To die as Alnea Oathkeeper of the world of Wanderers, or merge with Alnea Oathkeeper of the world of Attuners and become a new ‘whole’. That was the choice given to him by his Fate. Twice. Once, by the memories of his namesake, and the other, when his team was ambushed by the Heterodox Wanderers. Yet, both times, Alnea had chosen to believe in himself… Maybe, not exactly in himself.

  The first time, he had rejected those stupid memories because he did not believe the words of a phantom desperately trying to save itself. And because he did not wish to give up his body. Even if the new ‘whole’ would have had a part of him, it would have also had a part of his namesake. And that would have meant sharing Yuri, Cecilia, and even Vestia with someone else. Though, in a sense, they were also sharing him with each other…

  Then again, he never said that he was not selfish. It did not matter if he was being hypocritical. That was just how he was. And the girls knew it too. Mostly. There was no need for them to know the struggles he was having in his head. After all, a man had to keep his secrets. Just as the girls kept their secrets. In any case, he just did not wish to share the girls with anyone, even himself. And that was also the reason why he rejected his Fate the second time it came to him with the same choice.

  Though, in retrospect, as he looked at his actions from the perspective of his Clear Heart, he had to admit that he could have handled things a little differently. But it was not entirely his fault. At that time, courtesy to the red robed Alnea standing—or was he floating? Maybe drifting? And he was in a white robe back then, not red.

  Regardless, it was all the red robed Alnea’s fault for making him believe that he was going to die soon. Even if he was not sure, that thought had already been planted in his head. So, when Fate came to him in the form of Heterodox Wanderers to drive him into a corner, forcing him to choose between either falling into their hands, or resonating with his Roots and giving the memories of his namesake the perfect opportunity to merge with him, he simply said, to Origin with you. He was going to die soon anyway. If he could save the rest of his teammates by dying a little early, then what was there to hesitate?

  …Maybe there were many things to hesitate for. Like the earful he was going to get from his master. Or being made fun for the rest of his life. Should he ask his teammates to not leak his embarrassing secrets after leaving the Final World? That was probably a good idea. Though it was not a good time to let his mind wander. Especially considering that his Fate, after being rejected twice, had come to him with the same choice once again. Well, not exactly same. But it was similar. And this time, it came prepared.

  Not worried about his life and death, was he? Fine, his Fate said. It was not going to threaten him with his life anymore. Then again, its threats had always been empty. Nothing could hurt him as long he had his master. Or at least, not kill him. His master had become quite strict lately, not treating him even after he had suffered life threatening wounds. That too, twice. Maybe that was part of the reason why he took such a desperate step…

  That was a good excuse, Alnea noted to himself. It would have been even better if he could have thought of it earlier. Maybe even good enough to have his master forgive him completely. But it was not going to work anymore. Still, it should be enough to save his ears. Probably. Just in case, he decided to think of a few more excuses, before turning his attention back to his Fate.

  Since he was not worried about his life and death, what about the life and death of his teammates? They did not have his master’s protection, did they? At best, Yuri had a few life saving measures granted by his master. Maybe Cecilia had a few too, either from his master, or from her own clan. She was, after all, an heiress of the Serpia clan. It would make sense for her to have some protective measures in place. But what about the rest?

  Vestia was running from the arrangements of her clan. Ralph could almost be considered to have been abandoned by his. And Zain was not in a much better state. Norren, on the other hand, was too proud to ask for help, while Aren could be considered to going against the wishes of his clan. Only Karl and his relationship with his clan remained a mystery, but considering his obsessions with finding ways to live…

  On that note, why exactly was he so always so cautious? Was he running away from something? Or was it just a side effect of his Roots? Maybe, it was one of the prices he had to pay. Regardless, he should not have any protective measures to survive against a siege of hundreds of Wanderers. And neither did the rest. Except Yuri and Cecilia, of course. But his Fate did not care.

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

  It could not threaten him with all his teammates? That was fine. His Fate knew him very well. It did not matter if the two girls could escape its clutches. The rest would surely fall in its Curse. And that was enough. To threaten Alnea Oathkeeper, the lives of six of his teammates were more than enough.

