Chapter 2: To be alive at what cost?
Gaius could hardly believe the man's antics. Was he too old to lose his mind? "We've been looking at your health no matter how dangerous it would be, for we are indebted to your life,"
After his death, Gaius had been experiencing bizarre things in his eyes. A God-like man named Cain, the void place, and creepy child singing: All in one day. The Butler continued wailing with more deafening sounds and annoyed Gaius' peace of mind. "Sir... Can you please stop crying now? I just woke up today and feel like I'm dying," he pleaded eagerly. The stabbing pang of his head vibrates into his brain, and he can barely breathe without a will focus. Another cry of them will make his head burst out loud into pieces.
Thankfully he stopped crying, and the maids shut their mouths. The guy whose eyes were full of misty—twitched on a wide-eyed gasp. Incoherent words babbled on his dried lips while he observed the sickly Emperor beating his head lightly.
The Butler was shaken to hear the Emperor's sudden change of demeanor. "Y-your Highness, Did you just call me Sir?" the man nervously asked. Gaius rubbed his templed and glared at the person below again. "Yeah, why?" he groaned, slightly annoyed that the pain was still present.
The man was left stuttering. "Your Highness, You—"
"Your Highness!?" another shaky and squealing voice called out at him outside the door.
At the door, an oddball guy with his hair tied loose. Its eyes were also teary. When he opened his mouth, it was all the sharp likeliness of a shark's teeth. Gaius slightly took a step back from the mattress, confused at this weird individual. When he glimpsed the attire he wore, it was foreign to him. It was like how Cain wore, but lesser in accessories. 'He also called me 'Your highness,' What's wrong with their minds, are they screw loose?' Gaius was alert with their behaviors.
The man kicked off the tray in front of him and also kneeled close to him as he cried. Ignoring Gaius' complaint. "You survived... the coma... I'm ah happy. Could this is a heaven-sent from God!" the second man shrieked. His sharp teeth made him agitated—how does he eat normally or when he bit his tongue—you know what, never mind.
The young man sitting and resting in the bed witnessed two stupid people crying over him. He didn't even get a breather to adjust to this new life. When Cain promised Gaius to give him a second life, he did not know what kind of deal he had gotten himself. Partially, maybe it was his fault after all. 'Hmph, That Cain-guy didn't tell me anything also, this should be his fault... I can't believe I got tricked.' Gaius, won't admit it was his fault. No, not today.
"Uh...Give me- Uhm...something to drink. I am thirsty...." he pleaded to ignore their wails completely. "As you wish..." The Butler dried out his tears and stood up quickly. He sniffled between words. Still sniffing till the man got outside at the door, till Gaius heard a shout inside.
"Your highness... fufufufu," the odd guy sniffed at the bed covers. Gaius got unhappy and patted the guy's shoulder softly. "Stop calling me that, and I'm not your Highness," Gaius hesitated. The guy froze on the spot.
It was quiet only for a short time.
The odd guy only sobbed more, and hot tears sank into his cheeks. Gaius can't understand if those tears were genuine or fake—the crying was too dramatic. "Don't say it like that, Your Highness... Just abandon that rule you set yourself into..." the guy sniffed. Gaius found himself dumbfounded again, and seriously this person wouldn't understand what he meant. The guy straightened up and darted at Gaius with a smudged face.
'Wha-what... Why is he looking at me like that-?'
The guy wiped off his teary eyes and took a deep breath. "JUST BECAUSE YOU GOT BEATEN UP BY LOWLY ASSASINS DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE NO LONGER QUALIFIED TO BE AN EMPEROR!" he shouted. "You are still an emperor of these lands, and Prince Abel can't do anything about it!!! You Shouldn't be admitting defeat to someone who's weakling!!!!" The odd guy roared and it made Gaius pushed onto the edge of the bed. The words made Gaius receive a good blow of stupefied reaction. He may or may not be offended by the guy's words, as if those words blew hundreds of blades piercing through his body. He was paralyzed.
It was a lot of information to take at once, but adjusting was his forte. Be it if it was not something he always loved or mastered, he still always either did it, no matter what.
The sound of a door opening interrupted the conversation. A maid hurriedly went in, bringing a tray and a duster in her hands. When the other guy noticed her, his expression went dark as he darted a deadly gaze at her. The maid flinched when she sensed the dark aura on her back. Though she ignored it as her expression was still blank. The guy tch'ed, unhappy from the maid's bold moves.
Life truly has so many surprises. "I am an Emperor... this can't..." he said in disbelief. 'No... I can't be... It is not a dream, too...' he assumed. When he saw his hands—it was smooth, flawless, and slender as if these hands did not endeavor. A palm only rich and privileged people can only have, unlike his old body. He recalls that every part of his body was marked with countless scars and calloused hands. The reason was he was numerously beaten up in the dump and the labor he went through since childhood.
