Chapter 726: Outer Beings [2]

The darkness closed in, swallowing me from all directions.

Sound faded into nothing. No footsteps, no breath, not even the faintest whisper. Just an oppressive, unnatural silence that pressed against me from all sides.

My muscles tensed instinctively.

I could feel it.

A presence.

Someone... or something was in the room with me.

Watching. Waiting.

I held my breath, forcing myself to stay still as my eyes scanned the shadows. Slowly, carefully, I extended the threads, letting them fan out in every direction, feeling for movement, for a break in the silence.

But there was nothing.

No response.

No disruption.

No sound.

And yet... I knew I wasn’t alone.

I could feel it watching me in the darkness as I tried my best to remain calm. However, even at my calmest, I couldn’t suppress the cold sweat that was forming on my back.

This wasn’t something that I could control.

And just as the tension peaked...

As every nerve in my body screamed with tension...

It was gone.

The presence faded.

It... just vanished.

As if it had suddenly lost interest in me altogether.

As if I no longer mattered.

Flick!

The candle on my desk sputtered back to life, its flame trembling as it reignited. Light spilled outward, chasing back the shadows. They clung to the corners of the room, twisted up and down around the room.

"...."

I stood in silence, unable to make out the situation.

However, I was quick to snap out of it as I stared at the fragmented reflection of myself coming from the mirror on the opposite end of the room. I felt my chest slowly rise and fall as a loud pounding sound echoed in my mind.

’What in the world was that...?’

I could still feel the chills running down my body.

This was the first time I had ever experienced something like this. This fear... it was different from anything I had gone through in the past. Not even Sithrus gave me this type of fear.

If he gave me a sense of helplessness, then... this gave me something different.

It wasn’t insignificance.

It wasn’t despair.

It was more like...

Recognition.

As if I had suddenly gained the attention of something that I should never have.

’The fear of recognition... How does this even make sense?’

I brought my hands over the table, leaning forward as I tried to catch my breath. But the moment I pressed my hands on the table, I noticed something.

The book...

It was completely blank.

Everything that Noel had written was gone.

"W... when did this...?"

I covered my mouth while sitting back down on the chair. I was really struggling to keep it together, but I knew I had to. It was for this reason that as I looked at myself in the mirror again, I stared at the purple orb that was reflected inside of me.

I pressed my hand down and lowered it significantly.

"Better."

I finally managed to calm down.

Shifting my attention back toward the diary, I tried my best to process the situation.

Closing my eyes, I replayed the words from the book in my head.

’Ignorance is a person’s greatest blessing. The less one knows about them, the safer they are. Awareness is an invitation. And the moment you come to understand their existence... they become aware of yours.’

Thankfully, I could still recall everything that I had read.

My memories had not been erased. Only all markings of their existence had.

But there was something that I was curious about.

’I learned of their existence back when I was in the Mirror Dimension. Does that mean that they were aware of the fact that I existed then? ...If so, why only act now? Or do they have no reach in the Mirror Dimension?’

I flipped to the next page to see that it was entirely blank.

From the start, there wasn’t much written in the diary. It only seemed to be one rushed page. I was a little surprised by the lack of information, but it now all made sense. It wasn’t that Noel didn’t know much; it was that just talking or writing about them would garner their attention.

This probably explained why he never really talked about them and had me find out directly.

’...I’m surprised he was able to write this much about them without being noticed, but I’m sure there must be a trick.’

I continued to flip through the pages.

Everything was blank.

There didn’t seem to be anything else noteworthy.

I was just about to put the book away when my hand paused at the very end of the book — right at the internal cover of the book.

A small crease in the corner of the inner cover, subtle enough to miss if I hadn’t been looking closely. My curiosity piqued as I reached for the corner.

I began to peel it.

And then—

One single sentence appeared.

Just one.

But it was enough to take my breath away.

’One of the Gods has betrayed us!’

*

The next day.

I didn’t get much sleep the entire night.

I spent the entire night thinking about the last words in the book. I tossed and turned, trying my best not to think about the book, but regardless of what I did, the words simply stuck in my mind.

’One of the gods has betrayed us...’

Who?

...And how?

Who was the god that betrayed them?

’Is it Sithrus?’

No.

I quickly shook my head. While Sithrus was crazy in his own way, his goal was clear. He wanted to escape the Mirror Dimension.

