The Author's POV

Chapter 727 Goodbye [5]

'He's gone.'

Kevin slightly raised his head, which was previously resting against his arms. Blinking his eyes, he found that it was already morning. 

Thinking back at the things he revealed to Ren, Kevin's face slowly started to become complicated. 

"With that, everything should be done…"

Thinking about what 'he'd' have to go through because of him, Kevin felt something prick at his consciousness.

He slowly closed his eyes and bit his lips. 

'At the very least, he'll have a chance to keep everyone he cares about alive... Something I'll never have a chance to do.'

He felt jealous, but at the same time, he felt glad.

'If it can atone for what I did…'

He smiled and shook his head. He was just making excuses to make himself feel better for what he did.

Dragging one of the few people he was close to into his selfish agenda…

If possible, he'd have chosen someone else to receive his power. Someone more powerful and more talented, maybe…

Unfortunately, that wasn't an option. 

It could only have been him.

"It's funny how he complains about his talent when it's the exact thing that's saving him…"

Taking one last look at the room he was in, he placed two of his fingers over his forehead.

A white glow suddenly spread from them, enveloping the room in its entirety.

His hair gradually began to stand on end, and as it did so, it vacillated between black and white before resolving itself to black.

Several screens flickered within his vision shortly after that. 

Synchronisation : [—————————[100%]]

Synchronisation : [———————[75%]———]

Synchronisation : [—————[50%]—————]

Synchronisation : [———[25%]———————]

Synchronisation : [[0%]———————————]

*

*

*

"Uwa! Uwa!"

A newborn infant's cries reverberated in the background as two gentle hands wrapped around the small frame of its body in an attempt to soothe its cries.

"Hush, Kevin, don't cry. Mommy's with you."

***

"Your turn."

"What are you waiting for, End him."

A figure with white hair spoke up. This time around, the tone of his voice was a little bit more hurried sounding.

Turning his head to glance in the red-eyed figure's direction and then looking toward his surroundings, Kevin's lips trembled.

"I...is this the outcome that you wanted?"

"What are you talking about?"

The white-haired figure replied back. His brows furrowed tightly, and his voice became even colder.

Clenching his teeth, Kevin pointed in the distance.

"Take a look at the world. It's completely destroyed! Almost all of humanity has been destroyed because of your actions, and yet, you don't seem to care!?"

Kevin's voice rang powerfully throughout the world as his fists clenched tightly.

He didn't mean any of the words he said. It was merely an act.

He had done far worse in the past.

"For the sake of killing him! You decided to sacrifice the whole of humanity! What's the point of killing him when there's no one left? What's the fucking point!?"

Quietly listening to Kevin's words, the gray-eyed figure answered.

"...Because I don't care."

"You don't care?"

Kevin felt his chest prick at those words. Especially when he looked at the state his friend was in.

He had watched him lose everything over and over again for the past few centuries. He also witnessed him grow stronger and stronger each year.

The speed at which he progressed far surpassed his expectations. So much so that he was on the verge of exceeding his peak...

He was happy, but he was also troubled.

'It's too early... I have no choice...'

A powerful red hue suddenly sprang out of Kevin's body. The hue that sprang out of his body was very faint and almost invisible, but the pressure that came out of it was nothing to scoff at.

"You don't care about the fact that, because of your actions, humanity is on the verge of extinction?"

He continued with his acting.

"What are you doing?"

Ignoring his words, the gray-eyed figure dully asked.

Raising the palm of his hand, Kevin pressed his hand onto the space next to him and replied.

"Something that I should've done the moment I remembered everything."

Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank.

Right as his words faded, much to the shock of the gray-eyed figure, black chains suddenly sprang out from the ground beneath him, clasping onto his legs and arms.

Finally, for the first time in a while, the gray-eyed figure's face crumbled apart as he looked at Kevin who was staring back at him.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

Raising his hand, the gray-eyed figure tried to move his body, but regardless of how much force he applied, he couldn't move it at all. The mana inside his body had been sealed completely.

Realizing just how much of a predicament he was in, his voice rose.

"What did you do to me!?"

Ignoring his words, Kevin turned to look at the other white figure, who was watching the scene with an amused look on his face. Although he was also on the verge of death, there was a triumphant look on his face as he looked at Kevin and the gray-eyed figure.

Kevin took his eyes away from him not long after.

"khh..."

Stumbling forward, he could feel his vitality slowly leaving his body. The hue around his body slowly started to fade as Kevin's figure paled.

"Kill him now, end this now! End it!!!! You know full well that you're the only one who can stop him! What are you waiting for!?"

