TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 70

Blake — that was the name of the protagonist in the Fatum comic.

Although Moon never actually read the main storyline and didn’t care who Blake sought revenge on, he knew that in comics, flashback sequences usually appear right before a character’s death — or when they’re at rock bottom in a battle, hanging between life and death — to motivate a counterattack. And afterward, the protagonist typically gains strength and rises again.

Because of that, while skipping through the chapters for the flashbacks, Moon inevitably caught a glimpse of the battle scenes too.

At the brink of death, trapped in desperation, the protagonist Blake entered his consciousness space.

It was a world of darkness, and in that darkness stood a magnificent temple that felt entirely out of place.

He walked into the temple and, for the sake of revenge, drank poison to quench his thirst — offering his soul in exchange for power from the golden-haired man seated within.

Moon didn’t know if the comic ever revealed the man’s identity, but the moment he saw him — sitting high upon his throne, gazing down at Blake — Moon immediately recognized him. That man was the Sun God.

“Blake?” Zeman’s scarlet eyes darkened as he repeated the unfamiliar name.

“Other than his divine core, the Sun God’s fragment doesn’t possess much power,” Moon explained. “In other words, his strength is only slightly greater than that of his host. Right now, he’s at his weakest.”

Zeman frowned in thought.

“If that’s the case, then this time, it has to be a fatal blow. If he escapes, he won’t show himself again easily — he’ll just hide deeper.”

“Exactly,” Moon nodded.

The Sun God’s divine body had already been destroyed by Zeman. Until he regained enough strength, he wouldn’t dare show himself before Zeman.

He had his godhood and an eternal life — all he needed to do was endure and outlast Zeman. There was no reason for him to appear at all.

And since the only host Moon knew of was Blake, if they lost him, finding the Sun God again would be nearly impossible.

Zeman pressed his thumb to his temple. To avoid alarming the enemy, they would need to plan this carefully.

Padma wasn’t interested in all this talk about the Sun God’s fragments. He only looked at Moon in puzzlement.

“Did you also dream about something related to Albin?”

At the mention of Albin, Moon’s eyes snapped toward him. “What did you all dream about?”

Knowing Moon was the brother Albin trusted — and also the God of Night — Padma exchanged a glance with Zeman, then decided to tell them about their shared dream.

Even though Moon had already seen those scenes in the comic, hearing them described still made the air around him drop to freezing.

He recalled it and said coldly, “That wasn’t a dream. It was a remnant of fate.”

“What does that mean?” Padma asked, confused.

“It’s a trace left behind after time has been rewound,” Moon explained. He had once heard the God of Love and Fate mention such a phenomenon.

— If no new variable is introduced, no matter how many times time is rewound, it will always lead to the same result.

— For example: if someone nearly drowns while swimming, and time is rewound, they might never have fallen into the water at all — but perhaps they’ll dream of drowning and instinctively avoid rivers. That dream would be the remnant of fate left behind.

At that moment, Moon was certain — “This world has been rewound before.”

In his eyes, that so-called comic was also a manifestation of those remnants.

After everything they had experienced, both Zeman and Padma understood exactly what “rewind” meant.

Padma gritted his teeth. “You mean… everything we dreamed about actually happened? Albin really went through all of that?”

“That’s right.”

Padma shot a furious glare at Zeman, but there was something more pressing to ask.

“Do all people have these remnants of fate?”

If the Rat had that information too, he might use it to harm Albin.

“No,” Moon said. “These remnants are deliberate variables left behind by the one who rewound time.”

Zeman immediately asked, “Then who rewound it all?”

Rewinding time always came at an immense cost — and since all their dreams were related to Albin, it was clear that the one who rewound everything was on his side.

Moon silently shook his head.

After Xiao Bai’s death, he hadn’t followed the story anymore. He only knew that both the Rat and Zeman had died, along with many others — almost a total wipeout, according to readers who had begged the author to just let the protagonist die quickly.

But he had never heard anyone mention a rewind.

Curled up on a chair, Jade flicked his serpent tongue, staring blankly at them — completely lost about what they were discussing.

Scratching his head with his tail, he asked, “So… you’re saying Albin also had that dream?”

That casual question made everyone’s heart jolt.

If Albin also knew what had happened in the dream…

Zeman’s expression changed drastically.

He wasn’t afraid of Albin hating him — but he feared that Albin might make the same choice again. Whether willingly or under pressure, he might once more become a blood sacrifice to help the monsters.

“The Rat’s influence on his personality still lingers,” Padma said through gritted teeth. “A normal child wouldn’t throw away his life for others like that — he doesn’t value his own life at all.”

