Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power

Chapter 426: Chapter 426: Overstepping Boundaries

Chapter 426 – Overstepping boundaries

"What are you willing to pay?" Kaden asked Rudolph, his hair and eyes green now to match his new name, sitting on a chair while the crippled man was leaning against the wall of his bed.

Rudolph’s golden eyes were scanning his leg, feeling the dull pain that had accompanied him like a loyal friend since he was born. By now, he was used to this — or so he told himself.

The room was empty, devoid of anything that could bother a crippled man walk.

Rea was nowhere to be seen, sent away by Kaden. The God-Touched didn’t mind; she was not the type to enjoy watching these emotional moments.

So she stood behind the door, expecting the entrance of one The Will called The Alchemist.

Strangely, she felt a sense of foreboding.

"Willing to pay, huh?" Rudolph echoed Kaden’s question, shaking his head almost in amusement. "I don’t actually know, Alchemist Asclepius."

He answered, still looking at his leg.

"I do want to walk," he continued. "I do want to experience what it feels like to walk without exterior help, to run outside freely and enjoy the hiss of wind on my face. From what I have heard — believe me, I heard a lot — it’s quite a good feeling."

Kaden let out a low, faint smile. "It is."

Rudolph laughed. "Oh! Is it, really? I wholeheartedly believe it if it’s you who says it, Alchemist Asclepius!"

His laugh was warm and free, not befitting of one with such a condition, Kaden naively thought.

"And there are even more reasons, you see. But you can already imagine how much I long to walk."

Rudolph paused, taking a deep breath, his chest contracting painfully in the process, before releasing it slowly in a pale, steam-like breath.

"I truly want to walk. I dream of it every single night, me running and doing things that could only be done with two working legs. That’s why the first answer that appeared in my mind at your question is: anything, Alchemist. I am ready to pay anything to walk."

"The first?" Kaden said, his voice soft and warm like a breeze, tilting his head. "Meaning there is a second?"

"Yes."

"Why? I honestly expected the first answer from you."

"That’s also what I thought of myself!" Rudolph barked another laugh, then stopped abruptly, wincing as the pain in his leg flared again.

Kaden watched wordlessly, giving the man the time he needed.

Seconds later,

"I am ready to do anything as long as I don’t lose myself," Rudolph finally said, gazing at Kaden with his golden eyes. "That’s my second thought, and my last. Hopefully."

"So if whatever way you have to heal me involves me losing myself," he shrugged in a pitifully failed attempt at carelessness, "then I will have to refuse."

"Now you intrigue me," Kaden said. "I have heard and seen many ready to lose themselves for their dream."

Behind the door, Rea’s body flinched at Kaden’s words.

"That’s sad to hear. But I am wishing, dreaming, hoping that one day I can walk only because I am me, myself and I," Rudolph answered. "So what would be the point of succeeding in walking if ’I’ am no longer I?"

"Then why are you seeking so much to walk? You seem to enjoy life just as you are. Maybe that’s better for you? Did you ever think about that?" Kaden said. "Maybe what you think is bad for you is actually good for you, and what you think is good for you is bad for you."

"You cannot know for certain."

"That’s exactly why I wish to walk," Rudolph interjected. "It might be bad for me, as you have said. But I won’t know until I walk by myself."

"It would be too late to regret then."

"And I will regret it if I don’t try my best. In either case, I will regret it. Isn’t it ironic?"

"It is," Kaden said, then paused for a heartbeat. "But you know the world rarely gives you what you wish."

"Oh, I know it rather well," Rudolph pointed at his legs. "Look at me, do I look like someone favored? I fear not. But I have learned that the world rewards the patient. Well, I only heard about it. Then again, I hope I will be among those whose patience will be rewarded."

Kaden fell silent for a moment, remembering how the Soulless he had met was — devoid of any emotions.

So either Rudolph was lying to him, or he had finished — or rather been forced — to accept such an outcome.

The first possibility was unlikely. Kaden was not a Truth Holder, but his perception was sharp enough to know when one was lying to him, especially if the subject was a mortal.

