Chapter 662: I guess I do have to step in? (4)

'Little brother.'

Basen felt as if Cale's voice was echoing in his ear like an illusion. His heart thumped wildly as well.

"We need to hurry."

He snapped out of it after hearing Cale's comment and started to walk.

Each step felt extremely heavy.

'The entire kingdom is pretty much at war right now.'

The Henituse Duchy only left a few knights and mages necessary for the defense of the territory and had the rest of the troops gather by the Lord's Castle.

His mother, Duchess Violan, was gathering the troops as the deputy for his father who was not here; communicating with different territories through the Northeast region and gathering all the troops together.

'Mother and Viscount Ubarr will head to Puzzle City soon.'

The Henituse Duchy used to be famous for its wealth, but it was also famous for its military strength now.

Then there was Viscount Ubarr who had the navy in her territory.

These two places would become the center that urgently sends troops to Puzzle City.

'According to what mother told me, the different parts of the Roan Kingdom are all taking care of the intruders before preparing to head over to Puzzle City at his highness's orders.'

Basen had seen it.

The Knight Captain had sent an image of the monsters through a video communication device.

Just looking at it gave him chills throughout his body.

"Our human's little bro! What are you doing?"

Basen heard a bright voice at that moment.

"We're in a rush! Let's go right away!"

"Ah-!"

The young black Dragon was tilting his head while looking at him.

'…A Dragon.'

Basen had seen the gold Dragon that had appeared as their ally to fight against the monsters.

He had been able to see all of this because he was helping by his mother's side.

"Basen. You lead the way. I have some things to think about so I will follow behind you."

"Little bro Basen! Let's hurry!"

Basen wanted to think more about Raon, but he determined that he should follow Cale's orders because of the current situation.

He stepped forward and started to climb the hill. He could feel Cale walking behind him.

'I don't know why hyung-nim suddenly wanted to come here, but I'm glad that there is something I can do with him.'

Basen had such thoughts as he walked forward when he heard Cale's voice behind him.

"…Where is mother?"

Cale had not stopped by the Estate and had just contacted Basen to meet him at this hill.

Basen could not see Cale since he was in the front, but he slowly started to smile.

'Hyung-nim has always been like this.'

He seemed disinterested at times and even cold, but…

He was a warm person down inside.

As Cale suddenly sought to go to his biological mother's grave when the Roan Kingdom was in this dangerous situation… Basen thought that it was very like Cale to cautiously ask about his other mother, Violan, along the way.

"Mother told me to apologize on her behalf for being unable to come to see you because she is busy and asked me to thoroughly observe you to make sure that you do not have any injuries."

"I see. And Lily?"

"Ah."

Basen gasped.

"…Lily, she says she wants to go to Puzzle City as well and has been…"

He stopped for a moment before continuing.

"She is throwing a tantrum about it right now."

"Even if we don't consider her age, aren't her skills, and more importantly, experiences lacking?"

"…She is skilled enough to easily defeat most of the regular knights in the territory and is almost on par with the higher-level knights."

"…She is?"

"Yes, hyung-nim."

"What a genius."

"She sure is."

The two siblings stopped talking for a moment, thinking about Lily, who was getting stronger by the day.

"Human! Your second sibling is amazing! She is really strong!"

'Apparently.'

Cale nodded his head.

'Should I just let Lily be the territory lord in the future if she wants to do it?'

He felt as if their territory would become the strongest in the Roan Kingdom if she would be the territory lord.

'Benefiting off Lily while quietly rolling around the house doing nothing…that sounds too sweet.'

As Cale was able to come up with an alternative plan to have a peaceful slacker life in the future…

"Hyung-nim. Umm, may I ask why you are heading to your mother's grave?"

Cale thought about Duke Deruth after hearing Basen's cautious question.

'Father asked me just as cautiously.'

Cale had gone up to Duke Deruth while under Raon's invisibility spell.

'Father.'

'Ahhhhhhhhh!'

Deruth had been extremely shocked and clutched his head.

'My goodness! I'm hearing voices now?! I need to focus right now, but why am I so weak?!'

'....'

Cale had been anxious for a moment before informing Duke Deruth that he was currently invisible and moving to an empty alley to chat together.

'Oh, my son! Your face, your complexion-'

Duke Deruth had slowly looked over Cale's entire body out of concern, but instantly stopped when he heard what Cale had to say.

