The Solitude of an Emperor [TO BE UNPUBLISHED]

26 : The Phases

Duke Esteban could not sleep the whole night while thinking about the sudden rejection of Princess Darya. He is certain that he got her on his side but she suddenly changed when 'that' man appeared nowhere!

He dropped himself on his bed after messing up his room due to his rage. If it was not because of the First Princess earlier, he might have done something awful in front of the nobles. Since when did he start losing his temper?

The dream, it started because of that dream! He thought that it was real but maybe the gods are deceiving him!

"We are not deceiving you, human."

Esteban was alerted upon hearing a strange voice nowhere. He got up from lying as he looked around his dark room. "Who are you?" He made sure that no one is around his room. He even sent his butler away.

"You should be thankful that I have shown you a glimpse of the supposed future."

"Who are you?! Show up!" He exclaimed.

"No. I am just somewhere in your room. You will never see me."

He flinched and stopped looking where the voice was coming from. He tried calming down as he thought that it might be really a god.

"You are such a foolish human being. Such fools and fools."

Just by hearing these words, he can imagine this being to be shaking its head in disappointment.

"What is your purpose?" He began asking. Is this the god who showed him the dream? If this god is able to show him that, can he ask about what came further from that dream?

"You are the one who summoned me, why are you asking me about my purpose?"

"Summon?" Did he ever summon anything? "Are you a devil?"

"That's too heartbreaking from a human who begged me to turn back the time."

His eyes widened. "Turn back time?"

"So clueless. This is the consequence of asking too much."

"Did I beg you to turn back time? Does this mean... the dream... were you the one who showed me the dream?"

"Those are a glimpse of your memories in your past life."

"Please show me everything in my past life." He does not know but he wants to know this 'past life'. Everything is so confusing. If he ever begged this god to turn back the time, why did he ask for it? Why?

"I am not capable of showing you all those memories as I am the lowest of the gods, human. However, I can only show you three phases of your memories and I have already shown you the first phases."

"Phases? What are these phases?"

"Do you really want me to show you another phase of your memories?"

He was not able to speak as he thought about the first dream he had. If that dream was real, it means that he got together with Princess Darya in his first life. But if the time rewinds, it means that Princess Darya should be acting just the way it was portrayed in his memories but why... isn't she doing the same? Is it perhaps...

"Were the people in my past life able to recover their memories from the past as well?"

"We, gods, are limited in numbers. We select very few from the humans to regard as our apostles."

"Apostle?"

"Yes. Since I did not select you, you are not my apostle. You have called for me so you are not my master nor I am your foe."

He does not understand anything from what this being is saying. A while ago, it was about turning back the time, then about past life, and now the apostle?

"Is there perhaps a person that is not going according to the first phase I have shown you?"

He flinched. Memories of Princess Darya in his dreams and in reality are not the same.

"Yes."

"That person might be an apostle."

So... Princess Darya is an apostle of a god? Does she have memories of their past lives? Is this the reason why she is not acting the same? Is it perhaps related to their past lives that she rejected him?

"Please show me another phase in my memories."

There was a silence in the space for a minute. It worried him for a second that the being might have left.

"I will provide you with choices." He finally heard the being again. And somehow he got nervous of hearing these choices which he must choose carefully.

"You have six phases in your memories. The first phase was your childhood life. The second phase was your teen-age life. The third phase was your marriage. The fourth phase was your post-marriage."

Post-marriage? Is it about after his marriage to Princess Darya? What happened at that time? Is Princess Darya in his post-marriage life?

"The fifth phase was your regrets. The sixth phase was your resolution."

Regrets? What are his regrets? Are these the reasons why he summoned this god?

"I have already shown you the third phase which is your marriage. You can only choose two from the choices. What could it be?"

He felt the weakening of his limbs just by thinking about what to choose. What if he chooses the wrong phase? How can he know what really happened in his past life that might happen in the future? He should choose somewhat from the fourth phase to the sixth phase. It will surely contain the future and he wants to be ready for it.

"I choose the fourth phase."

"Are you sure, human?"

He gulped. "Yes." He wants to know what happened after those happy memories.

"Remember that I can only show you glimpses as I am just the lowest of the gods. And once I have shown you three phases of your memories, I will no longer exist in this world."

Upon hearing what the god said, he suddenly felt like changing his choice but he got nervous that he just chose what he thought about first. There he felt the sleepiness in his eyes as he fell on his bed, sleeping soundly.

Memories of his happy marriage with Kathika were then portrayed. He became the Emperor of the Largoth Empire and his son, Lorenzo, is the Crown Prince. It is a dream where Princess Darya was never seen.

***
END OF CHAPTER 26
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