The Gamer's POV

Chapter 332: New Purpose

It felt strange...

After all that happened... after losing Seo-yeon and finding out everything he had learned from her, not being able to feel anything at all felt really strange.

From the moment he died, his consciousness had pulled itself together until he could finally see... and think again.

Ever since then, his glowing and ethereal silhouette had simply remained floating in the vast expanse between life and death.

Alone in the silence, all he could do was drift like a feather in a windless void, lost in the overwhelming thoughts of everything.

Minutes, which later turned into what felt like days, passed melancholically.

After some time, he felt the entire boundless veil of nothingness below rumble violently, as if the very foundations of existence were tearing apart.

Due to not having a heart, he couldn’t feel fear, so all he did was watch in a detached manner. It didn’t take long for him to see the souls of the dead suddenly erupt out of the darkness below.

The souls rushed past him like a thundering tide into the boundless sea of light which stretched above him.

When he saw that, he smiled and sighed.

"She really honored her promise and brought them back this time. I should give her a pat on the head when I get back."

Slowly and wearily, he turned to the side where a screen appeared in his vision.

"By the way, why is Aika not bringing me back yet?"

[The Authority of the God of Unearned Misfortune cannot find or have power over you at the source of your own Authority. A few days here are required to fully purge his influence.]

"That so...?"

Cedric looked away as he understood. But then, another message appeared, causing just his eyes to drift back to it.

[Also...]

"Also what?"

[...]

"What’s with the dramatic suspense?"

[...]

[You figured you’d need some time alone to process things.]

’Oh...?’

[When you are ready, you can have me reconnect the Bond, and Aika will bring you back.]

’You figured? Oh... my other self.’

Cedric sighed long and hard. Then he turned his attention away as he slowly drifted back into his thoughts.

Inasmuch as he was left with so many new questions, so many things now made sense to him, and he came to understand even more.

Right from the beginning, his life had been a series of orchestrated trials.

The reason he grew up in a dysfunctional family wasn’t just a coincidence. Rather, it was to shape his understanding of the darker depths of human nature, while Seo-yeon was there to show him the good side of humanity, ensuring that he didn’t fall into evil.

In other words, it was not for him to remain entirely neutral, but to lean toward good while understanding evil and being able to wield it when necessary. This balance was absolutely essential for him, as his power and entire concept revolved around both forces.

And now, he was beginning to understand a bit about Aika being the absolute evil, and his relationship with her.

He was a good being who wielded evil by his side in a perfect, precarious harmony. She was the yin to his yang, representing balance, interconnectedness, and the harmony of opposing cosmic forces.

Also, after much contemplation, he had finally come to accept that his transmigration to the Cradle was simply him returning to his real birthplace. And all of this was a plan concocted by his previous self and the previous self of his brother.

To be honest, it was unbelievable that Leon, that brat, that protagonist, was his younger brother. But after giving it some thought, it made sense. It seemed that his other self had simply used his Authority to ensure that his brother, now Leon, would be reborn as a son of the duke.

"Although, at the moment, Leon is a few months older than me. Does that still make me the older brother?" he muttered.

After thinking about it for a few seconds, he nodded to himself.

"Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?"

Logic be damned.

But that aside, the good thing now was that apart from journeying through the rings to grow his power in order to survive, Cedric had found a new purpose.

Since he now knew that the cause of all his headaches was his final brother, the God of Unearned Misfortune, he needed to grow strong until he was powerful enough to deal with this deity, just as he had done to Levi.

He also needed to grow strong enough to find out about everything that had happened. About the rings, about the royal family, and about the other version of himself, including the full details of his plans. Because he could tell that guy definitely had a lot of schemes.

Cedric sighed.

"It seems that right from the beginning, this game was set to Impossible."

He turned to the side where a screen was hovering silently before him.

’So I built Gamer Privileges alongside Leon, huh?’

...There was something else that Cedric thought about as he stared at the screen. After deep contemplation, he had come to realize that the reason he couldn’t feel his bond, was these damn privileges!

It was not just because she was sent back to the Cradle alone. No.

It seemed that after she was sent into the bridge, although their bond was not severed, Gamer Privileges had purposely hidden it. It had probably done this to prevent her from bringing him back to life earlier than necessary.

To be honest, at first, Cedric did not feel like going back either. Doing so would make all the emotions he wasn’t feeling right now hit him with full force. But after having some time alone and thinking things through, he figured that he shouldn’t keep running from them. He needed to feel in order to grieve, and he needed to grieve in order to overcome it.

’Gamer privileges...’

[Activating Gamer Privileges...]

"Reconnect my Bond."

***

...

..

.

The Present...

——

Before his eyes even opened, Cedric felt that he was lying on something soft. The scent of wild lavender, mint, and sandalwood hit his nose. He could also feel a weight resting over him.

Slowly, his eyes fluttered open to find Aika sitting atop him. She was in her kimono, which had rolled haphazardly off her shoulders, and she looked just as breathtaking as ever, despite the visible desperation in her gaze.

Cedric sighed... then forced a small smile.

"Hey troublemaker... ack!"

Before he could even sit upright, she lunged forward, her arms locking around him in a crushing embrace that knocked the newly inhaled air from his lungs.

"G-get off me, I can’t breathe... do you want to send me back to the Anchor?"

He was about to push the clingy woman off him, but then he felt her shoulders shaking as she began to sob, causing him to freeze. He exhaled and wrapped his arms around her in a steady, grounding hold, letting himself sink back into the bed.

He looked around, and only then did he notice that he was inside a strikingly luxurious bedchamber.