160 – Chaos of Time
“Time… fixed?”
Charlotte let out a murmur of astonishment involuntarily.
It was because he had read the waves of mana contained in the dragon’s voice flooding into his head and noticed from the instinct level that there was no lie.
The shock that Charlotte received was even greater because that statement was true. Even his brain, which he always prided himself on being the best, was unable to properly judge the true meaning of what the dragon said.
What does it mean to be fixed in time? It doesn’t go against time, it doesn’t accelerate time, it fixes time?
At least, under Charlotte’s concept, it was infinitely close to impossible. I couldn’t even guess what the hell was going on.
When it comes to going against time or accelerating time, some magic came to mind.
Right now, isn’t Charlotte herself a human who has far exceeded the set lifespan and has maintained her youth for nearly 150 years?
The time-accelerating spell wasn’t out of the ordinary either. Among the magics that Charlotte tried and failed to develop was something similar to time acceleration.
In other words, it was said that reversing or accelerating time is not a completely awkward concept.
However, I never dared to imagine something that would fix time. I had never tried, and I had no plans to.
ㅡYou look confused, child.
Realizing that the dragon’s voice contained a lot of worry, Charlotte felt a sense of uneasiness.
“……Isn’t it confusing? The trust Jim built up during his life and the time he built up with his wife must have been completely denied. Isn’t it futile? Jim looks confused? It has to be. Doesn’t that mean you knew things that Jim didn’t know? All of them, all of them!”
—-That’s right.
“In that case… then, tell me everything.”
Charlotte gritted her teeth.
“What Jim knows, what he doesn’t know. And what you know. Tell me all about it.”
Charlotte’s words and actions were rude, but the dragon did not find any fault with him. This kind of rudeness can be passed off as a cute complaint from a confused child.
The voice, calm as usual, neither too fast nor too slow, entered Charlotte’s head.
—-It literally means it, child.
“It can’t be… it can’t be…”
Like a crazy person, I just muttered something that couldn’t have happened. I couldn’t possibly continue the act of thinking. It felt like my head was refusing to do anything at all.
Like a bowl with a big hole in the bottom and water leaking out, my head was also leaking all kinds of holes and thoughts leaking out.
All the common sense and beliefs I had believed in until now were denied.
All of my actions, all of my suicides, were attempted based on the fact that my ability was, of course, a type of super-regeneration ability.
But it wasn’t.
What Olivia gave me wasn’t just super regenerative powers, but something much higher than that, and it meant that I’d been completely in vain.
The world that made up me was shattered into pieces. The foundations that had been built over hundreds of years had crumbled without a single speck remaining.
He wanted to somehow deny Olivia’s words, but he couldn’t because Olivia constantly talked to him and kept reminding him that what he said was the truth.
“Master. You must be confused. And you must be dizzy. I know everything. But it’s okay. Because I am by Master’s side. This Olivia is by Master’s side. So, everything is fine.”
Olivia got on top of my stomach and lightly kissed me. That act, funny enough, calmed my mind and made me feel like the world that had been collapsing in real time was being corrected a little bit.
No, maybe he touched my body again with the kiss he just had. It was a reasonable enough suspicion, since he had been touching my body not long ago and was mixing his body with excitement.
It was Olivia who made me like this, so it’s possible to calm my mind enough.
The thought made my head hurt even more. I couldn’t trust my feelings, thoughts, and every single sensation. There is only suspicion that maybe Olivia has touched something again.
My whole life so far has been like this because of Olivia, how could I believe in myself?
“Are you curious about how I gave Master a gift?”
Olivia giggled and met my gaze. I stared blankly at Olivia.
“Or… do you want to know why?”
I was curious. I couldn’t help but wonder. I wanted to find out why it happened, how it could have happened, and when it started.
However, it seemed that I could not accept that word normally now. No matter what Olivia said, it seemed that I would misinterpret, understand, and distort everything.
“I can understand everything. Why Master was shocked, what the hell blinded Master and dazzled her, all of them. Because I love Master. Master and I love each other. Dear lover. Is there anyone in the world who can’t even read his thoughts?”
There will be only the two of us left in the world, the words added.
“Master. You know, too, Master?
Who is Olivia? know. Know. I just had to know. Thinking of what Olivia had done for me in the past, I couldn’t help but notice.
Emotions intensified. The empty truth and resentment bubbled out of his mouth.
“You did it for me? If you really thought of me, you could have just lived a normal life in the Mage Tower. What was lacking? What was lacking—”
“Everything, Master.”
