Chapter 264 - Destroy the World

"Young Master Gin, you see, you were never the cursed child in the prophecy – it's Alencica."

Ha?

Kazehaya Gin sat rooted where he was in shock. It was one thing to learn that he was not the cursed child. But it's another thing to learn that the real harbinger of catastrophe was Kresnik's wife – and that wife was now married to him again in this lifetime.

Kresnik and Alencica. Ryuu and Ara.

Gin's heart raced as his head started pounding. The feeling that he had to remember something once again overwhelmed him. But, no matter how much he racked his brain, the memories just wouldn't come.

"Did you know that Alencica is here?" he asked Dolya who nodded.

"Of course. It was actually I who had told the Old Master and his wife that she would be born in the Suzuki Household."

"You mean…what we thought was the prophecy was that?"

Dolya inclined her head before nodding. "There's no prophecy Young Master. But it was my task to make sure Kresnik will not kill himself again – and he would if he realized his wife was not here."

Oh, Lord…

It was now clear to Kazehaya Gin what happened. When Ryuu was born, Dolya came to the Cedar Palace to tell the Master that his fated partner would be born among the Suzukis so that in case Kresnik recovered his memories, he wouldn't refuse to have children or commit suicide.

Just like what Vladimir of Kres did.

But if it's like that…

"What about my clan? If the prophecies did not exist then what about me?" Gin wanted to know why he had suffered so much.

All his life, he had thought that he was the cursed child. He was raised removed from the world, locked up in a small chamber. Although he already knew why now, as the room was the safest place for him with the seal, he still couldn't help but feel resentful.

"Because Young Master, even if you were not the cursed child, your existence is something the dark elementals would love to extinguish."

Ha?

This time Gin was more than stunned. "What do you mean?"

Dolya sighed, her body shifting on her seat as she folded her hands on her lap. "I cannot reveal more than that Young Master. My hands are tied beyond things not related to my task."

The pounding in Gin's head increased and he massaged his temple to ease it.  With this, Dolya reached out to pat his arm in sympathy.

"I could, however, tell you everything I'm allowed to," she said as she leaned back on her chair. "That 'prophecy' for the Kazehaya House was made because at first, we thought Kresnik would be that child," she said and explained further when Gin's frown deepened.

"For the five centuries that all of you Gedians had stayed here on Earth, of course, your bloodline had been intertwined. The marriages between the different clans made it possible for the Returner to Ancestry Kresnik to be born not in the Homura House but in the Kazehaya House as well."

Well, that's true.

"For several times, Kresnik's soul seemed to come, but at the last minute, he decided to leave. It was as if he was waiting for something," she explained. "But by that time, I had already told the parents of the vessel about the fated partner."

Oh.

Returners to Ancestries were deities' original souls mingling with the mortal vessels. They only come before the child was born, normally with their elementals welcoming them. But there were times when they didn't push through.

Dolya looked at Gin with an apologetic expression. "It was a hit or miss with me and my Master's predictions too."

"You miss?" For Gin, it was unbelievable. She was after all the Goddess of Fate.

Dolya grinned. "I am merely a Goddess of Fate by name," she said meaningfully. "There is no such thing as fate in reality," she added which confused Gin again. "But there are choices. Even if the stars predicted that something will happen or that someone will do something, the person's free will – his choices really what affect the entirety of his existence."

Gin felt weak as a bitter laugh escaped his lips. "All those years I felt hatred with the Makuras… I was being an idiot."

If all the 'prophecies' were for Kresnik, then the curse that he knew he had because of his great-grandfather's transgressions with the Makura was not real. There was no relationship at all. He didn't of course notice Dolya's meaningful look towards him.

"Young Master, all I can say is that your existence was vital. If the lady… If your mother was successful with her schemes against you, everything that heaven had been struggling to do would all be for naught."

That's right.

"If I'm not the cursed child, then why did my mother, who's hosting a shadow lurker tried to kill me? My father said she was trying to do dual elemental hosting," Gin asked. This part confused him a lot.

Why? Because if he was not the cursed child – if it's true that Aello was his real elemental that he had complete control over, then the harpy couldn't take part in the dual hosting. It would kill Gin, and the harpy would not allow that if she's really his.

"Because of who you are," Dolya answered enigmatically again. "As to who you are specifically, I am in no position to tell you," she added, and before Gin could open his mouth, she continued. "Even if I am a deity, I am a useless god who didn't have the strength or any other special powers except for my immortality and my predictions. It was why, even if things were unjust and wrong, I did not show up to clear things."

Gin bit his lip. Dolya was telling him indirectly that she let his people lock him up to protect him because she couldn't do it herself.

"I will not apologize to you, however,"Dolya added, making Gin snort. "I am a selfish deity who was just doing her task regardless of what must be sacrificed."

Well, Gin couldn't berate her for that. In any case, what happened in the past couldn't be undone anymore. There was no point in venting his anger towards her.

"What about Kresnik and Alencica?" he asked. "I'm sure you are aware that they are married now."

"Yes, I am,"Dolya answered as she straightened in her seat, a severe expression on her beautiful face. "It's why Young Master, rather than asking me about the prophecy, you should remember who you are and your purpose in this world. If not, the harbinger of catastrophe would win again."

Again?

"Has the world been destroyed before?" he couldn't resist asking. He had never heard of anything like it.

With this, Dolya smiled. "Young Master, it depends on which world you are referring to. The cursed child is Kresnik's wife. He's a deity who had promised to protect the world even if in return it destroys his."

Gin's eyes widened in horror. There was no mistaking the meaning behind those words.

Kresnik killed Alencica to protect the world.