Loosely inspired by Puella Magi Madoka Magica plot line. I justed wanted a time travelling Frankenstein so here it is. Can be read as a sequel to my other fic, Virtues, or as a stand alone.
Frankenstein had seen this day coming. He knew this would happen, the very moment he noticed his Master coughing out blood as he used his power the very first time. He knew his Master was a benevolent person. He would definitely keep using his powers, even at the cost of his own life, as long as he could help someone.
He knew this was coming as soon as his Master awakened in modern day Korea. When they started taking in children into their home. When the Union continued to attack them.
Frankenstein knew that the solutions he offered to his Master wouldn't help him recover much. Sanctuary or not. Seal or not. This day has been approaching since long ago. It was inevitable.
But knowing something is different from seeing it first hand. It's like reading a crime story versus seeing a murder actually happening in front of you. The reaction and emotional impact is just different.
Today, the battle against the Union was finally over. They had won. But at what cost?
His Master was dying on the battlefield. Fading before Frankenstein's eyes and there was nothing he could do. He felt so helpless as he cradled his Master's fading form into his arms. The children stood a respectful distance away, understanding that Frankenstein needed this moment. They all knew he was grieving and needed the time to say his goodbyes. Forever.
His Master knew what was running through his head at this moment and smiled regretfully at him. Even on his deathbed, he still worries about Frankenstein. Frankenstein attempted to reassure him by giving him a smile, but it felt more like a grimace instead, so he dropped it.
His Master shakily brought up his hand and gently touched Frankenstein's cheeks, wiping away the tears that were flowing down his face. His hand then brushed away his stray hair and cupped his cheeks lightly.
"Do not be sad. Although it was short, we had a wonderful time together, didn't we?"
"Yes…"
"I wished we had more time together… Just to have ramen with everyone once more…"
Raizel smiled ruefully at him and his eyelashes slowly fluttered close. And at that instant, his body faded away completely, leaving behind a few red wisps that eventually dissipated into the wind.
Frankenstein felt it with every fibre of his being the moment it happened. Their bond snapped and frayed, leaving his soul grasping for something, yet reaching nothing. It tore at him. This wrongness. This emptiness. His soul was two beings merged as one just mere moments ago. Now with his Master gone, he felt so bare. There was nothing there, where once another soul occupied and connected with his.
He clenched his fists and roared to the heavens, feeling the lost so deeply and painfully. He wants just to be by his side forever. Was it so hard to ask for?
Pain… Grief… Suffering. We curse you, Frankenstein.
And is this not enough? Frankenstein mentally replied Dark Spear. Shut up and get lost. I'm not in the mood for this today.
We curse. And we hate. Hateee. But yes, we want you to suffer more. This… this is not enough, it cannot be the end yet.
… Do you have a way?
To resurrect him? No.
Then go away.
But we can reverse it. Make things right again… Make you dance to the tune once more. Suffer more for us Frankenstein. We curse…
You can let me go back in time?
Yes. Do you accept? Dance for us forever, Frankenstein. Amuse usss.
Recalling the pain and solitude he had endured for the 820 years without his Master, Frankenstein had no hesitation. It was obvious what his reply would be.
Do it. Bring me back.
With loud chuckles, Dark Spear acknowledged his words. Its aura grew and fluctuated, tearing through the area around him. The children cried out in alarm behind him.
"Frankenstein! Stop! You're trashing the area further."
"Boss! He's gone now, please calm down. Let's go back, okay?"
"He wouldn't want you to do this!"
"...please don't rampage now… I don't think I'm up for stopping him in this state."
As Dark Spear's aura grew stronger, it rose higher and higher. The children's voices grew dimmer and fainter. Dark Spear's aura swirled dark and ominously around him. Purple tendrils wrapped around him, as if embracing a long lost lover, cocooning him in their grasp. And he let them.
Then let us. Dance once more.
Frankenstein jerked up. His covers fell down from his chest and pooled around his legs. He was in his room at his house.
The "hows" and "whys" didn't matter yet. His soul cried in relief first, rejoicing at the muffled, but intact bond. The instantaneous shift left him breathless. The emptiness and void was gone, and he was whole again.
… You feel different… ah was the future so bad that we sent you back?
You… don't know?
Silence reigned… The only time Dark Spear would shut up was when he wanted answers. Go figure.
He checked on his calendar and tears started pooling in his eyes. He blinked rapidly to clear them away. It was the day when his Master was going to appear in his school.
The clocked ticked 4a.m. and Frankenstein knew he couldn't possibly sleep in this state, so he got up to plan. He needed to know what he had to do, what he was going to change. People he could save, people he could help earlier.
And most importantly, avoiding the horrible end for his Master.
In his second try, he largely stuck to the script, only changing some things here and there. He dealt with the infected first, before it escalated like before. While he couldn't save M-24 in time, he managed to get to the M-series names first.