The maid took an elegant bow, and she offered Gaius tea. He peeked at the girl who was so unbothered and cold. Gaius also examined the tea, it was muddy and green, but he still took it and gulped every single drop. He could not care less about the taste it would give—after all, rats shouldn't be picky, right?
The odd guy, known as Duke Argus, frowned. "Your Highness, You are Emperor of Emrys Empire, and even if people view it as evil and vile, they would never know behind the veil. Your brother's fault that they would view you such as one," he said while giving the most disgust on the last part.
Enemy. A posing threat to God. Duke Argus could grit his teeth till it breaks thinking about the Prince.
Gaius clenched the cup tightly, and now he could comprehend the situation. Gaius was not a foolish guy, nor a narrow-minded somebody like those mindless people. He was a genius, sharp-minded, and gifted. A simple mystery like this was too easy to connect the cords. Maybe he should be a detective after all than becoming a crummy scientist, and in that way, his life wouldn't have met this end. But crying over spilled milk was useless anymore. The maid was sweeping the broken tray slowly but surely as she listened to the conversation between a Royal and a Duke.
"I-Uhm..." he paused for a moment. "... I need to rest..and recollect my thoughts... "Gaius swallowed, pleading to Duke Argus like a lost puppy.
....
Duke Argus was helpless by the order. He wanted to speak, but the lump on his throat stopped him. "If that is so, please pardon us..." he said in a defeated tone. The maid also went with him. And Duke Argus shut the door now till a silence accompanied Gaius.
He sighed in relief. Finally! They are gone. No noises can trouble his peaceful mind. Gaius scrutinized everything in his surroundings; an unknown light lighted up the chandelier, but either a light bulb or the walls were crafted like garments as there was a printed design on them. Even the items of furniture were all carved words in gilded gold. The craftsmanship was remarkable, and if he were to judge: This craftmanship was more state of the art than the robotic and flying cars. Ths world was unlike the world he was in the former.
He can already have an idea of what place this is.
Gaius rubbed his forehead. "I don't know if I have to thank you or hate you for this, Cain..." he woe as beaten the bed's hard mattress. Should Gaius be regretting or be faithful? He does not know.
He doesn't want to admit this statement; he would rather be in denial than know who he was. But Gaius was reborn as Cain Adamos, the guy he met minutes ago—shivering at the thought of how scary it was. He was no firm believer in magic. He used to be one, but since he became a scientist, he was blinded to this 'absolute' truth. And to see someone so great, it was like straight out of fantasy.
Then Gaius realized. "If Cain was a God, then must I be a God???" he wondered. Uncertain about this, Gaius tried to crawl out of bed, trying his best to walk to the nearby mirror. He doesn't understand why he wants to check in the mirror, but his instincts tell him.
When his weak and shaky legs touched the floor, he almost hit his head from the floor. But before another accident happened, Gaius grabbed one of the sturdy wood railings. "I am not trusting people that have a bible name, really," Gritting his teeth, he clenched his fist shakingly. He looked like a toddler having their first time learning how to walk. Maybe this description was too much. But who cares enough? Gaius was struggling like an older man with their back broken. After a few tries, he could perfectly stand when he used the bed's rail. "Ugh, the First thing I did in my first life was to suffer again; how laughable," he hissed.
The mirror was standing between the gilded closet. Gaius' heart is beating loudly, and he can hear it in his ears. Gaius was too nervous, but he continued going closer to the mirror. "It is now or never," he muttered as he draw closer to the reflection.
His breath hitched every second seeing the reflection in the mirror. A tall young man, his skin fair and rosy, eyes that are golden bejewel. He wore a ruffled shirt and a couple unbuttoned, exposing his bare chest. Seeing this, Gaius unconsciously buttoned up the shirt with a slight blush. The fabric was rough and breezy, not the fabric on 3030. "Adjusting to a new body seems harder than looking the same spots of a leopards," he muttered.
He took a look in the mirror again, realizing his golden strands. "I am Blonde…." Gaius felt disgusted. Whom reflected in the mirror was not him, As it was the face of Cain. But Cain was now gone from this world, and only he supported Cain's body. Gaius mindly squeezed his cheeks ever so hard. It was smooth like a baby's cheeks. He seem having fun with this new body.
Till Gaius looked so profoundly at his amber eyes on his new figure, he was momentarily frozen in a trance.
"I-I will…come back fffor all of you…." A bitter and resentful word echoes in Gaius' ear. When he turned around to check who was talking—there was none but an empty room and him.
Memory flashbacks him to Cain's dead body. The perfect and flawless body being stabbed countless times by lowly servants and the poison rushing throughout his systems. A tear fell like acid on his cheeks, not able to feel the pain on his body. His mind was cursing every second of it until the cursing turned into regret and a glimpse of sadness. Cain finally perished, blood-stained as his body ditched on the river.
