Chapter 185 - The Tragedy of a Broken Heart [4]

A slight breeze brushed his face, stirring his silver hair. He caught one of the drifting leaves, then burned it to ash seconds later.

"Love, huh..."

He let out a faint sigh.

"True love is an ugly thing...

Sleeping together, embracing each other through the night... that is not love.

Exchanging sweet words from sunset until sunrise again is not love either. Traveling together, sharing laughter, creating memories... perhaps those are the beginnings of it, but they are still far from the thing itself. Even missing someone proves nothing...

A person can miss the warmth they once received, the comfort they grew accustomed to, or the emptiness another person left behind. That is not necessarily love.

Nor are gifts, promises, or grand gestures proof of anything. People give things because they wish to receive something in return. Even affection can become a transaction, though few are willing to admit it.

Love is much more boring than that."

He paused, his gaze drifting toward the distant horizon.

"Boring, yet beautiful; Ordinary, yet strange.

It is simply wanting the same person to remain by your side, regardless of how far apart you may be.

It is wishing for their happiness even when you have nothing to gain from it. And if the day comes when their survival demands your sacrifice, you find yourself willing to pay that price without asking what you will receive in return.

It is being content with a single moment spent beside them, yet finding that even an eternity would not be enough.

It is possessing a longing so deep that distance, time, and even death seem like trivial things. A lust so overwhelming that, if given the choice, you might turn the entire world upside down just to keep that one person beside you.

Yet, strangely enough, it is also wanting to protect that feeling from becoming something ugly. To hold such overwhelming desire within yourself without allowing it to corrupt the very person you cherish.

To want them desperately, yet never wish to make them miserable for your sake.

To desire them as though they were the only treasure beneath heaven, while understanding that they are not something you can simply claim."

He fell silent for a moment before laughing softly at himself.

"Of course, these are merely my own thoughts. I have a habit of thinking too much about things that might be better left alone. Words like these simply appear in my mind, and I find myself speaking them before I can stop.

I must have read a lot of novels in my past life."

He lowered his gaze.

"Perhaps I am just a weak, ordinary man, rambling about things he doesn’t understand..."

"After all, understanding the meaning of love and possessing the courage to live by it are two entirely different things, heh."

Saying so, he kept walking, leaving scorched footprints marking every step he took.

"System. It’s not my second life, is it? I know, I can guess at this point... I’ve lived more than once or twice."

The system fell silent.

[...]

"That silence is going to add more to it, you know."

[...]

"Just say yes or no. Have I lived more than two lives? Is that why I have this kind of opportunity to meet a fallen god and gain a system?"

[Affirmative.]

Cale sighed.

"Back to the formal tone, huh."

At this point, he couldn’t care less how many lives he had lived. Maybe that was another reason why his memories were so clear instead of being dulled, and why he had deleted so many of them last night.

’Hmm, have my memories merged, or did I only regress in one past life and actually have many different lives? There’s no point arguing. I won’t ask. Let’s deal with the current one.’

He continued his way back toward Velard. Many years had passed, who knew what had happened in that time?

He had sent a few letters before leaving to his father, Fiora, and several other friends, asking them to help keep the kingdom safe. But if they were fated to die, they would die eventually.

If the continent ever became doomed as it had in his last life, he would pack up and run. Who the hell would risk their life for this?!

’Well... life sure is becoming interesting.’

[Happy Birthday Cale!]

He raised an eyebrow.

"You... are you trying to butter me up? Hahah. It’s been years since someone said that to me. You sure know how to play your cards at the right time."

He continued his walk for another hour, then started flying to reach Velard faster.

Two presences were ahead of him, flying in his direction.

Cale looked up.

"Ah... is it about to rain? I’d better ask how far it is."

He only knew the direction, not how long the journey would take.

The two presences belonged to a young boy and a middle-aged man — a master and his student. A protective shield was cast over them.

"Master, it’s about time the recruitment for the kingdom’s army starts. Maybe I should tr—"

"No! Didn’t I tell you? You aren’t even at the Advanced stage. How can you even think of doing such a rash thing? And like I always say, you should cultivate and build up your strength first. You aren’t from a very rich family. You’re only the son of a baron! Not everyone turns out like that brat from the Midgar house."

Cale’s eyes flickered.

To think he was famous in other empires too.

’Sigh, was my array formation that weak? To think even these chipmunks know I created that array and trapped people... Well, let’s go anyway.’

Hearing Cale mentioned, the boy’s eyes widened in awe.

"Master! Why are you not taking his name? He is Lord Cale! To think he was once about to be thrown out of his family, haha. He is an inspiration to many now! Tsk, even my fiancée likes him now. Thank god he isn’t a womanizer. But his strength is something to take note of. People think he should be at the Grandmaster stage right now..."

Cale grinned as he flew forward.

’Grandmaster? Heh... well, at least the rumors Rexa used to spread have calmed down by now.’

As they continued talking, the youngster kept glancing at Cale in admiration, while the master kept lecturing him to cultivate until he became as strong as Cale.

Then a bolt of lightning crackled above them.

And right then, hundreds of meters above, they saw the silhouette of a man with silvery wings and long hair, descending through the clouds like an angel fallen from the heavens.