'Father, it looks like I will need to head to mother's resting place for a moment.'

Deruth was silent for a bit before he asked just as cautiously as Basen had just done.

'Mother left something there.'

'…It's not something else like… going up to firm your resolve or something?'

'…My resolve?'

'Yes. A resolve for the future or something like that.'

'…The future?'

Even Cale thought it was not right to share his dreams of being a slacker in the future in front of his biological mother's grave.

Cale had a blank expression after having that thought and shook his head.

'No. It is not something like that. I'm just going to get something.'

'Then I am relieved.'

Duke Deruth had then grabbed Cale's hands with a much more relaxed expression.

'Okay. Go do what you have to do.'

Cale had felt that something was odd.

'I thought Duke Deruth didn't know that Cale's biological mother had an ancient power?'

It was odd that Deruth so easily accepted the fact that Cale was going to get something. But Duke Deruth's next words made it understandable.

'You remember that we buried your mother's diary in a box underneath the headstone, right?'

Deruth had carefully patted Cale's shoulder.

'Your mother said we must make sure only you see it. She gave it to me in an enchanted box.'

A bitter smile had appeared on Deruth's face.

'Your mother, Drew, was a mysterious person, but what I do know is that she loved you very much. There's probably still nobody in this world who loves you as much as she loved you.'

Drew Thames. Deruth moved his hand away from Cale's shoulder while thinking about Cale's biological mother. (TL Note: The phonetic translation would be Juru, but it was similar enough to Drew that I chose Drew as the best English translation).

'I don't know why you are going there, but I'm sure you have your reasons. Take your time. Don't worry about things here.'

He then smiled.

'I'm truly relieved to see that you are okay. That is all that matters to me.'

Cale felt as if this conversation with Deruth felt different from usual, maybe because it was after his chat with the real Cale.

He calmly responded to Basen, who asked as cautiously as Deruth had done.

"I came to get the diary mother left behind."

"I, I see!"

Basen responded as if he had not known about it before stopping and moving a few steps to the side.

Cale could see a headstone.

< Drew Thames >

Cale quietly observed the name.

'I guess I'm kind of ignorant.'

He could have been curious about Cale's pasts or his family after possessing this body. However, all he had thought about was the information in The Birth of a Hero.

He had not been curious about Cale's biological mother's name, appearance, or even her family. He only focused on things he needed to handle things in the present and the future.

'It's clean.'

The grave was extremely well-maintained. The graves of the other ancestors were clean as well, but this one gave off the feeling that it was very clean and that someone had recently maintained it.

Was it Duke Deruth who had done it?

Regardless of whom it was, Cale made up his mind that he would be the one to maintain this grave in the future. He thought that this was his duty now that he truly took over Cale Henituse's body as he started to speak.

"Basen. Will you head down first?"

Basen noticed the deep gaze in Cale's eyes as he looked at the headstone and urgently nodded his head.

"Yes, hyung-nim! I will head down first! I will wait for you at the bottom of the hill!"

Basen hesitated before adding on.

"A, and please, please call me if you ever, really, if you ever need me for anything!"

"Okay."

Basen felt slightly relieved seeing the smile on Cale's face and started to walk down.

Cale walked toward the headstone once he could not see Basen any longer.

"Hmm."

He crouched down and put his hand on the ground right in front of the headstone.

"I don't feel anything."

Every other ancient power Cale had gotten until now had a peculiar and unique feel around them.

The Sound of the Wind had caused whirlpools in the ocean.

The Fire of Destruction had been at the center of lava.

The Indestructible Shield had been looking for food from underneath a tree.

But unlike those other ancient powers, it was just quiet here.

Cale debated for a moment before starting to speak.

"I guess I should find the diary first."

The diary that Duke Deruth had mentioned… The diary that Cale's biological mother had left for him… That diary might have information about the remaining half of the ancient power.

"Human! Should I dig?"

"No. This is something I should do."

He shook his head at Raon's question and took out a small trowel from his spatial pocket bag.

"Please excuse me."

He looked at the headstone and the grave behind it and bowed his head.

He then started to dig.

Chh, chh.

It was easy to dig through the ground.

'That's odd.'

The ground should be frozen and difficult to dig because of the cold weather, but the ground in front of the headstone was easy to dig as if it was mud.

