New days passed, which meant an official week remained. The thought alone was both frightening and thrilling.
These past days, whenever I wasn't busy, I focused entirely on cultivation.
My body was refined again and again by magicae until I could finally feel the borders of every wall.
The only downside was that it barely mattered.
Anyone at a higher wall could still kill me without effort.
Breaking through to the third wall was difficult.
Each wall required tearing off another shackle, and the higher I climbed, the more power it demanded.
The strain afterward was brutal, enough that I chose to stop for the day and prepare instead.
Mainly because I had received word from Jacqueline.
She had agreed to meet me and judge me herself. A wise choice given the circumstances.
And I knew the mention of Veritas would lure her in. I had not yet seen her, but I could feel it. She was hooked.
I had already prepared.
My hair was curled slightly for the occasion, and I wore formal robes tied with a polished blue silken cloth.
It made my waist appear narrower than it should, though my illness already left me far too thin.
I sat alone on my throne.
Mirabel had gone somewhere in a rush. I did not know where or why, though I assumed it must be important.
Whatever it was, I would face it soon enough.
It did not take long for Jacqueline to arrive at the capital.
She came alone, without guards, which probably made her travel easier.
She brought nothing but the clothes on her back.
The guards granted her passage and then left us in privacy.
She wore draping brown and golden robes, and carried with her no weapon, save for her fists.
Her hair was a wide, flowing mane that fell past her shoulders, brown with a bronze shimmer and wavy like mine.
Her skin was of a similar shade.
Her lips were painted dark red, her eyeliner the same, and she looked up at me from a bow with deep brown eyes.
"I greet the darkness which shall prevail over light, Nicholas Anstalionah."
As she lifted her head, I lowered mine. "I receive this greeting and give mine, Jacqueline Brave."
She gave me a small smile. "You know, mentioning Veritas in that letter really got me."
I smirked. "Straight to business. Good. I preferred it that way."
She shrugged. "So then, go into more detail. What's happening with this war against Fertical?"
My expression sharpened. "Tensions are high. I've received information suggesting they will declare war soon, likely later this month."
I raised my hand and opened my palm. "This world is about to undergo many reformations."
I closed it slowly. "Starting with the resurgence of Anstalionah's might."
She looked almost pleased. "Well, I won't help you. But I won't help Fertical either. In that regard, let me say something."
She hesitated, choosing her words carefully. "Be careful. Don't bite off more than you can chew."
Then she leaned in with a curious tilt of the head. "By the way… did anyone tell you that you reek of time?"
Damn. So it really was a smell.
"Alright. Describe this 'reek' to me."
She stared at me for a moment before laughing softly.
"Foolish boy. It happens when you brush against Time and cause a ripple that exceeds your place."
She paused for a moment, then continued. "Anyone above the third wall would notice. Not many would have the courage to comment."
Her eyes narrowed with sly amusement. "Most choose to hide that scent. You don't. Arrogant in your ignorance."
I touched my throat, coated myself in magicae, and pulled every thread of my power inward to mask my existence.
"Good. Much better now," she said with a smile.
"Anyway, my hunger is humble. Yours, however…"
Her gaze sharpened into something feral. "Is it not an insult to God? Slaughtering those golden mutts would be delightful."
She sighed, energy simmering beneath her calm. "Still, open war without assistance would be difficult."
I rose from my throne and stepped down, offering her my hand.
"Then help me. All I require is that you keep the monster-song along the southern rim clear."
She looked surprised, then clasped my hand. "Alright. All I need is weaponry… and perhaps some funding."
She was arrogant. Greedy. Unfair in her demands. And yet that arrogance had a strange charm.
"Simple. We are rich after all."
She tilted her head, studying me. "You seem to have matured since the last time I saw you. What changed?"
Her grip tightened. She was testing me. Searching for the truth hidden beneath my words. I only smiled wider in response.
"Is it not obvious? I have seen the future of this world, and I have seen the future of myself. Both disappoint me."
[Nicholas was attributing all his growth to the future, the liar he was.]
Jacqueline seemed pleased with my answer. "I would not recommend trying to go to the future or the past. It never ends well."
[Nicholas heard these words and nearly laughed.]
"Do not worry. I am finished with that sort of meddling. At least for now. I have other goals beyond this."
Her curiosity sharpened, but she did not pry. She simply released my hand and clapped her own lightly.
"When it comes to Veritas, the Golden Authority will become your greatest obstacle. Are you preparing to deal with them too?"
I considered the question carefully. "Allow me to win the war with Fertical first. After that, I will handle the saints."
She laughed, caught off guard. "Alright, pretty boy. I will wait and watch."
[Nicholas had many ambitions he wished to complete. Killing a saint now was impossible. He was far too weak.]
Damned voice. Did I not give a perfectly vague timeline? No. I would not get angry.
[Angry at himself. How pitiful.]
I nearly ruptured a blood vessel, but instead turned away and let out a long breath.
She probably assumed I was contemplating something profound.
"What is it?" she asked, genuinely curious.
I turned back to her. "There is one more problem. You may be targeted soon. Death will come for you."
Her eyes brightened, and in an instant her aura flooded the throne room. It pulsed outward like a hypnotic heartbeat.
Anyone else would have been enthralled.
The sensation reached me but slipped away, as if something fundamental inside me was missing.
Perhaps it was simply the consequence of weakness.
The walls trembled under the growing force of her presence.
"What are you talking about? Peering into your future is one thing. But seeing the fates of others is not possible. Not for you."
[He made a mistake. He underestimated how unique he really was.]
I coughed violently as her aura suffocated me. How immense was her Inner World?
"What I did was different. I did not merely peer into the future. I lived it."
Her aura surged, more grand, more threatening, more deadly. "Lived it?"
I coated my body in runes, struggling to remain upright. "It is my ability, Dark Alter."
The power activated immediately. The world twisted. Every bias it held turned toward me.
My suffering, my weakness, my dying state. Reality shifted its course to compensate.
When my mind cleared, my blade hovered at Jacqueline's throat as she lay across the floor.
My foot pressed against her chest while my voice spoke without my consent.
"Listen carefully. I will not repeat myself."
The vision cut off there, leaving me to supply the rest.
"My power exceeds me. Controlling it becomes harder each time I use it."
I stumbled backward and collapsed. Jacqueline's eyes widened as blood spilled from my lips and my coughing swallowed the room.
"This is the price I pay. Each time I invoke it, I walk the border between life and death. Each time, the world sees me breaking, and it reshapes itself to keep me alive."
I wiped the blood from my chin, breathing unevenly.
"And the worst part is this. Every time it happens, I lose a little more of myself… and something else takes my place."