Chapter 285 - A Price for Everything (2)

"You were meant to move on, to disappear after becoming satisfied with only watching your brother become happy in his life without you. You would also forgive Liam in the process after listening to his apologies for his entire lifetime," he started the story.

"Only then, Liam would move on with you from your forgiveness. To make sure this would happen, some measures were put into place," he waved his hands to summon something while explaining.

Teacups and snacks flew onto the table from behind like this was going to be a long story. Did fairies even need to eat? The only time Ella ate something was yesterday at the buffet table after watching me grab a plate of strawberry shortcake.

"What measures?" I asked the question he was expecting.

"If she was able to see Liam right after her death, it was likely she would murder him on the spot. Not giving him a chance to repent. This was why we made sure she wouldn't be able to see him," the overseer sighed.

"However, if we gave the chance for Liam to talk or hear her voice, it wouldn't be punishing him. If he was able to touch her or watch over her at a close distance, it wouldn't be effective as well," he elegantly picked up his teacup.

"This had to be carefully planned," his teacup clattered onto a plate.

"I didn't mind back then. All I wanted to do was be able to be with him. I never thought it would be this painful," Ella stroked her brother's head.

"It wasn't a bad price. I thought I would be satisfied with this," she was filled with regret.

"But at the same time, if we let Zane be able to see or hear her, it was likely he would never move on with his life," he frowned.

"Why bring me into this? Why bring me into this dimension?" I turned to the gatekeeper.

"You knew if you brought me here, I would have been in trouble in the future, forever lost between the two worlds," I clenched my fists.

"I'm just the gatekeeper. I don't control fate," he snapped a cookie.

"That day, I saw you on the hover bus, deliberating where you should go. You didn't know that you were giving off a dangerous amount of mana in your aura since you didn't have it under control back then. I just brought you to a safe place so you wouldn't attract any monsters where the barriers were weak," he looked like he did me a favour.

"That's why I gave you that spell, not expecting it to be broken so soon," he pointed at my hand.

"Then why are you here?" I wondered.

"I'm here to meet my successor," the gatekeeper gestured to Ella.

"It's the punishment, never able to move on until she serves her role to the fullest," the overseer revealed.

"I deserve it," Ella whispered.

I wondered how Ella appeared so calm. It was like there was a spell over her, lulling her into this state. I thought she would yell at them, making them turn her brother into a fairy at all costs. But she accepted everything that the gatekeeper and overseer placed on her.

"Then why am I here?" I wanted to get out of this dimension.

"You're here because you didn't pay the price for the spell," only the overseer was left.

The gatekeeper had opened another portal, leading to his office. Like Ella was under his control, not able to think on her own, she stepped into the scenery of other fairies working their lives off. The fairies appeared like they were exhausted, not given the chance to take a break. They looked like they haven't slept in days, washed or changed clothes. They were enslaved to all the work they were given.

Ella would become like them. Unable to have the freedom until she fulfilled her duty. Their mana was used to keep them alive and awake, weak from hunger. I wondered if the gatekeeper had been through this as well as I watched him load more doc.u.ments onto their desks before the portal closed.

"I told you, I only promised to watch over them as the exact wording," I turned to him.

"Did you think his intent by watching over them was not taking care of them?"

"How would he expect me, a powerless human to prevent this whole disaster from happening?" I felt it was unfair.

"There were many paths that you could have taken, each one taking you to a better future. It seems you have made the choices to lead you to one of the worst possible outcomes," he found it interesting.

"There was a path where no one died?" I almost jumped out of my chair.

"There was a path where the exact scenario we desired played out. Zane ended up living a happy life with his partner after admitting his faults, creating a family together. Ella chose to move on with her life, realizing she would want the best for him while she also healed from Liam. Meanwhile, Liam realized his possessiveness of Ella and corrected his wrongs to move on," his hand swiped the air to bring out a screen.

A screen appeared with everyone getting their happy endings with all the right choices. It was like he was blaming me for not doing my role properly, preventing everyone from getting their proper endings. I squeezed the edge of my dress, starting to feel guilty.

"So what is the price for the spell?" I lost arguing against him.