PT | Chapter 8.5

With a frantic shout, there was a command to chase after him. Aubrey, hearing the thudding of footsteps behind him, dashed down the stairs.

Even though he was clearly drunk and couldn’t keep himself steady, Aubrey was unnaturally fast. In what felt like no time at all, he went from the third floor to the first floor and flung open a door he happened to spot.

By luck, it was the back door. Aubrey rushed out and sprinted through a maze of narrow alleys. As he ran, the sounds of people shouting at him to stop and loud footsteps chasing him seemed to fade. He thought he could slow down, but his legs just wouldn’t stop.

Get out of here. Leave Toroso far behind and go somewhere no one would recognize him. Somewhere he could be alone, eating, sleeping, and resting all day long. He’d do that, and one day, when the moment of destruction came like a disaster, he would just die. Then, he could start his twenty-fifth regression.

“Ugh…!”

The sudden wave of nausea made Aubrey double over.

Leaning against the wall with one hand, he gagged repeatedly, but nothing came out. Despite that, his stomach kept trying to expel something. The twisting pain in his guts made him unable to focus.

As he continued retching, the door creaked open, and someone stepped out.

“Goodness, what are you doing behind someone’s house? You drunken fool—”

The irritable voice made Aubrey immediately fumble at his chest. He quickly removed a button from his shirt and held it out.

“What… What are you offering…?”

“Water, please…”

They both spoke their own minds, but somehow, their communication worked. The woman grabbed the button and hurried inside. After muttering “Oh my,” she quickly returned with a bottle of water. Aubrey took the bottle, rinsed his mouth, and spat it out several times on the ground. The woman, who had been disgusted earlier, said nothing now.

After rinsing his mouth, Aubrey handed the bottle back to her and gave a brief thanks.

“Do you need anything else? Should I call a doctor?”

What Aubrey needed wasn’t a doctor. He needed a way out of here, far away from this place. A train ticket, or even a flight ticket. But those were things the woman couldn’t get for him.

Without saying another word, Aubrey left. He had been fine when he escaped, but now his strength had suddenly drained. His legs felt weak, and he stumbled, rubbing his face with both hands.

“Damn this place, I’m leaving…”

Muttering under his breath, boosted by the alcohol, Aubrey hiccupped. His face flushed with heat. His whole body felt like it was burning, and it felt like his legs were floating in the air.

He shouldn’t feel like this just from being drunk. Aubrey realized something was terribly wrong with his body, and he stopped for a moment, closing his eyes. Trying to catch his breath, he took a serious moment to clear his thoughts. There were only a few years left until the world would break down anyway. So, why not just escape from all this torment before then?

‘If you hate it that much, you can just leave everything behind.’

Aubrey smiled wryly as he recalled Lennock’s words.

“Yeah. I’ll leave. Damn bastard.”

Determined to go far away so he’d never have to see that annoying face again, Aubrey took a step forward.

Aubrey was intoxicated. He wasn’t thinking clearly, and that’s why he had forgotten—just for a moment—why he had stopped himself from leaving everything behind, to free himself and go live alone. Why he couldn’t just abandon the things he called family and solve the problems on his own.

At the moment when the cold air brushed against his neck, Aubrey’s expression faded. The rigid look in his eyes shifted towards the direction he had been walking. There, standing in his path, was a black shadow.

The figure, slightly hunched, seemed human at first glance. But Aubrey already knew it wasn’t. He felt an unpleasant sensation. He didn’t want to face that presence, and wanting to avoid it, Aubrey quickly turned his head and took a breath. But his heart raced faster, and his breath quickened.

When had it been? Aubrey, tired from the endless regressions, had once tried to leave everything behind and live freely, wandering around, enjoying life. But back then too, that shadow had appeared. It mocked him, the one who wanted to escape from a life full of troubles, and whispered to him.

Just like now.

‘How do you think you’ll ever be at ease?’

Not someone else, but you.

Without any other words, that same line repeated.