Cale decided this was the peculiar aspect of an ancient power and started to dig faster.

"…My goodness."

Raon gasped while looking at the crouching Cale.

"…Our human…is sweating so much after barely even digging. His stamina…is worse than a piece of paper…I really need to imprison him at home for a while..."

Cale ignored Raon's shocked mumblings and continued to dig.

Tap!

The trowel hit something hard at that moment and Cale started to dig with his hands.

"It's a box.'

A small metal box appeared.

It didn't seem to have any locks on it. Cale looked at the center of the top of the box.

'Son. If you want to read the diary, you need to put a bit of blood on the magic circle at the center of the box. Only you can open this box.'

Cale took a dagger out and gently stabbed his finger and put the small drop of blood on the magic circle.

Ooooooooong-

There was a small vibration, and the box opened without any issues.

"Human, it's the diary! But your blood…! Hurry up and put some bandages on it! Should I call the Saint over?!"

"The bleeding has already stopped."

It was a small prick, so the Vitality of the Heart easily stopped the bleeding.

Cale looked at the box.

The box was full of magic circles on the inside as well.

It seemed to have been a preservation spell as the diary looked used but was still in good condition.

"Huuuuuu."

He took a deep breath before picking up the diary.

The real Cale Henituse…. The man who was now Kim Rok Soo in his place had said the following.

'I think that my mother expected things would end up like this.'

The wood attribute ancient power. The person with the power to see the annual rings of all living beings.

"…Drew Thames."

Cale read the name on the headstone once more before slowly opening the diary.

He should be able to learn about her past now.

Shhh.

Cale's face stiffened up as soon as he read the first page of the diary.

< If there is someone reading this diary, I wish to ask them a question. >

This was actually not a diary.

< The person in my son's body, who are you? >

It was a letter written inside a diary.

"…Ha..."

Cale scoffed in disbelief as he read the diary, no, the letter.

< The cycle of life is a cycle of reincarnation, being born with a new body and new memories. >

< But there are always exceptions. >

Cale couldn't even scoff anymore.

< Most people do not know about these exceptions. I doubt that anybody outside of my family knows about it. Most people believe these things to be impossible. >

< There are two kinds of exceptions. >

There are people who go against the rule of reincarnating with a new body and new memories.

< The first exception are the single-lifers, people who cannot reincarnate. >

< The second exception are the immortals, who live forever. >

Cale's jaw dropped.

"…How does she know these things?"

Drew Thames. Who was this woman?

Cale looked at the part where it said 'my family' before continuing to read.

But his gaze stopped at one spot.

< But there are actually variables to these two exceptions. >

There were people who were called 'variables' and not 'exceptions.'

< Reincarnators. Transmigrators. >

The White Star. Cale Henituse. Kim Rok Soo.

Those three names echoed in Cale's mind.

< The final variable are the regressors, those who return to the past. That is known to be impossible, but we were able to figure out that it is definitely an option. However, we could not learn anything else about it. The gods may be the only ones to know the answer behind this variable. >

Cale thought about the real Cale Henituse.

'I made a deal with the God of Death when I was forty and my soul went into the body of Kim Rok Soo in his mid-thirties. My body then returned to the past to when it was 18 years old and Kim Rok Soo's soul was moved into it.'

The real Cale Henituse went through a complicated process of transmigrating and returning to the past at the same time.

"What the hell is this?!"

Cale looked at the diary in his hand with disbelief.

This diary that he expected to read without much thought was full of heavy truths.

"Shit."

Cale closed the diary for a moment after reading the next few lines.

< Oh, and one more thing. >

< Single-lifers, immortals... reincarnators and transmigrators. There is a difference between the 'exceptions' and the 'variables.' >

< That is the reason we are able to distinguish reincarnators and transmigrators from the other two. >

"Human, what is it?"

Raon cautiously asked, but Cale slowly recalled what he had just read.

