BloodShade looked at the boy more carefully this time, studying his expression to see if he was really serious. After a moment of silence and a staring contest, she sighed and acquiesced. “Okay, you’ve got my attention, boy. Please explain to me what’s really happening.” Her voice suddenly became severe, and her eyes were sharp as blades. “However, I’m warning you: don’t try to make a fool of me. Even though I accept you as my master, I won’t tolerate anyone mocking me. Do you understand?”

“I won’t,” Elysian answered in a very serious tone. “As I stated, I came from the future, more precisely, the year 6657 of the Imperial Calendar.”

“Nearly a hundred years into the future?” she asked, now much more interested in the revelation.

“Yes,” the noble replied, nodding. “I know this might not seem that long for someone like you, who counts years as days.”

“That might be true, but does it even count when most of my time is spent trapped in some dungeons or ruins somewhere, knowing neither news nor light?” BloodShade responded, sighing in melancholy from all those dark and depressing times. This did not totally dampen her mood, however, as her curiosity rose to such a level that a smile quickly crossed her lips. “Did we also know each other? Did I serve you?”

“Sadly, no,” Elysian answered, smiling at her enthusiasm. “We did not cross paths in that life. I never heard about you or knew of your existence.”

“That means I’m likely thrown in some ruin, forest, or wherever, slumbering for another hundred years until some unlucky idiot picks me up,” BloodShade muttered more to herself, smirking at the chaos she would’ve caused. “It seems in your story I wouldn’t be a part of it. Go on, continue. I want to hear your story and what will happen in the future.”

Elysian smiled at the idea that he was now able to share something in his life that he couldn’t tell anyone, fearing that such a truth might be revealed to people who understood the importance of the knowledge he held. People had killed for less. Even though he trusted Bran and Osric, they were only humans; they could make mistakes they didn’t mean to. Also, knowing certain knowledge, such as this, was a burden he didn’t want them to carry.

In the case of BloodShade, it was totally different. She was already a part of him in some ways, just like the Eye of Sacraeon. Whether he wanted it or not, she would eventually know about this part of him. It was better to reveal this truth to her himself and, in the process, gain more of her trust and deepen their relationship. Also, with her knowing this part of his life, he could ask for her opinion on his decisions, making things easier going forward.

So, Elysian told his life story, starting from his uncle’s betrayal until the time he met his untimely end—being eaten alive by an abyssal worm. After telling his story, BloodShade stared at him for a moment before sighing in helplessness. “I suspected as much. Well, it seems I’m not the only one who has had a tragic life. Both of us were betrayed by the person we trusted the most; then, we were both tortured to the point of almost breaking. Me, by a vile cult, and you, by some malicious ancient family on the eastern continent,” she stated, chuckling at the tragic life fate had thrown at them. “It seems you’re right; both of us are the same—broken and ill-fated.”

“Yes, we are the unfortunate,” the young noble agreed, chuckling without humor in his voice.

“Hmm… Well, we aren’t truly similar since you still have the chance to change your fate while I…” BloodShade suddenly stopped talking as she widened her eyes in realization. “Wait, wait, if you can change your fate, maybe I can also…”

Anticipating what was about to come, Elysian quickly interjected, “I know what you’re thinking. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but what happened to me will unlikely happen again. Having false hope is one of the cruelest things to experience. As someone who has seen many tragedies in my past life, I don’t wish for you to be swallowed by the same end. It is simply cruel to search for and wait for something that will never happen. Remember, both of us are children of misfortune. The more we want something, the more fate will pull it away from our reach. It’s better not to expect anything, and if it happens, we will be thankful for it.”

“You are right, Master,” BloodShade responded, nodding her head in agreement with a sad smile. “Why hand myself to the cruel hands of fate to be played and thrown aside? It’s better to expect nothing, and just live this pitiful life of mine.”

“Let’s stop this depressing talk. Just ride along with me and experience a life you haven’t seen before; wouldn’t that be nice for a change?” Elysian asked, grinning at her.

“You’re right about that. Instead of being trapped in some dark ruin, this is so much better,” the woman responded, smiling at him before a thought suddenly crossed her mind. “Master, this question has been bothering me since you told me your story,” she muttered. Upon seeing the boy looking at her seriously, she continued, “Is your uncle responsible for his past actions since he hasn’t betrayed you yet?”

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Elysian immediately froze upon hearing that question. He already knew about this problem; he was just avoiding it, not wanting to face a dilemma he did not know how to answer. Now that he was asked this question, he was forced to respond, though that did not mean he would find the answer he was searching for. “Let me ask you: if you were given the same opportunity as I was, would you kill your husband?”

