“So why does fate keep playing with us like this? But you are wrong, Nate. I am not as capable as all of you are thinking. Because if that was true, Theron wouldn’t have died. And we would not be here debating about who happens to be the biggest loser among us all.”
I thought about the night that changed my life. Crono was wise and cruel. He was indeed, my father’s best friend because both of them were just as merciless. He had lived in the human world for a long time that was why he had learned countless of nasty tricks. One of the reason why an Armethian was not allowed to marry a human was because the next generation’s power would not be the same anymore. They would not be born as strong as a pure-blooded Armethian and their natural capability to fend themselves against vile spirits would decrease, too.
Because I had a mortal blood, it was so easy for Crono to use my body as a vessel. The latter’s body was under a vicious spell when we met for the first time eight years ago. He returned to Arameth only to execute his suicide mission.

AND THE moment Crono was killed, the spell he created was activated. When his blood was scattered all over the road and clung to me, that was his way to mark me as his target. Crono clearly wanted his best friend’s son to experience thrice the pain that he went through. And damn, he succeeded.
Crono’s spirit jumped in my body and took over it. The coldness that I felt back then when he died was the effect of his essence and his spirit taking over mine. He had sealed my power without me being aware of it so that I would not be able to free myself from his spirit-leaping spell. And when he was able to transfer his spirit completely to my body, he removed the seal to use my power to accomplish his revenge.
Crono had destroyed houses, burned hospitals and schools, and murdered thousands of Armethians through my body and magic. All of the people who had tried to stop him died a tragic way and so were every people he saw in every place he went to.
Crono avoided Eliran on purpose because he wanted to show my family the crimes I committed. He did not lay a hand on them because he wanted the people to be the ones to do it. My family could not stop Crono because he trapped them all inside the Royal Castle using my powers. It would not have happened if only my family and relatives did not perform another spell without my knowledge.
The very day that my Mother had a prediction about Crono’s return, she had gathered our family members right away. They decided to transfer their power to me, thus making me the strongest and most powerful Armethian in our realm, all because of their unbelievable belief that should Crono wreak havoc in our realm, I could fix it, that I could eradicate whatever evil Crono could put us into. They had so much confidence in me as a king. But the magic and power they gave me was the very reason why Arameth had to go through that kind of turmoil.
Because of that power, I was able to wake up quicker than what Crono had expected. He was able to use my body for only a few hours but the damage he caused was beyond fixing. Crono’s spirit had most probably been reincarnated in our realm and was now experiencing another tragedy as of the moment. But the impact of the tragedy he caused me continued day and night.
All his cruelties had left a mark in me, in my heart, and in my soul. I could still remember the agony, the weep, and the tears of the numerous people he had hurt and killed.
When the ancestor told me that fate would take me back to the beginning, I had no idea that he meant the human world, the world where the Armethians originated. I also did not know that the Armethians would follow me here.
“If you are looking for a reason to push through this, Alex, can’t we be that reason?” Nathan said in a pleading voice after a few minutes. “Your loyal supporters are still here and alive. All you need to do is say the word, and we will follow your lead just like before.”
I glanced at him and smiled indifferently. “If you only came here to ask me to save our family, then you’re in for a big disappointment, Nathan. We are our parents’ accomplice. Whatever we are going through right now, we deserve it. Whatever troubles our families are experiencing in the prison, those are not enough for bringing pandemonium to Arameth twice. The first thing happened eighty-five years ago, the second one happened eight years ago. They were the root cause of all that. They were the ones who created a monster out of Crono, out of me, and out of every single Armethian. They caused this mess. They have no right to ask for mercy. You and I are sinners, too. Aside from keeping their secret, we committed another sin.”
My tears fell. “It was our sin that we were born in this world. That’s why if all of you,” I pointed the Knights. “Only came here to tell me to save your families or whoever in Arameth from all the commotion there, then I’m sorry to say that you all came to the wrong person. I can’t save those people from themselves.”
I wiped my tears roughly. I stood up straight before I walked towards Theron again. This time, nobody had tried to stop me again. I took my jacket off and covered Theron’s body with it before I carefully carried him. I was about to leave the house when Nathan grabbed my arm.
“You are wrong. I did not come here to ask to be saved."