Raijin remained seated in silence.
His eyes were open, but there was no light left within them—as if the life inside them had already faded away.
Only one sentence kept repeating in his mind over and over again.
"I accept your servitude."
Zephyrus sat calmly across from him, looking completely unaffected by Raijin's state.
After a while, Zephyrus finally spoke.
"Why does it hurt you this much? Did he betray you?"
Raijin immediately answered in a raised voice.
"Yes. He betrayed me."
But by the end, his voice had weakened.
"No."
Looking directly at Zephyrus, he continued,
"He didn't betray me. He betrayed Raijin."
Raijin no longer cared whether the truth about his previous world became known.
He was certain Zephyrus already knew.
That was why he had said:
"You have lived a very long life, Raijin."
Zephyrus replied,
"It took you quite a while to figure that out."
"Yes."
Raijin nodded.
"I died in my own world long ago and arrived in this world inside Raijin's body. His consciousness isn't completely gone—it's only sleeping deep inside."
"I accepted his memories as my own, and because of that, his memories and dormant consciousness slowly convinced me that I was the real Raijin."
"If his consciousness had truly died, perhaps I would have been able to tell the difference between him and myself."
For a brief moment, as Zephyrus' constantly shifting form changed again, Raijin felt as though he was smiling.
Raijin continued.
"If I had lived another year or two without my memories, I probably would've lost myself completely."
"And even if my memories returned after that... it wouldn't have mattered anymore."
He looked at Zephyrus.
"Do you know who sealed my memories?"
"You probably know who did it. Can you tell me why they did it?"
"And I'm sure the one who saved me from that woman was the same person."
Zephyrus listened quietly before answering.
"The one who saved you and the one who sealed your memories are two different figures."
Raijin frowned.
"Then can you tell me who those figures are?"
Zephyrus noticed something.
Raijin had used the word figure, just like him.
After a moment, Zephyrus replied.
"I can tell you who saved you."
"But I won't tell you who sealed your memories."
"Because I don't like wasting my time."
"You wouldn't understand the answer right now anyway."
Raijin nodded.
"Then tell me about the figure who saved me."
Zephyrus answered,
"This will be my final answer on the matter."
Raijin was about to say something, but Zephyrus continued first.
"The one who saved you is known throughout the world as Elysian."
"Though, to be fair, that figure spread the name himself."
Raijin immediately asked,
"Then why did he save me?"
"That is enough information."
Zephyrus cut him off.
"Now let's talk about something else."
Raijin's brows furrowed.
He wanted to know more, but he restrained his curiosity.
After everything he had learned, he knew better than to chase answers recklessly.
Who knew what kind of disaster that could invite?
Looking directly into his eyes, Zephyrus said,
"You need to go to the Beast Continent."
"There, you must find a sword."
Raijin blinked.
"There are countless swords in the Beast Continent."
"And the continent itself is enormous."
"How am I supposed to find it?"
"Can you at least tell me what it looks like? Or where it might be?"
Zephyrus shook his head.
"I don't know where you'll find it."
"In fact, it's entirely possible that you won't find it in the Beast Continent at all."
"I'm only sending you there because you made a promise to someone."
Raijin paused.
"Ah..."
"So you want me to begin from the Beast Continent."
"That way I can search for the sword while also fulfilling my promise."
"Fair enough."
"I would've gone there eventually anyway."
"Now I just have another reason."
After a short pause, he continued.
"Can you answer two more questions?"
"They concern my life and death."
Zephyrus remained silent.
It was as if he hadn't heard him at all.
When no answer came, Raijin repeated himself.
"Can you answer two more questions?"
This time his voice was sharper.
More commanding than questioning.
Finally, Zephyrus spoke.
"Very well."
"I'll answer any two questions."
"But choose them carefully."
Raijin immediately understood.
Zephyrus was threatening him.
If he used those questions to ask about Vale or the mysterious figures, Zephyrus would answer.
