CG Chapter 119: The Sage and the Forgotten Ball
"Who? Where am I?"
A young man with dark brown hair clutched his head, wincing as an unbearable pain and pressure pulsed through his skull. It felt like someone was repeatedly slamming an iron hammer against his brain.
In the midst of his confusion, he heard someone calling out to him.
He tried to focus on the face of the person who was calling to him, but it was as if there was some kind of force separating them and concealing the man's features behind an invisible barrier.
"Sage, what are you standing there for? Come, let me introduce you to some of my friends." The voice carried a strangely familiar and comforting tone.
Calling out to him with a joyous smile was a man with similarly colored brown hair and a sharp chin.
He carried the air of a laid-back aristocrat, one who seemed indifferent to the matters of the world beyond his own personal space.
Hearing his name, the man became even more confused than before as his eyebrows furrowed together.
'Sage? My name is Sage? No… is that my nickname?'
Then, another thought struck him, as he held his ears.
'Ah, who is playing that annoying music?'
For some unknown reason, he didn't want to dwell on it any longer, as something told him that he had no choice but to play along for the moment. Yeah, just for the moment--since he didn't even know who he was.
He stepped forward, wanting to ask the man who he was, but before he could, words escaped his lips without his control.
"Theodore, I didn't think you had it in you to prepare this grand ball. Even now, I still doubt that you were the one who actually did it."
He said that in a teasing tone, his eyes darting to the woman standing next to his friend, knowing full well that she was the one who had done all the heavy lifting, as his friend neither had the time nor the skill to do it.
Without noticing, the man began to forget his confusion as he became fully indulged in the music while chatting happily with the guests.
Whoosh!
Standing on top of a large table, he raised his glass of white wine as he cheered with the other guests.
"Today, we gather here to celebrate my closest friend…"
He paused, feeling a wave of nausea from the glasses he had already consumed, but quickly managed to gather himself as he continued.
"To my friend, and my dearest little sister, Lune, union. May your shine and radiating warmth last for as long as time, and may your guiding light lead him on his journey as I know it has on mine."
His voice wavered at the last couple of words, and his eyes started to become moist.
His vision blurred, and his heart started to beat quickly.
'Why… does it hurt?'
'Why… does this feel so wrong?'
A heavy throbbing sensation got stuck in his throat.
"I just hope that you will be able to restrain him from now on."
He said his last sentence with a chuckle that came out of nowhere.
And then, the world turned black.
The music faded.
The laughter turned distant.
And when he blinked...
Years had passed.
Tick-Tock!
Tick-Tock!
In an unknown place, the man slowly opened his eyes, only to find himself becoming older by a few years.
And just like back then, when he was about to figure out where he was, he heard the familiar voice calling to him.
"Sage, are you okay? You haven't been yourself lately. You've been more distracted and angry. You know, if there's anything, and I mean anything, you can always come to me."
Despite the warmth of his voice and the comforting words he spoke, something about him or maybe the place left an uncomfortable feeling in the man.
He didn't know why or what, but he sensed an eerie, malevolent sensation from Theodore. No, not just from him, but from the entire world.
He wanted to speak and say that something was wrong, but it felt as if multiple pale, white child ghosts were hovering over him.
They covered his mouth with their tiny little cold hands as they began to whisper their hateful voices into his ears.
'Everything is fine. Everything is good. Everything is great. You love it here. Here is good. No pain, no worries, no fear.'
Yet again, and without his control, the words came out.
"Yeah, I am okay. Everything is perfect. Also, since when were you always such a scaredy person?"
Theodore stayed silent for a couple of seconds before bursting into laughter.
"Fine. I won't worry about you anymore. I'm sure you can take care of yourself."
He paused, winking.
"After all, you're going to become the wise king one day."
Hearing his ugly laughter and the words that followed left the man with an even greater sense of loss. Not to mention, the joke wasn't that good, but the…
He started to think to himself again, "Why does that name sound so familiar? Who…?"