Bab 69: The Ru Paradox
The question 'What am I?' was written on the crystal wall. The writing multiplied with similar questions.
'Why am I imprisoned?'
'What did I do?'
'What is my crime?'
'Why am I in the crystal tower?'
'I want my innocence back.'
"Give it back to me!"
The word "Never" echoed through all timelines that belonged to Ru. Between him and his innocence were golden bars.
Ru saw himself in that giant birdcage. And the Ru in the cage was reaching out to him through the bars.
"Never open that cage," the words stirred up a violent wind in the area.
Ru managed to stay upright, but the wind pushed him back. He searched for something to hold on to or a place to take shelter behind. But in the circular space, he found nothing but the golden birdcage and the abyss surrounding it.
"Get away from it," the voice said, and this time, the wind's speed doubled.
Struggling against the wind, Ru hissed, "Why?"
"Because I don't want to remember. Not this time," the voice said sadly and the raindrops began to mix with the wind.
"But you already know everything," Ru said, continuing to resist.
"I'll forget everything when you're done. If you don't know, I don't know either," the voice said, more tearful and more rainy.
"Stop crying! Don't talk like you're going to kill yourself," Ru shouted at the top of his lungs.
"I will, actually," the voice replied, cold as ice.
Ru was swept into the unknown along with the blizzard coming at him. When the snow on his face blew away, he opened his eyes. He was sitting in a chair, and in front of him was Almighty Ru, sitting on the broken throne of the Crystal Tower.
They faced each other in a dual space made up of a dimly lit room and the crystal tower. The atmosphere was calm, and the setting was incredibly quiet.
Ru broke the silence, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
"I'm not talking nonsense. I'm explaining how we're going to get rid of the burden of the past," Almighty Ru said, looking thoughtful, his elbow on the armrest, and his index finger on his temple.
"I don't have a burden of the past," Ru said, leaning forward.
"If you open that cage, the past will collapse on you and suffocate you," Almighty Ru said, raising an eyebrow.
"If I don't open the cage, I won't fully regain my magical powers. I'll start the game as a loser who doesn't even know what he is. And I'll lose," Ru said.
"I've given you enough magic power; you don't need to open the cage," Almighty Ru insisted.
"Hey, I'm talking about losing the game here. I mean, I'm saying game over, Mr. Merciless Ancient King," Ru said, leaning back and taking a deep breath, "Ugh!"
"You won't lose, I mean, we won't lose. Just trust us a little," Almighty Ru said.
"I get it, you're suicidal. At least don't drag me down with you," Ru said.
"The only way I can be freed from eternal captivity is if I die and merge with my last clone, you," Almighty Ru said.
"Will we be two consciousnesses or one? And how can I be sure my consciousness won't be consumed by you, quote-unquote, Mr. Worst Ru?" Ru asked.
"Where did you get that I'm the worst?" Almighty Ru asked.
"I mean, you took your innocence and put it in a cage. And you ended up in a cosmic prison. Plus, you killed and transformed human babies with your seeds. I was one of those babies, whoever I once was," Ru said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Human babies near death, especially orphans born sick and crippled. You were one of them. You owe your health, particularly your legs, to me, Mr. Questioning," Almighty Ru said.
"I could have been myself even if I were confined to a wheelchair," Ru said.
"What you don't understand is that you are yourself, which means you are me, you idiot. The baby you're talking about has long since died. So it didn't have time to develop a consciousness," Almighty Ru said.
Ru put on imaginary glasses, took Claude's stance, and mimicked his voice, "Split personality, hmm." Crossing his legs, he tucked a lock of hair behind his ear and added, "You need to face the truth, even if it's painful."
"Facing the truth before the game starts will make us weak against our enemies. You know that only I know the name of our greatest enemy. And I have no intention of giving that name to you or anyone else until I die," Almighty Ru said.
"Isn't that your whole thing? That djinn sultan... I get it, you were raped," Ru said.
"Shut that damn mouth of yours," Almighty Ru yelled.
"Knew it," Ru said, his eyes shining, and his shoulders lifted. Then he hit the wall of truth and fell. "I was raped!"
"Brainless," Almighty Ru said.
"Was Anaxarete the witch who sold you to the genies in exchange for a valuable artifact?" Ru asked. Almighty Ru was about to answer when Ru quickly laid out his revenge plan, "Here's what I think we should do: let's invite the witch into the game and finish her off inside. Let's even summon the sultan and kill him too. Let them be gone forever."
Almighty Ru showed his discomfort by turning his head and rubbing his forehead. After taking a deep breath, he said, "We have far more enemies than you realize."
"Then give me your blacklist. If you're really me, you must have made a list, and I'm sure it's very long," Ru said.
