"You… are me?" Louskas muttered, struggling to grasp the scene before him. His thoughts raced, tangled between doubt and astonishment.
The man in front of him sighed as if he had seen this reaction countless times before.
"Of course, I am not you. I am Eldron Vaidmir."
Louskas' eyes widened.
"Eldron Vaidmir?… From the great Vaidmir Clan?!"
The shock was evident in his voice. Eldron Vaidmir… One of the Ten Greats, a man said to be capable of erasing an entire continent alone. Someone with power like that… What was he doing here? And why did he look like this?
"Greetings, sir… What are you doing here?" he asked cautiously, trying to suppress his unease.
Eldron raised an eyebrow slightly. He already knew what was running through Louskas' mind. Most people would tremble in fear just hearing his name, yet this boy had only been momentarily confused before regaining his composure almost instantly.
A faint smile appeared on Eldron's face.
"You've finally calmed down… Well, I'll explain everything later. But for now, it seems you have guests."
*****
"What is going on?"
At the sound of that familiar voice, Louskas froze in place. His heart pounded violently, and tears streamed down his face before he even realized it.
"Mother…" he whispered.
Thirty years… Thirty years of pain, searching, suffering, and hiding… all for this moment. This was the chance he had lived for, the one he had risked everything to obtain.
A smile formed amid his tears, his disbelief evident.
"It was worth it… Everything, just for this moment."
Paf!.
His world stopped in that instant. A sharp slap landed on his face. For a moment, he didn't understand what had happened. Slowly, he raised his hand to his cheek, his widened eyes staring in shock at the person before him.
"Why are you screaming this early, slave? You woke everyone up!"
He looked at his mother again, but… this wasn't the face he had longed for. It wasn't the gaze he had dreamed of seeing once more. It was supposed to be filled with love and longing, yet all he found was anger… and hatred.
"Slave?"
His body trembled slightly—not from pain, but from the weight of the word. He had endured hell in his past life, but he wasn't prepared for this.
Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to regain composure quickly.
"Apologies, madam. I woke up from a disturbing dream." He bowed respectfully, yet his heart felt anything but calm.
His mother looked at him with disdain before a flicker of hesitation crossed her face. She felt a slight guilt toward the orphaned child before her… but she couldn't allow slaves to act as they pleased, or they might rebel.
"Very well, just don't let it happen again. Get yourself ready; we have an important guest today. Help the workers."
"Understood, madam."
He remained bowed until she left, then his cold gaze shifted toward the closed door.
"Eldron… explain."
His tone was completely devoid of respect or request, as if he were giving a direct order to one of the Greats.
Eldron, who had been silently watching the entire exchange, didn't move from his spot. A small smile formed on his lips.
"This boy… He's truly bold."
Louskas sat in his chair, while Eldron stood before him. The air was thick with unspoken words.
"Alright, let's start from the moment you obtained the shard," Eldron said, folding his arms.
"In truth… that shard originally belonged to me."
Louskas' expression froze for a moment. It wasn't entirely unexpected, but it was still surprising.
"Do you know about the war between continents? Back then, I fought three of the Ten Greats, and after a battle that lasted days, I barely managed to escape. But I was already dying. When I sensed your presence, I sent the shard with a fragment of my soul… and bound myself to you."
Louskas took a moment to process what he had just heard.
"That explains a lot…"
In reality, his weak body shouldn't have been able to carry any advanced shard. How had he been able to hold onto the Shard of Oblivion? If it was connected to the soul of the great Eldron, that clarified things. But… why?
Why would Eldron sacrifice the shard and a piece of his soul for him?
Louskas grew cautious.
Eldron noticed this and let out a short laugh.
"You're doubting my intentions, aren't you? That's fine, I don't care about what you think. I was already dying, and there was no way to save me. So rather than waiting for death, I decided to gamble on you… maybe I'd find something entertaining."
His eyes lingered on Louskas for a moment before he continued.
"I've been with you this whole time. Your escape from the Demon Worshippers, your screams, your torture, your tears… Even your emotions—I could feel them. After all, we became one. But unfortunately, I lacked the strength to intervene. I would have brought you back in time my self, but my soul was too weak… and recovering took longer than expected."
Louskas closed his eyes, then slowly opened them again.
"So… it wasn't the shard that chose me. You were the one who chose me."
Lifting his head, he continued in a calm yet weighty tone.
"I wasn't the one fighting all along… You were."
Eldron smiled.
"Finally, you're starting to understand."
Louskas stared at his hands for a moment before shifting his gaze back to Eldron.
"But I never thought the Shard of Oblivion was related to time."
Eldron nodded slowly.
"The shard I possessed was called [____], one of the Shards of Oblivion. This shard doesn't allow you to travel back in time… it grants you the ability to copy shards—or rather, steal them."
Louskas' eyes widened slightly.
"Steal… shards?"
"At first, you can store three shards. With each evolution, the number increases by three. In my past life, I could store only nine shards. And one of them was the Regression Shard."
Silence filled the room. Eldron watched Louskas' expression closely, but he didn't show any obvious reaction. He already knew what Louskas truly wanted.
Eldron sighed.
"I don't know exactly why this happened to you. But… nothing in this world comes without a price. Returning in time wasn't possible without consequences. And it seems… the price you paid was the most precious thing you had."
Louskas' eyes sharpened.
"You lost your identity. You became a slave to your family. In short… your fate has completely changed. You are still Louskas… but you are no longer Louskas."
Louskas clenched his fist tightly.
"A… slave?"
It was the second time he had heard that word, and rage began to boil inside him. He had sacrificed everything to gain this chance, only to return and find himself a slave to his own family?
Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down.
He raised his head and looked at Eldron with serious eyes.
"Alright, a lot has been clarified from what you said. But honestly, your reason doesn't convince me. Entertainment? I've never heard something more absurd. Everyone lives for a purpose. Maybe for some, their purpose is simply to survive. You might claim that your purpose was entertainment, but I don't believe you."
He paused for a moment, his gaze sharpening.
"Tell me, Eldron… Are you alive right now?"
Lowering his head slightly, he seemed lost in thought.
"And… what am I supposed to do now?"