Razeal sighed under his breath, the weight of frustration pressing against his chest.
"Why is my luck so shitty..." he muttered, eyes narrowing at the silver-eyed boy standing before him.
The boy had his arms raised in an exaggerated, carefree manner before lowering them slowly, as if theatrically finishing a performance. "Ah... looks like you already know who I am, young friend," he said with a gentle, knowing smile.
Razeal's expression had faltered for only a moment a flicker of recognition, quickly masked. But it was enough. The boy's silver eyes gleamed with the calm assurance of someone who knew far more than he let on.
Razeal didn't respond. He didn't need to.
Because he knew.
Anyone who had read that cursed novel would know.
This wasn't just anyone.
This was the strongest character from the very beginning of the story to its end. The linchpin of fate and chaos.
Riven — The Fool.
The name itself was misleading. A supposed trickster. Carefree. Mischievous. Comic relief. Always smiling, playing the role of the jester in a grander tale.
But that was a lie.
Because Riven... was the Supreme Deity.
The Preserver God.
The one responsible for maintaining cosmic balance.
The novel stated that his divine duty was to keep the universe from falling into chaos. Not through intervention, but through balance. Through maintaining the invisible threads that held fate in check.
And now, he stood before Razeal, casually, smiling.
Razeal's mind screamed to keep distance.
This was someone from the protagonist's faction. A divine entity tasked with ensuring the hero fulfilled his karmic destiny. Someone who guided and protected the Chosen One.
No matter how noble that sounded, Razeal couldn't help but feel disgusted.
To him, this guy was a complete hypocrite.
He had all the power in the world, yet chose to push others forward to act in his place knowing full well the suffering, pain, and destruction that would follow.
He could have stopped it. But he never did.
Razeal hated him for it.
Or maybe… he just couldn't understand him.
As Razeal turned away, forcing his face into a mask of indifference, he muttered, "I don't know what you're talking about."
He had no intention of engaging. Not with someone like this.
Better to escape. Disappear before the conversation spiraled into something dangerous.
But the boy's voice came again, light and teasing, trailing behind him.
"And I think you know me better than anyone here, friend. Have we met before?" Riven's cheerful voice echoed from behind, that same all-knowing smile still on his face.
Razeal didn't stop walking.
"I don't think so. I would've remembered. Now shut up and leave me alone." Razeal didn't hold back, his voice carrying a trace of hostility.
His voice held a cold edge sharper than usual.
He knew Riven's kind. Playful on the surface, deceitful beneath. The kind who spoke riddles, lied without blinking, and always smiled.
What does he want from me?
Razeal's thoughts turned cautious, calculating.
"Oh?" Riven's voice floated gently. "How about not in the past... but in the future?" Riven's voice rang out behind him, carrying an almost playful lilt.
Razeal's steps froze. His heart skipped.
He turned, brows furrowing.
What… does that even mean?
A chill danced down his spine. Was he in danger? Did Riven know something?
Is he hinting that I know the future? No. That wouldn't be it. If he meant that, he'd say it differently. Less vague.
Gods and their damned riddles.
His thoughts grew frantic.
Stay calm. Stay composed. If he suspects anything… if he sees too much… I might die here.
Razeal's mind raced, trying to make sense of the words. "What do you mean?" he murmured under his breath, his thoughts growing tangled. He could feel something shift in the air, a pressure he couldn't quite place.
This was far beyond what Razeal had expected. Could this god truly see the future? Or was this some sort of riddle he was trying to trap him with? Razeal could feel the sweat bead at the back of his neck. Why does this always happen to me?
Riven laughed, his silver eyes shining.
"Leave it Leave it!! How about we introduce ourselves first. My name is Riven. I'll be your future classmate. Just happened to see you around."
His smile widened, soft and almost friendly.
Razeal's eyes narrowed slightly. Something wasn't right.
Friendly? Why the sudden change? Why would a Supreme Deity act like this towards him? A Villain?
Loud warning bells blared in his head.
He kept his voice neutral. "Right... well, I'm in a hurry. Need to collect some elemental cores. If you'll excuse me."
He turned again.
But then
A hand landed gently on his shoulder.
A weightless touch.
Yet it felt as though the skies themselves were pressing down on him.
Razeal flinched.
His breath hitched. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple.
Riven's voice was soft, friendly.
"Friend... do you know what your fate is?"
Razeal's world slowed.
His mind screamed.
He knows.
He knows I know.
Am I going to die?