He brought in Tao and Takeo the same way as last time, but he screwed up royally with Dr Aris. Upon setting his eyes on her and Yuri, rage soared through him. He flashbacked to Crombell and them attacking his family at the final battle, dealing the children severe injuries.
In his haste, he decided to destroy the two of them there and then, settling this problem early. He totally forgot that Takeo in this timeline did not know about the truth of his "sister" yet. And with his luck, Takeo arrived just in time to step between him and Dr Aris just as he was swinging down Dark Spear to deal the finishing blow.
… With a loud squelch, he cut his employee down. He stood there in shock, his eyes uncomprehending the scene in front of him. During this time, Dr Aris stood up and gloated. Bragging about how she had fun, acting as his sister. Her disability to read the atmosphere cost her greatly.
Frankenstein savagely wiped her off the face of the Earth. It didn't make him feel any better.
In the next timeline, he took great care to not repeat the same mistake. If he was slightly jumpy around Takeo, no one commented on it.
He prevented his lab from being trashed by Mark by setting countermeasures and tightening security. In doing so, he strained his relationship with M-21. But at least his efforts paid off when his Master need not awaken Tao and Takeo. He also saved Rajak, so that they have extra firepower in the final battle. This way, his Master need not use as much power as well. Also, selfishly, he wanted to save his friend's eldest son.
But somehow all these little details added up and backfired against him. With M-21 giving him the cold shoulder, he couldn't train him during the timeframe when Mark was with them. Without the awakening, Tao and Takeo were not strong enough and Frankenstein could not risk passing Dark Spear to them as well. By saving Rajak, Rael did not -could not- grow up and was still too sheltered. His growth was hindered due to his brother's protection. And with Rajak fighting the battle with them, Regis did not have the chance to summon Regasus.
And this all caused Master to use even more of his life force in the end.
With a scream of anger, he restarted the timeline again.
In one of the timelines, he outright told the Lord the actual reason why her father left Ragnarok in Raizel's house. No it's not just to appoint him as the Lord, he wanted to pass on his life force to Raizel, so that he can live a little longer.
He hoped that Raskreia would be quicker in her decision to pass on Ragnarok to his Master. This way, his Master could use the energy to recuperate more of his life force before he ultimately fights again.
But this Raskreia was different. She has not seen the human world. She has not experienced a normal school life or observed Master when he is at ease. This Raskreia was still upset about her father favouring Raizel over her, and was suffering from her inferiority complex.
Her bitterness clouded her judgement and she immediately fused the two Ragnaroks together in the previous Lord's sanctuary out of spite.
This Raizel didn't even make it till the final battle.
This time round he found his Master's coffin first. He intercepted the thieves before they reached the apartment and knocked them out. He stole away the coffin where his Master resided in.
He brought the coffin to his laboratory and allowed him to remain in his slumber there.
But without Raizel, Shinwoo and Ikhan didn't stay out late to show him around- they left to slack at home immediately after school that day. This resulted in Yuna meeting the infected on her own with no one there to save her. No one heard her cries that night.
And first blood was drawn.
The very first thing he did the next time round after securing the coffin was to deal with the infected. Then he saved both M-21 and M-24. Honestly he just didn't want to deal with the Mark incident anymore and having M-24 alive helped.
Jake, Marie, DA-5, Dr Aris and many many more. By himself, he settled the Union enemies one by one. All the while, the thought that his Master rested safely inside his coffin reassured him. He could do this, even if it meant using the blood spear earlier. He made sure to mute their connection when doing so, so that his Master would not wake up in alarm.
But all it took to destroy this timeline was a kidnapping of M-24, and having Mark infiltrate the household. With M-24's memories and the household's trust in him, Frankenstein's data was stolen quicker than before.
With his lab trashed and no Master around to help, Tao and Takeo died on his watch.
Never have he felt the butterfly effect so strongly till now. If he diverged from the script too early, he didn't know what was going to happen and lose the advantage of his foreknowledge.
If he didn't diverge, things end up generally in the same direction and his Master would waste a lot of his life force unnecessarily.
It was a tough balance. There were just so many variables for him to consider.
During the lull, in between the skirmishes, he always wondered how the time travel works. He was a scientist! Such a phenomenon obviously intrigued him deeply.
From observation, the time travel always seemed to be more of a mental one; he knows this as his body always differ slightly, depending on which time he landed at. He also couldn't bring any physical objects with him.
That was all he went on with until he got Dark Spear to admit in one reiteration how the time travel works. Apparently they sent him back by utilising their entire core energy, ripping the fabric of time and space and thrusting his consciousness back into his old body.
That's why only Frankenstein could make the trip, as that particular Dark Spear would cease to exist.
Why do you continue to do it then? If you would disappear by sending me back.