But that little flashback didn't stop when A sudden rush of unfamiliar memories flickered through his mind, and It caught him by surprise. Like a sudden light flashed upon his body and gave him a shock. He grabbed the nearby hold, nearly suffocating from the waves of resentment and anger swelling over his body. "What is this?! Why does it feel so hurt?" Gaius panicked, ducking out and holding his body. Such intense emotion pent up in this fragile heart as if it was stabbing him so violently—the need to pluck out his heart to remove this negative feeling under him. Gaius saw a few moments of memories; a sense of envy, desperation, and greed.
He crouched on his fragile body, giving him support for his aching heart. Gaius grabbed the hem of his shirt. "F--fuck, Cain... you.." Gaius cursed every sniff, and the tears won't stop falling out of his eyes. Maybe because Cain's darkest memories and secrets were exposed to him, a mere stranger. Or perhaps it was just Cain's feelings left on his body that still lingers.
[ " Does my karma lead me into this demise? I've become blinded by envy to forget that I was raised to become an absolute leader for the people... But now even the people turned my backs on me- Why... does it have to end like this. Those offerings, that stupid young brother, yes him... He was the reason. Am I not enough? Even the privilege as the powerful and oldest, why... do they favor him? WHAT DID I LACK TO BE OUT OF FAVOR?!?!?! I WORKED HARD HARDER THAN HIM!! I... I want to live... I WANT TO LIVE!" Cain teared up, regretting his choices in the end. He went far ahead on his journey only to be killed by wretched people, or maybe he was the more wretched one. The bang sounds of swords stabbing him and kicking his battered body were now deaf in his ear. Thus even he could not feel the pain anymore. He smiled so darkly, a bloodshot of his half lid amber eyes as if he was the one who got the last laugh despite being battered to death. " fhah... You.... ccant ki... me." Cain ignored the suffocating heartache every time he spoke. Soldiers grimaced and kicked him on the cliff by that. Little did they know, after all. ]
Deja Vu. Or maybe it wasn't. Of course, it was so familiar to him. Gaius experienced the same death also.
Although the depressing scene was done, another wave of memories reappeared. But Gaius' tears sank down, covering the mouth of his hands as if he was about to pass out or either puke out. " Disgusting...! DISGUSTING!!" he spat out, grossed out by it.
If there is something to be more disgusted about was the sleeping with few women. To have over-the-top detail of... indecent acts he did with women. Gaius wanted to wash over this filth. He would rather rot than remember those irrelevant things. " It's always the emperor... that is so overly disgusting," he scolded so bitterly, his face green with disgust. Gaius completely ignored the heartbreaking remembrances that were none of his business—after all, It was not his memory.
" No wonder..." Gaius mumbled.
No wonder he was targeted to be killed. It was easy to tell. So why does Cain still avoid this? He is called one of the wisest, yet he acts recklessly and is blinded by Envy. Greed and Envy drive them mad into the abyss of sins. " These people need help or therapists. They are out of mind," he grunted. Gaius still kneels on the floor in such a weak state. " What am I gotta do now?" he wondered. His body was shaking so abruptly: Was this fear? He does not know. In this new world, he experienced it; it was far more complex than a survival mode RPG game.
....
The Duke paced around in the door, waiting for 'Cain' to open it. Argus' hands fidgeting and teeth getting altogether made the other maids uncomfortable. " Ah... W-what if he went mad..?!?" the Duke fretted, but he only shook his head so deliberately. He believed by the Emperor that he was hardly one to went crazy. He cursed himself for doubting one of the most powerful beings. The Butler looks so depressed, his face pale and like his soul left his own body. God only knows what could happen to him. " His Imperial Majesty has been acting weird..." the Butler sounded so sure and afraid. Duke Argus halted his pacing around the door.
He turned around at the several maids bowing timidly, except one maid with her hands occupied with broken glass and tray didn't seem so frightened. " Why are you maids still here? Scatter now, or do you want me to bit your skin till you see your own blood and flesh?" Argus barked a vilest and most threatening word as he glared at them coldly. " And... If you ever slip a single word about what happened today, I will make sure that your heads will be off too," he added with a sinister smile laced with a great warning. Their blood runs cold seeing such a devilish intent. " Y-yes... Your G-grace.." The maid scurried away, scaring them out of their wits. Argus snickered so bitterly.
The Butler sighed. " Always sighing due to your old age, old man?" Argus eyes narrowed, giving a snide remark.
" Maybe I am, but I've been so restless thinking about His lord's well-being.." he said with another melancholy sigh. The old man pondered for a while also waiting for their dear highness to show up and say he was fine.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
caeslesta
caeslesta Finally, another new chapter!
If you are confused about why I used so many addresses for Cain/Gaius. The Emperor ordered his subjects to call him 'Imperial Majesty' in public. 'His highness' is an address called only when there are few or private meetings with a trusted subordinate. And Lord is only used for the old Butler.
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