Record of a Thousand Lives-Chapter 81

The village was burning. The women ran away with their children, while the men sacrificed themselves to secure an escape route for them.They allhad tears in their eyes.

“Wait.”Alarge shadow blocked their path.

At that moment,the elves were about to scream, thinking it was an enemy. However,the shadow suddenlyexclaimed, “Shh!”

Katz motioned toward the elves to keep quiet, putting his finger up tohis lips.An elfwhowas holding her baby looked at him with afear-strickenexpression.

“You can’t go this way. The mummies have set up an encirclement over the hills. Run northeast. That’s the only placethey haven’t surroundedyet,” Katz said.

“T-thank you! Thank you very much!” the elfexclaimed.

“Don’t mentionit;just be careful not to wake the baby up,” Katz said.

The elf women bowed theirheadsand continued running away. Katz waved his hand before he turned around and looked at the burning elven village.

‘He has no mercy.’Katzhadnot lived a ‘kind’ life as a graverobber, but he had nevergottenany experience committing murder.

The air was filled with the stench of blood. Kartheon had set firetothe village, as if slaughtering all of its inhabitantswasnot enough.

Katzclenched his fist and thought, ‘He really intends to kill everything on the continent.’

Hewalked toward the village. The mummies in the village walked around like zombies from alow-budgetfilm as they searched for any survivors.Meanwhile,Kartheon was looking down at the village from the highest vantage point.

“Aigoo, why is it so hard to take a dump in the desert?”Katzexclaimedas he scratched his butt.

Kartheon glanced at him and asked, “Why did you let them live?”

“What are you talking about,YourMajesty?” Katz replied, feigningignorance.

Kartheon grabbed him by the neck and asked once again, “I asked you, why did you let those elves go?”

“Keheok! Keok!Because Ipity them,Sire…” Katz replied.

It felt as ifKartheon’s dried,withered hand that was grabbing Katz bytheneckhad begunslowly draining his life force. Katz squirmed and tried to pry the hand away, but Kartheon’s hand did not budge an inch.

“A lowly graverobber like you dares to disturb the great cause?” Kartheonexclaimed.

“Keuuheoooook!”Katz screamed as his vision started to blur, buthesuddenly felt enraged. He thoughthe should at least say whatever he wanted to say to the mummy if he was going to die anyway.He retorted,“T-then what about you…? Why aren’t you aware of the fact even a lowly graverobber like me is aware of…?”

“What are you talking about?” Kartheon asked.

“That…Kuheok…!You’re doing something… very stupid…!” Katzspluttered as he struggled to gasp for air.

Kartheon threw Katz away;Katz rolledacrossthe sandy ground. His vision, which had begun to blurwhile he was being choked, slowly started to return.

“Try barking again,” Kartheon said.

“Why did you kill the elves…?” Katz asked.

“The elves are an excellent offering to gaintemporal power,” Kartheon replied.

Kartheon gained moretemporal powerthe stronger the creature he killed was or the longerthey had lived;the elves, whohadmuch longer lifespans than most creaturesonthe continent,werean excellent source of temporal power.

Katz retorted, “‘Everything will be gone once I regress so I can live however I want’. Is that what you’re thinking?”

“Isthat notthe case?” Kartheon responded with a shrug.

“It’s going to stay in your mind!” Katz retorted.Hewas actuallyracking his brainsfor anything he could think of atthemoment as he continued, “Do you really think this world will disappear once you regress back in time? Not at all! This world will stay in your mind forever. It’ll come back to haunt you one day and make you paranoid!”

“Donot make me laugh with your illogicalclaims. Katz, have you ever experienced regressing?” Kartheonasked.

“T-that’s not what I meant…” Katz stuttered, as he could not find any response to Kartheon’s question.

Kartheon opened and closed his right hand that could absorb life from another and said, “Thosekindsof wordswouldonly be convincing ifthey were said by someonewhohas experienced regressing. If someonewho hasactually experienced regression comes and tells me thosethings,perhapsI will consider it at least once. Of course, thereis no waythat couldbe possible.”He thenmounted his camel.Katz hesitated for a moment beforemountinghis own camel as well and followingbehind the ancient king.

Kartheon smirked and asked, “Why are you still following me after experiencing that humiliation just now?”

“I can’tjust standaroundand watch as you destroy the continent,” Katz said.

