Chapter 10: I am the emperor [1/1]

4 More Chapters will be posted tomorrow and after that it will be daily :3

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Renji: "..."

"It's impossible, right? As far as I know, they were all personally nurtured by the emperor himself. Their bond should be closer than that of family. How could they harm the emperor?"

Although he knew it wasn't true, Renji still wanted to understand why people in later generations would have such outrageous thoughts.

And Eileen's response was...

"You're right. But precisely because of that, wouldn't they develop resentment out of love? The emperor indeed saved this perilous world, but when it comes to personal conduct, especially in his private life, rumors depict him as a complete scoundrel!"

"That Emperor wasn't just a womanizer; he picks his guards based on how good-looking they are. And he gets bored easily. Once he's done with one, he just moves on to the next."

Renji: "."

"The biggest clue? His five guards are from five different races. From high-class elves to sexy demons, he even goes for robot women! You can guess how messed up that makes him!"

Maybe because she was a women too, Eileen looked really mad when she said this.

And Renji...

Renji: "."

"Maybe, just maybe, the emperor simply found them pleasing to the eye? And maybe he never even touched those five guards?"

"Haaaaaah!!!!!?"

Even though she was tied up, Eileen still gave Renji a 'you've got to be kidding me' look.

"You seem quite mature, yet you're still as naive as a child. Oh, so you say there's a beautiful woman who is so into you right in front of you, and you just innocently gaze at her, finding her pleasing to the eye, without doing anything? Then you're truly worse than a beast!"

Renji: "."

"Ugh, that Emperor is definitely an animal. Rumor has it he's into some really weird stuff. Like handcuffs, whips, and wax. Every night, his guards take turns taking care of his fetish. Sometimes he even—"

Eileen got more and more into it as she talked, but Renji was already rolling his eyes.

"Fallen Chronicles" is a legitimate game.

It's not some adult-only game you'd find online!

"Stop!" Renji exclaimed with anger.

"Where'd you hear all this crap?" Renji snapped.

Eileen: "This stuff? There's a ton of it on the dark web."

"Hey, hey, what's with that look? Are you seriously telling me you've never read any of them? Come on, some actually have decent writing and plot. How about this? If you let me go, I might consider sharing a few of those books @!%@$!!!?"

Eileen's excited voice suddenly cut off, and she glared angrily while making a soft whining noise.

Renji took a deep breath.

It looked like people in this post-apocalyptic world had it too easy.

"Enough, I'm done with my questions. Now it's your turn to ask me one question. But remember, you only have one chance. Think carefully before speaking," he warned.

With a wave of his hand, Eileen got her voice back.

She looked like she wanted to yell, but she held it in, not wanting to waste this chance.

Afraid that Renji might change his mind, she immediately asked her most pressing question.

"What did you do to me?"

'As I expected,'

Renji shrugged and replied,

"I think you've already guessed, haven't you? I helped you ascend to become an Eclipse, but it comes at a small price, such as certain constraints on your actions."

Renji thought if Eileen had a problem, it would be with that last part.

But he was surprised when her face dropped at the word "Eclipse," like her worst fear had come true.

"What's the matter? You don't want to be an Eclipse?" Renji was really confused.

In Fallen Chronicles, Eclipses are like superheroes the best fighters against monsters and bad vibes.

But what Eileen said next made Renji realize times had changed.

"Heh... hehe, are you referring to the 70% chance of going berserk and losing control within a month? Gradually descending into madness over time? Being hunted down by governments and guards wherever you go? Once captured, spending a lifetime in prison or facing immediate execution? Your loved ones and friends suffering because of you, leading to the ruin of your family, separation, and endless hardship. Is all that worth the meager power of an Eclipse?"

Eileen started talking faster and faster, her weird anger even mixed with what looked like painful memories.

"Who on earth would willingly become a cursed Eclipse!" she exclaimed.

As those words left her lips, the female scavenger appeared drained of all her strength, standing there in a daze, lost in her thoughts.

The room went quiet for a bit.

Then Renji spoke up again.

"I apologize. I retract my previous statement. I had no idea you held such a strong aversion toward Eclipses. However, to my knowledge, the loss of control and berserk state mostly befalls Eclipses at the 'Calamity' or above, and the probability is not as high as you described."

But what Eileen said next totally caught Renji off guard.

"You're joking, right? An Eclipse who can mentally reach 'Danger Rank' is already rare, let alone one at ' Calamity Rank.' Maybe you could find them in history a couple of hundred years ago, but they all ended up the same way: either losing control and causing natural disasters or going berserk and turning into monsters. Is that what you call a low probability?"

Eileen's information left Renji deep in thought.

He realized he might've had it wrong. Becoming an Eclipse or getting stronger, it all comes from this Tainted Miasma energy.

In the original world of "Falling Chronicles" this Tainted Miasma was everywhere, so Eclipses were common.

As for strong Eclipses, in Renji's view, those at 'Danger Rank' were pretty common, and 'Disaster Rank' ones, while less common, weren't exactly rare. Like Eileen said, the super rare ones that come around once in a century should be at the highest level, 'Calamity Rank'

Fast forward to 500 years later, Renji wiped out the source of this Miasma. So, not only are there fewer disasters and monsters, but also fewer Eclipses.

People's needs have changed too. They're not just trying to survive anymore; they're building and growing. Kind of like how guns became illegal when society got more advanced. Maybe these Eclipses are like the new "illegal guns" that need to be controlled for everyone's safety.

Eileen mentioned that Eclipses are more likely to lose control than he thought. Maybe that's because there's less Miasma around now? Renji wondered.

'Could this be connected to the diminishing presence of "Miasma"? 'Renji pondered to himself.

Regardless, after processing the information shared by Eileen and gaining a deeper understanding of this world he had entered for his "second playthrough" Renji felt a sense of relief.

He sort of got why Eileen felt the way she did.

It's like surviving a huge accident only to find out you've got terminal cancer…

But because of this realization...

Renji smiled.

"Eileen, don't worry. I promise, as long as our contract is on, you can use your power all you want. You won't lose control."

"And when I find someone to take your place, I'll end our deal and take back the Miasma energy from you. Then you can go back to living a normal life."

"I understand you may find it hard to believe, but as an added bonus, I will answer another question you had. I will reveal my true identity."

As Eileen's eyes reflected indescribable astonishment, Renji nodded slowly and spoke each word deliberately.

"I am Emperor Ashen."

"…"

"Pft…."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA"

"Nice joke AHAHAH"