It was sundown when Connor finally woke; the light-orange hues shining through his arched window...

"Hmm...~?" He groaned to himself: what happened last night? All of it was a blur whenever he tried to recall.

"Finally awake?" He was surprised, but it didn't take him very long to realize who it was.

"Hm... Yeah, but what happened last night?" He turned to the desk, where the Book of Fate was, "I don't remember a thing..."

"You suffered from an Animae Invasion," It answered a matter-of-factly, as if he was expected to know what that even meant.

"Animae... Invasion?" Connor frowned at the mention of the unfamiliar term.

"Indeed..." It took a few moments for it to organize its thoughts, "Every inhabitant in the universe— whether dead or alive; plant or animal, are governed by three ironclad rules: the law of Corporis, the law of Animo... and the law of Animae,"

"Corporis means body; this law dictates the corporeal and the mortal,"

"Animo is mind; this law dictates sense and the intelligent,"

"And finally, the Animae is the soul; this law dictates the intangible and the will..."

Connor nodded, allowing it to continue.

"As I've said, these three laws are what governs— what makes up— a living thing. Let's say, for example, a bird. The law of Corporis allows it to fly and move, the law of Animo gives it the instinct to hunt and feed, while the Animae turns that instinct into will,"

"But as you know, there must be someone to enforce those laws, this is where Fate comes in; Fate is basically the judge, jury and executioner: it tells the law of Corporis that the bird will eventually tire; it tells the law of Animo that the bird's instincts will eventually erode as it ages, and it tells the law of Animae that the bird's soul will go to Infernos when it dies. Because of this relationship, Fate was effectively the master of all three for a time,"

"Uh-huh... And what does that have to do with my problem?"

"I'm getting there, patience..." It did an imaginary shake of the head before continuing, "Eventually, the laws themselves become infected by the creations they've wrought. Fate was first, becoming Infernos, keeper of balance and Fate. Next was Aminae, becoming Tamashi, Goddess of emotion. After she was Animo, who transformed into Razum, God of Knowledge. And youngest of these three is Corporis, who became Aite, god of life and death,"

"Naturally, with the advent of consciousness came the messier side of it all: As the oldest and most powerful of the four, Infernos thought she deserved to be the leader. But the other three's reaction were... a mixed bag..." It chuckled to itself, "Razum initially supported her, while Tamashi and Aite did not..."

"I'm guessing they fought over it?" Connor interjected. The Book of Fate didn't answer.

"...Their battle was cataclysmic, spanning across the whole universe, destroying untold amounts of planets and stars and lasting billions of years. But eventually, It was Infernos and Razum who came out the victors,"

"As punishment for going against her, Tamashi's mind was twisted and changed so much, she thought of herself as Infernos's pet," Although Connor didn't see it, he knew the Book of Fate scowling in disgust, "Seeing this, Razum became disillusioned with his sister, and disappeared to who knows where; never to be seen again. He brought Aite along with him, not wishing his brother to share the same fate..."

"So, let me ask you this: Tamashi was Animae, who lost her mind. And now, you've just suffered from an Animae Invasion; what do you think that means?"

"Oh no..."

"Oh yes; even without her sanity, Tamashi is still a goddess, so when Infernos created the Book of Fate, she made it a prerequisite for a soul to exist before being able to use it. This means using the Book of Fate in quick succession is going to slowly break down your will,"

"!!!"

"Don't be such a worrywart! This is just your first time, and as long as you keep getting stronger, the more times you can "overclock" yourself,"

"I-I see... Thank you for telling me this..."

"No problem. Anyways, while you were sleeping, you said something about a party; I'd say you need to get yourself ready for the occasion!" Connor took a bit before he remembered what today was.

"Oh no! What time is it?"

"Around five in the afternoon,"

"Oh god! I have to shower. Now." With that, he stormed off to his porcelain palace to ready himself...

-Creak!-

Suddenly, the door of Connor's room opened, startling it. It was Cretass, and by the looks of it, he had heard their previous conversations.

"Now now, you don't need to be afraid; I'm just here to ask a few questions. After all, any father would be worried about his son's health if they suddenly started talking to a book," Before it could do anything, he raised both of his arms and smiled, trying to look as harmless as possible.

"..." The Book of Fate didn't say anything, still cautious of him.

"I know you don't trust me," It smirked at that, "But I just want to make sure you aren't anything... harmful,"

"I don't want to harm your son... but if I'm not here for him... Fate certainly will," It whispered.

"Fate? Wait... you..."

"I'm the Book of Fate, yes," Knowing what he wanted to say, it confirmed his hypothesis outright.

"How did you two meet?"

"Fate..." There was a period of heavy silence between the two— as if what came next was something both didn't want to face... though it was disrupted by the sound of bathroom curtains being opened. Letting out a sad smile, Cretass spoke:

"*Sigh* I see... Then it seems my time here is about up, isn't it?"

"..." Again, another moment of silence. But this time, it was Cretass who broke it.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

"Hum... Well, take care of my son... And keep him on the correct path, will you?"

"...I will,"

"Thank you..." And with that, he left the room.

-Click!-

Right as he left, Connor was out of the shower. And after drying up, he began to dress. Only to be interrupted:

"Go... Go change somewhere else, ya buffoon!" It screamed, the previously sad tone long gone.

"Hm, why?" As clueless as ever, he had giant question marks on his head.