Katz forgot to properly address Kartheon as ‘YourMajesty’ in the heat of the moment, but Kartheon did not seem to mind it at all. In fact, he seemed to enjoy the situation, as he openly mocked Katz again.“Did the graverobberwhoonly knew to steal from the dead suddenlyend upfilled with a sense of justice?”

Katz shut his mouth and swallowed his anger. He thought for a while before he said, “I’ma graverobber. It’s my job to steal the belongings of the dead. Do you think a guy like me won’t be able to change the mind of the dead?”

“You will notbe able to,” Kartheon saidsharply.

“…You’re really a cutthroat person,” Katz muttered.

“Thatis why I am a king, and I have the right to sit on the throne,” Kartheon replied.

The two men walked away with the burning village behind them;thousands of mummies trailedin their wake. Soon, the desert sky turned dark, but not a single star was in sight. The desert at night was quite silent and peaceful.

“Itisgoing to take quite a while for us to reach the next village,” Kartheon grumbled.

Katz askedcarefully, “YourMajesty can stop time while we travel, right?”

“Stopping time consumes my life force,” Kartheon replied.

“Really?” Katzasked.

Kartheon easily admittedit, saying,, “Stopping time for even one or two seconds has severe drawbacks.”

“Then,YourMajesty probably won’t be stopping time at all?” Katzcontinued.

“I have only stopped time twicein my entire life,” Kartheon said.

Katz thought he needed to change the atmosphere. He had already forgotten about his anger as he askedout ofpure curiosity, “When were those two times you stopped time?”

“The first was when my body was about to be split in half by the jaws of the Dragon of Destruction,” Kartheon said.

“Dragon of Destruction?” Katzasked.

“Itwasa dragonfromancient times. It was strong enough to almost destroy the continent, and consideringitslong lifespan…It could still be alive…” Kartheon said.

Katz was stricken with fear at the mention of the word ‘dragon’. He could not fathomthestories of such powerful beings. He asked hesitantly, “YourMajesty fought against such a strong dragon…?”

“Correct.I almost died in the end, though. My life would have been over the moment that big jaw bit and tore me in half. I was nearly out oftemporal power, and I had no choice but to stop time,” Kartheon said.

“What was it like?” Katz askedcuriously.

“There was no timein whichto experience anything. My body took so much damage that it was about to break apart while I stopped time, but I managed to narrowly escape from the dragon’s jaws thanks tothat. However,I was bedridden for days afterward,” Kartheon explained.

It seemed stopping time was much morestrenuous than Katz had initially thought.However, he asked,“Then when was the second time you stopped time,YourMajesty?”

“The second time was when I saw the most beautiful comet in the world,” Kartheonanswered.

‘A comet?’Katz thought.It was quite unexpected.Hetilted his head in confusion as he asked, “A comet,YourMajesty?”

“Indeed, a comet,” Kartheon replied as he looked at the night sky.The desert sky had becomefilled with stars.

“I was walkinginthe plains alone one day, when the sun set and night came. I looked up to the sky and saw a comet passing by. I tried to make a wish, but it went by too fast. Thatwas why I stopped time,” Kartheon explained.

“You used such a risky abilityjustfor that…?” Katz asked.Kartheon glared athim, and Katz felt the hairs at the back of his neck standup. He quickly shut his mouth.

The ancient king’s story continued. He said as he reminisced,“Everything stopped at that moment, down to the small cries of the bugs, and even the wind that tickled the tip of my nose. Only I was able to movein that moment whentime stopped.”

Kartheon’sface was heavily withered, so it was hard to tell what kind ofexpressionhe was making, but Katz could tell thatthe ancient kingwas feeling nostalgic andgreatly missedthat moment.

“Although it was short, it was the most valuable experience of my life,” Kartheon said.

“Forgive me for asking, but what didYourMajesty wish for?” Katz askedcarefully.

Kartheon let out a laugh and smiled as he said, “I wished to be a benevolent ruler.”

Katz wondered for a momentwhoKartheon was confusedaboutwhat a ‘benevolent ruler’ actually meant. A benevolent ruler was a rulerwho treatedtheircitizens and subjects with benevolence and mercy.

Hecould not hold back as his mouth moved by itself. He asked, “Then why did you, who wishedto be a benevolent ruler, kill those elves?”

“Didyou notsay it yourself? Everything will disappear if I regress. My sins, their deaths, everything will be back to how it was before,” Kartheon nonchalantly said with a shrug.Katz felt goosebumps all over his bodyupon hearingthe ancient king’s words.

