After Aeren severed his connection to fate, the chaos around the world and existence gradually stabilized within moments. The world returned to its usual state, as if nothing had happened. Aeren also finished his bath, stepped out of the washroom, and entered his chamber.
Looking around his quarters, he sighed. "I'm starting to feel irritated somehow. Is this fate's control over the human body, or has my freedom been restricted by destiny in a way that makes my instincts feel corrupted?"
Aeren spoke to himself while examining the new sensations he could now control. They functioned independently again, but not with the same absolute dominance as before.
He began experimenting with his altered state. I can still control everything I used to command, but fate also has access to influence me. Though it's so minor that I could erase it anytime I choose.
But if I maintain complete control over myself, what's the meaning of being chained? Let fate control me more—let destiny do whatever it wants to bind me further until I can no longer control myself. That way, I might finally see something about freedom that I've been missing.
A smile crept across Aeren's face as he laughed. "HAHAHAHA, this is interesting—being controlled for once." The words confused even him as he turned toward his clothing section, selecting black and white garments that matched both his body and personality.
After dressing, Aeren approached his mirror and gazed at his exceedingly ordinary face. Irritation flashed through him. "What is this pathetic appearance?"
He began remembering Quella, who had once enhanced his looks. His mind drifted back to all the techniques she had used on his face during his first past life.
Aeren spent an hour recreating the same modifications Quella had performed, reshaping his features with practiced precision. When he finished and saw his reflection, genuine satisfaction appeared on his face as he beheld the handsome visage he had forgotten lifetimes ago.
"Perfect. This is how a crown prince should appear." Aeren stared at his refined features with authentic happiness. "Now I'm worthy of being called crown prince, and no one will dare mock me behind my back."
He spoke to his mirror image, admiring himself once more before his expression grew serious. "Time to meet Father and Mother."
Aeren turned away from his reflection and approached his door. His smile vanished, replaced by his usual impassive demeanor—the face others had grown accustomed to seeing. When he opened the door, he was surprised to find people collapsed on the floor.
Aeren studied the scene with mild curiosity, surveying his surroundings. Bodies were scattered throughout the corridor. What happened? Why is everyone unconscious? He approached one of the fallen maids and butlers, checking their condition.
"Hmm, they're all alive—just lost consciousness."
Dismissing the unconscious servants, Aeren proceeded toward the family meeting area. Upon arrival, he discovered the same situation had occurred everywhere. Finding an available chair, he settled in to wait.
Hours passed before Aeren noticed the first signs of recovery. His attention turned to Emperor Baltazar Vorthis, who showed the earliest reaction. Aeren remained motionless, patiently waiting for his father to fully awaken while observing the gradual process.
Emperor Baltazar stirred completely, feeling pain throughout his body but concealing his discomfort. He looked around, noticing the people still unconscious near him, then his gaze fell upon Aeren. Something seemed different about his son, though he couldn't identify exactly what had changed.
Ignoring his confusion about Aeren's altered appearance, Emperor Baltazar questioned him directly. "What happened here, Aeren?"
Aeren turned his head toward the voice and saw his father, Emperor Baltazar, awaiting an answer about the state of things. He stared at his father for a moment, silently taking in the question and quickly piecing together the clues of what had happened in the room and perhaps beyond.
Aeren knew precisely what had occurred—not just in this location, but across the entire world. His earlier actions had transformed many aspects of reality: the sun, moon, and even existence itself had gained consciousness.
Fate had granted awareness to the world and allowed controlled access to portions of his power through select individuals. Despite being partially controlled by fate himself, Aeren could still perceive all these changes. Fate had also erased most people's memories of the world's temporary upheaval, though a few retained the ability to sense destiny directly.
I could have allowed fate to claim more of my freedom, but that would lead to the same outcome as my last two existences. They would be erased, and I would be captured by some new existence unknown to me or anyone else.
Pondering these implications while maintaining eye contact with his father, Aeren responded, "That's exactly what I wanted to ask. What happened while I was refreshing myself?" His expression conveyed genuine confusion as he returned the question.
Emperor Baltazar felt equally puzzled by Aeren's inquiry. Something seemed deceptive about his son's response, which sparked anger within him—though he had no answers to offer either. He simply stared at Aeren, feeling internal rage while maintaining outward composure.
As Emperor Baltazar's frustration toward Aeren intensified, he suddenly became aware of new power coursing through him. It felt as though he had been reborn with an enhanced body and overwhelming magical abilities.
"I feel like I could destroy the entire world with this much power." When Baltazar realized he had gained abilities beyond his control, he turned to Aeren with excitement brightening his features, preparing to inquire about this newfound strength when Aeren interrupted him.
"What do you mean by that, Father?"
Aeren caught his father's whispered words about destroying the entire world. Before the Emperor could elaborate or reveal anything about his newfound abilities, Aeren interrupted with a question laden with deeper significance.
Aeren's question left Emperor Baltazar feeling disappointed in his son for the first time in his life. He couldn't articulate why he felt let down by Aeren, but sensed that his son had gained nothing while the world had received something Aeren lacked.
Emperor Baltazar studied him silently, wanting to describe his experiences to Aeren, when others began showing similar recovery patterns. His attention shifted to Viviana, Empress Hyliana, and his other two children, Darius and Viktor.
Aeren observed everything from his position, able to perceive the new colors manifesting around them all.
He examined their transformed auras and reflected: They weren't even fated individuals. They now possess colors beyond the grey levels that Jarek and Nil achieved during their awakenings.
As Aeren continued studying them, he experienced something unprecedented across his multiple lifetimes.
For the first time in his first and second lives, Aeren felt jealous of others. He watched them with envious eyes, having never encountered such emotions previously—never believing they truly existed until this moment when he experienced genuine envy for the first time across two complete lifetimes.
Aeren observed them silently with these newfound feelings, maintaining his impassive exterior while wrestling with emotions he'd never known he could possess.