  Even disregarding the Oath that he had taken, Alnea, as the Captain of the Star Seekers, had the responsibility to ensure the safety of his teammates. Sure, he was selfish, and maybe even hypocritic, but there was one thing he could not tolerate. The safety of his teammates. They were his responsibility. Not to mention that he had already taken Vestia as a part of his Heart. How could he let anything happen to her?

  “So, what is your choice?” the Purplebud woman said, tearing Alnea back from his thoughts, just as he came to his decision. “Are you going to become one, once again? Or are you still going to insist that you two are not the same?”

  “…We are not the same,” Alnea said after a moment of silence, ignoring the smirk on the woman’s face. “That fact would never change. Not even if I choose to become one with him.”

  “But if you want to become one, you must give up your differences.”

  “…You do not get it,” Alnea said, relaxing his grip on his sword, as his eyes met with those of his red robed self. “Reconciling our differences is not the same as admitting that we are the same.”

  “Indeed,” the red robed Alnea said, nodding back at the black robed Alnea. “There are many ways of reconciling differences, many ways to let the Red and Black meet.”

  “Ways that Black and White did not have.”

  “Ways, that are possible only because of the Fortune Spring.”

  “So, what are you going to choose?”

  “You should already have the answer.”

  “…Indeed,” Alnea said after a moment’s pause. “It is not the answer I hoped for, nor the answer I like, but I guess, it is the only way the two of us will agree on.”

  “…Though I still think that it is an unreasonable way of resolving our differences.”

  “From my perspective, you are the unreasonable one. If only you did not come to my dreams, if only you stayed where you were supposed to be, there would not have been any differences to begin with.”

  “I guess, if you put it like that, I do seem to be a little unreasonable. But you should also understand my difficulties.”

  “No, I don’t,” Alnea said, shaking his head lightly. “I don’t understand anything about you. How you escaped… How you came to me… Why you came to me… What you want… I don’t understand anything about you. Neither do I want to understand anything. But the choice is not up to me anymore.”

  “…You always have a choice.”

  “So did you. And look where your choice got you.”

  “…It could not be helped in my case. I was dealt a bad hand by my Fate.”

  “And you think I am in a better position?”

  “…Fate does indeed like playing with us,” the red robed Alnea said, adding a slight curve to the edge of his lips. “Maybe you are right. It is all because of my… of our name.”

  “Stupid name. And stupid Fate.”

  “…Calling your own name stupid…”

  “Because it is stupid. A stupid, cursed name, that I took after being deceived by you. If only I had not fallen for your tricks… If only you had not come to me… I would not have changed my name. Neither would I have had to bear to its curse. Or the suffer the things that happened after. Without this stupid name, without this stupid fate, none of this would have been happening.”

  “…You are being unreasonable once again,” the red robed Alnea said, shaking his head with a wry smile on his face. “You know that it is not my fault. You were incomplete even before you met me. Rather, it was because you were incomplete that I came to you. And without me, without my help, do you think that you would have lived through the torments of the Lotus clan? Or the betrayals you suffered?”

  “…I don’t care. I just know that my name is stupid.”

  “…Then why do you not give it up?”

  “…Because it is mine. Even if it is stupid, it is the name I chose.”

  “…See, you can be reasonable if you try.”

  “…I don’t want to try. Besides, you have been calling me unreasonable for so long, but what about you? Do you think that you are being reasonable?”

  “…I have things I must do.”

  “…In the end, the reason comes down to Fate once again. Be it with you, or with me, our Fate has always been unreasonable, forcing us with all kinds of crooked choices…”

  “…That may be so, but I do not regret my choice.”

  “Neither do I,” Alnea said, and paused for a moment, before letting out a sigh. “Neither do I.”

  “…Are you ready? Or do you still need some time?”

  “…Since we have already come to a decision, there is no need to waste our time. There are still people waiting for me, after all. Hurry up, and get this over with.”

  “Fine. If you that is what you wish, then—