Hmph. And the humans lauded you for your intelligence.
In most timelines, he realised his Master could feel the difference in both his mind and soul. However, he never outright call him out on it. Perhaps he chalked it up to the 820 years that they were apart.
But Frankenstein knew it was not a long-term solution as if he continued to time travel, the difference would be more and more prominent to his Master. His mind and soul would continue to age as he travelled back from the future.
He couldn't afford to slip up and let the others know. They certainly would disapprove and dissuade him from continuing, especially his Master. Moreover, sensitive information like this best not be shared out. There are many ways to obtain information- willingly or unwillingly. It would be disastrous if the Union found out about his trump card, in any of the iterations.
So, he learnt to cloak his mind and soul unnoticeably. A near impossible feat which took him many timelines to master. He would seem normal to all prying eyes, even his Master whom he was bonded to.
Well, unless Raizel decided to launch an invasive mental attack at him, which he definitely won't do to his bonded.
After dozens of retries, Frankenstein realised it wasn't going to work. The Union was too powerful for them to fight. He couldn't keep all of them safe by himself. He started to go further back in time and worked solo to disable the Union. After all, most of the Union's knowledge came from him. He could disable them severely by ensuring his knowledge did not fall into the wrong hands.
He landed back in time, way before he even went to Lukedonia. Even before Tesamu. Frankenstein stumbled and clenched his chest, taking a jarring moment to assimilate. His soul felt strangely empty, without a connection with his Master. A deep breath… it would be worth it. It has to be.
He took another moment to mourn the relationships he had lost, that have yet to come (His Master, M-21, Tao, Takeo, Seira, Regis...). If he succeeded, things would never be the same between him and them again. He would just be a stranger to them, even though they had fought together for so many years.
Then, he got down to business. It was no time for self-pity. He came back with a mission, to fix everything right again. He made sure to burn all of his notebooks before Crombell found them. That was one of his worst mistakes ever. What was he thinking, leaving records of his experimental data around, just laying there for others to pick up.
Then he avoided experimenting on nobles and going to Lukedonia. He did not want to not alert the traitors, even if it means forgoing his contract with his Master (He'll be safer that way).
His soul however, curled unsatisfactory at the loss of the bond he has yet to gained. His mind remembers the feeling of two souls merging as one. The feeling of peace and contentment. The wholeness when he was together with his Master. And that knowledge was enough for his soul to feel a phantom pain at the missing bond in these timelines. There was nothing to ground his soul to and so occasionally, he feels the dull throbbing pain of his soul, which yearns for the contract once more.
With no one to shake things up this time round, the traitors sped up their plans and caused much more havoc in the human world than before. When news finally reached Frankenstein, he learnt that they were caught infecting the humans red-handed by the Noblesse, who had already sentenced all of the traitors to eternal sleep by himself. The Noblesse was nowhere to be found after that.
He with a sigh, he nudged Dark Spear to get on with the time jump.
While Frankenstein could roughly direct Dark Spear to bring him to a certain time, he has no choice in the specific date he returns to. Other than that, he could never return to the time before Dark Spear was created.
While he was regretful that he could not stop the Union from mis-using his knowledge, he was secretly glad he did not have to make a hard choice between allowing Dark Spear's creation to occur and the time-travelling powers.
That was a choice that he was not sure if he could make.
Frankenstein realised his mistake. In the previous timelines, he had no means of information as he was not on either side of the war. He was too late to do anything by the time news reached him.
So this time round, he chose to infiltrate the Union. Keep your friends close but your enemies closer. He contributed as a scientist at first, which wasn't hard since the Union was already eyeing at his work long before. Then, he slowly climbed the ranks and became an Elder.
Quite similar to Crombell, his mind supplied unhelpfully.
But with his contributions, the Union grew too rapidly. Especially since now he already knew how physical enhancement works- it wasn't new territory for him anymore. It's as easy as adding 2+2 for him. He may have dumb down the contributions to slow down their growth, but it really was hard trying to dumb it down even more. And so the Union wrought even more destruction, causing them to be in the limelight.
This resulted him to be in conflict with the Lord and his Master.
And he screamed and screamed when he found out he indirectly caused his Master's death, when the traitors reported success in subduing the werewolf lord and the Noblesse.
Burning the bases of the Union did nothing to assuage his pain.
Why hasn't he tried the direct approach yet? Pluck out the seedlings before they grow up. That does sound like an effective and efficient method.
And so this time round, Frankenstein outright killed the traitors and slaughtered the Union leaders. He honestly had a hard time, many of them were quite powerful and he didn't have the blood spear to rely on. So he strategically went after them, going in swiftly and mercilessly for the kills.
Nothing was too underhanded for him; infiltration, assassination, explosives, poison.
Many many humans, werewolves and nobles were affected.
