Chapter 247: 734
Chapter 247: 734
Infinite Labyrinth.
"Ah man... that was tough."
A bearded man pushed himself up, but just as he tried to stabilize himself...
He fell face-first on the ground.
"Ughhh..."
He rolled around for a few seconds, rubbing his nose in hurt.
"Why does it hurt so much?!"
...
Puzzle Of Mirrors.
The man stopped in his tracks, watching as his life\'s events unfolded before his eyes.
Tears continuously left him, yet he never averted his eyes.
That wasn\'t enough, however, and monsters came out to greet him...
He killed them all.
...
Song Of Chaos.
He stabbed his ears seconds before going completely mad.
But the song continued to play in his mind, repeating like a broken record.
It drowned out the whispers and made him feel suffocated by the sheer absurdity of it.
The man couldn\'t understand much of what he heard, as it was all jumbled, almost like spazzing instruments.
This caused his thoughts to become slow and uncoordinated.
It was truly deserving of the chaos name.
...
Mimicry of Desires.
The room was empty.
It only housed a single, beautiful woman who sat on a chair.
Then it suddenly transformed into a small hall, with colorful decorations lining the walls.
Many seats adorned the place, yet they were almost empty.
No more than ten people were there at this... banquet?
Shortly after, the same woman opened the door and entered the room.
She appeared to be the bride of this wedding hall.
And if the man were to describe anything about her...
Then he could say that she had great \'MILF\' making potential.
\'Muffins I\'d Love to Feast on.\'n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Indeed, she was a woman who knew how to bake tasty muffins.
Every man\'s dream.
Or so would be the PG version.
After a few moments of the two ogling each other, her father walked her down the aisle and she reached the tiny stage located above a small set of stairs.
The groom on stage looked to be the exact same as the one watching this scene unfold.
Yet, there remained a massive difference between the two.
It wasn\'t about the clothes or general appearance...
But about their crying state.
Their tears emanated from different sources.
One came from obvious sorrow, pure and final.
The other came from absolute happiness.
And it wasn\'t just his \'desire\' that cried.
His wife did too.
The soon-to-be-married couple stepped closer to each other and embraced with seemingly no care in the world.
A lovely scene in the eyes of those in the room.
After the vows were said, everyone cheered in unison.
The loudest was a scary-looking man who wore sunglasses.
He stood right behind the groom...
And his face showed a bright smile.
--
Eye of Truth.
She betrayed him.
His fiancée had betrayed him.
Not only her.
Her family too.
Then his brother came to help...
Only to kill him and take what was left.
...The man stood up and wiped the remnants of his tears away.
Monsters showed themselves, but they died before they could even move.
The weight placed on him increased even more.
...
Abyss of Reflection
His reflection stood before him.
And he fought against it.
It wasn\'t only him, however.
Another battle took place, a long distance away from him.
He could only make it out to be a dark-skinned woman.
The man was surprised, but he didn\'t have time to let his mind wander.
This fight between him and the doppelganger was a long one.
Or so it would\'ve been if he hadn\'t accidentally hidden an ability of his until now.
Snap!
Just as he snapped his fingers, the man disappeared.
He reappeared in the exact location where his reflection was a moment ago.
The same happened to his reflection.
But just as it materialized in his previous location, the air around that space quacked.
A portal appeared right after, and it cut the reflection in half.
His doppelganger split into two as each side fell to the ground.
Flash!
...
The man approached the candidate some distance away.
But an invisible barrier separated them.
He shrugged his shoulders and sat on the ground.
Hours passed as he waited for her to finish.
And during that time, his mind grew tired of the whispers.
They never stopped.
Yet he pushed on.
Since he knew...
He knew that Emir was waiting for him.
...
"Hey... you took your time."
The woman stepped back in alarm, her staff raised to meet his face if he stepped any closer.
"Calm down, girl; I ain\'t hurting anybody."
""
They eyed each other for a long time until she heeded his words and lowered her weapon.
The man removed his hands from his pockets and nodded.
"Good, now let\'s go. The next stage should be the last."
"Wait!"
His feet paused as his gaze returned to her.
"Yes?"
"...Who are you?"
...
"Ragnar."
The man\'s name was called as soon as he reached the ground.
He scratched his neck in embarrassment and pushed himself up.
Then his face lit up as if he had seen a long-lost brother.
It was Emir.
Just like he thought, his brother was waiting for him.
And as if Morgiana wasn\'t there, both men approached the other and met in a half hug.
"Sorry for taking so long..."
Emir chuckled and tapped Ragnar\'s back.
"It\'s alright, time doesn\'t matter in this test."
They let go after a few moments.
And while stepping back Ragnar lightly flinched, appearing to be considering his next words
carefully.
Emir picked up on that and created an isolation barrier, not wanting Morgiana to listen in.
"So? What do you wanna say?"
Ragnar sighed.
"I uhh... I wanted to ask... Did you see all of my memories?"
"All of them."
Emir\'s reply was immediate.
Then slowly, Ragnar\'s face began to contort.
Weirdly.
"You having an episode or something?"
"...Even when I was shitting? Crying? Uhh... master-" "No."
At that quick shutdown, Ragnar showed nothing but relief.
"Only the important bits."
Emir added while dispelling the barrier.
But before he did so, Ragnar called out:
"Wait..."
He waited.
"What\'s up?"
"W-Were you serious about what you said?"
"And what was that?"
Emir tried to hide his rising grin, but Ragnar caught him in the act.
"You know what I\'m talking about!"
"...Yeah, I meant it."
Tears began to form in Ragnar\'s eyes... yet they refused to fall.
He wasn\'t about to give Emir another avenue of teasing.
"Thanks for that."
This duo hadn\'t met for more than two days.
But Ragnar now had a deeper bond with Emir than any other.
Sure, it might not have been the case for the prince, but the Spell Weaver...
He was willing to die for the man in front of him.
To those who watched them interact, it might appear sudden, but not to them.
Especially not to Ragnar.
A horny bastard like him, who was so deprived of love that he confused it for lust, had finally
found a true bond.
One that he couldn\'t have with anyone else.
Since it was only Emir who experienced the things he did and survived,
They truly were... the same.