The Gamer's POV

Chapter 357: Who Controls the Chaos?

...Cedric couldn’t believe his ears.

Of course, the question of why he had transmigrated into an arena of all places, rather than experiencing a standard, normal transmigration, had crossed his mind on several occasions. However, he had simply excused it as part of Anele Martini’s cruelty toward his own son. He had even added it to the debt he intended to collect from the man when he eventually took revenge for that traumatizing incident.

So, what was this he was hearing now? The king was the one who had arranged it all?

"I-I do not understand what you mean," Cedric finally managed to stammer out.

The king tilted his head, staring at him with an unreadable expression for a moment. Then, as if his chest had suddenly iced over, locking his lungs and making it impossible to breathe, he gasped.

He then inhaled sharply, drawing in a deep, shuddering breath. When he exhaled, a thick wisp of black mist drifted from his lips. As the vapor dispersed, the black veins tracing across his body and face receded, fading just a fraction.

An expression of relief washed over his features, replacing his strained posture as he cocked his head back, looking at the cocoons. Then, he muttered in a low, detached whisper, as if to himself.

"Someone important once said a long time ago that magic, thaumaturgy, divine power, miracles, or whatever people call it, is a plague that should have never existed amongst us humans. No matter how tempting it appears, it strips the very thing that makes a person a human. Since it does not belong to us, it strips away normalcy and brings about nothing but ruin. It is something that we do not understand and something that should have never been given to us in the first place."

He paused, and a distant look entered his eyes. "When I first heard that, I have to admit I agreed with those words, but my understanding of it back then was incredibly shallow. Now, however, I have come to understand that more than just the obvious warning, there was an even deeper message that I had completely missed."

He chuckled a bit, covering his mouth in a mock-bashful manner. "And to think it took me moving up to the Fourth Ring to finally see the truth."

He trailed off and sighed.

After a few seconds, he tilted his head forward, smiled, and casually pointed a finger at Cedric, wagging it back and forth in a slow, patronizing gesture.

"You... you needed to join the last eclipse, no matter what. And I was tasked to make sure of that." He paused, his eyes widening slightly with dark amusement. "But with that bond of yours, that would have been impossible. You would have missed the eclipse entirely because she would have never submitted to you. She would have never given you her true name before that night."

’...!’

The corners of his eyes crinkled. "Of course, the previous owner of your body was doomed to die anyway. It’s a shame Anele lost his love for his own child. But, knowing you would take over the moment the boy expired, I had to ensure your demise shortly after. A normal death wouldn’t suffice. No, I needed a humiliating death for you. That way, she would have no choice but to submit to you right then and there — not just to save her own life, but out of pure spite for us."

Cedric felt a chill run down his spine.

Of all the burning questions now racing through his mind, he forced out the most vital one. "H-how... how do you know all this?"

Even the so-called oracles of the empire should not have been privy to such information about the Gods.

...to the plans of his previous self.

"Well, I’m the king." He leaned closer. "You seem to underestimate just how much I know... while overestimating just how much can happen in my domain without my knowledge."

Even though Cedric was on the other side of the table, he instinctively tensed and swallowed.

The king frowned. "I know what you are, boy, and how strong you might become in the future. That’s if you survive up to that point anyway."

His expression suddenly grew dark. "But I also know exactly what your Bond will become. You see, unlike the rest of us whose entire powers were gifted to us, you are different. Your bond is not the source of your power like ours. Your bond is simply the catalyst for it at the moment."

The king’s eyes narrowed slightly. "However... since she also holds a part of that power, she is an unpredictable chaos. A chaos that you have given free will, and have shown you are not willing to fully control."

His voice dropped to a freezing register. "So let me ask you, Cedric Martini. The worlds have all been heading toward doom, and we are barely managing to keep ours from falling apart due to Chaos. Now that you have become a being who can act freely because your darkness has been separated from you, will you be able to stop your own chaos?"

Cedric looked lost.

’Would I be able to stop... my own chaos?’

This was a perspective that had never crossed his mind before.

When he failed to answer even after a few seconds passed, the king leaned back and sighed.

"The Grand Council and the empire overall value all strong dominants — those born with the noblest bonds — especially during these treacherous times because they are the shields of humanity. However, I must question: are you also a potential threat? A liability?"

The king’s gaze turned icy. "I may not care much about anything in the world anymore due to my current nature. But as a king, I still bear the responsibility of protecting my people. The moment you become a threat, and make me regret assisting you, I will kill you. And if you refuse to use the bond command on that darkness of yours when she becomes a threat, oh which she will, I will kill her. Again and again, until she exists no more."

He paused, letting the weight of his next words sink in. "You need to understand that your bond is not your Lady. She is your High Mistress. She is under you, not your equal."

A tense silence fell between them after those words.

’This entire conversation... it feels like a test,’ Cedric thought as he processed everything the man had said. And then, the realization struck him. ’He has been testing me right from the moment he made me order Aika out!’

A bitter chuckle bubbled in his chest. ’Wait a minute... is the king wary of me? No. It would be more accurate to say he is wary of the potential of my new nature.’

After a seemingly endless moment, Cedric exhaled, looked up, and said firmly, "Your Majesty, you do not need to worry about my ability to handle my own chaos. And as I’ve said before, how I choose to handle my bond is up to me and me alone."

The king narrowed his eyes. But when he saw that Cedric refused to be intimidated by the cold glare, a faint smile of satisfaction touched his lips.

"Very well," the king murmured. He leaned back, tilting his head up to expel a thick wisp of freezing mist.

...Suddenly, something the king had said struck Cedric.

’...make me regret assisting you. Huh? Is he really helping me?’

"You do not need to worry." The king continued without looking at him. "Currently, I am the only one who knows about your true identity."

His eyes shifted down just enough to see Cedric’s questioning expression, and a smile tugged at his lips. "However, if you want to know how I know, and what I know, you need to earn the information."

He leaned forward slightly. "Survive the coming eclipse." His voice grew serious. "Depending on what I see when you return, particularly regarding your relationship with your bond, I will decide what our relationship will be."