CHAPTER 127: DREAM [2]

"The Nightmare Shepherd."

"Who?"

I looked at Isaac with confusion. The situation was already strange, and he had just made it even stranger.

Was I supposed to know that name? And what did he mean by true identity?

Seeing Isaac’s face, he seemed to be more confused and stunned than me.

Suddenly, a dangerous theory formed in my mind.

’Did he mistake me for someone else?!’

That thought alone was enough to send shivers down my spine.

Was I now in that crap because he had made a fucking mistake?!

Seeing his eyes widening as if the realization hit him, I almost cursed inwardly.

"Hmm... you really don’t know me, huh?"

Isaac held his chin with 2 fingers, observing me for a long moment, before shrugging.

"The Seer really made a mistake. You are an unknown child of Fate then, not chosen by her. There is nothing I can do then, haha. Let’s continue. Child or chosen, it won’t make a difference."

’Fuck! What does that even mean?!’

Before I could realize, the scene around me had already changed.

"I don’t care about titles or backgrounds... I only care about you, Maya! Please marry me!"

In front of us, the young Isaac and Maya seemed older than before. Isaac was kneeling on one leg, holding Maya’s hand with his right and a pink ring with his left.

His determined eyes were looking into her teary, shocked one as she responded:

"I... I can’t. What about your family? I’m just an ordinary orphan commoner."

Isaac didn’t flinch.

"I don’t care. Despite having the power of dreams, only you can help achieve my own dream of having a perfect girl always with me. Please marry me, Maya!"

’Again, what is the point of this?’

Did he kidnap me just to make me watch this drama?

Just then, I realized that I thought loudly again.

Isaac suddenly spoke.

"You are really impatient. Don’t worry, we have plenty of time."

The scene continued, showing Maya taking Isaac into a tight hug.

"I accept!"

I rolled my eyes.

’Kill me already...’

"Haha."

•••

’I’m getting bored.’

I resisted the urge to yawn as I watched Isaac carrying his and Maya’s daughter.

That happened after some stupid family drama that ended up with Isaac running away with Maya to live an ordinary life together until eternity and all that cringe romance.

This was taking so long, and my mind was breaking slowly.

I had just witnessed that guy’s love life, and gradually, I started answering him whenever he spoke.

Isaac suddenly smiled and spoke:

"I’m asking again. Tell me, boy. Do you have a dream?"

My eyes twitched as my mouth opened against my own will.

"No, I.... Don’t ha."

’Fuck that!’

I didn’t know what he was planning to do, but I finally realized that this dream was affecting my mind.

At the start, it was only the thoughts, but now I’d open my mouth and barely be able to stop myself from answering him completely.

Isaac raised an eyebrow.

"No? Not even marrying? Becoming a king? Maybe immortality?"

My mind recalled both my lives.

I just had... had goals.

Things I wanted to do and nothing more. Earning some money. Eating good food. Living peacefully. Killing so bastards. Stopping the demon king.

They all were mere goals. None of them was something I could call a "Dream".

"Nothing. I’m just trying to live. No more and no less."

Isaac nodded in understanding.

"So you are a pragmatist, I see. I really pity you."

"Huh?"

I looked at him with confusion, but before I could talk, he took a sip of wine and continued:

"You only think about your achievable goals, the goals that could benefit you, not what brings you happiness."

My confusion increased. "Aren’t they the same? Benefits would bring me happiness naturally."

Isaac pointed at his other self, sometimes playing with his daughter happily, other times spending funny moments with his wife.

"He ignored his background, his position, his power, and his everything just to stay with the woman he loved. She didn’t have a mana core, nor did she have an aura core, which meant she would die before him."

He then pointed at his younger self’s face.

"Yet... he is happy. He is smiling. His dream was marrying her, and he sacrificed many things including benefits just to stay with that weak human. He is happy now after achieving his dream, even though that harmed more than benefited him."

"...."

I didn’t understand that logic.

Yes, I understood love, and I myself would do more than that for Aria, but that was in absolute necessity.

Maya wasn’t going to die. He could have still stayed as her friend or even secret boyfriend, and could have waited until he was powerful enough to ignore his family instead of running away from them.

Yet, he didn’t.

"He only made stupid sacrifices to marry her earlier. His dream was worthless."

A chuckle left my mouth.