His heart pounded. His breathing quickened. No matter how hard he tried to calm himself, he couldn't stop the anxiety curling like a vice in his chest.
But then
Something inside him snapped.
His frustration.
His confusion.
His desperation for answers.
It spilled out like water through a cracked dam.
"My fate? Don't you already know? Isn't it you who's behind it?!"
His voice trembled.
The words weren't planned. They came from deep within anger, fear, raw honesty.
Riven's smile didn't fade.
"Haha, is that so? Do I? Maybe I do…"
His tone grew quieter. Mysterious.
"You believe fate carved 'evil' into your bones. But what is fate, truly? You must wonder. You've tried to fight it before... many times, haven't you?"
His silver eyes gleamed with something ancient. Infinite.
Razeal was taken aback.
He stood silent for a moment. His brows knit together, confused. Tried many times? What does that mean? Some of Riven's words didn't make literal sense, and yet, they stirred something deep inside his soul.
Still, Razeal allowed himself to lean into the flow. The confusion, the fear, the helplessness they melted into something raw and honest.
"Then help me!" Razeal finally burst out, his voice sharp with desperation. "Why don't you help me escape this fate?! You know I haven't done anything wrong! You know it, don't you?! All of this everything it's happening just because the world decided I should be evil!"
His voice cracked with raw emotion.
"Isn't that right?! Tell me! You know everything… don't you, 'all-knowing' one?!"
The boy no, the being who stood before him closed his eyes, the same calm smile unwavering.
"Haha… You're not wrong, friend," he said quietly. "But remember, it is not my role to act. I do not intervene by will. I only witness… guide when asked. I act only when the cosmic balance is on the verge of collapse."
He opened his eyes again gleaming like stars locked in a divine clockwork.
"And your destiny, fate and duty... it is yours to fulfill. Just as I have mine."
Razeal's jaw tightened. If any other person heard this conversation, they wouldn't understand a word of it. And yet… somewhere beneath all the vague talk of dharma, fate, and cosmic duty Razeal understood.
Not in words. But In feeling.
"If that's what you're saying… won't you stand against me one day?" Razeal asked, his voice quieter this time, but no less bitter. "Will you side with him? With the Hero? Will you stand against me? Knowing very well that i am innocent?"
He asked the question with surprising calmness, but his insides twisted violently.
Riven didn't answer immediately. He simply turned his eyes to the heavens, then back to Razeal, his expression unreadable.
"The cosmic order protects those who protect it," he finally said.
A cryptic answer. But not a denial.
He paused. Then his tone shifted, a little warmer, as if peeling away a layer of detachment.
"Even though I shouldn't step outside my boundaries to help someone who may threaten the balance... as one whose duty includes guidance, I could not ignore your suffering. You have endured. You have persevered despite everything."
His voice seemed to echo across planes of existence, too vast and too close at once.
"Fate and destiny… can be cruel. Sometimes, even unreasonable. But they exist to serve a purpose the greatest good, the harmony of all things."
He looked directly into Razeal's eyes.
"Maybe you're not wrong. Not evil. Not despicable. Just burdened with a duty you never asked for."
"A path that only you can walk."
He gently placed a hand on Razeal's shoulder.
"But let me guide you."
Razeal stood still, stunned. His mouth didn't move, but his heart was screaming. He didn't understand half the things this man said, and yet... somehow, something inside him understood everything.
Then the silver-haired boy stepped forward, withdrawing his hand from Razeal's shoulder.
"Fate is not a chain," he said without turning back. "It is a road. And even the darkest road can turn… if you dare to walk differently."
A soft, mysterious smile danced at the corners of his lips.
With those words, he walked ahead, hands behind his back, silent again. No more riddles. No more divine truths.
Razeal stood still, unmoving. His mind reeled. What was he even saying…? Every sentence felt like a riddle he wasn't meant to solve.
Everything that had just been said… it was like trying to grasp smoke. The meanings slipped through his fingers even as he reached. His thoughts clouded, swirling in contradiction.
And yet somewhere in that fog he felt as if he was close.
As if there was something important just beyond the veil. A revelation hovering at the edge of his awareness, taunting him. Whispering.
But no matter how hard he tried to hold onto it, to decode the riddles, it remained obscured just out of reach.
Like a dream you wake up from too soon.
He watched Riven walk away in silence his steps light, as if the very world parted before him without resistance.
Suddenly, Riven halted.
Without turning around, he spoke again.
