171 The One Unspoken Rule

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Shaking his head lightly, Hadrian regained his composure and asked in a deceptively calm tone.

"… what do you mean by that?"

The young mage did not react as a wry smile spread on his grandfather's lips.

The expression alone was a hint that the old magician knows something that he doesn't, which honestly piqued Hadrian's curiosity even more.

"Enkel, do you recall about the 'potentials'?" Zelretch asked in turn.

Hadrian frowned, thoughtful before he answered the question.

"Yes, I do."

Zelretch chuckled, somewhat ominous in tone.

"I never mentioned this to you before, but the word 'potentials' has a sibling."

"And what's that?"

"Repercussions." The old magician stated simply, as if mentioning the current state of the weather.

But, the meaning of the term was thoroughly understood by Hadrian, who maintained his silence even as his grandfather continued.

"The Kaleidoscope is a powerful ability that must be used carefully. But out of all sub-applications of this magic of mine, travelling into different dimensions is one of the things that I am most careful and wary of. It is a strange thing, truly. But, the saying that 'actions have consequences' can never be more true with this one. You may be occupying a body native to that world, but the knowledge that you possess is still an unknown element. Thereby, every action you take has consequences that can affect the current reality of that world. No matter how small the ripples may be, which would be your movements in this case, the mere action itself would always lead to the body of water being disturbed. We spoke of this in great length before your departure, but now, you're living in it. That's the only difference from before." Zelretch pointed out.

"So, this is a side-effect of my presence being here? I can understand that, but then, whose memories that I just witnessed?" Hadrian asked after a few moments of silence.

"Given the details of what you've told me, it is most likely from one of Harry's alternate counterparts." Zelretch said in a musing tone.

"Harry's?" Hadrian asked, noticing the strange wording.

"Yeah, Harry's, enkel." Zelretch smiled, putting a heavy emphasis on the name. "It would quite wrong to say 'yours', considering the major differences you possess compared to Harry's. The two of you have the same wavelength in soul and appearance, even some mannerisms and ideals perhaps, but you're both different enough from one another to be your own people."

"I see, so these memories belong to the alternate counterpart of Harry's." Hadrian said, committing the distinction into his mind.

"Yes, now, as for the 'how', I can probably take a guess. It might not be what actually happened in your case, but as I've mentioned before, what I'm about to tell is simply based on my own experience, so try not to compare this to what happened to you today." Zelretch advised.

With a slight nod and an exhale, Hadrian leaned back into the couch, making himself comfortable as he waited for his grandfather to gather his thoughts.

It was not long for the old magician to compose himself again, taking only a few moments before he spoke again.

"My guess is that Harry's alternate counterpart tried to jump into that world, the one that you're in it right now, which, I'm sure you know, can cause severe consequences." Zelretch said, sending a knowing glance in Hadrian's way, whose calm expression stilled at his answer.

By the way his grandfather had phrased it, the implication in his words were telling.

If Harry's alter-self tried, and successfully, managed to jump into this world without a proper vessel to occupy, the result can only be dangerous.

Nodding at the understanding glint that dawned in his grandson's emerald eyes, Zelretch nodded in satisfaction before continuing his explanation, if not for the sake of his grandson's two retainers standing on either of his sides, whose looks of confusion that were sent in the old magician's direction could not be more obvious.

Even King Hassan, stoic and forever poised in his calm but rigid stance, looked on their interaction with a curious air around him.

"We spoke of this before, but for your retainers' sake, I shall continue." Zelretch said with a wry grin, which disappeared soon after he continued. "Now, in every dimension, there is always a set of unspoken rules that Gaia and Alaya had established. This is not known to magi, not even to the agents of both parties, but only to those that have enough power to travel into different worlds independently. In my case, I came to know these set of rules through my own experience as I travelled via the kaleidoscope. I can't say the rest of the rules, but I can tell you all of one. However, do listen carefully because I won't be repeating this again. Just this once, I will tell you, so listen only and do not interrupt."

When the two retainers at his side voiced their own agreements, the old magician spoke again.

"This one unspoken rule is that… 'no doppelgängers are allowed in one dimension'." Zelretch announced, solemn both in expression and tone.

Black eyebrows rose, higher than his bangs, as Charles expressed his surprise and confusion in one word.

"Huh?" was all he said, but it was enough to describe what he and King Hassan felt.

Gray brows knitted as Zelretch looked at the cheeky knight with a disapproving expression.

"What'd ya mean 'huh'? I was expecting more than that reaction from you, ya brat. You better tell me something or I'll whack ya with my cane, immeasurable distance be damned!" Zelretch warned, causing Charles to take a step back in surprise when said cane was displayed in plain view.

