CHAPTER 402: AGAIN... AGAIN... HOW MANY MORE AGAINS?

Xion had no idea of what had transpired. He was standing in Noxian’s room, exactly where he had disappeared from.

Oh, no. Not that, actually.

He knew exactly what had happened. The colors had started to bleed in his vision, painting his sight with something tangible to see.

The purple curtains of Noxian’s room floated gently with the tiny wisps of air drifting in through some tiny holes.

From the closed windows, he could see how the night was covering every inch of the land, or how the moonlight glinted off the snow piled over the ground in messy heaps.

His dead eyes were seeing again. His entire body felt as if dipped into the holy water of rebirth.

All his aching, all of his tiredness, his weakness... everything had left his body.

If he had to tell in medical terms, he was a perfectly healthy person.

And yet...

’System? Are you there?’

There was no response. There was no scolding for being reckless, no smug replies, no taunts on his stupidly loser-like social skills.

Nothing.

"S-system... Are you there?"

Xion knew the system was not.

It wasn’t the normal disappearance that he had gotten used to.

This time, his dear system had truly left him all alone to bear whatever this world had to throw at him.

This was the price for his recklessness.

[I am keeping a tab on everything. The moment we are done, I’m going to vanish with all your mall points.]

It really did what it said.

He had lost something so precious to him again. And again and again....

How many ’agains’ would it take for the cursed circle to end?

Ah, he knew the answer.

In fact, he was aware of it from the beginning.

He needed to change. He needed to become so merciless that people would think Darius Rael Darkhelm was a very angelic ruler.

But... but...

"It hurts," he muttered, looking at his chest. And suddenly Xion wished for a wound there.

Still bleeding, still aching, still visible. At least, then he would have been able to say that the source of his ache was this bloody mess.

He didn’t turn to check if Noxian was asleep or not.

All he wanted was a place where he could mourn.

For others, the system might just be a thing. But to him, it was his companion, something that knew exactly what was going on inside his head.

And despite teasing him, it was always there.

So, yes, he needed to mourn for another death.

With staggering footsteps, he walked forward, out of Noxian’s room and toward wherever the hallway led him.

"Xion?"

Xion blinked at the tall figure in front of him.

Silver hair, green eyes — beautiful enough to make the air in his lungs stutter.

For a moment, something bright and dangerous flared in his chest. Delight.

To think that he had just lost his system. It was as if he were making his home out of the bones of his friends.

Disgust, grief, and happiness fought inside him, tearing at each other.

"...Ah," his voice cracked on the name. "I can see you now."

Green pupils constricted sharply, his gaze locking on Xion’s face as though he were afraid to blink.

For a heartbeat, his expression was pure, unguarded shock before a surge of glimmer filled every inch of his being.

"You..." His voice was hoarse, as though pulled from somewhere deep. "Your eyes... they’re—"

He didn’t finish the word. His hand moved first, cupping Xion’s face as if afraid Xion would vanish if he looked away.

There it was — the faint, luminous sheen in Xion’s irises, the way they caught the light and threw it back, brighter than before.

It wasn’t just sight. Xion looked...

His lips parted and something dangerously close to a laugh — or maybe a sob — slipped out of him.

Darius Rael Darkhelm, conqueror and devil in human skin, looked as if he would shed tears the next second.

And he did.

When Xion smiled at him, gently placing his hand on his, leaning into his touch, as a trail of wetness slid down those chiseled cheekbones.

"Oh, my love," Darius whispered before pulling Xion into his arms, burying his head in the crook of his shoulder.

"I am glad, baby. So, so glad."

Xion hugged Darius, gently patting his back.

"Ah, wait," The Archduke seemed to panic all of a sudden. "Why are you barefoot?"

Before Xion could answer, Darius had picked him up like a child.

"Are you cold? Wait, should I take you to Allen? What about poison? You look... oh, Xion... you look alive

."

Xion stared at the babbling fool with fixed attention.

"Take me to our room."

There was nothing else Xion wanted than to stay curled up in these cozy arms.

Darius didn’t waste another second before rushing to their room.

Gently putting him down onto the freshly cleaned bed, he kneeled on the floor.

His gaze was still fixed on Xion’s face, at the way those deep blue eyes were filled with beautiful light.

"How, Xion? I mean..."

"My precious friend s-system, you remember?"

Darius hummed. How could he forget that?

"I traded my life with the gods, and now... they had taken my friend from me."

Darius remained silent before asking, his voice slightly strained. "How did you trade your life, exactly?"

"You see, I figured the gods didn’t want me dead, yet. So, I plunged the knife into my chest-"

Xion stopped mid-sentence, realizing the careless slip of his tongue.

"Forget what I said... I mean, I can’t-"

It was only now Darius noticed that the front lapel of Xion’s shirt was cut open, and the spider web-like purple marks were gone.

Darius touched the unblemished skin with quivering fingers.

There, under his touch, was a bold heartbeat.

Thump. Thump.

"Xion. You did what?"

"I said," Xion suddenly yelled. "Forget that! Why can’t you just listen? That wasn’t even important! I lost my system, Darius! I lost it!"

"No, Xion! No," Darius’ voice raised as well, simmering with obvious rage. Yet there was blatant care and love in it.

"You hurt yourself. What if it hadn’t worked? What if..." I lost you...

There was no need to voice the words.

"I... I was sure it would," Xion said stiffly.

Darius’ rage was never something Xion personally experienced until now. Not even in their past lives.

It scared him.

"And it did. H-Hadn’t it?"

So, please. Don’t be mad at me.

Xion was so close to Darius that he could see his own reflection in those heavy eyes.

God, he hated it.

Why did he look so wretched?

"Why didn’t you tell me?" Darius let his hand fall down, his voice lower than before. "Why, Xion?"

"Because you won’t agree."

Even his stupid system wouldn’t agree. That was why he wanted to do it alone.

Just like he had always done.

"Why do you think that is? Hmm?" Rage blazed as Darius suddenly stood up.

The more he stepped back, the more Xion panicked.

"Answer me!"

The yell startled the healer. It frightened him in a way nothing else ever had.

With how his emotions had been gnawing at his senses, he couldn’t even understand what was going on anymore.

It should have been a good thing that he was cured, right?

Or maybe it would have been better to let the poison sink deep into his veins?

But he knew.

He was aware of why Darius was angry.

"Because you love me..."

And because I love you too, I know how terrible it is to get separated with no hope of meeting again.

"Because you don’t want to see me h-hurt. And I can’t see you in pain either."

The ache that had been gathering in his chest started to swirl in his vision.

"Yes, Xion," Darius softened. But he stood there at some distance, away from Xion’s grasp.

"It is because I love you so much. I adore you more than anything in the world. With you gone, this is nothing but hell to me."

Yes, Darius had certainly turned Eldoria into a living hell. The sight was so terrible that even the gods had to bow down and reverse the time.

And for all the bloodshed, the sole reason was Xion. His selfishness to be with Darius.

Even now, he had sacrificed an innocent system.

Oh, Xion, you are such a vile creature. He thought with utter disgust.

But heavens, he was just that desperate.

The taste of his emotions had churned and turned into something so horrible. It sat heavily on his tongue.

Xion didn’t want to beg for it. He didn’t and yet...

Please, Darius, even if I am so horrible. Even if I don’t deserve to be alive, just please...

"Hold me, Darius. Even if it is the last time you do. Even if you are so angry with me, just don’t leave me alone."

Then, he was engulfed in the warmest of embraces.

The arms around him tightened until he merged into Darius.

The loud echoes of cries filled the room, and tears flowed down, soaking the Archduke’s shirt.