After Hein's match, there were a couple of more matches, but none interested me, so I just made small talk with the others in order to pass time.
Fortunately, Hein's match was one of the very last ones as the round of 128 finally came to an end after one last big battle.
Though I said big, it was only like that because the two opponents facing each other were of similar strength and so was very entertaining to watch.
"This will be it for today's matches. I hope the contestants will take this time to rest for tomorrow's matches." The elven lady once again said as she showed up on the stage. Following her words, everyone stood up and left the premises.
Similarly standing up, just as I was about to follow the others out, Kevin came up to me. He had a serious look on his face.
Instantly my brows knit.
"...what's wrong?"
"Ren, we need to talk."
There was undeniable solemness in his voice as he spoke to me. Glancing around to make sure that the others had left, I slowly nodded.
Kevin wasn't the type of guy to act like this unless there really was something wrong. As such, I knew that the situation was serious.
"Where should we talk?"
"Your apartment."
"...my apartment?"
"Yeah. It's the place that has the least amount of people nearby."
"Fair."
And so we decided to head to my apartment to talk. The walk wasn't long as within ten minutes we were already there, but it was strangely uncomfortable as I felt this weird tension coming out from Kevin's face.
His face reminded me of someone who was just about to go to war.
Ci Clank—
Opening the door of my apartment and letting Kevin in, I slumped down on one of the chairs of the room.
Kevin shortly followed suit as he sat on the seat opposite of me.
"..."
An uncomfortable silence descended on the room as Kevin leaned forward, with both his arms on his thighs. Interlocking his hands together, Kevin's foot repeatedly tapped onto the ground.
Seeing that Kevin was having difficulty speaking, I decided to break the silence.
"...So? What did you want to talk about?"
Lifting his head, Kevin looked up at me.
"Say..."
His brows furrowed even more tightly.
"...do you perhaps have a secret that you can't tell me?"
"A secret?"
I was taken aback by his abrupt question.
'Did he find something out?...and isn't that rather vague?'
I had plenty of secrets, and so I wasn't really sure about which one he was referring to.
Nodding his head, Kevin's crimson red eyes continue to gaze in my direction.
"Yeah, do you have any secrets that you can't tell me?"
Leaning back, and deeply gazing into Kevin's eyes, I eventually nodded my head.
"...There are."
The fact that this world was a novel, the book, my skills, I had plenty of secrets that I couldn't tell him.
If he found out any of those secrets, I wasn't too sure how he would react. There was a high chance that a rift could form between us, creating some unnecessary drama that I did not want.
"I see."
The tapping of Kevin's foot became more prominent. This was an obvious indication to me that he was nervous.
'What's going on with him?'
"What is up with you? Don't drag it out, tell me exactly what—"
"I've been having visions lately."
Kevin cut me off. But I wasn't the least bit mad as his words instantly attracted my attention.
"Visions?"
I don't recall Kevin ever having visions in the novel. Another butter-fly effect?
"...Yeah."
Kevin nodded.
"What type of visions were they?"
"I'm not too sure, but I've written them down. Take a look for yourself and tell me if you know anything."
He proceeded to take out a small book from his dimensional space before handing it to me.
Extending my hand, I took the book. Although I was confused, I still complied.
'Let's see.'
Glancing at Kevin one more time, I lowered my head and directed my focus on the book in my hands.
'Since Kevin is this serious, it must be something important.'
"...What the?"
I initially didn't have many expectations when opening the book. Why would I? I didn't think there would be anything I didn't know, but I was quickly proven wrong as my hands froze.
'Time remnant? Akashic records? Black-clothed guy? Jezebeth?'
The more I read, the greater the confusion on my face became. That was because I didn't know any of the things that were written in the book apart from the Akashic records which I already knew beforehand.
They were essentially an entity that acted as the gods of this world, yet at the same time couldn't be considered gods. It was a confusing concept that I decided to add near the end of the novel, but that wasn't what shocked me.
'Kevin isn't supposed to find out about the Akashic records till later in the novel.'
Not only that but the visions that he was currently experiencing were also not part of the novel.
My head throbbed.
'...What in the world is happening?'
Most likely, the butterfly effect of my actions had pushed forward a couple of plot points several times ahead of where they should've been. Sucked, but it was nothing new. Happened many times in the past and so I was able to quickly recompose myself.
Flip—!
Without saying anything, I flipped to the next page. Reading through the passage, my eyes opened wide in shock, and my mind blanked.
"...I wouldn't have had to resort to this if you hadn't been so compassionate, I hope her death can finally set your mind straight."
"No matter how important of a piece you are, a piece should act as a piece should act."
"...I hope this will finally clear your head."
Abruptly lifting my head, I looked at Kevin who was looking back at me with a serious look on his face.