The reason that 'exceptions' and 'variables' were different…

< Reincarnators and transmigrators. Unlike the exceptions, these variables always have a soul that is impacted by them. >

< In the case of the reincarnator, the soul that was supposed to get a new body and new memories has its body taken by the reincarnator, making just the new memories float around until it finds a new body somewhere in a different dimension to live on, as a sort of twin. >

< As for transmigrators, a person who has their body taken by a transmigrator must take the body of the transmigrator. >

< The former shouldn't be an issue because they are in a different dimension, but the latter causes significant chaos for a soul that suddenly has its body taken away. >

Following that statement…

< Usually, gods will call single-lifers and immortals to a world when a world is in danger but they are unable to intervene themselves. >

< It is because these people do not impact other souls even if they move to a different dimension. >

Cale started to speak.

"…Choi Han."

'No, all three people of the Choi family.'

Choi Jung Gun, Choi Han, and Choi Jung Soo.

They were not immortals. However, Choi Jung Gun and Choi Han, the two who had come to this world, had abnormally long life spans.

There seemed to be only one term to describe them.

"…Single-lifers."

Cale urgently opened the diary again.

< My son has the life of a 'variable.' >

< He will either be a reincarnator or a transmigrator. >

Cale suddenly thought of someone's face.

He was thinking about Kim Rok Soo's face.

There was someone who had an extremely similar face as well.

"…The White Star's face is similar to Kim Rok Soo's face, right?"

"That's right, human! We talked about it last time!"

Choi Han had seen a picture of a maskless White Star in the secret area of Duke Fredo's bedroom in the Endable Kingdom.

He said that the White Star's face was extremely similar to Kim Rok Soo's face.

He recalled what he had just read in the diary once more.

< In the case of the reincarnator, the soul that was supposed to get a new body and new memories has its body taken by the reincarnator, making just the new memories float around until it finds a new body somewhere in a different dimension to live on, as a sort of twin. >

"…As a sort of twin."

The White Star was a reincarnator.

Cale Henituse was a transmigrator.

Kim Rok Soo came to this world after switching bodies with the transmigrator Cale Henituse.

But that Kim Rok Soo's face was similar to the White Star's face.

Cale thought about the life and future that the real Cale Henituse told him about.

"It was ruined."

Choi Han went up against the White Star, but both the Eastern and Western continents were scorched after almost twenty years of war and many people died or were injured and tired by the long war.

The White Star had attacked Puzzle City and was on the verge of becoming a god.

The White Star of that time probably would have called forth the Lion Dragon and found a way to kill it to open the temple door to either awaken the sealed god or take his powers.

What could the God of Death do as he watched all of this happen?

Based on what Cale had seen until now, it was difficult for gods to personally intervene, so they could only use people or items to somewhat intervene in a situation.

But Choi Jung Soo, the next single-lifer, had rejected a deal.

What else could the God of Death do at that point?

If there were no immortals…if there were no 'exceptions'…

The gods would choose the variables.

And with the variable options of reincarnators and transmigrators… What if there was a way to take care of both of these at once?

"It's obvious."

He didn't need to think about it any longer.

"That is why I was called here."

He said his hypothesis, which was pretty much confirmed, out loud.

"I must have been one of the souls that were impacted by the reincarnator, the White Star."

He looked toward the diary again. There were still things written in the diary, too many truths he still needed to learn.

Notes:

Someone left this comment in the Korean raws and it breaks it down pretty well so I thought I would translate it for all of you (with some changes as I saw fit to explain things better)

People who live with one body and one set of memories = single-lifers (Choi family)

Immortals >> frequently called to solve problems in different dimensions because they do not impact other souls. (None in TCF) (PR: So far.)

Variables =

Reincarnators (White Star)

Transmigrators (Kim Rok Soo, Cale Henituse)

Regressors (Cale Henituse)

> Reincarnator: Pushes out the soul that is supposed to take a body and is born with the memories of their past life and the soul that is pushed out is born like a twin in a different dimension. The reason the White Star looks like Kim Rok Soo is because he pushed out Kim Rok Soo who was supposed to be in that body.

> Transmigrator: Pushes out a soul that has been living in a body and forces in a different soul; the soul that is pushed out has no choice but to go into the empty body of the invading soul. Basically, it causes chaos to the soul.

To sum it up… Kim Rok Soo was pushed out of his original body by the reincarnating soul of the White Star and ended up being born on Earth and became a transmigrator in Cale Henituse's body because Choi Jung Soo rejected the request to be the problem solver. Cale Henituse's soul was forced into Kim Rok Soo's body, so his soul had no choice but to go into Cale's body.

The scariest thing is that the real Cale's mother already knew about all of this…