Seven years ago, he sacrificed his life to prevent the worst future.
But why did he feel his brother’s soul from the fallen bird?
‘Is it a trace of my brother?’
There is a saying that a person’s soul leaves a mark on the world in some way.
Could it be that Julios’s desire wandered the world and ended up in Rehir’s hands?
‘No. That’s not it. This isn’t just a desire. This is, almost…’
The gradually fading blue flame seemed to be Julios himself. If one could see a dead soul, it would probably feel like this. Dietrian gritted his teeth against the pain that felt like his heart was being torn apart. In the midst of severe confusion, there was a dream filling his mind.
The day he learned that Leticia was the goddess’s representative, and the day Mano received Julios’s remains. He had a dream. In the dream, he met his brother who looked exactly the same as before he died. At the time, he thought it was nothing more than his brother appearing in his dream after a long time. But now that he had awakened as Gilead, he saw it differently.
‘Perhaps that dream was a prophetic dream shown by Gilead’s instincts. Moreover, Lord Sigmund said that someone’s twisted fate must be corrected.’
And lastly,
‘He also said that I would soon have to leave Leticia’s side.’
Dietrian tightly closed his eyes. The scattered pieces came together, striking him with a huge shock.
‘My brother is alive.’
He didn’t know what trickery was involved, but Rehir had obtained Julios’s soul. He even tried to attack Leticia with that soul. Julios was suffering even in death!
“Dietrian.”
When Dietrian said nothing, Leticia finally couldn’t hold back and stood up.
“I will go. Just wait a moment.”
He stopped Leticia, who was approaching him, with one hand. He barely managed to suppress his voice.
“Julia, I have something to say to Leticia right now. Please step aside for a moment.”
* * *
“Julios. Give up. If you give up, it will become easier. Abandon your futile resistance and dedicate everything to me until you are annihilated. Then I will spare your family.”
Rehir endlessly whispered to Julios. He told him to give up. That was the only way to save himself and his people.
“Abandon hope. Sigmund and Dinute can never defeat me. Unlike them, I can do anything.”
Rehir was born from darkness and was darkness itself. Having enjoyed human suffering for a long time, he knew how to exploit human weaknesses.
“Time is on my side anyway. Even if you don’t cooperate, I will wait. Until I find another Josephina. Until I create another Josephina!”
In fact, even to Rehir, Julios was not an easy opponent. He was the soul most loved by Sigmund and special enough to be favored by the law of causality. However, the problem was that Julios was now too weakened.
“If it comes to that, it will truly be irreversible. Your brother will definitely die. No, everyone in the Principality will end up the same.”
No matter how strong a tree is, it eventually crumbles under constant hammering. Having had his soul stolen several times, he no longer had the strength to withstand Rehir’s curse.
“You want to save them, don’t you? So do as I say. Give up on Leticia, that woman. Just kill her! Then you can save everyone. Everyone in the Principality!”
Rehir’s whispering, like a snake, penetrated Julios’s weak spots. He felt his last hold on willpower finally crumble.
‘Would it really be easier if I gave up?’
Was enduring actually putting everyone at risk?
“Ha. Ha.”
Julios’s white eyes began to turn black. Unlike before, the spread of the black stains was very slow. His desperately held will had finally broken. Like a dam bursting, he collapsed. Finally, darkness swallowed Julios. Rehir shuddered and looked at Julios engulfed in darkness.
“Yes, this is it! This feeling is much better than I expected! Hahaha!”
A thrill tingled at his fingertips.
“The corruption of the most righteous soul is such an entertaining sight! Killing can’t even compare. Hahaha!”
He had enjoyed all sorts of pleasures from killing countless humans, but Julios’s corruption was by far the best.
“How much pain would Sigmund feel seeing this? Haha. Seeing the human he loved so much being destroyed like this, how much would he suffer!”
Rehir reached into the darkness. He spoke in an excited voice.
“Spirits of darkness, return to me now! Show me your work! Show me how Julios, whom you swallowed, has changed!”
The dark energy that enveloped Julios began to seep into Rehir. Moments later, as the black mist cleared, Julios with a pale face appeared.
“This can’t be. It’s truly amazing! It’s incredibly identical. How can this be?”
