Chapter 206 - There Will Be Blood (1/2)

'Agony' was such a tiny word, and yet it conveyed an entire spectrum of meaning that could not be conveyed. In a sort of macabre way, it was somewhat magical when Reed thought about the semantics of the word.

Agony.  A-g-o-n-y.  Derived from the Human-Greek word 'agonia,' which itself defined as a struggle or contest for victory...

That was where Reed was mentally at the moment. He was so far gone that he had receded into his own mind for refuge. Needless to say, it was a pathetic sight to behold, but that was the price Reed had chosen to pay for the sake of peace.

A beautiful hall that would have made even the wealthiest man in Mulia blister in jealously surrounded a very long dining table, which held more than two dozen individuals at once.

Exotic, unknown dishes flanked both of Reed's sides, surpassed only by the main dish in front of him — a seafood dish that had... an entire head of what seemed to be a giant crocodile.

What in the hell is this? I mean, how do you even eat something this? I-I can't even...

And a fleet of servants in traditional Mulian robes stood at attention akin to living statues as they waited for the command of the Master of Ceremonies, the person who had set up the event...

Ulbo, the Master of Ceremonies, had such a dazzling smile on his face that it could have probably outshone an actual star in luminosity... well, if any of them still existed nowadays.

”Please, beloved friends and family! Drink! Eat! Today is a reconciliation, bonding, and happiness for all!” said Ulbo and laughed heartily in delight.

Cheers resounded across the table as everyone raised their cups in the air and began to drink even more liquor, only to have their cups refilled by the attendants behind them for the umpteenth time.

It would not be a lie to say that the amount of liquor that each person had already drunk would have killed a regular person via alcohol poisoning.

Savages, the lot of them. How the hell is this a 'formal meal'?!  This is the kind of stuff you'd see in a story about primitive peoples from the stone age or something...

To think these are the same peoples who once conquered the vast sea of stars and even meddled with the fate of countless lesser universes in their prime.

'Never meet your heroes', was the adage that best conveyed Reed's feelings on the matter. As Reed quietly observed the crude merrymaking around him, the more he felt the already minuscule amount of respect and admiration he had for the Ancient Mulians fade away...

It still embarrassed him how much he had been fascinated by, back when he had been nothing more than an ignorant child. How he had once perceived them as living demigods to be feared and respected.

AAAAHHHHH, F.U.C.K! GODDAMNIT, WHY DID I HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT?!

Reed wanted to die.

In an effort to forget his shameful memories, he grabbed his goblet and downed his liquor in a single go... Which, naturally, garnered delighted cheers of approval from the entire table. As far as everyone else was concerned though, it was an encouraging sign.

Whether Reed liked it or not, he was fitting in beautifully. Almost as if he had never left in the first place.

That line of thought gave Reed the chills, so he quickly brushed the thought away and wallowed further into his new habit of drinking his problems away...

Lu'um, on the other hand, was having the time of her life as she personally refilled Reed's goblet with a gentle, demure smile. Even though she knew that Reed probably wasn't enjoying himself that much, she was still thrilled that he agreed to come in the end.

Only time would tell how fast his wounded heart would recover, but if there was a way to hasten the process, then she'd do it in a heartbeat.

She'd go out of her way to recreate the old-school blood rituals  that her ancestors used to hold to appease their gods. Suffice to say, Lu'um's determination to make amends with Reed was nothing short of absolutely terrifying.

This was, after all, a hopeless maiden who had patiently waited over five thousand years for Reed to appear in Mulia on the word of an ancient crone who had been banished from Citlai for her unforgivable sins.

For what it was worth, Reed wasn't any better — this was coming from a guy who had at one point, blindly followed the instructions of a mysterious person who had snuck into his mind...

Which was another reason why Reed wanted to leave as soon as possible. His patience was starting to wear thin the longer he had to look at...

Him.

The longer Reed stared at that long silver hair and those penetrating golden eyes, the more he wanted to tear Him into pieces. It was an instinctual d.e.s.i.r.e stemming from the most primitive part of his mind.

The sapient, intelligent minds were not built to tolerate the concept of doppelgangers, since it violated the fundamental notion of a being having a unique,  personal identity.

Who was the creator and who was the created?

Who was the original and who was the copy?

Who was the genuine article and who was the imitation?