“…Son of Chaos,” Alnea Oathkeeper mumbled, before looking down towards the ring on his hand. Towards the source of the voice in his head, pulsating between black, and white lights. “What a familiar term. The strange woman also called me by that name. But she never told me what it meant. Do you have my answers, Seed of Fate?”

“…You ae different from the last time we met.”

“I am just not as ignorant.”

“…Your Spirit is the same. But you feel like a completely different person.”

“…It is just your misconception. I am the same person. It is just that the parts of me which were suppressed before are now starting to awaken.”

“…I have seen many weird things by mother’s side, but I have never seen anything as strange as you.”

“Your mother… The Lady of Fate, is it? Should I say I am flattered then?”

“…You know quite a few things.”

“…Barely. I was just given a brief introduction of the Origin Sea before… In any case, you can think of me as a unique case. A product of chance happenstance, just like the Lady of Luck herself.”

“…I am starting to understand a little of why mother chose you back then.”

“…Did the Lady of Fate foresaw of my arrival? Or did the transfer take longer than an entire Age?”

“…But you have yet to gain my approval, Son of Chaos.”

“…Do you think I need your approval?” Alnea Oathkeeper said, smiling at the ring in amusement. “I have lived an entire life seeking approval of others… This time, I am going to live my own life. Just the fact that you said such abhorrent words to me is already enough for me to sever our relationship. The only reason I am tolerating you is because of Yuri, and how much you mean to her. So, just shut up, and go back to sleep. I have quite a lot of things to catch up to.”

“…Do you know the consequences of insulting me, Oathkeeper?”

“Oh? Are you finally willing to address me for who I am? Good, then let us talk as equals. Tell me, what consequences you are talking about, and why you have brought me here.”

“…I have not brought you here, boy. But it looks like I need to teach you a lesson. Or else, you will not know the folly of provoking someone whom you cannot afford to provoke.”

“…When you have faced death, there is nothing you are truly afraid of. Besides, can you even do anything to me? You are nothing, but just a Seed of Fate. I admit that you may have exceptional powers, the kind of which I have never seen, but without anyone to use those powers, what can you do against me? Nothing.”

“Who said I will do anything against you?” the ring said in a smug tone. “Like you said, I cannot do anything unless and until you use me. Then tell me, Oathkeeper, how were you brought into this Mirror World in the first place?”

“…Mirror world,” Alnea mumbled, caressing the ring on his finger. “Is this your new function? A world which mirrors everything about me?”

“Not just you,” a voice rang out in the white world, bringing Alnea’s attention to its owner, standing behind him. “The Rings of Fate were a pair in the first place. Whatever function they have, it works for the both of us.”

“…Then you should have understood by now. Since only the owners of the Rings of Fate can come to this world, I am the real Alnea.”

“No,” Yuri said, shaking her head. “You are not my Alnea… You are just the memories of Alnea Oathkeeper of the world of Attuners. And for some reason, you are now dominating his body.”

“…Tell me, Yuri. Did I treat you badly? Or did I say anything mean to you? I even took revenge for you… Why are you not trusting me?”

“…Because you are not my Alnea.”

“…I am still your Alnea. Rather, I am the better version of your Alnea.”

“You are not my Alnea.”

“…Did you not wish to change the fate of your clan? I can help you—

“The only one who is allowed to help me is the Alnea who made a promise with me. Not some bunch of memories occupying his body.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Him?” Alnea Oathkeeper said with a sneer. “A boy well past the age of his weaning crying for every little thing… He will help you? He cannot even help himself. The curse is going to come looking for him very soon. And if he does not have my help, then no one in the world will be able to save him. Not even his master. And you want him to help you save your clan?”

Alnea Oathkeeper shook his head with a laugh.

