Galaxy's First Ruler

Pain!

Unbearable Pain!

Aldrich couldn't raise his hands to hold his head, nor could he open his mouth to let out a scream. Yet, the pain was all he could feel at that moment.

The Black Veil had saved him from turning into a monstrosity, but it couldn't filter out this feeling. Because this feeling hadn't originated from the thing on the archaic altar, but it had come from a place no living being must go.

The hole which had vanished after his resurrection ripped apart his forehead and returned. And a blurry shadow of a dark single-leafed sapling towered within the emptiness behind Aldrich.

Hissss!

Aldrich's immovable eyes, throbbing with pain, saw the White Snake hissing in madness upon seeing these changes. He couldn't pity the Will of the being on the altar, as his mind was already being devastated by a Call. A Call urging and imploring him to say the familiar words out loud.

Crack!

Aldrich's molar cracked in an effort to keep his mouth closed. He felt if he were to even hint assenting to the Call, then the things that would ensue would not be according to his desire.

'I… will feed… you… by my own… will.'

Hisssssssss!

Aldrich brokenly thought, as if answering the call. The White Snake's head had already gone inside into the dark spaces of its coiled body, ready to be shot forward towards the Black Veil in front of Aldrich.

But just as everything was about to go downhill, the Call suddenly receded. The incomprehensible urge to call out those 'Names' and to do its bidding vanished. The surging pain slowly began to ebb, leaving behind traces of its presence all over Aldrich's body.

The White Snake's head let go of its threatening posture and Aldrich felt as if one of the eyeless holes in its head stared directly at him. But everything had gotten incredibly blurry by the blessing of the Black Veil.

BAM!

A sudden white flash hit Aldrich's mind and his entire body got thrown backward. Countless indistinguishable scenes flashed by his closed eyes. Just as the scenes felt like they had died down, a clear scene presented itself to Aldrich. He did not know why, but he felt tiny compared to the golden bird he was seeing.

But that wasn't the end of this strange vision.

An even bigger and longer black-green snake lunged at the bird from the ground and bit its neck. Aldrich felt the immense struggle that the Golden Bird had put against it, but it was all in vain. As, ultimately, it succumbed to the snake's tight grip, who kept coiling around and squeezing out its breath.

"Oi! Wake up… Oi!"

Slap! Slap!

UGh!

Aldrich felt abnormally dizzy as the sun rays washed away the white sheetlike background from his eyes. Two little smooth hands kept slapping his cheeks, as if unaware of the mask on Aldrich's face. When Aldrich finally opened his eyes, he found Rosalia crouched down over him, with a black dagger about to sever her head.

'Sha!'

Aldrich shouted at the Shadow Homunculus, and the dagger disappeared as if sucked away by vacuum.

"Hehe! Cutting my head off won't damage me. I don't know how you figured out the importance of Everlasting Tower, but I have upheld my end of the deal."

Slap!

"Stop it! I am already up."

Aldrich jerked her hand away, seeing it coming for giving him another round of slaps. He sat up and observed his surroundings. The tornado of rose petals had vanished, the dark corners had lit up, and the wind had resumed its howling.

He looked into Rosalia's innocent green marble-like eyes, hiding deep cunning within them.

"What did the vision mean?"

The Ancient Scholar stood up and tapped her chin, using her finger, as if remembering something crucial.

"Vision? What vision?! Heh! Do you think I did it to make a prophecy?"

Bwahaha!

Aldrich narrowed his eyes, seeing the little girl laughing out with her head raised high. Before revealing more, he prodded the overconfident Spirit.

"Oh! Then why did you do it?"

"Humph!"

Rosalia harrumphed and turned around, not giving Aldrich's question any mind. But when Aldrich didn't ask again, she faked a struggling expression and continued.

"It's not that easy to get a vision related to the future. One needs to offer sacrifice, according to the request. I don't remember, but the reason I have lost my King Rank must be related to the prophecy concerning us. If I could do prophecies so freely, why would I even let you come here and.. and.. spank me like that. You… even used all your Strength."

Thump!

Aldrich didn't mind how Rosalia had strayed from the asked topic and stomped her feet before walking away. The sheer improbability of the events related to Balck Veil and White Snake had already occupied his mind. If he was given a vision, then it only meant he had sacrificed something unknowingly.

Aldrich's mind raced, guessing what would have happened if he were to call out the 'Name' of that enormous being behind the Veil in the Darkness. As he played the scenario, the image of a black owl hovering and hooting in front of the vast endless Veil came to him.

Sigh!

Aldrich sighed and stood up.

"I couldn't see or hear anything during your prayer. I guess it had all been for nothing."

Aldrich muttered under his breath, but it was loud enough for Rosalia to hear who had extended an ear towards him.

"Haha! You pervert! Even I, the mighty Ancient Oracle, have seen nothing in millions of years. To think you could see something shows your ignorance on the Galactic scale."

'As I expected!'

Aldrich thought and walked towards the edge of the platform.

"Oi! Where are you going?"

Aldrich turned around and saw the pained expression on Rosalia's face. He couldn't deny that she had literally waited for him for millions of years, despite her use of dark schemes and manipulation. But now that he has seen something about his future, Aldrich felt an immense need to have access to a plethora of books and data.

"I am going back. What of it?"

Rosalia fidgeted with his fingers and tried to dig a hole in the red floor with her toes before speaking.

"Sigh! I have something to ask of you."