The woman met his eyes as she considered his question carefully before she said, “If I return as a ten-year-old girl, that means we haven’t met each other yet. I would want to kill him, I admit it, to ease the pain he brought me, but I would likely choose to never meet him again, even though I wanted to get my revenge.” She paused for a moment to think more about her response. When the woman was sure there was nothing she wanted to change from it, she continued, “I am given an opportunity to start a new life, and I don’t want to waste or, worse yet, destroy it for the sake of vengeance. I owe it to myself to live a peaceful and beautiful life.” When the boy remained quiet after she had given her truthful response, she added, “Our situations are quite different, aren’t they, master? While I can just avoid him, you can’t. You are forced to live a life where the betrayal of your trust is imminent.”

‘She is right about that. I couldn’t evade my fate by escaping from it. If I had done that, the tragedy of the past might not have happened to me, but it would surely happen to my family. Then do I kill my uncle? When he hadn’t betrayed me yet. It’s true that, from his actions, he had his eyes on my father’s position, but isn’t that a given? Nobles do that all the time. Also, he hadn’t acted on it yet; he hadn’t betrayed and killed my father or anyone in my family. Do I have to wait for that to happen? No, I can’t, but I also can’t kill him for his greed. It’s not a sufficient reason to kill anyone just for that reason.

It’s funny, right? I’m thinking of killing him when I still don’t have the power to do so. Hmm… This just means that I still have time to decide. I am hopeful that by the time I gain that power, I will have already found my answer.’

Elysian nodded while a melancholic smile crossed his lips. “You’re right. Our fates have similarities in some ways, but it can’t be denied that they are different. At the moment, I still haven’t decided what to do. Hopefully… hopefully I…”

When BloodShade saw his hesitation, she chuckled and muttered, “Isn’t it funny? Both of us are heartless creatures, but we hesitated to kill our most hated foe. In my case, I wouldn’t kill and take my vengeance, fearing it would just destroy my life and my new beginning, while in your case, you wouldn’t kill him because you find it wrong—outside the red line of your principle.”

“It just means we aren’t stupid or mad, killing people without a cause,” the boy said, grinning at her. “Even though most people might disagree with our reason.”

“Well, you have your reasons for why you kill someone, but I don’t,” BloodShade admitted, snorting at his assumption. “I kill because I want to.”

“You want to, or is it just the result of the ritual done to you?” Elysian asked, raising his brow. When the woman was about to respond, the boy quickly added, “I’ve seen a part of your past. You don’t seem to be the cold murderer type. Sure, you would kill all those responsible for your tragic fate, but I don’t see you as the type to kill those who are innocent.”

The woman’s eyes widened as she assessed all the actions she had taken as BloodShade. With a sorrowful sigh, she looked at the ground, made silent by the truth of her existence and actions.

“You aren’t a monster,” the noble stated, studying the woman’s face. “They are the true monsters for making someone as good and beautiful as you into what you are now, so don’t blame yourself. Some things in life are just out of our hands.”

“That might be true, but I’m still the one who killed those people. Their blood is still on my hands,” BloodShade replied, staring at her hands as she slowly raised them. Glancing at the boy, she smiled sadly and added, “Do you know what’s even more upsetting? I don’t feel any remorse for what I did, even though it was sickening, even though it was unforgivable.”

‘What they did to her was truly cruel. Not only did they kill her family, but they also made her a malevolent weapon by warping her personality and nature, in line with that perverse and vile cult.’

“Don’t look at me like that, boy. If there comes a time when I will have to pay for my crimes, I will accept my punishment. I’m already at peace with whatever retribution fate might bring,” BloodShade muttered, smiling at him, thankful for his concern. “Now, let’s change this topic and talk about something more cheerful.”

Elysian smiled back at her, grateful that they would move on to another subject. “Cheerful?” he asked, curious as to where she was going. “What do you mean?”

“What else?” BloodShade muttered, chuckling when she saw his confusion. “You just gained me as your weapon, and not just any ordinary one, but a soulforged at that. You should be proud of yourself.”

‘Soulforged? Is that the official name for living weapons?’

“Soulforged?” Elysian asked, displaying interest in the subject.

“Yes, soulforged. Weapons like me, possessing a will of their own,” BloodShade responded, carefully studying his curious eyes. “Don’t tell me you haven’t heard of weapons like me before. Didn’t you live for nearly a century?”

“I haven’t. Well, I heard rumors about living weapons before, but information on them is quite scarce,” Elysian admitted, sighing in helplessness. “There are legends about them, but most people don’t believe they existed.”

“Living weapons?” BloodShade pondered the term. “Yeah, that’s an apt description of what I am—a weapon that’s alive or possesses its own will. I can understand why you know little of us since we are quite rare. But didn’t you have another soulforged artifact? That colossal eye before, the one you called ‘Eye of Sacraeon’—didn’t it tell you what it is?”