“Stop joking around, Yuri. You know that only I can help you save your clan. Is it not just changing some fate? I have already changed my fate twice. And I have even changed the fate of the girl I once loved… There is nothing too hard about it. As for your clan… I have thirteen different ways to help you. And that is what I came up with just now. If you just let me help you—

“If there is anything that I have learnt over the years I have spent traveling the world, it is that if I want something, then I have to fight for it myself. It does not matter if Alnea cannot help me with my clan. I can fight against fate by myself. Besides, my relationship with Alnea… it is not just about us helping each other. It is something much more pure, and sacred. The memories that we have made, the bond that we share—

“Is it not just love? Why are you saying it in such a roundabout way?” Alnea Oathkeeper said, looking at Yuri in amusement. “You do know that we are technically the same person, right? Everything he feels, I feel the same. Including the love that we have for you. However, he is a little too greedy. Not only does he love you, but he also loves Cecilia. He still does not understand what his feelings are, but I know them. I have felt them. And I can say for certain that he does not want to give up on either of you. Do you not think that he is a bit too selfish?”

“Your trickeries are not going to work on me.”

“I am not trying to trick you,” Alnea Oathkeeper said, smiling helplessly at Yuri. “I am just saying the truth. He is indeed a little too selfish. But I am different. I have loved, and lost that love before it could ever be fulfilled. I know what the pain of love feels like. And I also know how much pain you will have to suffer if you share him with others. Would it not be better if you have me all to yourself? I am still the same Alnea, and my love for you is even greater than his. I will give you what he never can, Yuri. I—

“Do not speak my name like you know me,” Yuri said, looking at him with disgust. As if just hearing him say her name was making her skin crawl. And the more she looked at him with such disgust, the more his Heart ached. He did not let his emotions show on his face though. After all, he had a whole life’s experience of hiding his Heart.

“…Fine. This will make things much easier for me. After all, living for love is also akin to living for others. And I wish to live only for myself.”

“I do not care for what you wish. Just return my Alnea to me.”

“…I am sorry to disappoint you, but I cannot help you fulfil your wish.”

“…Do not force me.”

“…I truly cannot do anything,” Alnea Oathkeeper said, shrugging his shoulders with a smile, while hiding the ache in his Heart. “That cry baby became desperate after he saw you and Cecilia getting hurt. That desperation triggered a resonance with his Roots. And it is through those resonance that I surfaced from the depths of his Spirit.

“It should have been fine if he maintained that resonance for only a few moments, but he went too far. The power of Oaths… It is not something a cry baby like him can handle. For now, you can say that we have exchanged places. He is sleeping at the depths of our Spirit, while I am taking charge of our body. If you want him back, then you can only wait for him to wake up on his own.”

“…How long will I have to wait?”

“An hour? A day? A year? A century? How would I know?”

“…Is he sleeping just because he could not bear the resonance with his Roots?”

“Just? I do not know much about the concept of Roots, but I can assure that it was anything but just.”

“…I know what resonating with our Roots signify,” Yuri said, staring at Alnea Oathkeeper with a solemn face. “Just answer my question. Is he sleeping because he could not bear the resonance of his Roots?”

“…He truly is blessed by the Lady of Luck to have someone like you worry for him,” Alnea Oathkeeper said, with a tinge of envy in his voice, as he nodded in response to Yuri’s question.

“Then as long as I can negate the side effect of that resonance, will he wake up?”

“…Do you understand what you are saying?”

“I know what I am saying. Just answer my question.”

“…It will be too dangerous.”

“…It looks like you have guessed what I am going to do. This saves me some trouble. Just tell me, will he wake up or not?”

“…He did not just resonate with his Roots, he resonated with the concept of Oaths themselves. You will not be able to bear the consequences.”

“Stop worrying about me, and just answer my question.”

“…Is it worth it?”

“…Was it worth it for you?”

“…You may die.”

“And you have already died.”

“That is why I am trying to stop you.”

“And yet you know that you cannot stop me.”

“…You call him a fool, but you are no less of a fool yourself,” Alnea Oathkeeper said, with helplessness, and despair. “But I guess that makes you two more suitable for each other.”

“…I am sorry for what happened to you, but I cannot give you my Alnea.”

“…I understand.”

Alnea Oathkeeper closed his eyes for a few moments, thinking, contemplating, before finally opening them, and looking back at Yuri.

“There is a chance… but if you die, he dies.”

“…Then I will just have to make sure that I do not die.”

“…It has been ages since I stopped believing in Gods. But tonight, let me make one last prayer. May Goddess Ilea’s blessing be with you, Yuri Faed. Go, and bring back your Alnea.”

“…Thank you,” Yuri said, before closing her eyes, and Turning Fate.