Zeman thought of the same thing — of Albin’s stubbornness in such matters.

“He’s like that because of the Rat’s indulgence and manipulation. No one ever corrected him or gave him proper guidance. It’s happened so many times that he’s come to believe that’s the right — even the only — thing to do.”

Moon began to think.

In the modern world, his little brother had never been in a situation requiring self-sacrifice, so that side of his nature had never surfaced.

No…

His gaze flickered.

He suddenly remembered — his brother had done such a thing.

To save him, Albin had died in a car accident.

And after that, his brother came to this world — but no one had ever guided him through that experience.

Jade was still dazed, tilting his head. “So… are you guys saying we shouldn’t tell Albin about his blood’s power?”

“No,” Zeman replied firmly. “We have to tell him the truth. If he discovers it himself without our knowing and no one guides him, the consequences could be even worse.”

“But before telling him, we have to prepare him first,” he added after a moment. “And we should help him grow stronger. With more power, he’ll have more options when things happen.”

The three adults exchanged glances and wordlessly came to an agreement.

Later—

Albin woke up and learned from Edward that Moon had stormed off to confront Zeman.

He immediately panicked — he didn’t even bother to put on shoes, kicked off the blanket, and rushed out.

“Brother! Dad!”

He burst into the next room — only to find that the atmosphere was nothing like what he had imagined.

Aside from Jade perched lazily on a stool, the other three stood in a triangle formation: Padma leaned against the wall looking annoyed, Zeman — his chains already undone — stood gazing out the window, and Moon sat quietly in the far corner, using magic to control a tiny black scythe that glittered with dark particles as it sliced bits of cloth. Next to him were… thread and needles?

When Albin barged in, all three of them turned to look at him — eyes sharp and piercing.

How… weird.

“Uh, good afternoon, everyone…” Albin blinked and greeted them, his tone uncertain.

Zeman’s eyes went straight to his bare feet, frowning as he started toward him — but Moon was closer to the door.

“Silly brother, forgot your shoes again,” Moon said, crouching down halfway.

Albin stuck out his tongue and instinctively wrapped his arms around his brother’s neck, letting him lift him up.

“Brother, what were you doing just now? Are you making clothes?”

“I’m making a plush doll,” Moon said, setting Albin down at the foot of the bed and ruffling his hair. The turmoil in his eyes finally began to calm.

With a faint hint of grievance, he added, “Before I came here, I bought a bunch of Xiao Bai merchandise, but it hasn’t arrived yet. So I’m making my own.”

Before being dragged into cosplay events, he’d learned from others about merchandise — acrylic stands, photo cards, pins, badges… and even plush dolls with changeable outfits. There was even a little sheep costume set!

Seeing all that amazing merch, it was like discovering a whole new world — he bought tons of Albin merch, even learned how to arrange display sets, and planned to decorate his room with them once the packages arrived.

Unfortunately, there was none of that here.

But it didn’t matter. He could make some himself — fill his coffin with dolls of his brother, even stick drawings on the inside of the lid, so that no matter when he looked up, he could always see his brother’s cute face.

A determined flame burned in his violet eyes. Just thinking about it stirred a powerful motivation in his ancient, usually still heart.

No one could stop him from having Albin merchandise!

Albin blinked in awe. “Wow, Brother, you can sew? That’s amazing!”

Moon froze. Then fell silent.

He… actually couldn’t sew.

But surely it couldn’t be that hard.

As the God of Night and Death, he’d always mastered every magic instantly — he’d even created two divine cores himself. There was no way sewing could defeat him.

Conveniently forgetting the humiliation of peeling eggs, Moon thought resolutely: A mere plush doll? Child’s play.

His brother had praised him — there was no way he could disappoint him now!

Just then, Edward walked in holding the shoes Albin had forgotten. Seeing that nothing bad had happened, he sighed in relief.

He was about to help Albin put them on when Padma subtly snatched them away.

Edward only shrugged helplessly.

Padma knelt in front of Albin. When Moon reached out to take the shoes so he could help instead, Padma deliberately sidestepped him.

Padma smiled sweetly. “Allow me. Your body temperature’s too low — kids can’t handle the chill.”

Moon narrowed his eyes at him.

Was that a hint to stay away from his brother?

This fox really was insufferable.

He said coldly, “Albin used to live with me all the time.”

Padma choked for words.

“Thank you, Brother Padma! And thank you, Uncle Edward~” said Albin cheerfully as he hopped off the bed and ran straight toward Zeman by the window.

“Dad!”

Padma watched him go, then turned back to Moon with a smirk. “By the way, I haven’t asked, my lord — since your little brother found himself a father, are you planning to call him ‘Dad’ too?”

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