Amazingly, the Julios before him looked exactly as he did before his death. Just like when he was dying from Josephina’s knife, it felt as though he had returned to that moment, except for the dagger piercing his chest and the blood flowing beneath it.
“To think that the fake I chose by chance would synchronize so perfectly. How fascinating. I selected that child merely by chance!”
In a moment of rage after losing all his wings, Rehir ordered his minions to find a being on the verge of life and death. A dying human with a heartbeat, not yet rotted, but too weak to hold onto their soul. Additionally, a being that could somewhat synchronize with Julios’s soul.
“I thought I found a plausible shell, but it’s more than just plausible. It’s perfect. It’s like that child was Julios in his younger days!”
How could such perfect synchronization be possible?
-Master, actually that child had a story. Actually, that child…
The darkness that found the child whispered to him stealthily. Rehir, who was listening attentively, burst into laughter.
“Haha! So that child had such a secret! To have lived a lifetime as an idiot! Fate is truly on my side!”
What the darkness revealed was the child’s past. The child had been found by street vagrants six years ago as a newborn. Since then, he had been raised by the street people. He had felt nothing all his life. He neither cried, saw, nor heard anything. He was born an idiot.
“It’s like he was destined to be an empty shell! Now I understand why Julios synchronized with the child so quickly!”
It was because the child’s soul was not normal.
“Kukuku. As soon as I decided to use that soul, I found such a perfect shell.”
Rehir burst into wild laughter. He was even more excited about the future. When confronted with the corrupted Julios, what kind of face would Sigmund make? How much would the damn dragon’s descendant, Dietrian, despair? How shocked would Leticia, who constantly blocked his path, be?
‘Leticia. They said that woman is pregnant with the dragon’s descendant?’
At first, he was furious to the point of madness upon hearing the news, but now he wasn’t.
‘If the deranged Julios kills the woman’s child, it would be the perfect revenge!’
And if Dietrian knew that fact and despaired, it would be perfect revenge on Sigmund as well.
“Julios. My lovely servant destined by fate. It’s time to wake up now.”
At the same time, Julios slowly lifted his eyelids. His blue eyes, devoid of any warmth, were as cold as ice. Rehir was once again satisfied. Julios no longer had the will to resist the darkness, nor did he cherish his family. Rehir gently caressed the cheek of the doll that fate had gifted him and whispered.
“Now let’s go. It’s time to take revenge on all those who stood in my way.”
* * *
At the same time, after Julia had left, Dietrian was alone in the bedroom with Leticia. Kneeling on one knee before her, he pressed his forehead into his hands.
“Dietrian. What’s the matter?”
He couldn’t say anything. Though he had decided to reveal the truth about Julios, he couldn’t easily bring himself to speak. He wanted to keep her in a safe place and bear all the dangers himself, as he had always done. It made him feel much more at ease.
‘But if Leticia learns the truth, she will suffer even more.’
Dietrian recalled Leticia leaning on him in sadness just a few hours ago. She had been upset with him for taking the traces of the curse without consulting her. It was for her sake, but it ended up hurting her when it was revealed.
‘But I can’t tell her. This isn’t an ordinary matter. Leticia might not be able to handle it.’
As he was in agony, unable to do anything, Leticia looked down at him and gently embraced him.
“Dietrian. It’s okay, so please tell me.”
“…Leticia.”
“Bad news is fine too. I can handle it. No, I have to handle it. We are a couple.”
Then she released her embrace and gently cupped his cheeks. Smiling kindly, she placed his hand on her belly.
“You’re hiding the bad news for the sake of our child, right?”
“Don’t do that. Our child is much stronger than me. Lord Sigmund has acknowledged the dragon’s bloodline. Besides, he even withstood that terrible curse.”
Saying so, she embraced Dietrian again and then joked.
“How could he be scared of mere bad news?”
In fact, Leticia was also scared.
Dietrian was like a pine tree to her. Throughout two lifetimes, he had always shown her only his strong side. Seeing him so shaken, she couldn’t help but fear how terrible the matter must be.
But on the other hand, it made her resolve to be stronger. They were a couple. They were no longer alone. As Leticia showed her sturdy side, Dietrian’s anxious breathing gradually calmed as he leaned into her.
“Leticia…”
Like relying on each other’s warmth in a winter storm, the couple desperately held each other. Magically, the warmth of the other dispelled the fear in their hearts.
Leave a Reply