300 Breaking The Illusion [1]
Dream after dreams.
I was subjected to living in one illusion after another. These intricate nightmares made me go through several lives, each one familiar yet new.
But it didn't matter. No matter how layered and complex an illusion was, it didn't trap me for too long.
As soon as I remembered my true identity, the dream would shatter, and my death would follow.
The illusion that held me captive for the longest time was the one where I had almost everything—a caring wife, a lovely daughter, more than enough wealth to last generations, and literally anything else I could've asked for.
It was a perfect life. And that's why it was the most difficult illusion to break. I was hesitant to leave all that behind.
Yes, it was a monotonous life… but it was beautiful.
After that pleasant illusion, I was thrown into harrowing nightmares. Only torment, suffering, and agony followed me in those distressing illusions.
I became a soldier who watched as a godlike demonic killed my comrades and lover right in front of my eyes.
I became a tactician who was betrayed and killed by my own second-in-
command — a vampire disguised as my confidant.
After that, I saw a world where the long war had ended, but half the world lay in ruins.
Before we could even start to celebrate, however, an ebony Dragon descended upon our planet, wreaking unrestrained havoc before killing us as insignificant insects.
Then, in another illusion, I became a nobleman's son. I went to a military academy, and there I met a talented young man who sparked my insecurities.
After all, I was an elite, while he—a complete nobody—surpassed me in literally everything.
My one-sided jealousy found its way to him and we turned into bitter enemies over time.
Eventually, however, I realized that only he alone was capable of saving our war-filled world.
That's why, when we found ourselves in a perilous situation, I sacrificed myself to ensure his survival.
But before my death, I realized that my sacrifice was insignificant and that the world was destined to meet its end anyway.
We couldn't stop the Apocalypse…
After that, in the next illusion, I found myself getting squashed by the same giant ebony Dragon once again.
Then, I was killed by a vampire foot soldier. And then, I tried to battle a Vampire King and met my demise.
One after another, I was killed over and over again. Yet, the worst part was that I couldn't move on to the next illusion without experiencing the previous one to its end.
I realized that my deaths and sacrifices never held any meaning, as the world would inevitably come to an end regardless of my actions.
Well, at least breaking those illusions wasn't as difficult as that seven-year one. Remembering myself within that chaos came easily.
As soon as I remembered myself, I would be killed. Sometimes, I only remembered myself at the brink of death.
It was a nightmarish loop. However, I never came close to my breaking limit. After a certain point, nothing I saw or experienced affected me anymore.
The illusions stopped having any impact on my mental state.
Yes, it was still a grim sight, especially witnessing them consecutively, endlessly watching my loved ones die.
But something inside me was soon broken.
Eventually, I stopped living those nightmares and began spectating them as if I were watching a first-person pov movie play out before me.
I felt disconnected from reality, or whatever that could be called.
The last torturous illusion I endured revolved around witnessing my loved ones die before my eyes, yet again for the millionth time.
Not a flicker of emotion flashed on my face as I listened to their agonizing cries. The Vampire Monarch, the cause of all that destruction, took my life along with theirs.
This time, however, after I died and the darkness of death claimed me, I didn't wake up to live another nightmare.
Instead, after a while, two shiny eyes resembling bright pools of crimson appeared in the darkness before me.
Gazing at me with a mixture of contempt, rage, pity, and indignation, the pair of eyes remained suspended in the air.
After some time, an authoritative voice resonated through the darkness and asked a question:
"Why? Why can't you just rest? Haven't you already endured enough pain? Haven't you witnessed enough death?! Just stop! I don't want to hurt you."
A bitter smile lit up my face as I stared at the brilliant pair of crimson eyes. "I didn't succeed in killing you, did I?"
I heard a soft, affirmative sigh before a tall, gaunt figure stepped out of the darkness ahead of me. It was the vampire in the red dress from the cafe.
"When did you trap me in your illusion? I just remember I avoided direct eye contact with you," I asked, my tone indifferent.
The vampire looked at me with an odd expression.
In response, she stated, "You were ensnared the very moment you stepped into the cafe."
Chuckling softly, I nodded. "Ah, I see. I suppose I underestimated your abilities."
"You certainly did," the vampire agreed. "I had heard quite a bit about you, you know? After the King's Tournament, you gained a reputation as a genius strategist and once again people started calling you a prodigy."
