Chapter 195: An Old Friend (11)

"A theory?"

I asked.

Isaac had taken over me entirely.

Standing in front of a mirror, he examined every inch of it.

"This world... is like a single great barrier."

"A barrier?"

I had never considered that thought before.

"A living trap, if you like. Or a waking dream. Maybe I'm the one trapped inside it."

Isaac was a sorcerer who could easily ensnare others in nightmares. Perhaps he had become so obsessed with barriers that he ended up believing he was trapped in one himself.

Click!

I suddenly took off my helmet.

"There's something here. I can feel it. The more I focus, the more I study, the more it drives me mad. There's something my eyes can't see... and I had to know what it was."

I thought of the mocking words that always appeared in the status windows.

I kept speaking. "Eyes. Reins. It felt like there was something watching us from above. That thought kept haunting me."

I listened quietly to Isaac's theory. Not only because I was terrified of what he might do to Rubia, but because I felt I could almost understand what he was saying.

The seal.

I remembered how Rena had become the T&T branch leader and how she had died.

First Seal Released...

When I rose from the grave again, that translucent status window had floated in the air. There was definitely something—a seal that kept me as a Skeleton Soldier, the malice of the world, a gaze.

I couldn't deny that I'd felt it too, the ever-dropping assimilation rate. Maybe that was what it meant. Being a Skeleton Soldier meant giving myself over to a role that didn't question its fate, a role that was meant to be crushed at the bottom of the dungeon, serving this world's invisible gears without ever asking why.

Isaac called it a barrier, serving as the lowest cog in this world's great machine, dying meaninglessly in the stones of a dungeon.

"You see it too, don't you?" Isaac asked.

Clack.

In the mirror, I nodded.

Isaac continued, "But... I never found any real proof. I could never form a solid theory, not without evidence."

"And then?"

"That's when I learned about that author. Kevin Ashton."

I tensed. That was the real reason I had even started this conversation. Kevin Ashton's books had raised my Wisdom, and he had left hidden messages in every line. I couldn't afford to miss a single detail about him.

"He was developing a theory far more sophisticated than mine. And he had real evidence to back it up."

I asked, "When was this? What theory was it?"

"Four hundred years ago. One question at a time."

I didn't dare relax. I had seen the newspaper from the capital, listing Kevin Ashton as the publisher of the Marquis' death notice.

Could he really have lived for four hundred years? Or was he not a person at all, but an organization?

Isaac went on. "Ashton said this world is made up of hosts and guests. And the guests... they see a special blue window."

The blue window.

"He called it the Hole in the Azure Heavens—an aggregation of information."

I knew exactly what he meant by the aggregation of information. It was the status window. Even in the confusion of too many answers swirling in my head, one question kept repeating.

"Then... you can't see it? The blue... window?"

[Auto Progress...]

[Assimilation Rate has decreased.]

[73.4%...]

I could see the translucent blue window floating right in front of me.

Isaac's voice was flat but unwavering. "No. Not at all. I've never seen anything like that. When did you start thinking that was normal?"

Isaac wasn't angry. It was pure curiosity.

When did I start seeing it as natural?

I tried to remember.

Rena had recognized her level. She had captured those spiders and grown stronger, and she'd spoken of the stats she'd gained.

What about Lady Succubus?

I dredged up the memories. She had known. Moreover, she had explained in detail the differences between the windows of humans and monsters.

So then... Lady Succubus... how had she known? Why did she lie to me? W-who was she really?

My three years with her twisted and blurred in my mind.

[Auto Progress...]

[Assimilation Rate...]

I had never questioned her. Lady Succubus had cared for me alone, tenderly, almost like family. Even in the dungeon, she didn't speak to any of the other monsters. She said if she'd met me sooner, I wouldn't have had to suffer. She had sheltered me. Maybe it was just her gentle nature, but I never remembered her treating anyone else the same way. She had only ever watched over me.

That was where the doubt began.

Why me? Why only me?

Maybe it was ungrateful of me to wonder, but there was no reason at all.

Let's stay together... I'll tell you more stories...

No matter how many memories I replayed, I couldn't shake it. That kindness had been reserved for me alone.

