That fairy tale drove him insane.
Coming back to his senses with a shake of his head, Zavi shifted his gaze toward Zuhen. His expression remained unchanged, even though the effects of Binding had only just entered their bodies, especially Zuhen's, which made Zavi anxious.
His footsteps carried him closer until he stood exactly two meters away from Zuhen, who sat there with a blank expression while his mouth moved, speaking in a language that even Zavi himself could not understand.
"Are you all right?" he asked hopefully.
"Yes, of course," Zuhen replied in a hoarse, raspy voice.
Zavi grew increasingly suspicious of that answer. However, his suspicion faded when the Recipestele, Tell, suddenly appeared and floated above Zuhen's left shoulder.
"Hah, thank you for saving the two of us from that fairy tale." Tell could not hide his uneasiness as a tiny, glowing purple eye stared through the darkness at the gloom on Zuhen's face.
Tell knew that Zavi had played an important role in saving them through their interconnected spiritual connection, which clearly flowed between them and protected them from one another.
He glanced at Felina, silently observing her while the corners of his lips lifted slightly, as though sensing something strange in her movements.
All of them looked like dazed people trying to figure out what had actually happened, even though foreign memories from thousands of years ago had suddenly become mixed with their original memories, as though their brains were incapable of processing their presence.
Even Zavi himself applied Binding to his own body so that his sanity could endure, as though his instincts were telling him to do it immediately, just as Zavi himself had experienced something similar before.
Indeed, he had. It had happened a week ago, precisely on Monday night, in Kuranda City, Vleco, on Jikusuma Street. Not only that, several hours before the incident occurred, on that same night, that strange feeling had caused his soul and body to tremble violently.
If not for his rapid adaptability, Zavi admitted that he would not have been able to get through all of it, and he was aware that something evil, once it began to move, would become a walking disaster that could surpass the disaster itself.
'Well, now think about it... What if this has something to do with...'
For a moment, Zavi raised his head high, his gaze sweeping across the dark blue sky that concealed the beauty of the stars and moon at night, as though the sky itself were mourning what had happened to them.
He thought about the fifth-level Evil Spirit, Mastering, which had interfered in his life. Celvira, being a creature of the same kind, had even lived in the same realm, yet she knew absolutely nothing about what abilities "She" possessed.
Zavi, who was known to be reserved and disliked talking excessively unless something caught his interest, told Celvira everything he knew about her.
Celvira was hesitant about the explanation, choosing to play it safe and saying that not all of the abilities of a fourth-level Evil Spirit, and certainly those at level five, were still bound by concepts.
It could be said that "She" existed everywhere; she could hear their conversations, she could exist inside their minds, and she could exist in the past, present, and future.
At that time, Zavi realized that Celvira's statement did make sense and recognized the foolishness of trying to defeat a creature as terrifying as "Her."
Zavi chuckled before sinking into the suffocating silence of the night. All this time, Aaron had been busy observing Zavi's movements, which were not as calm as before.
'Actitus, are you the one who did this? That book, I know it was obtained after a Receivers of the Puppeteer advanced to level 4. I don't know its name. I myself inherited several supernatural abilities from Aaron Kwok that need to be watched carefully, one of which is none other than Puppeteer.'
After thinking for quite some time, Aaron suppressed a groan as he rose from his seat, clutching his shoulder, which had been dislocated by the rubble. The corner of his eye caught something familiar and rather conspicuous; Aaron immediately clenched his fist, followed by a quiet laugh as he rubbed his face.
"There is no way that building could have recovered from that black dust attack," Aaron said, his face turning gloomy as unspoken gratitude crossed his mind.
He looked at Celvira and said weakly, "Thank you, Miss. If it weren't for you, we would certainly have been killed by those dogs from that organization."
For a moment, Zavi glanced toward them and heard their conversation. Celvira remained silent, merely smiling in response to his gratitude.
Then she turned away, irritation tearing at her chest as she growled and cast an unhappy glare toward Zavi.
'You lied to me, damn it. How could someone this humorous possibly be mistaken for an evil person?'
Celvira was consumed by her anger as she realized that being human was not as bad as she had imagined.
Meanwhile, drowning in confusion, Zavi briefly found peace after what had just happened to him. He did not want to become like this again, especially since human lives should never be treated as insignificant.
He turned around, his confident gaze fading as guilt filled his face.
"I will not leave you behind, and I will fight alongside you," he declared earnestly while lowering his head and bringing both hands close to his body.
Felina briefly forgot the pain in her body, her brows furrowing against a pale face that was nearly turning blue.
'Has he lost his mind?'
Aaron stared blankly at him, genuinely confused by those strange words.
'Did he just hit his head on something? Forget that, did he really say that? Has he accepted us? What made him change so quickly?'