What happened afterward would no longer be his concern.
But Raijin wasn't afraid.
He had different questions.
"When the Servant of the Earth God killed me..."
"He said something beforehand."
'This time, you were chosen.'
"Were others chosen before me?"
"And why?"
Zephyrus answered.
"Yes."
"Someone else was chosen before you."
"But why—that is not something you should know yet."
"Though if you insist, I can tell you."
Raijin immediately refused.
But he carefully noted one detail.
Someone was chosen before him.
Whether that person was alive or dead remained unknown.
He moved on to his second question.
"Ever since I arrived in this world..."
"Why does everyone seem to want me dead?"
Zephyrus paused briefly.
Then asked,
"What exactly did the Servant of the Earth God say before killing you?"
Raijin answered.
"This time, you were chosen."
A faint spark returned to his eyes.
He already had his answer.
Still, he continued.
"The Servant of the Earth God discovering that I'm chosen is one thing."
"But how did everyone else know?"
Zephyrus looked at him.
"That was your third question."
Then he added,
"But I'll tell you this much."
"There are two major reasons."
"What those reasons are..."
"I'll tell you after you find the sword."
Raijin sighed heavily.
"Then how am I supposed to tell you once I find it?"
Zephyrus answered,
"You're making this sound far easier than it is."
"If you actually find the sword, hold it in your hand and say my name three times."
The moment those words left his mouth—
Raijin felt as if something had shoved him backward.
The scenery before his eyes changed.
Zephyrus was gone.
The great tree with the orbiting spheres was gone as well.
A moment later—
Only darkness remained.
Thick.
Pitch-black darkness.
For a few seconds, he almost believed he was still there.
But the rough ground pressing against the back of his head told him otherwise.
He raised a hand to his chest.
Something was lying on top of him.
Running his fingers over it, he quickly realized what it was.
A coffin.
Soon breathing became difficult.
Raijin immediately stretched his hands around his surroundings.
The answer came instantly.
He let out a long breath.
"Do people really have such a hurry to bury me?"
A grin appeared on his face.
"I'm probably the first person in the world to be buried twice."
"And both times, I climbed back out."
The thought made him laugh.
As he laughed, he pushed against the stone above him.
Slowly—
Very slowly—
The stone shifted.
A thin beam of warm sunlight slipped inside.
Raijin pushed harder.
The stone moved aside completely.
He climbed out of the grave.
Evening had arrived.
The sun would set within a few hours.
Looking around, he saw knee-high weeds everywhere.
Graves stretched in every direction.
Each marked with the symbol of the Earth God.
Realization struck him immediately.
This was the same place where he had fought the Grim Howler Wraiths.
"Mournvale."
He quietly repeated the name.
His gaze wandered across the countless graves.
Then he muttered,
"I wonder if anyone else is going to crawl out of these graves like I did."
He stood there for a while, staring at them.
"How strange."
"A man climbs out of a grave in an abandoned cemetery..."
"And then waits to see if someone else will climb out too."
Eventually he looked away.
Just as he was about to close his own grave, something caught his eye.
A small leather pouch sat in the corner.
He picked it up.
Inside were gold coins.
Judging by the weight, there were roughly a hundred of them.
A wide smile appeared on his face.
Sofiya, Ishan, or Kade must have left this behind.
He quickly sealed the grave and walked off.
A short while later, he stopped beside a broken grave.
Walking closer, he placed the flowers he had taken from his own grave on top of it.
Then he quietly said,
"I'll keep my promise."
"May your soul rest in peace."
"Good Bye, Alaric..."
Raijin turned and walked away.
The fading sunlight slowly fell across his back.
His steps were steadier than ever before.
He had regained his memories.
He had chosen his purpose.
But he didn't know...
that somewhere on the other side of the world—
something was already waiting for him.
Volume 1: The Chosen — Complete.
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Thank You For Reading This Chaptar.