Chapter 82: [Redacted]
Jaden stood up from his chair and mumbled before walking out of the room.
"I need some time alone."
Maria and Jamie raised an eyebrow at his strange reaction, but before they could say or ask anything, Jaden had already left.
Maria, still confused by his sudden actions, turned towards Jamie, who was staring at the door with a frown and conflicted eyes. She ignored his eyes and questioned.
"What’s wrong with him? Why did he leave like that?"
Jamie looked at her and stood up while fixing his tie as he answered seriously.
"It’s nothing, you don’t have to ponder over what he does... he doesn’t need it."
His words, however, only made it worse for her to understand the situation; her frown deepened as she questioned puzzledly.
"What do you mean by that?"
He looked at her and heaved a sigh before muttering dejectedly and leaving the room.
"It’s simple, really, he doesn’t need our help... not for now, at least."
Maria stared at the door as she was left alone in the room; the strange actions of both of them confused her greatly. But, she couldn’t do anything about it. She heaved a sigh as she muttered while rubbing her forehead with her fingers.
"Why can’t they just explain it? Do they get pleasure from making things confusing? Is that some kind of kink I don’t know about? Maybe I should ask Lane for more of those books..."
***
Jaden returned to the room where he was during the healing process. He closed the doors behind him as he breathed heavily. His body trembled slightly as he felt goosebumps all over. This, however, wasn’t out of excitement... no, it was out of what could be true.
He walked over to the bed and sat on it. His eyes lost all their sheen, and his blood pounded faster with every beat. Breathing was getting harder for him, and his heart was thumping loudly in his chest.... At last, he mumbled with quivering lips.
"Summon..."
Just as he spoke, his grimoire appeared beside him, and a few tiny black sparks fell from it, taking the shape of a flower. Jaden held the flower in his hand and stared at it with his lifeless eyes as he muttered.
"What if it’s true? What if it’s really my world? Does that even change anything?"
Now that he thought clearly... he shouldn’t have acted the way he did. Knowing if this world is the same as his old one didn’t change anything. He was an orphan and had no friends either, so it made no sense for him.
"Deep down, I always wanted to go back," Jaden concluded as colour returned to his eyes.
He looked at the Lethyros and smiled faintly before checking its entry on the system screen.
————[Picturebook]————
Lethyros
Rank: None
Description: A flower planted in the city of Peace and Calm by The [Redacted] of the seven [Redacted].
Abilities: None
————[Picturebook]————
Jaden’s smile turned into a frown as he muttered with a confused look.
"What?"
***
Within a room having white crystal-like walls that appeared dreamlike, they were covered in motifs and symbols that either made complete sense—or none at all. Selina sat in a chair, her lips pressed into a thin line and her eyes turned cold as she looked at the figure in front of her.
Before her sat a young man who appeared to be in his twenties and had pale skin with shoulder-length blonde hair and eyes of different colours, one yellow and one blue. A charming smile stretched across his handsome face as he spoke.
"I hadn’t expected you to come meet me right after coming out of the dream realm." The man spoke as he picked up the white teacup on the table before them.
However, she didn’t reply and continued staring at him before asking as she stifled her anger.
"How much did you know?"
The blond man looked at her without any change in his expression as he questioned.
"What do you mean?"
Selina didn’t explain further and continued to stare at him, saying nothing. Time passed, and the man finally spoke.
"Do you know that you are stubborn? Hah... let’s play a game. You ask me one question and I’ll answer, then I’ll ask you one and you’ll answer."
Selina’s expression remained the same as she leaned forward and asked in a sharp voice, "What makes you think that I won’t just kill you?
The blonde man showed no reaction and spoke in a light tone.
"There’s no need to spill any blood... why don’t we talk like respectful human beings instead?"
Selina looked into his eyes, asserting his true motive, but she didn’t get anything. She stood up from her chair and looked at him.
"I just wasted my time by coming here." She said before turning away to leave, but before she could do so, he spoke with the same indifference as before.
"You don’t have to worry about how much I know... You just have to know that you did everything as I wanted it to be."
His words made Selina stop in her tracks. She clenched her fist and gritted her teeth before mumbling.
"Their deaths, too?"
"Yes, of course. It’s best to deal with anything that could become an obstacle in the future," he replied with a soft smile and continued, "Why? Do you care more about them than you care about Jaden Cross?"
Suddenly, the room turned colder, and the light streaming in felt alive as Selina’s emotions flared upon those words.
"There must’ve been another way to save him..." she snapped, though even she doubted her own words.
The man waved his hand, and everything turned the same as before as he spoke.
"You can think as much about what would’ve been or could’ve been as you want. But, it won’t change the fact that Jaden is alive... and that is what you wanted from me."
Selina turned silent at his words and turned around to leave, and the man merely stared at her departing back without saying a single word.
[Volume 1 End - Reflections of the unknown.]