Chapter 310 Volume V - 28: Everything in Order

Chapter 310 Volume V - Chapter 28: Everything in Order

?I heard voices. Tens, hundreds of voices. They were whispers, mostly meaningless. But... most importantly, they were getting louder and louder.

Sometimes, rarely, I could understand what a few of them were saying.

It hurts, one of them said.

Come closer, said another.

Please... die.

Will it end?

Disappear...

Finally...!

Break apart...

Stop resisting.

I'm scared...

Have mercy...

End our suffering...

The voices kept whispering. Behind me, in front of me, under me, on my sides... everywhere.

But that wasn't the only thing that happened in the endless darkness.

There were hands, dark and excited hands. Hands that encircled my whole body, grasping every part of me so that not a single space was left.

The hands that gripped my shoulders tried to dig their nails into my flesh as if they were trying to tear it apart. Then others grabbed my arms, then my legs... even my neck.

All I could do as my body was torn apart was... watch, feel, and suffer. I could only let out silent screams as the darkness tore everything apart and... tried to take my place.

Watching was all I was allowed to do, even as they reached for something else rather than my body.

In the endless darkness, with my eyes already gouged out by countless fingers... I saw... or felt... a radiance.

It shimmered in the darkness with a tiny glow. As the dark hands tried to reach out toward it, I also moved closer to it.

Finally, when I got a certain amount closer to it... I saw that it was actually not one glow but two glows orbiting each other. nove(l)bi(n.)com

One was a pure white. It looked like a semicircle with jagged edges, and it wasn't even clear if it had corners. Blue stripes seeped through the white color. Like veins, they seemed to be trying to reach toward the center of this pure white thing. They seemed to be advancing, albeit slowly, as time passed.

My answer came shortly after, right next to me. In an emotionless, soulless voice.

"Everything I can show you for now."

I quickly turned my head in the direction of the voice. As I straightened up, ignoring the pain in my body, I looked at the figure not far from me.

One of his legs was slightly extended and the other was bent upward at the knee. His right hand was on his bent knee, his left hand on the grass. His gray eyes were as empty as ever, and his expression was no better. His black hair swayed gently in the non-existent winds.

Everything he can show...?

He didn't show me anything I could understand properly! He only confirmed my thoughts, that's all!

"Well, okay... I can more or less understand your part of it. Lunerra goes through a loop with each 'failure', and you not only have these memories as a result of the experiments, but also... become the vessel of Knowledge. Thank you for confirming my thoughts! I more or less understand that this is the tenth and final loop, but there are still tons of things you haven't answered! For example, the last images..."

Aiden turned slowly toward me without saying anything. His gray eyes, looking ahead into infinity, locked on me this time. They really seemed to be staring into my soul.

"Everything in order, Ethan. There are tons of things in this universe you don't need to learn, and even more things that if you do, you'll be doomed before you know it. Why do you think I have to deal with you and tons of other things when I can finish everything myself?"

His eyes narrowed for a moment, something in his emotionless expression that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

"Knowledge is not a blessing, it's a curse. It has been so from the beginning and will remain so until the end. The saying 'ignorance is bliss' is more true than you think, and also incomplete. Ignorance is not only happiness, it is also the thing that removes obstacles."

Just behind him, at this very moment, a figure appeared out of nowhere. The purple-eyed me, Ethan, or rather... Alaric. With a serious expression on his face, he said only one thing.

"Aiden."

But Aiden didn't even take him seriously.

"This is the foundation, the continuity, and the end of the universe. Everything runs on knowledge. This universe itself is based on knowledge. But that's why the more you know, the closer you get to the truth, the more it limits you. The more you have access to, the more weight you have on you, and the more this weight holds you in place. That's why we need someone who doesn't belong to this universe, but that's also why we need someone who has a piece of this universe."

"That's really enough."

Aiden slowly turned to Alaric. His expression was so blank, his emotionlessness so evident, that Alaric stiffened for a moment. He stepped back involuntarily. And Aiden said nothing more to him. He ignored him again and turned toward me.

"You will learn only as much as you can, each time. If you don't want to be constrained by this universe itself, if you don't want to be stuck where you are for that reason alone when you crave power, you will do everything in order. Do you understand?"

Do you understand...

It was a question directed at me. But at the same time... it felt like a threat. His empty eyes seemed to peer into my soul, his expression made me feel like he could get rid of me in a second if he had to... everything about him emphasized it.

So much so that I found myself silently moving my lips without even realizing what was happening.

"I- I understand..."

There was silence between us for a few seconds. Alaric just stood where he was, staring at Aiden, while I... I could only swallow.

Finally, Aiden nodded his head in satisfaction as he continued to stare into my eyes. Alaric simply sighed when he saw that. As for me... I could only scribble something brief but important in my mind.

Well, it seems that Aiden is someone who shouldn't be pissed off...