Chapter 143: Has Your Dream Come True?
Abyss, who had been sitting quietly on a step, suddenly looked up.
“Givia’s been attacked.”
“Is there an enemy in that town?” Rebecca asked, her voice low. “Do we need to go back and help?”
“No. If I can sense the attack, it means she’s already safe. Don’t worry about her. I have a plan,” Abyss said, shaking his head. “We’ll finish our task here. I have a backup plan. Givia will be fine.”
“Alright,” Rebecca said, nodding, settling back down.
They were sitting in a large, empty garden within the Ossi Kingdom palace. The bare earth was the result of Abyss’s earlier act of vandalism, uprooting all the trees. It was late at night, the four of them sitting there in silence, a strange and unsettling scene.
Beside them sat another person, a woman with a gentle demeanor, her face adorned with light makeup, her clothes simple but elegant. She wasn’t a noble, but she was clearly well-educated and from a good family. She sat there, her eyes darting nervously around the garden.
Leona was idly counting the strands of hair in her twintails, while Flora gazed at the stars, lost in thought.
Thud.
A soft footstep echoed through the silent garden, capturing their attention.
They turned towards the sound. A figure holding a pair of shears stood there, his gaze fixed on the woman beside them.
It was Apos Kohler. He stared at the woman, who looked at him with surprise and confusion, then his gaze shifted to Abyss.
“You brought Persia here?” Kohler asked, his voice trembling slightly, his tone wary.
Abyss smiled, nodding. “I apologize. I investigated you, your past, your connections. This is Miss Persia, your former neighbor, your childhood friend. Since you’ve recognized her after all these years, perhaps my companions and I should give you two some privacy,” he said.
“How… How did you know I was in the palace?” Kohler asked, his gaze cold, not accepting the offer.
“I guessed. You have nowhere else to go, no true home. So I assumed you would return to the palace, the place of your greatest achievement, and a crucial part of your revenge—you must resent the palace for rejecting your application all those years ago…”
“Your conclusion is correct, but your reasoning is flawed. Do you find pleasure in prying into other people’s lives?” Kohler asked, his eyes filled with resentment. He didn’t seem happy to see Persia.
Abyss shook his head. “I’m not interested in the secrets of mortals. Your petty affairs are of no consequence to me. I investigated your past for other reasons. Please don’t misunderstand. I didn’t intend to humiliate you. I simply believe you need to talk to Miss Persia, to say the things you haven’t said for all these years.”
Kohler hesitated, then Persia, standing up, called out to him, her voice soft. “Apos…”
“…Persia… Where have you been all these years?” Kohler finally responded.
“I went to the Western Empire with my parents. Do you remember my kidney disease? We went there to seek treatment. Years later, we returned to Ossi and settled in the south… I came back to Silverwind Harbor Town to find you, but your house was gone, and your parents had died. Where did you go?” Persia asked, her voice gentle and soothing.
“I… After all that happened, I wandered, seeking revenge. I avoided contact with others,” Kohler said, approaching her slowly, but he stopped a few feet away, his gaze fixed on her feet.
“Revenge? Against whom?” Persia asked, her brow furrowed. “You shouldn’t be doing this.”
“I’m seeking revenge against this world,” Kohler said, looking up, his eyes burning with intensity. “I’ve analyzed the source of my suffering… It’s not my parents, not the royal family, not even the creditors who drove my father to suicide. It’s human nature.”
“Human nature?”
“Greed, theft, violence, deception… All these sins are inherent to mortals. Humans are inherently evil. None of us can escape it. If we want to purify ourselves, to become truly good, we must transcend our physical forms, slumber eternally under the watchful eye of a higher power, and build a true utopia within our dreams,” he said, his voice filled with a fervent longing. “I’m seeking revenge against human nature itself. I want to reshape it. That’s why, Persia, I pledged my loyalty to a god who promised to fulfill my wish. His name is Schlezhech, my master, my lord.”
Abyss noticed that Kohler had pronounced the Lord of Nightmares’ name effortlessly, without any difficulty. The Outer God’s name was incredibly difficult for humans to pronounce. Even the most skilled mimics could only approximate it. Kohler’s perfect pronunciation was unsettling.
“Apos, I want to apologize for what happened back then. I never judged you… I had to leave Ossi, to seek treatment in the Western Empire. I was afraid you would misunderstand, so I only said a brief goodbye. But Apos, I want you to know that I never looked down on you. You were always my best friend,” Persia said, her voice filled with emotion, as she took two steps closer to him.
“Apos, please, let go of your hatred, your desire for revenge. I’ve been waiting for you to return. We can explore the world of knowledge together, just like before. My dream has come true. I’m a scholar now. What about you? Will you pursue your dream?”
She opened her arms and gently embraced him.
Kohler’s body stiffened. He remained silent for a moment, then sighed.
“Persia, we can’t go back. It’s too late.”
And as he spoke, his gardening shears emerged from her back, their blades glinting in the moonlight.
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