The Villain Is Destined to Die: But as the Creator, I know All Endings

Chapter 267: Before You Forgot Me [6]

Grief has an end. You cry until there are no tears are left, and then, slowly, you remember how to breathe again. But waiting for someone is a kind of dying that never finishes.

You cannot mourn what has not been lost. You cannot move forward when you do not know if they are ever coming back to you.

So...

You stay.

You wait.

And you wonder if hope is a kindness or a curse.

* * *

"Heeuk–!!"

Swing–!! Slash–!

BAAM–!!

"HOW COULD YOU?!"

Ethan screamed at the top of his lungs. He fixed his once bloodied hand, and with his eyes clouded with blood, he glared at the blond haired man lavishly floating in front of him.

Dreamweaver was in some highly advanced armor made with some mineral that Ethan never saw before. His armour had numerous foldable latches and dimly white glowing sides running all the way through to the metallic wings flapping behind him.

And now that Ethan looked closely, he even had some weirdly drawn glowing mark below both his eyes, similar to what he had seen on the walls of Sapphire Castle in Evana.

The overall armour made him look more like a humanoid falcon than an actual Calamity. He was not holding any weapon, but instead his armor could cast spells from any angle.

Ethan had witnessed it a few minutes ago.

"..."

This made him grit his teeth after he recalled what those black flames had done to Cyan and the others.

They were this close to teleporting the whole Evana to its original geography.

To Lady Aisha’s original plan, which was simple, Leon saw some flaws and added a few more terms favouring Evana.

Their plan was flawless.

Utilizing the helping hand of three calamity tower heads, they were set to move today.

But somehow, Dreamweaver descended into this reality after centuries.

And the moment he decided to take matters into his own hands, the whole flawless plan got ruined.

No one, not even Leon, had ever thought of this possibility.

And the worst part was that the Oath of Balance had been broken.

The Oath was not broken by Dreamweaver.

But by Ethan.

Because—

"I cannot believe I would find Auriala’s son in this era."

Dreamweaver laughed as he looked at Ethan.

"I was monitoring Evana because I detected some unusual movement here... and look who it is... who I found here!"

He grinned.

"Another bloodline of a Calamity!"

Ethan growled.

"What are you talking about?"

Of course he did not understand a single word Dreamweaver was saying.

"It is not your fault." Dreamweaver said in his eternal voice, his words echoing throughout the burning city.

"She must have tried to hide you from the Outer Beings."

"Outer Beings?"

Ethan hesitated and repeated the words while healing his ruptured internals.

He was buying time for the others to reach here. He alone could not go against Dreamweaver. But with Leon, the Queen, Noel, and Amantha, he might have at least a one percent chance of stopping him.

Dreamweaver flapped his wings.

Then he casually put both hands in his pockets and stated clearly.

"You, boy. Do you know that your mother is actually Auriala? The Moon Calamity. Everbright."

Ethan froze.

At first he could not process whether he had heard that correctly. But a literal Calamity had just said it. There had to be some truth behind it.

Ethan thought, and slowly things started clicking into place inside his head.

He recalled his father in the village. Living alone with him and doing regular chores like a simple man. But now that he thought back, his father was somehow able to provide him with everything. And most importantly, he was a regular visitor of the cathedral dedicated to Everbright. And even made him hear all about Calamities since he was a little baby.

Him awakening light affinity of all. His own light affinity that never made sense for someone born in a demon-infested world.

It all started to make sense now.

All of it... that Dreamweaver said must be true.

But still... he had his doubts.

"What...?" Ethan’s voice came out weaker than he intended. "Me? A Calamity’s son?"

Dreamweaver nodded.

"Correct. I identified you the moment my gaze fell upon Evana. But honestly. You were not the one who interested me enough to descend all the way here."

"Hold on." Ethan’s voice shook. "What do you mean by my mother? Tell me if this is really true!"

Dreamweaver cut him off.

"Boy. You were just a pawn I used for my own sake. You being here in Evana made things complicated for me. I cannot just attack Evana without harming you in the process. That would break the Oath and make an enemy out of all the other four."

He paused.

"No. The better way is to use you. You were an opportunity. Because you are not as interesting as that other boy who was with you." Dreamweaver looked around. "Where is he, though? That golden-eyed boy?"

"Leon?" Ethan said without thinking.

