With the cries of the war dying down in the distance, two men alone stood still, staring at each other, one naked and nervous and the other fully clothed in killing intent.
After a few seconds of silence, which seemed like an eternity to the Oracle, Liam opened his mouth.
"Fine. Go ahead and say what you want to say."
Liam did not intend to trust this snake, but the words that he had spoken had enough merit to make him give these few minutes to the guy.
On the other side, Caden gulped. He had made the monster agree to him, but the next part was going to be equally challenging as he knew well that Liam wouldn't be too pleased to hear about it.
Nevertheless, he had to do it.
With a sigh, he started from the beginning. "When the game first started, the tutorial I mean, I received a special hidden class that gave me the ability to predict certain things and look into the future to a small extent."
"Many people, including you, must have figured this out by now. But what no one knows is that, along with the class, I also received a single chance to glance at the real future, the future that awaits you and me and everyone else in this world."
"I don't know if you will believe me or not, but I am not a bad person. I am not interested in women or riches. I don't even have any aim or ambition in life."
"All the Oracles are, in fact, supposed to be intrinsically good and altruistic. This was why I got the quest for the class in the first place."
"But the moment I saw that future that awaited our world, I couldn't remain like that anymore."
"Numerous monsters and creatures of untold origin descended on our planet. Countless lives were killed. There was death and destruction everywhere, but that was not the worst."
"Our people were taken as slaves. Our women and children were used for pleasure. Our resources were plundered without giving us any chance to fight back against this fate. Our entire world was going to be laid to waste!"
"Tell me, how could I stand still after witnessing something ? So I started doing everything that I could to become stronger."
"I still don't know what my role is supposed to be in this predicted future. Am I supposed to let it all happen and be a bystander, observing from the sidelines? Or Am I supposed to do everything in my power to protect my home?"
"In the end, I did not care about the rules anymore. I decided to protect my home, our world. I was working day and night, and I took every single action that I needed to for this purpose, some even questionable."
"And finally, after a couple of months, I started to see some changes in the lines of fate." The Oracle sighed. "But… just when I thought I could indeed make a difference… I received another class quest."
"It was in this class quest that I got the opportunity to see the future once again. It was also in this class quest that I met you for the very first time."
"Yes, and guess what? In this new future, it's not the endless hordes of monsters and creatures that will lead to our demise, but it's you who will bring about the destruction of this world!"
"Can you see it now? Everything I've done, I've done for this world, for everyone's sake. It was never my intention to make you my sole target."
"Fate forced my hand, and I had to act accordingly. If you were in my shoes, what would you have done?" Caden shivered, his tone pleading with a hint of desperation, hoping to justify his actions to the one who stood before him.
Liam also patiently listened to the whole story the man had to say. "So you are saying that I would bring about the destruction of this world?"
"No." Caden shook his head. "I am saying we can prevent something like that from happening if we work together. If we could combine our-"
Before he could utter another word, Liam erupted into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, a sound so maniacal it could chill one's very bones. His eyes sparkled with a malevolent gleam, revealing the depths of the cruelty he was capable of.
Caden was at a loss for words. Everything seemed to be going well, so what happened? Why was he behaving suddenly?
"You don't trust me?" He probed.
"I do trust you. I trust that you have outdone yourself this time. You got rid of Kouske, and now you want me to replace him? Heh."
"You want me to do your bidding for the sake of the good of this world?" Liam sneered in contempt.
"Mr. Liam, I am not saying any of that." Caden hurriedly tried to explain, but Liam cut him short. "Then what are you saying?"
Caden gulped. "I just want to help you."
Liam twisted his lips and shook his head. "Nope. I am not interested, and I think we have talked enough."
Seeing him go back to square one again, the Oracle became speechless. He did not know how to deal with this person in front of him.
"Do you mean to say you don't care about the future I saw? Are you willing to let this whole world burn? What about your sister? Your wife? All your loved ones? Your guild members? Are you fine with letting everyone pay the price for your actions?"
Liam paused as if he was once again contemplating things, but he only shrugged in the end. "If that is how it is meant to be."
It was not that he did not care about these people, but rather than trusting a snake , he would rely on his own efforts to overcome this so-called future that was predicted.
Nothing was set in stone. If he could come back in time and receive a miraculous second chance to change what was meant to be, then he could change this too!
Caden saw that Liam was indeed telling the truth. He was not beating around the bush. He was not fishing for anything more. He simply spoke what he truly believed.
While countless men and even creatures from the other races held a person of his abilities in high regard, Liam simply did not care for him, and that was the hard truth.
However, this meant that… he was surely going to die today… for the second time!
"Goodbye." Liam grinned.
Mass Release Chapter 2~
Please thank KingRig for sponsoring this mass release!