Olivia pulled my hair roughly and met my gaze. The mouth was smiling, but the eyes were no longer laughing.
“Everything was lacking. That’s why I told you. Sever all human relationships, give up everything you have, and run far away with me. Master rejected that.”
“If I had been inviting you normally, I would have seriously considered it. Let’s take care of everything?”
“I had no choice but to deal with those bugs. I should have been the only one in the world who knew Master. I didn’t want anyone but me to think of Master.”
Olivia raised her nails and gently scratched my chest. It didn’t hurt. I only felt a slight tickle.
“So I also told you another way. Kill all the humans in the world, and just Master and I remain and travel the world freely. Then you won’t have to be confined to any one place. But Master said you don’t like that either, right?”
This time I gave up on the idea. Because Olivia always has. Because every action and way of thinking was tailored to me.
Even before it twisted in this extreme direction.
Perhaps the premise itself was wrong. On the day he first met Olivia, he might have had to kill the talented girl instead of taking it as a disciple.
“Master, I am Olivia Eleonora, a girl who loves Master very much. But, I am also a very jealous girl.”
Olivia smiled brightly. It was a laugh that was extremely distorted somewhere.
“So, I was jealous of Olivia. I couldn’t stand it because I was jealous and wanted to kill her. It’s natural. It’s natural to be jealous. Because I stole the first meeting with Master. I should have taken away the first meeting with Master. I should have been the first to meet Master, and I should have met Master for the first time. That was stolen from me in the past.”
Hee hee, a maddening laugh rang out.
“So I killed him.”
The light disappeared from the black pupil that looked just like mine.
“I thought this: I should kill my past self and take my place. All of Master’s beginnings should belong to Olivia Eleonora, who is riding on Master here, not like me in the past.”
This time he caressed my neck.
“If it were Master, would you understand? Can you understand me for not allowing someone like me in the past to steal Master’s first meeting?”
I was about to say I didn’t understand that at all, but before that, Olivia grabbed my lower jaw and tore it off. The sensation in his chin went numb, and blood leaked out.
Of course I couldn’t speak.
“As expected, I thought Master would understand my heart.”
As if the bloody momentum from earlier was a lie, a bright smile appeared. It was a smile full of happiness.
Even though I was holding my lower jaw in one hand.
“That’s why I gave Master a gift.”
Olivia brushed my bangs. As the body recovered and the lower jaw returned to its original position, a soft finger stroked my lips.
“Because Master and I wanted to live in the same time.”
“……What?”
“Do you remember when Master received a gift from me?”
At the sudden question, I stumbled back to the first time I realized I had this ability.
It’s been hundreds of years now, it’s a past I don’t want to think about, and Olivia’s traumatized my head, but somehow I managed to get my memory out.
17 years old.
It was at that age that my world turned upside down.
“……I was 17 years old.”
“Yes, that’s right. He was 17.”
Olivia patted my head thoughtfully.
“Then do you remember how old I was when Master first met me, when I told myself how old I was when I saved this girl here named Olivia and gave her a wonderful surname Eleonora?”
Again, the memories of the past were rummaged through.
He spoke to Olivia, gave her an impromptu last name, and asked a few simple questions. How old was Olivia at that time… … .
How old are you… …
“……Ten, seven years old……”
he did… … .
“That’s correct.”
Tongues tangled Olivia’s smell rushed into my nasal passages, and at the same time, the sound of exchanging saliva and taste swirled around in my mouth.
He forcibly pressed my tongue to the bottom of his mouth, and passed the clear Olivia-flavored liquid over his tongue. Gulp, my throat pulsed continuously.
Olivia opened her mouth only after shed saliva as she wished for a long time or, on the contrary, sucked in my saliva as much as she could. The silver thread snapped. Their scents mixed with each other’s breath.
“……You, can’t you……”
“Yes, it’s exactly what Master thinks. Since I met Master when I was 17 years old, Master had to live in the same time as I did when I was 17 years old.”
“……No. How, crab……?”
“Master, my master.”
Olivia came out and kissed me on the cheek.
“What do you think I would have achieved by throwing off the frame of being human? How far do you think this Olivia would have gone to fulfill Master’s wish? For love, for the sake of Master whom I cannot help but love, indeed. What concept do you think you might have stepped on?”
“…”
My whole body stiffened. Arms, legs, neck, at least not even the extremity of a limb did its job properly. It was the same with my mind. His head, which had barely retrieved his gun, went blank again.
The words Olivia was spouting were just as shocking.
“That’s right, the chaos of time.”