Aubrey had suffered enough from the repeated regressions. Wanting to be at ease couldn’t possibly be such a grave mistake. After all, it was unfair for someone who had done nothing wrong to suffer this much. But the shadow’s words were clear—Aubrey shouldn’t complain about the cycle of regression. This was happening because of his own karmic retribution.

In the end, everything happening was because of his own actions.

“No!!”

Aubrey shouted desperately as he glared at the shadow blocking his way. It had once terrified him, but now it didn’t. The shadow that stood in the way of his escape for freedom was grotesque. If this was what was stopping him from being free, then he just needed to get rid of it.

Aubrey charged at it with his bare hands. Right now, he felt like he could tear that shadow apart and never have to face it again. He would break its neck first, then rip its limbs off and send them to the four corners of the continent.

Yes. Just like how that great sin was killed 400 years ago…

In that instant, his heart clenched painfully. Unable to breathe, Aubrey collapsed forward, his legs giving way. He barely managed to catch himself with his hands, but his face slammed into the ground.

Suddenly, he couldn’t summon any strength. Wondering if attacking that shadow had done this to him, Aubrey pushed against the ground with all his might, trying to rise. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t even lift his head.

A pained groan escaped through his clenched teeth. Aubrey whimpered, shuddering from the cold air blowing at him. He hesitated and slowly moved his eyes, looking at the shadow’s feet that had moved closer to him.

“…….”

Aubrey had been the one to charge first, but with the figure now looming so close in front of him…

His eyes wavered in panic, looking left and right. Then, clenching his teeth, he lifted his head to look up at the being in front of him. The moment their eyes met, he quickly shut his eyes, as though trying to avoid it, as if he didn’t want to know anything at all.

Gripping the floor with both hands, Aubrey muttered, his eyes squeezed shut.

“No, this isn’t it.”

He didn’t even know what he was talking about. Despite that, he repeated the words over and over and bit down on his lower lip. That’s when a hand reached out from behind, grabbing his shoulder and arm, pulling him upward. Aubrey, taken off guard by the rough touch, glanced sideways.

It was the men who had been behind him earlier.

“You managed to escape so well earlier, but it seems like the alcohol’s kicking in again, huh?”

“……”

Seeing the man exposing his teeth in a coarse grin, Aubrey tried to shove him away. But his arms and legs were already completely useless. He couldn’t move his body as he wanted to. He could only feel the hand that briefly touched him, making the man laugh.

“Oh my, what kind of drink did you have? Don’t worry, we’ll take you to a nice place.”

“Yeah, a noble like you shouldn’t be sleeping just anywhere. Just trust us.”

The men each slung Aubrey’s arms over their shoulders. Sandwiched between the two of them, Aubrey tried to escape, but he couldn’t resist at all.

Suddenly, his vision blurred, and his body lost all strength, followed by a strange sensation. This wasn’t just from drinking too much. He recalled the man who had handed him the last drink. Could it be that he spiked it with something? That was the only explanation for how he was feeling now.

“Damn it…”

Clenching his teeth, Aubrey tried to resist again, but all he could do was rock his body back and forth. The resistance was so weak that the men supporting him answered casually.

“Yeah, yeah. We understand.”

It seemed like a joke to them. To anyone looking, they probably looked like servants helping a drunk master. Aubrey thought about shouting, but no sound came from his throat, as if something was blocking it. He tried a few more times to scream, but every time it was muffled.

Aubrey was desperate, but those helping him seemed to treat it like a game.

“Don’t waste your energy. If you just relax, we’ll take you to a really nice place.”

Then, one of the men supporting Aubrey said something completely unexpected.

“Are all nobles this beautiful?”

The man accompanying Aubrey frowned at that remark.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“But look at his skin, his hair, his body… firm yet soft…”

He leaned in closer, his face coming near Aubrey, and sniffed loudly.

“Smells so good too.”

“You madman. Did you forget he just threw up?”