After running into his mother, Cassius went to the royal library. But 2 guards standing by the door stopped him from entering.
"This library is restricted to everyone except the royal family, founding families and those with special passes," one of the guards said sternly.
"Oh? Don't you know who I am?" Cassius replied arrogantly, pointing at the Blackwood crest on his suit. "I am Cassius Blackwood the youngest son of Duke Blackwood."
The guards gave each other a nervous look as if to ask each other what to do. He was an Illegitimate child, so he shouldn't be allowed inside. But everyone knew that the Duke was quite fond of this boy, So they parted and allowed him inside.
Why was Cassius in the library? Because there would be no point in coming here for Karavan's Eyes if he came after the awakening ceremony.
Ironically, 'Karavan's Eyes' wasn't just a name given to the artifact because it lets its users control the strings behind their awakenings.
It was literally his eyes.
In Cassius's past life, it was embedded in the eye sockets of Emperor Karavan's portrait that was hanged in the royal library. Before anyone else could find it, he went to the library to take it for himself.
'With Karavan's Eyes I won't need a system. I will be able to maintain my autonomy without having to submit myself to those ridiculous quests. '
Systemless hunters may be weak, but would that be the case if they had access to a legendary artifact such as Karavan's Eyes?
Cassius had no intention of being weak. But he also did not wish to live as a slave to the system.
What's the point of being strong if you're a slave?
Yet, being free and weak wasn't a better combination.
Cassius aimed to get the best of both worlds. He planned on being free, but also planned on being strong.
Cassius looked around the library at the magnificent hardcover books with intricate designs, sitting on bookshelves that seemed to stretch towards the heavens. 'So this is what the Empire's best library looks like?'
'where is the portrait?' Cassius searched around the library solely focused on finding the portrait of emperor Karavan.
But there were three problems:
1. There were hundreds of portraits.
2. He had no clue what Emperor Karavan looked like.
3. None of the portraits had name tags.
Apparently, anyone smart enough to get a pass to the royal library should be smart enough to recognize all of them.
Cassius, who was likely one of the few people in the empire who didn't know what Emperor Karavan looked like, spent a few minutes trying to figure out which portrait was his. Surely, Karavan would stand out from the rest. Since he's a legendary emperor, his portrait should be bigger and placed in an important place.
"Ohh, young boy. You look just like emperor Karavan did when he was younger." An old lady who was sitting in a fancy mahogany lounge chair, near a grand oak desk said, while trying to point at Cassius with her weak finger, and smiling faintly.
"What do you mean?" Cassius stopped in his tracks to hear what she had to say.
"You hath ze same purple eyes and black hair as him. Those are rare y'know!" The old lady chuckled before going back to the book she was reading.
'Really? ' Cassius took into account what the old lady had to say, and went back to searching for the portrait.
After searching for more than an hour, Cassius finally found a portrait of a man that has purple eyes and black hair. It was hidden in a far corner of the library where no one would expect to find a portrait of Emperor Karavan.
Cassius paused for a second, stunned by what he saw. Compared to a child, it may have only been a resemblance. But compared to his former adult self, they were nearly identical.
The portrait showed a young man, appearing the same age as Cassius before he died. He sat on a throne with one leg crossed over the other, a book open on his lap. His left hand propped up his cheek, elbow resting on the throne's armrest, and an amused smirk played on his lips. His eyes- seemed to pierce the soul of anyone who dared to look at his portrait.
he was dressed very casual looking portrait, that no one would think he was emperor if it wasn't for the fact he was sitting on the throne.
On second thought, the throne wouldn't know it was made for an emperor if he wasn't sitting on it.
The man exuded a strong air of authority and reverence that could not be hidden by his casual attitude.
'That throne was made for him. It belongs to him. I can't imagine anyone else sitting on that throne. '
It was hard for Cassius to believe that he spent the first 16 years of his life in a deep slumber that no one could wake him from, and only woke up once he became an S-rank hunter.
It was even stranger that he had a book in his hand. Was he a fast learner? The portrait looked like it couldn't have been taken more than 5 years after he woke up.
Was that enough time for a man who was once declared braindead to learn how to speak and read?
Also, how is it that he knew exactly what to do as soon as he woke up when all the cracks first appeared and monsters were released? Like, he just took control of the empire and led it to victory?
He was very strategic and smart for a man who just woke up after being asleep for his whole life.
Cassius came closer to the portrait so he could get a better look at Karavan's Eyes. They looked like gems embedded in the painting.
Cassius plucked his eyes out of the painting and took a good look at them, they were each covered in white wrapping except for a hole in the middle. Likely done, so that only the purple parts (irises) of Karavan's eyes appeared purple instead of the entire eyeballs.
'So these are Karavan's eyes? How can they help me control my Awakening?' Cassius looked at them carefully from all angles, it seemed like a big purple pearl that was cut into two halves, one for each eyeball. 'I need to know how these work so I can use them in my awakening ceremony.'
Even with the memories from his past life, Cassius had little information about this artifact. All he knew was that the artifact was confirmed to be the real Karavan's Eyes by scholars and kept within the imperial treasury.
What he knew about the eyes was completely from rumors, legends, and the information he bought in his past life. Part of him was worried that it was all over exaggerated.
'what should I do if this doesn't work?'
This artifact was a crucial part of Cassius's plan for revenge, and if it didn't work he would have had to halt his plans entirely. And he didn't want to do that.
Most people would take this second chance to live a better life, but Cassius didn't mind suffering as long as everyone else he knew had to suffer with him. Except for Anna, she was the only one without blame in Cassius's eyes.
Part of Cassius thought maybe it would be better not to go through with this. He could be hailed as the genius he's always wanted to be, instead of devoting himself to revenge.
His parents wouldn't abandon him.
No one would look down on him.
He would be loved by every-
'No. They wouldn't love me. I would only be a tool for them to use, and if I refused to cooperate, I would then be a pest that needs to be killed off before it gets too strong. '
Cassius shook his head, he was more aware of his circumstances now than he was in his past life, being back here let him see things from a different perspective.
to be used or thrown away.
These were the only two options Cassius saw. That's why he went out of his way to make a third option for himself.
Ziiing
Both halves of Karavan's eyes connected as if there was a magnetic force pulling them towards each other, becoming a small purple orb, before expanding in size and starting to float in the air while spinning really fast and emitting a shiny light.
Zoooooom
Cassius fainted and his body slammed against the bookshelf before falling on the floor. When he woke up, he had no clue where he was.
'where am I?' Cassius looked around, finding himself in a dark empty-looking void. It felt Similar to the one he died in. He was completely alone in the darkness, without a single light to keep him company.
This feeling of being alone in the darkness felt so familiar to Cassius. He had long experienced it before even falling into the abyss.
He was alone in the darkness yet again.
But then there was light.
A small twinkling light appeared near him, dancing around his face in the air.
Then another light.
And another light.
And another light.
And another light.
Until eventually, there were so many floating lights around him that Cassius no longer felt alone.