So this boiled down to two possibilities: The Alchemist either fooled Rudolph into a false promise or made sure Rudolph let go of his own ethics.

No matter which of these two possibilities it was, Rudolph would lose himself at the end of the path.

Kaden hesitated for a moment, thinking about the repercussions of his actions, before sighing inwardly.

"Then it seems your patience will finally be rewarded," Kaden said, now looking at Rudolph’s leg. "For I am going to heal your legs."

Rudolph’s eyes dilated, a light of joy and relief flooding his golden gaze.

In a rush of enthusiasm, he tried to stand up hurriedly to properly thank Kaden, only to groan as a throbbing pain spread through his body.

He fell once more onto the bed, but he smiled through the pain, looking at Kaden with tear-filled eyes.

"I-I..." his voice was husky with emotion, the words lagging behind what his heart wished to convey.

Finally, he managed to force himself to speak after bowing his head toward Kaden,

"Anything..." he breathed, sobbing. "Anything I might say would never match what I truly feel. But I am grateful, Alchemist Asclepius! I do not have much on me, I am just a mortal. However, I can swear on—!"

"You do not need to swear on The Will for anything," Kaden said, his demeanor different from who he truly was.

At that instant, he was no longer Kaden Warborn. He was Asclepius, a renowned Alchemist, and he had to act in a way that matched his new face.

"I am an Alchemist, and an alchemist’s first virtue is to have the heart to save those he can." He smiled, making Rudolph lift his head. "So don’t thank me for doing something I ought to do."

Rudolph was speechless. Rea, outside the room, even more so. She never knew Kaden could play another role so well and so effortlessly.

However, exactly at that time, both Kaden and Rea’s bodies stiffened abruptly, the backs of their necks tingling as a wave of forbidden aura began to paint the air around them.

Kaden barely managed to retain his smile before raising his hand and placing it on Rudolph’s forehead.

The crippled man was confused by the sudden touch, but soon his eyelids began to flutter sporadically before ultimately closing completely.

The last thing Rudolph heard before his consciousness was put into a paused state was the warm and gentle voice of Kaden:

"You were wrong, Rudolph. You will hardly retain yourself no matter how I heal you. By the time you wake up, you will be able to walk. So enjoy this, for it will be the last time you are yourself in the way you know it."

Kaden stood up next, just in time for Rea to slam the door open. Her face was soaked with fear, with Einar out of the earring, his expression solemn in a way never before seen.

"He is here," Rea stammered.

"I know."

Kaden answered, then walked out of the room, with Rea closing the door behind them and following him.

The moment they stepped outside, the two fiancés found themselves in front of a man.

He had deep, immaculate black skin with gray locs framing his head.

He wore a luxurious black robe with purple adornments, like those of a respectable alchemist from ancient times.

Kaden and Rea’s hearts skipped a beat when the ancient, old eyes of the Forbidden Alchemist rested upon them.

And their apprehension immediately rose to the level of terror when he smiled, his eyes curving sinisterly,

"Who are you trying to fool, little lad, with your disguise? Show me those proud faces of Warborn. Oh, it’s been a while since I saw one of you. Last time was with that nasty woman. Oho, are all of you crazy?"

The Alchemist laughed, then looked at Rea. He cackled even further, his eyes riddled with rotating runes.

"The Hero wounded you so hard? You can’t even take control of this little lass? Oh, woe to you, Woeful One. You are making me regret humoring your alliance in the current timeline."

Rea felt the sharp, angry bellow of the goddess rumbling through her mind. She held her head and staggered, eyes and nose bleeding black blood.

Her face immediately lost all color.

The Forbidden Alchemist smirked, seeming to hear the goddess. Next, he cocked his head, staring back at Kaden.

"You did it one time," he said. "Now you wish to change this event? My event? My business? Oh, Prometheus, Prometheus, Prometheus..."

His voice turned deathly cold.

"You are overstepping your boundaries."

—End of Chaptet 426—