Marchio barely glanced up from the floating book he was reading. He said, his tone was casual and almost dismissive. "It has been written in the mailbox, hasn't it?"
Heka frowned. He tried to recall. "Marchio..."
"You have read the mailbox. It means you have a deal with me. Before it's done, don't expect to slip out from my Kiervant Sky." Marchio continued to warn Heka. However, his eyes were still fixed on the pages.
The words hit Heka like a cold wave. Finally, it explained the odd path he had just passed, the endless circling. The invisible chains that bound him to this place.
He swallowed hard, then shifted the conversation. He sought some distraction from the grim reality. "It's so cold outside, but why is it so warm here?"
"I don't think I have to answer." Marchio's lips curled into a faint smirk.
Heka's gaze wandered around the room. Countless flying candles flickered with eerie blue flames. It cast a soft and otherworldly glow.
The warmth they radiated was tangible. It wrapped the mansion in a comforting embrace. Despite everything, Heka felt Kiervant Sky was more than strangely inviting, but almost like a sanctuary.
Marchio said abruptly, closing his book. "I don't like wasting my time. Just tell me what you want."
Heka hesitated, then allowed a flicker of hope to kindle within him. Could Marchio be the miracle he needed, like Ansel had been before? Maybe, just maybe, he could rely on this enigmatic man.
But then, a bitter memory surfaced that he could never forget. The price he had already paid because of Soul Delivery. The loss of his parents, the unbearable grief.
This time, the outcomes could be different. Because he had nothing left, just himself.
That meant, he didn't have to sacrifice anyone. He didn't lose anyone.
When a sacrifice was required. This time he would sacrifice himself.
Finally, after countless restless thoughts and endless torment within his heart, Heka decided to speak the truth he had long buried deep inside.
This time, there was no hesitation, no faltering. He knew the gravity of his words. And he must prepare to pay the ultimate price. He had to sacrifice himself. There was no other way.
"I want to turn back time. I want to save my parents. I will give my soul in return." Heka said. His voice was trembling yet resolute.
These words were not mere wishes. It was the desperate plea of a son crushed by regret and loss.
Heka's mind flashed back to the moment he had accepted the Soul Delivery. At that time, he had been blinded by his ambition. It was what he yearned for more hours in the day, more time to live without the constraints of exhaustion.
He had craved the power to extend his waking moments beyond the limits of ordinary humans. But that desire had come at a terrible cost, his parents' lives.
He had never imagined that his selfish wish would demand such a cruel sacrifice. If only he had known the true price, he would have never accepted the Soul Delivery. The weight of his choice crushed him. The bitter taste of regret gnawed at his soul.
From the shadows, Marchio's cackle echoed. Chilling sound that seemed to pierce the very air.
He declared with a cold smile. "No one can turn back time. If there is a way to turn back time, I will never see myself in this state."
He paused for a moment, before continuing his words. "Well, remember this word. Time can never be returned. But I can give you the reverse time illusion. It's the way you can spend time with your parents."
Heka's heart sank. The faint hope he had clung to shattered like glass. He was a useless child, a burden who had doomed his family. Yet now, there was nothing left to weigh them down. They could finally rest in peace, free from the pain he had caused.
Marchio's voice cut through the silence again, sharp and impatient. "How long do you need to think? Then how can I count it? Which time, is it human time or Immortal time?"
Heka swallowed his despair and nodded. "Okay, I would like to accept the reversed time illusion."
Though it was not what he truly desired, he had no choice. Marchio's words were absolute, and the time's flow was irreversible.
At least, this illusion would give him a chance to apologize and make amends for being the child who had failed them. Even if it was only a trick of the mind, it was an opportunity to break free from the chains of guilt.
Marchio's eyes gleamed with a strange light. "Before I give you the illusion, you must do something for me."
Without hesitation, Heka asked. "What is that? Just tell me."
Marchio commanded. His tone was harsh and unyielding. "Find me 50 rabbits in lilac color!!! Don't ever fake the color!!"
Heka's heart sank further. From the beginning, he had known Marchio was no ordinary being. The cruelty Marchio inflicted upon the rabbits was whispered in fearful tales. The creatures were twisted and tormented for his simple dark purposes.
While Heka dared not question or complain.
"Rabbit, maybe it's his only food. But rabbits in lilac color are very hard to find. Never mind, after all, he's not human…" He thought bitterly.
"Make me a brown candle. Use cinnamon as a coloring and mix with oriental lily." Marchio's next order was simpler, yet no less weird.
This task was easier, and Heka could set to work without delay.
But Marchio's warning was stern and final. "Don't you dare fool me!!!"
Heka knew he had no choice but to obey. Every step, every task was a test, a toll he had to pay for even the smallest hope of redemption.
Heka answered briefly. "Okay."
Though Marchio's solicits were cruel and his nature merciless, Heka understood that this was the price of his ambition and regret. The path ahead was uncertain. However, for the first time in a long while, he felt a flicker of purpose.
"The last, the plain white ceramic bowl, white cloth, and blueberry. Make sure you remember everything." Marchio instructed with a voice that brooked no argument. His tone was calm but carried an unmistakable weight of command.