"He was a prodigy with a unique affinity for dreams, with the ability to marry her eventually if he was more patient. What good did that dream bring to him?"

Isaac smiled, then pointed at his own lips.

I hissed.

"That doesn’t mean anything."

"Your name was Raylin, right?"

All of a sudden, a copy of Aria appeared beside me, holding a wide smile on her face as she looked at me.

I squinted my eyes dangerously, staring at Isaac, but he didn’t seem to mind.

"What will you do if I tell you that your sister has her own dream too. A dream that you may hate."

The fake Aria turned into ethereal pink light as he pointed at me and continued:

"She dreams of making you, the person she loves the most, live a normal life with her."

’Huh?’

He paused for a moment, letting me absorb his words.

’Normal life?’

Then he continued:

"A life without working with the government. A life without working with the guilds. A life without seeking revenge. A life without fighting knulls. A life without risking your life."

Isaac’s eyes fell, then he shook his head.

"But for Aria to achieve her dreams — her happiness — she has to first change you. She has to make you stop seeking revenge, stop improving, ignore your potential and talent, ignore your current self, and start looking for happiness instead."

"Then she would have to make the same sacrifices as Isaac to run away with you and live a peaceful life. Maybe one of you or both of you would find a perfect partner and expand this family, right?"

I clinched my fist, then his smile returned even wider this time, and then he continued, his tone showing pity.

"Unfortunately, she can’t have this small happiness, because for you, her dream is stupid and illogical, causing you and her to make unnecessary sacrifices, isn’t it? After all, why would you have a normal life when you were born as Exalted."

I closed my eyes firmly, and took a deep breath. Then I opened them and coldly spoke.

"What are you trying to say?"

Isaac left a long sigh.

"Haah... Raylin, your sister will never achieve her dream. She will never have a similar smile as Maya and Isaac ... because of you."

"And because of your pragmatic self, you too will die without having a real smile plastered over your face."

"I really... pity you."

"So now, tell me, Raylin. Do you still think doing things you wouldn’t have naturally or logically done to achieve your dreams, or helping someone close to you achieve their dreams, worth nothing when you end up with joy?"

"Maybe you don’t care about your own joy, but does your sister’s joy mean nothing to you?"

"...."

I stared at him silently, waiting for him to continue, but he didn’t.

Then I began to think:

’Would I give up on achieving my goals to live a normal life? To help her achieve her dream and maybe find my own?’

One of my goals was saving this world, but why was I trying to do this?

I didn’t know how, where or when would the demon king fight the protagonist, so why was I trying this hard?

As an Exalted, my lifespan was larger and my aging was slower than a normal human. I was going to live for hundreds of years, and with my space affinity, I could probably run away from this planet with Aria.

But then, what about the people of this world?

I wasn’t a hero, and I wasn’t going to become one, but I wasn’t a villain either.

The plan was never about sacrificing myself to save the world, but just helping if I could.

But what now?

Should I keep trying to achieve my goals, or just stop that and stay with Aria?

As I was lost in thoughts, the place around me suddenly changed, showing a new scene.

"Oh, enough side talking — we are close to the interesting part."

Isaac winked at me and stared ahead of him.

Following his gaze, I saw the young Isaac holding Maya’s hand firmly with a panicked face.

His own hands were burning with every passing second as if Maya’s hand was made of heated metal.

She was lying on her bed, heart thumping slowly and her breathing was ragged and seemed painful for her.

Her eyes were closed, showing that she wasn’t unconscious, and her body seemed to be burning, but my focus wasn’t on that.

What was my attention was the small, almost unnoticeable horn at the side or her head.

My eyes widened instantly, a dangerous theory forming in my head.

’No, it can’t be.’

All this is definitely fake...but what it wasn’t?

All of a sudden, a hand fell on my shoulder.

He still held his usual calm smile, but there was strange coldness beneath his eyes.

"You always read about it in your history books, right? The demons — a new intelligent race — appeared out of nowhere, and everyone believed it."

I understood what he said immediately, seeing him pointing at Maya.

"I don’t know about all the lies they fed you in your kingdoms and academies, but I know only one thing..."

Isaac clinched his fist firmly, his face for the first time changing into anger as he hissed:

"My love, my life... MY DREAM AND MY WIFE!! DIDN’T APPEAR OUT OF NOWHERE!!!"