"Does Elder know what is the cause of this change?" Alice asked, her expression unusually serious, her voice laced with both urgency and restraint.
The Whisperer turned his gaze towards her, his ancient eyes calm yet unreadable. "Indeed," he said, his tone quiet but firm, "I know the cause."
The mont those words left his lips, a visible shift ca over both Nichole and Alice. Their expressions, once shadowed by confusion, brightened with relief and anticipation.
Without wasting a second, they leaned forward, voices overlapping in their haste.
"Elder, just tell us who it is! We promise—we'll do everything we can to eliminate him!"
Watching the two saints speak with such eagerness, like overexcited children chasing answers they were never ant to hold, the old man's lips curled into a faint smile.
For a mont, his mind drifted to the days long past, when these two stood before him as wide-eyed students, clumsy and curious, brimming with questions and dreams.
But that nostalgic warmth quickly faded when their words—eliminate the anomaly—sank in fully.
His smile disappeared. The kindness in his eyes was replaced with an icy stillness.
He looked at them, and in a voice devoid of emotion, issued a command that carried the weight of countless years, "You are not allowed to harm even a single hair on his body."
The room fell silent.
Both Nichole and Alice froze, stunned.
Their minds raced to find sothing to say, so way to argue—but the way Elder looked at them now, with eyes that had witnessed the rise and fall of civilizations, made them feel like they were standing before sothing far older and far greater than any saint.
And more terrifyingly, for the first ti since their childhood, they felt sothing they had never experienced from himanger.
Despite the pressure, they dared to speak, choosing their words as delicately as possible, fearing that even a whisper too loud might spark his fury.
"If Elder says so… we will comply," Nichole said cautiously, his voice soft and uncertain. "But… may we at least know the reason behind it?"
For a mont, there was no reply. Then the old man's gaze softened, ever so slightly, and he exhaled a breath that sounded like it had traveled through centuries.
"I cannot tell you," he said, shaking his head slowly. "Because what you seek touches matters beyond your understanding—matters of life and death, of fate and destiny, of chaos and order. Even if the causality has weakened, these things should not be discussed so lightly."
Nichole and Alice exchanged confused glances.
The old man continued, his voice gaining weight and rhythm, as though delivering a forgotten lesson carved into the bones of the world.
"It has only weakened," he said again. "And tell , what do you think fate truly is? Do you believe sothing as vast and ancient as destiny can be damaged so deeply by the actions of just one person? If you think that is possible, then perhaps you are long overdue for another one of my lessons."
His tone grew sharper, more instructive—like that of a ntor disappointed in his brightest pupils.
"The threads of fate have only been cut and twisted at an alarming rate. This disturbance has caused the weakening of causality. But to think that fate itself has been defeated—that is nothing but wishful thinking born from pride."
His words struck them like the cold wind of truth. Nichole and Alice felt a familiar chill run down their spines.
It was the sa feeling they had as young students, sitting before him during a difficult lecture they could barely understand.
"Fate," the old man said slowly, his voice dropping into sothing deeper, "is like a spring. The more you stretch it, the more fiercely it will snap back. You may bend it, twist it, even sever it in places… but you cannot escape its wrath forever."
"For one, fate cannot kill directly. But that does not make it powerless. It can shape the world around the one who defies it. Twist events. Sow misfortune. Curse every step they take. And in the end, death may still find them… not by its hand, but by its design."
"Fate," he declared, each syllable a thunderclap, "is supre."
"If you wish to defy it, you must beco sothing greater than what you are. You must beco supre yourself."
He looked them both in the eye, and for the first ti, they sensed doubt flicker in his ancient gaze.
"But who can truly beco supre?"
His next words fell like a whisper, and yet carried the weight of a divine truth.
"Not even those angels… not even they dare to say they can beco supre."
Hearing his words that were filled with wisdom and deep insight, Alice and Nichole felt as if their minds were being peeled open, layer by layer.
It was like sothing invisible had shifted, revealing a truth they had never been able to comprehend before.
Alice then chid in, her tone uncertain yet hopeful, "Does that an we don't have to do anything anymore? That Fate itself will punish or kill him for what he did?"
The old man let out a long sigh, one that carried exhaustion and quiet sorrow.
"You all are so focused on killing, on destruction. I truly do not know when your innocence disappeared. Back then… you would've asked if he needed help, not whether he should be killed. Perhaps, in the end, I failed as a teacher…"
Hearing the Elder bla himself so openly, both Alice and Nichole felt their hearts tighten.
The heaviness in his voice struck sothing inside them. They couldn't bring themselves to reply.
