Chapter 69 – The Name in the Book
Brook and Henry walked through the palace corridors in silence.
Neither spoke.
The conversation with Aldric had left too many things hanging between them.
A century.
Six Sources.
A vessel.
And a choice that supposedly determined the end.
Brook couldn't stop thinking about the diagram.
Someone had drawn his existence before he was even born.
That bothered him more than the Sources themselves.
Henry eventually broke the silence.
"So…"
Brook looked at him.
"My father."
"Yeah."
"What did he say?"
Brook hesitated.
"Too much."
Henry laughed quietly.
"That's usually how he is."
Brook stopped walking.
"Henry."
Henry turned.
Brook's expression was serious.
"Did your father ever tell you about the Sources?"
Henry's smile disappeared.
"No."
"Never?"
"No."
Brook nodded slowly.
"Then why does he know so much?"
Henry looked away.
"I don't know."
Brook studied him.
"You sure?"
Henry sighed.
"Brook, my father has secrets. A lot of them."
"That doesn't bother you?"
"It used to."
Henry looked at him.
"Then I realized trying to uncover all of them would probably get me killed."
Brook smiled faintly.
"Good point."
They continued walking.
Neither noticed the figure watching them from the end of the corridor.
Back at Xcution headquarters, Elias was sorting through supplies.
Sera sat nearby, reading.
Kael was trying to repair one of Henry's old weapons.
Crowley stood by the window.
Rick had left.
Shoyo had disappeared shortly afterward.
Everything felt almost normal.
Then Elias stopped.
He looked toward the door.
Sera noticed.
"What?"
Elias frowned.
"Nothing."
"You just stopped moving."
"I heard something."
Kael looked up.
"What?"
Elias shook his head.
"Probably nothing."
He returned to the supplies.
But something bothered him.
A strange pressure had appeared inside his head.
Only for a second.
A word.
A name.
Elias.
He didn't know why it frightened him.
Brook and Henry returned shortly before sunset.
Henry entered first.
"Nobody touch my food."
Sera looked at him.
"You've been gone an hour."
"Exactly."
Brook walked in behind him.
Kael looked up.
"What happened?"
Henry pointed toward Brook.
"He's been interrogated by my father."
Kael looked at Brook.
"Did you survive?"
Brook smiled.
"Barely."
Sera laughed.
Crowley studied Brook.
"You found something."
Brook looked at him.
"Yeah."
Crowley waited.
Brook sat down.
"My existence was planned."
The room went quiet.
Kael lowered his weapon.
Sera closed her book.
Elias looked up.
"What?"
Brook looked around.
"Aldric showed me an old document."
Crowley stepped closer.
"What kind?"
"A diagram."
Brook hesitated.
"Six Sources."
Nobody spoke.
Elias's expression changed.
Brook noticed.
"Elias?"
"I'm fine."
Brook frowned.
"You sure?"
Elias nodded.
"Yeah."
Crowley noticed the hesitation too.
But he didn't comment.
Brook continued.
"The document was almost a century old."
Sera frowned.
"Before you were born."
"Exactly."
Henry sat down.
"My father said someone planned for a vessel."
Crowley crossed his arms.
"Someone?"
"Aldric didn't know."
Brook looked toward the window.
"He said something else."
"What?"
"That six Sources don't create a god."
Brook paused.
"They create a choice."
Sera frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know."
Crowley stared at him.
"And you're not going to ask?"
Brook smiled.
"I've learned that asking questions doesn't guarantee answers."
Crowley nodded.
"Good."
Later that evening, Brook went outside.
The city lights stretched beneath the Wall.
He stood on the rooftop.
For once, Shinokuni-01 looked peaceful.
Then he felt it.
Michael.
Not a voice.
A presence.
Brook closed his eyes.
The world disappeared.
White.
Silent.
Michael stood ahead.
Brook walked toward him.
"You said I would face the first test soon."
Michael nodded.
"How soon?"
"Very."
Brook frowned.
"Is what Aldric told me true?"
Michael remained silent.
"Was I created to carry the Sources?"
Silence.
Brook's frustration grew.
"Michael."
The Archangel looked at him.