Onlyafter a long while of ridingdidKartheon suddenlystophis camel. He got off it andsaid, “Letusrest for a bit.”

Kartheon’s stamina was as feeble as his skinny, withered appearance implied. The whole mummy armystoppedas well whenever Kartheon stopped to rest,buryingthemselves in the sand.A nearby stone mountainlooked like an excellent spot for them to spend the night and camp.

“I’ll light the fire,YourMajesty,” Katz said.

In truth, while Katz hadbeen volunteering to stand watch while they camped ever since the firstnight, he had beenlooking for an opportunity to kill Kartheon while heslept. However, Kartheon always closed his eyes and rested, but he never fell asleep.

“I was assassinated in my previous life while I was asleep,” Kartheon said as if he could read what was on Katz’s mind.

Katz flinched for a moment and tried to remain calm as he put apiece of dried camel dunginto the fire.Camel’s dung was an excellent material to burn in the desert, where firewood was precious and hard to come by.

“At the hands of that guy, Sirian?” Katzasked.

“Correct,” Kartheon replied.

Katz felthe hadheard about theman called ‘Sirian’ before.Hadhe heard the name from the Continentals? He could not clearly remember, because he did not interact much withContinentals.

“The fire is burning pretty well today,” Katz said, tryingto lighten the mood.Hewanted to stop Kartheon’s evil deeds, and he needed to be much closer to the ancient king if he wanted to achieve that.

.

“I see,” Kartheon muttered.

The campfire blazed as it shone brightlybeneaththe stone mountain. It had becomeeven more visible in thepitch-blacknight.

Kartheon suddenly asked, “That graverobber I killed. Was he your friend?”

Katztried to joghis memories beforeasking, “Ah, you mean Hudderson?”

“Yes, that graverobberwhowoke me up together with you at the burial site,” Kartheonreplied.

“I worked with him, but we weren’t that close. It’s not that strange in our line of work,” Katz replied as he recalled the death of his comrade.

Hudderson’s death had left a bittertastein his mouth. Theyhadfelt that they hit the jackpot and could live without any worries when they found the pile of gemsatthe burial site.

Katz suddenly decided to ask the ancient king, “Why? DidYourMajesty suddenlyfeelpity for me?”

“No, Iam just amazed when I look at you,” Kartheon replied.

“What do you mean,YourMajesty?” Katz asked.

“You seem to forget about death quite easily,” Kartheon said.

“Being a graverobberis a jobthat’salways at death’sdoorstep.Ah, can you guess what my job was back in my world,YourMajesty?” Katz asked.Kartheon shook his head.

“I was a petty thief. I was really dirt poor. I stole other people’s food because I felt I would die of hunger.People would leave the favorite foods of their deceased loved ones at the tombs in the countryI came fromback in my world, and I had no qualms stealingthat foodas well,” Katzexplained.

“I see that your habit of stealing from the dead hasnot changed even in this world,” Kartheon said.

“Oh… I guess so, now that you mention it,YourMajesty,” Katz replied. He scratched his head in embarrassment.

Time quickly flew by as they chatted.Soon,Katz covered himself with a blanket andslowly nodded off to sleep.

‘The stars have changed,’Kartheon said to himself as he gazed at the night sky.Everything was different from his memories. Thatwas why he needed to go back.

‘I should go to the Rock Desert as soon as the sun rises to wake up the sleeping giant,’hethought.

Suddenly…

Shhhhh… Ping!

Something lodged itself in the back of Kartheon’s right hand—it was a burning bolt.The ancient king was not fazed at all. Hesmirked as hethought,‘I didnot sense it at all.Itisa skilled assassin for sure.’

Kartheon stood up as he tried to pull the bolt out of his right hand. However, another bolt flew toward his temple.Hequickly ducked and avoided the bolt.

‘Someone is after me,’hethought.Helowered his posture and looked aroundhissurroundings. There was nothing but the silent darkness; perhaps it was because the assassin was quite skilled at camouflage.

He thought with some annoyance,‘If only my levelhadnot decreased because of the resurrection. This kind of assassination attempt would have meant nothing.’

He thensuddenly felt something hot approaching him from behind.

Pukeok!

A bolt lodged itself in the back ofKartheon’shead, and hestumbled. His skull broke open, and the heat from the bolt melted his skin.

‘I have to see who was after me,’the ancient king thought.Hewas at death’s door, but he seemed to be quite composed.No matter how perilous the situation was for him, all he had to do was turn back time.

Thus,Kartheon turned back time.