Then suddenly Riven stopped.
Without turning, he said, "Enjoy life while you can."
His voice was quiet, almost kind.
"Because no matter what you do… even if you defy fate… even if you defeat the so-called Chosen One…"
He paused, as if regretting something.
"No. I shouldn't say this."
The silence that followed lasted only seconds, but it stretched like eternity.
"…One day, we will meet again on the battlefield. From opposite sides."
His voice didn't carry anger. Nor warning. It was simply a truth. A glimpse of inevitability.
Razeal couldn't see his face, but he could feel the same gentle smile painted across it.
Riven took another step.
Then he took another step forward, but once again... he stopped.
A small shake of his head, a flicker of something that didn't belong to gods.
"…And I'm sorry," he whispered.
"For the suffering you've endured. In every life."
And then, he vanished.
Razeal stared into empty space.
But suddenly
Razeal's breath caught in his throat. His knees buckled. The strength in his legs evaporated as he collapsed onto all fours, gasping like he'd just emerged from deep water.
"What… the hell just happened…?"
His heart thundered. His thoughts spiraled. Every cell in his body felt drained, as though something had forcibly wrung his very soul dry.
His body felt hollow. As if everything inside had been squeezed out. He remembered the conversation. All of it. And then it hit him.
He had spilled it all.
His secrets. His fears. His curses.
Why?
He hadn't wanted to. He never meant to. But he had spoken from the deepest parts of himself. Why?
Why couldn't he control it?
And just then
[System Notification: Calm down, Host. No one can lie before Him. His divinity compels truth from others. Naturally. Without them ever realizing.]
The voice echoed calmly within his mind.
Razeal's eyes widened.
"…You mean he made me speak the truth?"
[Yes, Host.]
"That bastard…!" Razeal snarled.
With a roar of rage, he slammed his fist into the stone ground. The impact left a shallow crater beneath his knuckles.
The idea that someone could so effortlessly pry open his mind, his secrets, his soul and do it so naturally that he didn't even notice made his stomach twist with fury and shame.
[Do not berate yourself, Host. This has nothing to do with weakness. No one can resist his truth-domain. He is, after all… the Supreme God.]
Razeal's shoulders trembled. His breathing was ragged.
"…You told me I could hide things from him," he growled. "So how…? How did he still read through me no made me read it out for him? What happened to the difference I made?"
[Affirmative. I did obscure your system data and dark resonance. He could not see that.]
"…Then why did he apologize?" Razeal whispered, voice raw. "What did he see that made a god pity me…?"
The system paused.
[After deep analysis of his phrasing, tone, and emotional fluctuations, I have formed a likely conclusion.]
Razeal didn't answer, simply waiting, breath held.
[Riven may possess an ability to perceive the number of deaths a soul has undergone as the chapter 89 from novel says.]
The air around Razeal grew still.
[As your soul has experienced death and rebirth nearly 10,000 times, it is likely he misunderstood your existence. He may believe you are part of a reincarnation cycle, and interpreted your suffering as the tragic cost of divine injustice.]
The explanation echoed in Razeal's mind like thunder.
He blinked slowly.
"…He thought… I'm a reincarnating soul… endlessly suffering…"
[Yes, Host. That misunderstanding may be why he apologized. He sees you not as a threat… but as a cosmic victim And so... he pitied you. He apologized because he believed your suffering spanned lifetimes.]
A long silence stretched between them.
Razeal didn't speak. He simply stared at the ground, hand still pressed into cracked stone. His thoughts churned like a hurricane chaotic, restless, unresolved.
"…I see," he finally muttered.
He didn't laugh.
Didn't cry.
But in the pit of his chest, something had shifted.
A new fire had sparked not just of rage or pride.
But of purpose.
The god had looked into his soul… and misunderstood it.
And that, Razeal thought…
Might be the most dangerous mistake of all. Can he take advantage of this misunderstanding?
---
If one may ask which chapter messed my whole head up... it's this one.
I literally had to rewrite the entire script, thinking it might make things more interesting for our plot.
Having something like this might actually bring something new and spicy, right?
Today, your not so shameless author is asking for powerstones and golden tickets (I really did work hard today).
And yeah, of course, if anyone wants to donate a Castle to this poor soul Please do so, I'll bless you for it.
Oh, and yeah this chapter could have been split into two, but I thought I should finish everything in one go to keep it smooth.
Or should I start dividing these kinds of chapters into two?
Thanks for reading
Your all handsome lovely Author
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