Again, the gray-eyed figure's words echoed loudly as he looked at Kevin with a fierce glare. A look similar to one of desperation flashed across his face as he shouted those words.

Taking one more step forward, Kevin's feet came to a pause a couple of meters away from the gray-eyed figure.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

As he walked, the chains wrapping around the gray-eyed figure became more numerous as his whole body stopped moving.

Seeing that his words couldn't reach Kevin, the gray-eyed figure stopped shouting. His face, which was originally cold, dulled completely.

Lowering his head and glaring in Kevin's direction, the gray-eyed figure stared monotonously.

"You think this will be enough to stop me?"

"I don't know."

Kevin shook his head.

While he shook his head, Kevin knew that he couldn't stop him. He didn't care. He never meant to stop him in the first place.

He was just setting up the stage for him...

"But we will find out soon. At least for now, you won't be able to do anything."

Spurt—!

Raising his hand, Kevin suddenly pierced right through his own chest. Instantly, blood leaked out of his body.

He felt a pain that was all too familiar course through his body. One that he had experienced countless times before. At first, it wasn't something he looked forward to... but at some point, the discomfort... it became something that he looked forward to...

Staring at Kevin, the grey-eyed figure's eyes grew colder.

"How d—"

The moment Kevin's life slipped away, the world turned white, and everything crumbled.

***

In the pitch black world.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The chains that were shackling Ren began to show signs of wear and tear. His head began to gradually rise, and he looked down at the chains that were shackling him before turning his attention to the distance, where a figure was taking shape.

He had a smile on his face as he gazed at him.

"It's been a while."

His voice was soft, but they reached Ren without a problem.

He moved toward him.

"You probably despise me, don't you?"

"..."

He didn't get an answer, nor did he expect to get any. He already knew the answer at heart.

He pointed at the chains that were binding him.

"You're going to be free soon."

The only reason the chains were there was because he was progressing too fast. Now that he had done everything that he had set out to do, the chains were no longer needed.

They would soon disappear.

Kevin drummed his fingers over his chest and took a deep breath.

"I'm going to disappear soon... Honestly, I don't want to die. I never really wanted to, but I have no choice but to die... I'm fine with it though."

His lips moved to the side.

"I never got to enjoy my life very much... Whenever I thought I was enjoying something, I'd soon realize that it'd soon disappear before my eyes. Regardless of what I did, they were bound to suffer... My parents, Emma, you... "

Kevin laughed a little while scratching the side of his face.

"I don't know. I guess it makes sense. I was born to defeat Jezebeth, not to be happy... "

He sighed while looking up.

His lips trembled, and he looked toward Ren.

"I've watched as everyone that I was ever close to look at me with eyes that revealed nothing but hatred at some point in my life... I've been scorned and spat at by those that I love the most, and the funny thing is that I can't even feel any sympathy toward myself... The things I did..."

Kevin shook his head and stopped speaking.

"T,this is probably the last time the two of us will ever see each other... I didn't come here to apologize to you... Whatever I say will probably only make you hate me more... Although I'm used to being hated, scorned at... I don't really want my last moments to be like that... haha, well... I guess maybe that's a bit too late..."

He took a deep breath and extended his hand. His finger soon touched Ren's forehead, and images entered his mind.

"...I just hope that you will change your mind after seeing this. Ren... the other one... he... he can't do this alone. His creation was out of my expectations honestly... I was honestly baffled by what you did, but I guess this isn't the first time that you surprised me..."

The process didn't last long, and once he moved his finger away, his body turned transparent.

Finally, Ren looked at him properly. His hazy eyes regained some clarity, and it was there that he saw Kevin stare at him with a forced smile.

The corners of his eyes were wet, but he'd repeatedly raise his head to hide the fact.

Once their eyes met, Kevin's smile grew deeper.

Despite all the words he said and the forced smile, he was happy.

He'd been hated and scorned by all those he cared about... But he didn't mind that. Thinking of their possible future, he only felt relief.

Everyone was a bad guy in another one's story, and he was the bad guy in many of those.

He didn't mind that. Good, bad... he didn't care.

He just did what he felt was right.

His smile relaxed.

"Goodbye"

His form shattered into innumerable fragments, and the void fell back into its previous state of utter silence.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

The chains binding Ren slowly broke apart, and he fell to the ground.

Ren struggled to lift his head slightly. His eyes were drawn to the spot where Kevin had been standing, and he raised his head to look up.

He soon felt something warm streak past the side of his cheek.

  ***

Next Arc - Revelation Arc - Approximately 100 more chaps before end.