Chapter 123: Past World

"This is so awesome!" Emilia shouted as she leaned on the taffrail of the ship.

The ship had already left the capital a few hours ago, but Emilia still wouldn't stop shouting. 

Nero was handling the wheel, and Asteria was sitting on the stairs of the deck, looking at the sea from the gaps.

Sophia was making sure Emilia doesn't end up falling into the sea in excitement.

"Do you see this, Sophia? It's so awesome! We are on the sea, and the air feels so nice!" Emilia started jumping on the bulwark on the ship.

"Calm down."

It was Emilia's first time seeing the sea, let alone on the ship or traveling on it.

"The water is so clear! I can even see the fishes!"

"Calm down!" Sophia shouted

Emilia turned to Sophia and said, "I am calm."

"You are not." Sophia glanced at Asteria and uttered, "She is not, right?"

Asteria glanced back and forth at Sophia and Emilia, wondering whose side she should take.

Emilia looked at Nero, who was busy driving the ship: "Nero!" she shouted.

"Hmm?"

"I am calm, right?"

"Yes." Nero nodded and said, "Dumbletore asked calmly."

Emilia and Sophia furrowed their brows, and Nero and shook their heads.

"Uh…" Asteria glanced at Nero and said with a puzzled look on her face, "I don't understand what you mean by that."

"Don't worry. He acts like that sometimes," Sophia remarked.

"You guys are boring!" Nero said aloud.

"We wouldn't be if you made sense and explained to us, rather than just keeping it to yourself and laughing like an idiot," Sophia shrugged her shoulders and looked at Emilia.

"Yes," Emilia nodded in agreement.

"You won't understand even if I try to explain it to you. It's from my previous world, so even if I do explain to you, you won't understand the references."

Sophia squinted her eyes and said, "You rarely talk about your previous world."

"That's because I don't want to talk about it," Nero shrugged.

"Is that so? Asteria looked quite interested," Sophia remarked and pointed her gaze at Asteria.

Nero turned to Asteria, and she averted her face in fear.

"Are you interested?" Nero asked.

"I am. But if you don't want to talk about it, then it's fine."

"Well…" Nero took a deep breath and said, "I can tell some stuff… I guess."

Asteria, Sophia, and Emilia lined up and sat with their backs leaning on the bulwark, looking face to face to Nero so they could hear him properly.

"Don't look at me like that. You girls are making me nervous."

After sighing and yawning for a while, Nero opened his mouth to ask, "How detailed do you want me to explain?"

"As short as you can?" Sophia answered.

"Okay. Then…" Nero took a deep breath and uttered, "My previous world was a… fucked up place."

"That was too short," Emilia remarked.

"Surely, it can't be more nastier than this world, right?" Sophia asked.

"Actually, it is. This world has all types of realms and races, but that world only has humans, so you should guess how awful it must be."

"But that world didn't have magic and superpowers, right? Then how can it be worse than this?" Emilia questioned.

"They have far more powerful weapons than that. Just one switch can annihilate the country and the people in it.  One message can cause wars. Believe me; I would prefer to live in this world rather than that world."

"But you have a family there, right? And a lover too?" Emilia asked with no ill intent.

After a brief silence, Nero said, "I do have a family there. And I do miss my sister and parents. I would like to meet them if I can, but I don't know what has become of that world," he spoke with a distant smile on his face. "Eons has passed."

"But time passes in every realm. Who knows, maybe not much time has passed in your world?" Sophia wondered.

"There is a possibility." Nero nodded and continued, "I am looking for a way to go there; since I have a very important thing to do."

'I swear if I find a way to go back there, I will kill her mercilessly. It doesn't matter if she was my childhood friend with whom I spent all my life.'

"What makes you hate your previous world?" Asteria asked, still averting her gaze to avoid eye contact with Nero.

"I actually lived a nice life. But the world wasn't so kind to the others. There have been wars one after another— just like in this world. But unlike this world, where the leaders and the soldiers fight for death in the frontlines; in that world, leaders were never a part of the war."

"They just made orders, and all the soldiers and the citizens suffered while they relaxed and enjoyed everything in their mentions. Just one word could cause wars. And just one missile could nuke the country."

"That's… horrible. The world leaders are cowards," Emilia remarked.

"They are actually more than that. You see, the poor and weak couldn't protect themselves. But the leaders said it was their fault to be poor. While they lost their family, loved ones… their homes— everything, because of those endless wars."

"The rich and the relatives of the leaders, ministers, celebrities, and well-known people were protected under the colonies where everything was normal. Almost as if they were living in a different world without any worry or fear. They lived a happy life, while the poor died every day, either with hunger and thirst or in wars."

"So…" Asteria finally made eye contact with Nero and asked, "You were from the poor ones who suffered?"

"Uh uh. Nope." Nero sighed and scoffed, saying, "I was from a 'well-known' family. My father was a world-famous doctor, and he had the decree from the world leaders that no one could harm him."

"Actually, not only him, but almost all the doctors had that benefit, and they would be treated well with respect in any country. So it wasn't bad for me."

"My life was perfect, My parents were very kind, and I had a very loving sister. I knew the situation outside the colonies, but I couldn't do anything. I lived a happy life, at least, until an hour before I died." 

"What about your lover? Was she the same as you? And don't you miss her or want to go see her?" Emilia asked, knowing nothing about how taboo that question was.

"I do miss her, but for a different reason." After a brief pause, Nero looked at Sophia and said, "You have also asked me about my previous life lover many times, but I always avoided that topic."

Sophia nodded in response.

Nero then glanced at Emilia and smiled wryly, saying, "You are also curious about it. And you, Asteria," He turned to Asteria and uttered, "I am sure you want to know too."

Asteria nodded and gulped down.

"You see, I was… I was killed by my past life lover. She stabbed the knife in my chest dozens of times... while smiling like a crazy bitch... almost as if she despised me for all her life and as if she was enjoying stabbing me."

After hearing that, Sophia froze as if she had stopped breathing; Emilia turned pale, and Asteria gasped as her eyes widened. But all of them had horrified looks on their faces.

"Don't feel bad. I am long over it, and I don't care about it, just as I don't care about my lover in this life. If I see any of them, I will slay them without giving it a second thought."