A random spell of giggling was heard, "It seems we have more in common than I thought."
"Lying to someone sick often invites bad karma, eh Keiren? How would your sister react if she knew that you were dead too?"
"W-what are you talking about? Didn't I survive this? I'm alive now, aren't I?" The boy was tired and confused.
"I never told you the whole story, did I?"
The air was silent, and so were the walls.
With a breath that echoed throughout this enclosed hall, a liquid started oozing out of his body.
With an otherworldly shine that gave light to this pale lavender of a liquid, it fleshed itself out of the boy as a snake does its skin. Frightened, he let out a shrill sound as his figure retreated a few steps back.
Separating itself from the boy, it formed an exact clone of his body.
"Jester is my name." It walked towards him slowly,
"I, Keiren Astaroth, pledge to forfeit mine and my future reincarnations from the sole right to the throne!" Jester circled the boy's figure, trying to see through every fiber of his being.
The man stood in front of Keiren, seething in anger. "God damnit- all you ever cared about was saving your sister. No matter what the price!"
"And you know what? You did save her in the future."
"What's happening? How do you look like me—Is this a joke, Jester?" The boy asked, his senses on full alert. He didn't fully grasp what the being was going on about, but from what he understood, he did have a chance to save his sister.
"You won't be saving your sister, boy. For you are going to die. And I shall be the one to kill you."
"Why are you doing this? I don't even know you- Oh god of death. Please help me save her!" Kei was desperate, he was starting to understand things. The being he was with since he first found this hall was most likely one of his future reincarnations.
"Pathetic. Do you not see the irony in your pleas?" Jester's expression hardened, a flicker of anger mingling with contempt. He was enjoying this.
"You, who squandered the legacy bestowed upon you, now crawl at my feet, expecting compassion from the one you destroyed. How pitiable your existence must be, to be so blind to your own mistake.
In order to save Aanya's life, you took away my sole right to the throne. And all my life, I was held responsible for your blunders, and your mistakes. Now, you shall experience my life, feel my sorrow, and cry the tears I did. I, Death God Jester, bestow you a life of eternal misery.
The life of Caedes Volkov."
Keiren felt a surge of anger rising within him. "You think you can just come here and ruin my life? Force me to suffer because you did? That's not fair! I won't make such a pledge. I won't give up the throne. Just let me live! I will find another way to save Aanya..."
Jester's eyes narrowed, a flicker of dark amusement playing across his features. "You think you have a choice? At this point, it doesn't even matter. I don't care about the throne anymore. I just want you to suffer. I want you to feel the same helplessness, the same agony that I did."
The boy clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. "Fuck you, Jester. I won't let you take this from me. I won't let you win."
Jester's laugh echoed through the enclosed hall, a cold, hollow sound that sent chills down Keiren's spine. "Win? Oh, you poor boy, this isn't a game. There are no winners here, only victims. And you, my dear past reincarnation, are about to become one. What will you do when you find yourself in the future- Living in my body, living the life I lived?"
Before Kei could react, he felt a strange sensation coursing through his body. His skin tingled, then burned, as if a thousand needles were piercing him all at once. He looked down in horror as his fingers began to disintegrate, turning to dust before his eyes.
"No! No, this can't be happening!" He screamed, panic rising in his chest.
Jester watched with a detached expression, his eyes cold and unfeeling. "It's already happening, Keiren. Your time is up."
The boy tried to fight it, to resist the disintegration that was spreading rapidly through his body. But it was no use. His legs crumbled beneath him, and he fell to the ground, his vision blurring with tears of rage and desperation.
"I won't let you do this," he choked out, his voice barely a whisper. "I will save her."
Jester knelt beside him, his expression almost pitying. "It's over, Keiren. There's nothing you can do to save her. Just accept it."
As the last remnants of his body began to dissolve, Keiren used his remaining strength to glare at Jester. "Fuck you," he spat, his voice filled with venom. "This isn't over."
Jester's lips curved into a cruel smile. "We'll see about that."
With those final words, Kei felt his consciousness fading, his body disintegrating into nothingness. The world around him grew dark, and he was consumed by an overwhelming sense of loss and despair.
He was dead.
***
Year 2019,
Caedes stepped into the therapist's room, his blue, azure eyes scanning the space with a sense of detached indifference. The soft, ambient lighting did little to lift the weight from his shoulders. The pastel blue and cream walls, adorned with serene landscape prints, seemed to mock his internal turmoil. The plush beige carpet muffled his footsteps, yet he felt no comfort in its softness.
Caedes' adopted father, who also happened to be his therapist, gestured to the armchair in front of him. "Have a seat, Caedes," he said softly, his voice carrying a warmth that felt foreign to the 13-year-old kid.
Caedes nodded and walked over to the armchair, sinking into its plush cushions. The softness of the seat contrasted sharply with the hardness he felt inside. His father sat opposite him in the matching loveseat, with a concerned yet gentle expression.
"How are you feeling today?" The man asked, leaning slightly forward, his hands clasped together in a gesture of earnest attention.
Caedes shrugged, his eyes drifting to the landscape prints on the wall. "I don't know," he replied, his voice barely above a whisper. "It's hard to put into words."
His father nodded, understanding. "That's okay. We don't have to rush. Just take your time."
"Time? For real. My dear father. Do you have these dreams? Dreams where you are someone else!" Caedes let out, his voice cracking.
"You don't understand! In these dreams, I'm someone else. I'm Keiren. And... I have a sister. I had a sister." Tears welled up in Caedes' eyes. His body was trembling.
"Do you get it? Me! An orphan, a guy who has no clue or memories about his family dreams of having a sister. A sister, who, by the end of the dream? Always dies." The boy was barely holding it in. Holding it together..
"I see her dying," Caedes choked out, his tears starting to drizzle down his cheeks. "I see her dying over and over again. It's like I'm there, living it, feeling every moment of it. And I can't save her. I always fail."
The room seemed to close in around him as he relived those agonizing memories. The worst part? They weren't real.
"I feel like I am going crazy! My so-called father. After all, It's just a dream. And dreams can't be real. Right? Mr. Therapist. They're just manifestations of my loneliness. Yes, that girl is just a fake. AANYA ASTAROTH IS A FAKE, NO ONE LIKE THAT EXISTS!"
***
P/S: Just to make it clear to the readers, Caedes Volkov is the real name of Jester. And Jester reincarnates Keiren into the future in his own body. So Keiren can go through the hardships Caedes went through before he became 'Jester'.