Chương 45: To Break or Not to Break. That is the Question.

That is the Question.

Rose spun through the air, Joe's limp body cradled in her arms. Two small puddles of water materialised beneath them, cushioning their explosive landing into a graceful tumble. She flipped, landing lightly on her feet, her skirts swirling around her, Joe hanging over one shoulder, unconscious. In a flash, Daisy appeared beside her, ready to defend against further attacks. None came.

"The assassin?" Rose asked, scanning the banquet hall.

"Dead," Daisy replied. Rose nodded, though she was surprised her kick had been lethal. She spun on her heel and strode from the banquet hall. Six guards quickly flanked her. One stepped forward and knelt.

"We apologise for the disgraceful showing," he said, saluting. Rose waved him off, walking past as the guards fell in line behind her. Her thoughts were racing. Was Joseph the target? Or had the attempt been meant for her? She didn't want to waste time returning through the halls, so she made for the nearest transportation room. Moments later, Rose emerged into her private garden, Joe slung over her shoulder, still breathing but heavily.

The image of the petite princess carrying a man nearly twice her size would've been comical under other circumstances. She reached a tall tree and gently laid him beneath its red, overhanging leaves. Sitting beside him, she retrieved a small circular box from her storage ring. It opened with a soft hiss, and a tiny mechanical lobster climbed out, scuttling up Joe's chest before settling there. With a series of beeps and blinking lights, it scanned him.

When the device returned to the box, Rose's eyes flashed as the results appeared before her.

"Poison," she muttered with frustration. Her gaze dropped to Joe's fingertips, now turning black. She pressed her lips together, deep in thought. The smart choice would be to do nothing, let the poison run its course and solve the bond issue for her. But that didn't sit right anymore. Not after the dance. Not after him. She rubbed her forehead, scolding herself. What are you doing? This isn't like you. He was a nuisance. An inconvenience forced on her by an uncaring system. So why was she hesitating now?

Why was one dance enough to change her attitude towards him? She flicked her fingers, summoning one of her hidden maids. Moments later, the maid appeared, carrying a cup of tea and an empty vase. The vase was set beside her, and the tea was placed into her hands. Delicately, the maid reached up and removed the flower from Rose's hair, putting it into the vase. Its pleasant aroma drifted upward, soft and sweet.

Rose closed her eyes and sipped her tea in silence, trying to make sense of her tangled thoughts, while beside her, Joe lay unconscious, his body slowly blackening with every passing moment. __ Joe swam through an endless ocean. He glanced down at his fins as they propelled him through the water with ease. Something was wrong. He shook his fish head and kept swimming. A strange calmness wrapped around him. His life was finally ending. No more responsibilities, no more problems, just eternal swimming. He was free.

Something was wrong. He shook his head again, trying to clear the thought. Where was he? Still, he swam on, floating in perfect bliss as the ocean moved in ways that didn't feel quite right. What was that? Something was wrong. A faint sound echoed through the depths, a voice, distant and female. He paused, listening, then dismissed it. It wasn't his concern anymore. He pushed forward, accepting the peace. Everything turned white. Now, he was a frog, bouncing lazily along a cloud.

He hopped, rolled, stood, and bounced again. Somewhere far away, he heard a voice. Another murmur, another distraction. He ignored it. It wasn't his problem. He had left those behind. Everything turned white. He was an eagle, soaring through the skies, wings spread wide. He glided upward toward a blinding light, drawn to it. But the sky trembled, and he plummeted. He flapped furiously, wings cutting the air. Until he stopped falling and began to soar again. The voice returned, soft, alluring, familiar.

It echoed faintly across the clouds. He faltered. He stopped flapping and fell. Everything turned white. Now, he sat in a room with no doors, no windows. No light. Just walls. Just emptiness. Just him. He curled into himself, arms wrapped around his knees. He was naked. Cold. He mumbled quietly to no one. Then he lay in a coffin, deep underground. No light. No air. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't move. He couldn't scream. Everything turned white.

__ Daisy watched as Joe's now entirely black body started to crack and flake. He was dying before her eyes. Rose sat in silence beside her, watching closely. She was deep in thought. A twinkle of curiosity filled her eyes. Suddenly, there was a pulse of light from Rose's left breast. It was the bond of fate.

"What is happening?" Daisy asked, leaning forward to examine Joe's form.