Unfortunately he had to leave some witnesses alive, as they were just there at the wrong place and time. They had nothing to do with the Union.
His notoriety caused everyone to label him a criminal, no trial given. There was probably a bounty for him as well. Ah well, it wasn't as if it was Frankenstein's first time being tagged as a monster. He has plenty of experience living a fugitive lifestyle.
If his mind and soul wasn't cloaked, perhaps the nobles would have given him another chance when they saw his bright soul. The righteous soul which drew Raizel in the very first timeline. But with his soul hidden, the nobles took his killings as mindless slaughter. Any evidence he took out to justify his killings were merely seen as ramblings of a madman. Between loyal friends of centuries, and a stranger who murders them, of course they would believe the former.
Halfway through his purge, Raizel went to confront him. Frankenstein was honestly surprised that they found him so soon. He was very good at hiding and covering his tracks. And well, Raizel was horrible at directions. Like really really bad.
During their battle, Frankenstein gave no resistance. A familiar but cold face stared back at him across the battlefield, devoid of any recognition. A few timelines of not seeing his Master, and yet when they reunited, this had to happen. This really sucks.
He always saw his Master's judgements from the sidelines. Roctis, Ignes, Urokai… He never knew that he would be at the other end of Master's spear one day. Oh the irony… Urokai definitely would have laughed and gloated if he knew.
Raizel's crimson eyes narrowed with slight hesitation, perhaps he was puzzled as to why the human was not fighting back. Frankenstein didn't even call out for Dark Spear. For every attack Raizel made, Frankenstein did not retaliate. No third party would have noticed it, but Frankenstein have been by his side for so many years- he knew his Master.
"Why?" Raizel queried before dealing the finishing blow. Why did he kill them all. Why was he not fighting back. So many ways he could interpret the question.
"Why not?"
"Do you not see the error of your ways?"
Images of his Master struggling with the fight against the traitors flashed across his eyes. Pushing himself to his limit, bleeding his life essence to stop the very ones that claimed to be his friends. Those who plotted and schemed against him, even while they smiled at him and praised him.
"... Regrets are an extravagant emotion for me," Frankenstein smirked, enjoying the inside joke that only he himself gets. Irony was his best friend these days.
Frankenstein could see emotions warring within Raizel's eyes. But duty won out in the end, and Frankenstein felt himself dying, drowning in his Master's own blood, right before the time travel activated.
Frankenstein always wondered if his resets also permanently erased the previous loops, or those timelines are still in existence, just without him. If it was the former, he felt slightly relieved that his mistakes won't be recorded. He would definitely make it right this time round. If it was the latter, Frankenstein mourned his failures, as the people there still have to live with his failures and mistakes.
A part of him then felt a twinge of guilt, because the children in the very first timeline would then wonder where he had disappeared to. He knows that it was wrong of him to ditch them like this, but he was so consumed by grief at that time. He just wanted to make things right again. He was certain that if they still exist somewhere, they would continue to search for him.
But he wasn't worried, because he trusts that Gejutel will take care of them for him. His old friend would do that for him.
Just for the sake of normalcy, as well as wanting a warm and familiar home to return to, Frankenstein stuck by the original timeline the next few rounds.
He took in Tesamu and taught him, burned his notebooks when it was time to leave.
He left for Lukedonia, and met his two old friends as well as his Master. Then, he made the contract with him (his soul sighed in contentment here).
He endured another 820 years all by himself, and rejoiced when his Master strode into his office on a bright sunny weekday.
He took the time to slowly bleach his mind of the sight and feeling of Raizel killing him.
He was so so tired…
Sometimes, he wondered what he was even doing this for again. There seemed to be no end in sight, and he lost count of how many iterations he repeated. He did it at first out of desperation and grief, as he did not know how to live in a world without his Master. But as the timelines passed, Frankenstein realised that he has lived many many years not by his Master's side. Sometimes, not even having formed the bond with him.
He has seen Raizel die so many times, that by now his waking and sleeping hours are covered by images of bleeding and fading Raizels. He wonders why he's doing this. It would be so simple to accept death, and not activate the time travel.
But at the sight of Raizel fighting desperately to protect the children, coughing and tearing out blood. A surge of protectiveness always rose from his chest. From deep within his scarred soul, he still felt loyalty to this very noble who was the first to provide him a home. He wanted, oh so desperately to return the favour. To create a world where Raizel could live his life with a smile just like in the original timeline, but without the threat of the Union which forced him to sacrifice his life.
It was very greedy of Frankenstein, but he just could not help it. He wanted a long and happy life for Raizel. For all of them, even the children. And secretly deep down, Frankenstein wanted to be by their side when this dream was realised.
