Black String of Fate

On a lonely evening road, a young man sitting on a bandwagon could be seen, riding along and admiring the sunset. He looked to be close to his teenage years, but not quite there yet. From his attire, it was obvious that he was an adventurer, and from the dirt that had gathered over that fit, it was also obvious that he was returning from a quest.

"So, are you an adventurer, boy? At your age?" Explore more at m,v l'e-m|p| y r

The cart driver, who was just an old farmer selling his produce, asked the boy out of curiosity. The boy, with his profound red eyes, looked at the farmer and replied,

"Yeah, and a C-ranked one at that too. You're quite lucky, old man, you found me."

"Hohoho, that I am. Honestly, I've heard the roads are being terrorized by bandits these days. I'm no longer a fit young man who can scare those scoundrels away, so it's nice that you came across me."

In the whole world of Ardan, there was a strange tradition that was coincidentally practiced in all corners of the world since time immemorial. The adventurers, who look for ways to reach their destination, often hop on the carts of farmers selling their produce. The adventurers protect the farmer and his produce, and the farmer in turn gives them a ride.

It was an unspoken tradition of mutual convenience.

Xavier, who was sitting idly by, brought out an emerald green gem the size of a fist. It was intricately crafted, and when Xavier put it in his direct line of sight with the sunset, allowing the dusky rays to pass through it, he saw a brilliant, harmonic glitter that left him mesmerized.

'The elven queen… I suppose her attention isn't that bad, though what did she see in me that made her give me this gem?'

It had been two years since he initiated, as well as met the elven queen. He still remembered that day like yesterday, partly because such an uncommon event hadn't occurred after that day.

*************

"I'm done with my final goodbyes, now speak, what business do you have with me?"

"Ho? Look at your tone, boy. I'm the queen of the elves, that title alone deserves endless respect."

"...When have I been disrespectful? I just asked what business you have with me."

The queen, who had been watching this eccentric boy ever since he came around these parts, was intrigued by his behavior. For example, she was sure that he knew what she was referring to, but he still chose to play dumb. This meant that he did not want to take the lower stand in their confrontation.

"Well, whatever. It was only due to idle curiosity that I observed you. You know, this is not a place I made available for outsiders…"

Xavier had a confused face, so the queen explained further,

"That means, you trespassed into the domain of a Crafted Savant. It was meant to be hidden, but you found it anyway. Don't you have anything to say about that?"

"Oh, so this was a personal garden. I apologize, I intruded on your quiet time. Honestly, my senses told me that there was an incredible place nearby, so I stumbled upon this garden that seemingly appeared out of nowhere…

I can bury my comrades elsewhere if the corpses disturb you that much."

"No, you don't need to do that. I could see that you valued your companions, as you still dared to dig a hole and bury them despite my looming presence. Besides, digging up a buried friend would be highly disrespectful and be similar to the actions of a grave robber. Though I am by no means a nice person, I still have some decency.

Besides, now I'm more interested in you than this garden. Since you're already in my domain, I'll do this now."

The elven queen mysteriously smiled, and Xavier immediately got an extremely bad feeling. Before he could even turn around and run, the queen snapped her fingers, and Xavier froze in place.

*sigh*

He let out a deep sigh as he said,

"Is this the rumored Courtroom of Truth? You used such an exhausting ability on me?"

The queen giggled as she closed up on Xavier's face. He could see the mischievousness in her eyes, and he now knew that he was in big trouble.

'Damn, first a Grandmaster, now a Savant. What is up with these powerhouses concentrating on this remote area? Why am I encountering such beings so often in the first place?'

"How do you know about the Courtroom of Truth?"

"You used it against me once before."

Xavier, who subconsciously blurted out such a confusing truth, cursed his luck. This was the ability of the Courtroom of Truth, the Innate Gift of the elven queen. She can deploy an area of her choosing to be the sanctum of truth, where no lie can be uttered. While it had drawbacks like being able to use it only occasionally, it was one of the greatest non-combat-oriented Innate Gifts to ever exist.

The elven queen was baffled after hearing this reply, she then further asked,

"When did I ever use this ability on you before?"

"In a past that you can never see, in a future that will never come to exist…"

"...Riddles, so you even know how to counter this domain a little. Interesting…

You know, I'm tempted to kill you. I'm pretty sure that you know that you stand no chance against a Savant like me, so why do you act so fearless?"

Xavier tried to keep his mouth shut, but this damned Innate Gift forced it open.

"If you wanted to kill me, you would've already done so. Besides, I don't feel any hostility, and you're not on the level to be able to hide such things from me."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I have reached heights far greater than you could imagine. While I have lost my powers, I'm still the same person."

Xavier finally revealed the information that the queen wanted to hear. She smiled and asked him,

"Oh? What level of power had you achieved?"

"Something you can never hope to reach."

"Don't play these tricks with me, what rank? What sub-rank?"

"...Crafted Archon."

Those two words left the queen in such a shock that she became speechless.

"You… Are you able to lie in this domain?"

"No, you know it very well that such a thing isn't possible for anyone weaker than you."

"But the things you say are absolutely ridiculous. There's only one being in the world that has ever been in that rank, and you're saying that you too reached that height?"

"You're talking about Salazar, right? He was weaker than me in my prime. I'm not saying his feats were lesser than mine, but he definitely would've lost against me in a fight."

The queen was now utterly baffled. By talking to him, she could tell that he was saying things he did not want to say, and was not faking it by somehow lying inside the courtroom. This was legit, he really was a Crafted Archon in his prime, but this gave rise to even more questions.

"How? When? Where? How could I not have known you if you were a Crafted Archon? I'm the queen of the elves, I'm pretty sure there aren't many people out there more knowledgeable than me…"

Xavier, who thought that she would be satisfied with just a few questions, sighed when he finally got reminded of the ever-curious nature of this queen.

'Elaina Leafcrystal, the aloof queen. It was said that this character would oftentimes disregard her position and standing if something intrigued her enough. Though, with the knowledge she had gained due to her curious nature, she became one of the wisest queens to ever rule the race of the elves.'

He sat down on the ground and said,

"Elaina, I see that you won't let me go until you hear the whole of my story. Today's already been extremely tiring, so don't mind if I skip a lot of details."

Elaina, the queen, was surprised at the sudden change to such a casual attitude. She obediently sat down and hugged her thighs, looking like an innocent girl about to hear the epics of a knight.

'...I see why people still secretly adore her despite her age. Well, let's just get this over with.'

And so, Xavier began telling her the story of a parallel timeline, one told from the perspective of a young boy who was born to be a slum thug, tried to become a revolutionary, but ended up being the demon king. It was a tale of no happy endings, no beautiful moments, and no real depth. It was simply tragedy after tragedy.

Due to Xavier being inside her courtroom, she had no choice but to accept his story as a truth. Even without that, it still held credibility due to the gritty details he described in certain moments, even though he said he wouldn't get into them.

Xavier also eventually forgot that he was just doing it to satisfy someone's curiosity. He started enjoying telling his tale, and he told it like an old man telling the stories of his life to little children.