"You've figured something out, haven't you?"

All I knew was what she had told me of this world.

"Do humans truly... not see their own stats?"

"Heh... heh heh... Of course not! They've never seen or heard of such a thing... except what they read in Kevin Ashton's books."

Isaac had slipped back inside, returning the control of my skeleton to me.

"..."

Isaac chuckled, his voice still resonant in my head.

"Just how deep a trance are you trapped in? Who the hell fed you such a powerful lie?"

"Shut up."

Isaac slithered through my skull, pulling back just enough to probe deeper. He was focused entirely on reading me.

"A lover, perhaps? Someone like that?"

I deliberately ignored him, because it was none of his business. I would rather believe that Lady Succubus had lied to me than accept that Isaac was telling the truth.

Even if I knew it was foolish, I clung to that belief.

"It doesn't matter."

"Huh?"

"Even if it was all a lie. Even if something false was forced on me, I won't let you insult her."

The three years I spent with Lady Succubus were not a lie. The small moments of happiness I felt were not false. No matter how she might have used me, it didn't matter.

Isaac gave a derisive snort.

"Ha. To think... such a fool is one of the guests. My point is, I'm going to help you."

I was almost relieved to hear the change in topic. Whether Lady Succubus had lied or hypnotized me, thinking about that was emotionally exhausting. I decided to leave those questions for later, when I could sort through them with a clearer mind.

For now, I focused on Isaac.

"You're going to help me? Why?"

Isaac was blunt and honest.

"To climb higher, you need a mount."

"You're saying you want to use me?"

"Do you know why I, who once conquered the entire southern empire, became a priest for a carrion crow?"

"You wanted to use the Demon King... to see what was above?"

Of the Sixteen Demon Kings who had descended, Malphas alone had appeared as a pure, birdlike demon. To ride and ascend had literal and symbolic meanings.

"Exactly. I figured if I could forge a deep enough bond and aid his descent, he might take me higher."

"Then why not just wait for Malphas? Why bother helping me at all?"

"Because I have to claim the power Kevin Ashton left behind before then. I'm going to use you as my compass to find it. Along the way... you'll gain a strength you would have never imagined."

"The power... he left behind?"

"That's enough explanation. The point is, I'm going to guide you—blind and deaf as you are—to what's ahead."

"Hmm..."

I didn't answer right away. For now, I didn't fully understand what he was saying. More importantly, I didn't believe for a second that he had told me everything. If I looked at all of it coldly, there wasn't a single concrete detail in his story, just vague hints and evasions. He was definitely hiding things.

Even if he was going to use me however he pleased, there was nothing for me to lose. If he was using me to find Ashton... I almost hoped he would use me as much as he wanted. His guidance might be exactly what I needed to grow even stronger.

As I paused to consider this, Isaac couldn't stand the silence any longer.

"Hey! Do you have any idea how incredible this offer is? I'm the master of the Golden Dawn, the high priest of Malphas! I'm offering to personally drag you up by the scruff of your neck. Don't you think you should be a little more grateful?"

Now Isaac was showing his true colors. Even in my last life, Isaac Bel'Homec had always been a mixed blessing—never fully trustworthy.

He'd shared some of his secrets with me, but who knows what monstrous deception lay hidden underneath?

"How can I trust you?"

"Why can't you? Or wait... can you see things like my alignment in your blue window?"

Of course, there was nothing like that. Yet, he seemed to know there was more than one skeleton in his own closet.

So, I bluffed.

"You know yourself better than I do, don't you?"

"Hmph... fine. Consider it a down payment. I'll step out for now. That should be good enough for you, right?"

If he stopped using Rubia as leverage, that would be a relief for me. Surprisingly, he seemed almost sincere.

[Possession is being released...]

Is it really happening?

I felt a buzzing, a low hum vibrating through every nerve in my skeleton. Then, it all began to fade. The feeling of something deep and dark receding washed over me, like ink dissolving in water.

[Possession has been released.]

The blue window I had always seen appeared before me again, shimmering faintly. It was the window that Isaac claimed he could not see. Lady Succubus came to mind again, and a sharp pain stabbed through my skull.

"I've left your skeleton now. Satisfied?"