"That's true, I have a rather long list. But you can't invite the game masters and observers into the game," Almighty Ru said.
"Oh, damn it, and whatever," Ru said. And he started voicing his thoughts again, "Jasper? Amunet? Or the vampire lord? Oh, don't tell me Misha is one of the game masters."
"All of them. But most importantly, the one who's trying to infiltrate your mind, the sorcerer," Almighty Ru said.
"The sorcerer who wants the djinn's seal?" Ru asked.
"Yes, him. He's the most dangerous because I know very little about him," Almighty Ru said, narrowing his eyes.
"What about Misha?"
"Misha will be in the game. Please don't fall in love with her," Almighty Ru said, raising his index finger.
"Don't tell me I fell in love with her, please," Ru said, pursing his lips.
"We'll stick with Claude. He's the best option for us," Almighty Ru said, nodding as if confirming himself.
"Claude is good, but I wonder what he really is?" Ru asked.
"His aura is completely clean. He gives off the impression of a good being," Almighty Ru said.
"And he likes me," Ru said, then coughed, "Ahem!"
"No problem, sweet boy," Almighty Ru said.
"Who's the sweet boy?"
"Claude. But still, don't get too attached to him. Because aura masters can change their auras," Almighty Ru warned.
"Good to know," Ru said and paused a bit. Then he looked directly at Almighty Ru and said, "I can merge with you, but I have one condition."
"Vaelan and Clockmaker?" Almighty Ru asked.
"Yes," Ru said, nodding quickly.
"They must be alive. And as we know, they're invited to the game. Ask the vampire lord to save them both," Almighty Ru said.
"Then I'll find another condition," Ru said, putting his hand on his chin and starting to think.
"What a bad person you are." Almighty Ru said, then added, "We're both wicked and selfish."
"Shut up! I've listened to you long enough, and now it's my turn," Ru snapped.
"Fine," Almighty Ru said.
In the silence that followed, the rooms moved toward each other, and the objects partially merged.
Ru again broke the silence, "Were we raped?"
Almighty Ru nearly fell from his broken throne, "Ah!"
"What 'ah'! I want to know, what's wrong with that," Ru demanded. He couldn't help but speak out, adding, "Is it so hard to say, 'I was not raped'?"
Almighty Ru adjusted his sitting position and said, "Knowing something about this subject will not do you any good, stupid."
Ru quickly raised and lowered his eyebrows, "You can't say 'no.'"
Almighty Ru did the same, "But if you notice, I can't say 'yes' either."
Ru grinned, "Are you in love with the djinn sultan?"
Almighty Ru slammed his fists on the armrests of the throne, "Yes, I was madly in love with him, that's why I destroyed him. Until you came along and discovered him!"
Ru leaned forward and asked, "How did I do that?"
Almighty Ru was looking up as if deciphering an invisible script. "I think you activated one of the seals while trying to sense and make sense of my fear."
Ru nodded, "Makes sense."
There was a brief silence. The duality of the space turned into a complex unity as the chair and throne pulled closer together.
"I have one more question. If you answer, I might agree to merge with you," Ru said.
"Ask," Almighty Ru commanded.
"When you merge with me, will the demon king's heart be mine?"
"Yes."
"Good."
In the silence that followed, the complexity blurred. The two Ru were almost intertwined. Though they faced opposite directions, they saw the same void.
Ru spoke, "Could you have taken anything from a dragon?"
Almighty Ru asked, "Like what?"
"A horn, a tooth, a scale, etc."
"Let's say a dragon gave it."
"Awesome! Because I love dragons."
"I hate dragons."
"Don't tell me you have a dragon enemy!"
"I do, I am his slayer."
"Oh!"
"But other dragons might hate me because I killed their king."
"Why do you always target kings?"
"Because I'm a king."
"Screw you!"
Two spaces dressed on four walls and weaved the thousand-doored corridors of the golden palace. Both Ru's disappeared at once, leaving only their voices to be heard.
"Ruling over dragons again would be amazing," one of them said.
"I want to ride a dragon," the other replied.
"Careful, the dragon may mount you," they both said simultaneously.
"What do you mean? What kind of talk is that?" the unified voice asked.
"I'll speak however I want," Ru said, his voice coming from one of the thousand rooms.
“And I certainly don't need your permission to talk the way I want,” Ru continued, unknown where and to whom he was speaking.
"Ah, yes. Go ahead, talk all you want. I wonder what other nonsense you'll spout?" asked The Sorcerer, tired of searching for and failing to find him.
In the end, "That's enough for today," The Sorcerer said snapping his fingers and shutting all the doors of the golden palace at once.
Hadiah
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