He wanted to be part of the household again, where there are cheers and laughter daily. A peaceful night of games with the children. Master drinking his tea. Seira cooking dinner for them and Rael and Regis bringing out the dishes. His employees washing the plates while silently grumbling about it.
He wanted a normal life at Ye Ran with everyone, even though he has to clean up their shenanigans. To have his Master disrupt school order just to have a ramen party. Or for him to bring in stray dogs and adopt them. Or for his captain of the Ye Ran security to complain to him about the Parachute Trio once more.
He missed it, but he knew that this life cannot last long as long as the Union still endangers them.
He goes back being a Union Elder. By analysing past timelines, he believes that he was closer to success in those times. Proactive versus reactive. The former always works best in disabling threats, by tackling them before they arise.
He dances to the tune of the Union again, providing them with valuable research information, but not enough for them to rapidly grow. (He cringes as he submits wrong data, an affront to the scientist side of him.)
Sometimes he wasn't successful in stopping Muzaka and Raizel from duking it out again. Other times, he got caught trying to interfere with their plans. Just for laugh, Dark Spear didn't let him activate the time travel till three days after he was caught. By then, he has been thoroughly introduced to the interrogation methods the Union uses.
But he learns, and this time round he was successful in interfering with the plan the traitors had to disable both the Noblesse and Werewolf Lord, with none being the wiser. Discreetly, he also left out information for the nobles to find. Incriminating evidence that can be used to charge the traitors.
He met the werewolves and traitors a couple of times in the Union base. It hurts him internally that he could not do anything to them yet. It irked him that he has to play nice with them, all courteous and smiles even in the face of insults.
All he wanted to do was to gouge out Urokai's eye again, or to drive Dark Spear through Ignes. But he has to lay low, for them to underestimate him, the lowly human who can't fight back the oh great nobles and werewolves. He cannot get caught just because of some petty remark. He hoped that with the information he's leaking out, the Lord would move soon to disable the Union.
It was a risky game that he was playing and he knew it. If he over leaked, it was easy for the Union to detect it and trace back to him. If he under leaked, more and more people will be killed for the sake for the Union, and Frankenstein would have to live with the knowledge that he's the one that's causing most of it.
Even if he has all the time to try again, Frankenstein was not a patient man. All these repeats were driving him up against the wall.
Which was why he was so glad when he finally detected the nobles' auras during a Union meeting. It was subtle, so subtle that none of the other elders caught it. But Frankenstein has been doing this far longer than any of them. He would be insulted on his own behalf if he couldn't even do this.
He caught sign of Gejutel's fierce aura and Ragar's silent but deadly one. His friends… Outwardly, he pretended nothing was wrong. He continued listening to the boring meeting while keeping track of the nobles' movements. Inwardly, he was silently celebrating. Is this finally it?
When the nobles have surrounded the place properly, the Lord's aura flared dangerously to life. This time round, everyone around the table noticed it. Eyes widened, gasped left their throats. Clattering of chairs could be heard as everyone jumped into defensive positions. A quick moment of silence, the atmosphere was so tense that Frankenstein almost laughed at the sheer impossibility of it. Then, one of the other human elders fell down, Ragar materialising behind him. The room exploded into activity, as combat began.
Frankenstein stood on one side of the room in a non-threatening manner, signalling his surrender to the attackers. The werewolves tried to attack the nobles, but the appearance of Muzaka had all but cowed them. To Muzaka's right, Frankenstein noticed Raizel, and his heart clenched tightly when their eyes met. His eyes held no familiarity, but cool disinterest.
An image appeared in his mind, of a bloodied Raizel facing off him. Wings wide open and his hand slashed downwards, leading a blood tornado surging downwards to swallow Frankenstein. He blinked hard to banish that horrible imagery and focused on the battle in front of him.
With the humans and werewolves down, the noble traitors realised it was a losing battle. It was even more apparent when they took note of the Noblesse's arrival. Perhaps it was due to the fact that time has not passed much for them since they hung out with the Noblesse. The traitors this time round did not seem to want to outright attack Raizel.
Some considered fleeing, but that notion was halted when they realised that they were encircled. At the front was the Lord, flanked with the other Noble Clan leaders. At the back was the Werewolf Lord and the Noblesse.
The noble traitors slumped in defeat, not wanting to continue this losing battle. The werewolves were then brought back to their land for disciplining, while the humans and nobles were brought to Lukedonia for questioning and sentencing. Frankenstein silently allowed himself to be shackled by one of the Central Order Knights.
This day, Frankenstein would mark it on his calendar. The day of Union's defeat. He relished in it, even as he was brought into Lukedonia's prison with the rest of the Union elders. While the traitors were kept in enforced prisons, Frankenstein and the other humans were merely locked up.
The nobles really underestimated the humans in this timeline. Understandable, since Frankenstein wasn't here to challenge the notion that humans are far weaker than the nobles. Even during the battle, none of the humans posed any threats to the nobles. To them, they seemed so small and non-threatening. They probably thought that they were scientists of some kind and not fit for combat against other species.
