510
Azik Eggers leaned against a reef, clutching his head.
His breathing was heavy and pained, but his features were no longer so tense. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he said:
"My previous slumber brought back more memories. I saw myself sitting on a throne of skulls, saw Beyonders and ordinary people lying dead before it. They had done nothing wrong, yet they suddenly died just like that. Then they rose, one after another, becoming pale undead creatures, undead creatures who pledged their allegiance to me."
"And I simply watched coldly, without the slightest stir of emotion, allowing the catastrophe to spread to villages, to cities.
"It made me feel unlike myself, yet I also knew very well that perhaps this was my true self."
The Death Consul of the Fourth Epoch's Balam Empire...? Klein's lips moved, then pressed tightly together.
Azik raised a hand and rubbed his temple, continuing in a calm, flat voice:
"I feel myself returning in that direction."
"But..."
Deep incomprehension surfaced in his eyes, even something that could be called bewilderment. "It seems He has rejected me too..."
Klein remembered the daughter Mr. Azik had mentioned, the one who liked asking him for sweets. After considering his words, he said, "I don't think you're divided within yourself. Rather, you're fighting against a maddened psyche.
"The you who lost his memories and began new lives again and again was kind, warm, and full of emotion. The closer those lives are to the present, the more clearly that should show."
"Perhaps that is the true you, your essential self, while the you of the Death Consul period was influenced by the tendency toward loss of control contained in Beyonder Characteristics, and by the influence passed down from Death's lofty position. I heard He went