After a brief pause, she continued:
"Naturally, when I saw you, I was more than slightly concerned. But defeating you turned out to be rather easy. However, to double-check, I asked about your plan of action, only to find out you had none."
Amelia had indeed asked me about my plan. So, that was an illusion as well?
"But even after I trapped you in my illusions, your subconscious stubbornly resisted, manifesting itself to remind you that you were in a dream. If only you had surrendered! If only you weren't so fucking relentless!" The vampire's words were tinged with frustration.
Through clenched teeth, she continued, "I made a promise to my beloved that I wouldn't harm a human. But you… You're far too dangerous to be left alive. I apologize, hero, but I have no choice but to end your life."
"'Hero'?" I raised an eyebrow in skepticism.
"Indeed," the vampire replied, tilting her head back slightly. "Your memories are fragmented. Someone has sealed off your memories using arcane magic. It's rather ironic that the only individual aware of the truth of the world knows nothing about his own self."
My forehead creased in confusion as I asked her to explain further, "What do you mean?"
With a sigh, the vampire elaborated, "I tried to look into your memories… but I was taken aback by the state of your mind. Those illusions I made you through... they weren't entirely crafted by me. They were your own memories. I just based my illusions on them."
What? I practically gaped at her revelation as even my eyes almost bulged out.
Those dreams… I can't remember them vividly—the faces and much of the events are blurry—but I do have a general sense of their content.
But they couldn't be my own memories.
I never had a wife or a daughter, I never saw so many of my loved ones die like that, and I certainly never experienced multiple deaths myself…
At least not in this timeline.
The mere existence of Kai was proof enough that there were multiple timelines in this universe. Was it possible that memories from other timelines were also locked away within my mind?
But why? Why did Lucas have memories from other timelines?
My bewildered train of thought was only interrupted when the vampire's voice rang out once more.
"I was as confused as you are right now. Who would have guessed that you held so much hidden knowledge about this world? Unfortunately, your mental strength is too strong for me to break."
The confusion on my face turned into a pained grin as I spoke, "So, you're going to kill me then?"
It wouldn't be hard for her to kill me. In the real world, I must be completely still and vulnerable. In that hypnotic state, she could easily plant her claw in my chest and rip my heart out.
The vampire nodded. "As I've told you, I promised to not kill humans. But you have left me no choice. I will have to break my promise. I'm sorry, hero, but you'll die here along with the girl you've brought with yourself."
"Why her?" I questioned.
"She… shouldn't be allowed to live," the vampire shook her head.
Without asking any more questions, I let out a deep breath and raised my head to look the vampire directly in her eyes.
After a bit of thought, I said, "You should've listened to me."
The vampire frowned in confusion, not knowing what I meant by that remark at all. "What?"
The grin widened on my face as I started speaking, "Fine, let's take the long way."
Quickly, I followed up with: "You said I left you with no choice. I'll give you one now. Release me and my friend, surrender your relic to me, leave Wolfshire within a day, and I will spare your life. On that, I give you my word."
"How very noble of you. Despite knowing the fact that you are completely helpless and vulnerable in the real world, you want to show me mercy?" The vampire sneered. But her sneer wasn't filled with contempt, no, it was almost like she was pitying me.
She added: "In response to your noble, almost delusional, demeanor, I'll give you a quick, merciful and painless death. On that, I give you my word."
The grin on my face turned into a one-sided smirk as I cocked my head to the side. "What is your name?"
The vampire replied proudly. "I'm the daughter of the Setting Sun family of noble vampires. My name is Sofiana."
As soon as I heard her response, a burst of chuckle escaped my lips. I tried to stifle it but failed entirely.
Soon, I completely lost control and threw my head back before bursting out into full-fledged pitiful laughter.
The vampire was left stunned at my erratic behavior. She tried to speak but received no window in between my wild chuckle.
After a long, long time, I calmed down and extended an arm. Pointing at the vampire, I spoke with a bitter smile on my face:
"Setting Sun family, huh? How ironic. It's almost… fated that you met me. Oh, they're right. Fate really has a twisted sense of humor."
I locked my gaze with the confused vampire again and continued, "I see your sun…"
Instantly, I turned the finger I was using to point at Sofiana at our right and finished my sentence:
"...And I raise you one."
