Chapter 123 The Sealed Essence

"Ch...sen O...?"

The voice sounded far away.

"Chosen One!"

I struggled to open my eyes. The whiteness in front of me slowly took shape as I tried to focus.

An advertisement I had seen as a child came to mind. A huge, white, fluffy character...

"Sir Marshmallow..." I mumbled.

As my eyelids began to close again, my lips moved.

"Can I finally eat you?"

"Please, Sir Henry. I may have sworn you my loyalty, but this old man would prefer not to be eaten."

For several seconds, I stared blankly.

Then I recognized the face in the middle of all that white.

"Oswald!"

I quickly sat up. The inflatable cushion rocked beneath me, and I pressed a hand against it to steady myself.

The living room.

I was still at home.

And the old man was leaning over me with a worried expression.

"Did I do it?"

My heart began to race as I looked at Oswald’s face.

"Did I awaken the essence of night?"

After a brief silence, he lowered his head slightly.

"Unfortunately not."

My shoulders slumped.

"No?"

I brought a hand to my chest. To the place where pain, sadness, and that strange warmth had come together...

I hadn’t forgotten what I had just felt. I was certain something inside me had moved when I remembered Aria’s face. I didn’t want to put it down to longing alone.

"But I felt something."

Instead of answering, Oswald stroked his beard. He looked as though he were choosing his words.

"In fact, you had succeeded."

I raised my head.

"What? But you just—"

"Do you remember what I told you earlier?"

Before I could continue, his gaze dropped to my chest.

He didn’t seem to be looking at my T-shirt or the mark beneath it. It was as though he were examining something beyond the fabric, skin, and bones.

I instinctively straightened my back.

"I mentioned that there was a barrier inside you," he said. "A seal..."

My fingers went still against my chest.

"Sir Henry, there truly is a seal within your body. You began to connect with the essence, but the seal stopped you before the connection could be completed."

I looked at his face.

And waited.

A few seconds later, his words finally sank in.

"Wait... What? Why is there something like that in my body?"

"I don’t know."

I ran a hand over my face.

Of course he didn’t...

But couldn’t I hear some good news for once without something worse following it?

"Still, I have a few possibilities in mind," he continued.

"I’m listening."

"The first is that it was done by whoever sent you to this world."

I frowned.

"The second is that it’s a curse or seal previously placed on this body’s original owner."

I looked down at Noctis’s body.

I didn’t like being reminded of how much I still didn’t know about it.

"The third possibility is that it’s the work of an Archon."

"An Archon? What’s that?"

Every time this old fool opened his mouth, he brought up something else I knew nothing about. My brain was getting tired of it.

Oswald didn’t seem surprised by the question.

"You could compare them to gods. But their principles and desires are entirely different from those of a god."

After a brief pause, he added:

"The master of the Eternal Night is also an Archon. But I don’t believe this is their doing."

I opened my mouth.

Then closed it.

There were so many questions to ask that I didn’t want to ask any of them.

I let my head fall back onto the cushion and lay on my back. Oswald kept talking, but at some point, I stopped listening.

I stared at the ceiling.

Exhausting...

Why did my life suddenly feel even more complicated?

Archons, Harbingers, the Chosen One, Nexernim, the essence of night... And now there was a seal in my body, placed there by someone I didn’t even know.

I didn’t remember inviting any of this into my life.

Was there really no chance I could fall in love, marry the woman I loved, and live a comfortable, peaceful life?

I stared at the ceiling for a few more seconds.

I guess not.

"Old man."

Oswald fell silent.

"So what do I do now?"

When he turned toward me, the confidence had returned to his voice.

"Do not worry, Sir Henry. You can still use my essence."

I took my hand off my chest.

"However, it may be a little painful."

Pain, huh...

I looked at my fingers for a while. Over the past few days, I had stopped being surprised by that word.

"What about Fallen Moon Waltz?" I asked. "What happens with that? Are you going to give me dance lessons or something?"

Before I could stop myself, I imagined Oswald raising his arms and turning in short steps. His long beard swung from side to side as he kept time, looking at me with those pure white eyes.

I blinked several times to clear the image from my mind.

...I think I need to wash my eyes out.

Oswald, however, seemed pleased by the question. He straightened his back and puffed out his chest.

"That is my martial art!"

He made no attempt to hide his pride.

"The martial art I will teach you, Sir Henry."

I lifted my head slightly.

"Ooh... Great. Great."

I slowly clapped my hands.

"You’re so cool, old man. I can’t wait to learn. Yaaay."

Oswald stroked his beard in satisfaction.

This man was really easy to flatter.

Still, the prospect of learning a martial art had caught my interest. I was tired of constantly getting knocked down by Eris. Besides, I had seen how Oswald moved with my own eyes.

I hoped whatever he taught me would be at least a little useful.

For now, though, even getting up felt difficult enough.

I sat up on the cushion for a few seconds. Then I stood, picked up my phone, and checked the time.

The notification bar was empty.

I opened my messages and checked.

Still nothing.

"Not even a single message?"

I moved my thumb across the screen and exhaled.

"Really? I guess I’m not as loved as I thought."

"Sir Henry?"

"Hm?"

"May I ask you something?"

I kept looking at my phone.

"Yes. Anything you want."

Oswald didn’t speak right away. When the silence stretched on, I was about to look up.

"When you were trying to connect with the essence of night," he said, "what did you imagine?"

My finger stopped on the screen.

Aria...

The pain in my chest made itself known again. I had thought I had pushed her face out of my mind, but a single question was enough to bring it back.

I knew I needed to forget her.

What difference would it make at this point, anyway?

We were in different worlds now. If I hadn’t been able to find her in my old life, what could I do here?

I swallowed.

Then I looked at the old man.

"There was a girl I used to love," I said. "I was imagining myself beside her."

Oswald’s expression changed.

His gaze lingered on my face for a moment. Then he turned his head slightly. A faint sadness settled in his eyes as a small smile appeared on his lips.

"I see."

I looked at him for several seconds.

What was that about?

Why was he reacting like that?

Whatever.

I supposed he was thinking about something strange again.

I lowered my gaze to my phone, opened one of my saved photos, and enlarged it on the screen.

Marven Voss.

As I looked at his carefree smile in the photo, my fingers tightened around the phone.

Just wait a little longer.