A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

The night was quiet, except for the low splashing sound of the spring water sprayed on the stone statue of the goddess Isdar in the courtyard.

A hexahedral diamond-shaped crystal column stands in the middle of the courtyard, emitting soft white light in the dark.

In the corner of the room, the little milk lion lay on the soft cushion and curled up into a ball, like a ball of fur, with its fluffy little head buried in its two short legs, making a purring sound.

It slept soundly and was completely unaware of what had just happened in the room.

The night wind that had been blowing violently for a while had softened again, lightly passing over the surface of the Crescent Pool, lifting up the translucent gauze and blowing into the open floor-to-ceiling windows.

The golden forehead hair moved slightly. Sitting on the bed, Garlan turned his head and glanced out the window at the tips of light green flower buds swaying gently in the wind.

As soon as he moved, the arms holding him tightened, but as if they were afraid of his pain, they tightened for a moment and then immediately relaxed a little.

Garlan's hand gently patted Heimos' back.

Heimos hugged him, holding him tightly in his arms, as if afraid that he would disappear.

Her head was buried deeply into the crook of his neck, and her dark hair was scattered on his shoulders.

It looked like a big dog that had been away from its owner for too long and had to sit on its owner's lap to feel at ease. It held Garlan and refused to let go.

Garlan said nothing or did nothing, he just let Heimos hug him and hugged him back.

He could feel a little wet touch on his shoulders.

He still didn't say anything, but from time to time he would gently stroke Heimos' back with his hand.

I don’t know how long it took, but the crescent moon had already crossed the sky, and it was already late at night before I knew it.

"Heimos."

Garlan shouted softly.

After a pause, Heimos finally slowly raised his head.

His lips were still pursed tightly.

From the beginning until now, not a single sound came from the man's pursed thin lips.

Under the soft light, you can clearly see that the corners of his eyes are red at the moment, very red.

His face, which was clearly as sharp and cold as a razor blade, was now covered with tears.

Perhaps it is because of this huge contrast that it becomes even more distressing to watch.

A strand of wet white hair fell in the corner of his red eyes.

Garlan looked up at Heimos. He raised his hand and wiped away the tears on Heimos' face with his palms.

He ran his fingers through the snowy hair, and then saw the deep scars at the corners of his eyes.

It's Heimos.

From the way this man looked at him, Garlan knew that this man was Heimos.

But what he didn't expect was that Heimos turned out to be Heimos.

There are still traces of burns on the hands without palm prints, and there is a scar from the corner of the eye that extends to the ear.

This is the Heimos of two thousand years ago.

He was not reincarnated in this era like Brother Wang or Kayhos.

Garlan remembered.

Brother Kamos said that the barrier of time is extremely powerful, and the power required to just let the soul transcend time is enough to shatter the throne of God.

It is absolutely impossible for a person to cross the torrent of time together with his body.

Unless the world is destroyed and the rules collapse.

Why would Heimos...

But Garlan didn't want to ask.

Because there is no need.

This person was right in front of him now, silent, just crying all the time, like a child who had been wronged, which made him feel distressed.

So he didn't ask anything, just looked at him and raised his hand to wipe away the tears on his face.

"I wanted to find you."

Garlan said, his wet fingertips that had just wiped away tears gently stroked Heimos' forehead.

His eyes fell on the unusually conspicuous strands of white hair between the dark forehead.

"Although I don't know where you will be, whether you will remember me...and I don't know how long it will take me to find you."

Heimos, who pursed his lips, did not speak immediately, but his extremely red eyes were still looking at Garlan.

"But you said it."

The man finally spoke.

He spoke very slowly, word by word, as if he had not spoken for a long time and seemed quite stiff.

The voice was not only deep, but also terrifyingly hoarse.

"You said to me at that time..."

He raised his hand and grabbed Garlan's hands.

His grip was tight, his brown fingers digging into his white wrist.

He looked at Garlan with an accusing look.

"You said you don't want me anymore."

Garlan took a breath.

He didn't respond for a while, just looking at Heimos blankly.

With just one sentence, the memories of that time came flooding back to him.

He remembered his own powerlessness at that time, and what he said to Heimos with a smile at that time.

It was obviously very uncomfortable, both in my body and in the deepest parts of my body. It was so painful that it was so painful that it was hard to breathe.

However, he still had to use that calm tone and say those words to Heimos with a smile.

[I don’t want you anymore, Heimos. 】

Garlan lowered his eyes.

His hands were held by Heimos, but he lowered his head and lowered his eyes.

The blond hair hanging down from his cheeks covered his face, casting shadows on his side cheeks.

He slowly bit his lower lip.

He had been thinking about what he would say when he found Heimos.

Is it 'sorry' or...

Now this person is right in front of him, but he can't say anything.

He did the most cruel things to him.

Even though he knew what he meant to him, he still left him there alone.

[Protect Aaron Landis as you would protect me. 】

He knew that every word Huymos said to him was fulfilled.

This man was always like this, always giving everything he had to him without hesitation.

But he used Heimos' love for him in such a cruel way to make Heimos make that promise.

Even for the reason of protecting Aaron Landis, protecting everyone, and even protecting Heimos, he couldn't deny this.

Now, facing Heimos, he couldn't even say 'sorry'.

In front of this man, a word of 'sorry' is so feeble.

Under the soft light, the slender eyelashes that drooped cast deep shadows on the young man's cheeks.

