Requeim of Reverence

Audel Emporio - Boltaire Mansion

After training for a while, I returned to my room. Locking both the door and the window, I sank onto my bed, letting exhaustion settle in.

In my hands, I held the artifact. I ran my fingers over its intricate carvings, trying to figure out how to activate it. But deep down, my body already knew what to do.

I was certain I had never touched this thing before. And yet, as if guided by instinct, I managed to turn it on. The carvings lit up, pulsing with energy, and a design emerged. A mask—no, a clown mask.

I had no idea what it meant.

Before I could dwell on it, my surroundings dissolved. In an instant, I was somewhere else.

A different dimension.

A forest, its canopy thick and heavy with silence. A campfire crackled in the middle, casting flickering shadows. I tried to move, to feel my body—but my hands passed right through myself like I was nothing more than a ghost.

Across the fire, a familiar figure sat on a fallen log.

"M-Master Vestiron?" I whispered before calling out louder, "Master! Can you hear me?"

The middle-aged man lifted his gaze, his glowing yellow eyes reflecting the firelight. He looked… older. More worn down. His once sharp features were lined with exhaustion.

"I'm trying to have a moment of peace, Audel." His voice carried the weight of a man who had seen too much. "You never change."

"But you have," I countered. "What's with the wrinkles? And those dark circles?"

Vestiron touched his face absentmindedly, letting out a half-hearted chuckle before his tone shifted.

"Audel. It is time you learn the truth."

I braced myself. Whatever he was about to say, I had a feeling I wouldn't be ready for it.

"First of all," he began, "I never betrayed Wikesland. I never will. I'm being framed by other nobles. The king is backing them."

A pause. His piercing yellow eyes met mine, their depths filled with untold stories.

"As you know, I am a seer."

I nodded. "Someone who can see glimpses of an uncertain future. Yeah, I remember. What about it?"

He exhaled slowly, as if weighing his words. Then, with a small, knowing smile, he said,

"The truth is… I am not a seer."

The fire crackled between us.

"I know the future," he continued, "because I have lived it."

I should have laughed. I should have called him crazy. But I didn't.

Instead, I asked with all seriousness, "So how does that change anything? For us?"

His voice dropped lower, heavy with something I couldn't quite name.

"The world… The world is heading toward ruin. The Judgment Day the Diviners spoke of—it's real. It will unfold soon. And when it does… billions will perish."

The weight of his words pressed down on me.

My breath hitched.

I had seen it before—flashes in my nightmares, a world engulfed in destruction. But I never thought… No, I refused to believe—

I swallowed hard. "What am I supposed to do then? What will you do?"

Vestiron's gaze remained locked on the fire. "I will try to delay the event. And as for you…" He looked at me now. "I will loosen the seal."

My stomach twisted. "The seal?"

"You'll regain a fragment of your past knowledge. So, don't worry about me."

"Wait—" My pulse spiked with dread. "My past knowledge? What do you mean? Did you seal away my childhood memories?"

Vestiron's expression darkened. His next words cut through me like a blade.

"Not just your childhood. Your entire past life."

The fire roared in the silence.

"You and I—we are the same. You traveled to the past to bend fate itself." His voice turned grave. "You lost against the Diviners in your past life. And because of that… Judgment Day was set into motion."

My vision swam. The world around us began to distort, unraveling at the edges.

Vestiron felt it too. He clenched his fists and shouted, "And remember! There are others like yo—"

Then everything shattered.

I gasped, my body jolting awake.

I was back in my bed. My heart pounded, my core shaken to its very foundation.

I pressed a trembling hand against my forehead.

"Billions… must perish," I murmured under my breath.