Chapter 1143 The Place He Started
"...and so, he appears, as foretold in the scriptures," said the Bookkeeper Spirit as it looked at him with interest that lacked the previous craziness when Arthur met him in the spirit realm. At that time, he just wanted to find Gaia, but the spirit did not help him. "You were right, Seref. He visited us."
"Leave," commanded Arthur without looking at the spirit, who got confused and offended. However, Seref gestured for him to follow that command without objection, and it did. As it rode its bicycle through the forest, it left the father and son alone. "Three more seconds and you would have lost your spirit."
"We are not contracted," said Seref with a smile as he picked a stick and dug through the dying embers, eviscerating the orange color within them. "I thought you wouldn't visit me in this realm."
"Your spirit said otherwise."
"I talk like I know things, but I'm never sure how they would turn out," said Seref as his eyes reflected the last embers dying in their bonfire. "Thank you for visiting, son."
"I'm not your son," said Arthur without any emotions as he entered the campfire and stood beside the sitting Seref. "I came here for a single reason."
"I expected more than one reason," said Seref with a smile as he turned toward Arthur. The next moment, a foot struck his shoulder, throwing him to the ground. Seref fell from his chair and struck the bonfire with his foot. You can trace the roots of this content at n0v@lbin
"Tell me how to reverse the coma," asked Arthur as he advanced with a heartless gaze at his fallen father and pinned him down with his foot. "Otherwise, I will kill you right here and find the cure myself."
"Agh," groaned his father beneath his foot as he tried to resist but found himself unable to do so. "Is this how you greet your old man?"
"You are just old," said Arthur as he took out his dagger, letting it cry in threatening wrath. "We have no relationship with each other, and you are no man. A man would not attack his wife and children for his selfish reasons."
"Selfish?" asked Seref with a pained smile as he stopped resisting. "I have been anything but selfish, Arthur. I devoted my life to causes that yield me no benefit or pleasure."
"There is always the sick pleasure of things going according to your plan, isn't there?" asked Arthur with a twisted smile as he raised his dagger and stabbed forward to the ground, striking Seref's shoulder and impaling it to the ground.
"You should have already figured it out," said Seref as he wiped away his sweat while his bleeding stopped. "Seek the third artifact left behind by the scholar, and you will be able to wake her up. I trapped her consciousness within the crown."
Arthur was silent as he stared at his father, who looked like a mess. His hood came off when Arthur kicked him, and his face was pale from the earlier wound he inflicted. Even as he revealed what Arthur already knew, he looked pathetic. In a rare instance, Arthur revealed another emotion. It was disappointment.
"I would have asked for the reason you did that to us, but I don't care. No reasons justify your failure as a father and husband. Therefore, I will not grant you the satisfaction of telling me anything."
"Has your curiosity died, Arthur?" asked his father with a smirk. "I know things that no other human knows. Things that could change the world. I know more about our bloodline than any other person. Did you think we are humans, like the rest? Are you not curious?"
"Anything I hear from you would be for the sole purpose of manipulating me," said Arthur with a smile as he sheathed his dagger. "I have four more words for you, Seref. I no longer care."
Arthur then walked away from his father, who stood there with shock. It might have been his biggest surprise to see his son walking away after luring him into another rabbit hole. Before Arthur could leave earshot, Seref began shouting.
"Are you not going to kill me even after all that talk?" shouted Seref from behind him, trying to lure his son again. Arthur stopped walking and turned toward him, looking at him with pity. In his eyes, Seref saw the truth.
Arthur no longer cared.
After that, Arthur walked away again, disappearing into the forest. Seref stood there, his wound bleeding again, as he realized that things had spiraled out of his control now. He was losing control of his son and, as a consequence, the world.
"Are you alright, Seref?" asked the Bookkeeper from behind him, returning after an unknown period of time. "I gave you space like you demanded. Did the plan work out? Does he know the truth now?"
The bombardment of questions pushed Seref further into insanity. The fear that he had ever since he was a child made him tremble as he fell to the ground, clutching his shoulder. Then, he grabbed his head.
"No. No. No," repeated the man as he spiraled into an abyss. "I need to find a way. A way to fix things and ensure that I reach that ending."
"You are acting weird, Seref," said the Bookkeeper with confusion as it took out the book it had. "Your book is also changing. In the end, you will die in the same place you started."
"Don't say a word!" shouted Seref as he slammed his head to the ground, but he knew what the spirit meant. The place which the spirit meant was not a location, but a state. The state of being alone and insignificant. As he pushed his forehead on the cold grass, the world seemed to be getting smaller.