Nhiria's Chronicles: Realm of Regrets Chapter 48 - Talking To An Old Friend

In his previous tiline, Sokram had always harbored an undeniable prejudice against Lucille due to her past as a courtesan and Mistress of the Purple Pavilion.

However, after the fall of Eversnow, she revealed herself to be far more than he had ever imagined.

She was the first person to teach Sokram never to judge a book by its cover.

Once he had earned her Devotion, she transcended her role as a lover or concubine, becoming one of Sokram’s most valued allies and confidants. Yet, her end was one of sacrifice, giving her life for the sake of his main wives out of love for him.

But that was a future he was determined to prevent from repeating.

It was also part of the reason why Sokram freely shared his knowledge with those he wished to protect.

He believed that strengthening them was the best way to ensure not only their safety but also the survival of Eversnow.

As sleep eluded him, Sokram continued to ditate on the differences between this tiline and his previous one.

The anxiety of seeing Lucille again gnawed at him, but his thoughts soon drifted elsewhere.

A self-loathing voice echoed in his mind, mocking him: "Hahaha, are you proud of yourself, Lord Sokram? Manipulating young and old indiscriminately, and for what? What absolute good are you aiming to bring? An ancient existence that still has a curfew, you're laughable."

Sokram quickly closed his eyes and imrsed himself in his soul realm.

What once resembled a small room had transford into an expansive reinterpretation of Eversnow Academy's library, a vast hall lined with nearly a hundred shelves stacked high with books.

The air was thick with the scent of aged parchnt, and the soft glow of enchanted lanterns cast flickering shadows across the towering shelves. The silence was profound, broken only by the faint rustle of pages as if the books themselves were whispering secrets to one another.

Standing there, he saw a figure, his old self, the King of the Realm of Kings, who was once the strongest existence in the entire multi-dinsional plane.

The figure smirked as he spoke, "You ca running, boy."

“I’m not a boy,” Sokram retorted, settling down beside the entity using the image of his elder counterpart. “And you’re not truly either, though I suppose that spell did have its consequences after all.”

“Heh, be it as it may,” the older Sokram said, stroking his stubble-covered chin as he stared nacingly at the younger version of himself. “You know what I truly am, a heart demon. One, your manipulations and underhanded tactics continue to empower within yourself, straying from the Path of Evolution in favor of your singular goal.”

“Heh,” Sokram scoffed, eting the gaze of his older self without flinching. “So you’re my abyss, staring back at because I do what must be done? Please… We decimated entire planets, galaxies, and even dinsions teeming with beings who rely wanted to live. Their only sin? They didn’t seek evolution. And yet, we, no, I, exterminated them all. Guardians like Nhiria begged for rcy at my feet as I forced them to watch their children die, only to behead them monts later. Do you honestly think pushing a few kids away from the path of death is enough to ss with my head?! Do you forget who I am? Do you forget I know exactly who you are? Fate, my friend.”

The older Sokram’s body shimred and shifted, transforming into a radiant blond woman with golden eyes.

Her form was so perfect that no living being could look away, draped in a gossar dress seemingly woven from sunlight and gold.

She smiled charmingly at him.

“You’re still the sa,” she mused, glancing around the library-like space. “But this place is much smaller now.”

“What are you doing here, Fate?” Sokram asked impatiently, his tone clipped as he stared at the woman whose presence exuded charm and mystery.

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“At first, when you were born, or should I say reborn, I wondered: Who is this child whose fate is so grand that it alters the course of history I so ticulously crafted? Your existence defied every calculation, surpassing even the fates of entire galaxies. No matter how many tis I recalculated, you always seed an existence greater than mine.”

Her smile widened as she traced a finger along his cheek, trying to redesign or age his features.

“But then I did sothing I’ve always feared, I..."

Sokram interrupted her, his voice calm but firm. "...You looked at your own future and were surprised by how many mirrors you could see. You lost yourself in the mirror of the Supra-Dinsion and wandered inside its shadow. There, you found your old self, the one from my previous tiline. The two of you fused into one, becoming your new self."

As he finished speaking, Sokram noticed sothing flickering in her eyes: confusion, then surprise, and finally realization.

He could count on one hand the number of tis in all his previous existence that he had seen Fate display any expression other than her usual knowing and confident smile.

