Chapter 47:
The Devourer of Destiny
With his vision still blurry, Mahendra remained still for a while. Then he asked,
"Who are you?"
Gradually, Mahendra's vision became clearer. He not only saw how long the man's hair was—long enough to touch the ground—and how black it was, but there was another color at the ends of his hair. It was red.Mahendra shifted into a sitting position and stared intently at the man until his brow furrowed.
"You have those red eyes too? Oh, wait! How can I see your smiling face?"The man grinned broadly, looking at Mahendra with red eyes and sharp pupils.
"After staring for so long, you still haven't realized?" The man finally spoke. His voice was exactly the same as Mahendra's, just a little deeper.From head to toe, his appearance was neatly covered in a black robe. The hair and eyes had the same distinctive features, and Mahendra instantly realized that this was himself.
"Wait a minute... this is," Mahendra said, finding it difficult to accept the reality.He turned his face away, extending his left arm forward. He rubbed his forehead for a moment, thinking there might be another possibility.
"You're not wrong to think that. I am you from the future," he revealed."What?!" Shocked, Mahendra immediately turned back to him.
The man, who had the same face as him, then laughed. He stood up and walked away. For a moment, the white room flickered and then slowly changed into a magnificent room.The man walked toward a balcony, looking at the blue sky and smiling. Meanwhile, Mahendra was still sitting on the floor, near the half-closed balcony door.
Mahendra looked around at his drastically changed surroundings. He felt the slightly cool, silvery floor. The furniture, such as the sofa chairs, tables, cabinets, and other items, seemed foreign to him."Where is this?" Mahendra asked.
"This is your subconscious mind. You are the one who projected everything you've ever seen, so your subconscious is now more alive.""But all of this feels strange. In my memory, I have never seen a place exactly like this. It's only somewhat similar to a place I once visited."
"Maybe ...our subconscious minds have merged. The future me lives in this luxurious house."The man then turned and smiled again. Remaining on the balcony, he crossed his arms and leaned against the railing.
"You... you're still weak. Still weak.""Then you are the same.""No. I'm different. I'm strong."
For some reason, Mahendra felt that his future self was truly arrogant. However, in reality, he had always been arrogant from the start, Mahendra just hadn't been self-aware."Whatever you say." Mahendra stood up, walked backward toward the sofa chair, and sat down.
"This feels weird, but I'm sure you're not lying about being me from the future. So, what's your reason for appearing here?" Mahendra asked, leaning his arm on the back of the chair."To be brief. Your enemy is not the creatures of the Upper Realm, but... the law of the world.
"The law of the world? Tch, how could I possibly fight the law of the world? I'm just a human. Just an ordinary human. I'm nothing. To hell with all that. People just consider me a bit special but—"Mahendra didn't get to finish his frustrated sentence; the man just burst out laughing.
"Don't forget! You... or I am the Devourer Destiny. How could the Law of the World possibly confine us? But that something is your real enemy!"The future Mahendra pointed at him with a furious face. He said every one of those words with complete sincerity. There was no lie or anything else.
A moment after saying that, he disappeared like a speck of dust, leaving the subconscious mind without saying goodbye.Mahendra sighed, his head bowed wearily."I know. The fact that you from the future even exist proves that nothing in this world can stop me. But what law of the world was he talking about?"
***Drop by drop, a thick, dark red liquid entered his throat. A few remaining drops fell to the corner of his mouth, then flowed down his face, and dripped onto the ground, which evaporated afterward.
Feeling bothered by this, Mahendra groaned. A moment later, he opened both eyes and woke up—sitting and looking around frantically. The surroundings looked like a reddish-brown cave. The air felt a bit hot, even though there was a hole above showing a blue sky. Even so, the hole was very far from where he was now."Ugh! What just went into my mouth?!" he cried out in a panic, wiping the corner of his mouth.
"Just my blood," someone answered."This is... I'm sorry, who are you?"
"Oh, it seems I'm starting to be able to control the curse in my eyes. I can now see the true form of the figure in front of me," Mahendra muttered.
Mahendra blinked after confirming his vision was correct. After a while, he saw the figure turn back into a skeleton."Hey, what did you just say?" Mahendra asked.
"You... have you forgotten what happened to you?" Its voice was so deep, it felt like it was gripping Mahendra's heart.The echo in the cave made the surrounding heat intensify.
"I haven't forgotten. I'm just trying to stay calm and figure out who you are."In the middle of this suffocating and awkward atmosphere, a shout suddenly came from someone.
"Hey, boy!" A blind man, walking casually, waved his hand and greeted him."Wandering King?"
The tense atmosphere immediately vanished. The presence of the Wandering King changed everything. Mahendra sighed, unsure whether to be happy or the opposite."So, as I expected, you're still alive, boy!"
"Yes, at least my body is still in one piece." Mahendra replied lazily.The Wandering King glanced to the side, looking at the horned figure who was glaring sharply at him.
"I don't know how lucky you are, Mahendra. But look at this person—he's the sinner who once caused chaos in the Upper Realm."Mahendra instinctively looked at the man again and unintentionally heard him mutter softly in a familiar language.
"I hate you the most."The language came from his old world.
Mahendra took a step—approaching the horned man. It was clear at a glance that he was a figure from the demon race. However, Mahendra felt there was a little human soul within his body."Ancestor?" The word spontaneously came out of Mahendra's mouth. He looked at the demon with a furrowed brow and his eyebrows almost touching.
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