Although his mind was filled with bewildering questions, this was the first time Aaron had ever felt grateful that the hope he had been searching for all this time had finally been fulfilled.
Without their knowledge, Aaron clenched both hands, praising Nagreitta in his heart and chanting a sacred hymn.
'The fate of the silent night has vanished, O great Goddess Nagreitta, Bringer of peace to the heart, and Holy Night that sings.'
Zavi immediately clarified himself so that they would not misunderstand; for a moment, he glanced at Zuhen before coughing twice and saying, "I am not what you imagine me to be. I myself... am not sure what made me say that."
Felina interrupted him with a sharp gaze, "This is... what I dislike about people like you. Just say what you want to say, don't hesitate. We will all listen to you, so there is no need to worry about other people if those other people do not care about what you are saying in the first place. Honestly, I... have gained many bitter and joyful things from this journey. I don't know what to say, but it is better to be honest with yourself and not be ashamed to say it."
Pressed down by the lengthy muttering, Zavi felt as though his heart had been cleansed and became calm for a moment as the fact revolved inside his mind. It turned out that this applied to him as well; he did not know whether it came from Zavi or Liam himself.
Clearly, Zavi had actually died, replaced by the soul of Liam, a miserable young man who had wanted to live freely before death came for him, along with the desire not to be controlled by anyone else.
All of it had become an extraordinary mental burden for a schoolboy like him, accompanied by a profound sense of loneliness as he felt the emptiness of imagining himself trapped forever inside that prison.
"Yes." Zavi forced a friendly smile, aware that he was not that miserable teenager anymore, living on a new page that could not be wasted like his previous life.
....
Tuesday, the 4th of April.
The sun rose from the eastern horizon, its warm light bathing everything it touched, becoming the beginning and source of life for the living creatures within it.
On streets crowded with horse-drawn carriages and carts pulled by horses, a man in a simple tailcoat suit, paired with a white shirt and black trousers, walked through the bustle of the sidewalk.
Nearly getting hit several times, his calm demeanor carried him toward a crowded place where people usually contacted those closest to them.
With a honey sandwich still clamped between his lips from the journey here, his fingers typed on the machine deftly yet carefully.
Ngek!
The sound echoed for a long time inside the privacy booth as the telephone in his left hand waited for the recipient to answer.
While waiting eagerly, the man devoured the sandwich until nothing remained, making sure to wipe his hands on his clothes before transferring the telephone to his right hand and pressing it against his ear when the call connected.
"Hello, can you hear my voice?"
This habit was deeply ingrained in people like this man and others. However, this habit existed so that the information being delivered would not be wasted and would not have to be repeated again.
"Ah, yes, I can," the voice replied, its tone weak, as though belonging to someone who had just awakened from a long sleep.
"Why are you calling this morning, my dear Luis?" the voice asked.
Luis seemed hesitant to continue the conversation. That agreement had kept him awake for almost the entire night; he was gripped by fear that his foolishness would be exposed and that his death was already waiting just ahead.
"About James Moriarty, of course?" Evelina murmured, as though she could read Luis's mind.
"Yes," Luis replied. "Have you spoken to that woman?"
Evelina shrugged, feeling that this conversation was about to become interesting.
"Miss Lalita? I was told that the news really did come from her."
"So, what are we supposed to do? We could be arrested by that department, and worse, the Church might put us on trial." Luis felt a chill run down his spine; he was overwhelmed by regret and wished he could turn back time, but he knew everything was already too late.
As a man, he had no choice but to clean up the mess he had made himself. What was the point of running away when what he had done had already happened?
Yet, despite realizing that, he had instead run to seek help from a noblewoman like Evelina Kalderan rather than facing it directly.
"For now..."
Luis snapped out of his thoughts, pressing the telephone against his ear as though afraid of losing the woman's voice.
"I give up..." Evelina continued, and then the call was disconnected, leaving a heart-wrenching thud in Luis's ears.
Beep.
Luis's expression immediately turned gloomy; reluctantly, he put the phone away, hoping that the strange feeling weighing on him would disappear forever.
'Damn it. Where are you, you weird man with glasses? This is all your fault. If I ever meet you, I... I will never forgive you!'
With his body limp and completely drained of energy, Luis grumbled and reflexively kicked a small stone lying in front of his shoes.
The stone flew through the air; Luis continued walking without caring where it would land.
Then...
"Forgive me! I didn't mean to do that, I didn't see you behind the bushes. Please forgive me..."
Luis was chased by a worker who had been pulling weeds in the park on his superior's orders. Again and again, misfortune befell Luis; he was helpless as he was chased by a man ready to take his life with a sickle raised high in his rough hand.
The people nearby chuckled as they watched them, imagining the two of them as a pair of children playing tag.