Chapter 261: Echoes Of The Past, Shadows Of The Future

Chapter 261: Echoes Of The Past, Shadows Of The Future



He looked at his other hand, now shaky, and said, "I, Yu'Keto Von Chrono-Void, the Timeless One, terrified of sand. I'm sure my lady would laugh if she saw me." He managed a dark chuckle.

He then sighed slightly and said, "But you know what?"

"Something came up that endangered their lives... I didn't want to lose more people precious to me to those sands..."

"So I finally managed to step out... Though I felt like I could fall over at any moment."

"But I hid it. I kept it inside."

There was a pause on the line, and for a moment, it almost sounded as if Galisk was hesitating. "Yeah, well... me too-"

"Bullshit." Yuuto's voice sliced through Galisk's words, sharp and intense.

"You're the last person I want to hear that from. Do you think you're allowed the luxury of fear, Mr. Number One? The world's strongest human?"

Galisk let out a resigned sigh. "I know you won't believe me, Yuuto, and maybe that's justified. But this isn't the first time, and it won't be the last, that I say it. I'm sorry. I really am. But..."

"...the past... that's not why I'm calling you now."

Yuuto's hand tightened around the phone, his knuckles turning white.

"The past?" he echoed, his tone deadly quiet. "You dare refer to her death as 'the past,' Galisk?"

The silence between them grew colder, heavier, until it felt like the air itself could shatter. "It's only because of her last order to me that you're still breathing, old friend. If it weren't for her, you wouldn't be here to call her death 'the past.' So tread carefully."

For a brief moment, all that filled the silence was the low hum of passing hover cars.

Galisk's voice softened. "I'm... sorry, Yuuto."

"It's my fault, I understand."

"But you know I didn't call to rehash old wounds, and certainly not to discuss her death." Yuuto's grip on the phone tightened, his jaw clenched as he fought back memories he'd buried long ago. He inhaled slowly, containing his irritation. "Then spit it out, Galisk. I'm no mind reader."

He said that, though he knew clearly why he was calling.

There was a slight pause on the other end, then Galisk's voice came through, calm but almost vulnerable.

"You know..."

"I finally cracked the riddle she left me..." He took a deep breath, then breathed out.

"And the fact it took me so many years to find out makes me feel so stupid." He let out a dark chuckle.

"Can't believe I spent all that time with her yet I didn't really know her."

"I know I haven't exactly lived a life worth praising. Hell, I acknowledge that my existence has probably been more of a curse than a blessing to everyone I've ever involved myself

with."

He paused, and Yuuto could almost picture him struggling to keep his composure. "But does that mean I deserve to be kept in the dark about my own children?"

Galisk's voice grew sharper, almost pleading yet filled with barely controlled anger.

"My daughter, Yuuto. My own daughter-who I haven't even met has only a few days to live, and you didn't think it was necessary to tell me? I know you hate me, and maybe I

deserve that. But isn't this going a bit too far, even for you?"

Yuuto felt a flicker of something deep within him-a hesitation, a momentary doubt-but he

pushed it down, refusing to let Galisk sense any weakness.

"For the revival of the dragon race, Miyu is going to have to die."

"What!?"

There was a tense silence, and then Galisk's voice surged with both shock and anger.

"Yuuto, have you gone mad? What would Aleo' Reia think if she heard you, talking about her daughter's death as if it were some tactical move?"

Yuuto's face tightened as he exhaled slowly. "Do you think this decision doesn't pain me? But it's a reality, Galisk. A fact of the dragons' resurgence that I cannot turn my back on."

"What 'fact'? You're saying this as if there's no other way."

Yuuto sighed, "As I'm sure you've noticed, every dragon Alister summons... they're not just creatures of immense power. They're beings that had long since met their end, dragons who perished centuries, millennia-even eons ago. And yet...

"Alister is bringing them back. In the annals of dragon history, there's only one being who could revive a dragon once their spirit faded-the Dragon God himself." Galisk's tone shifted, his anger cooling. "I... I understand the magnitude of what Alister is

doing, Yuuto."

"No, I don't think you do," Yuuto said, his voice dropping. "If Alister indeed inherited the Dragon God's power, then Darkness will come for this world once more. The dragon race may be on the brink of revival, but so is the very force that practically led to their extinction." Galisk went silent, absorbing the weight of those words before pressing on, desperation

creeping into his voice.

"Fine, I get it. But how does any of this justify why Miyu has to die?"

Yuuto's gaze turned distant as he answered, the weariness in his voice more present than ever.

"Because... for any dragon heir to truly rise as the Overlord, they must be acknowledged by the

heirloom. And for that to happen..."

"...they have to be the only living heir."