But now, she was frowning at him, her face contorting in anger in a way he had never seen before.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?!" Fate quaked with rage, her eyes shone as if a thousand raging suns burned through them, and her voice distorted as if the voices of every soul he erased scread through her.

"HOW MANY SOULS YOU ERASED?! HOW MANY DINSIONS WILL NEVER BE BORN AGAIN?! HOW MANY LIVES COULD EXIST BUT WILL NOT?! AND BESIDES ALL THAT, YOU EVEN BROUGHT YISH BACK TO LIFE!! TO WHAT END, TO SEE HER SELF-DESTRUCT AGAIN?!”

But even then, Sokram remained calm and smiled at the raging woman before him. “No, now we, no, I, can save her from herself.”

Fate’s eyes widened in shock at his words, but Sokram pressed on. “Every regret you’ve ever held, every life you’ve mourned, each of your siblings you resented for killing, they can all be saved. All you need to do is sothing simple…”

His tone grew cold and nacing, reminding her that beneath the guise of a happy, mischievous teenage boy lay a force she, Fate herself, feared. “…Keep them out of my way this ti.”

“Besides,” his tone softened, a warm smile returning to his face, “every soul fated to exist will exist. Those who aren’t can be brought into being, you rember each and every one of them, don’t you?”

Fate’s gaze turned distant, her expression dazed.

“You knew… How is it possible? No. No! How? How did you know I would find my way here?”

“First, because I chose to bring you back with ,” Sokram explained calmly. “But that was only possible because that tiline being completely erased was always its fate, a fate you helped build. I warned all of you more tis than I could count: If I couldn't get them back with your help, if Magnolia, Vitally, Auria, Eva, Aethria, Nethria, or even you, Fate, couldn't help , if Nhiria or any other of the guardians couldn't help , I would do whatever it took to get back here and rewrite my own history. And as you can see... here we are."

Fate trembled under the weight of his presence.

A re teenager who had barely Awakened at the True Level of Existence, and yet, she felt fear coursing through her veins.

His following words sent that fear skyrocketing.

"I fulfilled that promise, didn't I? So here's a new promise: If you, any of your sisters, or any other so-called Ancient tries to get in my way, except to help as you did today, making everything work out perfectly, I will destroy everything. And even if I love you as much as I do, my friend, you will have to be content to live with alone in the void for eternity."

“You’re insane,” Fate whispered incredulously, shaking her head.

Then, her gaze softened, pleading with him. “I won’t interfere with you or those who are yours. Perhaps I’ll nudge them toward you sooner rather than later, but please, please help save her, too?”

Sokram smiled gently, caressing her face before leaning in to kiss her softly on the lips.

When he pulled away, he nodded, “Of course, I'll save her. After all, Yish, the Lady in the Void, is one of my loved ones, too."

Fate nodded, standing up to leave.

Before she vanished, Sokram called out, “Do one favor, though?”

Fate turned back, a knowing smile playing on her lips. “Zen?”

But Sokram shook his head. "No, sooner or later, our paths will cross, as will my path with the others. What I need is for you to delay the war from happening for another four years. My family may be strong enough, but Eversnow is far from ready."

Fate smiled mischievously at him. "That will cost you, a favor for a favor."

Sokram looked at her, confused. "Even after I brought you back to the past?"

Fate thought for a mont, then nodded in agreent. "Alright, that is a feat great enough for you to earn five favors from , as long as you don't ask to stop soone from being born or to kill soone. But after these five favors run out..."

She t his eyes, her smile widening as if she were staring into the depths of his soul. "A favor for a favor."

Sokram frowned slightly, still confused. “Why don’t you ask for what you need instead of playing gas?”

Fate giggled playfully. “Because it’s more fun this way, silly. Why else? See you around. Ah, by the way, you only have four favors left; the war has been postponed.”

With a final mischievous smile, Fate vanished, leaving Sokram alone in his soul realm.

He sat there in deep thought.

To him, casual chats with the entities that ruled over creation had been a regular occurrence in his previous tiline.

But seeing Fate so soon only solidified his belief that he couldn't trust the future as he knew it, or the past he had once lived.

Before the future changed too much, if it hadn't already, he needed to be ready to face an unknown future once again.

But deep down, a nagging doubt lingered: What if the future he was trying to rewrite was already slipping through his fingers?