This prison certainly did keep the others locked in, but he could easily escape here if he wanted to. But Frankenstein wanted to see this till the end, he wanted to be here in person to ensure that every last one of these Union scum got what they deserved and won't be a threat anymore to anyone. So that his family can finally live their life properly. For the children to live with their own blood relatives that they never knew or hung out with in any of the timelines. For his Master to live on with a smile, and not sacrifice himself anymore for them.
For his family… he would see this through.
Frankenstein was certain that he could escape later on when all this was over. He knew the layout of Lukedonia after all, and still had his trump card- Dark Spear. He probably wouldn't know where to go to or what to do. He would have to hide away as he'll be labelled as a criminal (again!). But it was alright. It was his penance for letting his Master die the very first time. For failing to protect him and his smile. He could live with the burden of solitude and an eternity of running. For the sake of everyone's happiness, he's willing to become the scapegoat.
He was confident in his plan, everything was going right this timeline. Nothing seemed to be able to go wrong, bar the noble traitors fighting and escaping their cells. But he was sure that the Lord was so enraged that he wouldn't give them the chance to step a toe out of line.
He had a niggling worry at the back of his head, that there was something he had forgotten about. But that thought was quickly overwhelmed by his euphoria of reaching success. That the never-ending loops were finally reaching the end. His quest was finally going to be over.
Soon, he was brought into the throne room for questioning. He was the last of the elders to go, if he assumed that the other human elders had left for their trial. They never did return, and distantly, he wondered what had happened to them. It was his first time experiencing a trial in Lukedonia. In the very first timeline he was pardoned, and in the subsequent times he didn't even get the chance to come here.
This was something new for him- a rare feat to achieve these days.
As he entered the throne room, he saw that the Noblesse was there as well. He stood to the side at the front, segregated from the other Clan Leaders. Perhaps he felt that it was his duty to pass out judgements and hence his presence here.
The Lord sat regally on his throne right at the centre, flanked by two neat rows of Clan Leaders at both his sides. Frankenstein walked down the carpet and stared straight at the Lord. Blue eyes met red.
Silence reigned. Everyone watched with bated breaths as the tension in the room spiked. Each person waiting for either of the two to start speaking.
Frankenstein refused to admit defeat and continued to stare at the Lord wordlessly. After knowing the Lord for a few centuries or so, he knew his eccentricities. He probably wanted to make Frankenstein squirm before his trial (which he was failing miserably, his subconscious crowed smugly).
After a while, he noticed the Lord's finger twitch at his armrest, signalling that he couldn't stand the silence any longer.
"What a strange human! The others couldn't wait to kneel down and start begging for their lives." His cheerful tone was the direct opposite of the atmosphere in this room. How jarring… Seeing that Frankenstein wasn't going to reply, the Lord continued chirpily.
"Some tried to plead innocent. Could you imagine! Caught red-handed but still trying to lie their way through. But don't worry, they all confessed to their crimes in the end and were suitably punished. So how about you, human? Do you confess to the crimes you did as an Union elder? We could help you to list them, but that's going to take us a whole day."
"Hm, yeah sure. I confess my crimes, blah blah blah. Can we get on to the main point?"
"Hahaha! What a humorous person," Red eyes slanted dangerously, "But don't forget your place here, human."
Was this much posturing really needed? Honestly the Lord needed to get straight to the point soon or he was going to die of boredom. Once his sentence was given, Frankenstein would take it as his cue to leave immediately. The Lord had already given him verbal confirmation that the deed was done, the Union elders were no more.
And he trusted him, no matter how inept he looks, to complete his duty as the Lord. There was no need for Frankenstein to stay any longer.
"If there's nothing else that you want to add on, then I guess we can move on with it. The others have already given us enough information to root out and shut down your organisation completely. Human elder, I thereby senten-"
"Wait, my Lord!" Krasis Blerster called out. "His mind… He's cloaking it. It's very well done, I wouldn't have noticed it if I didn't focus. He's hiding something."
Dammit… The Blerster Clan was always good at sensing. After all I had done to shelter your son Karias and provide him a house and job in Korea, this is what you do to repay me huh?
"Oh? Well done Krasis!" The Lord praised.
"ANYTIME FOR YOU LORD!"
Taking advantage of the startling volume of his proclamation, Frankenstein used his enhance strength to break free of his bindings. Fight or flight response kicked in. He got to his feet and was prepared to turn tail and run, but Ragar intercepted him and held him down. Expected of the Kertia Clan…
… We're friends. Is this punishment for breaking my promise to you? That I didn't managed to see you one last time before you went to eternal sleep? That's damn petty of you, Ragar!