"Nobody wants to see a naked person— even books don't! And I'll get arrested since you're a minor!"

"Never heard of that law before..." Connor was confused, though he just chalked it up to the book being weird and left it at that.

"Whatever! Just go back into your bathroom and change there!"

"Fine, fine..." Connor eventually relented and went back into the bathroom. Only coming back out a few minutes later.

"Hoh? You look pretty good, kid!"

"You really think so?" Connor blushed at the unexpected compliment, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Heh, you'd be able to score any lady with those looks,"

Unconvinced, Connor walked up to the mirror and was stunned!

He did look a lot better than normal: both his midnight black suit and tie made him look refined and gentlemanly, while the contrastingly white shoes added to his previously non-existent suaveness.

'Heh, guess I am pretty handsome!' Connor smiled smugly to himself before striking a pose like a certain superhero with a bat fetish...

"Tch! Don't get too happy, kid! Focus on training yourself; Fate isn't going to wait!"

"Hey! It's not every day I get to go somewhere in a suit!" Connor paid no mind to its ridicule, lightly jabbing back instead, "Anyways, I'm about finished with my preparations; I'll be going now! See ya tonight, old-timer!"

"Aiya, I feel ten years older each time I talk to this brat!" The Book of Fate didn't miss a chance to curse at Connor the minute he closed the door behind him...

----------------------------------------

At the party, three hours later,

The night was just about finished, but because everyone was too wasted to go anywhere, they just decided to lay there drunk until they either passed out or got sober enough... To drink even more booze and then pass out. Of course, like how every law has a loophole, so did this one: as one person remained unaffected.

"*Hic* Damnn... This was a *Hic* great party, eh Connor?" Two teens were exchanging drinks at the corner of the building they were in. Sadly, one of them didn't seem to be having any fun(maybe because their partner was almost dead drunk or because he didn't look the part of "Loose teenager partying", no one really knew). These two party-goers were naturally Alexei and Connor.

"I can't say I didn't enjoy it; everyone's just a bit too loud for my liking. Oh, and need I remind you of my sore thumb of a suit?!" He pointed at his suit, then at everyone else's casual outfits.

"Hehe! Yuu *Hic* Don gotta wurrry about those chumpshs! I'll tell ya this: every girl, guy and dog was lookin' atcha with stars in their eyes!"

"That book told me the same thing, so shut it," Connor rolled his eyes at Alexei's remark.

"Book? Whath book? Hehe, Are yuu shuure yuu aren't as drunk as I am?" Alexei countered, or at least try to; as the moment Connor was about to reply, the pair were interrupted by the sound of a horse neighing.

"Huff... Huff, If anyone here named Constantine?! Your house is on fire! Please come with me!" The horseman shouted to the partying crowd, frantically looking around for his target.

"Constantine? Oi, Isn't that ur name Connor? Eh? Connor?" Alexei looked around in confusion; where had his drinking bud gone? Unfortunately for him, Connor was already on the horse.

"Tch, What the hell are you getting yourself into this time, old man!" Although his words were harsh, Connor was terribly worried for his family.

Soon, he finally arrived at his house, or what was left of it...

"Oh my god..." Right in front of his terrified gaze was what could only be described as... Hell. Because laying at the foot of his burning home was the corpses of fifteen men, all of them were cloaked like assassins, all with gruesome injuries.

-Cough!-

Suddenly, he heard weak coughs at the centre of it all, rushing towards the source of it— he was horrified to see his own father among them!

"Dad! Shit, are you alright?!" Connor kneeled to check on his father's injuries. Cretass was severely injured in many areas; the most vicious of them was a cut that had pierced through the ribcage and into the lungs, rendering them completely useless.

"I failed her... I've failed to protect her!" He gasped for air as swaths of tears fell from his cheeks.

"Who? Dad! Who!?"

"Your mother... She's— She's!!" By that point, His father was too grief-stricken to speak any further, instead choosing to weep for the loss of his wife...

"Mom?! It can't be... No! It can't be!" Just like his father— Connor was inconsolable, trying to deny the death of his mother whilst looking around, hoping maybe one of them was her!

"You don't need to look, *Cough!* She's up in the heavens now..."

"No... Mother..." But just as he was about to join his father to mourn, he was given a small satchel. Looking at it, the bag wasn't anything special except for it bearing his initials.

"She made this for you... As a birthday gift," He explained before continuing, "*Don't you dare *Cough!*...Lose it!"

Connor numbly accepted the satchel and began to open it. but was flabbergasted to find the Book of Fate laying snugly inside!

"Dad... You knew?" He looked at his father incredulously, who gently nodded his head.

"I'm sorry... If I hadn't taken the book from Mrs Adelaide, none of this would've happened!" Connor was full of guilt, he knew this must've been the work of fate, and it was entirely his fault for implicating his family. But to his surprise, his father vehemently shook his head before speaking:

"If it was fated for you to receive that book, no amount of preparation would be enough! *Cough!*—Only by conquering fate would you stop its relentless assault,"

"..."

"Come now... Don't be depressed while your old man is on death's door! Give me a hug, tell a joke! I would rather die laughing than... than...," As Connor grasped the shoulders of his father, he could feel the latter's faint heartbeat slow down before eventually coming to a complete stop...

And it was only at that moment... did Connor truly realize what it felt like to be alone...