CHAPTER 191: CHAPTER 191: THE SEER [2]

Chapter 191 — The Seer [2]

The power of foresight... what an incredible power.

It was a power that could make someone feared, because if you knew what was going to happen in the near or distant future, weren’t you already two steps—or even a whole kilometer—ahead of any opponent?

After all, didn’t people say that knowledge is power?

Well, that’s kind of true.

But there was one family that took that sentence a little too seriously. A family that was ready to do anything to gather the most information possible, even if that meant controlling the minds of billions, or kidnapping innocent children to raise them into assassins and spies through merciless brainwashing, or even... using their own family members as nothing more than damned tools.

That was the type of family Vaela Cerveau, also known as the Seer, was born into.

A family that didn’t value her as a person, but as a tool to be used to acquire more information, more knowledge, and so more... power.

Ah... even now she remembered vividly the day she awakened. She was already extraordinary, her neon eyes striking and enchanting. But instead of being looked at as a promising young girl with a great future ahead, all she saw in their faces were eyes that weren’t even looking at her.

No... they were already thinking of the multiple ways to use her power in the most efficient way.

And it was in that kind of environment that she grew up. Every time she tried to seek more than that, more than being a pawn in their endless games of power and control... she was shunned, dismissed, denied even the smallest recognition or attention.

She wanted to show them that her power, her ability to see the future, was not everything she had to offer. She could offer more. She could offer her love, her respect, her compassion, or even... her own life.

She was, at her core, a family woman.

But once again... no.

All they wanted was her power, and nothing else.

It shattered her heart like fragile glass.

And when she finally accepted that, something inside her shifted permanently. She stopped searching for love from them, and instead began searching for love... elsewhere.

Where? Good question.

But the better question would have been... where else?

In her own mind, of course.

Darklore—or even Fokay—didn’t have romance books, didn’t have novels that could help you escape the cruel and wicked reality of the world even for a brief moment. So all Vaela could do was remain inside her room and fantasize all day about a family. A loving family.

One that would accept her as she was.

One that would love her.

One that would stand with her in difficult times and celebrate with her in happy times.

One that would scold her when she was wrong and congratulate her when she was right.

Just... a family.

Just that.

Simple, isn’t it?

Yes. Some people born into happy families could never truly realize the weight behind such a wish.

And they cannot be blamed, how could they?

You can only understand the importance of something when you lose it, or when you never had it to begin with.

A man with a cornucopia of money can say that money is not a big deal, that it comes and goes. But tell that same thing to a man struggling to pay the rent of a rumpled home not even worthy of a dog, and he would certainly tell you that money indeed comes and goes—but for him, it hardly comes, and when it goes, it goes abundantly.

That is the reality of the world.

Life ain’t fair.

And all of this led to one truth...

People crave what they lack.

Vaela lacked a family. And so she craved one. She wanted one. A real one. Not like the Cerveau, who only saw her as a tool.

And in that pursuit, she came across a family that embodied everything she desired.

The Warborns.

A bunch of brutes, but weirdly—or maybe not—Vaela loved them.

Because they were loyal, because they loved each other, because they treated one another with the kind of fierce protectiveness that only blood and bond could create.

You could kill a member of the Cerveau, and they would only react because their fragile pride had been wounded, and even then, their response would be to cower inside their walls and scheme.

But touch a Warborn, and the next day—no, not the next day, that very same day you would see an army of soldiers clad in blood-red armor, their every step shaking the world in fury, ready to sing with their steel while they carpeted the ground in severed limbs, organs, and blood.

Yes... that was what she wanted. That was what she craved.

But how?

It seemed fate favored her.

An incident suddenly appeared before them...

The Envoy of Death.

Did you truly think Kaden, an Intermediate, could hide himself from Vaela Cerveau, a being beyond the Grandmaster rank with a Legendary Origin in prophecy?

That was pure foolishness.

True, she couldn’t see him clearly. His face was veiled, shrouded in death. And every time she gazed at him, the situation was different—no... it was as if the world itself was different, as if they were in countless other realities altogether... realities woven by death itself.

It was strange, it was confusing, but amid all the shifting visions there was one constant about the man called the Death Envoy.

Blood-red eyes.

Eyes so bloody it was like a morbid ocean of gore, ready to embrace all things in its bottomless depths.

These type of eyes were only seen in one family.

And as someone with terrifying perception and instincts sharpened by prophecy, and as someone who held a particular interest in the Warborns—Vaela made the link immediately between the Death Envoy and... Kaden Warborn.

Dain was not a viable candidate. Garros, even less. And Daela? Not at all.

So there was only Kaden.

Of course, she hadn’t been sure. But now... watching the way the Death Envoy’s body reacted to her words, she was certain.

The Death Envoy was...

"...Kaden Warborn." she said, her face curving into a smile, as if she had finally found what she had been searching for all along.

Kaden fell silent, staring at Vaela with shaking eyes beneath his hood.

’Fuck! I knew something was wrong from the beginning... I knew...’ he grumbled in his mind, trying desperately to figure out a way out of this.

"Interesting," Vaela said, her voice laced with intrigue. "A Warborn, still only at Intermediate, who killed many of us. And you even succeeded in saving your sister from the hands of a Grandmaster."

"That’s impressive... but do you really think you can get out of here the same way?" she asked, amusement clearly coloring her tone.

"You’d better not try that and instead answer me... can you give me what I want?"

Kaden didn’t move. He knew very well he couldn’t get out of here. Neither alive or dead. Looking at how obsessed she looked, this woman might capture him here until he gave her an answer.

That much was obvious as he sensed the scenery around him warping, folding in on itself, showing him flashes of terrifying sights that made his spine lock cold before everything snapped back to normal again.

He cursed.

’Hasty... too hasty...’ he thought, regret cutting through him for even coming here. But what was done was done.

And not everything was over. He still had his belief that enemies could become allies, as long as there was something to gain from it.

Now he knew what Vaela wanted. She wanted a family. But...

’How the fuck am I supposed to give you a family? Go find a man and have a child, for the love of the gods.’ Kaden nearly cursed out loud, but forced himself to stay cool—at least he tried—as he locked his gaze on Vaela, who was watching him intently, waiting for his answer.

He gritted his teeth, then dismissed his disguise completely, revealing his usual black hair and blood-red eyes. Breathing slowly to steady his trembling heart, Kaden parted his dry lips.

"A family... is that what you want?" he asked, forcing his voice to remain calm.

"Yes." Vaela answered curtly, clearly urging him to stop circling and get straight to the point.

Kaden gulped an inaudible mouthful of saliva as a wry smile tugged at his lips.

"Your wish is... vague, my Lady. You can have a family by blood relation, but you can also consider someone family without blood. It could be a friend, or even... an animal. A beast."

At this, Vaela’s beautiful neon eyes subtly widened, as if it were the first time she had truly thought of the concept of family that way.

A strange glow appeared in her gaze. A twisted glow, one that revealed just how deep her yearning for that word ran.

Kaden shuddered at the sight, but still—seeing that it worked—he pushed the final touch.

"I don’t think you would be eager to have a family with me but..."

He smiled softly, forcing sincerity and honesty into every fiber of his expression before finishing,

"...but I could be a friend to you. One who will stand with you, even when the whole world turns you down."

He said it, and inside his head his voice screamed...

’Please... believe me!!!’

—End of Chapter 191—

A/N:

3 meager golden tickets to reach 600 GT...I know you can do it...help out this unworthy author will you?

I am not asking a castle or more (even if I wouldn’t mind).

And...

...thanks for reading ?