"Ah. So his name is Leon." Dreamweaver smiled. "Interesting. I sensed light in him too. At first I even mistook him for Auriala’s other son." He laughed. "Until I started observing his movements more closely."

His tone shifted.

"Your plan had plenty of flaws. The ones that Lancaster’s mortal pawns suggested were laughable. But that Leon..." Dreamweaver’s expression turned sharp. "That damn boy ruined it. He saw every flaw and trapped all possible attacks on Evana with just a single line of restraint in the treaty. It was good... It was too good. If Leon succeeded, Evana would be untouchable. Forever. So, I have to make my move before the treaty could be signed. Before the teleportation could complete. Before that boy could lock me out permanently."

He looked genuinely amused for a second.

"He is the reason I had to come here on my own feet. He is the reason I had to use you to kill the others here. He is the sole reason Evana will fall completely before I lose it forever."

Ethan stared at him. He could not say anything because the person in front of him looked completely unhinged right now.

But he had to ask.

"What do you mean you used me?"

Dreamweaver smiled wider.

"The Oath of Balance forbids us Calamities from harming each other. That includes their bloodborn and cities and assets under their protection. You being Auriala’s son means you carry her protection too. That also means you yourself are the perfect vulnerability. The path to break the oath. And once it is broken, I can act freely."

Dreamweaver continued.

"I have my own daughter here in this city. She is my bloodborn and she too is tied to the oath. So. Harming her would mean the oath breaks."

He looked at Ethan and said, still smiling.

"I just had to make Auriala kill my daughter."

The wings behind him flapped once.

Ethan’s eyes widened.

He stammered as he guessed.

"Y-you what? No... but how..."

Dreamweaver answered calmly.

"I know Auriala well. She could never leave her son alone without protection in this mortal world. Not in times like this where the Outer Beings can interfere. You have her light, the same kind she possesses. This also means you carry her charm spell." He smiled at Ethan. "It’s one of her specialties, you could say."

He tilted his head.

"With that charm active, if I attacked you with something out of this world, something at Outer Being’s rank scale, her charm would activate and turn into pure destruction. Everything around you would be obliterated. Without even looking at who it was targeting."

He laughed.

"Insane, right? That is your own mother’s nature. She adores too much to the point she makes foolish moves. I bet she never expected her charm to actually be triggered by a mimic spell of an Outer Being."

"..."

Dreamweaver then said quietly, as if declaring a war. His face became serious, as he took both his hands out.

"You killed my daughter. Now it is my duty to end you along with this city which will be caught up in my attack."

"You killed your own daughter."

Dreamweaver didn’t replied.

Ethan hissed, and readied himself for what’s coming.

"The Bloodborn of Moon Calamity had broken the Oath. As such, I shall punish the cause, and declare the Everbright of the Moon Calamity an enemy of Nightmare Calamity. As such, I shall remove the one who caused my bloodborn’s demise."

Dreamweaver raised one hand.

"Eternal Nightmare. Binding of Dread"

The air around Ethan turned black. As if reality itself had been erased.

Ethan tried to move, but failed.

His body would not respond to him. His legs would not shift. Even his breathing felt locked in place.

He had not seen Dreamweaver’s mana move, and not sensed the skill activated.

Then his vision blurred.

A red window appeared in front of him.

[THREAT DETECTED]

[Possibility of Survival: 0%]

[Finding Solution...]

[Guiding...]

[Unable to Find Solution]

[ERROR]

[Activating Emergency Protocol]

[Reaching Out to Moon Calamity]

[Trial #1]

[...]

[Success]

The air around Ethan started to fluctuate. A strange energy gathered around his body like a storm preparing to break.

But before it could go any further, Ethan’s eyes caught something.

A shadow looming behind Dreamweaver.

Black hair, and golden eyes glowing with a light brighter than anything Ethan had ever seen. And behind him were wings. The same golden light wings Ethan possessed.

"Le... on..."

Ethan muttered, and a strange calm washed over him. For some reason, he felt like Leon can right now take on a literal calamity on his own.

Dreamweaver’s eyes widened.

He sensed something devastating behind him. Something that made even his own skin crawl with fear.

He paused his skill and turned around.

But before he could fully see who it was, his entire body froze.

His eyesight vanished first. Then his hearing began to fade.

The last thing he heard were four words.

"Rot where you stand."

Followed by a strange language he had not heard in centuries.

"[World Manipulation. All movement set to: Static.]"