Opening and closing my mouth repeatedly, I didn't know what to say. It felt as though a lump was stuck in my throat, preventing me from speaking.
Lowering my head and once again reading the book, my hands shook.
"It can't be..."
I muttered in disbelief as I shook my head.
'The way of speaking...and those words...that's definitely me.'
"You felt it too right?"
Silently gazing in my direction throughout the whole time, Kevin finally spoke up.
Extending his hand and pointing at the book, he questioned.
"The person in the vision was you, wasn't it?"
"This..."
I wanted to deny his words with all my might...but I couldn't. The man described in the book reminded me an awful lot of me...or rather, me under the influence of Monarch's indiffer—
"No, it can't be."
I muttered out loud as horrifying thoughts flashed across my face.
"Did you figure something out?"
Kevin asked from the side. But I didn't respond. I was too immersed in my thoughts.
'...Monarch's indifference.'
Two words repeatedly rang inside of my mind as I re-read the passage multiple times. I swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
Ever since the first time I got Monarch's indifference, I had always had my reservation about using it. Not only did it feel as though I would lose all control of my body, but it also felt as though my actions were somehow getting controlled by someone.
'That aside...now that I look back, my chess ideology did not stem from meeting the previous Ren but from using Monarch's indifference.'
Right, at first I thought that the ideologies that were being implanted inside of my head came from the moment I met the previous Ren, but that wasn't true at all...they came the moment I used Monarch's indifference.
They only got exponentially more prominent the moment I met the other Ren. Maybe that was why I never noticed it, and only noticed it now that I was reading the notes
Shivers ran down my spine.
"Huuu..."
Taking a deep breath, I tried to look back at any of the incidents revolving around me using Monarch's indifference.
There was one incident that particularly stood out to me.
The time back in the dome when I activated it to save Kevin. More specifically, the time when I fought Aaron.
At first, I thought that leaving Aaron alive was merely a side-effect of Monarch's indifference since my goal was saving Kevin...but was it really a fluke? It had to be, didn't it? After all, under Monarch's Indifference, all that mattered was the end goal, not the side goals.
But there was this nagging feeling inside of my head that never ceased.
'I'm definitely overthinking things'
I quickly shook my head, trying to dispel such thoughts.
The theory was just too far-fetched to make sense, but something about that incident really bugged me off.
Thinking back about my past, many of the big incidents that had occurred to me felt kind of forced...almost as though someone was trying to manipulate the path that I needed to take. I couldn't quite explain it...it just felt that way.
'Ugh, my head hurts.'
The more I thought about it, the greater the throbbing sensation on my head became.
Something just wasn't right.
***
Gazing at Ren who seemed to be in deep thought, Kevin remained quiet.
At first, he was a bit apprehensive at the thought of letting Ren know about his visions, but now that he was getting a good look at him, he was glad he did.
Ren's reaction confirmed to him that he knew something was up. This was enough to tell him that there was some truth in the visions.
No, that figure was Ren. Kevin was sure now.
"Haaa..."
Kevin leaned back on the chair and exhaled.
'...Now what?'
Even if he was able to confirm that the figure was Ren, what was next? Kevin really was unsure.
Kevin knew for a fact that the vision was just like the name suggested, a vision. It was only a possible future. One that could be stopped.
Kevin felt that coming to speak with Ren was the necessary step he had to take in order to prevent that event.
"...huh?"
While waiting for Ren to return to his usual self, glancing around the room, Kevin's face suddenly stiffened as he abruptly stood up.
His reaction was so abrupt and unexpected that it attracted Ren's attention.
"Kevin, what's going on?"
"I...Impossible "
Staring towards the corner of the room with eyes wide open, Kevin's eyes paused on a familiar red book.
'How is that here?!'
He shouted inside of his mind as his face clouded with disbelief. He was showing a similar reaction to that of Ren when he had just seen the notes.
There was no way he could mistake the appearance of the book. He had been carrying it with him for over two years now. It was without a doubt that book.
"Kevin, what in the world is going on with you?"
Ren asked once more as his voice was filled with confusion.
Without answering him, raising his hand, Kevin weakly pointed it towards the red book in the distance.
Suddenly many different memories of the past resurfaces inside of his mind as he took a step back.
'No...'
He had a feeling.
A feeling that he wanted to make sure.
Trembling all over, Kevin turned to look at Ren.
"...Hey, do you see that?"
Ren's brows furrowed as he stared in the direction of where Kevin was pointing at.
"See what?"
"The red book over there."
"The re—"
Ren's face suddenly stiffened. He then slowly turned his face in Kevin's direction.
"You can see it?"
"...Ah."
Kevin let out a strange sound as he slumped back on his chair. All the different memories of the past started to puzzle started piecing themselves together as Kevin finally realized something.
Ren could also use the book.
An uncomfortable silence descended on the room.
