"Mother?"
Zekeʼs face paled when he saw Laura Agamemnon lying there, collapsed and bleeding.
"Did Arthur kill Mother?"
Arthur Draker was the head of the Draker family and one of the strongest figures on the entire continent, Overlord Arthur Draker.
It was he who had personally slain his wife, Laura Agamemnon.
Kugugugugu!
An immense surge of energy erupted from Zekeʼs body. Chijijijik—
The kaleidoscope domain before his eyes shook unstably under the force of his power.
Zeke wanted to crush Arthur Draker, the man who had killed Laura Agamemnon, right then and there.
But the Arthur Draker standing before him was not real—just a fragment of the past.
Zeke realized that failing to rein in his aura would collapse the kaleidoscope domain, so he suppressed his rage and gathered his energy to witness the events to their end.
Tsutsutsutsu—
As he withdrew his aura, the kaleidoscope domain returned to its original state.
Arthur Draker turned away from the fallen Laura.
In the direction he looked was a stone dais that resembled an altar, and atop it sat a single basket.
Arthur Draker approached the basket.
"Hmm."
He gazed at the infant inside.
A child with black hair and black eyes.
Arthur Drakerʼs expression twisted as he looked at the child.
He turned to the fallen Laura Agamemnon and said,
"Do you think this child can break the wheel of fate, as the prophecy foretold?" Arthur Draker pointed his sword at the infant.
"If I kill this child now, all your efforts will be for nothing."
At those words, Laura Agamemnon, bleeding out and dying, stared straight at Arthur and replied,
"...Arthur, you will never... be able to kill that child." Arthur Draker scoffed at Laura Agamemnonʼs words.
"Ha, ridiculous! Why do you think I canʼt kill him? If something stands in my way, even an infant is fair game...."
"Akashic Code."
Arthur Draker fell silent at Laura Agamemnonʼs quiet murmur.
"...Only that child... can access the Elder Dragonʼs... relic... the
Akashic Code...."
Her eyes gradually dimmed, her voice fading.
Zeke, watching from behind, was stunned by Laura Agamemnonʼs words.
"Mother knew about the Elder Dragon and the Akashic Code?"
He had known she received a revelation from Chronos, the Dragon of Time, but he hadnʼt realized she knew about the Akashic Code as well.
Laura Agamemnon spoke no more after that.
Arthur Draker clenched his teeth, staring at her lifeless form.
For a fleeting moment, a look of regret crossed Arthur Drakerʼs face as he gazed at the dead Laura Agamemnon.
But he quickly schooled his expression and approached her body.
Then, a mystical light enveloped Laura Agamemnonʼs corpse, transforming it into a cluster of light that vanished somewhere.
Arthur Draker glared fiercely at the dissipating light.
"...Laura, even to the end, you make me look pathetic."
After a moment, Arthur Draker turned back to the basket containing the infant.
The black-eyed child stared at Arthur Draker without crying.
As the child reached out toward him, Arthur Drakerʼs face grew complicated.
At that moment, Decker appeared in the distance, crawling with his body broken.
Clenching his teeth and bleeding from his mouth and eyes, Decker cried out upon seeing the scene in the cave.
"No, no!"
He realized Laura Agamemnon was gone and that she had lost her life to Arthur Drakerʼs hand.
Decker vomited blood and screamed.
"Why, why would you do this? A powerhouse like you! Why!"
Arthur ignored Deckerʼs screams and silently regarded the infant in the basket.
He soon picked up the basket and approached Decker.
Thud!
He dropped it beside Decker like discarded baggage.
Looking down at Decker, Arthur Draker said in a cold voice,
"This is the child Laura left behind. Sheʼs gone from this world now, so Decker, you take responsibility and raise him as a child of the Draker family."
Decker trembled violently at Arthurʼs words and crawled to the basket, peering inside.
"Kuuh!"
He had neither the strength nor the authority to defy Arthur Draker.
The child in the basket reached out and touched Deckerʼs cheek.
Meeting the childʼs clear black eyes, Decker unwittingly shed tears.
He struggled to his feet and cradled the basket to his chest.
Seeing this, Arthur Draker turned away.
Then Decker spoke softly to his back.
"What... should I name the child?"
Arthur, about to leave the cave, paused.
"A name...."
He slowly turned and said to Decker,
"The cursed illegitimate son of the great Draker, Siegfried. Name him 'Zekeʼ after him." Woooooong!
At that moment, the kaleidoscope domain collapsed, and Zeke returned to the antique room where he had been.
Tsutsutsutsu—
Zeke awoke on the bed alongside Mephistopheles.
He let out a sigh, feeling a dizziness similar to when he had crossed the timeline.
"Fuu...."
He now understood why Mephistopheles had deployed the kaleidoscope on the bed.
As the dizziness subsided, Zeke got off the bed and looked at Mephistopheles, asking accusingly,
"Is this the hidden truth? That Arthur Draker killed my mother?" Mephistopheles smiled subtly at his words.
"This is the truth I know. Were you expecting something else?" Zeke fell silent at Mephistophelesʼs response.
He had only imposed conditions on Mephistopheles according to the Arrogant Saviorʼs words, so he couldnʼt predict what truth the demon would reveal.
Of course, the past truth of Arthur Draker murdering Laura Agamemnon was enough to shock Zeke and ignite his hatred.
But Zeke couldnʼt shake the feeling that something more was concealed.
