[What was her name?]
"Who?" Lorelle inquired, walking down the hallway. A large number of students, also dressed the same as him, passed by and walked ahead, the chatter of voices filling the air around them.
[The one that made you become this... WEAK.]
"I have said it before. Stop talking about her," he muttered, following the students in front since he had no idea where the classes were held.
[Fine... But, did you bear the name Ryan in this world just so she would be able to recognize you?]
"Shut up."
[You truly are one of the most foolish humans I have ever known. How can you be this driven by emotions?]
"I said... shut it," he muttered again, his voice barely audible over the noise of the hallway. His shoulders were tense, and his fists clenched so tightly it seemed only a matter of time before they drew blood.
[You are WEAK and will remain WEAK if you do not forget this fantasy and accept who you are—accept your destiny!]
'And die?! My destiny, my so-called fate, is to fucking die! SO DON'T ACT LIKE YOU KNOW A FREAKING THING!' Lorelle screamed internally, his mental barriers beginning to crack under the pressure.
[Oh, spare me. You could change that future if only you tried. Your vision is too narrow.]
"Narrow," he chuckled hollowly, shaking his head. By this point, he was standing in a crowd of others waiting for the elevator to arrive.
[You can either take control of your fate, or it will take control of you. I've warned you countless times, but you choose to shy away from it instead of embracing it. Mark my words—if you continue down this path, the destruction you fear will find you itself.]
"...." Lorelle remained silent.
Ping.
A soft chime sounded as the elevator doors slid open.
Following the flow of students in front, Lorelle stepped inside and slipped to the back of the elevator, leaning against the plain metallic wall. Closing his eyes, he tried to calm his scattered thoughts.
[Corruption. You say that's what you fear, but the truth is you just want to run away from the truth you've known since the moment you woke up in this world. You are the villain. You are fated to be the hated one.]
"Can you just shut it?" he muttered, his voice low as he tried desperately not to let those words sink in.
[You fear what she would think of you if you were to accept your destiny—if you were to become who you are meant to be.]
"...." He had no words to retort.
[But how sure are you that she even exists in this world?]
"She... she should be. That's what the woman said... She promised... She said she would be here," he whispered, the words sounding more like a plea as he tried to convince himself, as he had done countless times before.
But the thought lingered, no matter how much he denied it.
For three years, he had scoured this world in search of her, enduring every hardship and torment. Yet, there was no sign of her.
And with time, the faint doubt grew into a cruel certainty.
Perhaps she really wasn't here.
But if that was true, why was he here? What purpose did he serve in this world? Why endure everything—every inhuman treatment he had suffered since childhood?
Why...?
WHY?!
[Do you think the gods are so benevolent?]
"You know that woman?"
[Of course not. I only saw her from your memories. But from what I could see, she is a higher god from the pinnacle of the celestial realm, one of the primordial gods overseeing all realms alike.]
"....." He bit his lip so hard it broke skin, and blood trailed down his jaw.
The truth was glaring now.
He had been deceived—sent to this world to toil like a slave, burdened by a fate that was a curse, all on the promise of something that was never meant to be fulfilled.
Perhaps...
Perhaps she truly wasn't in this world.
"No... She has to be. SHE... has to," he muttered, forcing himself to breathe deeply, trying to calm his nerves.
'No, I can't let him get to me,' he thought, shaking his head as if to dispel the haunting whispers.
[Alright, let's assume she is here—the reason behind all the decisions you've made up to this point. Let's assume she truly exists in this world. What would you do if she turned out to be one of the children of destiny, fated for the son of the WILL?]
"Hha... hah," Lorelle panted, trying to push away the dark thoughts threatening to claim him.
Of course, he had considered such a possibility before.
And it terrified him.
If she truly was a child of destiny, destined for this world's protagonist...
... What was he supposed to do then?
[Well, since you've chosen to shy away from your fate, maybe you can accept losing your dear lover to the son of the WILL.]
"I SAID FUCKING SHUT UP!" he roared. For a fleeting moment, his ash-white eyes turned amethyst before reverting back.
"I... I..." A voice reached him and he turned to see a frightened girl staring at him.
Everyone else in the elevator had stopped talking, their gazes fixed on him after his outburst.
'Crap,' he thought, his stomach sinking as he caught a familiar face among them, looking at him with absolute disgust.