"You were created."
Brook's heart tightened.
"But why?"
Michael didn't answer.
Brook stepped closer.
"Was I made for the Sources?"
Michael's expression remained unreadable.
"You were made to survive them."
Brook stared.
"That's different."
"Yes."
Brook's voice became quiet.
"Then what am I?"
Michael looked directly at him.
"That is what you must decide."
Brook shook his head.
"Everyone keeps telling me I have a choice."
Michael nodded.
"But nobody tells me what I'm choosing."
Michael stepped closer.
"Because you haven't reached that point."
Brook looked down.
"What happens if I fail your test?"
Michael's expression changed.
For the first time…
there was something almost like sadness in his eyes.
"You will learn."
Brook frowned.
"That's it?"
"No."
Michael's voice became colder.
"You will lose something."
Brook froze.
"What?"
Michael disappeared.
The white world shattered.
Brook opened his eyes.
He was back on the rooftop.
His breathing was heavy.
His hand was glowing.
White light ran through his fingers.
Brook immediately clenched his fist.
The light disappeared.
Control.
He was beginning to understand.
The first test wasn't simply about refusing to use Michael's power.
It was about what happened after he used it.
And something told Brook the real test was coming soon.
Inside the palace…
King Aldric sat alone.
The ancient book remained open.
He stared at the page.
B-01 — BROOK
His fingers moved to the next line.
His expression changed.
The name beneath it still bothered him.
B-00 — ELIAS
Aldric turned another page.
Most of it was damaged.
But one section remained readable.
B-00 exhibited compatibility with multiple Source signatures.
Aldric's eyes narrowed.
He continued.
Subject failed integration.
Another page.
Subject's memories became unstable.
Another.
Subject retained human identity beyond expected duration.
Aldric stopped.
His face went pale.
"Impossible."
He turned the page.
There was one final note.
If B-01 is successful, B-00 may still be alive.
Aldric stared at the words.
He immediately closed the book.
Someone knocked.
Aldric looked up.
"Enter."
The door opened.
Henry stepped inside.
"You wanted to see me again?"
Aldric looked at his son.
Then at the book.
"Henry."
"Yeah?"
Aldric hesitated.
"How long have you known Elias?"
Henry frowned.
"Elias?"
"Yes."
"Years."
Aldric's expression tightened.
"Is he close to Brook?"
Henry laughed.
"He's part of Xcution."
Aldric stood.
"Does Brook trust him?"
"Of course."
Aldric looked away.
Henry noticed.
"What is this about?"
Aldric didn't answer.
Henry stepped closer.
"Father."
Aldric finally looked at him.
"Bring Elias to me."
Henry frowned.
"Why?"
Aldric's voice became quiet.
"Because I need to know something."
"What?"
Aldric stared at the closed book.
"Whether history has just repeated itself."
Back at Xcution headquarters, Elias was asleep.
He suddenly opened his eyes.
His breathing was heavy.
He looked around.
Everyone else was asleep.
Then he heard something.
A voice.
Not Michael.
Not Lucifer.
Not Death.
A voice he had never heard before.
"B-00."
Elias froze.
"What?"
Silence.
Then again.
"B-00."
Elias sat upright.
His hands began shaking.
He looked toward the mirror.
For a moment…
his reflection wasn't his own.
It was a younger version of himself.
Standing inside a white room.
Connected to six glowing circles.
Elias stumbled backward.
The reflection disappeared.
He stared at the mirror.
His breathing became faster.
"What the hell…"
Then a memory surfaced.
A memory that shouldn't have existed.
A laboratory.
Chains.
White light.
Someone standing behind glass.
And a voice saying:
"The next vessel must be better."
Elias grabbed his head.
The memory vanished.
He fell to his knees.
Across the room, Brook suddenly opened his eyes.
He had felt something.
Three Sources reacted simultaneously.
Michael.
Lucifer.
Death.
Brook sat upright.
He looked toward Elias's room.
"Elias?"
Nobody answered.
Brook stood.
And for the first time…
he wondered whether the mystery surrounding his creation wasn't only about him.
Maybe Xcution had been carrying part of the mystery all along.
End of Chapter 69