"The contract demon Mephistopheles. He certainly wonʼt lie due to the contract. But he can show only the parts of the truth that suit him."
Having learned of the complex issues between Arthur Draker and Laura Agamemnon that he didnʼt know, Zeke thought of someone who might know the full story.
"Rex Thurn."
As Reinaʼs father and head of the Thurn family, Rex Thurn was also a longtime friend of Arthur and Laura.
He had once wanted to ask Rex Thurn about his mother, Laura Agamemnon, but circumstances had delayed it. Now, it seemed like a stroke of luck.
He doubted Rex Thurn knew everything—how Laura Agamemnon knew about the Elder Dragon and the Akashic Code, how Arthur Draker knew Zeke would break the wheel of fate, and why he spared him despite that.
But talking to him about them would surely yield clues.
"First, I need to meet Rex Thurn." Zeke turned to Mephistopheles.
"Iʼm returning to the phenomenal world now."
Mephistopheles looked regretful at his words.
"Hmm? Already? The banquet hasnʼt even ended, and we could have more fun together...."
Zeke waved him off without listening further and immediately summoned Raven.
Woooooong!
Raven, now much more grown than before, flapped its blazing wings and let out a phoenix cry.
At the same time, a rift opened between the unstable dimensions.
Pajijijijik—
Powerful plasma surged from the dimensional rift.
Mephistopheles urgently shouted at Zeke, who was about to leave.
"Youʼre so impatient! Zeke Draker, the way back will be different from the way you came! Now that youʼve attained the rank of a demon archlord, the sanctions of karma will hit you harder!"
Zeke ignored Mephistophelesʼs words and entered the dimensional rift with Raven.
Kugugugugu—
The fierce dimensional storm enveloped and pulled him in, and the rift closed in an instant.
Left alone in the room, Mephistopheles grinned at the vanished rift.
Then, someone appeared behind him.
A being of unparalleled beauty.
The Arrogant Savior stood beside Mephistopheles in spirit form.
He said to Mephistopheles,
—Your twisted hobbies remain the same. Why didnʼt you tell Zeke Draker the full truth?
Mephistopheles smiled and replied,
"Without some amusement like this, life would be too boring to bear." The Arrogant Saviorʼs spirit form shook its head at Mephistophelesʼs words.
—Zeke Draker isnʼt someone you can toy with so easily.
Mephistopheles smiled even wider.
"I know. Thatʼs what makes it so fun. Iʼm really looking forward to seeing how this stage ends."
He waved his hand, and the kaleidoscopeʼs glass panes appeared before him.
Gazing at the panes showing various scenes, Mephistopheles grinned.
"Zeke Draker, I canʼt wait to see how youʼll ruin this stage. So... please donʼt disappoint."
Like a child shaking an intriguing toy, Mephistopheles wore a smile that was both innocent and chilling.
*
Kugugugugu!
Zeke followed Raven through the dimensional rift toward the phenomenal world.
But as Mephistopheles had warned, the sanctions and backlash of karma were stronger than before, making the journey difficult.
Ururururu!
Without Raven leading the way to the phenomenal world, he surely would have lost his path in the dimensional storms assailing from all sides.
Zeke invoked the power of his constellation to protect himself and Raven, following its guidance to pierce the rift toward the entrance to the phenomenal world.
"Where does this path lead?"
He had originally opened a path from Baranaonʼs mansion to Mephistophelesʼs domain.
But this route seemed to connect somewhere else.
Woooooong!
Then, a passage to the phenomenal world appeared before Zekeʼs eyes.
He said to Raven,
—Raven, letʼs go there!
Raven flapped through the plasma storm at Zekeʼs words.
Zeke endured the powerful backlash of karma and leaped into the massive light.
Pajijijijijik!
An immense aftershock of causality assailed Zeke.
But with his vast reserves of karma points, this level of backlash was manageable.
Emerging from the dimensional rift into the phenomenal world, Zeke checked his condition and looked around.
"Where... is this?"
An ancient ruin he had never seen before stretched out.
Moss clung to the surroundings, and the stone buildings were weathered and abandoned, suggesting no one had entered for a long time.
"An ancient ruin. Quite a unique style."
Having explored most ancient ruins on the central continent in his previous life, Zeke felt intrigued by the unfamiliar architecture.
He opened his map to check his location.
Surprisingly, he was not on the central continent.
"The eastern continent?"
Moreover, it was in the mountains beyond the Everwinter Wall, not in the Murk Empireʼs territory.
"An ancient ruin in the Everwinter Mountains." Zeke began examining the ruins closely.
The architecture differed markedly from central continent ruins.
"Hmm, even accounting for eastern continent ancient ruins, itʼs quite different from the Murk Empireʼs style."
From his inspection, Zeke realized this place predated the Murk Empire by far.
As he scrutinized the ruins, he recalled a similar architectural style.
"Carcosa."
In the fragments of lost memories while searching for the Primordial Temple, Zeke had seen Carcosaʼs pyramid.
This ruin shared many similarities with that pyramid.
Pondering a possible connection, Zeke continued exploring and found traces of an altar deeper inside.
Approaching the altar, he noticed something engraved on the wall.
He conjured a cluster of light, illuminating the wall brightly.
Zeke looked up at the ruinʼs wall.
"Whatʼs that?"
The wall bore a clear emblem symbolizing three eyes.