"He was swimming, but now he is flying. Where are you going?" Rose replied, her words fading to a whisper. Daisy didn't understand what she was talking about, so she just sat and watched. __ Joe's body fell still. Rose felt one final pulse through the bond, a warm, lingering flicker of longing, and before she could stop herself, she leaned forward, laying her body gently on top of his.

"Where are you going?" She whispered. __ Joe felt warmth wrap around him like a cocoon. A surge of power ignited deep within, and the fog clouding his mind cracked, then shattered. What was he doing? Why was he letting go? Why was he dying? No. He screamed, his lips cracking. The roar escaping his throat was filled with the will to live. Something was poisoning him, burrowing into his thoughts, trying to drag him down. But a spark lit inside him, flaring brilliantly. He refused to die.

__ Daisy gasped as Joe's body suddenly moved, his blackened arms crackling like burning paper as they wrapped around Rose. His mouth opened wide, and a primal scream tore from him, a raw, feral sound that sent a chill through the air. She instinctively stepped back, eyes wide. For the briefest instant, his aura flared, despite the palace's suppression field meant to protect lower-ranked staff from overwhelming pressure.

And in that sliver of exposed power, Daisy saw something that made her question everything she thought she knew about this high human. Who was he? __ Joe felt something profound pulse inside him; a spark formed in his mind. He immediately knew what to do, and for the third time, he activated his Bloodline ability…

"Eternal Moment," Joe said as his vision turned black. __ Rose blinked as her vision returned to her. Where was she? She was no longer in her body. Instead, she floated in a vast room inside a castle, weightless and unseen. Turning to her side, she spotted Joe hovering beside her. She gasped. His spiritual form looked awful, like a ghost drained of life. Though it was only a projection, to her eyes, he looked dead. He didn't seem to notice her. His gaze was locked downward, filled with sorrow.

Curious, Rose followed his line of sight. Below them, three children stood in the centre of an empty hall: one girl and two boys. The two boys were playing some kind of game with their fingers, perhaps to decide who would dance with the girl. The taller boy with short blond hair won. The smaller, dark-haired boy stepped away, his shoulders sagging with quiet disappointment. The girl smiled and took the blond boy's hands. Together, they began to dance. Rose's eyes widened. It was the Varonothray.

The same version Joe had taught her, the true version. Her eyes welled up as she watched the two children move through the delicate steps, mirroring the dance that had brought so much confusion and emotion to her life. Was this a memory? No… the boys didn't resemble Joseph at all. Still, she watched, enraptured. When the dance came to an end, the boy caught the girl mid-twirl and kissed her. So, a kiss truly was the final step. A twinkle lit her gaze as an idea formed in her mind. She turned to Joe and paused.

His ghostly face was streaked with tears. A moment passed, and the scene shifted. They now stood in a sunlit field. The girl, now a grown woman, knelt before a gravestone. Rose's heart sank. It belonged to the blond boy. The woman wept softly, grief etched into every motion. After some time, she stood. A small man approached, older now, but clearly the same dark-haired boy from before. He embraced her gently. Rose and Joe drifted after them as the two figures reached a nearby village.

The man wore the livery of a noble. The woman, humble and strong, wore simple clothes. Their story flowed into Rose's mind. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it The woman had been a princess once, but gave up her royal title to marry the blond boy, an ordinary villager. They'd lived a quiet life, filled with love, until he died defending their home from bandits. The nobleman, the dark-haired boy, had loved her from the beginning.

He visited often, still unmarried, still carrying a quiet love he never confessed. Out of respect for his fallen friend, he said nothing. Before leaving, he slipped a small pouch of coins into her pocket, unnoticed, and disappeared. And then the scene changed again. The woman was now tied up in a dim room filled with bandits. They had targeted her as a lone widow, an easy mark. The men were shouting, arguing over who would get to have her first. Rose turned away. She didn't want to witness what came next.

She didn't want to watch the poor woman suffer. But then she heard a scuffle, shouting, the clash of steel, and turned back. The small prince had arrived. Sword in hand, he burst into the room like a vengeful storm. He struck down three bandits with swift, precise blows. But seven remained, and they showed no honour. They fought dirty, surrounding him, throwing dust into his eyes, and using the woman as a shield. Still, the prince fought on. He was wounded badly, a deep, fatal slash cut across his side.

But with nothing left to lose, he pressed forward and struck down the final two bandits in a flurry of desperate strikes. He collapsed beside the woman, blood soaking the floor. With trembling fingers, he cut the bindings, freeing her. She immediately dropped to the ground, cradling his head in her lap as tears streamed down her cheeks. He never got to say the words he had carried his entire life. He died there, in her arms. Rose couldn't hold back her tears.

