Aemon Targaryen

-Chapter 112-

-One week later-

-14th day of the 1st moon of the year 116 AC-

-POV Aemon Targaryen-

I opened my eyes, slightly groggy, and was immediately startled by the place I found myself in.

My heart began to race faster and faster, and it wasn't until I raised my arm that I realized it was only a dream.

'Or a damn nightmare,' I thought, as I noticed my lifeless body lying behind me, its glassy eyes staring at the sky, bathed in a pool of blood.

'It's so…'

"Similar to your reincarnation," said a voice from the side.

'You,' I thought, surprised to see the OOO who had sent me to this world.

"Yes, me," replied the luminous being, who, based on his voice and silhouette, seemed to be a man, but…

"…You still can't see me, can you?" he said, once again finishing my thoughts.

"What do you want from me?" I asked, frowning, deeply concerned, because…

"…Because you're afraid I'll take away your new life," he said in a tone of genuine amusement.

I didn't reply…

"…You don't need to speak, given that I can read you like an open book," he added, once again expressing my thoughts out loud, which was truly…

"Frustrating?" he said.

I took a deep breath, realizing he was deliberately teasing me, then said:

"I assume you're not here to take away the second chance you gave me."

"That trait you Earthlings have, always thinking you know everything, hasn't left you, even after I plunged you into this world you cherish so much," he replied.

I was about to respond, but he cut me off, continuing:

"I'll admit my share of responsibility. By placing you in this primitive world, I must have nurtured that arrogance."

"You…"

"Yes," he said, interrupting me once more, this time slightly irritated.

'…Are you dissatisfied with me?' I finished silently in my head, despite his repeated interruptions.

"Why?" I asked, not understanding his discontent.

"No particular reason, apart from perhaps your maladaptive passivity."

"So basically, I bore you."

"Yes, but that's my fault. I shouldn't have let you choose your power."

"You didn't…" I began, before being hit by an electric shock as I remembered he had.

'Wait, that's right, I did… But how could I forget?' I wondered, before he interrupted me again.

"I'm the one who blocked part of your soul," he explained.

"My soul?" I asked, incredulous.

"Yes, your soul," he replied as if it were nothing.

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"Because I knew you'd be this dull."

I remained silent, but he continued:

"I don't understand… How could you have known this before it even happened?"

"I imagine it's complicated for a mortal like you to grasp. Let me explain more simply: your time is like a straight line, where you can only move forward, whereas for me, it's like a circle of which I am the center. I can move back and forth as I please."

I wasn't sure I fully understood, but it didn't seem to matter:

"And what's the reason you blocked part of my memory?"

"Your soul, not your memory," he corrected.

"Memory is physical; it resides in your brain. What I deprived you of are the memories carried by your soul, because I wanted you to be yourself," he explained.

That remark struck a chord, reminding me of…

"…Your mission," the luminous being finished aloud.

"So what exactly are you going to do?" I asked.

"The trial period is over. I gave you 18 years to see if you'd succeed, but you failed miserably, despite several opportunities to achieve your goals," he said, making me frown.

"For your goals," I pointed out, emphasizing that I was merely serving his interests.

The luminous being smiled and replied:

"You are my champion. Your interests align with mine, as the stronger you become, the stronger I become as well."

I nodded, slightly relieved, then asked:

"What's going to change for me?"

"From now on, you will no longer be able to feed on the life force of animals. You will only be able to feed on your own kind," he explained.

I frowned, realizing that to achieve significant improvements, I would have to…

"Kill an enormous number of people," he finished in a tone that starkly contrasted with his luminous aura.

"Is that all?" I asked.

"No, but that's all I'm going to tell you. I don't have more time to spend with you. I've already used too much. This time bubble is about to burst. Unless you want to wander your former world for eternity as a ghost, it's time for you to return to the dimension I sent you to conquer," he said.

I frowned, as this was a point of contention between us:

"I never agreed to this. You told me about this so-called reincarnation when I was already about to enter that portal that…"

"You don't have a choice. Even if you refuse to fight to take from others what they have, they will fight to take from you what is yours. Everything is already written," he declared as if he had already seen it all.

'In any case, if he wanted to, he could take away all my powers, my life, and even my soul at any moment, so…'

"I don't work like that. Otherwise, I wouldn't have given you so much free will over the past 18 years. But you're free to believe what you want if it speeds up your conquest," he concluded before extending his arm.

He pushed me into a kaleidoscope of light.

"Good luck. You'll need it," his distant voice resonated as I slipped into unconsciousness.