Eliabeth had destroyed several cities – all belonging to Temple of Void – in her rampage.
The news was spreading among the upper echelons already.
“Did you know Mom would encounter the people from Temple of Void?” Amelia asked with a shaking voice.
She shouldn’t have asked such a question from Neo.
He was the one who saved her mother from the curse.
He was her savior.
But after being betrayed by her siblings, she had started to doubt everyone.
“…”
Neo exhaled deeply.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell Mother to bring more people with her…?”
“…”
The truth was bare before her eyes, but she remained desperate.
She wanted to hear anything – even if it was an excuse – to trust Neo.
“Neo… Answer me…”
“More people could’ve jeopardized the secrecy of the mission. Besides, they would’ve become a burden on Elizabeth when the battle started.”
“Then, why didn’t you ask Sir Sebastian to go with Mother? He is an Exalted Demigod.”
Amelia didn’t know why she questioned Neo.
She wanted to know if he had purposely pushed Elizabeth into harm’s way.
She was afraid of the answer.
Afraid that he would say yes.
His answers until now were enough.
They should’ve satisfied her even if they sounded like excuses.
But she continued to question him despite not wanting to hear his answer.
“…”
Neo remained silent.
It was enough as an answer.
A crisp echo rang, and a sharp pain rose from Neo’s cheek.
Amelia stormed away, crying.
Left alone, Neo sighed.
“Fuck.”
He moved down the corridor and left the building.
After arriving in the park outside the place, he sat on a bench.
He stared at the clear blue sky with a muddled gaze.
“Was my choice wrong?”
Neo shook his head.
“It wasn’t–”
“It wasn’t wrong. If you had sent more people, then Eliz might’ve actually died.”
He snapped his head towards the source of the voice.
Charlotte, the principal, sat next to him on the bench.
Her cane rested next to her, and she stared at the sky.
“It’s funny, isn’t it? The more you try to change the future, the more Fate resist.”
“…”
She kept her eyes on the sky.
“There is a famous story among the Time users. Do you know about it, brat?”
“No.”
Neo answered, even though he was confused.
He didn’t understand what Charlotte was trying to say.
“Nine hundred years ago, a genius was born. He grew up to be one of the best time mages.
“He was capable of going as far as eight years into the past.”
Charlotte continued.
“He was prideful and arrogant for obvious reasons.
“One day, he was assigned to protect a village.
“Long story short, the village was destroyed by ‘them.'”
Neo’s face hardened at the mention of ‘them.’
He listened to Charlotte’s story with attention.
“Arrogant as he was, the man was also kind.
“He regressed to save the village.
“He failed and regressed, failed and regressed, failed, regressed, failed, regressed.
“He kept going on for decades.”
Charlotte stopped for a moment.
She took a glance at Neo before returning her gaze to the sky.
“He didn’t have an extraordinary will. Nor was he kind enough to waste decades of his life in a fruitless attempt.
“The only reason he continued to regress was because he had fallen in love with a woman from the village.”
She chuckled.
“Why not escape with the woman?
“He did that, but it never worked. She would take her life after the village was destroyed.”
Charlotte smiled bitterly.
“The man was depressed and on the verge of losing his sanity from hundreds of failures.
“He was drive to the corner and…
“He ended up breaking the taboo of regressors.
“He shared his pain – his past attempts and knowledge of future– with others and asked for help.”
Neo closed his eyes.
Her last sentence was enough for him to know the ending of the story.
“The man saved the village and the woman he loved.
“In exchange, those he had revealed the future to died a brutal death a few months later.”
Charlotte sighed.
“The fate of death remained. The people who helped the man paid the price in his place.”
Shaking her head, Charlotte lowered her gaze.
She stared at the park, at the trees rustling from the wind.
“Even 900 years later, we still don’t have a concrete explanation as to why those people have to pay the price instead of the man.
“There are plenty of regressors who reveal the future.
“Take a few students in the academy as an example. They would regress after an exam and share the question paper with their friends.
“The Fate wouldn’t interfere in small cases like these.
“However, if it was something big – like the incident where an entire village’s life is at stake – the Fate would make sure the timeline doesn’t change even if someone regresses.
“The bigger the stakes, the harder it is to make changes.
“Fate wouldn’t let you act as you wish.”
Charlotte stood up.
She walked to the front and turned to face Neo.
“Neo Hargraves, for what reason did you put my disciple’s life on the line? What was the Fate that you wanted to change?”
“…”
“She trusted you. That’s why she fought until she was on the verge of death.”
“Don’t worry.”
Neo exhaled.
“She will survive.”
His lips parted.
“I didn’t tell her anything. She was clueless about the entire matter.
“I neither led her to the Temple of Void directly, nor did I help her catch them.”
He spoke without hesitation. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
“In essence, she was just a piece in taking down the Temple of Void and I was the mastermind.
“Sure, I changed the future greatly.
“The Fate would demand the price for it, of course.
“But it will leave Elizabeth alone.”
Neo never revealed the future to Elizabeth.
She was spared from the wrath of Fate.
The fate would attack Neo and Neo alone.
Because he was the only one who was aware the future was being changed.
Charlotte’s expression changed.
She looked at Neo with pity.
“They were the priests of Void. Killing them like this is a big change. Can you pay the price for it?”
“I don’t know.”
Neo stood up.
“But I will do my best.”
He patted the dust off his clothes.
“Why did you target the Temple of Void specifically?”
“I wanted to delay the inevitable.”
He turned to leave the park.
Just as he had taken a step, Charlotte questioned him,
“The inevitable end of the world,” she muttered. “So you know about it.”
“Everyone does.”
Neo’s answer made her stiffen.
She watched Neo’s back grow smaller in the distance.
“Everyone knows about the end of the world.”
She repeated the words and a bitter smile appeared on her face.
“Of course, everyone knows about the inevitable end.
“After all, the world was supposed to have ended 500 years ago.”