Raizel took this opportunity to step closer, signalling to the other nobles that he would be the one to uncover the information. They had to make sure that the Union was utterly destroyed and leave no loose ends after all. And the Noblesse takes his duties very seriously, Frankenstein would know best.
Raizel reached up and placed a palm on Frankenstein's head, "don't struggle, it'll be worse if you do."
This was when Frankenstein knew he thoroughly screwed up. Cloaking wise, his Master definitely always had the strength to tear through the veil, but he would never do it to him. His Master values privacy and so he would never invade his bonded's privacy without permission. Frankenstein knew that.
That was what he thought in the first few timelines after he picked up this skill. This has conditioned him and made him take this fact for granted. Frankenstein realised that they weren't bonded in this timeline. Hell, he's deemed as the enemy. Raizel would definitely place his duties first than some common decency to a random enemy's brain.
There was nothing stopping Raizel from it and he was trapped. He certainly can't unleash Dark Spear with Raizel so near him.
Oh blast it all, just you wait Krasis, Ragar, was his last thought and then his vision filled white and pain seared into his brain. He tried his best to stop Raizel's mental attack. He can't. He mustn't. He cannot find out about it. But Raizel swiped his feeble attempts away and blaze through his mind's defences. Though he was careful not to harm his mind permanently in the process.
At last, he tore the cloak away.
And life times worth of memories flooded into him. Things that happened, yet didn't happen. What ifs and what nots. Familiar faces that stood around him, new faces that he had never seen before. Raizel also saw his own face staring back, as well as his various deaths.
Most importantly, he saw the magnitude of experience this man before him has went through, and the reason why he did so.
Frankenstein mentally noticed the moment when comprehension dawned on Raizel that he was not an enemy, and halted his mental assault with a tinge of remorse.
Frankenstein crumpled down against Ragar with a groan, while Raizel stumbled back in surprise. The Lord and nobles present stood up in alarm, some were poised to strike. With the cloaking gone, while they do not have access to the memories of Frankenstein, they noticed the oddity of his soul.
It was slightly scarred with markings that looked to be a broken bond. Another observation stunned them, his soul burned bright and righteously despite the fact that he was a Union Elder, with the blood of many on his hands.
No one was sure what had transpired within Frankenstein's head, and they were uncertain of what to do next. So they waited for the judgement of the Noblesse, who had been the one to retrieve the hidden information.
Both parties were holding their heads in their hands, attempting to re-orientate themselves back into the physical realm.
"I… He wouldn't have wanted this for you," Raizel murmured when he regained his composure.
"... I know. For what's worth, I'm sorry for disobeying your last order. But I don't regret it."
Hearing this exchange, the other nobles looked confused, while the Lord threw him a puzzled but assessing look. His calculative and shrewd mind putting together pieces of evidence together. He probably guessed by now that the information he gained, which led to a successful ambush of the Union's meeting, had come from him.
With a pained look, Frankenstein could no longer stand it. These familiar faces, most staring at him with open or guarded hostility. Once upon a time, long ago, he called them friends, yet they held no recognition for him.
This place, Lukedonia, was also once his home as well. He missed tidying up Master's mansion and drinking tea with him. He missed Ragar's rare smiles after a good workout. He almost missed Gejutel's loud barking, tinged with concern underneath.
This was his home. And yet, he was a stranger unwelcomed here now. To them, he was just another Union elder. An enemy.
Taking advantage of the distance between him and Raizel, he called upon a wisp of Dark Spear's power. Letting it flare out, he broke free from Ragar and quickly ran off before any of them could gather their wits back to stop him.
They certainly would be stunned at the power he displayed, and still had to digest the scene that had occured in front of them. He could get away before they organised themselves well enough to chase him down.
Far away from Lukedonia, Frankenstein laid down on the ground. A hollow laughter ripped through him, and another and another. And even though he had succeeded at last, he felt no vindication.
He knows. He knows! Things will never be the same again. That's why Raizel made the distinction. This Raizel was not his Raizel. He has never known the joy of his companionship. He has never tasted ramen. He has never went to school and enjoyed a student life with Shinwoo and co. He has never struggled with technology and bananas or had his cookies stolen by Tao before. He was not him but yet him at the same time.
Not just him, but everyone that is to come. If Seira's parents were still alive, would she still be independent and know how to fight and cook well? If M-21 grew up with his family, would he still be as brave and compassionate. Tao and Takeo, would they still be brother-in-arms and fight to protect others?
Nature versus nurture. People are formed by their experiences. His meddling cost him. The price was the so so many lost relationships. His family has long already died, in the very first time he rewound time. This one can't ever replace them. Was it worth it?
The others would never come to know of his sacrifice. They would grow up happy and content with the lives they always wanted. It would be him that would be left behind. A part of him felt ashamed that he was being so selfish. The rest could be happy at last! Why was he being so difficult.