They fell freely as the scene dissolved into white, and she was pulled back into her body. __ Joe remained frozen, watching as the prince died in the arms of the woman he loved. The quiet tragedy of it all weighed heavily on him. He wiped a tear from his cheek; only then did he notice the faint shimmer of a figure beside him. It was Rose. She was floating near him just as he was. Had she been here this whole time? He turned slightly toward her.

He gazed at her as a soft glow radiated from the left side of her chest. His eyes dropped to his own chest, right where the bond tattoo was. It was softly glowing, too. Their eyes met, and in that moment, something unspoken passed between them. A wordless understanding. A connection formed, something that needed no explanation. Above Rose's head, the image of a petal formed, glowing softly. Then it exploded in a burst of light, like a firework, echoing silently across the dream. Joe woke up.

He was back in his body. He was on the verge of death. Poison coursed through every inch of him, assaulting his body and mind. He felt the warm weight atop him, and a sudden blaze of fury ignited within. Determination surged through his veins. Someone had done this and had tried to end his life. Cracked lips parted as sound tore from his throat, startling those nearby. He had to purge the poison, cleanse his body. He needed something. Anything.

A flicker in the back of his mind pulsed, and a smile broke across his scorched face as he activated Uriel's Light. A radiant glow spread through him. Light poured from the cracks in his skin, gleaming like sunlight through shattered glass. Rose jerked back from him, pulling herself away. He felt the poison within him burn, seared into nothingness by the purifying light and closed his eyes. Joe awoke sometime later beneath the shade of a tall red-leafed tree that drooped overhead like a willow.

The world was still and quiet. He turned his head and saw her, Rose. The pink-skinned Mortifi sat nearby, staring into the distance. Her expression was calm, serene, a mask of perfect control. Joe winced as he sat up. The tender, freshly healed skin along his back tugged painfully. He groaned.

"What the hell hit me?" he muttered. He froze as he looked down at his hands. They were covered in black, flaking skin. He rubbed at a patch, which crumbled away, revealing fresh, new, tanned skin beneath.

"Daisy," Rose said quietly, not looking at him. A blade touched his throat.

"Don't move," came a sharp whisper. He obeyed, of course. Even though confusion clouded his thoughts. Rose stood and approached, then sat before him, carefully spreading her skirt around her. A glowing red orb appeared in her hand. She pressed into its side, and with a click, a shimmering bubble expanded around them. The tension was thick. Joe felt it settle over him like a shroud. Fear flickered through his chest.

"Princess," Daisy protested behind him. Rose raised her hand, silencing her.

"We don't have much time," she said, turning her gaze on Joe. Her voice softened.

"What do you want to do? About the bond?" The blade lifted from his throat, and he exhaled slowly. Relief cleared his mind like a morning breeze. He rubbed his neck, which, to his surprise, was unmarked. He glanced back as Daisy stepped around him and sat beside Rose. The two Mortifi watched him closely, and he could feel the weight of their question pressing down. What did he want to do... About the bond?

"Can you tell me what the bond means? Is it dangerous to either of us?" Joe asked. Deep down, he felt like losing the bond would be a mistake, but he wasn't sure why. Was that truly his own feeling? Or was something influencing him? The system? The bond itself? He was too confused to tell.

"Daisy knows the intricacies of fate better than I do," Rose replied, her gaze shifting to the woman beside her.

"Can you explain it?"

"Yes, Princess." Daisy's tone turned formal, and it put Joe on edge.

"I won't describe everything I know of fate; that would take too long, and as the princess said, time is limited. A Bond of Fate has two primary purposes: to tie one life to another… and to connect those two souls, bringing them into encounters of fate. If the bond remains, and it shouldn't," Daisy paused to cast Rose a long, pointed look, her disapproval unmistakable, "then both of your lives will be connected until death or a severing of the bond. This means you will share emotions.

A form of mental connection will develop, allowing limited contact… eventually, even across Universes. It also means you'll be pulled, often unwillingly, into fate encounters. These are designed to strengthen the bond through trials. Or…" Daisy didn't need to finish that last sentence. Joe sat still, trying to absorb what she'd just said. Daisy then turned her full attention to Rose.

"Princess, you must not let the bond remain. It will bring nothing but trouble. You don't even know… this High Human." Joe was sweating as Daisy's stern eyes landed on him. He tried to mask his anxiety, but her words stirred too many thoughts for him to keep his expression neutral. Fate encounters? A mental connection across universes? Just how far away was he from Earth right now?

