I Refused To Be Reincarnated

"She should be. Let me accompany you," replied Asha, putting on her cute slippers before closing the door behind her. Without waiting for their response, she took the lead, heading towards Morgane's room.

Grateful, Julius followed behind her, summarising what happened on their short walk before his eyes lit up. Soft lights filtered through the room's door, showing him she was present. Without wasting any time, he knocked urgently, alerting her.

A moment later, the frowning girl opened the door, her blue eyes scanning them in displeasure. "What do you want?" She asked, closing the door behind her before they could peek inside.

"We need you to examine big bro's state. He has been unconscious for over an hour already, and I'm afraid for his health," Julius said, a bitter smile tugging at his lips. He sought Nova first, knowing Morgane's grudge might prevent her from helping. After all, she couldn't have forgiven his brother for putting her mother's soul to rest so quickly.

Opposite to his suspicion, the girl bit her lips as her displeased frown turned into one of worry. Indeed, She hadn't forgiven Adam, even though she knew he had no choice. But after surviving the Belloria kingdom's hunt, her anger had subsided significantly. She had seen firsthand how the ghost did everything he could to bring her back in good health.

None of his small yet meaningful gestures escaped her eyes. Thus, she felt genuine concern for him.

The next moment, she placed her hand over his arm and scanned his soul using her high affinity and knowledge as guides. However, her initial diagnosis caused her frown to deepen.

"His soul has been shredded to pieces and reassembled several times," she said, an icy shiver running down her spine. "Several dozen times... all to create enough space for a strange blue sphere to hover around his essence," she added, confused about the ornament-like thing pulsing with energy.

She lingered for a moment, drawing a deep breath before concluding. "I don't know how he is still alive."

Palling at the revelation, tears welled up in the boy's eyes as his clenched fists trembled. "H-how is he now?" He asked, afraid to hear the worst.

"His soul is fine. It had always been damaged in the first place. The reassembling didn't aggravate its state," she replied, causing Shepard to frown.

"The problem comes most likely from the shock his mind suffered. Sadly, only the mysterious School of Astral Projection teachers are proficient in healing those scars," he revealed, tucking his fingers around his chin with a pensive grimace. Located on the eastern continent's edges, traveling there would take months on land since they couldn't reactivate the Gate yet.

However, an authoritative voice echoed in his mind before he could think further.

"Open Your Gate, Shepard. Now," said the Beast emperor, his frustration evident to the arcanist.

His lips twitched in response as a sense of defeat blossomed in his heart. Why try to awaken his disciple when they would all die under the archmage's vindictive spells?

His hand holding his forehead in despair, he said, "Julius, we can't escape him. I warned the two of you about how dangerous he is. Now, we'll all pay the price."

His bitter words lingered as he grabbed his hand and pulled him to the garden under Asha's and Morgane's baffled eyes. "Don't follow us," he added, his shoulders slumped and face decomposed.

****

Ten minutes later, the Gate's veil of mana hummed to life and encased the towering construct as Shepard plopped to the ground. It was terrible to open the door for his executioner to carry out his task with his own two hands. But what choice did he have? If he didn't, the archmage could pass through another city's Gate and fly to his college.

At that time, he knew his death would be anything but peaceful after angering the madman further.

Soon, the emperor's black and red robes fluttered in the college's garden wind. Followed by his loyal priest, he glared at the boy and his unconscious guardian. "Do you know what you did?" He asked, his blue eyes piercing them like sharp knives as mana filtered through his body.

Scared witless, Julius and Shepard kneeled powerlessly before the brutal man, awaiting their unavoidable deaths.

'I told you many times we shouldn't meet him,' the boy thought bitterly, casting reproachful glances at his brother. Yet, the terrifying man spoke again, causing his eyes to widen.

"You destroyed my slave's collar without alerting the magus!" the emperor's voice thundered, his arms trembling in joy. "Whether it's mostly your doing or just luck, this is an incredible chance. We should celebrate," he added, his eyes softening. Then, the priest retrieved a hard bone from his robe, wrapping it in a white cloth before extending it to the shocked Julius.

Before the duo could understand the ridiculous situation unfolding before their eyes, the emperor continued, "It's an earth drake's bone. Even if the creature is only of the sixth tier, its incredible bone density and resilience are comparable to most tier seven magic beasts. It's yours," he grinned, satisfied by his gift as the first stars lit the darkening sky.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

After all, drakes shared the fabled dragon's lineage. Even if they were much weaker comparatively, they were formidable adversaries only he could defeat without sustaining heavy injuries.

Upon seeing the dreadful man's pleased expression and smile, Julius shook his head to recompose himself. "Didn't you come to kill us?" He asked, unable to believe they wouldn't die today.

Shepard shook, sharing the boy's suspicions. It made no sense to him to see the emperor come to reward them after the duo destroyed the proof of his achievements, one of the only three archmage sigils in the world.

Yet, the emperor only nodded before turning to leave. He had repaid his debts and owed them nothing, freeing his heart from potential future sympathies. What they did exactly didn't interest him much, either. All that mattered was his freedom and everything he could do now with Ossian's ghost army, the ritual, and Selene's under-construction flying fortress.

Meanwhile, the priest placed the bone before the boy before following his liege.

As their figure disappeared, Shepard sprang to his feet like a magical beast and burst into laughter. "Hahaha! I knew I couldn't die so young!" He said, feeling the world protected him, unwilling to lose such a charming genius.

However, they both missed the most significant part of the archmage's declaration. He was free, unbound by the world's strict rules until the magus in person appeared to restrict him again...