.

'This temple... Why didn't Roy destroy it after my... After Reynold's death? This device remaining intact allowed Samuel to abuse it and harm the people of this world...'

Though it was useful now, there was no reason to leave it operating. Roy could hide it somewhere else. Kairen pondered over the matters, finding them complicated and uncertain, while sticking to the device and supporting it with power, doing his best not to give into the pain and fatigue.

Wromm

Just then, the pillar of light suddenly flared and burgeoned with a massive crimson flash. Someone emerged from within, cloaked in red cracks.

'Uh, mister?'

The man's pupils widened upon making eye contact with Kairen, who had collapsed and was sprawled on the ground, covered in blood. His hand moved a tad later, grabbing the boy by the back of the collar as if catching a stray kitten.

"Wha-"

He was tossed aside without hesitation. Kairen's body hit the ground some meters away and rolled around a few times before hitting something that marked his stop. A trail of blood was left on the ground from where he was yanked aside. He gasped and groaned in pain, curling as he ached all over.

"Do you want to die? What do you think you are doing?"

As Roy's enraged voice entered his ears, a pair of arms hurriedly pulled his body up and corrected his posture. Kairen didn't have the time to check who the person was.

"Argh- I did what you, cough, told me to!"

He was told to activate the machine and Kairen did so, what was so wrong about it?

"You should've left it be as soon as the activation was successful!"

Instead of Kairen, Roy placed his hand atop the machine. The pillar of light went through a color shift as soon.

'But the pillar would've collapsed if I left it be.'

Kairen didn't have the energy to speak his thoughts aloud. The pain got worse once he was separated from the device as if all the piled-up burden came crashing down on him all at once.

'Samuel's power surging inside the chain would've taken over the whole thing if I stopped supplying it with energy.'

Even if Kairen was unable to defend himself, he knew that Roy was already aware of that fact. That what Kairen did was crucial to his plan.

That fact was probably what made him mad.

"Huff... Huff..."

Feeling all energy leave his body, Kairen limply leaned against the person holding his body. He did his best to breathe. His vision was blurred and his senses were getting dull, but Kairen struggled to stay awake for as much longer as he could.

"...Ren... Hey, Ren!"

Ah, so it was his brother who was hugging him so tightly. Kairen parted his lips to respond, but instead of words, a mouthful of blood was spat out.

'...I don't want to die... because of this chaos for a second time...'

Despite not regretting his actions, the whole situation left a bitter taste in his tongue. This was the most unfortunate.

Trick. Something landed in front of him just then. All Kairen could see of it was a golden shine. He could hear people speaking, but couldn't understand the contents. It felt as if his ears were blocked and his eyes were covered, gradually separating him from the world.

However, before he completely submerged inside the darkness came feeling akin to his arm being raised and something cold touching his skin, before all of a sudden, he was pulled out of the poll of dullness.

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"Argh, gasp!"

Pain, clearer than ever, struck his body, and his blocked senses returned back all at once to bomb him with all kinds of sensory information. His ears were buzzing and his eyes hurt from the light. He curled up in his brother's embrace and whimpered like an injured animal, gasping and shivering nonstop.

What just happened? What was going on? Kairen's mind was filled with the same questions but he was unable to think straight at the moment. All his attention was focused on surviving.

"...Fool."

In between his gasps and moans, that was the only word Kairen heard before all of a sudden, his whole worlds went crimson.