Regnum Aetern: Dual Rebirth

Adrian's heart grew cold as he heard the words of the supposed leader of Nebulous Veil.

A tense silence settled in the room as the two individuals stared at each other.

And then, Adrian muttered unconsciously.

"How did you find out?"

Adrian wasn't stupid. He knew perfectly well what would happen if his identity as the leader of the cult were to be revealed. So he had taken every possible measure to cover his tracks. The only point connecting him to the cult was Nelliel.

But she herself was using complex channels to get in contact with the cult. And recently, she had started using Alisardarc to contact the cult, so there was no way anyone could uncover that.

'But this thing not only knows that, but it also knows about the title given to me by the cult. Which could only mean one thing. There… is a spy amongst the members of the cult.'

Of course, it was not certain, and there could be a different reason. But this was just the most logical explanation.

[Now then, what is it going to be this time? I hope you would not refuse me, for your own sake.]

Adrian clenched teeth.

'I can't think of a way out of this one.'

The creature possessing Hazel's body held all the cards. Refusing it was not really an option now. If it really revealed his identity, then both the empire and the church would become his enemies. Even being a child of House Ravenshade would not save him at that point.

'But I can't simply agree just like this either.'

If he allowed himself to be used once, then what was stopping the creature from using him again? That would essentially turn him into a puppet robbed of his own freedom, which was something he hated more than anything.

Taking a deep breath to calm his wildly beating heart, Adrian looked straight into the creature's eyes.

"Honestly, I just can't understand what you are trying to do. Just why are you trying to turn me into your enemy? Sure, you could use your method to get what you want, but isn't this more trouble than it's worth?"

Crossing its legs, the creature tilted its head.

[Would you mind elaborating?]

Adrian relaxed his muscles even further, trying his best to appear confident.

"Nobody likes being forced into something. So even if you make me bring the mirror shard to you, do you really think things will go the way you want? Who knows, I might just rat you out at the most important moment. Sure, that would obviously put me at risk as well, but what makes you think that I would be restrained by something like that? I know that I don't have any choice besides accepting your offer, but wouldn't it be better if you had proposed a deal to me instead? If the situation benefits both of us, then I would obviously be more compliant with you."

The thing paused and began looking into the air with a thoughtful expression.

[Hmm… you raise a fair point.]

Adrian tried his best to appear composed as he waited.

'Will it work?'

That was the best he could come up with in the spur of the moment. If he had no choice but to accept, then it was better to gain something out of it. And if he framed it as a partnership instead of coercion, then the creature would be a bit less likely to exploit him again.

…At least, that was what he believed.

After a while, the creature finally spoke.

[Fine then, I shall offer you something in return, should you accept. Knowing what you are trying to do, I will use my organization's networks and resources to assist you in your goal. Moreover, you don't really need to give me the shard forever. I will just be borrowing it for about an hour. You may take it back after that. Now, how does this sound?]

Adrian thought for a bit.

'It sounds like quite a deal. The best part is that I wouldn't need to give up the shard completely, which saves me the trouble of explaining what happened to it. I should just take the creature up on this deal. But it's just that…'

If he were going to make a deal anyway, then he should strive to gain as many benefits as he could.

'I know that I might be pushing my luck here, but it's better than not trying at all.'

He leaned back.

"The deal sounds good indeed, but I want something else. First, instead of helping me with my organization's business, I want you to use your organization's resources to acquire as many time reversal regeneration potions as you can and give them to me."

After all, they were the main reason he had developed the underworld organization in the first place. If his guess was correct, then they were going to be vital to him in the future.

After thinking for a bit, the creature nodded.

[Fine, that can be arranged. If anything, this makes things even easier on my end. Because even though time reversal regeneration potions are extremely expensive, money is not a problem for me. Now, what else?]

Adrian internally furrowed his brow.

'Its attitude is strange and really hard to understand.'

One moment it was trying to threaten him, and the next moment it was calmly agreeing to all of Adrian's demands without any resistance.

Well, it was good for him anyway, so he ignored it and stated his second demand after some hesitation.

"By agreeing to your deal, I will essentially become your accomplice and put myself at risk. I think it is fair for me to know exactly what I am getting myself into. So before I agree, I want to know exactly why you are collecting all those shards and what you wish to do with them."

After a short pause, the creature suddenly pointed the mirror shard's reflective surface towards him once again.

⟦A▮▮▮▮r▮▮▮ o▮ Origin: Immutable⟧

For the first time, the creature stretched its lips into a smile.

[Aren't you curious about what exactly is hidden behind those broken letters? I, for one, am rather curious. After spending hundreds of years in search, I have finally found a way to uncover that truth.]

Adrian narrowed his eyes.

"And it has to do with you collecting all those mirror shards?"

It nodded.

[Indeed. Do you perhaps know about the first Grade Three fragment relics to come into existence? The first one is said to be something called the Coin of Time. The second one, meanwhile, was called The Reflection of Truth. It was a massive mirror, and its function was that it revealed the true nature of all that was reflected in it. But apparently, a being shattered that mirror into tiny pieces. That was how these shards came to be.]

'It makes sense now…'

The existence of the shards had always confused him. Since there was no way to create fragment relics artificially, there was an extremely low chance of finding two fragment relics with the exact same function. So how could those shards exist?

But the fact that they were shattered fragments of a Grade Three fragment relic finally answered his question.

[It isn't really possible to recreate The Reflection of Truth even if we were to assemble all the fragments. But if I were to use my powers, then I could make it reveal the truth behind the broken letters for a short moment.]

Adrian nodded internally.

'I see.'

He didn't think it was worth it to go through all that trouble, but that was merely his own opinion. The supposed leader of Nebulous Veil clearly had different priorities than him.

"Okay, I agree to this deal. I will bring you the mirror shard that's in my family's possession as soon as I can."

It was not going to be hard at all. Since he needed it only temporarily, he could ‌make whatever excuse he wanted.

The one possessing Hazel's body stood up from the chair and walked towards the door.

[Now that my business is done, I will take my leave. You know where to find me when the shard arrives.]

But just as it was about to open the door, the creature suddenly paused and turned to him.

[Now that you are my 'accomplice,' I believe I should tell you this. Have you… ever felt that you are abnormally lucky or abnormally unlucky? Or do things happen around you for no apparent reason?]

Adrian frowned.

"Why are you suddenly asking that?"

[Just answer me first.]

He didn't really need to think much about the answer.

Adrian nodded.

'There are a lot of things that have happened without any explanation. I still have no idea why that supposed fragment of the cult's god fused with me. And that is only one of the many cases.'

Throughout his new life, such things have occurred quite a few times.

The creature met Adrian's eyes.

[Ever since you and your fiancée arrived here in the academy city, I have been feeling a shift in the world. Things that should not happen have happened several times.]

He tilted his head in confusion.

"You mean that the future has changed?"

The creature shook its head.

[There is no such thing as a fixed future. There are only possible futures. The futures that are brought about by cause and effect. But that is what's strange. There are effects, yet there is no cause to justify those effects.]

The creature turned around and opened the door.

[I can feel something big coming, and the one it's going to affect would probably be you or your fiancée. So brace yourself and be prepared.]

And with that, the creature left, leaving Adrian with a cryptic warning.

'Something big is coming…'

Just then, he felt a familiar stinging pain. It was the pain caused by the bracelet whenever it detected a danger to Adrian's life.

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