"What are fate encounters?" he asked, interrupting Daisy just as she was about to press her case further with Rose.

"They are usually battles or tasks to strengthen one's soul. Both of you will be dragged into them, and the survival rate is always low," Daisy said firmly.

"There is a reason Bonds of Fate are rare."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Joe replied. He honestly thought it sounded like something he could handle. He was already used to fighting beasts almost non-stop. That thought made him pause. Was he really used to fighting that much now? Oh, how things had changed.

"You speak from ignorance," Daisy snapped.

"All battles will be D-grade because of Rose's level. You'd be killed in an instant." Oh…

"Then wouldn't that solve the issue?" Joe asked.

"If I died during one of these fate encounters, then Rose would be free."

"Both lives are tied together during a fate encounter; if one dies..." Oh…

"Princess, this idiot knows nothing. You can't seriously be considering keeping the bond?" Ouch, that was harsh. But… kinda true. Rose focused on Joe, ignoring Daisy's disapproval for the moment.

"Thoughts?" she asked. He closed his eyes, running through what Daisy had said. D-grade trials sounded brutal, sure. But he'd have a D-grade companion… and time spent with a beautiful princess? Honestly, that didn't sound like the worst fate. The idea of sharing emotions, though… that was strange. A little terrifying. He weighed the pros and cons for about three seconds.

"Son of a bitch, I'm in," he said, holding his hand out in front of him.

"Son of a bitch?" Rose's long, golden eyebrow started to wiggle.

"Ignore that," Joe grinned.

"Just a quote." That twinkle of curiosity returned to Rose's eye as she smiled. She took his hand, and they shook on it, sealing the deal.

"Wait, I know why I want the bond kept. I kinda don't want to die. But why do you want to keep the bond?" he asked. A sudden premonition of impending doom swept over him as Rose gave the most devilishly wicked smile he had ever seen on such a perfect face. Before she could answer, the bubble surrounding them popped, and a short red Mortifi descended from above. This time, it wasn't the crackling, lightning-cloaked projection of the God of Eludia. It was the real thing.

Joe's head slammed awkwardly against the ground as Daisy appeared beside him. He hadn't even seen her move. He coughed up a bit of blood.

"Daughter, why is he still alive?" Catalina asked, her voice sultry and melodic, the sound itself sending a wave of euphoria through Joe's mind once more. If he could have arranged his thoughts properly, he might have reflected on how much he hated that feeling. Nothing good ever followed it.

"Mother. Stop," Rose said firmly. Joe heard Catalina land softly nearby, but she didn't take another step.

"Daughter? I have given you much freedom… but this? This is pushing it," Catalina snapped, her voice cool and sharp. Joe immediately regretted ever setting foot in this palace, let alone being dragged into this bizarre quest. He silently begged the system to teleport him far, far away.

"Mother, I'm sorry," Rose said.

"Let him leave. I will deal with the bond in my own way."

"Why? I can end it here, and we can move on."

"We are bound by fate. He is mine."

"What does that mean?"

"It means he is my new pet," Rose declared with a defiant stomp of her foot, "and I will be responsible for him." Joe winced at the word pet. Fuck, I should have said no. Mana suddenly wrapped around him, locking every muscle in place. He couldn't move a hair. Slowly, he was pulled upright into a kneeling position, his head forced up to meet the eyes of Catalina Terravignion for the first time. As he stared into the eyes of the God before him, the resemblance to Rose was unmistakable.

There was no doubt they were mother and daughter, and that realization scared the hell out of him.

"You, boy. Tell my daughter you do not want to be her pet," Catalina commanded, shifting Joe's immobilised body to face Rose. Rose stared defiantly at her mother, only flicking her eyes toward Joe briefly. Joe felt a strange tug, familiar in a way, just like the pull he'd experienced before activating his Random Teleportation skill. A system message flashed in the corner of his vision, counting down from ten. He didn't have much time.

"Rose… God, erm, Catalina?" Rose gave a slight nod, silently confirming her mother's name.

"Right, Catalina." Joe cleared his throat.

"I apologize for everything, but it's been a very long day. I, Joseph… Aristotle Caldwell, swear to uphold the Bond of Fate and vow never to do anything that endangers Rose, until the day I die." His words hung in the air for a beat. Everyone stared at him. Then, without any fanfare, Joe vanished.