The boy bit his lower lip tightly, and his teeth dug deep marks, so much that his lips turned slightly white.

At this moment, Heimos suddenly lowered his head, came over, and kissed Garlan.

He held the other person's lips in his mouth, and with extremely gentle movements, his soft tongue opened Gallan's teeth that were clenching his lower lip.

He released his grip on his wrists and held Garlan's head with both hands. The tip of his tongue gently licked the bitten white spot on the young man's lips as if soothing him.

Extremely pitiful.

After a while, Heimos raised his head, gently pressed his forehead against Garlan's head, and rubbed it.

"Don't bite."

He said,

"I'm not angry anymore."

He was obviously accusing a second ago, but now he is coaxing the person in his arms in a low voice.

"I just scared you on purpose, I'm not angry."

He held Garlan's head in his hands and gently rubbed his forehead against the blond hair.

The warmth transmitted from the other person's forehead made Heimos' eyes soften.

His fingers kept stroking the warm skin, which was completely different from the cold body in his memory.

The warmth seeped into his body, as if all the coldness of these two thousand years had been driven away.

As he spoke, he gently kissed the corners of the eyes, forehead, and ear tips of the boy in his arms like a dragonfly touching water.

"Stop biting."

he said, in a husky voice.

"I feel bad."

My chest, which seemed to be under heavy pressure, suddenly felt sore, and even the tip of my nose seemed to become sore as well.

Garlan stretched out his hand and hugged the person in front of him tightly.

Trying his best to hold back the thick soreness on the tip of his nose, he buried his entire face into the other person's broad chest.

It was an embrace he was all too familiar with.

He closed his eyes and pressed his cheek against the man's strong chest. Through the thin layer of muscles, he could hear the clear heartbeat coming from deep in the other man's chest.

Once, and again.

Strong and powerful.

It made him feel indescribably at ease.

【No matter where you are, I will come to you. 】

[Even if it’s hell. 】

Every word he said to him was a promise.

…………

……………………

That night more than two thousand years ago.

In the dark night, the sky is filled with the brilliance of stars.

On the top floor of the White Tomb Palace, in the temple located at the highest point of the palace, the sky roof and the four walls are covered with relief stone statues of Aaron Landis gods.

The night was eerily quiet.

The black-haired man squatted half-crouched in the center of the empty temple, with the boy's cold body in his arms.

He raised his head and slowly looked around at the reliefs of the gods on the stone wall of the temple with terrifying eyes.

"I know you can hear me."

At the cost of achieving the unification of the continent, he demanded a contract with the gods.

At first, the gods were silent and did not respond to his words.

And he stopped speaking and remained silent.

For two days and three nights, he remained as motionless as a stone statue.

The gods, who could no longer remain silent, finally responded to him.

[If ‘he’ does not return, your soul will be trapped in this body forever, and you will never be able to escape. 】

The gods had warned him so.

[Even so, do you still want to make this contract? 】

The man nodded without hesitation.

The sighs of the gods sounded in the void.

【as you wish. 】

From the moment he made the contract with the gods, time stopped for Heimos.

From then on, his heart stopped beating.

From now on, time will not pass on him.

Those few strands of white hair that turned like snow in an instant were a symbol of the contract.

Before Garlan sets foot on the land of Aaron Landis again, his time will always stay at the moment when the contract was made.

…

After making a contract with the gods, he walked out of the royal tomb and inherited the throne.

Completing the mission of the gods and reaching the thread of destiny is his only goal.

Other than that, he didn't care about anything.

Because time has stood still, his appearance has not changed in the decades he has been in office.

Although everyone was surprised by this, no one dared to say anything due to fear of him.

Thirty-two years later, after completing his mission, he entered the royal tomb and began to wait in his sleep.

And this wait lasted for more than two thousand years.

…………

Holding the beloved he had waited for two thousand years in his arms, Heimos's low and hoarse voice rang out in the quiet night, telling him about his contract with the gods.

Garlan listened quietly.

It was not until the end that he raised his hand and touched that handsome face that was no different from two thousand years ago.

He said softly, "Have you ever thought about what you would do if I failed to go back two thousand years later, or if I couldn't come to Aaron Landis due to an accident?"

"Then just keep sleeping."

Heimos said, holding the boy's warm body in his arms with nostalgia.

He said it lightly.

"It's okay not to wake up."

If he didn't fall asleep, he might fall into madness during the long wait.

If the person in his arms was not there when he woke up, he would rather sleep forever.

"I don't need reincarnation."

He said,

"Whether it's you two thousand years ago or you two thousand years from now, it's still 'you'."

"Without this contract, the 'me' you meet two thousand years from now may not be me."

"I don't allow it."

Reincarnation?

No, he never believed in an afterlife.

He only wanted the person in front of him at this moment, only now.

Perhaps thinking of something unpleasant to him, Heimos tightened his arms.

His tone was cold.

"Even if that person is the reincarnated version of me, I will never tolerate him touching you, let alone being nice to him."

Garlan was speechless for a moment.

After a while, he raised his hand and poked Heimos' cheek.

"How stingy."

"Whatever you say."

The man who unabashedly showed his great desire for exclusivity grabbed the hand that poked his cheek several times, lowered his head, and blocked Garlan's mouth forcefully.

"Not even if it's another me." He said, "You can only be mine!"

It can only belong to me.