"Ahaha, chill, old man! I was just surprise! I meant nothing by it, I swear!" Charles said in a rush, inwardly wary at the thought of a cane coming out of nowhere to whack his head.

"You better, ya scheisse (shit)!" Zelretch grunted, crimson eyes half-lidded as he gave the cheeky knight a stern glare.

With the retainer quiet and cowered, the old magician turned back to his grandfather, who merely shook his head at their exchange with a wry smile.

Charles, however, seemed to have a question as he quickly recovered from his recent blunder.

"Ah, I nearly forgot, but what do you mean by 'doppelgängers', old man?" He asked, looking relaxed as if nothing happened.

The old magician gave the cheeky knight a deadpan stare, but after a sigh and a brief rub on his forehead, Zelretch eventually answered.

"The word 'doppelgänger' is a term to describe an unexpected alternate counterpart that tries to jump into a dimension – one that they don't originally came from – where a different version of themselves is already existing in it." Zelretch explained, pushing up his reading glasses as he continued. "Now, having the automaton gave you all updates on common knowledge and certain events in history, I'm sure you know the superstitions of doppelgängers, yes?"

Blinking in surprise by the sudden attention on him, Charles gave a confused nod.

"Uh yeah, a doppelgänger is often portrayed as a ghostly or paranormal phenomenon and usually seen as a harbinger of bad luck. Other traditions and stories equate a doppelgänger with an evil twin. This is not what I thought of it, but what the automaton explained to me, word by word, so…" The cheeky knight shrugged as he said the last part.

"Yes, that is the common definition of such, but what most people don't know is that some of the superstitions were actually true." Zelretch said with a grin, prompted by the surprise looks sent in his way as he continued. "While each world is carefully surveyed by the attentive eyes of Alaya and Gaia, the unexpected can still happen, and by that, I do mean that the people that saw their doppelgängers in the past were actually their alternate selves that got stranded there without warning. Of course, I'm not saying that the people who saw others with the same appearance as them are their alternate counterparts, but there had been a few cases in the past, like a very long time ago, that turned out that way."

Zelretch blew out a sigh, scratching his beard in thought as he leaned back in his chair.

"Rare as it had been, these unique situations only stopped after Lady Alaya and Lady Gaia had implemented a rule, a powerful barrier actually, to prevent that kind of scenario from happening again in the future. The first few times it happened, it had nearly caused an all-out battle that would have both the earth and mankind be wiped from the face of the universe. Lady Gaia was not keen on letting 'outsiders' roam her territory, sending her 'agents' to deal with the matter, while Alaya was not equally pleased to see innocent humans dying for just one human, so after butting heads with each other a few times and letting their agents duke it out, the two made a deal and so that one rule was made. Of course, there are several barriers in place, but what I told you is simply one of them."

When the old magician was finished, he opened his eyes and saw that his brief touch on untold history had rendered his minor audience speechless.

"Hmm… now that's the reaction I was expecting earlier. Funny that I don't feel amuse this time. Must be the memories bugging me. That time was awful, especially the cover up. It had been such a damn nightmare. Chaotic, fun even, but a nightmare to the very end."

Zelretch paused, ignorant of the incredulous looks he was being given.

"Should've demanded a raise…"

Shaking himself out of his stupor, Hadrian posed a question.

"Wait, so, how does this relate to my situation?"

Snapping out of his reverie, Zelretch turned back to the camera with a small grin.

"Ah yes! Apologies, enkel. I forget myself sometimes, you know…" The old magician said with a sheepish chuckle, then continued when prompted silently by his grandson. "It relates to you because the one barrier that two great ladies had placed in that world is the reason that you've seen those memories. Having forbidden 'foreign outsiders' from entering their territory in physical form, the barrier rejects them by disintegrating their bodies before they enter the world's realm, leaving only the outsider's memories, thoughts and emotions in spiritual form. Except for their self-awareness, the soul remains intact and all of its contents will quickly be transferred over to the existing person equally similar to the doppelgänger, which, in this case, is you."

Slowly, Zelretch grinned.

The Cheshire-like kind, one that almost made him ominous in nature in others' point of view.

In Hadrian's deadpan eyes though, his grandfather merely looked mighty mischievous, as if he was about to tell a joke based on a true story.

Which was, in this case, is.

"So, this is my guess... for some unknown reason, Harry's alternate counterpart had decided to jump into a different dimension and almost succeeded, but without knowing of the barriers that were placed in that world by the two great ladies, he was quickly denied entry. Instead, his body and ego got disintegrated the moment he probably entered the threshold of the barriers, leaving only the soul behind, along with the memories, emotions and his last thoughts to be transferred over to you, who is the current occupant of Harry's body. That is what you've seen and received earlier. That is why it is both familiar and unfamiliar to you. It is an interesting development, if I do say so myself!"

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