His mirthless chuckles stopped and evolved into full fledged sobbing. He cried and wailed uglily, letting his emotions out. He didn't feel euphoria at his success. He didn't feel happiness or joy at his freedom. He definitely didn't feel smugness for dealing with the traitors. He just felt so lost. Again.
Once, long ago, he had founded Ye Ran for his Master. In hopes that he could have a normal life outside of Lukedonia, where he could just be a normal student and not the Noblesse. Now, he founded Ye Ran for some kind of normalcy for himself.
He tracked down his employees when the time was right. He found them enjoying the lives they had. M-21 was a successful martial artist, Tao a famous hacker, and Takeo a renowned sharpshooter. Similar, but yet different. He offered them a generous job at Ye Ran's security which they accepted.
Luckily they did, if not Frankenstein wasn't sure if he would resort to other means to get them together again.
Watching the Parachute Trio interact again, although tinged with a slight awkwardness underneath, brought a small smile to his face. While they would never be as close as before, at least they were all here together once again.
Tao's antics easily brought him close to Takeo, and the two became friends quickly. While M-21 always had the lone wolf attitude, it wore down quickly with Tao's persistent joking. In no time at all, the three patrolled together, ate lunch together and interacted with the children with more ease than last time.
Well, no one can resist Tao's chattering charm. His talkative nature had always helped them defuse some tense situations back in the past. Frankenstein mused with nostalgia.
Though it broke his heart a little when they deferred to him as a superior and employer for real this time round, instead of jokingly calling him, "Boss".
The day when his Master first walked through Ye Ran's doors the first time round came.
Frankenstein was buried in his paperwork, but still took the time to reminisce. It brought back many happy memories, but also a sense of melancholy. This time round, things will be very different. No more kids crashing his house. No more "adopting" of new children into their house. No more sparring fights with the others. No more dinner together at his house. While things were looking up, it certainly was a little disheartening.
Maybe he would invite the trio to his house for dinner today?
He sighed.
"Sir! The transfer student has come. I'll just head to class now then." Shinwoo's voice came through the door.
"Huh?" Frankenstein intelligently said. There wasn't any transfer students scheduled this semester. And the last time round this happened….
The door slowly opened. And Cadis Etrama di Raizel stepped in.
The teacup fell from his numb hands, clattering into a dozen pieces on his office's floor. (His poor floor! The stains it'll make, oh the horror!)
"Ma- … Sir Raizel?" Frankenstein was understandably shocked. He had no news of Lukedonia and the nobles after he ran away that night. It was beyond strange for Raizel to appear in front of him now. Especially since he held no connection to them, and was regarded as the enemy.
Frankenstein couldn't hold his intense gaze, which held little warmth for him in this timeline. Raizel was trying to appear charitable and familiar (Oh he could tell), but it's still the fact that they didn't have much interaction in this timeline and Frankenstein was a complete stranger to him. A peek at his memories can't change this fact.
He bent down to clean up his mess instead, to busy his hand and not look at the once familiar being in front of him.
After standing there for a while, Raizel decided to break the silence. "... We both know that I am unable to replace the person in your heart, but it doesn't change the fact that you were my bonded and went through so much just for my sake."
Raizel slowly gazed away from Frankenstein. From the corner of his eyes, he detected a faint blush on Raizel's face, "I have thought about this for some time in Lukedonia. I cannot forget this whole incident and pretend nothing has happened. It would be turning my back on your efforts for all these years."
"Would you have me once again?"
At that question, Frankenstein jerked, causing him to cut his finger on one of the sharper pieces. That was totally not what he expected when he saw Raizel step into his office. Hell, he didn't even expected him to be here at all. Isn't it too much of a coincidence that he's here on the same day as when he first awakened in the original timeline?
Seeing that he didn't reply and stopped his administrations, Raizel approached him. He bent down and took his hand into his. His large cool hands covered his trembling ones and then Raizel brought his bleeding finger to his lips.
Frankenstein's blood smeared onto his lips.
"This is a contract of the soul, do you accept?"
His heart soared, and his blood was ringing in his ears. His soul fluttered in anticipation against his will. Could he? Could he really have him back. After all these years. When was the last time they have been bonded together? He couldn't even start to count.
At that moment, a memory from long ago slowly rippled and surfaced. A time from before the insanity of loops started. In the very very first timeline. His Master's words echoed in his mind, "Frankenstein. After I'm gone, you will have to take care of yourself. Move on and find your own happiness. Promise me that. This is my last order to you as your master."
With these words, that were said with his dying breath, still ringing in his head, he gazed directly at the new Raizel before him. He was still waiting for his answer.
The answer should have been clear, why was he even thinking about this.
A clear yes resounded throughout the room, and two souls sung out in joy, finally whole once more.