Stupid Steps to End
Chapter 13: Second life

My throat hurts. I forgot how to breathe. I heard the sound of someone screaming loudly in my ear. A hysterical cry broke the silence of the room under the blackened twilight sky.

I lowered my head to see my son in my bloody arms. Silence without sound. His golden eyes looked at me without any light. I was left alone in the room.

'What did I just do?! I killed my own son!!'

I stared into the distance with my eyes wide open. I realized I made a mistake. No words could explain the regret of my mixed heart in the middle of the room.

I hugged him tightly. My right hand held the wound on his head, hoping the blood flowing would stop. Kissing her cold pale hands, I laid her on my bed.

'Everything will be fine.. Father here..'

My gaze was fixed on the bloody red-clad spear. The spear that stabbed my son because of my childish anger. Grabbing it, I prayed for the first time to the one who created me before sticking it in my heart.

Author, your story is destroyed once again in the dark. I have played my role as the father of an antagonist until the end of this world. The curtains on the stage will be closed soon.

—— Take me and my son with you to the next life in a better world.

...****************...

I woke up on the living room couch. Touching the tail of my eyes, my hands moistened with flowing tears. I haven't dreamed of a memory from the past. More so than my second life.

".. Are you awake?"

"Yes.. Are you waiting for me to wake up?"

"No. I just wanted to wake you up, " replied Guinevere, sitting on the other side of the chair. "There's something I want to tell me"

It's been a week since Mr. Ogyruan's funeral. Everyone still could not believe his sudden departure. Guinevere, when he first heard the news, fainted in shock. He cried the next day at the funeral.

Although painful, Guinevere still accepted his death. She is a strong woman.

'Death is not evil. Death lets us rest after everything we go through in life— the final process in life that every living being will encounter.'

Mr. Ogryruan, you have a wonderful son.

"Sir witch, are you planning to leave this house?"

"really. I'll leave tomorrow. Have you made up your mind?"

Guinevere turned his head in doubt. He dared not look me in the eye or answer my question.

A few days ago, I invited her to go to Sein with me. I can't linger here. I have to go after Arthur. Especially, 'he' will catch me. Mr. Ogyruan said he gambled with the devil to save me.

The game continues. I can't guarantee my safety before getting the final Order. I need Guinevere's help to make it.

"... I'm used to being bullied. That's not a problem for me. But I have no place out there. This house is where I should be. I have to take care of what Dad left behind"

"Your father left nothing, including regret. I'm sure he doesn't want you locked in this house for years"

"What do you know about my father? Don't talk about it! Dad wants me safe from danger - I'm sure he doesn't want me to go to the battlefield either!"

Checkmate. Akh can't say anything more if he talks about the dangers of the outside world. He has a point. Mr. Ogyruan would not want to harm his daughter.

But that doesn't mean he doesn't want to leave this house. If he really wanted to be here, he should have rejected me from the beginning.

Guinevere licked his lips. Gnashing his forehead, he exhaled a long breath. He pulled a hatch out of his pocket and showed it to me.

"Dad says you're flexible with all Orders so I think you can fit any high Order. I picked the easiest recipe for you"

"!!.. Oh, what does it mean you're coming"

"Give me until tonight. I'll tell you the exact answer"

Guinevere got up from the chair and walked up sniffly to his room. Smiling wryly, I propped up my chin, trying to understand where my mistake was to the point of upsetting her.

Is he afraid of the world outside this house? Was he afraid that what would happen would not go his way? Is he afraid of the future outside this house? Could he be afraid of not being able to follow the world's systems and regulations?

I don't know. I don't really know what he's thinking. It's true you can't predict everything in the world. A lot of unexpected things happen and sometimes you don't understand them either.

I think it's the scariest thing in the world that Author has ever created.

In my first life, my understanding of the story system was still like a fish fresh out of water. I who at that time, despite knowing the existence of the system, did not really know the world outside the story. Everything around me still feels like a fairy tale.

In my second life, I realized reality too slowly. Before I knew it, the world in front of my eyes was already torn into pieces. I tried desperately to resuscitate all the characters I could find in the castle. But they thought I was crazy to see me panic.

As everything slowly gets usurped by the system, the hope of survival seems impossible. My steps became heavy as I walked into the last room I had not visited. Opening the door of my bedroom, my gaze met with the antagonist who was preparing to kill me.

He's my son. The evil prince who tried to kill his half-brother— the protagonist.

Back then, out of desperation, I forced him to be aware of the situation around him. Of course my efforts were in vain. He could not see the collapsed sky nor the buildings turned to ashes.

He was stunned at how messed up his father was. After all, in the story, I was told to be a cold and stern king while my son was a cunning stubborn prince.

My son doesn't listen to anything I say. Instead, he insinuated me sharply and scorned me with hurtful words.

It makes me angry. Being at the limit of madness, I took out a spear at the end of the room and ambushed it in the head. I was consumed by the flames of anger and turned into a blind monster.

My second life ended tragically and bloodily. The regret and bitterness that the author gave off felt real. That feeling woke me up from a fantasy fairytale world character to a human being stained with millions of feelings.

Life can be described as snowy days without the sun. Unlike my first life where the warm sun blooms in the spring.

I don't hate both authors. Not every story has a happy ending. As a writer, I understand it more than anyone else. Tragedy is not forbidden.

Tragedy makes us realize how fragile life is. Everything we do could end badly. We can be totally wrong even if we do the right thing.

In that case, would it not be better to live wholeheartedly under any circumstances than to confine oneself to various reasons?

.

.

I don't know. I can't comment on Guinevere. Only he can make his own decisions. I couldn't understand the child's mind perfectly. I was never good at taking care of kids.

'Dad... Why. you...'

—— Well.. in the first place, I was not a good father.