Chapter 462: Look at Me, I Stand on the Sun. Not Him.

Chapter 462: Chapter 462: Look at Me, I Stand on the Sun. Not Him.

Chapter 462 – Look at Me, I Stand on the Sun. Not Him.

It was so peaceful, so wonderful, to be indifferent to every life, to anything in the whole universe, except for one single thing.

Because you knew, with a certainty almost too sweet, that as long as that thing was not touched — left completely alone — no one would ever be able to get under your skin.

Sweet, wasn’t it?

Yet by the same token, all the love and consideration, all the care and respect that could have been spread across a great many beings, were instead gathered upon one single person, or thing.

It was fine as long as no one knew about it.

But what if... what if someone knew of that exact thing that could make you red, puffy, and ready for mass genocide?

That was the most dangerous thing in the world, in Blanche’s eyes.

She had only heard Cassius say the name Kaden the Undying — one of his many titles — and the White Phoenix felt as though her heart was about to burst.

Unconsciously, her aura flared, rising in some horrific way, hotter than the already searing temperature of the core of the sun where Cassius was standing.

He blinked, groaned, then raised both hands to shield his eyes from the blast of hot fire despite the barrier surrounding him. And despite the barrier, Cassius’s clothes were melting, sticking to his skin, and even burning it.

Burning.

When was the last time Cassius had felt that sensation? That of his flesh scorching, blackening and peeling away? Of his blood roaring, ready to flee because it knew it was about to turn to nothingness? Of his eyes, even shielded, tearing up in agony?

He was the Lightbringer, Creator of the Sun Concept, and Holder of the Eye of the Red Dragons.

Fire, and even Plasma, was his domain.

Yet at that moment, all of it was ridiculously meaningless before the beast in front of him. Now Cassius Desdemona felt fear, one so deep that he stood frozen for a moment, only snapped out of it by Blanche’s blistering tone, which seemed to shatter his Sun Core.

"A story of whom, you just said, little vermin?" she hissed, her huge flaming head leaning down and forward, her eyes cold with wrathful fire. "Who and what gave you the nerve to use his name in front of me? Did you think being chosen by him means anything to me? Or the fact that you knew him in that little cage called Earth?"

Cassius’s eyes widened. He wanted to speak, but his mouth caught fire. He closed it and gritted his teeth.

"Oh, vermin, don’t be surprised," she said with a malice the Last Born never thought her capable of. "All the Errors know where you came from. We are not from this world, after all. And in that, we are like you. We are foreigners. The difference between you and us is that you are hiding that fact by wearing the skin of a resident of this world. You are hiding."

She grinned, hot liquid fire pouring from her beak. "We are not, vermin. And we are strong enough to impose our existence upon this world and even beyond. And yes, I am exactly who you think I am, though if you think you know me because you read that book, you would be a fool. Things have changed since then."

The White Phoenix came closer, and by then, all of Cassius’s clothes had burned to ashes, and his skin was being licked by fire.

His skin began to peel away, revealing golden bones and flesh created by the essence of the Sun.

Two minutes had passed.

Only one was left.

"Now tell me, how dare you?" Blanche asked again.

’This shit hurts, alright,’ Cassius thought, taking in the information the Beast had just shared, all while swallowing his groans.

His pride wouldn’t allow him to let out a damn sound of agony.

Now Cassius knew that Errors were foreigners to this world. And he could have been the same, had he not taken the body of a resident here.

But Cassius would not entertain that thought. In his opinion, he hadn’t taken anything.

He was who he was.

The pain he was going through was agonizing, and it had been a while since he had gone through anything like it.

That didn’t stop him, though.

His Snake Loop was already working, and after Blanche’s words, Cassius no longer planned to go back after the three minutes.

He had some things to make clear with this Beast.

"How dare I?" he echoed, his voice hoarse, his throat as dry as cotton. "Is that what you are asking me?"

Cassius lifted his head, staring at her, and felt his eyes burning. Instinctively, his Dragon Eye activated, and he clenched his jaw as he forced out the next words.

"I dare because Kaden is my friend, whatever you might think of it. I dare because I have known him, talked to him, laughed with him, and even gotten mad at him. And alright, I admit that the time I knew him was short compared to yours. It was even a time when he hadn’t shown me his true self. But it was still Kaden, the same man, and it was still his compassion and tender heart that helped me when I had lost everything in life."