Instead, they lowered their heads in sha, remaining silent like students being scolded by a teacher they still deeply respected.
The old man looked at them, and after a mont, he spoke again, though his voice was now gentler, carrying the weight of sothing deeper.
"I cannot tell you everything. But listen closely—we have to find him. Not to eliminate him, not to punish him, but to protect him… to make sure he doesn't die."
There was a long pause as his words settled into the quiet room, and then he continued, his expression unreadable.
"Even though I do not know whether his interference with fate was intentional or purely accidental… the impact of his actions is already irreversible. The destinies of countless individuals have been altered because of him."
"And even if he were to die now, the damage that has been done cannot be undone. The fates that were rewritten… cannot simply go back to what they once were."
After all… if he dies now, the world itself will collapse in the future. The fate of the world was not rewritten, only deviated ever so slightly…..
And if this world is destroyed, I will never be able to fulfill the promise I made to 'that' person.
The old man's thoughts drifted as he stood in silence, his eyes filled with mories of a ti long past.
He found himself thinking of his younger days—of the solemn vow he had once made, a vow so important that even centuries had not been able to erase it from his mind.
Even though hundreds of years had passed, the weight of that promise still remained heavy on his heart, as if it had been made only yesterday.
But before he could lose himself completely in those mories, a familiar voice called out, gently pulling him back to the present.
"If the Elder says so, then we shall not harm even a single strand of hair on him," Nichole said, though confusion still lingered in his voice.
His brows furrowed slightly as he continued, "But even so… to find him, wouldn't Elder be far more capable than either of us?"
The old man let out a soft sigh, then gave a bitter smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Even I cannot find him," he said, his voice low, as if weighed down by the burden of truth.
"Nor can I divine anything about his future. It's as though he walks cloaked beneath a veil—one that blocks every gaze, every attempt to peer into the fate surrounding him."
He paused, then looked toward the horizon, eyes distant, thoughtful.
"I do not know what that veil is or where it ca from… but his ddling with fate, while reckless, has created sothing that didn't exist before—hope. A slim, fragile thread of it, no doubt… yet I believe, if nurtured with ti, it may grow strong enough to beco this world's salvation."
"That's why finding him is of the utmost importance. That's also the reason I sent my granddaughter here. But… the recent attacks by demons were sothing even I hadn't foreseen."
Hearing this, Alice, despite knowing it might co across as disrespectful, couldn't hold back her question. She stepped forward slightly and interrupted, "Wait… does that an the anomaly is actually inside the academy?"
The old man showed no sign of offense. Instead, he nodded slowly, speaking in a calm, steady tone.
"Yes. He is here, within these walls. I believe he's the sa 'Unknown' I've heard so much about lately."
The mont that word left his mouth—'Unknown'—both Alice and Nichole froze, their eyes widening in disbelief.
It was one thing to know the anomaly was within the academy, but to discover he was the sa figure they themselves had labeled a criminal… it felt like a punch to the gut.
Sha began to creep in, gnawing at the edges of their pride.
Sensing the shift in their mood, the old man simply smiled. It was a soft, knowing smile, one that held no anger—only quiet understanding.
"It doesn't matter how you treated him up until now. Life… life is built on regrets. We cannot turn back ti, no matter how much we wish to. All we can do is learn from those regrets, carry them forward, and work harder in the present to shape a better future."
Hearing that, both Alice and Nichole nodded, finally understanding the weight behind his words. In their hearts, they silently resolved to remove the criminal notice placed on the Unknown.
Still, Alice voiced the lingering concern that remained in both of their minds.
"But Elder… how will we find him now? No one knows who he really is."
The old man, sensing the lull, broke the silence with a calm voice that carried the gravity of centuries.
"Isn't that precisely why I ca here myself?" he said, his tone soft but resolute.
"I cannot trace him through fate—his presence slips through the threads like water through fingers. And until now, I had been bound, unable to leave my place due to the constraints of causality itself."
He looked toward the distant mountains, the glow of the sky catching faintly in his eyes.
"But now… Causality has weakened. And because of the unique gift I possess—these Eyes of Fate—I will be able to recognize the anomaly the mont I see him with my own eyes."
Upon hearing that, both Alice and Nichole felt as though a curtain had been lifted from their minds. Enlightennt washed over them, and before long, soft smiles blood on their faces.
"Then, Elder, you may have to wait a few more days," Nichole said gently, his voice lighter now.
"Many of the students left the academy during the demon attacks. They're only now beginning to return."
The old man gave a slow nod, his expression serene.
"Then I shall wait," he replied. "For the wheel of fate turns for all, and I believe… it will soon bring him before ."
***
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