If anything, he was probably the person that hated the Outer Beings the most.

Noel also didn’t seem to be one of the traitors.

That only left the other gods.

Veltrus. Clora. Panthea. Ivanth, and... Oracleus.

While I wanted to deny the possibility of me being the traitor, I knew myself well. If betraying the others was necessary in order to achieve something, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

’There’s also the memory of me saying that all the other gods need to die.’

If anything, I was probably the biggest suspect.

I didn’t really know how to feel knowing this.

’Still, this is not a guarantee. So far, I’ve only met Panthea. I have yet to see the other gods. There’s a possibility that it could be one of them.’

I only said this to make myself feel better.

Shaking my head, I rubbed my face, trying to push away the cluttered thoughts. With a quiet sigh, I stepped out of my room, hoping some distance would clear my mind.

But just as I entered the hallway, another door creaked open.

A figure stepped out, his back hunched.

He looked haggard, his eyes containing dark circles as he stopped for a moment and looked at me.

"...You look like shit."

I nodded.

"You too."

So it looked like Leon also didn’t get much sleep.

I was actually quite curious.

"What happened to you? Was there something wrong with the bed...?"

"The bed?"

Leon’s eyes blinked slowly before he shook his head.

"No, it’s not that."

"Then...?"

He didn’t answer and just looked at me.

The wheel in my head slowly turned until I got it.

"Oh..."

So he was still hung up on the thing from yesterday.

Yes, that made sense.

"What about you?"

"Me?"

I paused.

’Right, it wouldn’t be a bad thing if I told him. But can I even tell him?’

This was one of the main issues I had at hand. I wanted to tell Leon, but I felt that it was impossible for me to tell him. Not to protect him, but to protect the two of us.

Who knew what would happen if I were to make him aware of their presence?

"So...?"

As if noticing something strange in my expression, Leon’s brow rose. In the end, I could only offer him a smile.

"I want to tell you, but I can’t."

"What?"

Leon’s brows furrowed in confusion.

His lips parted as he tried to say something, but I spoke over him.

"Just don’t ask. This isn’t something that I can currently share. Not because I don’t want to, but because I physically can’t. The moment I tell you, t—!?!"

The words suddenly stopped.

Not because I wanted them to, but because I physically couldn’t say them at all. It was like something had lodged itself in my throat, blocking every syllable.

I tried to speak again, but the words still refused to leave me.

"Are you okay?"

Even Leon appeared to notice the change.

In the end, I gave up and closed my mouth.

"I—"

’I tried speaking, but something was blocking me from saying what I wanted.’

The words yet again lodged themselves in my throat.

It was also then that I realized something.

’Indirectly or directly, I can’t really talk about them. They... won’t allow me to.’

This also served as a reminder.

A reminder that they were watching. That I was now under their radar.

That... I needed to be careful.

I bit my lip, feeling chills run down my spine.

"Julien?"

Hearing Leon’s words again, I just shook my head. He frowned, seemingly wanting to ask more, but in the end, he stopped.

"Okay."

He gave up asking.

Judging from his face, he looked confused. He didn’t appear to have understood that I couldn’t say anything at all.

’Damn it. If only I had Evelyn with me.’

Evelyn would certainly understand my situation. She was extremely sharp in situations like this.

’I might try again when she’s present.’

But before that happened, there were more pressing matters that I needed to take care of. I didn’t plan on dragging the situation any longer. I needed to get my hands on the Chalice as fast as possible and get my memories back.

The sense of urgency that I felt after the happenings of the previous night was at an all-time high.

"Come to my room for a second. There’s something I’d like to discuss with you."

"Oh, sure... Let me just get some break—"

"Nope."

I grabbed Leon’s arm and pulled him into the room.

Clank!

At the same time, I closed the door behind us and set up a simple dome made out of mana around us. This wasn’t exactly a spell, but it could be considered one. This was just the simple manipulation of mana.

It was enough to block most sound around us.

"...You even set up a barrier?"

Leon looked around, and his expression turned serious.

I got straight to the matter.

"The Chalice that you have. Can I have it?"

"Cha... What?!"

Leon’s eyes widened and the surroundings came to a sudden standstill.

"How... do you..."

I smiled upon seeing his shock.

It was time for me to come clean. At least, partially.