"You are a puppet," Blanche spat, her heart shaking a little. "He was like that with you simply because he needed you, not because he loved you. Don’t be a fool. He helped you through all of that because a broken puppet is utterly useless. And now I can see that all of it has been a waste of effort, effort he should have spent on himself. Because you are not making it."

The Beast of the Sun, the Devourer of the Sun herself, began to growl. "You do not have what it takes to go that far. You are not a Hero, Cassius, or whatever your names have been. And we need a Hero. You are unable to sacrifice yourself for people you hardly know. You are unable to function when you lose your closest ones. How many times did this world restart because you went mad after your wife died? So many! And who do you think bears the burden of restarting everything? Gods, don’t tell me you think this new family of yours is powerful enough to do something that left the Holders unable to act, even though they were aware?"

She scoffed, paused, looked straight at him, and spat the next words as if disgusted by them. "You are weak, Cassius Desdemona, despite all your gorydamn powers. Now get out of here, before I lose what little patience and tolerance I have for you and kill you for good."

"So I have reincarnated many times," Cassius muttered, his eyes bright despite all the skin and bone around them being burned or burning. "And that was possible not thanks to my family, but thanks to Kaden. So you’re telling me that I have failed him so many times?"

Somehow, his heart ached. But not only because he had failed Kaden. It was because he had even failed his wife, if he were to believe what Blanche had said.

What about the Desdemona? Had he failed them?

This was knowledge Cassius had never expected to obtain by coming here, knowledge he didn’t even know what to do with.

And now that he knew he had reincarnated before, Cassius began to reconsider something he had ignored until now: was he Adonis, in the end?

Was that why he sometimes received his memories?

Then did that mean that not every reincarnation made him Cassius Desdemona himself?

In some reincarnations... he had been something else.

Another person. Another name.

And that realization made him remember the letter his parents had written for him before going away.

In that letter, they hadn’t said they loved Cassius or Noah. They had said they loved him, no matter his name or who he was.

’They knew,’ he realized, his heart pounding in his ears. ’My parents knew.’

And they still loved him.

Cassius closed his eyes at that moment, gathering himself, feeling the fire of the sun on and inside his body, then opened his eyes again.

He was like a candle fighting against a fire stronger than itself.

He was crumbling, Cassius realized.

Still, he looked at the being in front of him.

The White Phoenix was now dangerously close to him, her eyes still a blazing world of pale whiteness.

"It doesn’t really matter if he was or is using me," he said, his words surprising even himself, "or even if he only reached out to me because he needs me. In fact, I am happy that bastard needs me, and still does, despite all my failures. At this point, you yourself must understand that Kaden is not using me just for my usefulness. You know him better than I do."

He smiled, his lips burning and peeling off, falling to the ground. He smiled wider.

"Would he do that for anyone he didn’t consider a friend?"

The White Phoenix didn’t respond, narrowing her eyes in silent dissatisfaction.

"You yourself know that," he continued. "So do you know what that makes Kaden to me? Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I don’t see him the same way you do. To me, he’s a friend in need. A friend I cannot afford to disappoint again. A friend who wants me to do something, to achieve something, and I don’t even know what that something is. And how can I possibly be ready for something I know nothing about? So maybe you’re right. Maybe Emrys Stormblessed is better suited for this than I am. Maybe you’re right that I’m weak, that I lose my will whenever I lose someone I care about. Maybe you’re right, White Phoenix, about the failure you’ve already decided awaits me. I admit it. Every single one of those things could be true. But have you noticed something?"

The Last Born was grinning, and with the flames of the Sun enveloping his entire body, the sight was as ghastly as it was strangely picturesque. "All of those are maybes. Possible futures, White Phoenix, not certain ones. Which means we’re wasting our time worrying about what might happen instead of asking ourselves what we can do right now, at this very moment, to make sure that what eventually happens is something we actually want."

Cassius Desdemona paused, staring straight at the Phoenix, and although the flames had already burned away his throat, his voice still echoed throughout the Sun through the sheer force of his Will.

"I’m the one standing here in this Sun with you, burning alive and still talking, not Emrys. So look me in the damn eyes, White Phoenix, and tell me if you see someone who’s going to fail."

—End of Chapter 462—